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Rosie's Diamond - Chapters 13 to 15
Chapter 13
Chapter 13Lunch had been late and by the time they had finished it was almost four o'clock. They had eaten in the kitchen as it was more convenient. For once Rosemary had cleared away and although she had loaded the dishwasher, she had not turned it on.
They took their coffee back to the lounge and only just had time to finish it when they heard what sounded like the front door being opened.
"Rosie" a voice shouted. "We've arrived, stay were you are, we'll find you."
Michael's head peered around the lounge door and seeing Rosemary and Gerald, he came in. Ruth was close behind.
"I was going to scold you for not locking the door but as Gerald is here I suppose I can forgive you. How are you?"
He went over and gave her a hug.
"I'm fine, now," she said.
"Is she?" he looked at Gerald.
"She's a lot better than she was."
"And how are you, Gerald?" Ruth asked.
"Yes of course, excuse me for being so rude. I was so concerned about Rosie that I forgot my manners."
"I'm well. I only came over after the events. In fact the police asked me to wait at home until they had spoken to me," he added, almost apologetically, as if he was afraid that Michael would think that he was reluctant to get involved.
"I expect they needed to investigate the scene before allowing anyone else in."
"I suppose so," Gerald's reply was very quiet but he was pleased that Michael had given credence to his dalliance.
"Anyway," continued Michael, "I think that your support and presence was crucial for Rosie and I am grateful that you were here for her."
"Anyone would have done the same."
"No, I don't think so." He turned to Rosemary, "Gerald told me most things on the phone but now you can tell me yourself and fill in the blanks."
Gerald stood up. "Well now that Michael and Ruth are here I have some phone calls and paper work that I must attend to."
"Thank you, Gerald, for all you've done. You were such a help." She stood up and approached him; reaching up she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll pop over and see you in the morning," he said, leaving the room.
"Yes, please do."
When he had left, Michael smiled at Rosemary and said, "Rosie, I'm sure you just made Gerald blush."
"Nonsense," she said indignantly.
"Right then, now let's have the whole story."
Gerald walked home slowly. He had mixed feelings. He was pleased with the way things were with Rosemary and was almost ready to invite her out or, more likely, back for dinner. He was no cook but would employ caterers for the night. Then maybe he would invite her to Cheltenham and for a night at the theatre. However, first they had to deal with last night's events. He was worried. There was far more to this than met the eye. He didn't know what it was but he had a really bad feeling about it.
Whatever transpired he would be there for her. He was glad to see Michael and Ruth, but in some ways he wished they had not come. Had they not, then she would have only had him to turn to. Perhaps he was just being selfish. After all, they were Rosemary's long-time trusted friends and he did actually like them.
Then again, with them being there it would be easier to call round. It wouldn't be as if he was intruding on her solitude and, who knows, Michael and Ruth might even take her out and include him in a foursome. But now business must be attended to and then some sleep would be very well received.
Chapter Fourteen
Michael was trying to be as light hearted as he could be, but he too was worried. Controversy had touched Rosemary before, although it had never been well documented. On the few occasions he had spoken to her while she was in South Africa, she had told him of a couple of strange occurrences. He hadn't thought of them for a long time but now they had been resurrected in his mind. He hoped that there was no connection and rationally he didn't see how there could be.
She had told him that with Rod working the long hours that he did that she was frequently bored at home on her own and that she had told Rod that she wanted to take up tennis again. As a schoolgirl she was good enough to have been selected for the county team, but had virtually given up the game when she had left school and started work. She had considered that this would have been the right time to redevelop her interest.
Rod had agreed and she had joined a local club in Johannesburg. Her potential was very quickly recognized and she was soon picked for the club team. Although she was still a very good player she had felt that her game was not quite as good as it used to be. She had therefore approached the club professional for a few lessons in order to shake off her rustiness.
He was a young, good-looking man about four years her junior. He had just got engaged to one of the other girls on the club team. Rosemary usually played her doubles matches with this girl so had got to know Jake fairly well and had found him to be courteous and personable.
