Francesca, page 31
They both left in silence.
I sent Elle to bed for a lie-down. We didn’t discuss what had happened, but I thought she must be mentally exhausted and needed to rest. I got Bobby something to eat, and soon, he was playing happily with Susie in the garden.
After awhile, I went to see Julie. Ralph was still at her bedside. I poked my head around the door and saw her. She looked pale, but she was okay, and so was the baby.
‘Fran, come in.’ Julie held out her hand to greet me.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek while Ralph made an excuse about going for coffee.
‘Before you ask, mother and baby are both fine. They are just keeping me in for observation. How are you and Elle?’
‘She’s fine, Julie. She said they were going to rape you. Why did you send me on a wild goose chase? No, please don’t tell me it was an unfortunate burglary. Save that for the police. Who would burgle Tony Lambrianu’s house and live to tell the tale? Who would be that stupid, Julie?’
‘Oh come on, Fran. One of those guys thought he was going to put his dick in my mouth, and if he had done it, I would have bitten it off.’ She tried giving me one of her best smiles, but she looked weak and tired.
I could tell she was putting on a brave face for me. At some point, I might actually get the truth, but not now.
Two policemen came into the room, asking if Julie was okay to make a statement. She agreed. She wanted to get it over with while what had happened was still fresh in her mind. Ralph, who’d returned with coffees, objected, saying she wasn’t well enough, but she wouldn’t listen.
Her story was very short and sweet. I had gone to pick up Bobby from school and was going to pick up an Indian takeaway on my way home. She was with Elle having a coffee, and then they heard a loud crash. There was banging and crashing and a lot of glass flying around. Fran had left the drive gates open because the chauffeur was due. That was Julie’s story. Everybody had an alibi.
The police obviously thought two gangland bosses like Ralph and Tony must have had something to do with what had gone down, but their alibi was rock solid. When the driver had sped up at Tony’s demanding and gone through a red light, they had been caught on surveillance cameras. They had turned up at the house when the police were already there in the same car that had been seen on camera.
If it had been a business deal, it would have been at the club. The police realised Tony would not have had such a meeting at home with women and a child there. Tony, Ralph, and Jake could swear on a stack of Bibles that they didn’t know what had happened and didn’t know the men involved. This was all true.
Ralph stressed the fact, albeit very calmly, that he would not put his pregnant wife in danger under any circumstances. The police had to accept. It was an attempted burglary by two idiots who didn’t know any better.
Elle’s statement was the best, as much as the police tried to take her seriously, because they could see she was a law-abiding citizen with a conscience who kept confessing. The housekeeper who defended herself before two gunmen, hitting them over the head with a wok! That was going to go down in police history.
All that was left now was to take statements from the men involved. Obviously, only one could be questioned; the other was still in hospital with head injuries. The first, apparently, was vague about why he was there and why he had a gun. The police were interested in why the two had come from Ireland. The police had their car and passports, which showed they had come over on the ferry. Again, the response was all apparently rather vague. They had come to England for a holiday. No wonder the police were confused.
The police knew that Ralph had Irish connections and that, lately, an old friend of his had taken an overdose of heroin and choked to death on his own vomit. Ralph and Julie had contacted the widow, whom they both knew, and paid for the funeral. They had also given her a large sum of money to help her out. Unbeknown to Tony and Jake, Julie and Ralph had gone to the funeral.
Paddy’s widow couldn’t have been more grateful. And when the police had spoken to her she couldn’t speak highly enough of Ralph and Julie. There was nothing to connect Tony and Jake with Ralph’s deceased friend, because they had never met. So the case seemed cut and dried—burglary.
24
Confession Time
Ralph insisted Julie stay in hospital for a few more days. Julie was already under observation, but as it was a private hospital and Ralph was paying, there was no shortage of beds. While all of this was being investigated, Ralph was making his own investigations. He was angry Julie had been threatened. But now it was worse. Not only had his wife been threatened with rape, their unborn baby had been threatened. He was fuming.
