Feminist Revenge Read online

  10 THE GUESTS ARRIVE.

  Jack Maison arrived on the midday plane and upon contacting Ray informed him who he had brought over and were they were all staying scattered around the island, some were staying with their friends or relatives, and the others in various hotels and guest houses. Ray then decided to ask Jack to stay at the cottage with Reemo and Ricky in order to keep an eye on Ricky for him suggesting that it would be a good idea for Philip Long to stay there as well to make sure Reemo was alright explaining to him that she suffered from claustrophobia.

  Philip Long had been fuming when Jack Maison told him that it was his sister who had been responsible for killing Preston, stating that things had gone wrong and he had to come to Satra in order to help put things to rights. Philip did not think to highly of Ricky for being bloody stupid and allowing Reemo to act without first finding out what the repercussions about the situation might be before diving in with her eyes closed.

  It might not have entered his head that Ricky did not know exactly what Reemo was going to do, due to the fact that Ricky had fallen head over heels for her, he obviously was blind to his sister’s talents.

  Fortunately Philip had calmed down a fair bit before arriving at the cottage with Jack Maison, but he still considered that an explanation was due from his sister, as she had to know he was going to sort out Preston, he felt that Caroline Swan’s life would not have been lost if things had been left to him. Ray had been chatting with Jack all the way there and Philip had been left to mull over his thought.

  Reemo answered the door opening up to let Ray in, when she spotted her brother standing behind Jack Maison she knew there was going to be a row of some description by the look on his face. She led them into the lounge and dived behind Ricky’s armchair. Ray started pouring out some drinks and listened with interest as Philip spoke to Reemo.

  “You stupid cow, didn’t it occur to you that disposing of Preston might not be as simple, straightforward as it might have appeared to you on first glance, you hadn’t even got the common sense to let me know what you intended to do, why on earth couldn’t you wait and let me deal with it, he would have ended up in the same place, I do hope you are satisfied with the bloody cock up that you’ve made.”

  Reemo knew that she had made a mess of things and felt angry that Philip couldn’t understand why. She could feel herself shaking with indignation at his outburst as she replied to him.

  “You’ve got no dammed right to start on me, I asked you to let me be with you when you disposed of Dad’s murderer and you refused treating me like a child, and you wouldn’t even tell me who it was, if you hadn’t been so condescending towards me we could have sorted out Preston together and this whole bloody mess could have been avoided, but no you had to be your usual pig headed self, even if I die through it I am fucking glad I watched the bastard die. Caroline’s death is the only thing that makes me sick with regret. Though I hope you’ll remember that it’s just as much your responsibility as mine for being stupid enough not to realize that I meant exactly what I said, you knew perfectly well that I would get the information, as you knew how much Dad meant to me, there is no way I would have let anyone else take the pleasure of avenging his murder if I could get to him first and as you now know I did.”

  Philip walked towards Reemo with a face like thunder as he could not stand to be put in the wrong as he knew that she had the best of reasons for her behaviour, but her words had cut into him and he could not stand to be made a fool of in front of everyone there.

  “If Dad hadn’t spoiled you so much, allowing you to have your own way all the time, you wouldn’t have had the nerve to blame me when it is your own childish spoilt ways that have got you into this mess in the first place. As far as I’m concerned you need a fucking good hiding to stop you acting on impulse in the future, Dad should have sorted you out years ago so you’d know not to stick your nose into a man’s affairs.”

  Ricky stood up quickly to prevent Philip from striking Reemo, talking placidly to try and calm him down.

  “Hang on Philip Reemo has been through enough without you having a go at her as well. Have a bit of sense and calm down before you try and do something that you will regret.”

  Philip squared off against Ricky putting his face up close to Ricky’s face almost touching as he spoke in a menacing tone.

  “I wouldn’t interfere if I was you, and you’ve done quite enough of that already. Having a flirtation with Reemo I can just about stomach, encouraging her to make a complete fool of herself I’ll let pass for Ray’s sake, but if you get in my way anymore I won’t put up with it.”

  With that Philip pushed Ricky overbalancing him and Ricky fell back into the chair, before Philip was able to punch him with his now clenched fist Jack had hold of his wrist, Jack was well known for his brute strength and Philip was not stupid enough to ever take Jack on alone.

  Ray prevented Ricky from getting up from the armchair by placing one hand on Ricky’s shoulder, he ordered Ricky to stay put and Philip to go and sit down on the other side of the room, suggesting that they should all sort things out between them in a calm manner.

  Ray looked at Ricky and wanted to know what he had to say about the matter, he told Philip to shut his mouth and listen before jumping to conclusions.

  “Well to start with I had no idea that Reemo intended to kill Preston, I know I was responsible for her finding out who murdered her father but I was under the impression that she was going to let Philip deal with him after she had given Preston a piece of her mind, I dropped her a block away from Preston’s hotel and waited for her to return I thought she was going to talk to him not kill him. The day Preston died I was sure that she couldn’t have been there. I didn’t have any idea what she was up to or had done until we arrived here and all this lot blue up. I know why I was blind to what she was up to, I know Philip thinks I am just using his sister for casual sex, I’ll admit my reputation leaves a lot to be desired in his eyes, but I am glad to say that this time he is wrong, you see I was blind to Reemo’s plans due to the fact that I’ve fallen in love with her and we intend to get married in the near future. On the matter of giving Reemo a hiding Philip I’m afraid you’ll have to go through me first, you’ll find that a little harder to manage than you think. From here on in it would be best if you remembered that I will decide if she needs any form of sorting out and I don’t for one moment imagine that will ever be quite as violent as you had in mind.”

