Page 32 of Brix

“Lady Bishop, you didn’t tell us that you and your husband were getting divorced,” said the officer.

“Wh-what? No. That’s foolish. This man doesn’t know anything!”

“Lady Bishop, I was one of a dozen people standing around as your husband asked you to leave this home. Why were you here?” asked Zulu.

“This man has no right to ask me anything!” she said in a demanding tone.

“You’re right. But I do. Why were you here?”

“I-I was just gathering my belongings. That’s all. Lord Bishop began having terrible chest pains, and that’s when I called the ambulance.”

“The cameras,” said Zulu. Lady Bishop’s eyes went wide as he stormed toward the house. She tried to pull him back, but Zulu simply shrugged her off like a flea. When he found the security room, he found the cameras intact. “This should tell us what we need to know.”

With Lady Bishop anxiously standing behind the men, they went about the task of reviewing the security cameras for the last two hours.

After an hour of looking at the tapes, it was disturbing to see that Lady Bishop had fixed a drink for her husband, dropping something into the liquor. She then waited, and when he clutched his chest, she paced around him, speaking in an animated fashion. She didn’t call for help until she was certain he was dead.

“We’ll place her under arrest, sir,” said the officer. But when they turned, Lady Bishop was nowhere to be found.

“They’ve put out a warrant for her arrest, and a reward has been set. Your father’s attorneys will want to speak with you, Daphne,” said Zulu.

“Of course,” she nodded, wiping her eyes. “He was a good father. He gave me every opportunity and always took up for me with Mother. He rescued me from Marshall, not her. He allowed me to live in London, not her. I should have seen this.”

“Babe, you can’t see evil when you don’t really know what it looks like. She was your mother, and that’s what you thought. Nothing more. Nothing less. We’ll find her. Before we leave this country, we’ll find her.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Deirdre was desperate for help. Marshall wasn’t answering her calls, her photo was plastered everywhere as if she were a common criminal, and the women in her circle certainly weren’t willing to accept her pleas for assistance.

While the men had been looking at the video, she saw her opportunity to leave the property unseen. They weren’t the only people who knew tricks. She snuck out the back and into the gardening shed where her husband’s old Land Rover was parked. She removed the plates and took off through the pasture road and out onto a dirt lane.

When she stopped to remove cash from the ATM, her accounts were frozen.

“What? No. No, how could they do this so quickly!” She immediately dialed the number for Marshall, hoping to convince him to help her.

“Not now, Deirdre,” said Marshall breathlessly.

“Not now? Listen to me, you despicable little man. I am on the run and need money. Now. You will help me, or so help me God, I will implicate you in everything. Do you understand me?”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then Marshall finally spoke.

“Alright. I’ll wire you money to your account,” he said.

“You fool! I cannot get into my accounts. I need cash. Do you understand me? I need cash.”

“If you continue to insult me, you’ll find yourself with nothing, Deirdre. Meet me at our usual spot.”

“No. It’s too public. Meet me outside of Stapleford Abbots. That little pub we would meet at once in a while.”

“I know the one,” he frowned. There was a pounding on his door, and he turned, not seeing anyone outside. “Someone is here. I’ll be there in two hours.”

Deirdre hung up the phone, frowning at the abrupt end to their call. She needed him to help her get off this dreadful island and move on. All the security agencies would have her photo now as well. It wouldn’t be easy. She would need to charter a boat or private plane to get away.

“Never fear,” she whispered to herself. “I’ll survive. I always do.”

Marshall opened the door to find his worst nightmare standing in front of him. He let out an involuntarily girly squeal and stepped back.

“Don’t worry, old boy,” smiled Brix. “If I was going to kill you, you wouldn’t hear me or see me coming. We just want to speak with you.”

---