A Secret Schemer (25 page)

‘Oh Kate I’m so pleased for you
love, when and where do tell?’

‘He’s going to come into the
bar on Thursday night and wait until I finish, then we’re going for
a late drink. I really like him Lucy he seems a grounded sort of
guy and that’s what I want.’

‘Good luck to you Hun.’ With
that I gave Kate a hug as I so want her to be happy.

The kitchen door burst open and
Andy and Jena stood in the doorway looking a tad pleased with
theirselves. Was that good or bad I asked myself, after all they’d
just been to suss out Tim’s parents house.

‘Would you guys like something
to eat?’ Kate asked with a grin. ‘You all look famished.’

‘That’s a yes please from me
Kate.’ Andy declared.

‘I’ll be back in about half an
hour Kate, I just need a quick word with Lucy.’ Jena added.

‘No problems girls come back
when you’re ready.’

As Jena was pulling off her
jacket she ushered me into the restaurant. ‘Pin back your lugs girl
have I got news for you.’ Jena said firmly.

‘Spill honey I can’t wait.’

‘As we drove into Clayton Road
we could see straight away it was extremely long, so Andy pulled up
on the left hand side at the top. We were looking for a house name,
rather than a number, which we knew could take a while. Andy had a
flat cap in the car, which could act as a little disguise, we
agreed it was far better for him to do the walking, because if Tim
was around I’m much easier to recognise. I must add I chuckled to
myself watching Andy strolling along in his flat cap and jacket
collar pulled up. He stopped and chatted to a workman who obviously
directed him across the road. Within a minute or so he was checking
out a couple of houses, then out of the blue a van pulled up
outside and a guy got out, opened up the back door and dragged a
for sale sign out. Andy started walking back towards our van.’

‘And Hun keep talking.’

‘When he got back in our van he
described the house and said the for sale board was for one of the
flats in Thorndike House. He said there were concrete steps leading
up to the entry door, which he said looked as though it was open.
The name of the house was written in an arc above the steps.’

At this point my tummy flipped
as Jena was describing the house in the dream, the one when I
followed Tim inside. Suddenly I had goose bumps all over. I didn’t
want to interrupt her so I sat quietly and listened.

‘Andy suggested we drove slowly
along the road so we could see the telephone number on the for sale
board. I found a pen and paper in my bag and he slowed down and
spun into a three point turn right outside the house, giving me
ample time to see the details. We then pulled up around the corner
and I rang the estate agents and made my enquiries. I made it sound
as though we were actually looking for a two bedroom flat in the
area, and we just happened to be passing as the board went up.’

‘They must have been surprised
Jen being as the board had only just been sited.’

‘Oh they were and very helpful,
believe it or not it’s flat number three they’re selling. They are
one bedroom flats, asking price one hundred and seventy five
thousand for a quick sale. To end the call I said I’d discuss the
details with my partner and get back to them, I left my name as Ms
Bates.’

‘How strange, I mean how did
they manage in a one bedroom flat, and I wonder why they’re in a
hurry to sell. So many questions, don’t you think?’ I remarked
curiously.

‘Well it certainly was odd that
the board went up at the very time we were sussing it out. Andy
reckons there are six flats in the house and he doesn’t think
they’re that big. On the way back we were chatting about it and
Andy came up with the idea that if you want someone to take a look
at it, his mate at work would be willing.’

‘I have to tell you Hun, Andy’s
description of the outside of Thorndike House matches the one in my
dream, you know when I followed Tim inside. It certainly made me
feel creepy to say the least.’

‘Everything relevant to this
guy is creepy love.’

I relayed the conversation I’d
had earlier with Tim, explaining his alleged trip to Scotland.

‘So when is this trip taking
place?’ Jena asked.

‘Oh he’s supposed to be leaving
around seven o’clock this evening and travelling through the
night.’

‘That’s convenient I’ll be
ready to follow him.’

‘Not to Scotland I hope honey.’
I added with jest.

Jena laughed. ‘No just to see
which way he goes, and then we can search the room. When’s he due
back by the way?’

‘Not until the weekend, he’s
going to let me know.’

