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Nick and Polly were getting ready for bed. Their weekend had been uneventful but enjoyable. They had made the most of their free time by trying to start a family.
‘So, do you feel any different?’ asked Nick.
‘Different, how?’
‘Do you think I’ve done the business this time? Do you feel pregnant?’
‘Ha, not yet. I feel a bit sore if anything.’
‘Well, you ‘ll get a break from my animal passions when I’m in India,’ joked Nick.
‘It’s not brilliant timing as I’ll be doing the tests whilst you are away. Seven days might not be diagnostic, they recommend checking again at ten days after ovulation.’
‘That’s a pity. I’m off next Saturday evening,’ he paused to count on his fingers. ‘You will let me know as soon as you’ve done the test. Whatever the result?’
‘Of course. Now I’m off to bed and that’s to sleep. So you don’t need to worry!’
‘OK, I’ll just check my emails and then I’ll join you.’
Nick sat down and checked his phone. It was such a busy time at the moment. There was the launch of PersCure this week. The clinical trials were scheduled at ClinTry and that would be a crucial time for the front-runner compound. The cloud hanging over the week was Derek Plumpton’s funeral. Nick’s trip to India was fast approaching so he checked his inbox. It was still too early for any emails from India so he switched off his laptop and made his way to bed.
**
‘Laura,’ was all Christian could manage to say. His enjoyable weekend had just ended. Laura produced a file of bogus documents and passed them over to him for scrutiny and approval. They sat at the kitchen table whilst Geraldine went to check that Rufus was getting ready for bed. Laura continued to chat away pretending to be pointing out things in the documents but Christian wasn’t listening. Inwardly he was fuming. What sort of person was she? It was unbelievable that anyone could be so audacious. He was afraid to say anything to her lest Laura began arguing and his wife would overhear.
After what seemed an age Geraldine came back downstairs into the kitchen.
‘Have you got the signatures you need?’
‘Oh, yes, thanks, I’ll be on my way now.’
‘There’s no rush. Why don’t you stay for a drink. We aren’t doing anything this evening.’
‘Oh, that would be lovely,’ replied Laura. ‘Thank you.’
Christian was ready to explode. The agony was being prolonged. It was like some sort of bad dream where you were caught up in an intractable web of problems. He could scarcely believe it was really happening. He had remained silent, merely drinking his wine. Now they were in the lounge and Laura looked as if she were at home, completely at ease.
‘So, you work for Cancer Research in the south-east, liaising over clinical trials?’
‘Yes, it’s a really interesting job. I met with Christian on Friday but today I realised that there were some details missing and he said I could call around if there was a problem.’ She sounded utterly convincing and smiled sweetly at Geraldine. ‘How about you? Do you work?’
‘I do, but it’s not a very high-powered job, I’m a legal secretary at Hardiman and Fellowes. The money comes in useful though.’
‘You have a lovely house here, I must say. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford anything so grand. How many bedrooms has it got?’
‘Thank you. It’s got five bedrooms. Yes, we love it here. It’s a very nice quiet estate. The neighbours are great too.’
Christian was finding this exchange excruciating. He emptied the last of the wine into his glass as he needed something to calm his nerves. He looked at his watch.
‘Goodness, is that the time? I guess you need to get a move along as it’s a work day tomorrow?’
‘Christian, don’t be so rude. I’m sure Laura can make her own decisions, she’s not a child!’ said Geraldine.
No, thought Christian, she’s a liar and must be mentally unhinged. She was clearly enjoying herself immensely.
‘No, Christian’s right. I must be on my way.’ She stood to leave. ‘Well, it’s been so great to meet you. Thanks for the wine.’
‘Not a problem.’
‘Right, I’ll show you out,’ said Christian. ‘Don’t forget your folder.’ He thrust it at her and she took it without meeting his gaze.
Geraldine took the glasses whilst Christian showed Laura to the door. He stepped outside and pulled the door partially closed.
‘What do you think you are playing at?’ he said menacingly as he grabbed her arm and steered her down the driveway.
‘Ouch, get off me! I’m just giving you a little push in the right direction,’ she spat with equal menace.
‘Well, you’ve just blown it. I never want to see you again after that stunt. I was going to finish with you anyway this evening. After the children were properly asleep I was going to dump you.’ He paced around. ‘God, what a bitch you are. Fuck off and leave me alone.’
‘Oh, I will, certainly. But it will cost you.’
‘Cost me? In your dreams. Go and find another mug to take advantage of.’
‘I will, soon, but first I want what’s due to me.’
‘Nothing is due to you. Forget it. You need help. Go and see a psychiatrist.’
