Layers of Deceit, page 24
I shook my head. ‘No. I’m sorry. I’ll try to stay calm. I’m OK.’
Finally, the room was silent. Each of us sat avoiding each other’s gaze whilst we allowed our blood pressure and our breathing to return to normal levels. The comforting sounds from lawn mowing, seagulls and children playing filtered through the open patio window. A wasp flew in, buzzing as it investigated each of us, then flew back out of the window.
‘What about some tea?’ asked Craig. ‘Let’s gather our senses. Yes?’
I almost felt like bursting out with hysterical laughter. Craig was acting like he was in a TV soap where whatever the situation, someone always put the kettle on. Tea, the universal cure-all.
‘Yes, tea, thank you,’ murmured Cyril and Nathan.
‘I’ll go and put the kettle on,’ said Craig.
‘No, I’ll do it,’ I replied. ‘I’d rather do that.’
‘Thanks. I’ll sit with these two and get my brain together,’ said Craig.
I headed off into the kitchen, grateful to be away from my neighbours, who thankfully had both calmed down somewhat and seemed willing to discuss matters. Although I had expressed concern about what might have been happening here recently, I would never have predicted this outcome. I hoped that we would soon find out what was behind it all, and what’s more, find some way of resolving the dispute.
Chapter 58
I was pleased to see that the kitchen looked a lot tidier than it had on the weekend when we had rescued Cyril after his fall. Most of the work surfaces were clear, and there were no dirty dishes in the sink. The kettle and toaster appeared to be smear-free, and the sink looked clean. I took everyone their drinks, and we sat as if we were having a friendly get together as neighbours.
The south facing lounge felt warm, and I opened the patio window a bit further. My blouse was sticking to my back and felt wet under my armpits. However, I was past caring about my appearance. I hoped we could quickly sort out the dispute between our neighbours so I could return to the sanctuary of my own home, and probably my bedroom.
‘So, who’s going to start and explain what led up to the incident this afternoon?’ said Craig.
‘Shall I start?’ said Cyril. ‘Age before beauty as they say. Well, in this case, it’s age before dishonesty.’
‘Here we go,’ muttered Nathan. ‘I’m not sure there’s any point to this.’
‘You agreed to stop sniping at each other,’ I said. ‘Just stick to the facts, please.’
‘Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll explain things and Nathan will listen to what I’ve got to say.’
Cyril’s tone was rather superior, but at least we had made a start, so I didn’t interrupt again. I would have preferred Cyril to speak to his nephew like he was an adult, but now wasn’t the time to try to correct it.
‘Nathan thinks I’m senile. He’s convinced himself that I’m losing my memory. Perhaps you two think I’m senile?’ said Cyril looking directly at Craig and me. ‘I think Nathan has been telling you that I’m becoming very forgetful?’
Cyril was right. I’d had a lot of unnecessary worry about his well-being. ‘Never mind about that now,’ I said. ‘I want to hear what all this is about.’
‘Well, I’m not senile, and if you listen to what I’m going to say, you will realise I’m anything but senile!’ Cyril was looking directly at Nathan as he said this last comment.
‘This isn’t making any sense at all,’ said Nathan.
‘Well, if you would listen instead of interrupting all the time, I will explain!’ shouted Cyril. ‘You’ve been very keen to paint me as a doddery old fool who was losing their mind.’
‘It’s not down to me! You were the one who was having memory problems!’
‘Please! I’ve asked you before to stop shouting,’ I said.
‘Sorry,’ said Cyril. ‘You are right. There’s no need to shout,’ he took a few breaths before continuing. ‘My point is, Nathan, that you were quite happy to believe I was losing my mental capacity. You went along with it. If anything, you tried to reinforce the idea that I was going senile. I remember you telling me that I had to rest, it was all too much for me, and I had to let you take over. Remember?’
Nathan looked at his uncle with disbelief. ‘Are you saying you made it all up?’
‘You didn’t answer my question. Did you want to believe I was losing my memory?’
‘Of course I didn’t want to believe it. I responded to how you were behaving.’
