Chapter 14

Epilogue

June, two and a half years’ later

On Lauren Taylor’s first day, her very first day working for the Environmental team at SandRock Construction, she was instructed to report to a maintenance depot on the far side of the M25. She travelled up on the A23 in her reasonably new secondhand car. SandRock were the leading company in this field, not just a road and bridge design and construction company, but were very careful about surveying the environment and taking positive actions before, during and following construction of new roads, extensions, improvements and replenishment.

The advertised job was somewhat oversubscribed, with promises that the appointee would be encouraged and given time off to obtain a masters degree and a PhD. Several of her fellow students had applied and interview places were limited. Lauren was reluctant to apply, in the knowledge of how awkward it would be if they ever found out she had once been a member of WWAG. However, her tutor encouraged her to apply, as his best student, she owed it to herself to try. Even after she explained her problem of involvement with a heavily criticised protest group, he still believed she should go for it.

She knew from friends’ comments on Facebook that no-one of her acquaintance even managed to get first interviews, so she was quite surprised to get one. Lauren thought she did extremely well to get through that initial interview, then the intensity of questioning through the next two interviews, as the search narrowed, were bonuses as far as her confidence in her interviewing techniques had developed.

However, the last interview was with only one extremely relaxed and chatty interviewer and conducted with all the feeling that the meeting was simply low-key and had the air of a formality and Lauren assumed that she had not quite made the final cut. It was clear to Lauren that the company had already made their choice and were only going through the motions with the also-rans.

So the offer of appointment letter that arrived in the post a couple of days later, therefore, came out of the blue. She hadn’t thought it possible that she’d be offered the job, as that fourth interview was so very relaxed that no notes were even taken. Yes, she was told at the first interview that all the candidates would be informed of the appointment or otherwise within a week. In fact she heard within three days and, in addition, the letter informed her she could start as soon as she was available. She jumped at the chance to start the beginning of the next week.

The reply to her formal acceptance of the offer said she would normally be based at the new offices in the depot at Worthing, but throughout this first week she would be required to join the team that were visiting schools in Kent and Essex. The meeting point was at their Kent depot just off the M25. Protective clothing would be supplied on that first morning, but she would need to bring some comfortable outdoor boots or sensible shoes to wear inside the schools, as the boots that the company supplied would probably need a period of breaking in.

Lauren had grown up somewhat in the last couple of years at college. She was much more confident in herself and had learned to become independent and self reliant. She had enjoyed her studies, especially the field trips, and wanted to work outside in the environment rather than use her degree to be based in a business office. She thought it was quite exciting to work with schools from time to time educating conservation as well as surveying wildlife and protecting the environment.

Since hearing she had secured the job she and her fiancé were searching for a place to rent in or around Worthing and had a couple of possibles that they were considering.

At the gates to the depot she announced on the intercom who she was and she was instructed to report to Environment Director Daniel Medcalf himself.

Oh, she thought, that could be awkward, really awkward. She had assumed she would meet her immediate boss, Samantha Golding.

She knew Medcalf worked for the company, now that the motorway currently under construction was on a sensible route close to the centres of population, and that he was the director ultimately responsible for the department she had joined, but she doubted their paths would ever cross. She felt reassured though, when the efficient voice at the end of the line welcomed her to the depot and informed her that “Daniel was expecting her” and told her clearly where to park and the location of the reception building, where she could collect her temporary pass. As she walked to the building, she thought that, although it was an ugly old prefab building, it was neat in its recent repainting and there were bright flowers in planters near the entrance, making the most of what was probably already to be a more cheerful working environment. Another intercom was encountered before she was immediately let into the reception area.

Lauren easily recognised Daniel Medcalf from the last time she saw him, some two years earlier. She doubted that he would know her, of course, as he had been standing in the witness stand then while she had watched proceedings anonymously from the public gallery.

