In Search of Hope (26 page)

‘An hour or so.’

‘I’m looking for a woman and child. We arranged to meet here.’

‘What’s your name and have you ID to prove it?’

Joss nodded and produced it.

‘She said you’d be coming. I’ll take you to her.’

He led the way back towards the showrooms but turned up the stairs and knocked on a door.

It opened slightly, then there was a gasp and it was flung wide open. ‘Joss! Oh, Joss! You’re here. Come in quickly. Thanks, Oliver.’

When the door closed, Joss took Libby in his arms and held her close, because she was shaking.

As he explained how he’d prevented Steven from following her, then went on to describe how a policeman had run a check on her ex’s car, she began to relax and even smiled. But she shook her head about the injunctions. ‘He won’t obey them.’

‘I don’t think he will, either. He’s obsessed by you.’

‘Not by me – by controlling his wife and son. We’re only components and possessions to him, not individuals in our own right. Want a cup of coffee?’

‘I’d love one.’

‘What now, Joss?’

‘We wait here for Emily and Chad to return.’

‘Rachel says they won’t be back till tomorrow.’

‘Then we’ll wait here for them. The only other place you’d be safe would be the Women’s Refuge, and I think you’ll be a lot more comfortable here.’

‘And you? Will you be comfortable?’

‘I can make myself comfortable anywhere.’ He took her hand and kept hold of it. ‘I know this isn’t the time, but after we’ve sorted everything out, I want to get to know you better. Is that all right with you?’

She gave him one of her sudden glorious smiles. ‘Oh, yes. I’d like that very much.’

The smile soon faded, though.

Des hung around, waiting for the various players to move on.

He watched Atherton leave the magistrate’s court and turned his attention to Pulford, amused by the fuss with the police checking his car. When that was over, he followed the fellow, but Pulford only went back to the hotel.

Des decided not to hang around there, but to go and see the lawyer again, to find out whether Libby’s guardian angel would be staying with her. If so, Des would be superfluous to requirements and could probably wind up this case.

Mr Greaves had a couple of clients to see, so Des arranged to come back later in the afternoon.

He went for a brisk walk. Sitting around on surveillance wasn’t much good for keeping you fit. He noted that Pulford’s car was in the hotel car park when he started out and was still there when he got back.

Then it was time to see the lawyer.

He explained to Mr Greaves what he’d seen. ‘You said Libby has someone watching over her. Is he still with her?’

‘Yes. And he’s very experienced.’

‘So I’ll get back to my client and explain what’s happened then sign off on the case. I’ve other people wanting my services.’

‘You seem to have done a good job.’

They shook hands and Des left. This case had been pretty straightforward. He’d soon be able to wind things up.

Ken waited till the silver car was out of sight before following it. He was shivering by the time he reached the first place on the hill where Atherton might have parked because he’d taken off his jacket to change his appearance, changed helmets to his passenger lid, and even taken off his sweatshirt, leaving only a tee shirt. He’d have bloody earned that money.

He nearly missed the car he’d been following, but saw it as he was turning his bike in the car park, ready to move on. It was parked out of sight of the road.

If the cop was stopping here, so was she, Ken decided. He looked for somewhere to hide his bike, and found a place where gravel was stored behind a low wall. Not really part of the car park, but who was to stop him? He could always say he was worried about his bike getting pinched.

He wondered whether to go inside, but he was cold and soon got fed up of waiting around, so decided to risk it. He combed his hair into a more ordinary style, one his mother would approve of, but his friends would laugh at, and put his sweatshirt on over his tee shirt. There. He looked respectable now, like a boring little office worker or something.

When he entered the centre, he saw sparkling lights and all sorts of gleaming stuff. They’d have CCTV here, he was sure, because the place screamed ‘valuables’ – but hey, he wasn’t doing anything wrong, was he? Anyone could look at the goods in a shop.

Then he saw a sign at the back saying ‘Café’ and sighed in relief. An excuse for being here.

The man serving there didn’t seem in the slightest bit interested in chatting, so Ken just said he was cold after riding over the moors and ordered a coffee and a cake.

He chose a seat in a corner, from where he could see all round him and most of the front showroom too. Taking a newspaper from a rack, he settled down to read. He could pass a pleasant hour here whether he found out anything else or not.

