Alyona's Voice

by Joan Shirley-Davies

  *****

  The next day the police were allowed to interview Claudia. She felt Fraser’s hand clasp hers, his voice made her feel secure as she sat, propped up in the hospital bed and wondered why it took two detectives to ask the questions.

  ‘Take your time, Claudia. Just tell us what you can remember,’ DCI Brent said.

  ‘I’m really sorry about the car,’ Claudia said to Fraser. ‘I know it was irresponsible to take the Ridge road, but I just wanted… It was so late, and the weather wasn’t improving. I needed to get home.’

  Fraser frowned at her comment. ‘Stop worrying about the car,’ he said. ‘The important thing is to find out who did this to you.’

  The police seemed to need some kind of explanation to help tie it all up, but Claudia didn’t want to re-visit that night. Look back at the darkness, how the wind still howled despite the fact that the thunderstorm had passed. But they looked at her and waited for her to speak.

  As she began to remember what happened, the fear returned like a cold flood running through her body. The recollection, that her life had been threatened, shook her to the core. Had she made the right decision? Should she have waited back at Sandy’s house? But then there was no way of communicating, everybody would be worried. Justin had never been separated from her for more than a few hours a day. He’d be so fretful and upset.

  She had left Sandy’s house before the rain had stopped, followed the little, winding lanes that led to the main road. But she had been met with storm damage, a huge branch of a tree blocked the road. A group of men were trying to clear it, but they said it would take some time, especially as the weather was still bad. They pointed out a possible diversion. They called it the top road. It was a narrow but straight stretch along the ridge. It had passing places so she should be OK. She kept her head and turned in a nearby gateway. The ridge stretched ahead, and she left the comfort of the lower road where the hawthorn hedges, either side, helped guide her. She was scared, but she had committed to this detour, and there was no chance of turning around. She slowed right down to get her bearings, as visibility was very different up there. There were no trees or hedges on the skyline. Her headlights seemed to die in the darkness. The car shuddered, as a gust of wind hit it broadside. To her horror, headlights appeared in the distance. There was a pull-in just ahead, so she stopped and waited. The vehicle stopped, and the driver got out and knocked on her window.

  ‘You haven’t left me enough room,’ he called above the noise of the wind. ‘Shove over a bit.’

  Appalled by this man’s attitude, Claudia lowered her window a couple of inches. ‘I’m right on the edge. I can’t possibly give you any more.’

  ‘You’ve got plenty of room. I’ve got a trailer with livestock in it.’

  Claudia lowered the window even more. ‘You’re moving animals in these terrible conditions?’

  ‘It’s none of your bloody business.’ When the man leaned closer, Claudia could tell he’d been drinking.

  ‘Then get on with it? You’ve got plenty of room there. Or we could call the police to come and help us.’

  ‘You won’t get a signal up here.’

  Claudia knew that, so her threat died a death. ‘I don’t need a signal. This is a corporate car, and it has a Gallier radio communicator.’

  ‘What the bloody ’ell’s one o’ them?’

  Claudia deliberately hardened her voice. ‘I don’t have to explain that to you. It’s issued to all female executives, in case they get stopped by threatening drivers. If you don’t back off and get on your way, I’ll use it. Tell the police I’m being threatened by a driver, who’s drunk out of his ugly mind. They respond very quickly to woman callers.’

  ‘Well, don’t blame me if I scratch your nice, corporate car with my trailer.’ He walked away unsteadily. Claudia closed the window, shielding her from the sounds of the wind whipping through the heather.

  ‘Somebody should tell Rowmont that it’s still summer,’ she muttered.

