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01: Contract Preparation.
A terribly wet Wednesday in London. The rain was constant, driven downwards and, sometimes, sideways by the swirling wind that waited around the corners of buildings to pounce on pedestrians.
The red buses, a landmark that, by direction of the European Community was soon to vanish from the streets of London, splashed past as Virginia Langley pushed her way into the building that housed the legal chambers of Worthington, Juniper and Monroe.
'Good morning, Miss Langley,' the clerk of chambers greeted her as she shook the water from her umbrella.
'Good morning, Robinson,' Virginia answered, using his surname as it wouldn't do for a barrister to greet the chief clerk in a familiar manner.
Virginia was a very attractive woman with long blonde hair and was incredibly striking, even dressed in the pin striped skirt and jacket she usually wore to chambers.
Simon Madsen, a solicitor at the firm of Baden, Baden and Powell which regularly appointed barristers from Worthington, Juniper and Monroe, said to a colleague 'Virginia Langley is a tasty bit of crumpet, it's rather difficult to concentrate when briefing her but never underestimate her. In court, she is polite, beautiful and breathtakingly ruthless.'
'Wasn't she married to that Walker chap?'
'Indeed,' Simon had explained, 'in fact she is still married although they are separated. Of course, she never took on his name and bore all his shenanigans with an outwardly calm demeanour.'
'No hysterical tears?'
'From Virginia? Good Lord no!'
'Are they getting divorced?'
'I expect so but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry. I think Virginia is up to something.'
'Some sort of revenge on that Walker chap?'
Simon had shrugged. 'Who knows? I don't think Henry realises what a hard woman his estranged wife can be. Mark my words, she'll extract her pound of flesh.'
~~~
'Inspector Crusoe is on her way up, Miss Langley.'
'Thank you, Clarissa,' Virginia said to her secretary as she walked into her office, one of the walls lined by legal volumes and the others tastefully panelled in expensive timber. Despite its serious overtones, the potted plans, framed pictures and small collectables made it plain that a woman worked there.
'Beverly,' Virginia greeted her visitor with a smile, 'how lovely to see you.'
'I thought I would drop by and congratulate you on your success in the Aranda case.' Inspector Crusoe came straight to the point.
'Thank you,' Virginia said as both women sat, 'It was obviously a complete stitch up, your Detective was innocent and framed as we discovered.'
'Due to your questioning. You were superb.'
'You are too kind.'
'It was rather like a film, making him confess in court like that.'
'Thank you again. Cup of tea?'
Inspector Crusoe held up a hand. 'Thank you but no, I have to dash. Perhaps we could have lunch sometimes?'
'That would be lovely…'
'I have information on that other matter,' Beverly Crusoe said significantly.
'Oh?' Virginia said. 'Are you free today?'
'As a matter of fact I am.'
~~~
'I'm afraid your husband,' Beverly said as she nibbled at the salad, 'is in a spot of bother.'
'Oh,' Virginia said sarcastically, 'how tiresome for him.'
'You did ask me to keep track.'
'I did, I'm sorry. Please go on.'
'He's had a number of large gambling losses…'
'Hasn't he always?'
'Yes, of course but someone is purchasing all his debts, his I.O.U's. By the end of next week, he'll have them all.'
'Who is buying?' Virginia asked, immediately interested.
'A middle class criminal by the name of Devlin Butterworth. I would imagine,' Inspector Crusoe said shrewdly, 'that you may have come across him once or twice?'
'You know quite well, Beverly,' Virginia said evenly, 'I defended Mister Butterworth against a fraud charge sometime ago.'
'You were successful, if I recall?'
'Was I?' Virginia said innocently, 'I simply can't remember.'
'I'm sure you can't,' Beverly smiled, sipping her water.
'How much will Henry owe Mister Butterworth?'
'Almost twenty three thousand pounds.'
'That much? How extraordinary.' Virginia toyed with her glass. 'Has he had any other women apart from Grace Ryder?'
'No, she was the last and, apparently, she gave him short shrift after Grace discovered he was more interested in gambling than any woman.'
'Intelligent woman,' Virginia murmured.
'Do you know her?'
