One Day Before Death
Car Troubles
Mel slammed her foot on the cars brake pedal. The tyres started to screech, and the sedan went into a slight spin, before coming to a complete stop in a thankfully, quiet street of Vaucluse.
“Ring David!” she yelled into her phone, not even knowing if the device had voice activation. Her brother James had convinced her to update her ‘archaic’ cell phone a few days ago, and so far, things weren’t going smoothly with the new one.
Mel’s morning had been going fine – good even. She had just completed a successful business meeting, with one of the family’s long-term suppliers. Since becoming involved in the family business, she had quickly discovered a knack for vendor negotiations and relationship management. A knack validated by her Uncle Henry and James, much to everyone’s delight. She felt that she was finally carving out a life for herself that was ‘normal’. A good family dynamic, a loving partner and a successful career. Things were calm and predictable.
Up until now…
“OK, OK!” yelled Mel. A car had pulled up behind her and was beeping their horn. There was no other traffic around, and it would have been straightforward for the other vehicle to just drive around her. Squinting to try and get a look at the driver through their window, she pondered if being a dick was nature, nurture or a combination of the two.
“I’m moving!” she yelled once more.
Mel took a deep breath, before putting her foot on the accelerator of the still running car. The urgency of the moment wasn’t lost on her, but the initial shock that had come from her sister in laws call moments earlier, had somewhat subsided. Rachel had very casually delivered some horrendous news to her, in a one-minute phone conversation, and then asked if Mel could possibly ‘pop by’ to assist her in cleaning up the mess.
“Ring David,” Mel said calmly to the phone that she was holding in her right hand, still not sure that would provide any result.
Beep!
“For fuck’s sake.”
Mel brought the car to a stop, put it in park and got out, slamming the door behind her. The same car had beeped her once more. She was wearing a tight black business suit, that was uncomfortable in the afternoon heat. She had taken her summer heels off to drive, so the hot road on her bare feet stinged a little, adding a further layer of discomfort to her already pissed off mood.
“What!” she yelled, throwing her arms in the air and walking towards the brand new, alpine green Bentley stalking her. “Is my shit-box that much of an offence to your senses?” She had refused to buy David a new car until he met one key condition – quit the pub and help her with the family business. Until he did that, the old model Mazda was their only mode of transportation, much to the amusement of her billionaire family.
The driver side window of the Bentley started closing, an indication that the person in the car probably didn’t want this level of confrontation. To confirm this further, the driver started directing the car to Mel’s left, looking for an escape route.
“That wasn’t so hard was it,” Mel yelled to the back of the car, that was now slinking away from her. Truly, she didn’t need this shit in her life at that moment.
She then looked down to her phone. It had begun vibrating in her hand.
“David, where have you been,” said Mel, answering the call and speaking like she had been successfully trying to call him all day.
“I’m at work,” said David, confused. “Have you been trying to call?”
“Yes, but my new phone isn’t working properly,” said Mel with a sigh. “I need your help. Something really bad has happened.”
There was silence from the other end of the phone. David wasn’t a fan of hearing bad news from Mel. Possibly because it was rare and when it did occur, it was usually really bad.
“David,”
“I heard you,” he cut in, sharply. “I’m just not sure that I’m ready to hear the rest. The last time you told me bad news…”
“I haven’t killed anyone, David,” said Mel, rolling her eyes. He always thought the worst. “Rachel has.”
“What!”
“Well - there’s a body. Look, I’m on my way to her place now. Can you get a cab and meet me?” She felt bad. David was the love of her life and he didn’t deserve all the drama that swirled around her family. If it had been a year earlier, she might not have involved him in this at all. But she had learned from past mistakes – if they were going to be together, it would be a relationship built on trust and honesty. She would never lie to him again.
“Whose body is it?” asked David, clearly wanting more information before committing to getting involved.
“I don’t know, but Rachel said it was an intruder. Look, it was a quick call, I don’t know the details.”
“Walk away, Mel,” pleaded David. “You don’t owe that woman anything. She hasn’t been in contact with the family since the wedding, that we know of, and now we’re supposed to jump the second she kills someone – again.”
“It’s complicated,” said Mel. David had the situation both right and wrong at the same time. “David, In a weird way, Rachel is family. Not because she’s married to James - that’s a fucking train wreck. But, well she’s a Harris. There’s a lot of history there.”
The Harris family had been closely linked to her family for generations, going all the way back to her great grandparents. While the bond between families had withered in recent times, there was a legacy there, that still needed to be acknowledged. Yes, Rachel had killed Arthur – her own father. But it had been in self-defence and a timely, deserved death in the opinion of all those who knew the history.
David fell silent. Mel matched the silence in anticipation. She was really hoping he would be there to help her. Despite his unwavering disappointment at the way her family dealt with sticky situations, he was usually helpful in resolving them. He was also a moral compass that her family arguably lacked in their lives.
