Devil in Disguise (50 page)

‘Keep
away from my sons!’ shouted Molly, with all the primal ferocity she could
muster. ‘You can’t get away with this! Do you really think you can expel me
from my own family? Run me out of town?’

‘Don’t
be so dramatic!’ said Lilia, striking a mocking pose. ‘I envisage a very
agreeable and modern solution. Web cams are marvellous, these days.’

‘Bitch!’
cried Molly.

‘When
I’m not touring as Mia Delvard, I will remain in the marital home to add the
feminine touch. I will happily feed your children, play with them and put them
to bed at night and, of course, see to Rupert’s masculine needs. It is the
perfect arrangement, don’t you think? Our swap-over is complete. Don’t forget
to pay your TV licence when you get to Long Buckby, will you? And you might as
well put yourself down on the electoral register as Lilia Delvard. That way you
can claim my widow’s pension. It only seems fair. I’m going to be using your
bank account from now on, after all.’

‘I
thought you were my friend, my mentor, but you’re nothing of the kind. You’re a
monster!’ said Molly, suddenly grasping Lilia’s utter resolve. ‘You’re the
devil!’

‘The
devil? Yes, maybe I am. But I am the devil in disguise, ‘said Lilia, looking
decidedly pleased with herself.

Simon’s phone chirped to
announce the arrival of a text message. It was from Molly.

I need to see you URGENTLY.

At once
he was filled with worry. He had been sensing for some time that a crisis was
approaching. Was this it? He called her at once. ‘Molls? Are you all right?’

‘No,’
sobbed Molly.

‘Where
are you?’ He could hear the sound of a car engine running.

‘I’m
driving.’

‘What’s
happened?’

‘I’m
going to lose everything! Lilia’s going to take it from me. What am I going to
do?’ Molly was hysterical, and Simon could hear angry car horns and screeching
brakes.

‘Pull
off the road, Molly, before you kill yourself. Where are you?’ He tried to
sound calm but firm.

‘I
don’t know — I don’t know. I just got into my car and went.’

‘Is
there a road sign or name? A postcode?’

‘I’m in
SE4. Breakspears Road,’ said Molly, after a pause. ‘Oh, my God. I’m just along
from Goldsmiths.’

‘Stop
the car and wait for me. I know where you mean. I’ll be there in half an hour.’

In
fact, it took him forty minutes to get there from Camden Town, but Simon
eventually jumped out of the minicab and into the passenger seat of Molly’s
car. She had calmed down now and was listening to a CD of the Priests singing
‘Ave Maria’.

They
hugged each other.

‘Oh, my
God,’ said Molly, desolate now. ‘What a mess everything is. I’ve been such a
fool. I’ve walked blindly into her trap and now there’s no way out.’

‘Whatever
you have to say, hear me out first. You have to get Lilia out of your house.
She is not who you think she is. She’s a con merchant. She never was a
successful cabaret singer. All her showbiz stories are just lies. She’s a
pathetic fantasist who’s no more a faded star than my sofa cushions.’

Molly
closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

‘I went
to Kit-Kat Cottage. She’s fabricated her entire career. I don’t think a word of
it is true.’

Molly
said slowly, ‘I think I’ve always known that. At first I believed her, but
gradually, over the years, I’ve guessed that she made most of it up. Her
stories became more and more outlandish. And then, at the Ivor Novellos, I
took her to meet her old pal Julie Andrews, who didn’t know her from the
waitress. I guessed then she’d embroidered her past but I made excuses for her
because of the trauma of her childhood and what she suffered. But now it’s gone
too far.’

‘Throw
her out!’ declared Simon. ‘Right away! You don’t need that old vampire — you’ve
got everything you need on your own.’

Molly
gave him a stricken look. ‘That’s just the thing. I can’t throw her out. It’s
too late.’

‘What’s
happened?’ said Simon, placing his hands on Molly’s shoulders and giving her an
encouraging shake. ‘Why are you in such a state?’

‘She’s
ordered me to leave. She wants everything for herself —my career, my husband,
my house, even my children. I’m supposed to resume her old life in her cottage
in Long Buckby in some kind of sick swap. I have one last Christmas in my home,
and then I must go.’

Simon
was shocked. ‘But that’s crazy! She’s in her eighties —what makes her think she
can possibly have your career? Not to mention the idea that Rupert might find
her in the slightest bit attractive. You’re right, Molly, she’s gone mad. Mad
and dangerous, from the sound of it. She should be sectioned.’

Molly
said nothing but stared at her steering-wheel. At last she muttered, ‘No. I
have to do as she says.’

‘Why?
She’s a nutter. Throw her out. Call the police and have her removed.’

Molly
sighed again. ‘There’s something you don’t understand. She has a hold over me
because of something I did. Something you don’t know about.’

‘What
do you mean?’

‘Do you
remember that night you were beaten up on the South Bank?’

‘Of
course. I followed that dream under the bridge and it all turned nasty, but you
scared him off after he stole my cash and my St Christopher. What of it?’

Molly
looked at him with frightened eyes and said, in a stumbling voice, ‘Well … it
wasn’t just a case of pulling him off you and him running away. He was sitting
on you, beating you viciously, he was about to kill you and so… so…’

Simon
felt a chill crawl over him. ‘So what, Molly?’

