The Hornbeam Tree (9 page)

Relief quickly gave way to annoyance at the light-heartedness of Michelle’s manner, as though she were expecting a hearty welcome in spite of being four hours late without so much as a phone call. So instead of going to greet her, Katie turned from the window and set about making herself some tea.

There were three knocks on the back door before Michelle put her head round. ‘Hello, can I come in?’ she said, managing to look gorgeous, sheepish and playful all in one go, until she registered the tremendous change in Katie and was unable to hide the shock.

‘Yes of course,’ Katie responded, spooning tea into the pot.

After closing the door Michelle dropped her backpack on the floor and stood looking awkwardly around. The place seemed bigger than she remembered, but every bit as English and homely, though Katie’s attitude was causing a bit of a chill.

‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said, trying to ignore it. ‘I was …’

‘It’s all right. It doesn’t matter,’ Katie cut in.

Michelle took a breath and tried again. ‘So how are you?’ she asked.

‘Fine, thank you.’

When she didn’t look up Michelle glanced around again. ‘I wasn’t quite sure what to expect,’ she said, ‘your letter …’

‘Is that all you have?’ Katie enquired, looking down at the backpack.

‘No. There’s a suitcase in the car. They’ve lost my other one.’

‘I see. So that’s why you’re late?’

‘Not really, no. I had a strange thing happen at the airport, they …’

‘It’s OK, you don’t have to explain. I’m used to you not turning up when you say you will.’

‘Listen, I’m sorry,’ Michelle said, colouring slightly. ‘I’d have called if I could, but my phone …’

‘I said you don’t have to explain,’ Katie reminded her. ‘Tom called. He wants you to call him back.’

Michelle looked at the phone and felt uncertain about what to do.

Katie picked up the kettle and poured hot water over the tea. She knew she should be trying harder to be more welcoming, but right now she just couldn’t. ‘What happened to your hair?’ she asked, glad that the glowing blondeness wasn’t going to be dazzling her into constant reminders of her own grey fuzz.

‘I had it cut, and it changed colour,’ Michelle replied, running her fingers through it. ‘It just went darker.’

‘It doesn’t suit you. You looked better before.’

Michelle smiled and shrugged. ‘Oh well,’ she said, and shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

Tearing her eyes away from the long, shapely thighs and gently rounded hips, and thinking there was no contest which of them was the skinniest now, Katie tugged open the fridge door
to
take out the bowl of salad she’d made for Molly. It was unlikely Molly would want it anyway, and if she was hungry when she came in she could always have a chicken sandwich, or beans on toast.

‘Is Molly here?’ Michelle asked.

‘No. She should be back any minute though. Why don’t you sit down? Or you can go and freshen up. You probably remember where the bathroom is.’

‘Actually, I will if you don’t mind,’ Michelle answered, picking up her backpack. ‘I’ll just be a couple of minutes.’

‘No rush, it’s only salad, and the tea needs to brew. Your room’s the one at the end, where you stayed before.’

A few minutes later the back door opened and Molly wobbled in.

‘Ah, just in time,’ Katie told her, unable to stop herself looking for love bites or syringe marks. Fortunately there were none, however her eyes seemed much too bright and unless Katie was mistaken she’d just got a whiff of alcohol. ‘Would you like some salad with your chicken, or would you prefer a sandwich?’ she asked.

‘Salad in a sandwich,’ Molly answered, tugging open the fridge door. ‘What juice have we got?’

‘Apple or passion fruit.’

Molly took down the carton of passion fruit, filled a glass then slumped down at the table.

‘So, did you have a nice evening?’ Katie enquired, buttering some bread.

‘Yeah, it was cool.’

‘Did you do your history?’

‘Yeah, whatever,’ Molly answered.

Katie glanced over her shoulder. ‘I hope you didn’t walk back across the fields. You know I’d rather you use the main road at night.’

‘I used the main road,
all right
. Honestly!’

Katie put the sandwich on the table, and topped up Molly’s juice. ‘Have you been drinking?’ she demanded, catching the glass as Molly almost knocked it over.

‘
No-oh!
’

Katie stared at her hard, but said no more as Michelle was coming back down the stairs.

‘Is that Molly?’ Michelle said, stepping into the kitchen. ‘My goodness, you’re so grown-up, and so pretty.’

Molly scowled and finished a mouthful of food before saying, ‘So you came then? We thought you weren’t going to bother.’