Just as he was wondering whether to leave, who should come down the stairs and into the café but Mr Bloody Atherton himself. Ken lifted up the newspaper to cover most of his face, but listened hard.

‘We were wondering about something to eat, Oliver.’

‘There are only snacks here, I’m afraid, though we do have some rather nice little packets of soup.’

They discussed what the little boy would like to eat and Atherton walked back upstairs with a loaded tray.

Ken folded up the newspaper and left, feeling very pleased with his own cleverness. That Pulford fellow ought to give him a bonus.

Rachel came back from the shops with some clothes for Ned, and a couple of cheap plastic toys too, as well as a pork pie and some other bits and pieces of food.

‘Since Chad and Emily won’t be back till tomorrow, I’d better show you which bedrooms to use.’

‘You’re quite sure they won’t mind us staying here?’ Joss asked.

‘Certain.’

Libby was exhausted after the stress of the day and let the others make the arrangements. She accepted the loan of some of her hostess’s clothes and did her best to keep Ned occupied, but he was bursting with energy.

‘Shall I take him out for a play in the car park?’ Joss asked, but answered his own question. ‘No. Too risky. I’ll ask Rachel if there’s somewhere at the back where we can play with a ball.’

‘If there is, I’ll come out with you. I could do with some fresh air.’

He guessed she didn’t want to let Ned out of her sight, but didn’t say so.

When he came back, Joss took them down and Rachel let them out into the private rear courtyard.

‘Visitors aren’t normally allowed here,’ she said. ‘We have two young people living in the units at the back. They’re special-needs folk. They might come out into the courtyard but they won’t be any trouble.

‘Toby’s out doing one of his gardening jobs at the moment but when he gets back, he likes to sit outside in the evening sun. Oh, and Ashley sweeps the yard at least twice a day, she’s so obsessive about cleanliness. She dusts our displays and she’s brilliant, now she knows what’s required. Never seen anyone as careful to get everything perfectly dust free.’

Rachel went back into the centre and Libby sank down on the bench, sighing with pleasure as she turned her face up to the late-afternoon sun.

‘Want to play ball, Ned?’ Joss asked.

The little boy nodded and was soon running round happily, though he kept an eye on his mother, as if he only felt safe when she was nearby.

When Joss had had enough of throwing the ball, he joined Libby on the bench. ‘You all right?’

‘As all right as I can be at the moment.’

A young man came into the yard at that moment, accompanied by Rachel.

‘This is Toby. Toby, these are friends of Emily and Chad, but no one must know they’re here.’

‘Are they hiding?’

‘Yes. A bad man is chasing them.’

‘They’ll be safe here. This is a good place.’ He nodded a greeting and went past them through a door, but came out after a short time to sit in the sun on another bench.

He seemed to bring an air of peace and quiet happiness with him, and Libby could feel herself relaxing. He was right. This place did feel good.

A little hope crept into her heart. Maybe things would work out all right. After all, she wasn’t on her own now. She glanced at Joss, caught him looking at her warmly and blushed.

He grinned.

And before she could think what she was doing, she was smiling foolishly back. She was in danger of falling for him. She shouldn’t do that, but how could you stop yourself from being attracted?

After a while Toby stretched and stood up. ‘I’m going to get my tea now. Ashley and I have tea together. We have to clear up carefully. She doesn’t like a mess.’

He disappeared through the door into their quarters.

Libby yawned. ‘I suppose we’d better get something to eat as well, then I’m going to put Ned to bed. You’ve tired him out nicely.’ She looked at her son, who was examining a rose bush which had three perfect blossoms on it. He didn’t try to pick them or destroy them – well, he hardly dared touch things, let alone damage them – but he stroked one fingertip along the velvety surface of a petal and bent his head to smell the flower, smiling at it.

When they went inside, they found Rachel getting ready to lock up the centre, which had now closed for the day.

‘I was just coming to get you,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I need to lock all the outside doors, because of the security system, but I’ll give you a code that will let you go outside at the back if you don’t go near the display cases, and here’s a key to the back door. You may want to go outside in the morning and I don’t usually get here till nine o’clock.’

‘I want my Boo-Bear,’ Ned said suddenly.

