Deceit of Angels (48 page)

Margaret
couldn’t hide her horror.  “The poor girl.  If only I’d known the truth.”

Jason
nodded.  “And she needs our love, support and protection now.  Her ex-husband
is still threatening her even though they’re divorced.  He wants access to the
baby if it’s his.”

“Then
after the birth, you must have a test.”

He
groaned.  “That was something I wanted to avoid.  I was going to take on the
child as mine.  He was going to have my name.”

“It
seems you have no choice now.  At least a test will make it certain who the
father is.”

“But
if it’s his, then he’ll apply for access and Anna’s life will become
intolerable.”

“We’ll
have to face that problem when it comes.  But one thing’s for sure, he’s doing
it to cause trouble for you too.” 

“Me?”

“Oh,
yes.  I think you’re his target not Anna.  His jealousy of you has warped his
mind.”  She patted his knee.  “If this had been two hundred years ago it would
have been pistols at dawn.  But in the twentieth century it comes down to a DNA
test.  That’s progress for you.  But however you look at it, you’re in a deadly
duel with this man.”

“Dear
Lord, I hope you’re wrong!”

“Well,
if it comes to a fight in a courtroom, you’ve got a good solicitor.”

Jason
smiled and his respect for his elderly mother soared.  She was a powerful force
at seventy, goodness knows what she must have been like at forty.  Anna
appeared and the look on her face showed her apprehension.  Jason took her hand
and drew her down on the couch with him. 

Margaret
stood and came to sit next to her.  “My dear, I’ll tell John and his family
that no strangers must enter these premises without a prior appointment.  Your
ex-husband will not get through the doors of the Grange I promise you.”

Anna
leaned against Jason’s shoulder and closed her eyes with relief.

“Thank
you, Margaret.  But I should have told you at Christmas when I found out I was
pregnant.”  She looked at Jason and grinned.  “Me and my secrets!” 

Nigel’s phone
call came unexpectedly one scorching hot afternoon.  Ben had opened all the
windows and doors to allow any welcome draught of cool air to circulate round
the house.  Mrs Wilby had made her special lemonade and Hollie had been given
the task of supplying it to anyone who needed it.  Even the ice cold Natalie
seemed to be melting under the heat. 

Jason
looked at his watch.  “I think we’ll call it a day.  It’s far too hot to work.”

Natalie
turned in her seat, her blouse damp between the shoulders.  “It is hot, isn’t
it!  I wouldn’t mind going if it’s OK with you.”

Jason
smiled.  “Get yourself off.”

After
she had gone, he decided to phone Anna. 

She
answered with a soft laugh.  “I hoped you’d phone too.  I’ve had a call from
Chris.  He went gliding this afternoon and said he thoroughly enjoyed being up
in the blue sky.  How’s Martyn doing?”

“Graham
is very impressed with him.  He’s become an asset to the company and giving
Graham a run for his money telling him all the new economic theories he’s
learnt at uni.”

“It
seems strange that he’s sleeping in my old bedroom.”

“He’s
won Mrs Wilby’s heart and enjoys helping Ben with the cars.  Hollie adores him
and keeps reminding him that they will be stepbrother and sister.”

“Well,
don’t indulge him too much.”

Jason
chuckled.  “I shall be there tomorrow for dinner as usual and this weekend,
we’ll be descending on you for our summer visit.”

“I
can’t wait to see everyone.  I can’t believe it’s eight months since I last saw
Ben and Mrs Wilby.  Do you think they’ll notice a difference in my appearance?”

“Just
a bit.  They’ve bought something for the baby.”

“Oh,
Jason.  That’s so kind.  I’ll be seeing the doctor next week and I’ll find out
for definite if I can stay here for the birth or I must go into hospital.  Will
you come with me?  He’s sure to be agreeable if you’re sitting there working
your charms on him.”

“Of
course I’ll come but I don’t think my charms work on Colin.”

She
chuckled.  “I’m in the rose garden at the moment and it’s lovely and cool.”

“Wish
I was with you, sweetheart.”

“We’ll
see each other tomorrow.”

“Wonderful!
 There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Goodness,
that sounds intriguing.  Can’t wait.”

After
speaking to Anna, Jason sat quietly, looking around his office.  He had lived
in this house since he and Kiera had married and that was over eleven years
ago.  Jason shook himself from his reflections.  That was the past and now he
had someone else to think about and another child to care for.  His life was
changing and soon he would have quite an extended family.  He had a plan but
had kept it to himself until he could discuss it with Anna.

The
telephone rang and it was Nigel.  He seemed in a jovial mood and asked if Jason
could meet him for a drink, with it being such a hot day.  Jason agreed
wholeheartedly.

“I’ve actually
got you here under false pretences,” said Nigel, taking a gulp of lager.

“Suits
me on a day like today.”   

Nigel
leaned forward, keeping his voice low.  “Remember our discussion about how
Deborah knew about Anna’s circumstances?”  Jason nodded.  “I think I might have
found the person who’s been passing information from my office to Deborah.”

Jason
felt intrigued.  “Go on, then.  Tell me!”

“My
secretary, Maureen, has been with me for years and I trust her implicitly.  I
mentioned my concerns to her and she said that she had seen one employee in the
general office, pop a computer disk into her handbag.  Of course, that meant
nothing since the disk could have belonged to the employee and contained
personal information, bank accounts and such stuff.  But I thought it worth
investigating, so I had to put my trust in Maureen more than usual by asking
her to go into the aforesaid handbag when the employee was out of the office
and find out what was on the disk.”

“I
take it you found what you wanted?”

Nigel
nodded.  “Yes I did.  The disk contained confidential information about you and
various other clients.

 “Well
done!”

