Twisted Agendas by Damian McNicholl Read Free Book Online

Hartley,
    Re: Sale dated September 12, 2000 of 42 Chumley Street, London W6 by Edward Williamson to Miss Julia Ralston
    Clare Short of our Hammersmith branch recently forwarded your entire correspondence to her in connection with the above-referenced property sale. As you appear unwilling
     to accept her responses, she asked me to write in order to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
    As you are aware Mr. Williamson listed the property with this agency and I can assure you that it was sold to Miss Ralston in accordance with all pertinent legal
    requirements. You are misinformed in your belief our client’s ex-wife was also a lawful owner and, therefore, her signature was required. The issue of ownership of 42 Chumley Street was
    settled during their divorce proceedings, at which point Mr. Williamson became the sole legal owner.
    It is not this agency’s concern that relations between you and Mr. Williamson were strained or that he informed you immediately after the property’s transfer
    that he sold it to Miss Ralston at a price well below the last offer you made. Neither does it matter that the price they agreed on may have resulted from their having sexual relations, as you
    allege. Any prior oral promise by our client that he would sell the property to you has no legal validity. Transactions involving agreements to sell a house must always be in writing according to
    the law.
    Contrary to your position with regard to any alleged damage to the wall of your house and backyard fence caused when the seller was trimming shrubbery etc., I state most
    emphatically that this agency had no legal duty to stop or subsequently set aside the sale for such reasons. I suggest you contact Mr. Williamson’s solicitor should you wish to pursue legal
    remedies, though it is my understanding our client is now returned permanently to Australia. (It is also my understanding Mrs. Short furnished you with the full contact details of Mr.
    Williamson’s solicitor.)
    Finally, and once again contrary to your position, Mrs. Short is a licensed estate agent and enjoys an outstanding reputation in our industry. Moreover, she is a valuable
    employee whom I know personally. She is not required to present you with copies of her credentials or a list of legal actions or complaints against her or the Hammersmith branch of this
    company.
    Please be advised we do not wish to receive any further correspondence in relation to this sale, nor should you visit Mrs. Short at her place of business again. Our files
    are closed. Any further correspondence or contact from you will be immediately handed over to our solicitors with instructions to take action against you to the furthest extent of the
    law.
    Let your actions be governed accordingly,
    Sincerely,
    Sebastian Church
    Managing Director
    Agnes scrunched the letter tightly in her hand until it formed a ball, took it into the kitchen and tossed it into the bin.

Too close, Madam
    It was bizarre to the point of comicality and Julia Ralston, as she watched through her front window, could not understand what her eccentric neighbour could be searching for
near Julia’s car. She’d caught her acting this strangely twice before. The first time was two months ago, just minutes after Julia parked the Jaguar on the far side of the street across
from her house. Realising she’d left her newspaper in the car, Julia had gone outside to fetch it and encountered Mrs. Hartley passing her hand alongside the back bumper of Julia’s
vehicle before attempting to open one of the back doors. On the second occasion, Julia had been to the off-license to purchase wine for a party she was throwing and on her return came upon Mrs.
Hartley, grey-white hair studded with pink curlers, emerging from Julia’s narrow strip of front yard. Julia kept her rubbish bin there prior to its collection and she was almost certain Mrs.
Hartley had been rummaging through it. She asked her startled neighbour if she could render any