Page 21 of The Facilitator, Part 2

G abriella and I were getting ready in her apartment.

The nerves were starting to show, she was clumsy and tearful.

Alex still had no idea he was about to get married, and I think Gabriella was having second thoughts at the surprise.

I had constantly reassured her. Having had a conversation with him, we all knew he wasn’t keen on the garish wedding her mother wanted.

As far as Alex was concerned, he was to attend a meeting with Mackenzie, and I’d received a text from him to say they were nipping into the pub next to the registry office.

“You look stunning,” I said, as Gabriella finally declared she was done.

“So do you,” she replied. We admired ourselves in the mirror before her mobile vibrated.

“I guess it’s time,” she said, collecting her clutch. She took a deep breath and we took the lift down to the foyer where a car waited for us.

Gabriella held my hand all the way to the registry office. She constantly asked me if what she was doing was the right thing.

“Do you love Alex?” I asked; she turned sharply to me.

“Of course, I do,” she replied.

“Then marrying him, whichever way you want to, isn’t wrong. He doesn’t want the big wedding. I think he’s going to be so thrilled you’ve done this for him,” I said.

We walked in and she texted Mackenzie we had arrived. We met with the registrar and then hid in an anteroom. We chuckled as we heard Mackenzie and Alex enter. Alex was asking why Mackenzie needed to divert to a registry office; did he have something to confess to him.

“It’s time,” Gabriella said.

We left the room at the same time as the registrar came to collect us.

“Surprise, darling,” she said, as she took Alex’s arm.

It took a moment for Alex to cotton on, and then he laughed.

We followed them into the office and the ceremony began.

A half hour later they were married. I had tears and no tissues and Alex was beaming.

We walked to the pub and celebrated with beers.

I suspect, by the range of bottles of champagne the pub had on offer, wedding parties spent time there.

We opened one and toasted the newly-weds.

From there we headed to the Michelin starred Le Gavroche in Knightsbridge.

We had a wonderful dinner and to see Gabriella and Alex together renewed my faith in marriage.

There didn’t need to be hundreds of guests, the opulent dress, and months, or years, even, of planning.

We’d had the best day, just a group of four friends who would soon be only two.

We left them to spend their first night as a married couple at The Dorchester, while we headed in the opposite direction and home.

In three days, they would be leaving the UK.

I recalled Gabriella telling me they would be staying with her mother for a week before heading up to Boston, where they would make use of a company apartment before searching for their own home.

Boston was where Alex was to be based; it was where the American headquarters of Trymast was.

As he was doing in the UK, Mackenzie was in the middle of amalgamation, bringing all his businesses under one roof.

It would make Alex’s life much easier; he’d have less travelling to do, other than to initially check out the manufacturing plants.

“You’re quiet,” Mackenzie said, his words breaking through my thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I’m just thinking about how wonderful today was,” I said.

“It was perfect. Alex didn’t have a clue, not even when we walked into the registry office.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Just that we had an appointment. I don’t think he took too much notice of where we were, to be honest. His head has been in a whirl with the move and second thoughts.”

“Has he spoken to you about it?”

“At length. I’ve told him, give it six months, and then if he’s really not settled, he comes home. I have a feeling he’s going to love it, though. It’s not like he hasn’t been there before, he’s travelled with me many times over the years.”

“How did you meet him?” I asked.

“Haven’t I told you?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“His father, Lord Duchoveny, was the brother of Veronica’s father, they’re cousins.”

“You never said.”

“I thought I had, but anyway, he was a big shot at Lloyd’s of London, one of their CEOs. He was renowned for being a brutal businessman and when Lloyd’s had some problems, I headhunted him for Trymast. He’s been with me for years now.”

“Was he involved in the fraud?”

“No, he was one who discovered it had been covered up since the late 1980’s. He was effectively a whistle-blower. It wouldn’t have come out to the public had he not named names.”

“He would have lost his job for that, I imagine,” I said.

“Funnily enough, no. The knowledge that he had was too valuable, but he most certainly had made his position very awkward. Lloyd’s wanted to keep their losses quiet and he didn’t agree.”

“Wow, I remember when it all happened. Some of those investors committed suicide,” I said.

