Brighton Belle Read Online Free Page A

don’t.’
    Mirabelle’s curiosity was pricked, a tantalising flashback of her former life echoing down from London to her sequestered existence by the sea. It felt as if Jack was calling her. Still,
she fought against her instinct. Sandor’s information was interesting, but, telling herself she had to be practical, she dismissed it immediately. If a debtor died it was Big Ben’s job
to claim the money from the estate. That made what she had to do purely administrative and therefore rather easy. Nothing else mattered. Not these days.
    ‘Thank you, Sandor. Tell me,’ she moved on calmly, ‘do you know who the executor is?’
    ‘There is a lawyer. Peters. I should think he must be the one.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    Sandor sounded eager. ‘Will you come to the funeral, Mirabelle? Will you send someone?’
    Mirabelle sighed. After the way she’d felt yesterday, she wasn’t going back to the church ever.
    ‘No, that won’t be necessary, Sandor. I have everything I need now. Thank you.’
    Sandor hesitated. ‘You know where I am,’ he said at last, ‘if you want to talk.’ Then he rang off.
    Mirabelle pushed all thoughts of Jack from her mind. This was her job now. It might not be the important job to which she had been accustomed but it still had to be done. She retrieved Romana
Laszlo’s file, looked up Peters in the Brighton directory and found the number of the solicitor’s practice in Ship Street. The receptionist transferred her immediately.
    ‘Ralph Peters,’ the lawyer said briskly.
    ‘Hello,’ Mirabelle said, ‘this is Mirabelle Bevan of McGuigan & McGuigan Debt Recovery. I understand you are handling the execution of a recent estate – one Romana
Laszlo.’
    ‘Yes, Miss Bevan.’
    ‘We have an outstanding debt I would like to register with you. Mrs Laszlo owed our client five hundred pounds to date.’
    ‘You are rather quick off the mark.’
    ‘Yes, I know. I apologise for that. Can you tell me, please, are there funds?’
    ‘I imagine so. There is a considerable life insurance policy as I understand it. I don’t envisage a problem. I’ll know the ins and outs in a few days.’
    ‘I see.’
    The solicitor took down Mirabelle’s details and she agreed to send over the original contract with Bert Jennings.
    ‘I will inform you of the timescale when I know it, Miss Bevan.’
    ‘Yes, that would be very helpful. There are obviously issues with the interest.’ Mirabelle hesitated. The ministry had gathered enormous amounts of information by simply training
people to ask the right questions. Now she had Peters on the phone Mirabelle found it almost impossible not to try. ‘Mr Peters, may I ask if you knew Mrs Laszlo?’
    ‘Not at all. I am simply her friend’s solicitor. He brought over her papers this morning and instructed me. She had only recently arrived in England, as I understand it, and did not
have a solicitor of her own.’
    ‘I see. Where did she come from?’
    ‘I have no idea. Is it important?’
    ‘No, no. I only wondered. Unusual name, Romana. Pretty.’
    ‘Well, I expect it’s Dutch. She had a Dutch passport, I notice.’
    ‘I see.’
    ‘If that’s all, Miss Bevan, I must be getting on. I will keep you informed, but I don’t expect it will take too long.’
    ‘Yes, of course. Goodbye.’
    As she put down the phone Mirabelle wondered why she’d pushed. Still, there was no harm in it. Now she had the information she needed to make good on Bert Jennings’ debt though she
also had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps, she thought, when Big Ben came back she would see about taking a holiday. Things had been going so well. Mirabelle smoothed the
cuff of her cardigan and straightened the belt that was cinching her waist. Then she heard steps on the stairs. It was certainly turning out to be a very eventful morning and she did not want to
appear to be dallying. She had just picked up her pen but had not yet had time to put it to paper when a