The Way Back Ch. 09

"What's going on Ann? I'm out of here."

"Allan, please," she begged earnestly, "Derek has important information for you. I had a talk with him earlier and he has some things to say."

She turned to Derek, "Haven't you Derek?"

He looked embarrassed and reluctant, but nodded.

"Allan, I've come to apologise and to help with this divorce business. I'd appreciate it if you would stay and listen."

I sagged back into my chair, defeated.

"OK," I said resignedly, "I can see I'm out manoeuvred. Say what you have to say."

"Sit down, Derek," Ann said, pulling out a chair for him. He was facing me; she sat at the head of the table.

"Now," she said, "off you go!"

"Allan," he began. "When I came to your office I was in a state. I had lost everything and now I seemed to be losing Ann as well. I believed I was a better lover than you, and that was why Ann kept coming back to me. She put me right on that. Apparently I'm not in the same league as you. That's embarrassing for me to admit, but it seems you're the better man. I'm sorry for the things I said. Now I think I can shed some light on the divorce thing with Steph."

He took a deep breath. "Ann wondered why I never said anything about my affair that led to the divorce. The woman I was seeing wasn't Ann. Ann and I had no relations until after you disappeared. It was another woman. I can give you her name and phone number so you can check." He took out a notebook and scribbled down a name and number.

"Can you phone during the day, Allan?" he asked. "She's still with her husband, and he has no idea she was unfaithful. He'd lost interest in her when she was overweight and that's how we hooked up. Now she's slim again their marriage is back on track."

I nodded. There was no way I wanted to wreck another marriage.

He continued, "When Steph said she'd publish the woman's name, I thought she had discovered my affair with Madeleine. I never asked her who, because there was only one woman involved. I had no idea she thought the woman was Ann. You told Ann she had photos?"

"Yes," I must confess I had become intrigued.

"Well, the only place I can think of where we were seen at the same place before the divorce was at the slimming club at the Pelican Hotel. Ann was running the sessions for a friend and I happened to be attending the sessions."

"You were seen entering Ann's motel room," I stated it blandly, waiting for a guilty response. None came.

"Only once. Ann remembers. I asked her if I could use the room after she had left, the room had to be booked overnight in any case. Ann had gone when Madeleine arrived and we spent the afternoon there. There wasn't another time after that.

"Allan all I want is for Ann to be happy. I thought she needed me. I was wrong. She needs you. I have to tell you that we only began to have a relationship in the fullest sense of the word after I forged that letter.

"I apologise for doing that, but I didn't think you were ever coming back, and Ann was on permanent hold waiting. I thought she needed to move on."

"Allan," said Ann, "After that letter, I made the running. Derek still didn't try to seduce me, I needed relief and the love of a man."

I didn't react outwardly. Why did her assertion that she seduced Derek hurt so much? I felt a cold anger and I think it was jealousy. However, I needed information.

"All right," I said, my distaste showing. "Derek, you can help me with a small piece of information."

"Anything," he said eagerly. "What do you want to know?"

"How often do you change your bank passwords on the internet?"

He looked perplexed, "Change them? How do you do that?"

I was staggered. The man was either totally incompetent or incredibly devious. I hoped I had concealed my amazement.

"That's OK," I said. "Just an idea I had."

He got up. Nothing more was said. He turned towards Ann who had also stood. She hugged and kissed him and he left. I felt the inevitable hot anger rising at their affectionate gesture.

"Well?" she asked after the front door closed.

"Well what?"

"Have you thought about what I said last time, and what was that question about?"

"Yes, and evidence."

"Pardon?"

"Have I thought about what you said? Yes. What was that question about? Evidence."

"Allan, stop being obtuse. Talk to me."

"OK," I replied, "Twice now you've broken our agreement about meeting. This time you really hit the jackpot, a house full of people and Derek! Now you want me to just carry on talking as if we're alone in my flat. I don't think so."

She looked annoyed but said nothing. She waited. I waited. Then I got up to go.

"Please Allan, this is killing me. I'm sorry about tonight but I wanted you to see Derek and to hear what he had to say. I knew if I told you he was coming, you would disappear."

"I'm sick and tired of being set up, first by Viv and now you, Jenny and Peter. It's not on, Ann. I won't stand for it. Understand?"

"OK, Allan. I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that big a deal."

"Us getting together again, not a big deal?"

"Don't be stupid Allan, you know what I mean. If you feel like that you'd better go home."

"I will. I'm not in a mood to talk and the conditions aren't right."

"Come for tea tomorrow?"

"No more surprises?"

"Promise."

------

FORTY-FIVE

I felt a real fool when I woke up on Wednesday. The way I'd behaved was petty and stupid. I had been like a spoilt little boy, stamping my feet in rage. I couldn't understand why I was so angry.

Looking back on it, I was given the information that I wanted from Derek, and the feeling was growing that Ann had been right all along. At least there was the possibility that Derek was not the only suspect in the frame, though he was still number one for motive.

I phoned Ann as soon as I got into the office and apologised.