Here we go
, Libby thought. ‘Boo-Bear’s waiting for us at home.’

Ned plumped down on the floor and began to sob and thump the ground. ‘Want my Boo-Bear. Want my Boo-Bear.’

‘We left his teddy behind,’ Libby explained to Rachel. ‘I knew we’d have trouble getting him to sleep without it.’

‘There’s a stall with teddy bears in the Old Barn,’ Rachel said. ‘They’re antiques, so they’re a bit more expensive than bears usually are, but they have some very small ones and a few other soft toys too.’

‘Could we have a quick look, do you think?’

The big room at the rear was full of shadows and the stalls were covered up. It looked eerie. Rachel switched on the overhead lights and turned the cover back from a stall to one side. ‘I know they have a bargain shelf here. Yes, here it is. Ned, come and look at these toys.’

He let go of his mother’s hand and went to study that shelf. On it was a small, woolly lamb. As he picked it up and stroked its head gently, light seemed to gather around him and he relaxed.

Libby blinked but there was definitely a light haloing her son.

‘He’s nice,’ Ned said. ‘He’s lost his mummy, but he could come and live with me and Boo-Bear.’

Libby looked at the price and gulped, but Joss had already taken out his wallet.

‘Let me buy it for him.’

‘I shouldn’t.’

‘I can well afford it and he’s been so good today, he deserves a treat.’ He picked up the lamb. ‘Let’s take his ticket off, Ned. He wants to live with you.’

Rachel moved closer to Libby. ‘You saw it, didn’t you? The light, I mean.’

‘I’m not sure what I saw.’

‘It’s a sort of friendly spirit. It won’t hurt Ned. It seems to appear to people who need help.’

Libby blinked in surprise, not knowing what to say to this.

Ned beamed and crushed the woolly lamb against himself as Joss weighted down the banknotes and ticket on the counter.

‘I’ll tell Gillian about the sale in the morning,’ Rachel offered.

He looked round, studying their surroundings. ‘If we had to get away suddenly, is there a back way out? Where does that door lead?’

‘Only to the units. Oh, and to the earliest part of the building, which is not for public use. I’m afraid you’d have to go out into the rear courtyard and round the side, then clamber over the rough ground of the moors to get away from the centre any way but via the car park.’

‘I see. Still, it’s useful to know the layout, isn’t it? I don’t expect we’ll have any trouble tonight. Thank goodness Pulford doesn’t know where we are.’

When Emily and Chad had delivered Jane to the next link in the escape chain, they went for an Indian meal and sat chatting.

‘We should find a B&B,’ she said at last. ‘I doubt there are any decent hotels round here.’

‘Yes. It is a bit isolated, isn’t it? Or we could drive home. I’m not sleepy. Are you?’

‘No. I was on the alert, too concerned to make sure Jane got there safely to relax. It’ll take me a while to come down from that. Anyway, I infinitely prefer my own home to a B&B. Once you’ve slept in a six-foot bed, four foot six seems tiny. I must be getting old and set in my ways.’

‘So am I. If we hadn’t had to wait until after dark to deliver her, we could have been well on our way back by now.’

‘We should buy some bottles of water and a snack in case we get thirsty in the middle of nowhere. But it’s mostly motorway down to Lancashire from this part of Scotland, so it should be straightforward enough. We can stop further south at a services for some coffee to help us keep alert.’

As she drove, she stayed silent for so long, he asked, ‘Something wrong? Changed your mind? Or would you rather I drove now?’

‘No. I’m fine to drive for the first hundred miles or so. But it’s just … Well, to tell you the truth, I have a strong feeling we’re going to be needed at home.’

‘One of your psychic feelings?’

‘Yes. I don’t get them often, but when I do, they’re usually worth paying attention to.’

They found an off-licence that hadn’t yet closed, bought some fizzy water and sweets, and set off again. When Emily glanced sideways, she saw Chad dozing gently in the front passenger seat.

She turned her attention back to the road, which unfurled before them in the light of the headlights, beckoning her on through the dark landscape.

The feeling that she would be needed at the centre persisted. She couldn’t understand why.

Then there was a loud bang and the car skidded suddenly, dragging sideways, hard to control.