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Jeff was hardly likely to pursue her across the country, was he?

Laura felt apprehensive as she approached Darren’s office. She knew he’d be disappointed to lose her, and she didn’t like leaving him in the lurch, especially during term-time. But she couldn’t risk delaying her departure any longer.

In the confines of his small office, Laura wrung her hands nervously.

‘Darren, I don’t really want to do this, but I have no choice but to hand in my notice. I’m sorry – I know I’m leaving you in the lurch, but I need you to recommend me for a lectureship at another university. I have no other option!’

Darren looked stunned. ‘Dear God, why, Laura? I thought you were happy here! And I’ve always been pleased with your work –’

Laura bit her lip. ‘Thanks, Darren – I love working here, and you know how much I love working with you. Our friendship goes back a long way and I value it greatly. But it’s Jeff – he won’t leave me alone, and some really bad things have happened. I can’t prove it, but I think he was behind the fire at my apartment. I’m afraid of him, Darren, so I’ve got to get away.’

Darren rose from his chair in agitation. ‘Why on earth didn’t you tell me?’ he asked, his eyes like saucers behind his thick glasses. ‘I had no idea you suspected Jeff was responsible for the fire – I thought it was just an unfortunate accident. Is there anything I can do? Do you want to stay at my place?’ Laura shook her head as Darren stepped forward and enfolded her in his arms. ‘Laura, you can’t let him drive you away like this!’ he said, appalled. ‘I presume you’ve been to the police?’

Laura nodded. ‘Jeff is too clever to leave any evidence that might incriminate him. I just need to get away – I’m hoping that once I break the connection, he’ll leave me alone and eventually forget about me. And at that point, hopefully, I’ll be able to come back to London again.’

Darren said nothing, gently leading Laura over to a chair and then sitting on the edge of his desk facing her. ‘It seems a very drastic step to take,’ he said at last.

Laura smiled sadly. ‘He’s crossed the line too many times, and I think he’s only going to get worse. I can’t put myself in any more danger, Darren, and I don’t want to give him the chance to kill me.’ Her voice broke as the enormity of the situation almost overwhelmed her.

Darren picked up a pen, twirled it between his fingers, then put it down on the desk again. He sighed, looking closely at Laura before he spoke, and she felt he was trying to convince himself that what she was doing was truly in her best interests.

‘There’s a job available at Dorrington University – I only heard about it yesterday from a colleague who heads the department there. Would you mind going so far north?’

Laura shook her head. The further away from Jeff, the better.

‘Apparently, the present incumbent had a heart attack and they need someone to replace him immediately. It’s a temporary junior lectureship in Sociology, so it won’t pay as much as your current job here, but it would get you away from London.’ He looked at her directly. ‘It would ensure you were safe.’

‘Oh, Darren,’ Laura said, smiling and throwing herself into his arms. ‘I’ll take it, thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.’

Darren returned her embrace before giving her a regretful smile. ‘I just want you to be safe, Laura. And Dorrington will be lucky to have you. But how am I ever going to replace you?’ He sighed. To him, Laura was truly irreplaceable, and the thought of her leaving the university was already causing him unbearable pain. ‘Well, you don’t need to worry about any of that – that’s my problem now,’ he said, looking at her sadly. ‘I’ll be sorry to lose you, Laura, but I’ll ring Bill Maddison straight away and get the position set up for you.’

While Laura waited, Darren rang his colleague in Dorrington and, based on his assurances, she was given the job immediately. She’d start the following week. Darren also astutely suggested that she might like to leave her job in his department immediately, so that she didn’t need to face the other colleagues she liked so much.

‘Thanks, Darren – you’re the best!’ Laura said, hugging him again as she wished him goodbye. She had tears in her eyes – he had always been such a wonderful friend to her. ‘I’m going to miss you so much!’ she told him.

‘I’m going to miss you, too,’ Darren said gruffly. He felt bereft and deeply worried as he hugged her solemnly. ‘I hope you’re doing the right thing, Laura. No one should have to run away in order to survive.’