Mackenzie nodded. “Alex holds himself responsible for that. He was between the devil and the deep blue sea, really. If he kept quiet, he was complicit in the largest fraud of the time, if he spoke out, thousands of investors lost every penny they had. His father was one of those investors who decided he couldn’t live with the shame.

He’d put all his family assets on the line and lost the lot. ”

“Jesus, poor Alex.” There really wasn’t much more I could add. His actions had caused his father to take his own life; I don’t think anyone could ever comprehend what that felt like. “How the fuck do you ever recover from that?” I added.

“I think he only started to when he fell in love with Gabriella. She has the heart of a lion and the soul of an angel. She can be ruthless as well, when needed. When she decides someone needs help, it makes no difference if they agree or not,” he said with a chuckle.

“You’re going to miss her, aren’t you?” I said.

“I am, although I have you to soften that blow a little,” he smiled as he spoke.

“Would Alex have left had I not been on the scene?” I asked.

“No, because there would have been no need. I flew back and forth constantly. I don’t want to do that now. I want to get settled. Whether that is here or there, is for us to figure out one day.”

“I don’t think I could leave my mum permanently, although, you’re leaving your dad…”

“I wouldn’t ask you to, and my dad and I haven’t been close since…Well, for many years.”

There was no need for me to ask anymore, it was clear when his mum died, Mackenzie’s father went into a depression. Why would Gabriella’s mother take care of him otherwise? Then to lose his business and suffer a cardiac arrest would have been enough to have him withdraw.

“It’s not something we have to think about for a long time yet,” he said, taking my hand in his.

I settled back in my seat and we continued the journey home in silence.

Three days later, in the early evening, I was hugging Gabriella at Heathrow Airport. We both cried, despite our resolve not to. We knew we’d be seeing each other again in a few days, but it would be the last time we’d be on UK soil together for a while.

Mackenzie placed his arm around my shoulder and walked me back to the car. I dabbed at my eyes.

“I’m being silly,” I kept saying, trying to convince myself.

“You’re not. Well, maybe just a little,” he said, teasing me.

“I know we’re going to see them in a couple of days, but it’s not going to be the same.”

We climbed into the back of the Mercedes and were driven home. Just as we turned into the street, a security guard, doing his rounds in his van, waved for the car to stop.

“Mr. Miller, we believe there was an attempted break-in at your property. We have contacted the police. They haven’t rushed to get here, but we have CCTV images of someone trying to access your garden via a neighbouring property.”

“Where are these images?” Mackenzie asked.

“I have them in the office.”

We followed the security guard to his small office at the end of the street, parked up, and followed him into a small hut that smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. We stood while he accessed the CCTV from his computer.

A hooded person was seen crossing the neighbour’s garden, a property owned by a middle eastern gentleman that sat empty.

The person climbed the wall, and before they could drop down into our garden, our security lights were activated.

They faltered while astride the wall. The neighbour to the rear had a dog that started to bark, which seemed to change any potential burglary intent.

The person slid back down the wall and ran off.

“How you do know that person was intending to break in to my property?” Mackenzie asked.

“Mr. Khan’s property is empty, the rear and other side of you aren’t and both were occupied all evening.”

“Someone knew the Khan property was empty?”

“I believe so.”

“Then also tell me, how did they get to the Khan house undetected?”

Mackenzie stared at the security guard.

“I just came on shift, but that was my first thought. I’ve gone through all the CCTV of vehicle movements, and there isn’t a vehicle that has entered this complex we aren’t aware of.”

“Can someone have garden hopped from beyond this complex?” I asked.

Mackenzie didn’t appear to understand what I’d said.

“The first house on this complex, its garden backs onto George Street. Could someone have literally climbed into their garden, then the next, then the Khan property to ours?” I asked.

“Well, yes, of course they could have. All I can say is there wasn’t a vehicle we didn’t have registered that came along this dead-end street.”

“Okay, thank you. What did the police say?”

“Not in so many words, but it wasn’t a priority. There was no physical break-in and trespassing isn’t something they’re interested in. But it was reported and we were told someone would come along within the next day or so.”

“Can you email me that clip?” Mackenzie asked.