‘Molly!’ Katie snapped.

Michelle smiled over her surprise. ‘Of course I came,’ she responded. ‘I said I would. I just got a little held up.’

Molly shrugged and got up from the table. ‘I’m going to bed,’ she told them. ‘Excuse me.’

Michelle stood aside.

‘Don’t be up till all hours on that computer,’ Katie called after her.

No reply, just the heavy tread of footsteps and slam of a bedroom door.

Michelle looked at Katie, but her expression was stony, so judging it best not to comment, she merely walked to the teapot and started to pour. ‘Nice flowers,’ she remarked lightly, carrying the cups to the table. ‘Are they from your garden?’

Katie glanced at them. They were the ones she’d removed from Michelle’s room earlier. ‘No. They were on offer at the supermarket,’ she answered crisply.

Michelle waited for her eyes to come back to her. ‘Katie, I’m really sorry I was late,’ she said gently. ‘There was nothing I could do about the plane being delayed, and when I arrived this afternoon …’

‘You should call Tom,’ Katie said, cutting her off. ‘He was worried when we didn’t know where you were. He left a number. It’s next to the phone. Apparently his flat was burgled and they took his mobile.’

Michelle frowned. ‘I guess that will account for someone else answering it,’ she remarked, picking up the number Katie had jotted down. ‘What’s he doing in Karachi?’ she said.

‘He didn’t say.’

‘OK. I’ll use my mobile, save your bill.’

‘It doesn’t matter. You can use that one.’

Though Michelle would rather have spoken to Tom in private, she didn’t want to offend Katie, so pressing in the number she got through to a hotel operator and asked for him by name. After one ring his voice came down the line saying, ‘Tell me it’s you.’

She smiled. ‘It’s me,’ she said, wishing beyond anything that she was with him now. ‘What are you doing in Karachi?’

‘Long story. Are you at Katie’s? When I called …’

‘Yes, I’m here. I got stopped at the airport, and couldn’t contact anyone.’

‘What happened?’

Seizing the opportunity to explain to Katie too,
she
said, ‘Well, they searched my luggage – apart from the bag that didn’t turn up, which means my laptop is still in transit somewhere – then they searched me, not a pleasant experience, and after that I was taken to a custody office and questioned.’

‘What about?’

Regretting Katie was there now, she said, ‘They wanted to know if I’d been working with certain … groups, or had any connections … Obviously I said no,’ she added for Katie’s benefit, knowing she’d probably seen straight through the euphemisms. Then, wanting to get off the subject, she said, ‘Katie told me about your apartment. Was much taken?’

‘Cellphone, computer, books, all my papers.’

‘Any idea who it was?’

‘No-one’s admitting to seeing anyone, but there’s not much doubt what they were after. You remember the hand-delivered package that turned up when we came back from the airport? It was from Josh Shine.’

Michelle’s eyes widened with interest, for they’d always suspected Josh Shine, the US Embassy’s Political Officer in Islamabad, of some very shady connections. ‘So what was in the package?’ she asked.

‘It’s probably best you don’t know. You’ve got enough going on over there, and the last thing you need is to be associated with something like this. Though I’m guessing that’s why your bags were searched today, to find out if I’d slipped you anything.’

‘So do you think they’ve held on to my computer and phone too?’

‘Probably. They’ll want to see who you’ve contacted in the last few days, whether or not I’ve emailed you anything that might concern them, that sort of thing.’

‘So does any of this confirm what we’ve always thought about Josh?’

‘That he’s CIA? If he is, then the fact that he’s passed this on to me would suggest he’s broken ranks. I just wish I knew where the hell he was. We talked briefly on the phone yesterday when he told me to meet him here in Karachi. No sign yet. No word either, but tomorrow’s another day, and right now I’m more interested in you, and how the hell I’m going to get along without you?’

Feeling her heart warming she said, ‘I’ve been wondering the same thing.’

‘We have to talk, sort something out,’ he told her. ‘When I’m done here, I’m coming over there. I’d kind of like to see Katie again anyway. How is she?’

Remembering the shock she’d felt on seeing her, and acutely aware of her being there now, Michelle said, ‘Why don’t you say hi?’

‘Sure.’

She turned and held out the phone. ‘He wants to say hello.’

Appearing surprised, and even a little pleased, Katie took it and said, ‘This is becoming a habit.’

