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As soon as Maureen arrived home, she poured herself a large gin and tonic. It had been a stressful day and had ended on a worrying note. Ron’s irascible nature had finally proved too much and she’d ended up shouting at him. She immediately apologised and explained that she was just worried about him. They’d parted on good terms with him promising to phone her later to let her know how he was feeling.
She felt exhausted and didn’t feel like food but she did feel like another gin and tonic. The first one had disappeared without her really noticing. She put on the BBC news channel to try to distract herself from Ron and his heart problem when the landline rang.
‘Oh, sorry to disturb you, Mrs Radford, Corey here. There’s a gentleman to see Mr Radford. Says it’s urgent.’
‘Well, have you told him he’s in hospital?’
‘Yes, but he’s insisting on speaking to someone.’
‘Who is it?’
‘Tomek Sobol, at least that’s what I think he said.’
‘Never heard of him. What’s it about?’
‘Something to do with ClinTry.’
‘Can’t you tell him to speak to Dr Dalton?’
‘Wait a minute, Mrs Radford.’
Maureen could hear some muffled conversation.
‘No, he won’t leave. He must speak to you.’
‘Oh, well, OK. Bring him up to the house but I want you to come with him. I don’t want to be alone with him. Not unless we know he’s not going to harm me.’
‘Right-ho. See you in a few minutes.’
Maureen checked her appearance in the downstairs cloakroom. She looked tired and drawn but otherwise presentable. She hoped it would be a quick conversation and nothing contentious. The doorbell rang and she went to see if she could help the visitor whose name she had already forgotten.
**
‘Here’s the money.’ The dealer offered it to Savannah then snatched it away.
‘Give it to me!’ she shouted.
‘Give me a kiss first!’ he laughed.
‘Fuck you! Give it to me!’
‘You want to fuck me? That what you just said?’
‘Ty, he’s pissing me around!’ she cried into her phone.
‘It’s OK, babe, he’s just messing. Do you want me to speak to him?’
‘Yes, please. Come and get me will you?’
‘Pass him to me. I’ll have a word.’
Savannah reluctantly handed over her phone. She felt even more vulnerable now. The dealer wandered away and she could hear him laughing away into her phone. He looked over towards her and laughed even more. It was clear they were having a joke at her expense and she was close to tears. He ended the call and wandered over.
‘Here’s your money. Lighten up, it was just a bit of fun, eh?’
‘Ha, fucking, ha,’ she said, stuffing the money into the pocket of her jeans.
‘I’ve put my number into your contacts if you change your mind. It’s under Sexy Beast, by the way!’ he threw his head back laughing.
Savannah didn’t bother to answer but stomped off back towards the entrance of the park and speed-dialled Ty.
‘I’ve got the money, please come and pick me up, I’m frightened,’ she said, her voice trembling.
‘Be with you in five,’ he replied. ‘See you where I dropped you, OK?’
‘OK, please hurry,’ she said, starting to jog back to the street corner. This afternoon had been a lesson to her. Somehow she needed to explain to Ty that she wasn’t cut out for this life. She just hoped he wouldn’t be too angry with her.
**
‘Mr Sobol, to see you,’ said Corey.
‘Come in,’ said Maureen and offered her hand.
‘Tomek Sobol,’ he repeated.
‘How may I help you?’
‘I need you to give a message to Mr Radford.’
‘Well, yes but why is it so urgent?’
‘I want to be taken seriously. It’s important. My girlfriend had a problem after taking part in a clinical trial. I want compensation.’
‘Now, I think we better sit down,’ said Maureen. ‘Corey, could you leave us for a minute?’
‘Yes, but I need to check Mr Sobol. You can’t be too careful.’
Corey asked Tomek to remove his jacket. He searched the pockets, then did a body search as conducted by airport security. He felt his ankles in case he had a knife strapped there. Finally, he gave Maureen a panic alarm. Maureen herself felt alarmed by his precautions. She wasn’t used to this level of security, unlike Corey and that indicated the circles Ron moved in and the visitors they were used to at Brensford Manor.
‘Can you start at the beginning please, Mr Sobol.’
Tomek relayed his story and Maureen listened carefully. As the story unfolded it took her back to the evening when she and Ron had frankly admitted their dubious behaviours. Once again it appeared that a line had been crossed and it made for uncomfortable listening.
**
Savannah was willing Ty’s car to arrive as she paced back and forth on the pavement. The light was failing so approaching cars had their headlights on making it hard for her to see. Her eyes felt dazzled but finally, a car slowed and she recognised his outline through the windscreen.
‘I thought you’d forgotten about me!’ she screamed as she got into the car.
‘Sorry, babe, had a few calls and I had to stop driving. I don’t want to be caught breaking the law.’
‘Very funny. I was so frightened. I’m still shaking,’ she said, her voice breaking.
‘Hey, don’t cry, babe. You did really well. I’m proud of you.’ He reached over and stroked her hair. ‘Look, let’s go back to my place and you can relax. We can have a nice drink. You’ll feel better then.’
Savannah was still a turmoil of emotions. Although she regarded herself as streetwise this was a step towards a different world and she was beginning to have regrets.
‘Sav, aren’t you speaking to me?’
She nodded, avoiding his eyes.
‘I’ve got a nice present back at the house for you. Shall we go there?’
‘OK,’ she said. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘That’s better,’ he said and he pulled away, wheels spinning. ‘Open the glove-box, there’s some booze in there. Have a swig and it’ll make you feel a bit better.’
Savannah uncapped the part full bottle of vodka and took a large swig. The spirit burned her dry throat as it went down. She took another generous gulp and put her head back against the headrest listening to the loud beat of the car stereo. The alcohol soon started to perfuse into her veins and by the time they reached Persford she felt much more relaxed.
**
‘Well, I must say I am shocked by your story,’ said Maureen. ‘I regard your allegations as very serious.’
‘What will you do?’
‘I will speak to my husband, please be assured.’
‘I am not going to leave this alone!’ shouted Tomek.
‘I understand. Now, I want you to give me your full name and address and contact details, please write them down,’ she passed him a pad and pen. ‘I’m going to give you my mobile number. You can also contact me at Welch Properties. We have an office in town. Do you know it?’
‘No, but I can find out.’
‘Excellent. Now my husband is not well at the moment, he is in hospital. I am handling his business matters.’
‘I see.’
‘So, I’ll be in touch and you can contact me on this number or Welch Properties. Also, I would like to meet you again at the office in town. Would that be suitable for you?’
‘Yes, I suppose. You mean not here?’
‘No, please do not come here again. Only the office in town.’
‘You will compensate me?’
‘As I said, I will look into the matter. I need to speak to Dr Dalton at ClinTry and my husband when he is well enough. I won’t forget.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Radford. I will speak to you again.’
‘You most certainly will. Thank you for coming over tonight.’
She stood and showed him into the hallway where Corey was waiting with his jacket. They said their goodbyes and Maureen double-locked the door. She felt at the point of collapse. She had been catapulted into another world. What sort of person had she married? Just at that moment, she didn’t know the answer to that question.