He was leaning against the reception counter, much less formerly dressed in highly visible waterproofs than the last time she had seen him, when he had been dressed in a smart blue suit. Other than that, he looked unchanged and as soon as she was through the door he walked towards her wearing a big smile and holding out his hand in greeting.

“Hello Lauren, welcome to SandRock,” he smiled in welcome. “I’m Daniel, you’re in my little group this week, touring the schools, and you’ll be with Samantha doing your real environmental work starting next Monday. Hope you have an enjoyable time with us over the next few days, these trips to the schools are always lots of fun, and we are trying to pack as many in as poss before they break up for the summer. You have arrived nice and early, did you have a good journey up from home?”

“Yes, no problems at all,” Lauren replied, pleased that he had got her name right, she was used to being called ‘Laura’ more often than not on first meeting and she hated having to correct strangers all the time; it was nice when someone cared enough to get things right. “So where are we off to today?”

“We’ve got schools in Essex and Kent all this week, just two schools in Kent today, one a primary, the other a secondary school” replied Daniel, “the younger ones are really great fun, they have all the best and most unexpected questions,” he continued as he beckoned Lauren through several sets of doors until they reached a small office. “We also have a treat, a TV crew meeting us at the primary school, too, for a Breakfast News live outside broadcast. That will add a bit of excitement to our day, as well as getting our message across to a much wider audience.”

Lauren must’ve looked unnerved by this revelation, so Daniel quickly chipped in with, “No need to be nervous, the camera crew and interviewer are not only really good at what they do, they’re great friends of ours, in fact two of them were married by special licence in our back yard a couple of years back.”

Inside the office was a desk piled high with hi-vis clothing and plastic bags and boxes of clothing, gloves, boots, socks, hard hat and goggles.

“Grab what you can and we’ll take them out to your car, this is all your stuff,” said Dan, picking up a large bundle, which included most of the bulky stuff. “It’s amazing how the Environmental team get through gear. Imagine five days of rain and you are out in it every day, yes? That’s why there’s five sets of everything, except only one hard hat and two pairs of boots.” Outside, they dumped the stuff in the boot of her car, Lauren wishing she had cleaned up all Colin’s litter in there beforehand.

“In the office we’ve left a jumper for you with the SandRock logo on, plus some lightweight hi vis trousers, which you can put on, as we really don’t need all the heavy hi vis gear for the schools. I’ll leave you for a few minutes while you get changed and in the meantime I’ll fetch a couple of cups of tea or coffee, what do you prefer and how do you take it?” said Dan.

“White tea, no sugar, please,” smiled Lauren, feeling relaxed in Daniel’s easy-going company as they walked along the corridor.

“Excellent choice,” laughed Dan, “The coffee from the machine is not very good! We’ve got two more people to come, Allison and Ben, they’ve both been with us for a couple of years now and know the school visit ropes backwards. Let them take the lead for today and watch how they get on, but you can dive in any time you feel comfortable.”

They parted company at the office door.

“There is a latch on the inside of the door, Lauren, or, if you wish, you can pop into the ladies down the corridor down there,” he indicated with a pointed finger.

Sitting in the chair five minutes’ later, a little self-conscious in her new green jumper and hi-vis jacket with yellow SandRock logo on the breast, immediately below a smart brass name plate saying “Lauren Taylor, Environmental Team”, sipping the tea from a SandRock mug, she said to Daniel, “I was surprised to get the offer of the job last week, I didn’t think that after that last interview I stood a chance.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows “Really?” he said, “We all thought after the third round of interviews that you were the outstanding candidate, with no-else in the running, and our Personnel Director is great at getting people to relax and let their real personality shine through. She has been working closely with the chair of the company, Lady Barbara Sands, to assemble the best environmental team we can to take the company forward in the right direction.”

“Oh,” Lauren said, “the last interview I had was with someone called Marina. I hadn’t met her before. She was very nice, in fact she was lovely and we had a relaxed chat about, well pretty well everything under the sun except the job, including where I hoped to live and about my fiancé. So I assumed you’d already picked the candidate you needed. We didn’t talk about the job and what was expected of me at all, so I assumed that I wasn’t wanted.”

