Condemned, R.C. Bridgestock [most romantic novels TXT] 📗

amounts of dosh, if you don’t spend it on ridiculously expensive cars and jewellery, which are nice and visual but a sure way to get our unwanted attention.’

‘Any news on the ANPR enquiry?’ asked Annie.

‘No, but it’ll be interesting to see what they can come up with, and if there have been any sightings of the car since Hussain’s murder.’

‘It’s hardly likely to be still being driven around though is it, unless it’s on false plates?’

‘Who knows?’ said Charley. ‘Time will tell. In the meantime, we will have to be patient.’

Annie strolled back to her desk, throwing Wilkie a cunning smile.

‘I’d have got the information in the end,’ said Wilkie.

‘Course you would,’ said Annie as she sat down, allowing herself to feel a little smug satisfaction.

The visit to Mr and Mrs Hayfield, who lived on the south coast, in the village of Milford-On-Sea, had proved fruitful, as Mike told the others when he and Ricky-Lee returned later that afternoon. Apparently, George and Dinah Hayfield had lived in their bungalow for forty-five years, and had only recently been able to buy it.

‘It was very unexpected, that Di inherited the big house,’ George told them. ‘Di was in hospital, we’d been informed she wouldn’t walk again, and we were wondering how we were going to manage. Then out of the blue, we received this letter from the solicitors, who informed us that her cousin Adam Alderman, had left her his fortune and Crownest in his will.’

‘I didn’t know about my mother’s side of the family. Apparently, she never spoke about her past, not even to my father,’ said Dinah, who still appeared unbelieving of the facts. ‘I assumed that mother was an only child, I don’t know why. She died in childbirth, having me.’ Dinah paused to swallow a lump in her throat. There were tears in her eyes. ‘I was told that my father had to work to live, and wasn’t able to look after me, and so I was sent packing to England, to my father’s parents who lived in Portsmouth for them to care for me. My father remarried, and sadly I never saw him again.’

‘The solicitor, Mr Knowles, has since died,’ said Mike, ‘but the couple will be for ever in his debt, as they are sure that he persisted in his enquiries to trace Mrs Hayfield, the only known relative of Adam Alderman.’

‘Where’s Ricky-Lee?’ asked Charley, looking round.

‘I dropped him off to buy cakes for the debrief. He was insistent. He should be here any minute,’ Mike said looking at his watch.

Charley appeared to be happy with the explanation and Tattie went to put the kettle on. ‘Were they made aware of the history of the house?’ Charley asked.

Mike nodded. ‘Yes, that’s why they decided to get rid of it as soon as possible. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? Apparently, the money that Adam Alderman left them made them financially secure for life, so they weren’t in any rush. It’s all in the detailed statements we took.’

Annie looked confused. ‘You mean they weren’t desperate for cash, and that’s why they decided to rent the house out to the Dixons without waiting for references?’ she said.

Mike shook his head, ‘No.’

‘Then Raglan lied to us?’

‘It would appear so.’ Mike looked at his watch, then at the door, and he frowned. ‘Where the hell has Ricky-Lee got to?’

‘How come they chose Raglan to sell the house for them?’ said Annie, eagerly.

‘Mr Knowles, the deceased solicitor, gave them Raglan’s details, and since Raglans were local estate agents of long standing, it seemed like a sensible thing to do, but…’ Mike’s eyes lit up, ‘…there’s more. I was going to wait until Ricky-Lee got back, but would you believe that Raglan has been to see them?’

‘You gotta be kidding me. Recently?’

‘Yes, he took them pictures of the fire-damaged building from the first fire. He said he wanted to speak to them personally because he had bad news about the house. He told them that he had an acquaintance who had advised him that Crownest was now uninhabitable and their first plan of restoring the property was not an option. The property would have to be demolished, and quickly, as it was deemed unsafe. Should an accident happen prior to its demolition then the owner would be liable. Raglan didn’t hide the fact that he had a friend who knew people who had ready money to buy the land for building purposes and had advised them to accept. Truth known, I think Raglan frightened them; they were really concerned about anyone being injured.’

Charley looked thoughtful a moment then shrugged. ‘They left it in his capable hands, considering him to be an honourable man. What a complete bastard.’

‘Yes, you’re right there, they even offered to pay his travel expenses, but apparently, he declined. They told him as far as they were concerned, the money raised from the house was to be donated to charity, and although they were hopeful that the sale would raise as much as possible, they were realistic as to how much it would achieve.’

‘How big of him to decline travel expenses! So, the last contact they had with Mr Raglan was, I presume, that he had managed to secure a sale,’ said Charley.

Mike nodded. ‘They’re awaiting the transfer of money for the sale. Surprisingly, they’ve received nothing, yet.’

‘They’re knocking the house down now, so the sale must have gone through, surely?’ said Annie.

‘Exactly,’ said Mike. ‘A fact of which they were unaware of.’

‘What did they think about the Dixons renting the property?’

‘They had no idea! As far as they had been told by Raglan, like I said before, it was uninhabitable.’

Wilkie was aghast. ‘Who has got the money then? If James Thomas has paid up? Would we assume it is with Raglan?’

Charley’s mouth formed a perfect O. ‘I’m so looking forward to the findings of the financial investigation team. That information will be invaluable to us in tracing the movement of money in and out of Raglan and Thomas’s