After one lesson Rod had turned up unexpectedly to pick her up, only to find her sitting at the pool side with Jake and his fianc sipping cocktails. She had been delighted to see him and he gave the impression that he too was happy. She introduced him to the others and was sure that when he shook hands with Jake that she had seen a grimace of pain on Jake's face, as if Rod had squeezed much harder than necessary. Rod was a big man and very strong. His hands were huge.
Rod had, however, retained the smile on his face so she had given him the benefit of the doubt that he had not meant to hurt Jake. As they left he remained affable and said nothing untoward. He just asked how the tennis was coming along. She soon passed the incident over and thought nothing more of it, at least not until some weeks later when Rod again showed up without warning to pick her up after another lesson.
She was again sitting having a drink, this time alone with Jake, who had not mentioned the handshake, when she heard Rod call her name.
"Rosie."
She looked across the pool to see him standing there beckoning her. "I'm in one heck of a hurry," he called, totally ignoring Jake. "I'll wait for you in the car."
She was surprised at his rudeness but knew that he could sometimes be a little short when he had had a bad day. She apologised to Jake and leaving her drink, picked up her bag and left.
"I was fine Rod, Alice would have brought me home when she had finished her game."
Alice lived a short distance away from them and had initially introduced her to the club. More often than not when she went to the club Alice would take her. That suited her as she preferred not to drive herself and only did so when she absolutely had to.
"I was passing."
His reply was a touch curt but as usual she did not pursue it.
The club had no matches arranged for another three weeks so she had penciled in another lesson for two days before that match.
She had arrived for the lesson with a tinge of trepidation. She knew that she had to face Jake but was a little embarrassed to do so. Alice was away so she had driven herself. She would have felt better had she not been alone.
She didn't go through the clubhouse, instead she walked around the back beyond the pool to the courts. Jake was not there, which was unusual as he was always very punctual. She did a few loosening exercises and then sat down to wait for him.
A quarter of an hour later she was still alone. It was time to find out what was happening.
In the club house she approached the reception desk and the full-time receptionist. "Anthea, have you seen Jake? I had a lesson booked and he hasn't turned up."
"Oh, Mrs. Van der Velde, we haven't heard from him for three days. He's not answering his home phone or his cell. We're actually quite concerned as he never takes time off without letting us know where he is. I'm sorry but I really don't know what to say to you."
Rosemary suddenly had a bad feeling about Jake, nothing tangible, just something somewhere in her mind that told her that all was not well.
Nothing further was heard of Jake during the next fortnight and the club had told her that his disappearance had been reported to the police who were treating it very seriously. Sometime later his car was found at the bottom of a cliff on a lightly used ocean road. The car was burnt out but police investigations found no sign of Jake. He was never heard of again.
The police did call on her to ask a few routine questions, but only because she was having lessons with him and to check whether or not he had said anything to her that would give them a lead. As far as she was aware they had not spoken to Rod. If they had, he had not mentioned it to her.
The second time that she mentioned anything strange to Michael was over two years later. Michael always had the impression that other things had happened but nothing of the magnitude of these two. He had determined to ask her if there had been anything else. He certainly had the opportunity now that he was staying with her and the affair with the McKay brothers may well have given her the inclination to talk.
There had been a dinner party that Rod had organized, that in itself was unusual, but he had agreed to have some friends around for Rosemary. She had asked him so many times that he finally gave in. Most of the guests were acquaintances of Rod's, but she had invited a few of her own friends. Two of her friends, Roger and Aimee, had Aimee's brother, Brian, staying with them so naturally Rosemary had invited him too.
He was single and had his own small airplane company in Pretoria. He mainly hired out to business clients throughout South Africa. This weekend he had flown down himself in a twin- engined Cesna and would be returning after the weekend.
Apparently at the dinner party he had really taken a shine to Rosemary and would not leave her alone, especially as the evening wore on and the drinks flowed. Although Rosemary was constantly moving away from him she always found him at her side, even when Rod was near. Rod's face showed his annoyance but there was no way he was going to make a scene in front of her and his friends.
Out of respect to Roger and Aimee, Rosemary suffered in silence. Aimee had done her best to stop her brother but he took little or no notice of her. By the time it was time to leave he had drunk himself into a totally obnoxious state whereby Aimee and Roger had to carry him out to the car. It was likely for the best as no one was looking forward to him saying his good-byes. Aimee apologised to both Rod and Rosemary, both of whom smiled back at her and told her that no apologies were necessary — but something in Rod's eyes seemed to suggest that an apology was not enough.