‘You see, I think you thought it would make it easier to enact your plan. Does this ring any bells, Nathan, my boy?’
‘I’m not your boy, and I won’t be your nephew for much longer either,’ said Nathan. ‘You seem to be the one with a plan, not me. To be quite honest, if I never see you again, it will be too soon.’
‘That suits me fine. I’ll have achieved what I wanted to. So you will be free to get out of my life and continue with your own away from me. Perhaps, in that time, you will be able to reflect on what you have done?’
‘What am I supposed to have done?’ said Nathan.
‘All you’ve done, Cyril, is waste everyone’s time,’ said Craig.
‘Why don’t you let me explain,’ replied Cyril calmly. ‘All will be revealed!’
From the way Cyril was speaking, I was sure he was telling the truth as he was speaking extremely eloquently and had a sense of purpose and control. Cyril was in charge, and we were merely spectators. I saw Craig rub his hand over his face and hair, a sure sign he felt uncomfortable, a feeling mirrored by me, although I was feeling very annoyed as well.
‘Look, Cyril, can we ask you a few questions?’ said Craig.
‘Ask away!’ said Cyril.
Craig asked Cyril a series of questions about what day and date it was, what he’d had for lunch, and questions about the Prime Minister and Royal Family. He answered all immediately without difficulty. He then asked him to repeat a sequence of numbers and add a few numbers together.
‘Satisfied that I’m not gaga?’ said Cyril. ‘So, if I can continue, I’m disappointed in you, Nathan. It’s a shame that someone so bright can’t channel his intelligence into something worthwhile without feeling he needs to prey on people he views as vulnerable.’
Nathan looked up, and I saw his body stiffen with tension. Had Cyril struck a nerve with his last comment? ‘I’ve been looking after you. Perhaps you’ve forgotten that you asked me to move in with you, not the other way around.’
‘Yes, I did ask you to move in. However, I didn’t expect you to start stealing from me.’
‘What? This is complete rubbish,’ said Nathan.
I looked at Craig, who rolled his eyes. We were witnessing an embarrassing exchange, and although part of me wanted to hear all the details, I did feel like an imposter who had gatecrashed a family dispute. However, I didn’t feel we could leave them at the moment, in case there was another outburst of aggression.
‘You thought I wouldn’t notice that you took the envelope of money from the sideboard, did you?’ said Cyril.
‘You gave me some money for shopping,’ replied Nathan. ‘I didn’t take the money.’
‘I gave you a hundred pounds out of the envelope in the sideboard, but you took the remaining hundred. Yes?’
‘No, you told me that money was for shopping, and I could take what I needed.’
‘I don’t think I did,’ said Cyril. ‘You helped yourself.’
‘Well, you can say what you want. It’s your word against mine,’ replied Nathan petulantly.
‘And what about how you kept moving things to make it look like I was forgetful? What about that, Nathan?’
‘You really are out of your mind,’ said Nathan.
‘But I’m not greedy, like you. I don’t try to con people out of money.’
‘You wrote me a cheque to tide me over and help me with my business. That’s not conning someone,’ said Nathan.
‘I offered to write you a cheque for five hundred pounds, as a gift, but you told me that you needed more and it would be an investment in your business. I seem to remember you told me I would get a good return? Yes?’
‘That’s right. I did not con you. I explained what I planned to do and how I needed some money to get me started, and you agreed to give me more. But you didn’t have enough money in your account, did you? So the cheque bounced.’
‘Well, here’s what I think happened,’ said Cyril. ‘You saw my bank statement and decided I could afford to give you three thousand pounds. However, after I wrote the cheque, I transferred the money out of my current account. You were greedy, and I lured you.’
Nathan looked shocked.
‘I use online banking on my tablet. I told you I didn’t do that, but I was lying about that. I’m not such an old fogey after all.’
‘So what was the point of that?’ You just wanted to make me look stupid?’ said Nathan. ‘All you’ve done is end up with bank charges for a returned cheque.’