Julie’s worst fears were coming true. Ralph was wrapping her up in cotton wool. He didn’t want to celebrate the pregnancy until Julie was feeling better and the investigations were over.
I stayed with Julie. I knew Ralph wanted to be there constantly. But I also knew he was driving Julie mad with all of his baby plans.
I knew Julie was afraid. She didn’t want all of Ralph’s plans and happiness to come crashing down if she were to have a miscarriage. I felt I was to blame. I had blurted it out at the scene of the crime. I hadn’t been thinking properly. But seeing her faint like that, what else could I have done but raise the alarm to the ambulance men?
Bobby was having a few days off school and thoroughly enjoyed his time at Elle’s house. If anything, I felt like an intruder. Minnie, Elle’s bingo friend, kept coming around to see everything was okay and bobby walked Susie with them both, so I went to visit Julie.
When I went to see her, Julie Gold was back on form. She was sitting up in bed and putting on her lipstick. Nothing had changed. She kept telling me she was sick of Ralph treating her like a patient, so she thought a little bit of lipstick might just convince him she was okay.
She held my hand and squeezed it tight. ‘I’m sorry I deceived you, Fran. I just wanted you and Bobby out of the way. I know you could have coped. But let’s just say I have had more dealings with scumbags like that than you have.’ She started to cry, and apart from being hormonal, I knew those tears were for what she had been through. Aftershock, I supposed, and trying to keep a brave face on for Ralph’s sake.
She wiped her stained face and blew her nose. There, at last she had let he fears out. She had felt vulnerable and weak, and she didn’t like that feeling. It brought back bad memories.
‘So, tell me about you and Tony,’ she said. ‘Are you still going through with the divorce? Or has all this made you realise that you still love each other?’ She was smiling, but it was through smudged mascara and a tear-stained face.
I had come to love Julie. She was a good friend and confidant, and now she had risked her own life to save me and Bobby. I didn’t want to lie to her anymore. ‘Tony and I couldn’t be further apart, especially since the break-in. We had a hell of an argument. Or rather, I did. Our divorce has always been on the cards, Julie, from day one. We’re not in love, and we never have been.’ I lowered my head, embarrassed at my confession.
Julie looked at me strangely and raised her eyebrows suspiciously. ‘You’re wrong, Fran. I know how much he thinks of you, and I also know what you think about him. Has he cheated on you or something?’
I patted her hand. I didn’t want her getting angry and raising her blood pressure. ‘You know he has someone else, Julie. You saw the picture of him with a woman for yourself. I have already been replaced. It’s not a problem, and I have expected it. Marriage isn’t for Tony, and he isn’t a one-woman man. I’m done with sharing my husband with other women.’ Tears started to roll down my face. I had kept this secret from her for long enough. It was eating away at me.
I started to leave, I didn’t want to upset her. Now was not the time for me to unburden myself. She pulled my hand tighter towards her so I would sit down again. ‘What are you saying, Fran? Tell me what you mean, and I promise you it will never leave this room. Just you and me and baby makes three.’ She gave a weak smile and waited.
What had I to lose? Ralph was more than happy with Tony and Jake. They had become even closer these days, and Ralph treated them more as partners. He knew he owed his life to them both. They could easily have left him behind to die in Ireland, but they hadn’t. This had cemented their friendship as far as Ralph was concerned.
‘It’s all been a lie, Julie. Everything has been a lie. I’m sorry.’ Once I had started, it all came pouring out. ‘Tony and I made a deal. He wanted a wife so that Ralph would do business with him. He knew Ralph didn’t want a playboy but a respectable married man. Don’t get me wrong, this is not all of Tony’s doing. He has been very generous, the house being one of the ways. Given I’m a single parent who worked as a stripper and stole from Tony for my family’s sake, he’s been very lenient.’
She listened as I poured out my heart and told her the whole sordid story from beginning to end, including how I had first met him and then worked for him. Saying it out loud sounded awful.
