In Search of Hope (12 page)

‘I’ll get a snack ready. I’m no use out here. You’ll call me if he finds anything?’

‘Of course.’

She went inside and put the kettle on, hunting out the biggest mug in Rose’s collection and setting the chocolate cake on a plate, ready to offer Giff a piece or two.

She let Ned stand in the doorway to watch the men, telling him not to move from there. Sadly, she knew he’d do as he was told, for fear of his father coming to shout at him.

It was about fifteen minutes before she heard voices and Ned came running to say, ‘Joss is here. And a man.’

‘Come in!’ she yelled, switching on the kettle.

Ned stood beside her, eyeing the stranger suspiciously.

‘Now that looks like a home-made cake,’ Giff boomed.

‘Yes. I love baking. I thought you might like a piece with your cup of tea.’

His beaming smile was answer enough.

She waited till they were all sitting round the table to ask, ‘Well, how’s my car?’

Giff shook his head. ‘Not good, Libby, not good at all. It’s well past retirement date. I can repair it but I can’t make it reliable and it’s sure to let you down again. And the bodywork isn’t so good, either. One thing always leads to another when they’re in this condition. You didn’t have it serviced very often, did you?’

‘No. I couldn’t afford it. I did manage to change the oil.’ Mary’s husband had shown her how to do it. She saw Joss look at her sharply and guessed he’d figured out that Steven had refused to pay for her car to be serviced.

‘Can you get her anything for it as a trade-in, Giff?’

‘Couple of hundred, maybe a little more. Someone might want a cheap fixer-upper. You’ve kept the upholstery nice, and it’s an easy model to put a new engine in, so someone wanting a cheapie might do up the bodywork.’

She bit her lip. She couldn’t afford to buy another engine, let alone a new car.

Giff drank the rest of his tea with every appearance of enjoyment, and popped the last mouthful of cake into his mouth. ‘I’ll leave you two to discuss this. If I can help, get back to me. Nice meeting you, Libby. See you, Joss.’

He was gone before she could gather her wits together. ‘Do I owe him some money?’

‘No. But if you were to bake him a cake, he’d appreciate that.’

‘I can do that easily.’ She stared down at her plate. She’d been crumbling her cake without realising it and there was quite a big pile of crumbs there now. ‘If I haven’t got a car, and if Steven comes after me, I have no way of escaping.’

‘We’ll do our best to keep him away from you.’

She shook her head. ‘It’s only a matter of time. I’ve been thinking about it … about him. He never gives up when he wants something. It’ll be a matter of pride for him to drag me back.’

‘Are you sure he’ll still want you?’

‘Oh, yes. Not me specifically but a housewife and someone to raise his child … someone to bully. We haven’t, you know, shared a bedroom for a couple of years.’

Joss took her hand. ‘If he’s that bad, we must make sure you do have a means of escape and somewhere to go.’

‘How?’

‘There’s a contingency fund in the trust for emergencies.’

‘You mean I can draw on the inheritance money now?’

‘No. I mean we can supply you with a car as an extra. Not a new one, but a reliable one. It’ll be in Henry’s name, not yours, so no one can take it away from you. Giff will find you a vehicle, if you like. He has friends still working in the trade. Well, Giff has friends everywhere. He’s a universal uncle.’

She looked at Joss uncertainly. ‘Are you sure you’re not just making this up, being kind to me?’

‘You mean, would I be supplying the money?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m not a rich man and there really is a contingency fund, Libby.’

She sighed in relief so deep it came out as more of a groan. ‘You always seem to be there when I need something.’

‘From now on, my job will take me away from time to time. But I’ll make sure there’s someone else you can call on for help. Not Giff. His fighting days are over. But Rose was well liked in the village. She helped a lot of people and they in turn will be happy to help her granddaughter, I’m sure. Now, where did you want to go today?’

‘It’s not important.’

‘I have nothing to do, so I can easily take you, as long as you don’t mind waiting while I nip into Henry’s rooms to discuss the question of a car.’

‘I don’t mind waiting at all. Are you sure? I was going to stroll round the markets in Rochdale and look in a few charity shops. Ned needs some more toys and I need some clothes.’

‘From charity shops?’

