I Heard It Though The Grapevine (Dead Reckoning series - Part 8)

Continued from Episode 7 (Ha! Ha! Said The Clown)

The story so far:  Josiah and Archibald are back at Oakshott and Underwood after their rather odd visit to Evanley Hall.  They were both shocked to find Samantha Knight, the wife of the escaped convict, Frankie, and previously Josiah's fiancee, waiting for them in Josiah's office.  Now, read on:

 

“What the h…what the dickens are you doing here?”  Josiah asked, eyes wide in amazement.

“Nice to see you, too, Josiah” Samantha smirked, “I do work here, you may recall?”

“I DON’T think so!” Josiah said, firmly.

“Really?” Samantha raised an eyebrow, “Have you formally dismissed me?”

“Well, no, but…” Josiah spluttered.

“And, have I resigned?”

“No, not as such, but I should have thought it would be obvious to anyone…”

“I’m afraid it is not obvious to me, Josiah” Samantha smiled, sweetly.

Archibald, aware that this conversation could be very interesting indeed, pulled out the visitor’s chair and made himself comfortable.

“Oh, but you have hurt yourself?” Samantha noticed the sling he was sporting.

“It is nothing, just a simple sprain” Josiah shrugged.

“A severe sprain” Archibald pointed out, loyally.

“Are the police aware of where you are?” Josiah crossed to the window and peered out, cautiously.

“The police have no need to know where I am, I have been released on Unconditional Bail”

“Oh!” Josiah looked crestfallen, “Well, that’s as may be, but you cannot be here”

“Why not?”

“Well, you’re…you’re a wanted felon!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Josiah, I am nothing of the sort.  In fact, my solicitor is of the opinion that I may well avoid criminal charges, completely”

“WHAT?” Josiah looked perplexed.

“After all, I haven’t really done anything wrong…” Samantha began.

“You must be joking!” Josiah spluttered, “How can you possibly say that?  Your convict of a husband burst out of one of our coffins!”

“I had nothing to do with that, Josiah, as you well know.  I was as surprised as everyone else when he appeared.”  Samantha folded her arms and gave him a steely look, “In fact, if we are going to bandy accusations, it could be argued that you and Archibald are even more culpable, given that you transported Frankie across the continent and then smuggled him back into this country”

“She’s got a point, there, Mr. O.” Archibald observed, nodding enthusiastically.

“Fine!” Josiah fumed, “But what about the stash of loot you were hiding for him? Eh?  What about that?” Josiah looked triumphant.

“That is an issue and I was, undoubtedly, foolish to allow that to happen…” Samantha looked thoughtful.

“Ha!”

“But, ultimately, I had no knowledge of its contents” Samantha shrugged.

“You say that…” Josiah sneered.

“I DO say that!” Samantha nodded, “do you really think, if I had known that I had many thousands of pounds sitting at the bottom of my garden, that I would have been living with my parents, scrimping and saving?  Why, with the fake passports, I could have taken myself anywhere in the world, and no-one would have been any the wiser!”

“She’s got a point there too, Mr. O.” Archibald nodded.

“Archibald!  Will you stop scoring this as if it were a tennis match!” Josiah snapped.

“Look, Josiah, I quite understand why you are so upset.  I would be too, under the circumstances, but I played no part in Frankie’s escape, or his return.  The police, who have released me from custody, seem to accept that, so perhaps you should, too?  Obviously, I now need to consider my future.”

“And what do you expect to happen?” Josiah looked at her, quizzically.

“I’m a realist, Josiah.” Samantha sighed, “I appreciate that it will probably be quite some time before I could hope to serve as a Celebrant again, given the bad publicity, but I see no reason why I could not work ‘behind the scenes’, as it were”

“No, no, absolutely not!” Josiah shook his head, violently.

“She’s got…” Archibald began.

“If you say, ‘She’s got a point there’ once more, Archibald, it won’t just be Mrs. Knight here who will be looking for directions to the Job Centre!” Josiah snarled.

“Humph!” Archibald scowled and looked away from them, in a marked manner.

“Josiah, I think, if you looked at this dispassionately, you would realise that I have done nothing wrong” Samantha said, quietly.

“NOTHING WRONG??  What about becoming engaged to me when you were still married?  How about that?”

“That is a fair point,” Samantha conceded, “I should not have done that.  In my defence, the marriage was so long ago, when I was still very young and foolish, and I had not seen Frankie for so many years, that I had more or less forgotten all about it, and him”

“But, you were not free…” Josiah insisted.