“Quite the reverse, Lauren,” Dan smiled. “Marina is our Personnel Director. She’s great at getting people to relax and let their real personality shine through. She has the final say on all new staff on the design and construction side as well as environment, to ensure we have only the best and well balanced team members. She is also important in ensuring staff are properly trained and have career progression in front of them and also recognises where staff need to slow down and share their experience as new staff are trained to replace them.”

“I know. That’s why I became so enthusiastic to join the company after the first interview. I wish I could thank Marina for her job offer in person.”

“Oh, you can, very soon, you are invited to an informal dinner party at our place on Saturday night, where you can get to know most of the driving forces behind the company.”

“Our place?”

“Yes, Marina Medcalf is my wife, of Well over two years now. My wife and I would like you and Colin to attend, my daughter and her husband and my youngest daughter will be there too, as well as Lord and Lady Sands.”

“I thought I heard that your wife died, through illness wasn’t it?”

“My first wife died, yes, she was murdered actually, but my second wife survived an attempted murder attempt, we all did, but you know about that.”

“I er, I saw you in the witness stand. I was at the inquest in Chichester,” Lauren admitted, “just for an afternoon, though, that was all I could spare during term time, plus one day earlier as a witness. And I attended a half day as a prosecution witness at the Old Bailey for the murder trial.”

“Oh yes, I saw your witness statement in your personnel file, I didn’t know you’d also been at the Inquest though -”

“My personnel file?”

“Yes, as your boss, I -”

“Yes, of course, but why would my file contain information like that?”

“Ah. Well, as you know, SandRock were literally rocked to the foundations once facts from the Coroner’s Inquest and then the later murder trial emerged. Lord Sands had to stand down as chairman for health reasons, to enjoy a more relaxed consultation role. The shares have now more than bounced back to new heights now that the company has a healthy portfolio of projects. Lord Sands will be joining us on Wednesday this week. Lady Barbara, as principal shareholder, therefore won the vote to take over the chair from her husband.”

“But Lady Barbara wasn’t at the Inquest or the trial, was she?”

“No, the CPS thought both Babs and Marina had suffered enough trauma, besides, the inquest had all the evidence needed to cover the three fatalities and the murder trial was an open and shut case.”

“Trauma?”

“You might as well hear the whole story before Allison and Ben join us. You knew the leader of WWAG, Andy Robertson, and your old boyfriend Mark Clark, of course.”

“Yes, I suppose that is in my notes?”

“Yes,” Daniel smiled, “Marina and I know what you suffered at the hands of those two individuals after you tried to prevent the fire, we have both spoken to your friend Mandy.”

“Oh.”

“Marina has followed your university career with interest, ensuring your college noticeboard posted our advertisement and even had a quiet word with your tutor when you weren’t among the early applicants. Marina is a shrewd Personnel Director, she hates the term ‘human resources’, so we have an old fashioned personnel department again.” He chuckled. “She thinks you will ably replace Samantha as temporary manager of the Environmental Team in three or four months’ time, when she takes her maternity leave, then you will be confirmed manager once Samantha determines how long maternity leave she wants to take. After that she is expecting to only return to the team on a part-time basis while she completes her PhD.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yes. You were top of your class, your degree was first class, all your lecturers report that your abilities and dedication were exemplary. I hope when Sam returns part-time that you will allow SandRock to give you time off and sponsor your MA as promised?”

“Y-yes, if ... wow! Yes!” Lauren was stunned, “We spoke about that at the interviews. I felt quite envious when Marina said the winning candidate would be supported to continue getting qualifications up to PhD level. I know the advert said as much but they do not always carry their promises through to full professorship.”

