A Servant of the Company (3 page)

Hugo was similarly engaged. He had plans to make, and some of them involved the delightful Carol. The stroll back to the Mayfair would give him enough time to sort something out for the coming weeks. He wanted an uncluttered mind and by the time he would get back to the bar in the Mayfair, there might be the odd group of female executives letting their hair down, eager for attentive company. Once they were away from home on Company business they took advantage of the unaccustomed freedom, and Hugo was thankful for it.

Two days and three rejection letters later, Carol rang Hugo to arrange a pick up time outside the hotel. He was there as arranged together with luggage. As she drove into the hotel forecourt she was pleasantly surprised to see that he was handsome and she hadn’t just convinced herself that he was. He smiled and waved as she pulled up alongside the kerb. Waving back she reminded herself she should not be too enthusiastic, welcoming yes, but not gushing.

‘Hello Hugo, hope I haven’t kept you waiting, I can never trust my watch.’ Looking at her wrist, she gently tapped the watch face without seeing it. She was on time to the minute. She released the boot lock so Hugo could load in his luggage. ‘It only takes ten minutes to get to the flat, and then I’ll get you sorted out with a bed and a grand tour of its four rooms.’ She laughed. ‘It won’t be up to the standard you’re used to, but it’s clean and comfortable.’ Ten minutes later, his belongings had been deposited in the spare bedroom and Carol had put the kettle on for coffee. ‘Well that was all very painless,’ she said to herself as she picked up the tray in the kitchen ready to give her paying guest his first sample of her hospitality.

After the coffee was poured and the nibbles offered, Carol decided to lay her cards on the table. ‘You may remember Hugo, at the party I told you of my redundancy situation. Sorry to bring it up again but I think it’s better to sort this out from at the beginning.’ It wasn’t easy for her to do this, she felt almost like a beggar, but before she had time to continue, Hugo interrupted.

‘It was my turn to speak Carol, and you interrupted me,’ he said laughing at her. ‘When I think how kind you have been rescuing me from the dreaded Mayfair, I must really repay that kindness. Am I being too mean if I say five hundred pounds a week? Don’t pull any punches if you think it’s too little. I am not yet reattuned to U.K. currency.’ He leaned forward towards her, his hands together moving towards his face as if in thoughtful prayer.

It was far too much but it would solve her immediate problems. She couldn’t be dishonest and reacted quickly. ‘Hugo, that’s far too much, how about...’ She didn’t get a chance to finish before his hands had reached out and grasped hers.

‘If you knew how much the Mayfair was costing you wouldn’t say that. I think my offer is fair and I would be offended if you declined it.’ His face had a hurt look which immediately made Carol feel guilty.

‘It is really very kind of you Hugo, it will certainly help me out. But if I get fixed up with a job in the next week or so we’ll halve the amount, do you agree?’ Glancing at him, she felt that he would say yes but mean no.

‘Of course I agree, but don’t forget I’m still waiting for my money to come from Hong Kong. It should be through this coming week with luck, but occasionally time and distance don’t make good marriage partners.’ He creased his brow as though to warn Carol that the money might not be as immediate as she had hoped. ‘I have my credit card so I can buy all the things we might need until the bank turns up trumps.’ He was his affable self again which reassured her. ‘By the way, I had an interesting offer in London, similar to the Hong Kong job. The pay is marvellous, but my grapevine is proving more interesting right now. You have to be happy in the job even if the pay is in six figures, don’t you agree?’

‘My view exactly. It was a let off with R.L.G. (1948 Ltd.) That would never have worked even if they had offered me a job.’ She was warming to him even more. His opinions were hers too and it was not often that happened between a man and a woman.

The following morning Carol told Hugo that she had to go the cash dispenser to get some money before continuing her job search and he offered to accompany her. He didn’t like seeing females on their own at cash points, they were too vulnerable. Relating things about thieves targeting people and stealing their cards having first watched the individual key in their security number soon had Carol looking over her shoulder. It was a very bleak picture that he painted of today’s society, and she was pleased to have his company while she got her money.