She flushed at the surprise in his tone, but wasn’t going to lie to him. ‘I’ve bought everyday clothes from charity shops for years. You can pick up some real bargains.’

‘I’ve never even been inside one. It might be fun. How soon can you be ready to leave?’

‘A few minutes.’ It was kind of Joss, she thought, as she got Ned ready to go out. If Henry hadn’t said Joss needed something to do, she might have been less ready to accept his offer to take her, because she didn’t want to impose.

But there again, she enjoyed her neighbour’s company and so did Ned. Could it do any harm to spend time with him occasionally? You could never have too many friends, and she’d lost touch with most of hers. Which reminded her, she must email Mary to say she was all right, and arrange to have Allie round for a drink.

They left the car in a town-centre car park and Joss led the way down a maze of stairs and passageways into the markets. The indoor area didn’t seem to have changed all that much, and Libby stood for a moment listening to the familiar Lancashire accent issuing just as happily from people of a variety of races.

She smiled. It was lovely to hear that slow, gentle way of speaking. It took her back to the happy days when her father had been alive and they’d all lived in Rochdale.

When her mother had remarried and moved near to London, Libby’s stepfather had forced her to speak ‘properly’ so she’d lost her own accent, except for what he’d called ‘that damned northern twang of yours’. And now she was back where she’d started from.

Joss’s voice pulled her out of her memories. ‘What do you want to look at first?’

‘I usually compare the food prices, so I know which is the best value. I won’t buy straight away, if you don’t mind me taking my time. Afterwards, if you’re not in too much of a hurry, we’ll go and look round a few charity shops in the same way. Checking things out first.’

She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t, because he’d suddenly lunged sideways. Grabbing Ned’s arm, he pulled the little boy out of the way of a large woman who was so busy talking to her friend that she didn’t seem to have noticed the child and would have bowled him over.

‘Thanks for protecting him.’ She took Ned’s hand more firmly.

‘My pleasure,’ Joss said.

As they explored the market, he became thoughtful. ‘Some of the food looks super-fresh and it’s really good value.’

‘You probably don’t need to count pennies.’ She eyed some strawberries regretfully.

‘No, but it’s good to support the smaller sellers sometimes, even though the big supermarkets are very convenient. I’ve no need to rush in and out after work these days, after all. Do you want to look at the charity shops before you buy your food? Then we won’t have to carry bags of vegetables around.’

‘Yes, please.’

They wandered out into Yorkshire Street, heading uphill. Libby investigated several shops and also a store whose windows bore garish posters screaming about its low prices.

When they got to the top of the shopping area, she turned back. ‘I’m ready to start buying now, but if there’s something else you need to attend to, just say.’

‘We’ll do your shopping first. I’ll pick up some things from the market too. After that I need to see Henry about releasing the money for a car.’

The words escaped before she could stop them. ‘What would I have done without you?’

‘Hey. Not only am I a trustee, so it’s my duty to help you, I’m a normal human being and I
like
to help my friends.’

‘Friends? Can you make friends with someone this quickly?’

‘Sometimes.’ He stopped moving to look at her solemnly. ‘As I think you and I have done. Or don’t you feel that?’

She flushed, but could be no less honest. ‘Yes, I do feel we’ve become friends.’

‘Good. Now, if you just let me phone Henry to check when he’ll be available, I’ll hold on to this young scamp while you go back into whichever shops you need to visit to try on your clothes.’

He got through to Mrs Hockton and arranged to see Henry just after lunch. As he closed up his mobile phone and slipped it in his pocket, he said, ‘That means I’ve got time to buy us lunch. I know a place which makes the very best pizzas, sold by the piece.’

‘You can’t keep feeding me,’ she protested.

He grinned. ‘Oh, it’s Ned and me who need feeding. You don’t seem to eat much at all.’

She gave in to temptation. ‘I’ve been too worried to eat properly, but I’d love some pizza. I’ll pay my share, though.’

‘I’d rather you kept feeding me home-made cake in return.’

That made her feel better, less of a charity case. He had definitely enjoyed her cake.

‘Now, let’s get on with this shopping, Libby.’

She always bought carefully, but she was particularly lucky today and found several garments she liked, as well as a few clothes and toys for Ned.

In the markets she stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a range of spices.