Lauren set out to drive to Findon before 7 o’clock on Saturday, to arrive at breakfast time as invited, her fiancé Colin wearing a suit and tie for the first time since he interviewed for a university place some seven or eight years before. Fortunately, his old suit still fitted him, but as a full-time country park ranger he found it easy to retain his lean frame, out tramping footpaths and riverside walks and the physical work of heathland management all day. Lauren had to buy a new shirt and tie for him, but when he saw their joint bank account balance, due to her first month’s salary paid in advance, he didn’t mind the late night shopping exhibition the night before.

They drove across country from his old flat as they were still looking at properties within their price range. Colin was also seeking to transfer from his current position based at the western end of the downs and join the county rangers who helped preserve the South Downs closer to the north of Worthing.

When they reached Underhill Lane, there were volunteer villagers who directed them into the recently enlarged Grange Farm car park, where a parking space had been preserved for them. Despite leaving so early, they were nowhere near the first of the guests to arrive.

They were directed up a footpath to the back of the house. When she reached the end of the path, Lauren was confronted by the astonishing sight of the newly rebuilt and freshly-thatched barn.

“I must look at this, Colin, when I was here last, it was just before it burned down. It looks exactly the same except that the thatch was starting to look a bit sorry for itself. Then the news and Sunday newspapers were full of images of its destruction back then.”

The barn double doors were open and inside there was a series of display boards showing the history of the barn, photos of historical finds dating back to the early middle ages, and sarsen stone foundations that were probably from a nearby Bronze Age henge and robbed by the early Saxon settlers. The reconstruction had been conducted by the SandRock Corporation Civil Engineering Department and there were logos from the National Lottery and other bodies who had contributed to the enormous costs of the restoration work. There were architectural drawings showing how the remaining timbers were blended in with the new to maintain the same construction as existed before, using photos from the family and the local historical society who had carried out numerous surveys and projects on the building over the years.

There was even a display board written by her immediate boss Samantha Hughes at SandRock, describing the evidence found in the debris showing the many and varied species of insect, bird and mammal that had shared the building with mankind throughout its long history.

Lauren took a few photos on her mobile, although one of the volunteers did mention that a book covering the reconstruction had been produced and it was likely that today’s VIP guests would be presented with signed copies by the two co-authors.

The smiling volunteer, wearing “Elsie” on her nameplate, said that, from mid-morning today, the barn would be open to visitors on a daily basis throughout the summer holidays until the first week of October and that one corner of the barn would be open as a café run by village volunteers with all the monies raised going towards a new children’s playground in the village, while sales from the new barn book were expected to go into the charity that were aiming to keep the village pub and village store open as community properties.

“Ah, here’s Miss Sophie Medcalf,” said the volunteer.

They turned to face a tall, slim, very beautiful young woman who confidently marched towards them, her red hair shining like brushed bronze in the sun, with a large smile on her face.

“You must be Lauren and Colin. I’m Sophie Medcalf. The TV technical crew are still laying their power cables and setting up their equipment, so we are all gathering in the kitchen for tea, coffee and bacon butties, if you are interested, of course. The official opening a celebrations start about eleven o’clock.”

“I’m never ever last in the queue for bacon sandwiches,” said Colin with a huge grin, “lead on.”

“Sorry, we were late,” Lauren apologised, “I was distracted by the barn rebuild, and thought we had plenty of time.”

“Oh, we have time in hand, Lauren,” Sophie said, “It is just that Jack at the carpark radioed in that you had arrived and I thought I better come meet you. I presumed that you would end up here, everybody does! We’re very proud of the work we’ve done and the new stable block immediately behind. We will have a guided tour after breakfast and the TV broadcast is out of the way and before the general public are let in. There’s been a massive demand for tickets and we’ve opened field opposite for parking.”

As they walked towards the Grange, Lauren asked about the barn.

“It must’ve been a huge undertaking rebuilding the barn in the same way as the original. It must have cost a fortune.”