She took a deep breath and lay back on her pillow. I could see she was thinking, and I was afraid I had gone too far. Sometimes honesty is not the best policy. We had deceived her and her husband.
‘So, it’s Ralph and me who are at fault. We pushed you both into this while testing Tony. You were both desperate, Fran. I have been destitute and schemed to survive. I’m sorry, Fran. We shouldn’t have pushed you. What about me, Fran? Are you such a good actress that you have fooled me twice?’ She sounder a little harsher now, and I could tell she meant our friendship.
‘I know what you mean, Julie—our friendship. I was a little wary of you in the beginning. I thought you were spying on me all of the time. Why would anyone as high class as you want to spend time with me? You’re my friend, Julie. Well, I would like to think that you’re still my friend.’ I looked at her for reassurance. ‘No, you’re my family, Julie. Sometimes I don’t know what I would do without you.’
She held her arms out for a hug. The door opened, and Ralph walked in. Seeing the emotional scene before him, he stopped. ‘Oops, women’s business. I’ll get some coffee.’ He walked out again.
We looked at each other and burst out laughing. From now on, Ralph was going to blame everything on Julie’s hormones!
I wiped my face and stood up to leave and gave her a hug. ‘I’ll leave you in Ralph’s care. Bye.’
‘Stop! Wait, Fran.’ I turned to see what was wrong. ‘Tony loves you more than you know. In fact, he loves you more than he knows. And I know you love him. Trust me, Fran. Neither of you are such good actors.’ With that, she blew me a kiss and left.
The all-clear was given by the police, and I was informed I could go back home. Home? I was going to be alone when Bobby was at school. I didn’t think Elle would want to step a foot back into the place, considering all of the bad memories it held for her.
I was surprised when Elle insisted on coming with me to the house. When we drove through the gates, things actually looked worse than I had remembered.
Where the patio doors had once been were enormous boards the police had put up to secure the place, and all of the broken windows had been boarded up. There were strips of discarded police tape flying around on the floor, blown by the wind. It looked like a dark ghost house.
‘You don’t have to come in, Elle. This must be traumatising for you.’ I could see she felt sick at the sight of the house, and her breathing seemed heavier. I thought she was going to have a panic attack.
She inhaled a large breath and nodded. ‘I’m ready, Fran. Come on.’
As we walked up the drive, we could hear the smashed glass beneath our shoes crushing and mingling with the gravel. We held hands and walked slowly to the door. I took out the key and opened what was left of the front door. I didn’t need the key. It just swung open.
The scene that greeted us was a bomb site. Doors were open in the hallway. All the furniture seemed to have been thrown around. And worst of all was the darkness. I raised my hand to the light switch and turned on the lights, even though it was the middle of the day.
We both stood there in stunned silence. I was glad I hadn’t brought Bobby with me. We wandered down the hallway to our newly built kitchen. I saw Elle take a breath and close her eyes for a moment. Then she seemed to count to three and open them, taking in the scene before her—possibly having awful flashbacks.
‘We need to contact a glazier, Fran. First things first, let’s get some light into this place,’ she said, trying to compose herself.
I thought for a moment, and a smile crossed my face. ‘Elle, we have all of the telephone numbers for builders that we need. The builders we used for the extension—they can sort out everything, even those bullet holes in the wall.’ I was trying to make light of the situation, although I didn’t feel like it.
The bullet hole was hard to miss. The police had circled it with a large red pen and numbered it. I looked down at my feet and could see dried blood on the floor, where the man Elle had hit on the head had fallen. It was the first time I had seen the house since the burglary had happened. I had briefly been in to collect some clothes from upstairs, escorted by a police officer. But this was reality.
Elle found the builder’s number, and the supervisor assured us someone would be there within two hours to take measurements and see what needed doing. Of course, as it was short notice, it would be more expensive!