‘I hope you’re not complaining.’

She smiled. ‘No, not at all. So I hope your mind’s at rest now, she’s arrived in one piece.’

‘I’ll sleep better,’ he confessed.

Unable to stop herself wishing someone cared about her the same way, she said, ‘I’ve only heard
Michelle’s
end, but it sounds as though you’ve got your hands on something you shouldn’t have.’

‘That’s about the gist of it,’ he responded dryly. ‘It’s pretty dynamite, if it’s genuine, and I’m beginning to think it must be, given the fuss it seems to be causing.’

‘Then don’t do anything stupid.’

‘I’m touched you should care.’

‘Stop flattering yourself on my phone bill,’ she retorted.

Laughing, he said, ‘Can I say goodnight to Michelle?’

‘Of course,’ and getting up from the table she passed the phone back.

‘Hi,’ Michelle said softly.

‘I miss you,’ he told her.

‘I’d believe you if it weren’t too soon to be true.’

‘OK, then I’ll miss you tomorrow.’

‘I doubt it. You’ve got a lot going on.’

‘Jesus, what does a man have to do to make a woman believe he loves her?’

‘You could always tell her,’ she responded.

‘I thought I just did.’

She waited.

‘OK, how about I save it till I see you?’ he murmured.

‘Then don’t make it too long.’

After putting the phone down she went to join Katie at the sink, picking up a tea towel to dry the dishes, her mind still full of Tom, and how much she wished she was with him.

‘So, I take it you two are an item now,’ Katie commented, failing to keep the tartness from her voice.
‘I
can’t say I’m surprised, it was always on the cards.’

‘It only happened just before I left,’ Michelle confessed.

‘Really? Then it must have been particularly inconvenient having to come here. Perhaps I should apologize.’

‘Katie, for heaven’s sake! Of course I’m sorry to leave Tom, but there’s nothing to apologize for. I’d never have let you down. Surely you must know that.’

‘Because you’re worried about what other people might think.’

Shocked, Michelle slammed down the tea towel. ‘
Katie!
Where on earth is all this coming from?’ she demanded. ‘I know we haven’t always …’

‘I’m just saying, if you and Tom only got together recently, you can’t be too thrilled about having your future with him wrecked by a teenager who’s not even yours, can you?’

‘She’s my niece, so I’d say that makes her mine.’

‘But it would be perfectly understandable if you resented us for needing you when you’d obviously rather be elsewhere.’

‘If that’s what you think then you’re wrong. I don’t resent you, but I’m not going to stand here arguing with you either.’

Though further cutting remarks were on the tip of Katie’s tongue, she bit them back and ran more hot water into the bowl to start cleaning the roasting pan. It wasn’t as though she wished something bad had happened to Michelle on the way here, but she might be finding all this a lot easier to cope with if it had. She just hoped the new
and
now thwarted romance wasn’t going to be rubbed in her face by daily phone calls, because that would make it very hard to stand. ‘I think you should tell me a bit more about these terrorist groups,’ she said crisply.

‘There are none,’ Michelle responded. ‘I was just asked about it at the airport, presumably because I’d flown in from Pakistan.’

‘But whatever Tom’s getting involved in is terrorist-related.’

‘It sounds that way, yes.’

Katie’s face was pinched and angry as she turned to look at her. ‘This is what makes me so sick about you,’ she said tightly. ‘You turn up here, four hours late, with all your baggage and intrigue, and you haven’t given a single thought, have you, to the kind of position you might have put me and Molly in.’

‘That’s absolutely not true!’ Michelle cried.

‘If they questioned you about terrorist connections at the airport, don’t you think that’s something you should have mentioned by now?’

‘Katie, I tried to tell you what happened, but you wouldn’t listen.’

‘That’s right, blame me! You’re the one involved with terrorists, but it’s my fault …’

‘Stop being ridiculous,’ Michelle cut in. ‘I can’t help what’s happening with Tom, but it’s got nothing to do with me …’

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Katie seethed, throwing out her hands. ‘Your bags were searched …’

‘But they didn’t find anything, so there’s not a problem. I’m not involved.’

‘How can you say that?’

Michelle took a breath and held out her hands. ‘Katie, listen,’ she said, trying to calm things down, ‘I understand why you’re angry, and you have a right to be, but I’ve already apologized for being late, and I’ve told you I’m here for you …’