They didn’t see much of each other over the next week as they both followed their own itineraries. At the weekend they decided to have dinner together in the flat. Carol prepared the meal, set up the dining table and decided that this was to be a candlelit dinner. The wine and brandy that followed put her totally at ease. She had worried that her cooking might not do the meal justice but, with a little help from Marks and Spencer’s things had worked really well and Hugo had been profuse in his praise and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Carol responded and soon they were in each other’s arms. She needed this closeness, this support and when Hugo’s hands moved over her body she responded willingly. That night he moved into her bed.

Each morning he was up before Carol, bringing her coffee and toast in bed. He had told her he liked to keep fit, and after leaving the tray with her, he would put on shorts and trainers and leave the flat for half an hour. Telling her to stay in bed until he returned, he would join her after showering. It was always a very happy Hugo who returned to give Carol a kiss before joining her in bed for the promised half hour. She was pleased she had bought a new bed, if she had kept her old one, the noise from their love making would have been heard throughout the block.

He encouraged her to go out each morning and visit preselected businesses which might be interested in her as a potential employee. Although the response to date had been negative, the support Hugo gave her blunted the edge from the disappointment she had first felt. He was proving to be the asset she had hoped for. One day on her return from job hunting, Hugo told her he had some business to deal with in the City and would not be back until the following day. She would miss him and the support he gave her.

Soon after Hugo had left the flat for his City trip, the telephone rang. Carol answered in her usual cheerful manner but was in shock when the caller finished his first sentence.

‘Yes, it is overdrawn by over two thousand pounds, we did agree an overdraft but not this much. You have of course been withdrawing the maximum amount a day from the cash line, this has added to the problem. I did ring you last week but a man answered the phone and said you were on holiday. It was only when I looked out of my office window yesterday that I saw you crossing the road. You should come in to see me as soon as possible so that you can update me on your plans.’

She stood clutching the telephone, staring at nothing in particular, stunned by the information she had been given. ‘Yes. Yes.’ Her words were barely audible.

‘When should I come in?’

‘Well you have a number of standing order payments to make, and nothing in your account, so I would suggest four o’clock today.’ His manner was now intimidating, or Carol sensed it was. She would have to sit down and think things out.

‘Yes. Four o’clock. I’ll be there.’ She didn’t wait for an answer. The telephone handset was slowly replaced before the tears started to flow. It could only be Hugo. Should she wait and confront him? He may not be back tonight, and if he was, what would happen. In a flash she remembered Ferdy, he would know what to do.

The call was answered by a receptionist who told her that Dr. Grainger was doing house calls but would then be going directly home. She rang his home number hoping to get Sonia but the answer machine had cut in and she couldn’t think of anything to say.

She had felt helpless unemployed, but this was catastrophic. Who was this man who she had let into her home and her bed and who might have plundered her bank account? Questions needed answers. She would go to the bank first and then visit Sonia and Ferdy.

It was an embarrassing meeting, she had to tell the Bank Manager the whole story and he had been very understanding. He had even offered to increase her overdraft to cover the losses and the current month’s outstanding orders, one of which was her mortgage repayment. However he did warn her that she might find herself without a flat if payments were not maintained. Thanking him for his understanding she let him know that she had no intention of sitting back and letting that happen.

Ferdy answered the door to see a white faced Carol standing in front of him. ‘Come in Carol, my God you look as though you have seen a ghost. I’ll tell Sonia you’re here.’ He turned to call his wife, but Carol held his arm.

‘It’s you I want to see,’ she mumbled before bursting into tears.

What on earth could be wrong, Carol was such a sensible girl. ‘Don’t tell me she’s pregnant,’ he thought as he led her into the kitchen. ‘Come on, let’s have a drink and you can tell me all about it.’ She finally stopped shaking and told Ferdy and Sonia who had now joined them, the whole story as she knew it.

