Read The Charlton Affair Online
Authors: MJ Doherty
“I know this might be hard, but can you tell me how your marriage has been going lately?”
Phoebe looked away.
Sally pressed, “I can see you have something to say.”
Phoebe swallowed, “We’ve grown apart. He’s been working a lot lately. Travelling away from home.” Phoebe stopped speaking, clearly fighting back tears.
“Yes?” Sally asked, trying to get her to continue.
Sally knew she was holding back.
Maybe the wife’s having an affair, too? Interesting.
Phoebe remained quiet.
Trying a different tack, Sally asked, “And what do you know about your husband’s childhood?”
Phoebe was clearly put off by the sudden change of subject.
She paused and then said, “He grew up in Biggenden. His parents both died ten years ago. He has no other family. He played all the usual sports and went to a Catholic boarding school when he finished primary school.”
“Nothing from when he was a very small child?”
“No,” Phoebe said, becoming suspicious, “Why are you asking me about this?”
“I’m sorry to have to inform you, Mrs. Rawlins, that I arrested your husband a short time ago on several charges, including an attempt to murder you by tampering with your car.”
Phoebe clutched her chest. Sally could see that the pain was excruciating for her. Eventually the spasm passed and then Phoebe looked up at her in complete disbelief and horror.
Speaking with difficulty, Phoebe protested, “The man who chased me was a much bigger man than Michael. Michael was away when I had my car crash. I just don’t believe it. It can’t be him. It can’t be.”
Sally said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Rawlins, there’s no easy way to put this, but your husband has been having an affair with another woman.”
Watching her carefully, Sally could tell Phoebe was shocked at first and then she seemed almost relieved.
Well, well, well.
Sally said, “Mrs. Rawlins, you don’t seem, terribly…upset… about that?”
Phoebe replied slowly, “It kind of makes sense, now. The absences, the grumpiness when he came home, the… other things.” Phoebe blushed.
Sally could guess what she was referring to but didn’t push for more information. Instead she pulled her notebook out of her bag, saying, “I’m going to show you something that will shock you again. I’m sorry if it causes you pain.”
Phoebe looked as though she would faint and she hadn’t even seen the document yet. Sally handed her a copy of an old newspaper article about an American family called the Charltons. After telling her to take her time and read it thoroughly, she waited.
Phoebe eventually looked up.
Puzzled, she said, “It’s awful, but why show it to me?”
“Look closely at the picture of little Jefferson Junior, Mrs. Rawlins. Does he look familiar?”
Phoebe stared hard at the black and white image. Looking up at Sally she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Sally became alarmed when Phoebe’s eye’s rolled back and she slumped back into the lounge.
Bloody hell! She’s fainted
, Sally thought, exasperated. She stood and called out to Mark to bring a wet towel. She tried to rouse the woman without success.
Mark arrived and dampened Phoebe’s forehead, calling her name. Soon, Phoebe came to and clutched her chest in pain.
Sally explained the information briefly to Mark and left Phoebe in his care. She would get nothing further from her today.
*****
Roman simply couldn’t process what Mark was trying to explain to him. His head felt like it was going to explode. He looked at the sheet of paper Mark handed him and then at the internet page Mark brought up on his iPad.
Poor Michael
, he thought. Then suddenly he thought,
no, Michael’s been cheating on Phoebe. He’s been arrested for trying to kill her!
It can’t be true
. Then it clicked.
This is why Charlie was so keen on him having Phoebe stay with us
. She must have known something wasn’t right.
What a nightmare! Poor Phoebe.
Roman gulped down the vodka and lime Mark handed to him.
Looking at Mark, he said, “How is she?”
“I got the doctor to come over. She gave her a sedative and now she’s sleeping. She was pretty distressed.” Mark replied, “She fainted when the police were telling her about Michael’s past.”
Roman’s brow furrowed.
Poor Phoebe. Someone was trying to kill her, but was it Michael? What if it wasn’t? The police had got it wrong before. Was she safe here with them? Were he and Mark safe?
Not wanting to think about it anymore, Roman grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The new channel came on and there it was, the prime story of the day. The captions moving across the bottom of the screen said it all.
Brisbane man with false identity. American heir to millions, survivor of family tragedy, now arrested for trying to kill his own wife. Like father like son
was another comment. The newsreaders were all over it like carrion eaters. They were dissecting the past and eagerly awaiting Michael’s application for Supreme Court bail on Monday. Roman turned the channel off in disgust.
“What should we do?” He asked Mark.
Mark replied, “Leave it to me, sweetie,” and kissed Roman on his furrowed brow.
Chapter Nine
He said, “Isn’t that Charlie’s client?”
“Yes, that’s the bloke I’ve been looking into,” Amanda replied.
“He sure doesn’t look like a killer, almost got a baby face with those lips.”
“I’m not sure he is a killer. There’s something funny about it,” Amanda replied, tiredly.
She had managed to get about four hours of sleep before she had to wake up and get organized prior to John coming home from his job as a refrigeration mechanic. She didn’t want him to know she’d been awake all night. That would lead to all sorts of conflict. He hadn’t been at all happy that she had to go away overnight for work. If he knew what she was really up to he would hit the roof.