"I don't understand why you're so angry," she replied, after accepting my apology with a good grace.

"I don't know either," I said, "It just seems different things set me off."

"Want to talk tonight?" she asked tentatively.

"Can we leave it till Friday? No need to come to the flat. I've got an early trip to Southampton tomorrow and want an early night."

She seemed happy with that.

The day passed with meetings with Geoff about the supplier I was going to see. Normally he would go as buyer but he had to see another company in Preston.

The evening was very pleasant; Ann was trying to make my stay as trouble free as possible urging me to get outside with the lads while the good weather lasted. The meal was delicious as always. What I was not prepared for was the third degree grilling from the children.

"Dad," Stefan began the onslaught, "Before, you said you couldn't come back home because you were with Jenny."

"Yes?" I shot an accusing glance at Ann.

"Don't look at me!" she exclaimed, laughing, "I've got nothing to do with this."

"No Dad," said Greta, "The three of us have been talking."

"I'm delighted my children are talking to each other, stops you fighting, I suppose!"

"Oh, Dad!" came a chorus.

"But Dad," Stefan again.

"Yes, Stefan?"

"You're not with Jenny any more, Uncle Peter is."

"That's right."

"So you can come back to Mum now," his logic, for a ten-year-old, was once again impeccable.

"Yes Dad," said Jan, "There's nothing stopping you. It's silly to be living in the flat and coming here for all your meals."

I was flummoxed as to how to reply without hurting Ann. I'd done enough of that.

"Leave Dad alone," she intervened, "Dad and I are talking about all that has happened. When you're grown up, you understand why he can't come back just like that."

"That's right," I added, "There's a lot of history to work out between Mum and me."

"But," said Stefan doggedly, "You could just start again, as if you hadn't met. Start going out on dates sort of."

"Sorry Stef," I said, "It's what happened to me and to Mum that means we can't just do that."

"But Mum's pretty isn't she?" said Jan.

"And she's good and kind and loving," added Greta with a twinkle in her eye.

"Greta!" snapped Ann, "Give over, you know what's stopping us."

"Hey Greta," said Jan, "Tell us, what's stopping them?"

Now it was Greta's turn to be discomfited.

"You wouldn't understand," she said.

"Tell us anyway," said Stefan, now curious.

"Well," she said. "We all think that Derek is the one who tried to kill Daddy, and Mum has been living with him as if they were married. Mum divorced Dad and divorce means you no longer want someone or love them."

"But she did!" protested Stefan, now upset. "She still wants him. She finished Derek when she knew Daddy wasn't cheating on her!"

"Yes I know," continued Greta, quite patiently I thought, "but the divorce hurt Daddy a lot, and the thought that Mum loved someone else, not him. So they've got to talk about it and see if things could change."

Well done Greta, I thought. She'd given me food for thought as well.

"Can we leave it at that, children?" begged Ann, perhaps conscious of my position. "Daddy and I will be talking a lot."

At this I made a statement that surprised me, nay astounded me, and I was the one saying it!

"It doesn't mean we'll never get over all this you know. Just give us time."

The warmth of the smile on Ann's face touched me and I felt that warmth wash over me and it glowed within me.

At the door, as I left after making my farewells to the children in their various rooms, Ann gave me another of those wonderful smiles and kissed me briefly on my lips.

"Thanks!" she whispered.

"You're welcome," I replied, though I wasn't sure what I was being thanked for, but I felt she was welcome anyway.

On Thursday the Southampton trip went well; I got a train before seven, changing once at Birmingham, arrived about eleven, and we concluded business by two. Then they insisted on feeding me, so I didn't get to the station until nearly five. There was a through train and I was back in my flat by eleven. Travelling first class is relaxing and I did not feel unduly fatigued.

What those hours on the train allowed was a long period to think things out. Derek's guilt or innocence was not my concern, though I decided to confide my new information to Colin and the others on the next day, when the four would meet.

What taxed me was my relationship, or lack of it, with Ann. The children had me thinking. Did I love the woman? Did I want her? If she offered a shag in her bed would I jump at the chance? I had to conclude that the answer to all three questions was in the affirmative.

Ann was strikingly beautiful and the beauty was enhanced by her maturity. She was my kind of woman, independent, thoughtful, decisive, and I had learned about and seen her fierce loyalty, even though it was her loyalty to Derek that was still a stumbling block. Let's face it I told myself, she was sexy, her allure was magnetic.

So what was my problem?

If I said I wanted to come back I knew she'd fall over herself in her eagerness to receive me. What was stopping me?

Then there were these sudden bursts of anger. Was the anger against Ann or was it something else? I was definitely torn, but the block was stronger than the attraction.

It was easy to point to Derek as the cause, but I was not so sure. I just knew now that If I went back to her, Derek would be completely out of the frame for Ann. No, it was something else. And try as I might, I couldn't see it. In the end I gave up, perhaps the problem would be cleared as Ann and I talked.

Then I remembered the phone number of Derek's lover. It was too late to phone then, but I made up my mind to do so the next morning from work.

