The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) T. Belshaw (management books to read .txt) 📖

As someone tried the handle of the front door, Jess lay flat to the floor, then she listened intently as footsteps crunched on the gravel path beneath the window. A second or two later, a broken beam of light broke through a small gap in the curtains and flickered onto the TV screen and along the back wall. Hardly daring to breathe, Jess waited until she heard the footsteps walk back along the gravel path before crawling down the hallway, one hand flailing ahead until it made contact with the heavy, front door. Sitting sideways on, she rested her ear against it and listened.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard a screeching of brakes as a car came to an abrupt halt on the asphalt drive, then all hell seemed to break loose as doors were opened and a man’s voice began to shout. A few seconds later, she heard fists hammering on the front door, then the letterbox was lifted and a clearly worried female voice yelled through it.

‘Jess, Jess… It’s Sam. Are you all right? Come on, love, let me in.’

Chapter 37

Jess opened the door and fell into Sam’s arms as the sound of a scuffle ensued from the side of the house. A minute or so later, Sam’s boyfriend, Jamie, half-marched, half-dragged a hooded figure through the gate and onto the asphalt.

‘Caught him at the back of the house,’ he said, keeping a careful hold on his captive’s arm.

Jess peered around Sam to get a better look. ‘What are you doing hanging around my house,’ she stormed.

The man lifted his free arm, pushed back his hood and pulled down the woollen snood that covered the bottom half of his face.

‘Dad! What the hell…’

‘I was just checking that you were all right, Jess.’

‘With your face covered like that? Pull the other one,’ Sam spat.

‘It’s cold,’ muttered Bill. ‘Honestly, Jess, I was worried about you, what with those men hanging around the farm.’

‘Men?’ Sam gave Jess a puzzled look.

‘Two blokes came around trying to put the frighteners on me, that’s all,’ said Jess, ‘I was never in any danger then… but I tried to ring you when I thought they may have come back.’

She turned her attention to her father.

‘If you were so concerned, why didn’t you just knock on the door like any normal person? Why the flashlight through the windows, and why try the door handles?’

‘I did tap on the door, but not very hard, I didn’t want to scare you.’

‘I didn’t hear you knock, but I do know that you sneaked around the back and tried to force the door.’

‘I thought someone might have broken in. I was just testing it.’

‘Don’t give me that, Dad. You were trying to scare me into handing over the money you need.’

‘That’s diabolical.’ Sam took a couple of steps toward Bill and shoved her face into his. ‘And you’re a disgusting, creep. What type of father would do something like that?’

Bill struggled to break free from Jamie’s grip. When he spoke, there was a note of desperation in his voice.

‘I promise, Jess. I’m only dressed like this because it’s so cold. I tried to ring, but when you didn’t pick up, I thought I’d better walk down to make sure you were all right. That’s all there is to it.’

‘I’m calling the cops.’ Sam pulled her phone from her pocket.

‘No, please… don’t bring the police into it, Sam.’ Jess put her hand on her friend’s arm. ‘They won’t be able to prove anything. There’s been no damage done. They’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt.’

Sam looked from Bill to Jess and reluctantly returned her phone to her pocket.

‘If you’re sure…’ She turned back to Bill. ‘I don’t care if she’s your daughter or not, if I ever hear of you even getting as close as the end of the lane, I’ll call the police and have you arrested for harassment.’

Jamie looked at Jess and shrugged. ‘So, do I let him go?’

Jess nodded.

Once free of Jamie’s grip, Bill straightened his jacket, pulled up his hood, and fixing Jamie with a glare, turned and walked onto the pavement that ran alongside the lane. As he reached the first of the bushes in the long hedgerow, he turned back and pointed a stumpy index finger at the tall, young man.

‘You had better watch out for yourself.’

‘Just clear off, Dad,’ Jess called. ‘I mean it too, go back to where you came from. Leave us alone, you’re not wanted here.’

Bill waved her comment away with a flick of his arm, then turned and disappeared into the dark night.

Back in the house, Jess, guided by the flashlight on Sam’s phone, relit the candle, then, using her lighter, lit all four burners and the two ovens of the gas cooker. Filling a saucepan with water, she put it on the hob and took three clean mugs from the hooks fixed to the closest of the wall units.

Before the water had even begun to simmer, the power came back on. Two minutes later it went off again, then five minutes after that, it came back on for good.

Jess plugged the charging cable back into her phone and loaded up the operating system. When the home screen slashed up, she checked her call log to find the only recent calls and texts she had received had been from Sam.

‘Well, if there was any doubt, here’s the proof. He didn’t call.’

‘I didn’t think he had for a moment,’ replied Sam who had known Jess’s father for a few years. He had asked her to lend him money on more than one occasion when Jess was away at Uni.

‘Ah, well, he won’t come back now. I’ll call the police myself if he does.’ Jess pulled the photograph of the two men who had paid her a visit from the coffee table drawer and handed it to her friend. ‘Any idea who these two muppets are?