  There was no number plate on the battered vehicle, but when the driver was back in it, Claudia quickly released her seatbelt, reached for her phone, lowered the window, just enough to focus on him, and took several shots. She had no idea what she would do with them, but she was so angry at this point. This thug had delayed her, kept her from her little boy. As the vehicle inched past, she took a quick picture of the trailer that carried a large crate, which appeared to contain two pigs, but it was very dark, and the rain obscured any details of what it was. The trailer rocked, and Claudia’s heart was palpitating as it passed and then moved on. She thrust the car into first gear and tried to move forward, but the wheels went into a spin on the drenched, loose grit that had accumulated at the edge of the pull-in. It caused the rear end of the vehicle to slip sideways, Claudia then knew that one of the back wheels was off the edge. When she tried to move forward to rectify her position, she felt the car slide backwards a little. In a panic, she turned the wheel and tried to stop it, but it moved a little more. She feared that she would continue to slide backwards, but trusted that this SUV could cope with climbing back onto the road. All she had to do was make it go forwards and upwards. Her attempts brought the car in line only to find it starting to roll forwards, and she realised she had no control over it. It was going to gather more speed and then plunge right down into the valley. She had no idea how deep it was or what would meet her there when she hit the bottom. Justin flashed into her mind, and she grasped the door handle, ready to bail before the car gathered speed. She pushed the door as wide as she could, concerned that it would hit her and then drag her down with the car. It had to be a big leap, and quick. The car moved faster, and she couldn’t see the ground clearly, but trusted that she would land in the thick heather. She had jumped clear of the door, but her momentum took her downward, rolling like a log, for what seemed like an eternity. She had no memory of anything after that, except waking up in hospital.

  ‘Pigs,’ DCI Brent said at last. ‘That’s what he was doing, moving pigs?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘He didn’t attack you or try to get you out of your vehicle?’

  ‘No, he just wanted me out of his way.’

  ‘What made you think he was drunk?’

  ‘Apart from the smell of him, his speech was slurred, he stumbled about when he got out of his van, and he looked drowsy when he eventually drove past.’

  ‘That’s probably why he needed more room.’ DS Grant commented. ‘He probably had no licence for moving pigs either.’

  ‘So, it was an accident?’ DCI Brent said. He seemed surprised.

  ‘Hardly an accident, Guv,’ DS Grant complained. ‘That low-life, drunken cretin as good as pushed her off the ridge.’

  ‘Your promotion hasn’t improved your protocol, has it, Sergeant?’

  ‘Sorry, sir,’ she said curtly.

  He shook his head. ‘I love the way you apologise to me. Sometimes it’s almost as if you really mean it.’ He turned to Claudia. ‘We can return your things now.’ He moved to leave but then turned back. ‘You mentioned a, what was it, a Gallier radio communicator.’

  ‘There’s no such thing. I made it up.’

  ‘Brilliant!’ DS Grant said. ‘Absolutely brilliant!’ She lingered. ‘Good luck you two. Have you set a date yet?’

  ‘No,’ Fraser said, ‘not yet. We’ll probably sort it out when Claudia recovers.’

  Not knowing how far Fraser had taken this pretence, Claudia smiled and said nothing. She understood why Fraser had made a claim to be her next of kin.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘You look great, Claudia,’ Jenny said. ‘How does it feel to be out and about again?’

  ‘Fabulous!’ Claudia answered. ‘I can close my eyes now without seeing all that heather coming up to meet me.’ She grimaced and added, ‘I still feel really bad about the car though. Tony must think me such an idiot.’

  ‘Tony thinks like the rest of us,’ Lizzy assured her. ‘He’s relieved you survived. A
nd we’re glad to see you looking so much better.’

  ‘I hated being an invalid, but you’ve been brilliant. It’s such a comfort staying at Larchwood. What would I have done without you all?’ She laughed. ‘Fraser still calls me sweetheart and darling like he did in the hospital. I have to remind him that the pretence is over. He said he’s got used to it now.’

  ‘He had a really tough time,’ Lizzy said. ‘We were all shocked, but he was in a bad way.’ She smiled and added, ‘But, here we are, all back on track.’ She poured Claudia’s tea and then looked across the table. ‘How about you, Jen, are you in a tea mood today?’

  ‘No, I’m in a hot chocolate mood.’

  ‘Not happening!’

  ‘Tea it is then,’ Jenny drawled, and then she examined her cake, like a fortune-teller staring into a crystal ball. ‘Look at it, just sitting there, reminding me of all the new challenges I face every day.’

  ‘Challenges?’

