Finders Keepers by Edie Baylis (epub ebook reader txt) 📕

that sound anywhere. Thanks to a stretched cord on one of the pendulums, the second half of the chime was distinct. He’d listened to that grandfather clock for half his life and could pick it blindfolded from a shop full of them.

Heath Pointer was at Footlights with his mother. His eyes narrowed. ‘Teagan didn’t want the phone. She was quite rude. I don’t think any of us will be seeing her again.’

‘Oh, that’s such a shame!’ Heath blathered. ‘How’s Dulcie?’

Robert inwardly snarled. The man knew exactly how she was because by the sound of it, he was standing right next to her... ‘I haven’t seen her for a few days.’

‘Where are you then? Are you working? I mean, are y...’

‘You have a lot of questions, Mr Harding?’ Robert snapped. ‘If you must know, I’m working away and before you ask, my mother insisted she would be fine on her own. Now if you don’t mind...?’

‘I...’ Heath began, but the call had already disconnected.

‘That was pathetic!’ Dulcie barked. ‘We know Robert’s not at work because you’ve already called there. He’s with her, I tell you. Her!’

Heath nodded. Pretending to be one of Robert’s clients, he had indeed called up the office. The woman he’d spoken to had apologised for Robert’s absence and confirmed he hadn’t been contactable for over a week. ‘It could be feasible Teagan has called him and said she isn’t coming back. He didn’t sound happy.’

Dulcie’s face screwed up as her bony legs carried her around the sitting room. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. Robert’s never happy! She’s with him and they’ve got my diamonds!’ Her sharp eyes homed in on Heath. ‘You said you wanted to help? So do it! I want my diamonds back!’

Heath stared at the phone’s screen, seeing another text notification from his father. He wanted the diamonds back too, but before he did anything else he would have to make a trip to his own flat to pick up his stuff and also go and see his father.

BOOTING UP THE LAPTOP Jonah had given him, Robert perched on a chair in the corner of Teagan’s bedroom. Now he knew where Heath was, he could put the trace in on him at the same time as O’Hara.

Robert watched Teagan mirrored in the screen of his laptop reading a book that Gwen had thoughtfully brought to try and get her mind off things. She seemed a lot better physically but mentally - still paper thin.

His anger of being tasked with Teagan’s fragility, the burden of Saul Powell and the hatred for his mother grew. On top of that, Darren Harding – now known to be Heath Pointer, infiltrating his mother’s life was the last straw. At least he no longer had to spend the nights perched on a chair in Teagan’s bedroom and instead sleep unhindered in a separate room - one far away from her and the reminders. But he was still lumbered with keeping an eye on her half of the time and that had to stop.

This was all his mother’s fault. She was personally responsible for bringing all of these people out of the woodwork. Well, she was too late. The diamonds were gone, but Robert knew without a doubt that by now she’d have worked out that he’d taken them and would be arranging to get them back by whatever means necessary. His mother and Heath Pointer were either working together to track him down or working each other without the other one knowing.

He snarled silently. It didn’t matter either way because they were both going to pay and he knew exactly how that would happen now.

‘What are you doing?’ Teagan asked, placing her book in her lap.

Quickly putting his screen to sleep, Robert turned and forced a smile. ‘Just a bit of scripting.’

‘Oh, you mean for your job?’

‘No, a little freelance project,’ Robert said. If Teagan knew what he was really doing there would be endless questions. Ones he didn’t want or couldn’t answer. ‘How’s your book?’

‘It’s good, but...’ Teagan frowned. ‘Do you not think we should check on Dulcie? I mean, I know what she did to Helen but she’s still your mother and we don’t know all the details – she may have had no choice. You said yourself th...’

‘You need to stop worrying about my mother. She’s got someone looking after her – I arranged it,’ Robert snapped. Yeah, Heath Pointer and that he hadn’t arranged. If only Teagan knew what was in that notebook and about Heath – or should he say, Darren Harding... ‘If it will make you feel better I’ll go and see her at some point this week.’

‘Yes it would,’ Teagan said. Smiling, she picked her book back up and continued to read.

Robert glanced back at Teagan in the laptop’s reflection and satisfied she was now concentrating on something other than him, he brought his screen back to life. Tapping in the credentials for his proxy server, he waited until the screen scrolled with events and watching closely, a smile crossed his face.

Entering the necessary details, Robert hit the enter key with a flourish. All he had to do now was hope his plan worked. It would be the only sure fire way he would know when the coast was clear, but suspected it wouldn’t be too long.

Fifty Three

HEATH SCOWLED AT HIS PHONE. Another configuration setting update? Bloody thing! Why did mobile networks keep insisting on this? Update this, update that, security patch this... all the bleeding time! Sometimes it would be easier not to bother with a smart phone and have one of those antiquated ones that just sent texts and made calls.

Stabbing the OWA CP configuration notification, Heath selected Install and rolled his eyes when the phone pinged gleefully stating the install was successful.

‘Shall we go for a drive somewhere?’ Dulcie asked, breezing into the sitting room. ‘I quite fancy a pub lunch – maybe out by the river?’

Heath looked up.