  Philips face was a picture he had never expected Ricky to come out with anything quite so different from the conclusions he had jumped to. He found it hard to believe that Reemo had organized Preston’s disposal without Ricky’s help, he had never thought her that capable, it was quite clear to him why Ricky had not suspected what she was up to, he had never given her any credit for being able to think that way so why should Ricky. When he was thinking more along the lines of love he could not really blame him, Ricky’s announcement of their intention to marry had stunned them all. Philip shook Ricky’s hand and apologized for jumping to the wrong conclusion and offered his congratulation.

  Philip being a good foot taller than Ricky was surprised at the strength of Ricky’s handshake knowing that he had just offered to take him on he felt uncertain as to how much of an unknown quantity Ricky really was.

  Ray was flabbergasted by Ricky’s announcement after everyone gave their congratulations to the couple he telephoned Paul and gave him the news.

  Neither Paul nor Zaneen were in the least bit surprised as they had noticed the way Ricky and Reemo looked at each other and had already realized that they were very much in love. Paul suggested that it might be a good idea if they got married together; everyone agreed that this was a good idea so Ray asked Paul to sort out the necessary arrangements.

  Jack was put in charge of the security and Philip contacted his mother Mary Long after talking Reemo into letting him do so, as he knew they had not spoken for some time. Mary had waited till Reemo was eighteen thinking Reemo wo
uld understand her wanting a younger man that could give her the style of life that she had craved for years, she had tried to explain to Reemo that she and Neville only married in the first place because Philip had been on the way, she had always wanted the good life but had done her best to settle and be a good wife and mother, but could not stop resenting her mundane life, drudgery had turned her against Neville as he was more than happy to live the quiet family life, and he did not share her urge for what she saw as a better life.

  It was Mary’s opinion that Neville couldn’t see his point of view and went around with his eyes closed. Reemo had always remembered her mother telling her to avoid marriage as it was nothing but a ball and chain, stating that it was all right for men as they did not get locked up for a lifetime of boredom and responsibility as a woman did, they nearly always expected their wife to be at their beck and call while they continued to live a life of freedom enabling them to come and go without feeling answerable to anyone. Mary had put this down to the way parents differentiated between the sexes of their children telling Reemo how little girls got baby dolls to play with and boys had toy tool kits, were girls had to be dressed up in pretty little dresses and had to stay clean and tidy, while little boys wore jeans and things that they could roll around in the mud in, allowing them more freedom even at a young age. The way Reemo’s mother had spoken had made her feel unloved and it had remained dormant in her mind.

  When she had left them Reemo felt that she had just been a burden to her mother and resented her for it. Even though Reemo had claustrophobia she was inclined to follow after her father in ways and was quite happy in the safety of her own home. She loved children and didn’t have her mother’s wonder lust as her brother Philip did, somehow Reemo had never completely understood her mother as she had the same outlook on life as her father when she had seen the misery her mother’s leaving had caused her father she had not been able to forgive her. H e had given her mother a piece of her mind, some months after she had left them and they hadn’t even spoken at her father’s funeral, Reemo thought she had a cheek going to it under the circumstances, she had been tempted to say something but had thought better of it.

  Reemo informed Ray that she wanted children early on in their marriage as she wanted to enjoy them and be able to be young enough to be their friend as they grew up. Ray could not have been more pleased if he had wanted to.

  11 THE BEST LAID PLANS.

  The joint wedding ceremonies were going on inside the registrars when Jack Maison spotted Silky lurking around Paul’s car in the street outside, he signalled to some of the members of the family to surround him quietly while he checked what the Godfather wanted them to do with him.

  He unobtrusively asked Ray and then went back outside to carry out Ray’s instructions. Silky was just about to place a brown envelop into the boot of Paul’s car when Jack put a firm hand on his shoulder, his face dropped as he saw who it was and realized that he was surrounded by watching eyes. What he had thought to be passers-by were in fact members of Ray’s family and he wasn’t sure what his fate was to be.

  Jack spoke in his normal manner but Silky knew what he was capable of doing while looking as though butter would not melt in his mouth as he spoke.

  “Come on Silky we’re going for a little trip, the Godfather would like a little chat with you after the wedding reception, so you needn’t worry just yet. “

  Silky decided that there was no point in fighting at that time, as the area appeared to be surrounded by the Godfather’s family; he considered he would wait for a better opportunity, plus he might well overhear some useful information to pass back to the Godmother.

  “Fair enough Jack, but there had better not be any funny stuff or there will be trouble, do I have your word I won’t be disposed of if I come quietly?”