'I do, she operates a successful public relations firm, she's rather tall.'
They spoke of other things for a while until Beverly asked, 'Virginia, have you met the Maya twins?'
'Hannah and Savannah? Yes, at a social function but nothing more than that. They seemed to be the archetypical scatty heiresses.'
'Don't let appearances fool you, they are very intelligent and rather ruthless. They helped solve a criminal problem for me.'
'Did they? How?'
Beverly slid a disc over the table and smiled at Virginia. 'That makes rather good viewing.'
'What is it?'
'I don't want to spoil the ending,' Inspector Crusoe said with a grin. 'You may find this internet address useful as well.'
Virginia picked up the card and read aloud, 'Dickson Device. What is a Dickson Device?
'You may have to do some research. Virginia, we've been friends since school, I know how you think. Thank you for the lovely lunch.'
~~~
Three weeks later, Devlin Butterworth stared calmly at the pale faced Henry Walker.
'Twenty two thousand, four hundred and ninety pounds, Walker,' Butterworth said mildly, 'and growing every day with interest.'
'I'll need a spot of time, old man…'
'No time. I want it now.'
'I have to gather the money,' Walker said, suddenly sweating under Butterworth's steely eyes.
'You have until Friday…'
'Only two days? That's not fair, old man…'
'I don't recall,' Butterworth said mildly, 'that I had to be fair?'
'How will I get…'
'I'm not concerned with your problems but if I don't have the money by Friday, I'll begin taking your fingers one by one. I have a chap who's skilled with a meat cleaver. If you haven't got the money by this time next week, you'll have a lot of difficulty picking up a cup of tea.'
'But…'
'Friday!' The door slammed behind him and Walker sank into his chair, his face white and covered with perspiration.
'What can I do now?'
Frantically, Henry attempted to borrow the money from friends or people he thought were friends.
Simon Madsen was his first call. 'Simon, old man, this is Henry…'
'How are you, old chap?' Simon asked.
'In rather a jam, actually…'
'No money, Henry,' Simon said firmly.
'But, this is urgent…'
'I'm sure it is but no. Goodbye, old chap,' Simon said before hanging up.
Henry was so desperate he even rang an ex-girlfriend.
'Grace, this is Henry…'
'Sod off!'
'Please! Don't hang up. I need help.'
'Oh?' Despite herself, Grace Ryder was interested, 'are you in trouble?'
'Yes.'
'Big trouble?'
'Good!' Grace snapped and for a moment, he thought she was going to hang up.
'Grace! Please! I need money, quite a lot of money actually and if I don't get it, this thug is going to start chopping my fingers off with a cleaver.'
'How terrible,' Grace said and Henry wondered if he heard a giggle. 'It will be rather difficult for you to wank.'
'Grace!'
'You walked out on me, Henry,' she hissed, 'nobody walks out on me! If I had a meat cleaver, your fingers wouldn't be the only thing I'd chop off!'
'Grace, please.'
'I'd need a pair of tweezers to hold it though,' Grace said maliciously.
'This is bloody serious!'
'I know,' Grace said calmly and hung up.
Henry starred sorrowfully at the phone as he replaced the receiver. He had only one other person to ask.
~~~
'Virginia, this is Henry…'
'Really? And what do I owe this immense pleasure to?'
Henry could hear the dislike vibrating down the telephone line but pushed on. 'Virginia, I need help…'
'That's the reason for your telephone call? Your first call since you walked out? When was that now, seven months ago?' Virginia added in a sarcastic voice.
'Virginia, you know we were having problems…'
'You were having women, that was the problem! And gambling! I gave you an ultimatum and you chose to leave rather than stop your foolishness!'
'Please, Virginia, can we talk? I really am in trouble.'
There was a pause and Henry waited anxiously. 'Come round at seven. I can spare you thirty minutes before I leave for a concert.'
The call ended with an emphatic click and Henry wondered who she was going to the concert with.
~~~
'Come in,' Virginia said after she opened the door and Henry followed her into the house. He had lived in this luxurious house with Virginia for the entire five months they had been together. It was her house, furnished with her belongings and resonated with restrained wealth.