  ‘How to get out of the bath like a normal human being instead of an overfed penguin. I can’t pick things up because my body won’t bend where it’s supposed to. One day, Will’s going to come home and find me stuck in the tub, and the floor littered with all the stuff I’ve dropped.’

  Lizzy stared at her. ‘You can see all that in a cream horn?’

  Jenny chuckled and looked at it on her plate. ‘Don’t mind me, it’s just a minor rant. I’ve never actually had one of these before. Is it possible to eat it without getting flaky pastry and jam everywhere?’

  ‘I once held my mother to ransom, with a cream horn.’ Claudia said.

  Jenny laughed. ‘You make it sound like a weapon.’

  ‘That’s what it was, a weapon, and it was so loaded.’

  ‘Loaded?’

  ‘A beautiful flaky pastry cone, full of lovely, red, squidgy, sticky jam, swirls of cream and coated with crunchy flakes of crystalized sugar.’

  ‘Did you threaten to throw it at her?’ Lizzy said.

  ‘No, it was much more tactical than that. We were in a very genteel, big-sorted teashop. We had to kill an hour on our way to an audition. Mother had set her sights on this job and desperately wanted me to get it. She was going for it with everything she’d got. I wore new clothes, with an insane price tag. I had to listen to a running commentary about what to do, what to say. But then, Mother made a big mistake, totally out of character.’

  ‘What did she do?’ Jenny urged.

  Claudia mimicked her mother. ‘Claudie, you should have chosen a plain cake. Get one crumb of that on your clothes, and you’re in serious trouble, my girl.’

  ‘Stuck her head right above the parapet,’ Jenny suggested.

  ‘She, of all people, should know better than to expose a weakness. I slowly picked up my pastry fork, watched by my mother’s narrow, grey eyes as I started to play with my bespoke cake. I pushed it about, made little stabs at it. She thought it was going to burst all over my expensive clothes. It was a rare experience to see my mother on the other end of a threat. I mean, who would give a job to a kid with jam all over her clothes?’

  ‘The feisty little tearaway strikes again,’ Jenny said. She shook her head. ‘You were such a wicked child.’

  ‘Oh yes, I was very cunning. But she always had a trump card, so my power was short-lived.’

  ‘If only you could find a way to turn the tables on her,’ Lizzy suggested. ‘Find something that threatens her, instead of her threatening you.’

  ‘And dodge the trump card,’ Jenny added. ‘If you could do that with a cream horn, what would you do with a really serious threat?’

  ‘Yes,’ Claudia said. ‘I could probably bring her down with a crash.’

  ‘Anyway, you can forget her for the time being,’ Lizzy said. ‘You won’t need to think about her in Tuscany. It’s going to be fabulous. We can have some quality time with the children, picnics, walks, swimming… And we can go to the Flea Market, just the two of us. Justin will have plenty of people to keep him amused.’ She laughed and added, ‘So there won’t be any guilt.’

  Claudia grimaced. ‘There’s going to be plenty of guilt,’ she contradicted, ‘when I meet Fraser’s mom. I won’t be very popular, will I?’

  ‘Being the mother of her grandchild doesn’t make you her daughter-in-law,’ Jenny said. ‘If she has issues about it, they’re with Fraser, not you.’

  ‘I suppose so. I can’t stay long today. Molly’s got something on at the farm, I need to get Justin early.’

  ‘That’s a pity, I was hoping we could have a chat,’ Lizzy said. ‘I need to talk to you…before the guys get home. It’s really important.’

  ‘I’ll come and find you when I get back to Larchwood.’ Claudia assumed it was to discuss getting together to sort out her antique textiles.

  Lizzy seemed uneasy, ‘OK. I’ll wait for you. I really do need to talk to you.’

  After tea, as Claudia made for the main door, the receptionist called out, ‘Miss Hamilton!’

  Claudia approached the desk.

  ‘Are you feeling better?’ the receptionist asked.

  ‘Yes, thanks. Aches, pains and bruises all moving on.’

  ‘A letter came for you. But it arrived inside another envelope addressed to reception. I opened it thinking it was a booking.’ She handed the letter to Claudia. ‘Your mother enclosed a note, asking us to give this to you personally.’