“I’ll meet you there, Mel. Ring Rodney and tell him to come with us as well. We will no doubt need him at some point,” said David.
“Good idea,” replied Mel, thinking that she should have thought of that already. “David – Thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah, all good.”
“Wait, why did you ring me?” asked Mel, recalling the start of their conversation.
“Oh. I can’t make dinner at your Uncle’s tonight. Parks needs me to work a shift,” replied David, referring to his annoying boss Dick Parks, who owned the pub that he worked at.
“For fuck’s sake, tell that dick, no. Dinner has been planned for weeks,” replied Mel. If there was one thorn in the side of their relationship – from her perspective anyway, it was that David was beholden to a demanding, yet lazy owner of a sub-par establishment called the Sir William Wallace. A pub that he refused to stop working at. “Better yet, quit.”
“Mel,”
“I know, I know,” Mel interrupted. She had agreed to stop pressuring him on the subject of quitting. “It’s just. Parks is a dick. And Uncle will be upset. He enjoys your company.”
“Trust me, I’m annoyed too,” replied David, sounding sincere. “I’d much prefer spending the time with you and the fam.”
Mel paused for a moment in thought, before replying. “Stay on the line.”
She held up her new phone, and luckily found it easy to put David on hold. She then googled the pub he worked out, found the phone number, and rang it.
“William Wallace,” Dick Parks answered in a bored tone, upon answering the call, voicing the name of the pub that he had owned for at least two decades. Mel knew that the man had lost his passion for pulling beers and running a business a long time ago. “How can I help?”
“Good, Parks! Hold on.”
Mel once again held up her phone and pushed the ‘merge calls’ button. The new phone was proving quite straight forward to use. Not that she’d tell James that.
“Got it. David, I’ve got Parks on the line. Dick, David is here too.”
“Mel, what are you doing,” David demanded, clearly annoyed at her intruding in this part of his life.
“Co-ordinating a transaction. Parks, David is buying the pub from you. What do you want for it?”
“The pub isn’t for sale,” replied Parks in a baffled tone. Given how poorly the business performed, no doubt an offer to buy it, was a new experience for him. But, one he would be stupid to pass on, Mel believed.
“I’ll give you a million dollars.”
“Look, if this is because David has to do a shift tonight, I’m sorry, but I need him,” said Parks, now getting slightly annoyed.
“You won’t take a million dollars for the Wallace? Seriously?” asked Mel, pressing him.
“Mel, it’s a shit pub, but the land it sits on is worth double that,” piped in David. Mel couldn’t decide if he was embarrassed or amused by what she was doing. Either way, it annoyed her. “Parks owns the land too.”
“Four million, then. You have one minute to decide, Parks.”
“Sold,” Parks replied, almost immediately. He was aware that Mel was a billionaire and he had no doubt just been offered the deal of a lifetime.
“Done,” said Mel. “But you’re working tonight, Parks. Actually, you’re working for the next two weeks. David needs to help me with something. I’ll have a lawyer ring you and work out the details. OK?”
“How do I know this isn’t a trick, just to get David off tonight?” asked Parks suspiciously.
“Oh, roll the fucking dice, Dick. You’re just going to have to trust me and make sure you’re ready to cover tonight’s shift. I’ll get someone to ring you later today,” said Mel, hanging up on him. “David, are you still there?”
“I guess you won, Mel. You just found a way for me to join the family business,” said David, quietly.
“No, you won David. I told him that you were buying the business. I’ll pay for it, but it’s all yours, whether we’re together forever or not. I’ve been thinking of doing it for a while - but if you don’t want it…”
“I didn’t say that,” said David in a rush. “But you do know that you probably just offered Parks double what it’s worth?”
“I’ll leave that with you,” replied Mel, not concerned about the detail. “Talk to Rodney at the Harris house, and he can get one of our lawyers started on the paperwork. We should really get moving, I told Rachel that I’d come right away.”
“Mel. Thank you,” said David, with a gravity that displayed his love for her.
“You’re welcome,” said Mel, smiling to herself. No doubt her accountant would find the gesture dubious, but she had more money than anyone deserved to possess, and if she couldn’t spend it on the one person she truly loved, outside of her family, then what was the point of all of it?
They said their goodbyes and Mel made her way back to the old Mazda 3. Now that David had ‘won’ their argument, she supposed it was time to buy herself a new car. Although, for some reason, the thought of ‘trading up’ to something more suited to her financial position, didn’t sit well with her.
A new car would be the final step into your new life. A life that scares you.
“Ring Rodney,” Mel said to her phone, as she put the car into drive and began the journey to Rachels. It was time to find out what mess her sister-in-law had gotten them all into.
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