Kerry’s voice shook when Laura told her of her plans to leave London. ‘Leave? My God, Laura – where will you go? I can’t believe you’d do something so drastic! And you’ve packed in your job without even telling me!’ She looked shocked. ‘Are you sure you’re not being too hasty?’

‘I’m sorry for not letting you know first, but I was afraid you’d try to dissuade me,’ Laura told her, tears in her eyes. ‘Anyway, I don’t feel I’ve any other choice. Jeff has gone too far this time – I’m not going to hang around until he makes his next move.’

‘But Dorrington? It’s miles away! I’ll never get to see you!’ Seeing Laura’s eyes fill with fresh tears, Kerry sighed. ‘Sorry, love – I’m being totally selfish. I’m only thinking of how much I’m going to miss you. But I see your point – maybe you don’t have any other option.’

Laura hugged her friend. ‘There isn’t any other way – I’m never going to be rid of Jeff otherwise. And because I’ve no family, I’m in a position to make this a clean break.’ She
clutched Kerry tightly. ‘I never thought I’d be grateful, even for a moment, to be all alone in the world!’

‘You’re not all alone! You have me, and we’ll never lose contact, right?’

‘Of course not, but I want you to pretend to Jeff that we’re not in touch any longer,’ Laura said. ‘I want you to be safe too, Kerry. We both know that Jeff is capable of anything.’ Laura wiped away a fresh tear.

Kerry looked at her bleakly. ‘You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?’ She hugged Laura tightly. ‘And to think I assumed you were just being your usual, impulsive self!’

‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,’ Laura said determinedly. ‘The fire was simply the last straw. If I can just break the link with Jeff, maybe he’ll eventually forget about me.’

‘I hope you’re right,’ Kerry said fervently.

Laura smiled at her friend through her tears. ‘I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you,’ she said, hugging her best friend tightly.

C
HAPTER
59

S
itting on Kerry’s bed, Laura swung her legs back and forth, examining them intently. They were definitely getting longer. She’d grown quite a lot this summer and, already, she was two inches taller than Kerry. In just a few more weeks, she’d be eleven! Of course, Pete had grown taller than either of the girls, and that advantage enabled him to make Laura’s life even more miserable. Now that he was thirteen, he had assumed that being a teenager automatically elevated him to adult status.

Kerry was leaning out of the window of her bedroom, looking at the unending rain. ‘I hate being stuck in here when we’ve only a week left,’ she said. The long summer holidays were almost over, and neither of them relished the prospect of returning to school.

Laura liked being in Kerry’s house – Ellie was always welcoming and there was an endless supply of juice, and gardens almost as big as Greygates to play in. Most important of all, she was safe from Pete’s endless tricks. At home, he was always doing something to irritate her, and he’d become even worse this summer.

‘At least I have something to look forward to,’ Laura said. ‘Daddy’s taking us all away on a holiday!’

‘Us all?’ For a moment, Kerry allowed herself to dream.

‘Yes, Mum, Dad, Pete and me,’ Laura told her. ‘It’s going to be such fun! We’re going to France, and I’m so excited!’

As Laura prattled on, Kerry was no longer listening. It hurt too much to hear about all the wonderful places they’d be visiting – Paris, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Left Bank – places Kerry had only read about in books. She and her mother had never had a holiday abroad, and probably never would. A sense of rage possessed her. Laura took so much for granted. Last year, the Thorntons had been to Spain, and she’d had to listen to Laura regaling her with stories about Barcelona and its amazing Gaudi architecture. All of which was wasted on her friend. Kerry felt that
she
was the one who could have really benefited from the experience.

Then she felt mean. It wasn’t Laura’s fault that everything in her life was perfect. Kerry just wished she, too, could be part of a family. While she loved her mother, it just wasn’t the same as having two parents. She wanted a father more than anything in the world.

Realising that Kerry wasn’t listening, Laura closed her mouth. She realised how insensitive she’d been. But it was difficult not to share her excitement with her best friend.