‘I’ve never seen him before in my life, I thought you brought him as a guest.’ He was now very concerned for her safety. ‘Two things we must do straight away, first inform the Police and then change the lock on your door. You think he might be away until tomorrow? Well that will give me a chance to get a locksmith for you.’ He hated seeing her in this state and hated still more the man who had treated her in such an appalling way. ‘Wait a minute, the photographs. I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet. Hang on, I’ll get the camera.’

‘I can’t believe it, both of you are in three of these pictures and he has turned his back on the camera each time. He’s the only person not facing it, if you ask me it was deliberate. There you see.’ He passed the camera to let Sonia and Carol see for themselves. ‘Not one other person has turned away, and there,’ he pointed, ‘his body is facing forwards and he has deliberately turned away. He obviously didn’t want to go on record. That’s very suspicious behaviour. There’s nothing to show the Police to identity him.’

The feeling of despair hadn’t left Carol, but she was pleased she had been able to share her worries with good friends who were a great comfort to her. The plan of action was reassuring even if she hated imposing on their time.

Carol and Sonia went together to report the problem to the Police and were advised that C.I.D. detectives would visit the flat the following morning and take fingerprints. In the meantime a mobile patrol car would monitor the flat each time it passed.

The flat was just as Carol had left it, there was no sign of Hugo having returned. She felt ashamed that she had let him share her bedroom and her body after such a short time. Fortunately Sonia was not a person who either passed judgement on people, nor was the type who fed on others’ misfortunes only to embellish the information and create stories to amuse others. She was a true friend, and Carol was pleased that she had accompanied her back to the flat.

‘Have you checked his things Carol?’ The bedroom door was half open and Sonia peered in. ‘He might have left some incriminating evidence, let’s check.’ She walked into the bedroom followed by Carol.

‘I didn’t think about checking or anything, I was just so upset. That’s his suitcase.’ She pointed to the corner of the room. ‘He keeps his things in there. Only his dirty washing is left out.’ She was beginning to absorb some of Sonia’s investigative skills and headed for the suitcase. She tried to open it but it was locked. ‘Bloody typical. He must have something in there he doesn’t want me to see. What do you think, should we break it open?’

‘Perhaps that might not be a good idea, he could always say that things had been planted in there. Far better for the Police to ask him to open it in their presence.’ Sonia was pleased with herself, this would be the way it would be done in a crime novel or a film. ‘Did he take his toilet things with him, you know, razor, toothbrush, those sorts of things?’

‘I, I haven’t checked.’ She was losing control again, becoming helpless in front of her friend. She scurried off to the bathroom determined to overcome her lack of self control. ‘No, he’s taken everything,’ she called through to the bedroom where Sonia was still looking for clues.

She rejoined her friend in the bedroom, the scene of her lovemaking with Hugo.  ‘There’s not much else we can do until tomorrow. ‘I can’t thank you both enough, I feel I have burdened you through my own stupidity. Now, you must get back to that husband of yours, you have done too much for me already. Do thank Ferdy for me, You have a real gem there.’ Hugging her friend, she then ushered her towards the door. The first sign of anyone trying the door, I’ll be dialling 999 from the bedroom. I won’t go near the front door. Now off you go, I’ll speak to you tomorrow and let you know which prison he is in.’

Once Sonia had left, there were things she had to do. The first was to change the bedding. She would not be able to sleep on the sheets and pillows Hugo had used. Next she cleaned the bathroom thoroughly to expunge any remnant of the dreaded Hugo. She would leave the rest of the house just in case finger prints were needed. The Police could hardly prosecute someone who might have given a false name, had left no photograph to compare with their rogues gallery. Finger prints might be the only clue.

By 10.30 p.m. she was both physically and mentally exhausted and had settled down on the sofa with a hot drink when she heard the front door open. She froze, terror stricken. What should she do, scream, throw things at him? She calmed herself ready for the confrontation.