“Why did the police arrest him then?” John asked.
“Things really do look bad for him,” Amanda admitted. “He’s got a mistress. His wife is insured for five million and the police found a device in his house that caused the car crash his wife nearly died in.”
“That’s more than things looking bad, love. Sound’s like the cops might have it right,” John remarked.
“Yeah, it looks that way on the surface, but I’m not so sure. I mean he really doesn’t need the five million in insurance money. But then again, if he thought he might lose half of his fortune to his wife in a messy divorce, killing her is a better option I guess.” Amanda’s face looked puzzled, “I don’t know. I just have a feeling about it.”
John asked grumpily, “I guess this means you might have to work this weekend?”
Amanda was glad she hadn’t been the one to bring it up, “Actually yes, I was going to mention that Charlie might need me to do a few things this weekend.”
John sighed, “I wish you had a normal job. But at least she always gives you days off later when you have to work weekends.”
“Yeah, she’s a pretty good boss, honey.”
John didn’t reply. His attention was now completely caught by the sporting news.
Amanda quietly sent a text to Charlie, telling her she just saw the news.
Charlie texted back immediately asking if Amanda would be OK to give her and Darren a hand this weekend? Amanda happily replied that of course it was fine. Charlie’s next text thanked her profusely and asked her to come over in the morning. Amanda texted back she would be there with coffee at eight. Moving closer to her husband, Amanda reflected how much she loved working for Charlie. She loved her husband, too, but digging up information for an urgent bail hearing was going to be much more fun than heading off down the coast fishing for a couple of days. She enjoyed fishing but it wasn’t exactly exciting, especially the part where she got to gut all the fish they caught.
*****
Phoebe woke with a pounding headache at 5 AM on Saturday morning. Even lifting her head was pain inducing. She gingerly reached over to the bedside table, trying not to cause too much pain, and felt around until she found some Tylenol. Despite all the heavy drugs the doctors had offered her, she found that Tylenol worked best for her pain. She had been lucky not to require surgical intervention to reset her sternum. It was more of a crack than an outright break, but her whole upper body was one massive bruise. The doctors had said the bruising might not fully resolve for several weeks. At least it was improving. It had gone from a deep blue to blotches of red and yellow in places. Strapping did not ease the pain, but it was effective in assisting her to limit and slow her movements, which helped.
After forcing herself to sit up, she managed to get the tablets down with some water. Now the trick was to stay absolutely still for the ten minutes or so it took for the pills to take effect. She reflected on the news she received yesterday. Still in shock, she couldn’t begin to comprehend what Michael had been through as a child. It defied logic. And now he was in custody. It was truly horrible.
She suddenly realized why he had such understanding and sympathy for her fear over her attack. Tears tracked down her cheek as the thought of him alone in a small prison cell made her choke up. She knew he was terrified of tiny spaces and prayed that wherever they had him, it was not too cramped. Her heart contracted painfully and she desperately wished she could comfort him.
Why didn’t he ever tell me?
She wondered if he had wanted to tell her, but just couldn’t.
As for him being arrested, she did not and could never believe he had tried to kill her. She may not have known about his past, but she did understand his nature, and he was simply not capable of that. Nothing anyone said would ever convince her otherwise. He was not a man who was comfortable with his feelings, but he did display the desire to rescue and to nurture. He loved animals and couldn’t bear to see any person or creature in pain. As the pills started to take effect, she wondered what she could do to help Michael.
As for his affair, she had mixed feelings.
Well, I can’t really blame him for that
, she thought.
I’d be having an affair too, if only I could…
Trying not to focus on Charlie, she reflected on how sad she was that they had been unable to approach the decline of their marriage like adults. But being honest about his internal reality was not Michael’s strong point. It may even be something he actually couldn’t do, as it might open the door to his past.
As for her, she finally understood that one of the reasons she had been initially attracted to him was that she didn’t have to engage in a deep level of intimacy with him. They were both emotionally unavailable. She thought about her strict upbringing. About how her father hated it if his wife or daughters became emotional or got too upset. She remembered how she had cried and cried as a child when a puppy she had been given had died. Her father refused to ever let her or her sister have another pet, saying he couldn’t handle the tears.
Michael and her had suited each other for a time, she realized, until he became sexually adventurous and his direction had changed. And so had she, just not as overtly as he had.
She moved circumspectly out of the bed and padded carefully to her en suite. As she delicately performed her ablutions, she thought back over her marriage. Not once had Michael ever really splashed out with money. He was always careful about it. They had many nice things but they were always affordable and never out of reach for their income. She remembered the pre-nuptial agreement they signed. At the time, she had thought from a risk perspective, that it was a good idea for both of them. After all, she had been certain she would make partner. That came with the possibility that her income would exceed his. Financial Agreements were the sort of thing she often advised her clients to consider. It had been her idea to get the life insurances, also.
She wondered if the Agreement would still hold in respect of the millions he must have tucked away somewhere.