‘Go on. Why don’t you? But if you do I will have no hesitation telling the devoted Geraldine what her husband has been getting up to. You look lovely when you are sleeping by the way. I took a few snaps of you.’
Christian knew then that she was serious. ‘What do you want?’
‘Well, my car is getting a bit old now. Ten grand should help me get a replacement. I’ll send you my bank details and you can transfer me the money.’
‘What? Ten grand? No way! I don’t have that sort of money. We are financially stretched living here. We have a lot of expenses.’
‘So do I.’
‘Blackmail is a serious crime you know. I could report you.’
‘You could but just think of what you stand to lose. I won’t rush you, don’t worry.’
‘You’ve got a nerve!’
‘But remember, I know where you live and it’s no trouble to pop around so don’t keep me waiting too long. Have a good week!’
Christian stood open-mouthed. Had that last exchange really happened? Laura was blackmailing him. It was outrageous. How could a little flirtation have developed into such a nightmare? Surely lots of people had little dalliances and nothing like this happened. He was conscious of Geraldine at the door, speaking to him.
‘Sorry, what did you say?’
‘I just wondered where you had got to. You were a long time. I thought you’d gone off with Laura!’ she joked.
Christian merely stared at her.
‘Are you OK?’ she asked. ‘I was just joking. I know what you are like once you get talking about work.’
He walked past her silently. ‘I’m just going to my study to check some emails and documents for tomorrow. Don’t wait up.’
‘No, of course. Don’t be too late coming to bed though.’ Geraldine stood frowning as Christian pushed past her. His mood this evening had been very sour.
‘I won’t.’
Christian walked upstairs quietly so as not to disturb the children. He peeped into their rooms and saw that they were fast asleep. Laura would not take all this away from him. He was determined. He would come up with a plan and he would do it soon.
**
It was 9 p.m. before Nimrod could creep out to the shed and check how things were progressing. As he opened the shed door his nostrils were overwhelmed by the smell of acetone. It had been quite warm during the day and the fumes from the volatile solvent were noticeable. Fortunately, the ill-fitting door to the wooden shed meant that there hadn’t been a dangerous build-up of vapour. He eased back the lid and peered inside.
‘Bingo!’ he said to himself. ‘Haha!,’ he squealed and stamped his foot in triumph. Then he panicked as he remembered the material was shock sensitive. There was a sizeable quantity of white crystals forming and above them sat a reasonable quantity of solvent. It was looking very good indeed. Soon they would be able to filter them off. There was probably more still to form so they could afford to leave it a few more days. Then he would need some help dealing with such large quantities. No way could he lift the metal drum himself.
Suddenly the side of the shed shook as something hit it. Nimrod was overcome with panic once more. ‘Fuck!’ he exclaimed.
It took him a few moments to work out what was happening. Fleetingly, he thought that the material had detonated but that was a stupid thought because if that had happened he would no longer be standing there and the shed together with himself would be distributed over a wide area. Then he heard voices outside. He realised it was the boys next door kicking a football about and it had come over the wall and bounced on the shed. Normally this would be just one of those incidents you experience with children playing outside but for Nimrod it was a nightmare. He didn’t know exactly how shock sensitive this material could be. Reports on the Internet suggested you had to be very careful with the dry material and not drop it or bang it but in solution it was more stable. Nevertheless, he didn’t want it to keep happening.
He went outside and the ball was still being kicked around with force. There was another loud slap as it once again missed its target and made contact with the side of the shed. He used one of the garden chairs to look over the fence.
‘Hi, boys!’ he called.
They stopped and looked up at him. ‘What?’ asked the elder boy in an aggressive tone.
‘Hi, I know you are just playing but could you be a bit more careful?’
‘Why? It’s only a crappy old shed,’ said one of them petulantly. ‘It’s not even yours.’
‘No, but the landlord will be very cross if you damage it. He was only looking at it the other day and he could see that you’ve split one of the panels.’ This was a slight exaggeration but he felt it would have some gravitas with the youngsters. At that moment their father came out and called to them. ‘Henry, George, come in now! It’s time for bed!’
The father looked towards the fence.
‘Oh, sorry, they are a bit of a handful. They are rather too enthusiastic kicking their football around. I’ve told them before.’
‘It’s OK, I just don’t want the landlord to think that we’ve damaged his shed,’ said Nimrod.
‘Yes, well hopefully they’ll get the message if I stop them using their iPads,’ he said. ‘Right I better go and make sure they are getting ready for bed. They are a pair of rascals.’
Nimrod climbed down from the chair and after one last check in the shed he secured the padlock. He would send a message to Warrior to say that things were looking good.’
