‘Remember Susie Gantry, Oz’s third wife? Janet and wee Jonathan’s mother?’
‘Sure. To tell you the truth I’ve followed her business career since Oz died. I’ve even got a very small sentimental shareholding in her company. And of course,’ he exclaimed as he made the connection in his head, ‘her managing director’s a man named Culshaw.’
‘That’s right: Phil. Duncan’s his nephew, and, God help us, as of a couple of days ago, he’s Susie’s new husband.’
‘And you don’t approve?’ he murmured, with a small smile.
‘No, I bloody don’t. Liam, can I tell you something, in the strictest confidence, because it relates directly to Tom’s privacy.’
‘Of course you can.’
Looking back now, I’m not sure how I knew that I could trust the man on the basis of such a fragmented acquaintance, but I did. I told him the Duncan story from the start, from our first brief meeting when Susie had taken him on as her man about the house, through his surprise visit to me the year before, and its thwarting, finally bringing it up to date with Duncan’s reappearance in Monaco, and the Elvis Presley impersonator wedding ceremony.
‘The guy’s a blackmailer,’ he summarised, when I was finished, ‘and Susie’s married him?’
‘Yes, and now he’s threatening to use his new status to get even with me, and with Tom in the process. He’s out to blacken Oz’s name, Liam.’
‘The vicious bastard,’ he murmured, evenly.
‘Indeed.’
‘Are you worried about him and his threat?’
‘Yes, for lots of reasons. If he does start spreading stories about Oz, it won’t just be Tom who’s hurt. So will Janet and wee Jonathan. And the damage won’t just be emotional either. You’ve got to know that Oz has become a bit of a cult since he died, like James Dean, or John Lennon or Amy Winehouse. His DVD sales are massive, and the income from them goes into his estate. That belongs to the three kids. If that was affected they’d feel it most.’
‘Who manages the estate?’ he asked.
‘Susie and I do, between us.’
‘Amicably?’
‘Completely, until now. The last conversation she and I had probably put an end to that.’
‘There could be a further complication,’ Liam murmured, ‘if the new stepdaddy gets himself involved in running the kids’ affairs.’
I hadn’t thought about that one.
He grinned. ‘You could always marry someone,’ he suggested. ‘Somebody who would scare the shit out of him.’
I glared at him for an instant, then chuckled when I saw he’d been joking. ‘That would be a step too far. I’m like you; I’m not in the marrying game.’
‘Your sister is, though. That might be another way of scaring him off.’
‘Run that past me?’
‘Come on, Primavera, you must realise how much of a player your brother-in-law is. Miles Grayson isn’t just another guy who made films. When I first worked for him, in Edinburgh on that movie Oz was in … What was it called again?’
‘Skinner’s Rules,’ I reminded him. ‘Film of the book.’
‘That’s the one. Even then, I thought he was a fairly ordinary bloke. You know, there were no airs about him, didn’t push himself. I didn’t realise he’d been the guest of the last three presidents at White House dinners, and of two prime ministers at Number Ten, or that he’s got business interests worth several times as much as Susie’s construction group. And he’s Tom’s uncle … He still is, isn’t he? They haven’t got divorced or anything?’
‘No. He and Dawn are very happy; they’ll stay the course.’
‘In that case, if you appointed him as a trustee of the estate, to look after Tom’s interests …’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘You get my drift? He would fucking eat Mr Culshaw.’
‘Mmm.’ The possibility of involving Miles was one that had occurred to me during the listless night, but I had rejected it. ‘That would be a last resort, Liam,’ I told him. Another super-banger went off close to the village, but he ignored it. ‘I’m taking this personally,’ I added. ‘I’ve got teeth too.’
‘But you’ll have to be careful how you use them,’ he said, then frowned. ‘Listen,’ he went on, ‘if this guy’s a professional conman, as it seems he is, my guess is that you are not this man’s first target. I have an ex-girlfriend in London, a cop who’s now a fairly senior officer in the Met. I could tell her about this, and ask her to have a look at Mr Duncan Culshaw. If he has indeed done this before and he’s been caught, he’ll have a record. If he has, you could tip off Susie. And even if he hasn’t, my lady might turn up something about him, given time.’
‘There may not be too much of that,’ I said. His glasses had slipped a little; he peered at me over the top. ‘There’s something I didn’t tell you about Susie.’ I filled him in on her illness. ‘She’s finished her final round of therapy, and they’re making all the right noises.’
‘But?’
‘Yes, but: Liam, this is something I haven’t told a soul, and I’m only telling you because you have history with Susie and Oz, and I think you care about her. When I went to see her consultant in Monaco, he was more forthcoming than I expected, but he let something slip that I don’t think he meant to. He told me the type of leukaemia that she has, and he used its long name, thinking probably that it would mean nothing to me. But it did, because twenty years ago and more, I nursed someone with that condition. It’s one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of the disease that there is. Even with the very latest treatments, the kind that Susie’s been having in America, her chances of five-year survival are not good at all. Worse, there’s a real possibility that she might not see the end of this year. So you see, we may not have a lot of time to deal with Culshaw.’
‘Ouch,’ he whispered. ‘If she dies and they’re married …’
‘Then regardless of any will she leaves, he’d inherit a large chunk of her estate, and he’d be bound to be the children’s legal guardian.’
‘That does make it urgent.’ He took off the glasses, revealing warm blue eyes. ‘Tell me, Primavera,’ he asked, ‘apart from you, who knows about Susie’s illness?’
‘The Kents do, obviously.’ He looked at me, blankly; I had to explain who they were. ‘And there’s one other,’ I added. ‘When Susie was diagnosed, and she knew she’d be taking extended periods away from the business, she felt she had to tell her managing director … Phil Culshaw.’
‘Duncan’s uncle,’ Liam said.
‘That’s right. Now I know nothing about the man. For example, is he straight?’
‘He’s running a listed company,’ Liam pointed out. ‘That means he’s subject to audit and public scrutiny, not to mention Susie having oversight of everything he does. She’s executive chair, remember. Is he indiscreet? That’s the real question. Did he let slip to his nephew that she was ill?’
‘It needn’t have been that way,’ I pointed out. ‘Let’s assume that uncle knew about Susie and Duncan when the relationship began. When nephew disappeared, after my cop friend Alex Guinart … and he’s no more than that,’ I interjected, ‘… and I sorted him out, if Susie decided that she wanted to get in touch with him again, who else would she use as a messenger but Uncle Phil?’
‘True.’ He nodded.
‘But leave him aside, let’s assume he’s honest. There’s one thing I can do, and I might well. I’ve spoken to Alex and I can still make a criminal complaint against Duncan in Spain. I was hesitant, but talking this through with you has changed my mind. I think I’ll do it. That’ll shake things up.’
‘Christ.’ Liam laughed. ‘Miles told me you were living the quiet life out here. That’s what he calls it, is it?’ But suddenly, he frowned. ‘Primavera,’ he murmured, ‘I’m no lawyer, I only watch the telly, but from what you’ve told me, I’ve got a worry about any complaint you make. If this was Law and Order: UK, or similar, wouldn’t any half-decent barrister have the recording you made thrown out as evidence, on grounds of entrapment?’
That hadn’t occurred to me, but he had a point. ‘Maybe,’ I conceded, ‘but I’m still going to do it. I’m up for anything that will sort this character out.’