“Yes, it did, but it was insured, of course, which fortunately also covered criminal damage by arson. Also, part of the assets of Johnson and Page-Turner were awarded by the courts for their criminal damages. We were successful in bids for National Lottery grants for various elements of the work and a lot of volunteers from a number of national and local societies and organisations, so we were able to salvage and clean up timbers and bricks. During the excavation we came across unique floor tiles under the concrete and wall tiles behind some of the cladding, that historians had never seen before. That started a new line of research and, further down the hill they found signs of open clay mining and located the remains of a pottery that had been churning out tiles and pots from the 12th century until the 1640s, when the pottery was burned down during the Civil War. They found a treasure trove of hundreds of broken and intact tiles in buried kilns, most likely intended for the London market.”

As they walked past the end of the barn nearest the house, she continued, “This end must have once been used as a kitchen, with a tiled floor inside and discovered the postholes of a covered walkway to the house, so have turned that area of the barn into a café for now. Many of the oak beams and uprights in the barn were so old and hard that they were virtually untouched by the flames. The swift action of getting the fire service here at an early stage meant that much of the original timber was saved and it was only the roof and part of the North Wall that collapsed.”

“So this barn will open to the public for a while?” Lauren asked.

“Yes, certainly until the end of autumn, as long as the interest lasts. Actually, we are fully booked by individuals and small groups from tomorrow until the end of September, then by mostly school parties with just a few gaps during the last couple of weeks of October, coinciding with half-term. We are not currently taking bookings from November, but we are getting lots of enquiries. The local dramatic society would like to put on a pantomime here in December and January and there is a Mummers group who would like to put on something traditional for the Christmas season on Boxing Day. So it is all rather exciting.”

“Has your father put you in charge of this?”

“Not my father exactly. This is my baby, my grandfather has put me in charge of promoting this and already told me that in his Will, the trust of the Underhill Estate will pass to directly to my control. It makes sense, as Daddy intends to retire next year and my sister Ginny and husband Giles are already starting their planned two- or three-child family this year and Ginny will be returning to their general practice eventually, while I will continue to run the farm business with the Hammonds, along with the stabling, riding school and this heritage offspin. There’s also a opportunity to resurrect a working pottery as there is an unlimited seam of suitable clay in that site. As well as making ceramics, we could put in classrooms for people to learn pottery and ceramic arts through short courses.”

They reached the kitchen at the back of the old house and entered. Daniel was at the double oven, grilling bacon in one and baking more fresh buns in the other. On the hob he had mushrooms, tomatoes and poached eggs in various pans. He looked up as they arrived.

“Hello Lauren and Colin, glad you could make it this early. Pat tells me it will be a good half hour before we are ready to broadcast. What can I get you for breakfast?”

“We’ll both have bacon butties,” Colin replied, holding out a hand to grab the open one proffered by Daniel. Lauren just smiled and nodded.

“Egg on top?” Dan asked.

“Not for me,” Lauren said, “but Colin will. Maybe a couple of those tomatoes would be good for me.”

“Coming up,” grinned Daniel.

“Hello again, Lauren,” Marina said, as she came over to greet them, giving both Lauren and Colin a hug in turn. “And it is a pleasure to meet you too, Colin. Let me introduce you to all the gang here today.”

“Oh, Marina, I didn’t know you’d be here today,” Lauren said, “I so wanted to thank you –”

“No need for thanks, you are honoured guests today.”

She pointed round the table, around which were ten chairs, seven of them already occupied. One man stood up, a broad red-faced man with a friendly face.

“Right,” he said, “I must be off on me rounds, Nice to meet you Lauren, Colin, I’m Paul, I manage the farm with Sophie and gotta check on what those outside broadcast studio guys are getting up to.” He turned to Daniel, “Thanks for the breakfast, Dan, it were champion.”

“Don’t forget to send Helen and the kids over from the stables when they’ve finished their chores, plenty of bacon and baps left, oh, and sausages.”

“Will do,” and he was gone out the door.

“Everybody, this is Lauren Taylor.” Marina announced. “I think you all know that Lauren has just joined SandRock as our future Environment Team Leader and will be taking over from Samantha in a few months. Lauren was the only member of the WWAG team who tried to stop the Johnsons and their campaign of revenge on Daniel, his family and myself, and they almost killed her.”

