Claire put her head in her hands. Just for a moment it was quiet.
‘Claire, hello, can I come in?’
Claire looked up. Harry Stone was standing facing her. He was smartly dressed – polished shoes with a crisp white shirt – and he had a grin on his thin face. Claire steadied herself, not sure what she was seeing – she was shaken by this sudden visitor. Two years since she had seen him, his hair had turned a silvery grey, but his face was weak. The skin around his eyes was loose, showing none of the staring determination she had known before. His arms too, hung loosely from his jacket.
And Stone saw Claire’s stare as he walked further into the small cabin.
‘We haven’t met for a while; I knew you were working on the rebuilding of Arrow Hall so I thought I might call by. A bit like old times.’
‘What on earth have you called here for?’
Claire poured the words out. She could read Harry Stone like a book – he had come to get something, and he was trespassing on her space in this small cabin.
‘I’ve just come to say hello; I was passing, so why not?’
‘I don’t want to talk about the past. Whatever has happened is now out of my life; I’ve moved on.’
‘That’s good, Claire, let’s not look back. I don’t want to rake up all that led to the burning down of Arrow Hall. But you now look well, and that’s good to see.’
‘Yes, and you look better than the last time I saw you. Being beaten up in this very place by those drug-crazed hoodlums. Have they gone away, have you paid them off?’
‘No, I didn’t pay, but that’s all finished now,’ Stone said.
Stone gritted his teeth. A thug thumping him round the face in his own kitchen, phone calls from a man serving five years for money laundering, drug-pushing and even GBH, but that was not what he could talk about with Claire.
‘You do know Rick bought this site, don’t you?’
‘Yeah, of course I now know that. But he wanted to hide from me – one of Rick’s property companies bought it; I never knew it was him. But tell him I wouldn’t have sold to him if I had seen his name on the contract. And tell him I sold too cheaply; he got a steal. I should have got a lot more before signing it off.’
‘I’m not going to talk about that. But give me the truth. What have you come for today?’ Claire asked.
‘I need help. I’ve got a lot of business that needs sorting.’ There was a pause from Stone. ‘You remember Panama, the bank accounts you set up?’
Claire looked away. ‘Of course I remember. But I cleared it from my thoughts a long time ago. And now I don’t want to hear about it again. But you’ve got more to tell; you’ve got a furtive look on your face.’
‘I’m into some big stock market deals – I’m buying a big property and I want you to come and tidy everything up for me. Just as you used to do.’
‘No. That’s not something I ever want to go back to. I’m very busy on the site here,’ Claire replied.
‘You haven’t seen Marine House. My big place on Brighton seafront. It’s where I’ve lived since I left Arrow Hall.’
‘Yeah, I’ve heard about Marine House. Not the best of stories either. I met someone on the site here searching for you. I told him to explore Brighton. He didn’t look too friendly to me, so I hope he found you.’
‘Forget all that, I’m getting something special lined up. I’m trying to buy Marine House.’
‘Why don’t you get on with your big deals and leave me out of them?’
‘This is special, Claire.’ Stone paused for a moment and moved closer into the tiny cabin. ‘It’s the vendors of Marine House. A lady with a title. I don’t find it easy to deal with people like that.’ Stone spoke quickly, almost in one breath.
‘Have you been civil to them?’
‘The lady got too excited, trying to rake up my past, so I had to tell her how it is.’
‘What I remember is you talking too loudly, and too quickly, in Arrow Hall. You were often full blast into the phone. I’d never want to hear that again,’ Claire said.
For a moment, Stone looked at Claire – he knew exactly what she was saying, and he did not know how to answer it.
‘I need Marine House, and when I’ve bought the place, I’m going to convert it into apartments. How would you like to live there? Have one of the apartments, low rent in an upmarket place by the sea? And it’s an easy drive down from London,’ Stone said.
‘I’d need to think very hard before getting into anything like that,’ Claire said forcefully.
Stone fumbled in his pocket for a small velvet pouch tightly tied, and he laid it on the desk with his business card for Marine House.
‘I never really said goodbye when you left Arrow Hall after the fire, but you didn’t stay around for long. So I’ve brought you a little present, Claire, for all that you have done for me over the years. Give me a call when you’ve had time to think about coming down. But make it soon, please. Oh, and before I forget, I don’t expect you to come for nothing – I’ll pay you well for your time as I always have done,’ Stone said.
Without looking back at Claire, Stone left quickly. It was suddenly quiet in the small cabin. But this visitor left Claire shivering; she sat on the only chair and put her head in her hands. Seeing Harry Stone, looking older, thinner, was all too sudden. It was returning memories that would haunt her if she let them.
Claire untied the small pouch that Stone had left and held it over the table. A rough raw diamond fell out and landed on her laptop. She picked it up and held it to the light. This would never be a gift; if anything, it would be a bribe. Yes, that’s what Harry Stone really did well, she had seen it many times.