Games Lovers Play (19 page)

They stood rooted to the spot as they watched the cars get nearer and nearer. Connie closed her eyes, unable to watch, quietly praying. ‘Please don't let Sam crash!'

She heard the sound of an engine change and opened her eyes to see Sam suddenly forge ahead of the other two, leaving them to make the corner as best they could. All three made it safely, but it was a very close thing. Barton's wing scraped the other car as they both rounded the bend, but the other driver managed to keep control of his vehicle, and they soon were out of sight.

Connie let go of Tom's arm. ‘Bloody hell!' she muttered. ‘I'll be a basket case before this race is over.'

He rubbed his arm. ‘Do me a favour, girl; hang on to something else next time, will you?'

She immediately apologized.

‘Here,' he said, handing her a cigarette, ‘I think we both need one of these.'

The race wasn't without incident, and several cars came to grief. One driver was taken away by ambulance and some cars were badly damaged, but Sam came second, with Jake Barton in third place.

As they stood on the rostrum, Sam turned to Jake and held out his hand. ‘Congratulations,' he said. ‘That was a great race.'

Jake looked at the outstretched hand and then looked at Sam with an insolent grin. ‘You were lucky this time, Knight. But next time I'll beat you, see if I don't!' He then walked away.

Sam just shook his head. Well, at least he'd tried, he thought, but it was a complete waste of time trying to appeal to Jake's good nature – because the man didn't have one!

That evening, the four of them went out to dinner to celebrate, before driving home. Sam was tired but elated. He'd done well in the race, and he now had a contract to build an engine for another racing driver in a higher class. His first commission – and he was thrilled.

‘This is the start I needed, Connie love. Once this engine has been built, and raced, it will prove my skills and should be the start of a lucrative business. Word of mouth is the best recommendation, and this chap had been told about me by another driver, whose engine I'd tuned.' He kissed her. ‘We're on our way, sweetheart!'

Connie was thrilled for him and related the happy news to her father when she returned home.

He too was delighted. ‘The boy seems to be doing really well, love. I'm happy for him. When I talked to him at that race meeting I thought he had his head screwed on … and I liked him.'

Madge, who had been eavesdropping, chimed in. ‘Perhaps then he'll make an honest woman of you!' she said in her usual blunt fashion. ‘I don't agree with you staying at his place when you're not even engaged. It's not decent!'

‘What I do, Nan, is none of your business, and I can do without your snide remarks, thank you!'

As Madge opened her mouth to argue, George intervened. ‘If Dorothy and I as Connie's parents have no objections, then your remarks are out of place and unwelcome, Mother.'

The old girl huffed and puffed but said nothing further. But her look of disgust at the whole thing was enough to show her feelings.

Connie kissed her mother and father goodnight, ignored her grandmother and went to bed. But the remarks niggled at her. She wanted to marry Sam Knight more than anything, and she wondered just how long she'd have to wait until he did propose to her. She hoped it would be sooner rather than later; she couldn't wait to move away from such a bitter old woman who seemed to make it her life's ambition to be disagreeable.

On Monday morning at the store there was to be a meeting with heads of department in the managing director's office. It was Connie's first since becoming head of haberdashery, and she was nervous. Collecting the necessary papers, she made her way to the lift. She and John Baker arrived together. Ignoring him, she pressed the button and waited.

Standing a little behind her, John looked her up and down. He knew every curve of her body, and as he studied her carefully he felt the desire rising within him. She'd always had this affect on him from the first moment he saw her, and even now, despite their differences, he still wanted her. His new girl was all right, she was a willing participant in their love-making, but she didn't have the fire that Connie had, and now, standing so close to her, it was driving him crazy.

The lift arrived, and the doors opened and they stepped inside. John leaned across her and pressed the button for the next floor, brushing her arms as he did so, which only inflamed him more.

‘Good luck this morning, Connie,' he said. ‘Don't be nervous, you'll be just fine.'

The sudden and unexpected kindness threw her. She smiled at him. ‘Thank you.' It was just what she needed at that moment, and when she stepped out of the lift, she walked with an air of assurance.

The meeting went well. The overall takings of the store were up on the previous month, and the managing director noted that this was especially noticeable in haberdashery ever since Miss Morgan had taken over the buying.

‘Good work, young lady. Keep it up!' He nodded in Connie's direction. She was elated.

Several people came down in the lift with Connie, but John Baker had taken the stairs rather than wait, so as Connie arrived at her counter, he walked over.

‘Well done, Connie. I told you you'd be fine. Congratulations!' He walked away as Connie's friend Betty ambled over.

She was frowning and asked, ‘What the hell did he want? Don't tell me he's sniffing around you again!'

To her surprise Connie found herself defending him. ‘No, he wasn't. The MD complimented me on the increase in sales since I took over and he was congratulating me, that's all.'

‘Yeah! That's the first move. You watch your step. As far as you're concerned he's like a dog after a bitch on heat!'

She stomped away before Connie could answer. But as Connie arranged a display she thought about her friend's remarks. She didn't think that was John's intention, but whatever it was, she was only too grateful. He had given her a boost just when she needed it and helped her over the hurdle of her first meeting with the big boss.

Baker stood across the way watching Connie. She'd matured since they had parted. Today in the meeting she'd held her own when producing her figures and suggestions and he'd been proud of her. It just seemed a pity, now that he was free, that they were no longer together, and he began to wonder if he could change that. He'd have to give it some thought.

Kay Baker was enjoying her freedom. She was happy with her job, which brought her in some mad money, as she called it – and she had an ardent lover. Edward was thoughtful and considerate in bed, and although John had been more than proficient between the sheets, with Edward she felt cosseted and loved. Now her divorce was complete, they were able to meet openly, and Kay had accompanied him to many official dinners. She knew that people were wondering if she was the woman that, after so long, Edward would choose as his wife. Kay let herself imagine such a role from time to time, but she was enjoying being single after so many years and as yet wasn't prepared to lose that position.