“Oh, I didn’t think you knew, Marina. I never said anything to anyone about what happened to me, other than in my statement to the police.”

“We have inside sources with the police, who we worked closely with during their investigations, and helped them keep it quiet, which is why you were only asked to testify on the initial WWAG planning.” Marina explained. “Daniel and I have followed you all the way through your outstanding college career.”

Marina hugged the girl again and whispered in her ear, “and your friend Mandy sent us a recording she had secretly made of you telling her that you were hanging on with the WWAG group to find out exactly what they planned, and know all about the horrible time you had at the hands of those two monsters.” Marina turned back to the table, “And this is her beau, Colin, who is due to be working as one of the South Down Rangers in a few weeks.”

“Well,” said Colin, “I’ve applied, so fingers crossed.”

“Oh, I am sure you will be successful, Dan is chairman of the County Environmental Committee and already put in a good word for you. This is Ginny and Giles, our eldest daughter and son-in-law and, as you can see, they are expecting our first grandchild in early December.”

The happy couple waved to Lauren and Colin.

“This fine fellow is Matthew Jameson, depot manager for SandRock, who was on site with a cherry-picker and helped save the day. His wife Patty and daughter Judy were whisked off to the maternity ward in Southampton at three o’clock this morning, so he is awaiting a phone call any time now.”

“Ey up, Lauren, Cole,” the red-faced man nodded, “Thee can call us Matt.”

“Hope it all goes all right for your daughter,” Lauren said.

“Aye, Jude’s calm as a cucumber, her man’s in t’Army overseas so she were all prepared to go it on ‘er todd, but me missus, tha’s another matter, Patty’s a nervous wreck, so Ah’m stayin’ well clear ‘til t’bahrn’s popped.”

Marina continued to point round the table, “Lord and Lady Sands, you probably know from the company brochures, employee documentation and reports. Together they are the main face of SandRock.”

“Hello, Lauren and Colin, just call us Philip and Barbara,” Lord Sands said, “all of us here suffered at the hands of the Jimmy Johnson clan of half-brothers and half-sister. I mean, look at me, just a shadow of my former self, and lost control of my own –”

“Don’t believe a single word of it Lauren,” Lady Barbara interjected with a smile, her hand squeezing Sir Philip’s shoulder affectionately, “when it was clear what the total value of the bribes and the extensive criminal damage was to the company due to Phil’s rogue PA, Phil stood down as chairman. However, once the lawyers dug their heels in and Phil spent time talking to all the clients and rivals concerned, he was free of all the company business to concentrate on winning back many of those lost contracts and the rivals were only too happy to concede by giving up illegal contracts and sacking their top staff to protect themselves from promised crippling legal costs. Well, when Phil lays it on thick, with the determination of his reputation, we did very nicely out of it. Hence the life peerage he earned in the last birthday honours.”

“I think it was intended for both of us.” Lord Philip grinned.

“Right, Phil, let me understand this correctly,” Barbara chided her husband, who continued to smile affectionately at her. “You changed from Sir Phil to Lord Sands and what did I change to? Lady Barbara to Lady Sands, a Lady before and a Lady after. So how is you joining the peerage any benefit at all to me? Anyway, Lauren, top of the agenda on Monday, we will both want lunch with you and Samantha, along with Dan and Marina. I want us to go over what we expect from you over the next five years. I know you have already seen the dry details on paper, but we want to be sure that we are all going forward as a united front for this motorway to become the most ecological and energy efficient civil engineering project in the world.”

“That would be great, Lady Sands –”

“Barbara, please.”

“What you have already outlined looks too fantastic –”

“Oh Lauren, wait until you see the legacy that we have from Johnson and Page-Turner, the world will be your oyster.”

“Page-Turner?”

“Not her real name, Lauren. Come on, sit down. Coffee? Tea?” Marina insisted.