I was listening to the exchange between Cyril and Nathan so intently I was holding my breath. Cyril had run a campaign to humiliate Nathan, but to what end? It all seemed pointless.
‘So, next, you decided to put some of my possessions into the auction. Fortunately, they were items I didn’t particularly care for, nor did they realise much money.’
Nathan raised his eyebrows. ‘You talked about getting rid of things. You were the one who mentioned the auction, and asked me to sell some things!’
‘I did not!’
‘Yes, you did! Don’t you think I have enough to do without taking things to auction? Jeez, you are barking mad!’
‘I am not barking, thank you,’ said Cyril. ‘Don’t speak to me like that.’
‘Guys, try to stay calm,’ said Craig.
‘I might add that you’ve not given the proceeds to me yet.’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake! I told you that they gave me a cheque, but I’ve not cashed it yet. They made it out to me as I put the things in the auction. And I’ll say it again, you told me to put them up for sale.’ Nathan paused and rubbed his face. ‘This is ridiculous. Just remember, Sarah and Craig that there is a flip side to all these fantasies. Uncle has no proof of any of these examples. So you can make of it what you want.’
‘Good try, Nathan. But I know you have been going through my financial matters. You thought I was napping, or sleeping in because I wasn’t well, but I have a very keen sense of hearing. I heard you opening my filing cabinet. You didn’t even leave things in the right order, did you? Were you looking for a copy of my will?’
Nathan shook his head in disgust. ‘You told me that you had lost a copy of a life insurance policy, and asked me to look for it.’
‘And you were determined to find it, weren’t you?’
‘Because you kept going on about it and wondering where it was!’ said Nathan.
‘Did you want to know how much my life was insured for so that you could do away with me?’ continued Cyril.
‘This is insane,’ whispered Nathan. ‘I don’t know why I’m listening to it.’
I pressed my hand to my left temple. My headache was now becoming debilitating. Stressful situations always affected my head, and I was desperate to take more painkillers.
Cyril was in full flow, and carried on undeterred. ‘I’m not sure whether you hoped to find a copy of my will, but my solicitor has it for safekeeping. I think I hinted that you were one of my beneficiaries. Do you remember that?’
‘I don’t remember, no, and I don’t want anything from you,’ said Nathan.
‘Well, I will certainly be changing it now. You won’t get a penny from me.’
‘Fine. You can stick your money,’ said Nathan.
‘Did you panic when I made sure you heard me on the phone to my solicitor?’ laughed Cyril. ‘You didn’t realise I was pretending. Ha! I noticed your ears prick up.’
‘I’ve no idea what you are talking about,’ said Nathan. ‘You’ve got a screw loose.’ He made a circular motion with his finger next to his head to reinforce his point.
Cyril was having fun and seemed to have forgotten his neighbours were present. I wondered if he had been rehearsing his speech. He was aiming for total humiliation of his nephew and was succeeding. Cyril was focused and in the zone. But what of Nathan? Had there been any dishonesty on his part? Just at that moment, I wasn’t sure who to believe.
‘Well, I think I got the measure of you. I felt entitled to have a bit of fun too. Someone needed to take you down a peg or two. You have a sense of entitlement, don’t you, Nathan? Rather than working for something, you feel that people owe you things. Isn’t that right?’
‘No, it isn’t,’ replied Nathan. ‘I am trying to set up my own business. I’m applying for jobs.’ He shook his head. ‘I think you’ve been on your own too long and it’s affected your mindset.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with my mindset,’ said Cyril.
Nathan reared his head at this last comment. ‘So why did you invite me to move in?’
‘Ah, well, that’s interesting you should ask. Let me explain.’
I looked at Craig as if to say, ‘How much longer is this going to last?’
Chapter 59
‘Well, Nathan, it all stems from your father, my brother Ralph.’
Nathan frowned. ‘What’s he got to do with it?’
‘Everything,’ replied Cyril. ‘He’s no longer with us, but at least I’ve done something for him now. I just regret not doing more for him when he was alive. Perhaps if I had, he would have lived longer.’
