Fenella replied instantly, “Yes, Cash.”
He heard cars approaching and turned to see Suzanne’s Mercedes and Nicola’s Audi headed their way. Honor and Nicola were both in the Audi.
Cash walked Abby and Fenella toward the cars and watched all the women alight.
“What on earth –” Nicola whispered as they arrived, her eyes on the wrecked Maserati.
Honor’s face was ashen and her eyes were on Fenella. Then they moved to Cash and he watched a spark of anger flare before she subdued it.
“There was an accident,” Cash announced unnecessarily, “take Fenella and Abby back to the castle. I’ll wait for the police.”
“Is everyone okay?” Nicola asked, her eyes doing a scan first of her daughter then of Abby.
“We’re fine, Mummy,” Fenella assured her mother, linking her arm through Abby’s, gently disengaging her from Cash and moving them both toward the Audi. “Let’s get back. I seriously need a cup of tea.”
Fenella, Cash was surprised to see, took charge and got the women in the car and Honor drove the Audi very slowly back up the lane.
Suzanne stayed behind, her eyes on Cash.
He pulled his gaze from the Audi and spared Suzanne a glance before flipping open her phone.
“Cash –” she began.
“Not now, Suzanne,” Cash returned, punching James’s number into the mobile as he spoke.
She, as usual, pushed it “Cash, you should know, Alistair –”
His eyes cut to her and in a voice vibrating with barely controlled rage, Cash repeated, “Not now.”
She watched him a moment and he heard James answer.
He walked away from her.
She got in her car and drove to the castle as Cash gave James his orders.
Nicola, her three daughters, Abby and Cash were in the drawing room. Alistair had left early that morning to do errands unknown and had not yet arrived back home.
Everyone except Cash was sipping tea as Abby then Fenella told their stories to the police.
There were a good deal of knowing looks exchanged between the sisters, even Suzanne, and Abby.
Nicola ignored the knowing looks and held her body rigid as if the slightest movement might shatter it.
Cash also held his body rigid but in an effort to control his impulse to hunt down Alistair Charles Beaumaris and split his skull open against the nearest hard surface.
The police were making preparations to leave when Alistair surged through the door.
The room, already fraught, went wired.
Abby was seated on the sofa, Cash standing by her side. The moment Alistair entered her hand shot out, her fingers closed around his and squeezed.
Tight.
Cash’s body stayed taut for a moment then released and he squeezed back.
Alistair looked, Cash noted with repugnance, excited.
His eyes swept the room and fell on Cash. The excitement melted and for a moment Alistair looked startled before he hid it.
“What happened?” Alistair asked, walking further into the room. “When I drove up, I saw your car wrecked, there’s police crawling all over it. What’s going on?”
“Abby had an accident,” Nicola said, her voice soft, her eyes on Alistair and they were intense. She stood and continued. “Fenella was in the car with her.”
Cash watched as Alistair blanched then his gaze moved to Fenella. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” Fenella replied, but her tone was sharp.
Alistair looked to Abby. “Abby, how are you?”
“Alive,” Abby answered, her voice cold, her eyes shooting icicles at his uncle across the expanse.
Alistair’s gaze skittered across the room, avoiding everyone else’s and coming to rest on the police. “Well thank goodness everyone’s all right.”
“Yes,” Nicola declared firmly, “thank goodness.”
The police, who had paused in their exit, began to move again, one of the men saying, “We have everything we need, we’ll call if –”
Suzanne interrupted him. “Excuse me.”
They stopped and turned to her as she went on, something shifting on her face, looking at first calculating then shifting swiftly to demure.
Cash braced.
Suzanne kept talking. “I’m sorry, I mean, this is probably nothing. A freak coincidence but…”
She trailed off, playing what Cash knew was a game, as did Abby. Abby scooted closer to him on the couch and her hand tightened in his as they waited for Suzanne to speak.
“What is it?” one of the police asked.
“Well, it’s only that, Cash here,” she motioned to Cash with a flick of her wrist and Abby’s hand flexed spasmodically in his, “see, his father died in a car wreck,” Suzanne finished, what sounded inanely.
Both policemen shifted awkwardly on their feet, their eyes going to Cash.
“I’m sorry, sir,” one of the police mumbled.
“No,” Suzanne went on to announce, “you don’t understand. Foul play was suspected.”
Cash felt Abby’s body jerk through his hand and his own eyes riveted on Suzanne.
“It was?” the policeman asked.
“Yes, indeed it was,” Suzanne answered blithely. “They never pinned it on anyone but, you know, it does seem an odd coincidence that Cash’s father might have been murdered and here we are, decades later, and Cash’s expensive, high performance, Italian sports car which was, I assume, running smoothly last night during its trek from Somerset to Devon, this morning, with no warning, strangely both accelerates on its own and its brakes go out, both at the same time.” Suzanne licked her lips, sat back in her chair and finished. “I mean, don’t you think that’s utterly bizarre?”
Alistair cut in and all eyes moved to him as he declared, “Nothing was ever proved.”
“I know nothing was every proved, Alistair,” Suzanne shot back. “That doesn’t change the fact that foul play was suspected. The police, you’ll no doubt agree, should have all the facts.” Her eyes moved to the police. “It was a long time ago but I’m sure there’s still a case file somewhere.”
Alistair moved further into the room, his eyes narrowing on Suzanne.
“Nothing was ever proved,” he insisted.
“You said that already,” Suzanne returned mildly.
Alistair’s gaze flicked to Cash then to the police. “There’s no reason to dredge that up again just because of an accident. We’re planning a celebration tonight and it will only serve to distress my family, my nephew –”
“It does seem weird,” Fenella piped up, interrupting Alistair.
“Very peculiar,” Honor added.
Cash saw Nicola’s mouth twitch in a way that looked like she was trying to control a smile before she turned her face away.
“You see,” Suzanne smoothly carried on, “Anthony Beaumaris was a rich and powerful man. Now his son is. It could be someone has it out for him and his family. We could all be in danger.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Alistair spat.
Nicola turned to her husband. “I don’t know if it’s ridiculous considering Abby and Fenella were in that car. If someone’s after Cash they couldn’t know Abby would drive his car. It was the first time Abby ever touched the steering wheel. And it could have been any one of us sitting beside her. If someone intends Cash harm, what happened this morning proves that we could all be in danger.”
“You’re not in danger,” Alistair retorted.
“I was today,” Fenella reminded him and Alistair’s narrowed eyes shot to her.
Then Alistair turned to the police declaring, “This is rubbish.”
“It doesn’t sound like rubbish to me,” Honor commented. “How often does this happen? I mean, this kind of thing doesn’t happen to most people even once, but now it’s happened to Cash twice? That’s just plain weird.”