Edward, however, had decided that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and was working to that end, despite the problems he was having at work. His position within the Southampton Council was becoming untenable since the debacle over the building which had to be destroyed, and although no blame could be laid at his feet, several of the committee members had turned hostile towards his position and had insisted on an internal enquiry.

When he told Kay about this, she was outraged. ‘They can't possibly think you had anything to do with it. Haven't the police had any results from their enquiries?'

‘I'm afraid not. The man they want to question has gone to ground and as yet they've been unable to trace him.'

‘That committee is full of old codgers!'

He laughed. ‘What a delightful old-fashioned phrase. I can understand them in as far as the cost is concerned, but to be honest I did expect them to be more supportive. But there you are. They needed a whipping boy, and I was it.'

‘They were worried the blame would be pointed in their direction, that's why.'

He pulled her closer. ‘I'm really touched, Kay darling, that you are so defensive on my part.'

‘Of course I am! I care about you.'

He tilted her chin and looked into her eyes, eyes that were bright with anger. ‘It's been a very long time since anyone said that to me. How much
do
you care, Kay?'

‘A very great deal,' she said softly and kissed him.

‘Enough to make our relationship permanent?'

She gazed lovingly at him. Yes, nothing would please her more than to be Mrs Edward Harrington, but not just yet. It was too soon. She enjoyed not having to answer to a man, to be able to please herself. To be her own woman was so very good.

‘I do care for you, Edward, and at some time in the future, ask me again, but I'm not ready just yet.'

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. ‘I do understand, darling. You've only just attained your freedom, which must be a great feeling, but I do love you. Try not to make me wait too long.'

It was by sheer chance that the police found the man they'd been looking for, who was the missing link in the fraud involving the building materials for Edward's new offices. Stan Bates had sneaked back to his home in Southampton one night and had been spotted by a sharp-eyed constable, who, recognizing him from the wanted board in the police station, had stopped him. The man tried to bluff his way out of being arrested but was eventually taken to the station to be questioned.

Several hours later, he eventually confessed and offered up the names of Gerry Cooper and Jake Barton as his associates in the crime. Both men were arrested, taken to the station and put in separate cells to wait until they were called to an interview room for questioning.

Jake Barton walked up and down the small room, furious at being apprehended. He guessed that the man at the store had been caught because he knew that Gerry would have kept quiet. He had too much to lose. He already had a record so certainly wouldn't have been to the police. There was no other explanation.

When Gerry was questioned by the detective in charge of the case, he denied all knowledge of any wrongdoing, saying he was just the messenger, taking the invoice for goods to the supplier and collecting them for delivery. He wasn't to know there was any discrepancy.

The detective gave a wry smile. ‘You're wasting your breath,' he said. ‘Your mate from the suppliers has coughed the lot, so don't waste my time, sunshine. I've got you by the short and curlies! You both got forty per cent of the profit and Barton twenty.'

Cooper realized he was wasting his time arguing and gave a shrug.

Looking puzzled, the detective asked, ‘Why did Barton get paid?'

‘He was Mr Harrington's driver and used to go to all the building sites with him. He was to watch him closely in case he cottoned on to what was happening and could warn us.'

The policeman glared at Gerry. ‘Do you realize that had this fraud not been discovered, the building would not have been safe? Lives were put at risk because of your greed. The judge won't look kindly on that.' He paused. ‘Still, it won't be the first time you've been inside, will it?'

Gerry didn't answer.

Jake Barton sat at the table in the interview room and stared belligerently at the detective, who stared back at him without blinking.

‘Well, Barton, you were always an accident waiting to happen! You make a habit of putting lives at risk on the racetrack, so being part of a dodgy build would have seemed small fry to you, no doubt.'

‘Don't know what you're talking about!' Jake snapped.

‘No, of course you don't. You had no idea that Stan Bates and Gerry Cooper were swapping cheaper inferior materials to give to the builders of the council offices and creaming the profit off the top, sharing it between the three of you.'

Barton's expression didn't change. ‘I never had anything to do with the building materials. I was Mr Harrington's driver, that's all.'

‘That's very true. You went to all the building sites with him, didn't you?'

‘That's right.'

‘By so doing, you could monitor his movements and would be on the spot had he noticed any discrepancies.'

Barton's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

‘Had he done so, you were in the position to warn your partners in crime and they could have scarpered! Leaving you in the clear, because you were just a mouthpiece in this whole sad episode. No one would have tied you in as you had nothing to do with the buying of the materials. Neat! Very neat.'

Jake smirked. ‘Prove it!'

Detective Inspector Glover sat back in the chair and grinned. ‘Oh, I can … without a doubt. Your two mates have coughed to the lot, and both have implicated you, Barton.'

Jake paled but remained calm. ‘It's their word against mine!'

‘True. It will be up to the judge and jury to decide who they believe. But remember, Barton, your reputation is hardly lily white. You were banned from the racetrack for six months due to your dangerous driving, putting others at risk. That won't go down well, and the prosecutor will certainly bring it up, to show what sort of a character you are!'

Jake lost his cool. ‘This is a bloody fit-up!'

DI Glover laughed. ‘Don't try and pull that old chestnut, Barton. You were given twenty per cent of the profit for being the lookout!'

There was silence in the room. Jake Barton's mind was working away, going over everything and wondering if he had any chance of getting away with his part. Well, he wasn't going to admit to anything and would take his chances by denying everything.

‘I have no idea what you're talking about,' he said.