  ‘My mother?’ Alarm bells rang in Claudia’s head. Her mouth dried so swiftly, she could hardly speak as she realised that Elsa Hamilton knew where to find her. How did that happen? The accident had cost valuable time, and not only that, but her apparent carelessness on the road was potential ammunition. Her mother would suggest that Claudia was irresponsible for driving in those conditions. Discredit her for being unfit to be on the road. Claudia needed more information, so she bluffed her way along. ‘She wrote to me?’

  ‘I suppose that’s because she missed you when she came here.’

  Another blow hit Claudia. The woman was here, but nobody had said. ‘Yes, I suppose that would be a disappointment.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Mr Franklyn and Mr Gallier entertained her. Irena was here, too, so she was well-looked-after.’

  Claudia was shocked, but she kept calm. ‘I’m sure it was mentioned to me, but I was probably still a bit concussed. I don’t like to keep pestering about it. They’ve been so worried about me, you see.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ the receptionist agreed.

  Claudia felt tendrils of foreboding creep through her body, her bones, her heart, but this wasn’t a good time to let her guard down. Her mother had breached the walls of her safe haven, and was well ahead of the game now. She wondered how much information she could get from the receptionist, without exposing her own ignorance about the visit. Nobody else seemed to want to tell her, but why? ‘My mother’s desperate to see me.’

  ‘I booked her in the night before,’ the receptionist said. ‘Then in the morning she asked to see Mr Franklyn. Mr Gallier was here too.’

  ‘I don’t recall anybody telling me that. I must have been very vague.’ She was shocked, but she smiled and said, ‘It takes a long time to get back to normal.’

  The receptionist volunteered more information. Her eyes were clear, her mind open and honest, unaware of the treachery that lay beneath it all. ‘Mr Gallier and Mr Franklyn were already here, so they met her in the private lounge. But I’m afraid she had to leave early, she had a migraine.’

  ‘Poor Mummy!’

  ‘It was a really bad one. Mr Gallier and Mr Franklyn helped her though. Irena arranged a flight plan. She went back in the company plane. All three of them went with her to the airfield.’

  Claudia’s heart ached in the knowledge that Fraser had betrayed her, after promising to be on her side no matter what. She expected better from him.

  ‘When they were waiting for the courtesy car, I heard your mother saying how anxious she was.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘I don’t know. It was only a
flying visit, apparently, to pick something up. I’m sure you know all about that.’

  ‘Yes I do.’

  The receptionist smiled, and a sympathetic look filled her face. ‘I can see that you’re shocked, but don’t worry. Mr Gallier was very reassuring. He agreed that the rightful owner should have the property, and he would do his best to make that happen.’

  Anger began to swamp Claudia’s earlier feelings of foreboding. She hated the thought of Fraser comforting her mother, and that she had enlisted him as an ally. That’s why he never mentioned the visit―nobody did. Elsa’s web was closing in on her, and once more, she had to face it alone. Which part of the lies had he believed, for she would have surely manufactured a whole new truth, one that would be very compelling? It was high time to toughen up. Forget the accident, the injuries, the aches and pains, and move back into her own home where she could reboot her independence.

  Molly was in a hurry when Claudia arrived at Heather Brow, so they didn’t talk except to allow Justin to wave bye-bye.

  While Justin played on the carpet, Claudia opened the letter. She was prepared for treachery, but this was horrendous. Elsa suggested that Fraser had seen sense, and he was going to get the diaries for her to save her returning to the UK. She had a number of people in a new movie about to be released, and she wanted to be there for them. There was a postscript:

  A little bird told me about your baby son. He’s inherited your curly hair I believe.

  Claudia scooped up Justin and held him. Then she went to her spare room to re-pack the diaries and find a safer place for them. She almost shrieked with horror when she saw the empty desk. The shock was debilitating, but she quickly took Justin back downstairs and put him on the carpet to play. Then she perched on the sofa and clamped her hand over her mouth to suppress the sobs. Her promise to Grannie was torn to shreds, her vow to Alyona was meaningless. Her world caved in on her as she watched Justin moving about, his shape just a blur through her silent tears. It was clear that she might just as well have stayed in London.