Two days later a tearful Aimee was knocking on Rosemary's door. "It's Brian," she sobbed. "His plane crashed on his way back to Pretoria."
"Oh, Aimee, I'm so sorry. What happened?"
"It seemed to explode in mid-air. He never had a chance. He was always so careful before taking off."
Somehow Rosemary knew that it was not an accident. Once could have been a coincidence but twice was something more than just coincidence.
Michael said nothing to Rosemary that night. Both he and Ruth spent the night doing their best to help her feel better and comfortable in the house again. It seemed to work as she became chattier as the night wore on. She had gone thoroughly through the previous night's events earlier and neither Michael nor Ruth pushed her further, but Michael had already asked Ruth to make an excuse the following morning to leave him alone with Rosemary for at least an hour.
Rosemary was well relaxed by ten o'clock when Michael suggested that an early night would be a good idea. Neither woman disagreed.
Chapter Fifteen
Michael was up first and after he had showered he went downstairs to make coffee, leaving Ruth to have her shower. Rosemary's bedroom door was still closed and he could hear no movement from within. He decided not to disturb her as he knew the rest could only be good for her.
The coffee was ready and he was just pouring it out when he heard the kitchen door opening. Looking behind him he saw the door swing back to, but no one was there. Putting down the coffee he went over and pulled the door open. As he did so, Rosemary pushed from the other side and, not reaching the door, which was moving away from her, stumbled forward into Michael making both of them call out in surprise.
"You scared the heck out of me!"
"Me too," she smiled back, quickly regaining her composure.
"The door opened and closed again without anyone coming in."
"Sorry, Michael, that was me. I decided to collect the paper from the front door first," she waved the Daily Telegraph at him.
"Well, don't do it again," he jokingly admonished her and shook a finger at her. "I take it you'll have a coffee?"
"Please."
"Me too." The kitchen door opened again and this time Ruth came in. "What was all the commotion I heard as I came down the stairs?"
"Rosie tried to give me a heart attack," he said and then explained what had happened.
She looked at Rosemary. "Seems like a guilty conscience to me."
"I think you're right."
Michael stuck out his tongue at them, which got him a punch on each arm. Feigning pain he sat down. "Now you two will have to make the coffee."
"Any excuse," said Ruth as she took over.
The front doorbell rang.
"Here's Gerald already, he must be keen."
"Michael, behave yourself."
"Yes," agreed Rosemary, "it's only Connie and I'm going to tell her to only cook breakfast for two."
He smiled as he noticed that it was Rosemary's turn to turn a slight shade of pink. He did not remark on it as Ruth, seeing that he was about to, again punched him on the arm.
Rosemary came back in with Connie. As she did, Connie was explaining that she did not let herself in because she saw the car and knew that there were visitors.
"Can I get you all breakfast?"
"Thank you Connie, you can even cook some for him," she said glaring in pretend anger at Michael, "we'll be in the lounge, just call us when it's ready and we'll eat it in here – and please cook yourself some as well."
It wasn't long before Connie called them. While they were eating, Ruth informed them that she had to pop into Wulfrum to the chemist's but would be no longer than an hour.
After breakfast Ruth took her leave and Michael and Rosemary settled into the lounge.
As Ruth went through the gate and on to the road, she met Gerald. She stopped the car.
"Good morning Gerald."
"Good morning Ruth, just popping around to see how things are."
Ruth smiled a knowing smile. "Could you give them an hour? Michael is working on Rosie to try and find out if anything else strange has ever happened. He asked me to make myself scarce for an hour. Maybe you could come into town with me and we could walk around the shops together and then come back together?"
"Yes, of course." It wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know Rosemary's friends better he thought as he got into the car.
Michael had sat down facing Rosemary. She detected a slightly strange look on his face.
"Michael, I know you very well so come straight to the point and ask me what you want to know."
He fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Well . . ."
"Well?" she repeated with a hint of impatience.
"Well," he said yet again, "I suppose I had better get to the point."
"Whenever you're ready."
