Chain of Vengeance: Chapter Six - Part Six

“Tired?” said Eden, “You must be.”

“No not really,” replied Jack. “Not yet.”

The navy blue Mercedes shot along the freeway, gliding with a grace and stability that smaller cars could never have. Eden was driving. Jack enjoyed the switchover of the steering wheel position. It was strange to sit in what in England would have been the driver’s seat and not have any control at all.

“It was a long trip and everything,” he said, “but I dozed a little and did a bit of meditation; to try and stabilise myself and avoid as much jet lag as I could.”

“Not a bad idea.” Eden smiled. “You aren’t even a little like your uncle you know. I don’t think you even look like him. Except perhaps for your hair colour.”

“Did you work for him for a long time?”

“Twenty four years or so. I’m not exactly sure. His daughter was about three at the time, so, yes; twenty four years. Maybe twenty five.”

“I didn’t know he had any family,” said Jack.

“The attorney in London didn’t tell you?”

Jack shook his head. “Wait, no; he did. He told me my uncle had fallen out with the family of his first wife. Is that them?”

Eden nodded.

“Didn’t they object to the will when he died?”

“No. There was none of that.” He seemed to be thinking about something else for a moment. Jack didn’t press him. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“People keep asking me that. That’s partly why I came here. I’m not exactly sure you see. I’m not sure I received this inheritance just to blow it all on myself and live the high life.”

“No.”

The car drove in silence for a long while. It was air conditioned; perfectly stable atmospherically. The engine seemed to make no sound at all.

“How did he die?” asked Jack.

Eden didn’t turn to glance at him. He didn’t respond at all for several minutes. Once again, Jack didn’t press. He let the question drop, concerned that he’d touched on a subject not surprisingly tender to the old man. Then suddenly, in the quiet of the car, long after the question had come, Eden said, “He went driving one night alone. He never came home. His car was found in the water at the foot of a cliff several miles out of town with his body still inside.”