Chapter 34

I washed up my coffee cup and I then emptied my suitcase, sorted out my washing into piles of lights and darks, and then filled the washing machine.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house, which I guess was a throwback to my army days. It had been drummed into us from day one as soldiers to make sure we kept everywhere clean and tidy.

It was early evening by the time I had finished, and my stomach was rumbling. I got dressed grabbed my wallet and walked into town. There were restaurants of all types, Chinese, Indian, and Italian as well as a couple of steak houses but I knew what I wanted.

It was called Bunnies Plaice, nice play in words I thought, and it was a takeaway fish and chip shop that also had a restaurant attached to it.

I was shown to a table, and I ordered haddock and chips with two pieces of bread and butter plus a pot of tea as they did not do beer.

The food was great, piping hot and well tasty. As I ate all I could think about was that letter and the appointment I was due to attend the following day. It was all a mystery and to be fair I was sure that it would all be some sort of mistake.

I paid my bill and walked the long way home through the local park, I needed time to think and clear my head.

I did not sleep well and was awake before five, I put on some running gear and headed out into the cold morning air. I did some warm-ups and then headed off for a five-mile run, it was so different running in England than it was in Spain that was for sure.

I got home covered in sweat and mud, I took a shave and a shower and dressed in my dressing gown I made tea and toast before reading and rereading the letter again. I was looking for signs of a wind-up or a scam, but I didn’t find any!

One of the last things it mentioned was bringing some form of ID. I had my passport handy, but I also dug out my driving license and my old army ID card, I glanced at the clock, it was eight thirty, and then I glanced out of the window. It was raining cats and dogs, so I called a cab to pick me up at nine and then got dressed.

The cab was dead on time, and it took me into town. The solicitor’s office was huge, and it was old school. There were wooden panels on the walls as well as oil paintings of old men whom I guess used to work there. The smell of bee wax and old cigars filled my nose.

A receptionist told me that the man I was due to meet, Mr Truman, was running late. She made me a cup of tea and I sat on a leather sofa and waited for my meeting. There were magazines on the table in front of me, house and hound, country life, and stuff like that so I just sat and drank my tea.

In the end, he was over ten minutes late, I was shown to his office by his receptionist. He stood up, apologized and shook my hand. He offered me tea or coffee and I took a coffee. Introductions were done and he told me to call him Bill and I said he should call me Zak.

We sat down and he smiled at me.

“Well, this is all new to me, we have never been asked to do anything like this before!” he said, “So, first of all, do you have the forms of ID that the letter said you should bring”.

I passed over the three documents and he took some time to read them. Then he smiled at me and handed them back to me.

“Right, it seems we have the right man then Zak,” he smiled and took a file out of one of the desk drawers.

He opened it and looked at me, he took off his glasses and polished them before continuing. I was not sure if they needed cleaning or if was he doing it to give himself more thinking time. OR was it to build up the tension?

“So, give me a little potted history of your life please Zak,” Bill said and sipped at his coffee.

I told him about my life, how I had grown up in a children’s home and then how I had joined the army and then how I had been released and now I was working for a movie studio, I did not tell him I was a porn star I figured that that was too much info.

“So, I have been contacted by a lawyer in New York, they had traced you from the children’s home to the army to living back in town,” Bill said with a smile.

“But how did they know I was back here?” I asked

“From what they said the army put them in touch with your regiment’s old boys Association,” he said after looking at a document in the file. That made sense, I had written to them when I changed address.

“And I guess my biggest question is why?” I asked.

“Okay sit back and let me tell you a story,” said Bill and lifted a sheath of papers from the file.

So, it seems the reason the American lawyers have been chasing me was that I had a father, his name was Eric Tomey, and he had moved to the USA.

It seems my mother died in childbirth and my father didn’t think he could cope with me, he had no family that would help and nor did my mother, so he put me in care.

He then moved to the USA, and he had become a policeman over there. He had done well by all accounts he had become a high-ranking detective. He had remarried but they had never had kids. His wife had died of cancer and when he retired, he spent his time playing golf and drinking with his old police buddies. He sold his house and moved into a care home when his health had failed him.

He died in his sleep in the care home and the staff found a letter for his solicitor, and they had acted in his instruction and tracked me down. It had taken six months to find me, and Bill told me my father had been buried in the same plot as his wife, Eve.

So, in the last hour, I found out my mother had died giving birth to me and that my dad was dead. It was turning out to be quite the day.

“Wow, so that is the story hey,” I said, and Bill gave me a sympathetic smile.

“I am sorry to have had to tell you all that bad news but there is some good news,” Bill said with half a smile.

“Okay hit me with it,” I said and sipped the last of my coffee.

“You have inherited all of Eric Tomey’s estate young man,” Bill said, his eyes darted down to a sheet of paper, “there was no property to sell, no taxes to pay so what was left in Eric’s bank account was all yours, less the fees for the search.”

“So, will it change my life?” I joked. I mean how much could a cop have in the bank?

And Bill looked at me and his face took on a serious look.

“Yes Zak, yes I think it will, I estimate that you will be receiving close to a quarter of a million pounds”

“Fuck off...” I said, “Say that again!”

Bill smiled at me and looked down at the paperwork again

“I estimate that you will be receiving close to a quarter of a million pounds young man” he smiled.

“Oh my God that is bloody amazing,” I said and stood up, “Shit I am sorry I swore Bill”

“It’s okay Zak, I would have done the same!” he laughed.

I sat down and laughed again, so many thoughts ran through my head. a quarter of a million pounds back then was a huge amount of money. It was bloody life-changing that was for sure.

“So, when do I get the cash?” I asked.

“Well, I have to talk to the American Lawyers, and they will calculate how much you will actually get, they have had to pay for the search and stuff like that, but I would have thought this time next week you will be a very rich man,” Bill said.

He seemed genuinely pleased for me.

Bill ordered us more coffee and we talked about the cash and what I would do with it. I left his office an hour later after giving Bill my phone number and arranging to go into his office in seven days, they would be the longest seven days of my life.

I walked home in the rain, my head full of ideas and plans and wondering what the final figure would be.

By the time I got home, I had decided that I would help Sally out and buy into the studio. I would buy Colin’s half of the business. It made sense. I loved the job; I loved the people I worked with, and it all made sense.

I rang Mandy and asked her to arrange a meeting with Sally as I had some news for both of them.

She rang me back and asked if we could meet in a wine bar in town as Sally fancied a drink. The time was agreed. Mandy asked me what all the fuss was about, but I told her she would have to wait and see.

I was the last one to get to the wine bar, it was quiet. The ladies were sitting in a booth, I got myself a beer and a bottle of wine for the ladies. They both stood up and we exchanged hugs and kisses before I took a seat.

“So come on spill the beans,” Mandy said.

“Yes, come on what so important we have to meet up today?” Sally asked and glugged down half a glass of wine. I could see the stress and pressure she was under.

“Okay well I got a letter from a solicitor, and I have come into some money, rather a lot of money and I want to invest in the studio” I just blurted it out.

“Fuck off!” Sally said and shook her head

“Is this a wind-up?”Mandy chipped in.

“Nope, I am telling the truth!” I said with a smile.

They both looked at each other and then at me and at the same time said

“Piss off”

“Are you winding me up?” Sally asked

“No not at all” I replied, and I told them the story that Bill had told me and promised them that this time next week I would have the funds to pay off Colin and become Sally’s business partner.