Nigel
smiled smugly.  “My secretary deleted everything on the disk and then put it
back so that the employee wouldn’t suspect.  I also checked into the suspect’s
background and found some interesting information.  Now, let’s go back to my
office and we’ll confront her together.  If she admits to it then I think Miss
Gilbert-Hines is going to be in for one hell of a shock.”  Their drink finished
they made their way back to Nigel’s office and once there, he picked up the
phone and when answered he said, “Yes, could you send her in now.  And take any
calls, will you?”

There
was a gentle knock on the door and Nigel called ‘come in’.  A young girl
entered, with mousy brown hair and grey-blue eyes.  She seemed very timid and
Jason frowned with misgivings about this ‘suspect’.  Surely this reticent, shy
little dormouse of a creature couldn’t possibly be an informer?  Nigel asked
her to sit down.  And she did, taking off her spectacles and wiping them
nervously on her sleeve.

“Have
I done something wrong, Mr Barnes?”  She had an American accent but it was
quiet and soft.

Nigel
didn’t answer her question.  “You’ve been working here, what, twelve months?”

“Yes,
Just over twelve months.  And I’ve been very happy…”

“And
before you came to work for me, you worked for a company in New York?”

“Yes…yes
I did…as a secretary.” She looked at Jason and smiled.

Nigel
narrowed his eyes.  “Are you sure that was your last employment, Ellen?”

She
seemed taken aback at his question.  “Of course.”

“I
believe your last employment was with Deborah Gilbert-Hines.”

“No,
it was not.”

Nigel
sat back in his chair.  “I know that you came to England to work for Miss
Gilbert-Hines.”

She
gave a bitter laugh.  “Actually, I came to England to get married.  But it only
lasted a few months.  He left me for another woman.”

“Oh,
yes.  You might still call yourself Ellen Hoffman and many women still use
their maiden names at work.  However, you married Peter Shelby in December 1994
at Reading Register Office.”

Jason
stared at her.  Was this Peter’s wife?

Ellen
looked uncomfortable.  “Yes, but as I said, it didn’t last.”

“And
your husband turned out to be a good friend of Miss Gilbert-Hines and he found
the job for you in her company?”  She nodded.  “Why did you leave her
employment?”

“I
wasn’t happy.”

“Why
did you omit it from your CV?”

“There
didn’t seem any point in mentioning it.  Like my marriage, the job only lasted
a few months.”

“I
don’t think so.  I’ve had someone watching you and your husband.  And it seems
you still live under the same roof.”  She remained quiet.  “And you’ve also
been discovered copying confidential files.”  His expression started to show
anger that Jason had never seen.  “Have you been passing information on, Mrs
Shelby?  Have you been divulging confidential facts about my clients?”

“No…No,
I haven’t!”

“I
think you have.  And that’s a criminal offence.  You could go to prison.”

Tears
welled up in her eyes.  She turned to Jason.  “Are you a police officer?”

Jason
smiled and shook his head.  “No, I’m not.  But I think it would be in your best
interests to tell Mr Barnes the truth.”

His
smile did it and Ellen feeling totally disarmed, began to cry.

The
next thirty minutes consisted of a very blubbery confession as Ellen Shelby
admitted she had been completely controlled by her husband and intimidated by
Deborah.  And when they had ‘persuaded’ her to take the job with Barnes,
Atherton and Gill in order to pass on information, she had done it
reluctantly.  She was besotted with her much older and worldly-wise husband and
his threats to leave her again, were enough to make her comply with his wishes.

At
the end of her narrative, Nigel sighed.  “I won’t be pressing charges but I
suggest you go and see Miss Gilbert-Hines immediately and tell her you quit.” 
He gave a slow smile.  “Oh yes, and you’re also fired from this company too!”

She
left the office dejected.

Jason
couldn’t help laughing.  “God, you can be evil when you want to!”

Nigel
picked up the phone.  “I haven’t finished yet.”  He dialled a number and asked
to be put through to Deborah.

The
next few minutes were a sheer delight to Jason as he listened to Nigel calmly
telling her that she should expect Ellen Shelby on her doorstep very soon and
he was also contemplating calling the police and having her arrested with dire
consequences for Deborah.

At
the conclusion of the conversation, Jason shook his head in disbelief.  “And I
thought I worked in a dog-eat-dog world!”

Nigel
gave a grin.  “Oh, we’re just the same.  It’s just that we do it with a little
more charm than you.”

Jason
had a thought.  “But how did you know that Ellen had worked for Deborah?”

“I
didn’t.  I just took an educated guess.  It just seemed logical when I
discovered that she had married Peter Shelby.  I knew that Shelby and Deborah
were old friends.”

“And
the fact Ellen and Peter were still living as man and wife?  Did you really
have them watched?”

“No,
but I figured that Shelby would want to keep an eye on her.”

Jason
sighed.  “So that was the young woman Peter abandoned to be with my wife?”

“I’m
afraid so.  However, it was after Shelby left Kiera and went back to Ellen that
Deborah persuaded her to come and work for me and indulge in a bit of spying.”

“She
can be so manipulative.  She’s buying up shares in my company and I’m sure
she’s behind the offer from her father.”

“No
doubt.  She’s like a parasite.  Destroys everyone she meets.”

“But
what would Shelby get out of it?”

“Oh,
Deborah would have offered him something.  If your company did accept the deal
from Matthew Gilbert, I doubt you and Graham would have been directors for
long.  Your contracts would have been terminated and perhaps Shelby would have
sat at your desk.”

Jason
shuddered at the very idea.  But then another thought occurred to him.  “My
mother had an anonymous phone call telling her that Anna might not be expecting
my child.  I wonder if that was Deborah?”

“More
than likely.  Although Deborah seems to get others to do her dirty work for
her.  Chances are it was that lonely soul who was persuaded to do it.”