‘You enjoy curries?’ Joss asked.

‘I used to. Steven didn’t. He preferred what he called real English food. Oh, damn! I’m doing it again, talking about him.’

‘You’re bound to. You’ve only been away from him for a few days. It doesn’t worry me. As well as making cakes, could you show me how to make a curry or two? I love them but it takes too long to go into Rochdale or Todmorden to buy a take-away. The food is cold before I get home again.’

‘I’d be happy to teach you.’

After lunch, they parked outside Henry’s rooms and Joss went inside, not expecting to be more than a minute or two.

‘Go straight through,’ Mrs Hockton said. ‘He’s expecting you. Everything all right?’

‘More or less. There’s been no contact from her husband, at least.’

‘No.’ She lowered her voice. ‘And if he comes in here I shall be hard put to speak civilly to him. That was a bad bruise on her face.’

‘I’m first in line for a confrontation. Did you know he’d hit the boy as well?’

The fury on her face was similar to his own feelings every time he saw the bruises on her face, and on Ned’s leg.

He went down the corridor to find Henry scowling at a desk covered in piles of paper.

‘What’s so urgent, Joss?’

‘Libby’s car has died. We need to buy her a new one.’

‘Fine by me, as long as we keep the car in the name of the trust, so that
he
can’t take it if he drags her back.’

‘She’s not going back to him.’

‘You can’t be sure about that.’

‘I am. Very sure.’ He wouldn’t let her. As a police officer, he’d failed to prevent some women going back. As a friend, he was going to make sure Libby didn’t get forced back.

‘What if he gets custody of the boy? On the face of it, he’s a respectable executive and she doesn’t even have a job. Courts have done stupid things before. She might feel obliged to go back to him for her son’s sake.’

Joss groaned. ‘Thanks, Henry. You’ve just given me something to have nightmares about.
You
have to make sure he doesn’t get to her through the law.’

‘And you have to keep an eye on her safety. You’ve nothing else to do, after all.’

‘It’s bad timing because I’ve just found myself a part-time job, one that’ll take me away sometimes. I thought we’d give her your address, and I know a couple of guys in the village who’d protect her, too.’

‘What’s the job?’

‘Security.’

‘And that means …?’

‘Oh, this and that.’

‘I see. Something hush-hush.’

‘That’s one way of putting it.’

‘Well, let me know whenever you go away. Emma and I would be happy to give her shelter at our house any time.’

‘I knew that already. You’re one of the good guys, Henry.’

His old friend rolled his eyes. ‘My work usually involves house sales and contracts. This goes way beyond my normal brief. Only for Rose would I have done any of this.’

‘I know. You like a quiet, elegant life: concerts, art galleries, cultural holidays. You don’t usually do divorces, even. Are you going to help her with that?’

‘I’ve made arrangements for a good divorce lawyer to get involved once Libby starts proceedings. I know my limitations. We have to tread very carefully with this.’

‘Anyone I know?’

‘Annie Bainborough.’

‘She’s the best around here. She does pro bono work for the abuse unit.’

‘I know. About this car. You’ll have to choose it, Joss. I’m no expert on second-hand cars.’

‘I’ve already got Giff Marshall looking into it. He’s a mechanic who lives in Top o’ the Hill and is semi-retired. How much can we spend? I don’t want her driving around in another old rattletrap. It’s a miracle that one even got her here.’

‘Miracles do sometimes happen. And spend whatever it takes to get a decent second-hand vehicle with all the necessary safety features – two or three years old maybe.’

Joss was smiling as he went outside again. He was enjoying today’s outing and things were going really well.

Then he stiffened. Libby and Ned weren’t in the car. He could feel himself going on what he’d always thought of as ‘full alert’. He stared up and down the street, while getting out his mobile, in case he had to call for help quickly, his mind skipping from one possibility to another.

Where could she have gone? She’d assured him she’d stay in the car. He’d only given her the spare car key in case she wanted to listen to the radio.

Could her husband have come after her already?

Before he could dial for assistance, Libby appeared at the corner, with Ned walking beside her. She speeded up when she saw him.

‘Sorry to keep you waiting, Joss. Ned was getting a bit fidgety. I locked up the car, so it wasn’t in any danger of being stolen.’