"Well . . , God, I can't believe I said that again."
"You must be nervous."
He wasn't sure whether she was mocking him or not.
He nearly said 'well' again, but managed to hold it back.
"I wanted to talk to you about the other night."
"I guessed that, but I'm sure there's more than that you want to talk about."
She really did know him well.
"Yes, there is. This is not the first time that something strange has happened around you."
"I suppose not. Maybe I'm cursed."
"Rosie this is serious. We have to talk about it."
"All right Michael, ask me anything you like.
"You told me about the tennis pro and the pilot, and I figured that when you told me that you were not absolutely sure that they were accidents." He paused.
She looked at him in silence.
"Well?" He really had no option but to say the word again.
"No, I wasn't sure, and to be frank nothing has happened to change my mind despite the fact that the police considered them both accidental deaths."
"Was Rod involved?"
The words came out quicker than he had intended and sounded far harsher than he had wanted them to.
Her eyes closed almost to a squint. Michael had never questioned her about Rod before and, although she was half expecting it, she was still not ready for the abruptness of the question.
"Michael, you're my oldest friend and I will not lie to you. I honestly don't know whether Rod was involved or not. He always assured me that he was not, but certain things came to light after his death that put doubts into my mind."
He was surprised at her honesty because he had never heard her say anything against Rod before.
"This is you I'm talking to Michael. I know that you will tell Ruth, I expect that, but please do not repeat anything I say to anyone else."
He nodded his acceptance.
"Rod always treated me like a lady. He never ever raised his voice to me in all the years we were together. He treated me with the utmost respect. I know he loved me as much as I loved him. I always joked that although he was in the diamond business that he was my diamond, and he was. I cannot emphasize enough just how good he was to me. The only fault he had was that he could be possessive, but you know that."
Michael gave a brief nod.
"For many years I had no doubts about Rod. He never involved me in his business in any way. In fact he very seldom even spoke of it, but I had no reason to suspect that it was anything more than a legitimate business. Occasionally business associates would call to see him at the house but he would always shepherd them into the library and close the door.
Sometimes when he came out the look of rage on his face would be frightening but as soon as he saw me he would again be the kind courteous man that I was married to. I sometimes asked him why he looked so angry, but all he would say was that it was nothing that need concern me and that he would handle it. I always knew that it would be useless pursuing the issue so I never did.
I suppose I just accepted that he had his work and that he wanted to keep it apart from his private life. Sometimes I was worried, but never for long as he never seemed to be. I just loved him so much that I blindly accepted him."
"You said that after his death things happened to give you doubts."
She seemed reluctant to continue but after drawing a big breath, she did.
"Shortly after Rod died the police started calling. They came three or four times. They were not categoric but they gave me the definite impression that they believed that Rod was linked to organized crime."
She noted that no look of surprise came to Michael's face. She thought that odd.
"All of a sudden that explained a lot of things," she continued as she realised that Michael was not about to be forthcoming.
"If it was true, and I don't know if it was, it would explain why I could never call him at work, why he had to go out in the middle of the night, and why sometimes he brought huge amounts of cash home with him."
She stopped speaking and was obviously thinking.
"It does look bad, Michael, doesn't it?" she said, as if realisation was just beginning to dawn.
"It's certainly not looking too good."
"Michael, I had no idea. Is it possible that a man I considered to be so good could have been involved in anything like that? I mean, could it actually be possible?"
He could see that the thought was difficult for her to comprehend.
"Rosie, Rosie," he got up and put his arm around her. "Don't torment yourself. As far as you could ascertain he was a perfect husband. If he was involved in crime it was certainly nothing you could blame yourself for. It had happened long before you met him."
He bit his tongue. Would she pick up that he knew something?
She did.
"You know something that I don't," she said accusingly.
At that moment Michael knew that he had to come clean. Rosemary had a right to know what he knew, perhaps it would make it easier for her to accept that Rod was not exactly the man she had thought he was, that her suspicions and doubts had some foundation.
"When you first told me of those two incidents from years back, I too was worried. Something gave cause for the hair on the back of my neck to rise and my concern for you persuaded me that I had to look into them a little more, if only to allay the worries that I had for you. I know that you were always aware that I didn't really take to Rod, but I thought that if he was good to you and treated you well that I would get over it. To be honest I never did, even though, as far as I could see and from everything you said, he did treat you very well. However, there was, at least in my mind, something that was not quite as it should be.