That of course was one of the reasons Henry gambled, a foolish attempt to somehow gain as much wealth as his famous and imposing wife. She was beautiful in a haughty Princess Diana way and far too intelligent for Henry, most of the time she made him feel a complete fool but they had been attracted to each other.
He was sure that marrying him was the only spontaneous thing Virginia Langley had ever done. Every other action in her life was planned and controlled in a methodical and premeditated way that was a little cold.
'Sit down,' Virginia said, indicating a sofa in the drawing room while she sat opposite. 'Explain,' she said calmly.
This was the moment Henry had rehearsed silently over and over again ever since Virginia had agreed to see him. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress, her legs shimmering in black nylon and her long blonde hair hung loosely to her shoulders. Her face was calm and expressionless, almost as if she was in court and about to interrogate a witness.
'I'm in a spot of bother, actually,' he said with a sheepish grin. 'I owe money…'
'As usual.'
'Not usually as much as this. A chap has taken over my debts…'
'Why on earth would he do that?'
Henry shrugged, he hadn't really wondered as he was not concerned with things he didn't fully understand and had no real desire to learn. 'I don't know but he has and he's rather a frightful chap.'
'Frightful?' Virginia raised an eyebrow and then glanced at her diamond watch.
'Yes,' Henry said with a wan smile.
'What do you mean, frightful ?'
'He's threatened to do things to me…'
'What sort of things? Bankruptcy? Debtors court?'
'No.' Henry cleared his throat. 'He's said he's going to chop my fingers off, one by one until I pay…'
'That's terrible! You should go to the police.'
'And prove what? There's no witnesses and he would just hurt me.'
'How much money?'
Henry glanced down at the floor. 'Over twenty five thousand pounds.'
Virginia smiled thinly. Beverly said it was almost twenty three thousand, she thought, so like him to round it up so he could get some more money to gamble with. He must think I'm a fool!
Henry watched her hopefully, wondering if she would help him.
'I suppose you'll have to borrow the money,' Virginia said calmly, glancing at her watch.
'I can't! Who would lend me money?'
'Who indeed,' Virginia said dryly.
'I need your help, Ginny,' he pleaded, using the pet name he had called her when they had been courting.
'And why should I assist you? You had sexual affairs immediately following our honeymoon! You gambled with my money! Why should I help the man who humiliated me in front of my family and friends?' Virginia said all of that in a flat and calm voice that was, Henry thought, so cold. His heart fell when she casually glanced at her watch again.
'I have no one else to turn to…' he murmured.
'Sell something.'
'I have nothing to sell. I've sold the car…'
' My car?'
'Yes,' he admitted shamefaced.
'I see.' Silence and he felt her cold eyes on him. 'Find something else to sell.'
'What?' he cried out. 'What have I got left?'
'I have no idea or interest.'
'Please, Ginny, I don't have anything!'
'You do have one thing.'
'What? I have nothing, it's all gone. What do I have left?'
She watched him calmly and smiled. 'You.'
'Me?'
'Sell yourself.'
'Sell…' Astonished he stared at her, mouth gaping. 'What do you mean?' he asked at last.
'Sell yourself, sell your services, your labour.'
'You mean…work?'
'Yes. I know you have never worked in your life but this may be an opportunity to start,' she said in a flat voice, dripping with sarcasm.
'But I wouldn't get the money, no job would pay me that much straight away…'
'I'll pay you that much in return for your labour.'
'You!'
'You'll work for me for a fixed period and I'll give you the money in advance.'
He settled back and smiled. It was going to be all right. She'd give him the money, he'd pay off Butterworth and vanish. She didn't really think he was going to work for her, did she? The stupid bitch !
'That would be super. I'll work really hard to repay you.'
Virginia stood and smiled thinly. 'You won't need to repay me.'
He also stood as she led the way to the door. 'When will you give me the money?'
'When you sign the contract. I'll draw the papers up tomorrow.'
'Contract?'
'Of course. Be at my office at two tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight.'
The door closed behind him and relief surged through him. He was getting the money! Everything was going to be all right!
Whistling, he walked down the street, hands dug deep into his trouser pockets and smiling, Henry Walker felt like he had just escaped prison.