“No, you are quite correct.  I should have been honest with you, but I did not want to trouble you with something that was of no importance, well, not as far as I was concerned, anyway.  My plan was to end my marriage quietly and without fuss, long before we made any arrangements.  That is still my intention”

“You need not trouble yourself!” Josiah snapped, waving a hand in the air, “our relationship is over”

“Oh, Josiah!” Samantha sighed, and took a step toward him, “Don’t you think it would be a terrible waste to allow something as good as we had, to just…slip away?”

“Not necessarily!  In fact, I think it is only fair that you should know that there is someone else” Josiah said, with a hint of bravado, stepping back to ensure a cordon sanitaire between him and Samantha.

“Is there?” Archibald looked astonished.

“Yes, there is!” Josiah said, defiantly.

“I see” Samantha frowned and took a deep breath, “If that is the case, Josiah, then, obviously, I would wish you every happiness” Samantha shook her head, sadly, “and with regard to my employment…?”

“I will consult with my legal advisor and I will contact you as soon as I have a response”

“Fine!” Samantha nodded, “We will talk again, Josiah”

“Indeed!  Now, if you will forgive me, I have much that needs my attention” Josiah crossed the room, and opened the door, pointedly.  Samantha and Archibald trooped out and the door closed, firmly, behind them.

“Thank you, Archie.  I really appreciate your support” Samantha touched him, lightly, on his arm, as they walked down the corridor.

“Oh, it’s nowt” Archibald blushed, “he was right upset after all that palaver at the Crem., you know?”

“Yes, I can imagine” Samantha nodded, “So was I!  I would not have wished that situation on anyone”

“I think he was shocked, more than anything” Archibald confided, “but I think finding out you were still married, well, that was the straw that broke the camel’s howsyourfather”

“I know” Samantha said, quietly, “what’s all this about there being ‘someone else’?”

“Oh, don’t ask me!” Archibald protested, flapping his arms in exasperation, “it’s him you need to talk to”

“But, it’s you that I’m asking, Archie” Samantha nudged him and winked, “Go on, be a pal!”

“Well…” Archibald sighed, “we’ve been to see this posh sort, up in Cheshire, this afternoon.  Turns out that him and her used to be an item, back in the day”

“Is that so?  He never mentioned anything before” Samantha raised her eyebrows.

“No, I know, but that’s what he reckons” Archibald nodded, “She was supposed to be a potential client, and they’re few and far between, at the moment, but that all went out the window as soon as she put in an appearance.  They were getting on like an’ house on fire, an’ all.  All whispering and private jokes and stuff”

“I see” Samantha said, quietly.

“But, if you ask me…” Archibald looked around, to check that no-one was listening, “I reckon she’s a bit…strange”

“Strange?”

“Yeah, odd, a bit peculiar like” Archibald scratched his head and looked worried, “she gave me the willies, to be honest”

“I don’t like the sound of this, Archie” Samantha frowned. “Why would she suddenly turn up, out of the blue, at this time?  How did she know how to contact him and why hasn’t she done so, before?”

“Must have seen it in the papers, I suppose” Archibald mused, “it was all over the Advertiser, they loved it!”

“Well, yes, I suppose there’s that but why wait until there was an article in the news?  Surely, if she wanted to make contact again, she could have done so at any time, it can’t be that hard to track down a Funeral Director, can it?”

“There’s summat else, an’ all” Archibald looked around, again, “she’s got a daughter, Precious”

“Precious?” Samantha looked surprised.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Archibald nodded “but she was all right, to be fair, only, she’s like eighteen, nineteen, summat like that”

“Ok” Samantha nodded.

“Guess how long it’s been since Mr. O. and her were together?” Archibald asked, pointedly.

“NO!” Samantha looked shocked.

“I was winding him up about it, on the way back” Archibald said, “but he went a bit quiet, so I reckon he must think there’s something in it”

“Gosh!  This is a mess, isn’t it Archie?” Samantha looked very thoughtful.

“Yeah, I know.” Archibald nodded and looked glum, “I wish we could turn the clock back. Nowt’s gone right since we came back from Spain!”

“We’ve got to keep an eye on him, Archie” Samantha frowned, “he’s very vulnerable, just now. I don’t want to see him get hurt”

“Me neither” Archibald agreed, looking thoughtful, “he’s a pain in the ar…backside at the best of times, but he’d be bloody awful if owt else goes wrong”

They walked together, down the corridor, both deep in thought.

For the background to all this, you really need to read 'Bring Out Your Dead' (link is external) available now in both Kindle and paperback versions.