At eleven on Friday I called the lady and she, though at first reluctant, eventually admitted the affair. I had to explain that Derek's keeping her from publicity had resulted in my attack and the break up of our marriage. I think it gave her pause for thought, that her fling with Derek had caused so much suffering.

So Ann was telling the truth there and so was Derek. I was now willing to believe them about when they started their affair. All the evidence now pointed to that. Clare's pleading reinforced it, and it tied in very tightly with Ann's characteristic loyalty, and her espousal of the underdog.

Jenny and I were getting on well, and my worries about her guilt at leaving me were groundless. Indeed, she and Peter were so involved with Ann and the family she already felt more like a sister-in-law. She sorted the loose ends of my Southampton visit without my asking.

I reminded Ann on the phone that I was meeting the 'three' that evening, with which she seemed at ease. The day was warming up. I knew I was to have the boys over the weekend, and it was my intention to take them, and Greta, if she wanted to go, on a hike in the Peak District, but I could see by the weather and the forecast that it would be far too hot on Saturday, or Sunday for that matter.

That evening as we had tea together, I mentioned my worries about the next day. Ann asked if we could go to the leisure club she used, 'The River Leisure UK'. Stupid name, and I said as much. Ann looked a little disconcerted, but I couldn't work out why.

There was to be a barbecue and the use of the outdoor swimming pool there, and games arranged for children and teenagers. The lads were ecstatic and even Greta looked interested, asking if she could bring a friend along. I wondered if it would be a boyfriend, but said nothing: she had said she didn't have a boyfriend, but things change rapidly at that age. I knew the treatment she would get from the lads if I asked about a boyfriend.

So I agreed and was instructed to get to the house at eleven with swimming gear. Privately I resolved I would not be stripping off. It was one thing to swim in the pool of my own gym, where there were few people, but to do the same in my physical condition before a large crowd was not on.

I made my farewells and drove back to the flat to leave the car, and then got a taxi to the Cross Keys.

They were already in residence and my pint was waiting for me. We chatted aimlessly for a while and then I decided to share what I had found out.

"Gentlemen," I began, "I've been doing some research concerning my attack, and I think you should hear what I've found out."

"Sounds ominous," said Keith.

"Depends how you look at it. Here goes," I began.

"First, Derek was not the only person who could access his business accounts. He hasn't a clue about passwords on the internet, which I still find hard to believe, but I think it's true. His ex-wife used to handle all his business accounts and she still has access to them if the passwords are the same."

"Are you saying that she organised your attack?" asked Colin, "No motive is there?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm giving the information. It opens things up a little, and there's more."

"Go on," said David, "You realise this'll really get Viv going?"

"I hope not," I said. "She's enough trouble as it is." David just smiled.

"So?" Colin prodded.

"David knows I went to see Stephanie Fanshaw. It was she who told me she sorted all Derek' money before the divorce, did all his accounts, but she also said she hadn't spoken to him since the divorce; she's still very bitter. There was something of the manic about her."

"Can't see it making much of a difference," said Colin, "Derek is the only one with a real motive. Why should Stephanie want you dead? Derek, yes; Ann, if Stephanie thought Ann was having the affair, but you? No, Derek wanted to get Ann. It was his money that was used and his workmen. And you can't get away from it, he forged the letter."

I could see his point. I wasn't going to argue the ins and outs of her hatred of Ann and Derek.

So the conversation rambled onto other things.

David drove me home.

"See you at the barbeque tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yep!" I answered, "What is this place Ann uses?"

"Oh, Crikey," exclaimed David. "You won't remember, will you? You did it the day you left for York, or rather you left me to do it."

"What? I don't follow."

"Ann applied for membership of the 'The River' leisure club. It's a superb place, but it was very exclusive and expensive, and they turned her down. She was livid: it has wonderful facilities and large grounds on the banks of the Bollin River; you could even stay there overnight in the hotel section, though that was pretty small.

"You got annoyed and asked me to size the place up. I found the owner was looking to sell: the place was losing money heavily; in his eagerness to keep it exclusive he'd been turning people down all over the place.

"So you told me to knock his price down as far as I could and buy it. I got it down to three quarters of a million. Then you disappeared but I still carried on with the sale, your instructions. I'd quite forgotten. So now you own the place.

"Of course, Ann was immediately made a premier class member. I put a General Manager in with executive powers. His name is Martin Sharrocks. He's made the place more accessible and brought down the prices. He closed the hotel; it was a knocking shop and was a loss maker big time. No one needed to sleep there: everyone who uses the place is a local, but a few marriages got broken because of it. So that went. Now you're making a good profit from the club.

"Martin is a bit strange in some ways but he certainly makes money, and the place runs well. Very efficient."

"Well," I said. "I didn't realise I owned a health club. I could have used it myself."

"It's a fair distance from here so not on for daily use for you. It's useful for Ann because it's near her work. In any case there's been so much else going on, I'd quite forgotten it. It's a sideline really."

Suddenly I was looking forward to tomorrow.