When
she spoke, it was in low, quiet voice. ‘There were some bits of rubble under
the bridge. I picked up a brick, ran at him and hit him with all my strength. I
was terrified, panicking, sure he was going to kill you. All I knew was that I
had to make him stop, but I must have hit him very hard, or at some weak spot on
his skull because he got up, and it looked like there was jammy rice pudding
running down his face. It was so unreal, I could hardly believe it was
happening, but as I watched he staggered over to the water and fell in. Within
a few moments, he’d vanished under the surface. I was in shock. I didn’t know
what to do so I sat there crying and shaking until I managed to gather my wits.
Then I dropped the brick into the river and went to your side. You looked
terrible and I thought you were dead but suddenly you began to gurgle and sat
up. I got you home somehow and the next day, once we’d sobered up, we spent the
afternoon in A and E, where you were eventually patched up. That’s what really
happened that night. I know I should have gone to the police and explained how
it happened, how I didn’t mean him to die, but I was too much of a coward. I
thought they’d never believe me, and I’d be locked away for the rest of my
life.’ Molly covered her face with her hands. ‘So I shut it away inside my head
and tried and tried to forget all about it. But it’s haunted me ever since!’

‘You
saved my life. You never told me.’ Simon touched his forehead. ‘I still bear
the scars. But why are you telling me now?’

Molly
looked desperate. ‘Lilia knows. She gave me a pill the night I arrived there,
after you and Daniel … that night. She knows what I did, and this morning she
confronted me with it. I was so shocked and upset, I blabbed out what I’ve just
told you. She was recording it all, of course. If I don’t do as she says, she’s
going to the police.’

‘Dear
old-fashioned blackmail,’ said Simon, with a hollow laugh. ‘Bette Davis would
bite your hand off for this role. Can we buy her off?’

Molly
shook her head. ‘She doesn’t want money. She wants nothing less than my life,
to shut me away like the man in the iron mask.’

‘No,’
said Simon decisively. ‘She can’t get away with this.’

‘There’s
nothing I can do,’ said Molly. ‘Talking about it now, I don’t understand how I
let it happen. I had no idea she was so dangerous.’

Simon
clenched his fists with rage. ‘You felt sorry for her. For people like Lilia
compassion is a sign of weakness. A tool they use to their evil advantage.’
Simon thought hard, plans and schemes whirling about his now clear,
free-thinking head. ‘Right. We have to be business-like about this. We have two
things to achieve. The first is to persuade Lilia to go away. The second is to
make sure she doesn’t have that recording or you’ll never be able to rest easy.’

‘How on
earth are we going to do that?’ Molly turned huge, tear-filled eyes on him.
‘She’s holding all the cards. The only reason I dared to come out and see you
is because she’s convinced I won’t tell another soul about all this.’

‘Yes,’
Simon said thoughtfully. He was acutely aware that his dearest friend was on the
point of meltdown. ‘She really believes you’re still the meek, submissive Molly
who did everything she wanted for all those years. That can work to our
advantage.’ He grasped her hands and looked her straight in the face. ‘My
darling Molly, I’m so much in your debt it’s hard to know where to begin.

Now I
know I owe you my very life. Relax. You can be sure I won’t let that vile old
woman succeed in robbing you of everything you care about.’

‘But
how can we stop her?’

‘I
don’t know yet. But I’m sure she has a weakness, something we can exploit. I
may need to go back to Kit-Kat Cottage and see what else I can find. Lilia is
hiding something, I’m sure of it. I will stop her, though, I promise. The
important thing is that you go home and don’t arouse her suspicions. Make her
think you’ve realised you have to obey her orders. Don’t let her suspect that
you’ve told me.’

‘I
won’t. I’m sure she believes I’d be far too frightened of risking all this
coming out. At the very least, she would tell Rupert what I did.’

‘Can’t
Rupert help us? Can we confide in him? He loves you, doesn’t he?’

‘He
did.’ Molly looked close to tears again. ‘But I daren’t say anything to him.
Lilia has poisoned his mind against me so effectively that I’m sure if he ever
learned about what I did, it would destroy our marriage for good. She’s been so
fiendish at laying the groundwork that I’ll condemn myself out of my own mouth
no matter what I say. I can’t believe I’ve let Lilia do this —we used to be so.
strong! And now he thinks I’m capable of anything’

Simon
gave her a sympathetic look. ‘Don’t worry, Molly. You’ll get it all back — your
home, your life, and your husband. I promise. I’ll use the time between now and
Christmas to work out what must be done.’

‘You’re
my only hope,’ said Molly.

‘I won’t
let you down.’

She
began to sob quietly. ‘Thank you, Simon, thank you.’

‘Don’t
be silly. It’s the least I can do. It’ll be fun spoiling that evil old trout’s
scheme.’ He smiled at her.

‘I’m
sorry, bringing all this trouble to you when you have your own problems… your
health…’

‘Don’t
be silly — I’m getting rosier-cheeked by the day. My liver’s making a
spectacular comeback.’

‘But
I’m scared. Lilia’s so formidable.’

‘My
dear girl, so am I. But true bravery comes naturally to the homosexual. Think
about it: Stonewall, civil rights, anal sex. Now, before we part it’s important
that you tell me everything you can remember about your time with Lilia,
starting at the very beginning…’