  Jack was not surprised that Silky wanted some kind of guarantee and as he knew that Silky was bound to be carrying some form of weapon. With silky you could never be too sure what it would be. As Jack knew that Ray wouldn’t want any commotion outside the registrars’ and he could see that they had just come out and were standing on the steps to have some photographs taken he gave Silky the guarantee that he had asked for. Silky accepted this and left quietly with a group of the Godfather’s family wondering what was going to be happening at the Godmothers when she heard that her son had just got married to her second husband’s murderer?

  Zaneen nudged Paul as they stood on the Registrars steps indicating to him to look at Silky leaving with his father’s family group. Ray had noticed the group escorting Silky out of the way, he knew Silky had stood by Lora devotedly ever since they had parted and remembered how straight he had been at the time telling him that he would be going with Lora when the family had split into two sections. Ray remembered Rim had done the same thing, whereas a lot of the others had been two faced of course he had had those disposed of knowing that if they were two faced with him they would also be the same way with Lora, he didn’t feel that he wanted to see her come to any harm through any of them.

  After all the photographs had been taken they made their way back to Brialdigc for a private family reception, of course some of the Godfather’s family were selected to come with them just to be on the safe side.

  They had just cut the wedding cakes when the phone rang. Jack answered it and recognised the voice on the other end to be that of Simon Peters, thinking that he had just telephoned to congratulate Zaneen and Paul he called her to speak to him. Simon congratulated the two couples and asked Zaneen what he would like her to do as he’d had some problems and had ended up with some of the Godmother’s family locked in Zaneens cellar.

  Jack could see by the look on Zaneen’s face that something had come up and beckoned the Godfather to the telephone knowing that he would not want any upsets on their wedding day.

  Ray took the phone from Zaneen as she had told Simon to take his instructions from Ray. Simon was more than a little surprised by her action but said nothing. He informed Ray that some of the Godmothers family were causing trouble at the Viclon; he had spotted them as he had been arriving home from lunch, he had got the rest of Zaneen’ s patrol guards and gone over to assist Ray’s groups as they were outnumbered and he knew something had to be done.

  Simon had then taken control of the situation and had locked nine members of the Godmother’s family in the cellar of Zaneen’s mansion. Simon thought the Police might contact Ricky as they had been seen looking around the car park of the Viclon not long after, he presumed someone must have noticed the fight and contacted them, of course he had already seen to it that there were no tell tale signs for anyone to see and they had gone away without knowing if it had been a hoax caller or not. Simon thought they might look further into it because of the trouble earlier with Andrew Fletcher’s car being so recent.

  Ray asked him to see if he could find out what was supposed to be the reason for the attack and was a little bit surprised when Simon told him that he had already done so, he had found that Silky was supposed to report back to the Godmother at set times and when he didn’t do so she had sent some of her family to invade the Viclon. It was Simon’s opinion that she had done this in order to show a display of authority.

  Ray instructed Simon to keep them locked up until he contacted him with further instructions. Simon agreed and asked him to let the newlyweds know that they were having a toast to them and he would await Ray’s call.

  Ray explained the rest of his conversation to Zaneen and went into the bedroom to use her telephone extension in private, Rim answered the ringing telephone in the Godmother’s home expecting it to be one of the family to report back that the Viclon had been demolished, he had been standing by the phone for some time waiting for the call to confirm this. He was flabbergasted when he heard Ray’s voice on the other end of the line, he didn’t recognize the voice at that point in time and was dismayed to hear it ask for Lora Preston as it was her unlisted line, when Rim queried as to who he should say was calling
Ray informed him to tell her it was the Master Godfather and he waited while rim went to fetch her.

  Rim by this time had registered that it was Ray on the other end of the telephone and wondered what was going to happen this time. He knew that they had not conversed since they had parted and reckoned it must be something interesting. He told Lora that the call was for her instead of saying it was Ray he repeated what he had been told by Ray just to see what her reaction would be when she heard his voice knowing she would of course know his voice the instant that he spoke.

  “To whom might I be speaking to, that who obviously likes playing practical jokes? We both know the Master Godfather and I haven’t talked directly to each other for some considerable time; I do not find your joke to be in very good taste to say the least.”

  Ray burst out laughing to himself thinking how she had not changed he felt sure she knew who he was as she was the only one who knew him by that name, in fact he darned well knew she did. He knew she still had something about her that could wind him up, so he was careful how he worded his reply.

  “You know perfectly well who I am and I should imagine you have a good idea why I am phoning as well. What is more to the point is that through your own fault you’ve just made a big mistake and if you’re not bloody careful your likely to make an even bigger one, what have you to say about that Lora my love?”

  Lora Preston still begrudged Ray for their divorce twenty two years before when she had found out about his affair with Anne Dray. It had been fifteen years after the affair when Ricky had been three that she had found out that he had a second home in Satra and a fifteen year old son he supported there, she presumed incorrectly that he was also living with Paul’s mother and had blown a fuse at the thought.

  She had not given Ray a chance to explain to her that Paul’s mother had died giving birth to him and he was not living a dual life with another woman but simply facing up to his responsibilities as Paul’s father. Lora hadn’t given him a chance to explain anything to her; she had demanded a divorce without giving him a chance to explain what happened.