‘That’s okay,’ I said. ‘Send Mr Lambrianu your bill. I’m sure he will go through all of the details with you.’ I had intentionally sounded sarcastic, and I knew the builder realised it. Tony would definitely have something to say if he thought this builder was going to try and make some money out of our misery.
Elle got out the sweeping brushes and handed me one. ‘Come on. Let’s make a start and get rid of this glass.’ she handed me a pair of rubber gloves and some bin liners.’ I think your builders will come a lot sooner now that you have mentioned Tony’s name.’
Did everyone dance to his tune?
Elle made some coffee, and we started the big clean-up. It looked like the police had made more mess than the burglars. It hadn’t helped having no windows in and the wind blowing all of the dust up from the driveway.
While sweeping the floor, I saw the magazine with the picture of Tony with his arm around a woman’s waist. I picked it up and threw it in the bin.
We were making some headway when I heard a noise in the driveway. I had to go to the front door to see what the noise was, as the windows were boarded up. At last, the cavalry, otherwise known as the builders, had arrived!
Elle had been right. It hadn’t been an hour. But they had already been to the house before to do the extension, and I wasn’t sure if it was Tony’s name or their memories of Julie barking orders at them that had made them hurry up. Who knew? Either way, I was pleased to see them.
A couple of men jumped out of the back of the open truck with claw hammers and were ripping the boards off the window frames. Suddenly, normal daylight flooded in. it looked better already.
‘That driveway is going to need relaying, Mrs Lambrianu. You’re never going to clear all of that glass, and we don’t want you falling on it or bursting your car tyres.’
Tony had done this, so as far as I was concerned, he could bloody well pay for it. They were right. The driveway was a mess. ‘Just sort out everything, and redecorate the kitchen. You know where to send your bills.’
The supervisor followed me into the kitchen, stepping over the broken furniture.
‘They did a good job on your place, didn’t they, Mrs Lambrianu? What a mess,’ he said while lifting his flat cap and brushing back what hair he had left.
I did think about making a smart remark. But, no, looking at him, he was your typical description of a builder. He wore a tartan flat cap, jeans that were worn and stained with dust and old dried paint, a T-shirt, and an old fleecy jacket. He looked around sixty, but then, he could have been younger. Hard work and lots of it seemed to have taken its toll on his hands and face, both of which were dry and rough.
‘Oh no you don’t, my good man.’
I followed Elle’s gaze and saw she was looking at the builder with a rolled-up cigarette perched in the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t lit, just lying there on his lip.
‘It’s all right, Mrs Elle, I remember from before.’ He chuckled to himself and then raised his cap and put it back on again.
The other workmen were taking the boards off the windows and were taking measurements for new ones.
We carried on sweeping the floor. All the while, Elle kept her eye on Albert, the builder. You could seem her just daring him to light his roll-up cigarette. As a good will gesture, Albert got the young lad who was on an apprenticeship with him to help sweep up the rubbish and take it out.
‘I’ve ordered a skip, Mrs Lambrianu, and the men are going to collect some windows for you. They should be back later on this afternoon. That’s a whole wall of windows.’ Albert took off his cap and brushed back his thinning hair and then replaced his cap again.
Elle made everyone a drink. This was her good will gesture back to him. She even opened up the biscuits, which made him smile. The skip was backing into the drive, and Elle went to see where they were putting it. Then the strangest thing happened.
I was sitting alone at the breakfast bar, taking a moment to myself, when Albert came and sat alongside me. ‘That Mrs Elle, is she your mum?’ He paused waiting for my answer.
I shook my head, he was definitely fishing. ‘No, she’s my mother-in-law.’
Again I could see him thinking, wondering what to say next. The air was tense but funny. ‘She is Mr Lambrianu’s mum, is she?’
I felt he was stating the obvious. ‘Why do you want to know?’ I asked him.
And then the penny dropped. I could see where his questions were leading. ‘Will your father-in-law be coming later to help out?’ Albert looked down and dipped another biscuit into his tea and put it in his mouth.