It was after the second incident that I decided to try and find out whether my doubts had any basis or not."
She made as if to speak.
He held his hand up.
"No, please Rosie, now that I've started, let me finish."
She stayed quiet.
"At that time I had a very good friend working in a hospital in Johannesburg. He was a South African doctor who had worked with me in London for several years earlier in my career, so I called him and told him exactly what had happened and just how concerned I was. He said that he had many contacts in South Africa throughout the legal field, including the police, and that he would be only too happy to make some discreet inquiries for me.
When he called me back I'm afraid my suspicions were confirmed. Rod did indeed run a diamond business but it was a front for his other money-making enterprises. It was well known that he was involved with organized crime, but had always worked things around in such a way that nothing could ever be proved against him. It transpired that material witnesses had vanished and that it was very probable that he made many pay-offs to police and witnesses to buy their silence, and to have investigations dropped.
My friend was even more specific about your tennis pro and your friend's brother, the pilot. The police were investigating Rod with regard to both when apparently word came down from above that it had been decided that there was insufficient evidence and that all inquiries were to be dropped forthwith. Both cases were filed away for lack of evidence. They were both kept open, but Rod's name was removed as a possible perpetrator.
I'm really sorry Rosie. It's something that I should probably have told you a long time ago, but you would likely have not believed me and I thought that, if something untoward happened, that I would be of far more help to you if you still regarded me as a good friend and not some interfering busybody who was trying to break up your marriage."
He breathed heavily.
"After all these years I'm glad to have finally got that off my chest," he said with a feeling of both relief and anxiety. "I hope we're still friends."
She just sat quietly looking at him, her own breathing so slight that it was almost imperceptible. After a short pause she flicked her eyes.
"Oh, Michael, we could never be anything but friends." She reached over to him and placed her hand on his.
"I suppose I had doubts for a long time, but I didn't want to face them and subconsciously I must have dismissed them. They only surfaced very infrequently. I didn't want to think that Rod was capable of anything like that. I mean, he was so gentle to me, and anyone that gentle surely could not be anything else to other people. I suppose that I just did not want to see a dark side."
"I can understand that. I know that you gave up a lot for him. It was obvious to everyone, even in the very beginning, that you were totally smitten. At first I thought it was infatuation but I soon realised that it was love and, despite Rod's shortcomings, it was easy to see that he adored you. You were the one good thing in his life, the most important thing.
I think that is why he virtually led a double life. The good in him would not allow you to be exposed to the criminal side of his life. I think he knew how wrong his life was but it was too late for him. He couldn't have stepped back even if he had wanted to, and I'm sure that because of you he must have thought about it from time to time."
She leaned forward and reached for his hand again. The time she merely gave it a fond rub before taking hers back.
"You're so kind Michael. Thank you for trying to make it easier on me."
"I'm not Rosie, I really believe what I'm saying is true."
"It's kind of you anyway. It's a lot easier for me to accept these things now than it would have been when Rod died. I did love him very much and I still do. Hardly a day goes by without me thinking of him. I still feel that he is with me, there are times when I'm sure that I sense his presence.
I have always wanted to believe that he was the man I met and the man that I grew to know, but in my heart I realise that there was a very shady side to him. Too many things have happened for me to be able to deny it any longer."
"It's taken a long time; you've held your life in limbo for much too long. At least now you have the chance to start again, to be the Rosie that we used to know."
"I suppose so. I feel that this little chat has lifted a little of the weight off me. Don't get me wrong though Michael, no matter how bad Rod was, he was still the love of my life and always will be."
"I know that."
It was Michael's turn to lean forward and squeeze Rosemary's hand. She responded with a forced smile that faded almost as quickly as it appeared.
"I think Ruth's back."
Rosemary tilted her head slightly to listen.
"I can hear nothing."
"Yes, I'm sure I heard a car door slam."
Almost immediately they heard voices in the hall.
"I was right," he said, standing up. As he turned towards the door, it opened and Ruth came in closely followed by Gerald.
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