‘Mm I can’t wait. We’d better
go back for our meal or Kate will have our guts for garters.’ Jena
giggled. ‘Then I’ll don my track suit bottoms and trainers ready to
tail that shifty sod.’

At six thirty Jena was ready
and waiting for Tim to leave, to make sure she didn’t miss him she
was well hidden on the first floor landing outside of her lounge,
no way would he see her. Tonight with Lucy they could start putting
their plan in action to see what this guy was all about.

I stayed in the kitchen with
the outside door open so I wouldn’t miss a trick. Tim shot out
through the back door just before seven without a glance in either
direction. Jena followed within seconds, so now I must wait until
she rings me. In less than five minutes my mobile burst into
action. Jena relayed that she had Tim in her sights and they seemed
to be heading towards Victoria train station. She stayed on the
line and gave me regular updates; he’d stopped off to pick up a
coffee takeaway style. The line went dead so I waited anxiously for
her next move. Jena didn’t ring back so all kinds of weird
incidents were flashing through my mind. About twenty minutes later
Jena burst into the kitchen looking rather hacked off. ‘Whatever
happened honey you look a tad stressed.’ I asked anxiously.

‘That guy is infuriating, I
watched him pick up his coffee and a crowd of people who’d
obviously just got off a train, got in the way. When they’d walked
passed him, he was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t get any closer or
he’d have seen me.’

‘Don’t worry Hun at least we
know he’s catching a train.’

‘Yeah maybe, but if he’s going
to Scotland for a few days he’s certainly travelling light.’

‘Why Jena surely he had a bag,
it looked as though he had when he nipped out of the back door.’ I
suggested.

‘Oh he had his usual rucksack,
the one that holds his bloody laptop, so unless he’s got clean
boxers and washing gear in his pockets he aint going far.’ Jena
growled.

‘Well he said he wouldn’t be
away long Hun.’

‘Lucy Ross please stop making
excuses for the slippery sod. Let’s get the next part of our plan
in action while I’m in the mood.’ She suppressed a giggle.

Armed with a bottle of wine me
and Jena made our way up to my flat, after grabbing the master key
from the lounge, I turned the key in the lock and we entered the
now infamous bedroom.

‘OMG you categorically were not
joking, what a bloody shambles, he’s disgusting.’ Jena shouted.

As before the room was in total
disarray, I could even say worse if that were possible.

Jena held her arm up to block
me going in any further. ‘First I’ll take photos you never know if
they’ll be needed. My first thought Lucy is the guy who has been
shacking up in this room has never intended to stay; this isn’t the
home of someone who’s in love and waiting to settle down. This is
somewhere to doss and be ready to move on at a moments notice.
Sorry love but that’s how it is.’

I stood silently for a moment
taking in what Jena had said, is she right? I guess only time will
tell…. ‘Shall we crack on and have a rummage.’ I said bluntly. ‘One
thing is for certain he won’t be back tonight.’

‘I’ll take the waste paper
basket, looks to me as though it could be full of interesting
info.’ Jena declared. ‘If it’s ok with you Hun I’ll take photos of
everything relevant.’

‘Good idea honey, I’ll
scrutinize the rest of the room, let,s see what we come up
with.’

I watched Jena up end the waste
paper bin on the bed; I could see she was going to enjoy this. Tim
hadn’t taken any of his washing gear, although I had no idea if he
had more supplies. The case still contained various items of
clothing and the chest of drawers was still empty. I lay on the
floor to see if he’d hidden anything under the bed, just a covering
of dust that made me sneeze. Jena was engrossed in screwed up
pieces of paper and appeared to be sorting them into piles. Not
wanting to interrupt I moved over to the far corner (the place he
always seems to be in my dreams). There was a sheet lying in a heap
in the corner. Picking it up I could see what looked like a shoe
box underneath. I knelt down on the floor to slip the lid off. Wow
shock horror, the box was filled with bank notes. Following Jena’s
lead I took a few close up photos of the contents, replaced the lid
and carried on with my search. I’ll tell Jena when she’s finished
her scrutiny.

‘Any chance of you pouring that
wine Lucy Ross or are you guzzling it by yourself?’ Jena asked
laughing. ‘Wait until you see what I’ve scooped here.’

Pouring two glasses of wine I
carried them over to Jena. ‘I bet your scoop isn’t as big as mine.’
I laughed.