To take the sting out of her own good news, Laura looked around Kerry’s bedroom, hoping to find a topic they could discuss that might cheer her up. Her eyes alighted on the shelves of assorted books, most of them on subjects she knew nothing about. Turning her head sideways to read their spines, Laura could see titles like:
Modern Building Techniques, Engineering and its Role in New Materials,
and
Elementary Physics.

‘Have you read all of these?’ she asked Kerry, who had now closed the window and was rifling through a pile of books beside her bed.

Kerry smiled. ‘Not every single one. But I’ve probably read bits from all of them – they’re mainly textbooks, so I just take what I want from them.’

‘You’re so clever, and you know what you want to do when you leave school.’ Laura sighed. ‘I’m thinking about teaching, although I’m not really sure. There are probably loads of jobs I’d like to do, but I just don’t know anything about them.’

‘You’d be a great teacher,’ Kerry said gruffly, embarrassed at paying a compliment. ‘You like people and you’re good with them – I much prefer working behind the scenes. I like materials and what you can do with them.’

As Kerry continued searching the room, Laura wondered if she could help. ‘What exactly are you looking for?’ she asked.

‘Aha – there they are!’ Kerry said, crossing to the bookcase, and taking down a sheaf of papers. She rested the pages on her bedside table and beckoned Laura over. ‘I found these plans in a book at the library. They show how to make a go-cart, and I’m going to make us one next summer. What do you think?’

She pointed to a series of diagrams, all of which were meaningless to Laura, but the picture of the finished product instantly caught her imagination. ‘Really?’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Could you actually make one of those without adult help?’

Kerry was quick to take offence. ‘Why on earth would I need an adult to help me? The diagrams and instructions are all here, and the tools I need are in the outhouse – it’s really quite straightforward. I’ll scout around for some bits of wood, and we’ll need a set of wheels as well. But we’ve plenty of time to find them – we’ve got to get through a whole school year before next summer’s holidays.’

Laura’s eyes were now twinkling. ‘We’re going to have such fun – I wish it was next summer already!’

‘No, you don’t – because then you’d miss your holiday to France!’

Laura had the grace to look chastened.

‘Paris was amazing!’ Laura told her friend, her eyes sparkling as they sat in Kerry’s bedroom. ‘I even got a chance to try out my French – but it didn’t sound remotely like the French they speak over there! And the people speak so fast!’

Kerry was finding it difficult to appear interested and hoped that Laura would soon tire of the subject of her holiday. She stared sourly at the plastic model of the Eiffel Tower that Laura had brought back for her. While they’d been abroad, Kerry had counted off the days until their return. Her mother, too, had been quieter than normal, and not at all her usual, ebullient self. It was as though the Thorntons’ holiday had somehow put both their lives on hold.

Kerry kicked a pile of books out of the way, and had the satisfaction of watching them tumble all over the floor.

‘Here, let me help you!’ Scrambling to tidy up the books, Laura began piling them onto the bed, and Kerry felt a sudden urge to kick her friend as well. Laura didn’t seem to realise that she’d deliberately toppled them over in anger and frustration. Sunny-natured Laura always saw the best in everyone and, just then, that just made Kerry furious.

‘Don’t you ever feel the urge to hurt anyone?’ she asked, curious as to Laura’s answer.

Her friend grinned. ‘Yes, I do – Pete! Of course, I don’t mean I want to injure him – just get my own back on him. But he seems able to read my mind – he can always figure out what I’m up to, and he’s one step ahead of me, no matter what I try to do. He was such a pain while we were in Paris – always poking me in the back, or trying to trip me up, when Mum and Dad weren’t looking.’

Each mention of Paris cut through Kerry like a knife. She’d gladly have put up with Pete’s behaviour just to get a chance to see the French capital.

And to be part of a family like the Thorntons.

C
HAPTER
60

O
n her train journey north, Laura acutely felt the loss of her old life. With every mile the train travelled, she was leaving behind the city of her childhood, where the memories of her parents and brother were most strongly rooted. She was also leaving her best friend Kerry, her colleagues and her career at the university – and the wonderful Green Street apartment. Yet again, she silently cursed Jeff for all the harm he’d done to her, and she wished she could see the shock on his face when he realised she’d foiled his plot to terrorise her.