Was that why he’d wanted the agreement? To keep the money he never spent safe? It’s all so strange
.
I don’t want his money. It’s blood money. Maybe he doesn’t want it either. He’s never touched it, as far as I’m aware. Maybe the pre-nuptial wasn’t about the money. Maybe it was about his need to keep that whole thing under a lid?
Phoebe suddenly realized she had to start getting her mind in gear and putting her fears and problems behind her. She was not going to be able to get through the coming days or be able to help Michael at all if she kept carrying on like a victim.
No more fainting, no more self-pity over Charlie and no more fear
, she decided.
*****
Roman swanned into the living room at 10 AM after a sleep in. Phoebe was on her telephone. He noticed the change in her. She was dressed. Her hair was done and she was wearing make up. She looked ready for action.
The news channel was playing, and Mark was nowhere to be seen. That was odd. It was usually Mark who liked to watch the news channel. Roman preferred travel and entertainment shows. After heading over to his Italian espresso machine, he set about making himself a long black.
“Coffee, sweets?” He called out when Phoebe ended her call.
“Thanks. That’d be great,” she replied, turning her attention to the news. Of course, Michael was the prime topic. They both watched for a moment as Darren Franks appeared, making a short statement concerning the bail hearing. One of the journalists asked who was going to appear for Michael before Justice Donaldson on Monday. Darren announced that he had briefed Ms. Charlotte Moss of Counsel to appear.
Roman looked over at Phoebe and saw the change in her expression. He could see that she suddenly understood why Charlie could have nothing to do with her. He was surprised to see her smile and then nod. She actually looked relieved.
Casually he said, “Do you know where the love of my life has gotten himself to?”
Phoebe replied enigmatically, “He’ll be back soon.”
Suspicious, Roman wondered what was going on.
“You’re all business this morning, sweets. Are you going out somewhere?”
“I’m sick of being the victim. It’s time to start taking action.” Phoebe replied firmly.
Roman looked at her closely. Seeing the look of determination on her face, he shuddered.
Thank God I’m gay
, he thought,
these women are too much!
Cautiously, he asked, “What sort of action?”
“Well, I’ve just been on the phone to my security company. I’ve transferred my patrolling services from Hamilton to here. They’re also on their way over here now to install one of those security camera locks on your front gate.”
Roman approved of that sort of action. Smiling, he said, “Go girl!”
He had been worried about what to do if Michael got bail, but clearly Phoebe had already come up with the solution.
Just as he was about to ask her about what else she had planned, Mark walked into the living room accompanied by something utterly shocking.
Roman stared, mouth agape, seized by instant anxiety for his lovely home. Unable to speak, he mouthed, “Nooo!”
Mark smiled at Roman, clearly amused, “Sweetheart, meet Leo,” he said happily, releasing his hold on the collar of a very large, very menacing looking Rottweiler. Leo bounded over to Roman and stuck his hairy muzzle straight into Roman’s crotch, sniffing him in canine greeting.
Roman squealed in terror, leaping away. Leo bounced after him, thinking it was a game. Barking, he wagged his tail at Roman excitedly. Roman stared at Mark and Phoebe in utter horror. Mark was actually giggling, while Phoebe held her chest to stifle the pain as she, too, shook with laughter.
“If this…
creature
…harms one iota of my Italian leather, or anything at all, I’ll kill you both,” Roman hissed.
Leo, after realizing Roman was not going to play with him, promptly went over to the Italian leather couch and jumped up and made himself at home. He happily drooled all over the armrest.
Roman’s hands flew up and he stormed off as Mark shouted in outright laughter.
*****
Michael sat on his bunk, tensely trying to control his breathing. His cell was small but thankfully not so small that he was in an outright panic. It was difficult being confined. He sometimes felt a little like this in the small planes he had to travel in for work, but they had windows he could stare out of. There were no windows here. He knew that somehow Darren had gotten a doctor to speak to the authorities, so that Michael was placed in the medical wing at the Arthur Gorrie Remand and Reception Center prison at Wacol instead of in with the general prison population. Even in the improved conditions, Michael knew he must get out, and soon. If he had to stay in a place like this for too long, he would kill himself. The confinement was beyond what he could cope with long term.
Sinking further into despair, he wished he could remember his mother. He was unable to remember almost everything prior to the darkness of hiding in that cramped space and the sounds of the gun going off. All he had was a vague recollection of an older girl who used to hold him. He thought that must be his dead sister. The memory held great sadness, even though he didn’t know why. He had never dwelled on it.
He found that his thoughts did not go to Marita, which he found strange, given that he had chosen her for his future mate. It was Phoebe he’d been thinking of. He wished she was there to comfort him, but he knew that she would never comfort him again. Not after this. Even though they had no future together as man and wife, she was the only person he truly trusted.
Alone and frightened, he tried not to hyperventilate.
*****
Darren and Amanda waited on the footpath outside Roman’s New Farm home on the gloriously bright Queensland afternoon. The sun glistened through the well-established trees in the quiet street.
“Tight security,” Amanda commented, as she pressed the buzzer and stared into the camera.
A voice said, “Yes?”