Jena looked up wide eyed and
curious, accepted her glass of wine and took a very large swig of
the contents. ‘So smarty pants show me your scoop.’ She
laughed.

I carried the shoe box over to
her. ‘Flip the lid off that little baby then.’ I grinned.

‘Bloody hell, shit, how much
d’you reckon’s in there?’ Jena exclaimed as she ogled the contents
of the shoe box. ‘Has he robbed a bank?’

‘If only I knew the answer to
that, it has to be something untoward. I mean why hasn’t he banked
it.’

‘Well he’s sure got plenty of
bank accounts; I’ve found statements from five accounts up until
now.’ Jena disclosed.

‘What the hell,s going on with
this guy, I’ve taken photos of all the statements and anything else
I think may be significant.’

Between sips of wine we scanned
all the statements, there appeared to be a large amount of money
involved here. Once again I recalled Tim’s dream of becoming a
millionaire by his fortieth birthday, which I’ve always found
amusing. All of a sudden what we’ve uncovered in this room tonight
is scaring the pants off me.

‘You’re deep in thought Hun,
what’s going through your mind?’ Jena probed.

‘This is all surreal, I
honestly don’t know what to make of it, there is so much money
involved here.’ I said cautiously as I read through some of the
bank statements.

‘I believe everything will be
revealed sooner rather than later, he doesn’t have a clue that
we’ve unearthed his stash.’

‘So what do we do next?’ I ask
anxiously.

‘We’ll sit tight honey and wait
for his next move; we won’t let him out of our sights.’ Jena
replied.

‘You don’t think this lot could
be counterfeit do you?’ I asked anxiously.

‘At this stage Lucy we can’t
rule anything out.’

Chapter 31

Being as Tim was away for the
rest of the week there was little I could do to explore where the
money came from. Yes I could ring the police, although I truthfully
don’t have sufficient grounds to involve anyone at this stage.
There has to be a valid reason why he has this stash of cash and
who am I to say that it’s illegal…As always I give the benefit of
the doubt, nevertheless I’m aware Jena wouldn’t agree with me. Out
of the blue a thought came to mind, when Tim first moved into the
room he paid his rent with cash. After a couple of weeks though he
gave me a monthly cheque, which I have to admit I’ve only banked a
couple. Alarm bells are now ringing and I’ll take the rest of the
cheques to the bank in the morning. Perhaps it’ll be a good idea to
see which of his many bank accounts the cheques were issued from.
To check this out I’ll need to look at the photos on Jena’s phone,
as I don’t fancy sorting through the overfilled waste bin in his
room again. Tim has sent me a couple of messages since he
supposedly left for Scotland (I have to say this as I’m not sure
what to believe any more). He certainly hasn’t had much to say;
basically that he’ll see me at the weekend. With all these thoughts
spinning round like a hamster’s wheel, I head downstairs to find
Jena. I find her in the bar chatting to Archie, who thankfully
seems to at last be free of Jodie. ‘Hi honey can you spare me
five?’

‘Always, what’s up?’ Jena
replies with a frown.

‘I need to look at the photos
you took of the enigma’s bank accounts.’ I ask hoping she won’t ask
why.

‘Actually Lucy I’ve transferred
them onto my laptop, so much easier to read, come up to the lounge
and I’ll print them off for you.’

‘Great, thanks Hun.’ I say with
relief. If she knows I’ve neglected to bank the cheques she’ll be
horror struck.

Jena printed off the five
account copies and handed them to me. ‘Have you had another idea
Lucy?’

‘No love I just thought I’d
check which account he’s been paying his rent from.’ Phew I think
I’ve managed to refrain from telling the entire story. I realise
now I should never be so damned trusting with people, especially
those of an elusive nature.

‘Have you heard any more from
him?’ Jena asked.

‘Only another message saying
he’ll see me at the weekend.’

‘You should have asked him to
send you a postcard from Scotland.’ Jena jibed with a grin.

I know full well she doesn’t
think Tim is anywhere near Scotland. As always though I’m keeping
an open mind, for now anyway….

‘Do you have time for a cuppa,
I can’t wait to hear the latest on Kate’s liaison with Tom.’