‘You never had much to do with him,’ said Nathan. ‘You thought he was wasteful and lazy. Don’t make out that you liked him.’
Cyril sighed. ‘We were indeed completely different personalities, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t have some feelings for him. We didn’t see a lot of each other, but I didn’t treat him as badly as you did.’
‘Here we go again,’ said Nathan. ‘What am I supposed to have done now?’
‘I’ll tell you if you’ll listen for a minute,’ said Cyril sternly. ‘My brother Ralph was so clever, but he never fulfilled his potential. He didn’t have a very good work ethic, as the phrase goes. He enjoyed parties, and he was too easily distracted. I tried to give him advice and keep him on the straight and narrow, but he wasn’t interested. That’s why we didn’t get along.’
‘I remember you arguing with him at Mum’s funeral,’ said Nathan. ‘You left early.’
‘I admit I wasn’t very tactful, but I was concerned about how he was behaving. He’d drunk far too much, and someone told me he was becoming an alcoholic.’
‘He was an alcoholic. That’s why he died,’ said Nathan. ‘It’s a wonder he didn’t kill anyone else.’
Cyril shrugged. ‘Well, fortunately, he didn’t. However, in the year before Ralph died, we became closer. He started to phone me regularly, he wrote to me, and I would phone him too. I felt we had finally accepted each other, and even if perhaps not close, we were able to be civil with each other.’
‘That’s nice,’ said Nathan sarcastically. ‘Where is this leading?’
‘In short, Ralph worked out what you were doing. You were conning him out of money. Yes?’
‘No!’ replied Nathan. ‘It’s another of your fantasies!’
‘I don’t think so. You see, Ralph noticed sums disappearing from his account. His memory was deteriorating due to the amount he was drinking, but he was sure you were forging his signature on cheques. He also found some share certificates were missing but had no recollection of selling them.’
‘That’s because he was a drunkard. He had no idea what he was doing! Nor what day of the week it was,’ shouted Nathan.
‘He wasn’t that befuddled,’ said Cyril. ‘Six months before he died, Ralph told me he wanted to leave me some money in his will and also a sum to charity, but he was worried you were stealing from him. So, he arranged for the bank to send me a large sum so that you couldn’t get your hands on it. I wasn’t too happy about it, but he insisted.’
‘I wasn’t stealing from him. I had to do everything for him. God, you have no idea what it was like.’ Nathan closed his eyes at the memory of his father.
Cyril continued, ‘So, that’s why Ralph’s accounts were rather low in funds, and presumably why you took out loans against his property. That was you, wasn’t it? You took out large sums using the house as collateral and spent it on, what? That car outside, I assume? What else? Fancy tech stuff?’
‘Dad gave me that money to invest in my business. Also, we needed money for some repairs on the house,’ said Nathan, levelly. ‘I wouldn’t have needed to raise the money against the house if you hadn’t taken his savings!’
‘And what has become of that money? Do you have a successful business? It doesn’t look like it? Did you gamble it away like your father?’ said Cyril.
‘I did not gamble it away. I’ve just not had a lucky break yet.’
‘Hard work is what counts, not luck,’ said Cyril.
Nathan was shaking his head. ‘Why did you believe what Dad said? I just don’t understand it. You never had anything to do with him, then you chose to believe him when he was an alcoholic.’
‘I shouldn’t have let Ralph get into that state!’ said Cyril, his voice breaking. ‘I abandoned him and look what happened.’
‘But he wasn’t your responsibility. Anyway, all you ever did was criticise him. Just like you have criticised me! You are so superior. I wish you would listen to yourself.’
Cyril remained silent.
‘Dad’s estate will lose money because we took out those loans. What a stupid thing to do.’ Nathan put his head in his hands.
‘Well, fortunately, when you manage to sell the house, it will cover the loans. There should be some left for you. Try not to waste it.’
‘Don’t patronise me!’ said Nathan. ‘So how much did Dad transfer to you?’
‘I’m not telling you, but it’s over fifty thousand pounds, and I’m going to make sure it goes to the cancer charity Ralph nominated. You won’t get your hands on it.’
