Secrets in the Cotswolds

by Rebecca Tope

  ‘No, no. My family are miles away. Yes, I do have a husband, but he’s quite a distance, as well. I don’t know anybody here. I’ve almost never been here before – just Bibury once or twice. I had no idea that business park existed, for a start. I was very surprised to find it.’

  ‘And I did not expect to be brought here, either.’

  ‘It’s a long way from Manchester. I still can’t really understand what happened. Did they tie you up, or what? Couldn’t you have attracted attention somehow, and got somebody to notice you were in need of help?’

  Grace gave her a long serious look. ‘You sound as if you think this is just a game,’ she reproached.

  ‘Sorry. I suppose I do. It’s difficult not to, actually. I mean – none of this feels very real. Even your dislocated shoulder is nowhere near as bad as you said. You haven’t told me anything that sounds true. And I can tell you I’ve been involved in some very bizarre happenings not a million miles from here. People have died. Terrible crimes have been committed. And none of that was remotely as weird as what you’ve been saying. I still can’t really believe the things you’ve told me.’ She paused, conscious of the hostility behind her words. It had been a defensive reaction to Grace’s accusation of flippancy. And she was annoyed at the withholding of any real information. ‘And if you won’t tell me anything, then that really does feel as if you’re playing a game with me.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Grace stiffly. ‘Has it not occurred to you that I might be ashamed of myself? That the story would reflect very badly on me, and I really don’t want you to see me as someone to despise or condemn? All I can say is that I made a very stupid mistake, which was based on greed. The whole thing is based on greed, in fact. Now, please let’s not talk any more until we get to the house. I am genuinely in pain, as well as possibly still being hunted. You have to believe that, if nothing else.’

  An engine was heard before Thea could respond, approaching from behind them. ‘Just walk normally, if you don’t want to be noticed,’ Thea said. ‘Don’t look at the driver. Keep right into the side.’ They were walking on the left side of the road, contrary to the Highway Code’s advice. Drew had informed her that it was safer to face the oncoming traffic, because a driver was less likely to kill you if he could see your eyes. It was sheer human instinct, he insisted.

  But if you were a refugee escaping from some nameless threat, you might well be safer to show only your back. Two women strolling along at the end of a summer’s day were unlikely to be remarkable, anyway. Grace did as instructed, walking steadily, her head bowed. The vehicle slowed behind them, and then passed giving them a wide berth. Thea could see at least four heads in the silver-grey car. ‘They’ve been for a family day out,’ Thea said. ‘They won’t have any spare attention for us.’

  ‘Oohhh,’ moaned the woman at her side.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  Grace was swaying on her feet, her eyes almost closed. ‘I was so terrified,’ she breathed. ‘I thought I was going to faint. Is it much further to your house?’

  ‘Well, we’ve got to turn left again in a bit, and that’s the last stretch. We did have to take a detour to avoid the business park, you know. Just keep on walking, okay? One step at a time and all that.’ There were ripe blackberries in the hedge, she noticed with regret. They’d have made a useful contribution to the meagre food supplies at the house. But she not only had to keep Grace walking, but she didn’t have anything to put them in. This is silly, an inner voice insisted. Silly to come here without a car; silly to exchange one sort of bored isolation for another; and extremely silly to adopt this strange woman whose every action was suspicious.

  She said nothing, wrestling with feelings of remorse at her persistent questions and sceptical reaction to those few answers she’d been given. Wasn’t every crime, on some level, based on greed? Traffickers, whether of people or animals, made very good money. Betrayals and deceptions were generally motivated by a desire for something unobtainable by legal methods.

  ‘Please don’t be annoyed with me,’ Grace said, after a few minutes. ‘I just want to rest for a while. Your kindness is deeply appreciated. Tomorrow – tomorrow I’ll go.’

  ‘You’ll need clothes. A toothbrush. All sorts of things.’

  ‘Oh, no. Just food and drink and somewhere to lie down where I won’t be found. Like an animal.’

  She was like a frightened rabbit, Thea realised. Or rather – a fox, escaping the hunt by means of cunning. Hiding in a thicket; taking a roundabout route to safety, driven by fear and determination to survive. All her life, Thea had sided with the fox against the bloodthirsty huntsmen and their slavering dogs.

  The turning and the village roofs beyond were now visible. Talking had helped to propel them along. Another car swept past without slowing. Two people were in it, the passenger holding a phone to his ear. Grace shuddered and drooped, but less so than before. ‘They didn’t even glance at us,’ Thea assured her.

  At last they reached the house. It stood serene and solid, the upper windows like eyes, gazing across the distant wolds and dreaming of past glories. The front door scraped as it opened, which made Grace wince. ‘Another job for the builders,’ said Thea. ‘The whole place is being renovated – modernised. It’s been neglected, poor thing.’

  ‘You are doing the work?’

  ‘Gosh, no. I’m just here to supervise, basically. And to keep intruders out. In theory, anyway. The owner is usually here, but she’s had to go abroad. I’ve never met her, actually. It’s all been arranged by a mutual friend.’ Even to her own ears, this explanation sounded almost as garbled as Grace’s story had. And wasn’t this peculiar woman an intruder herself, potentially? Wasn’t Thea breaking an agreement by allowing her into the house? She hesitated in the hallway, suddenly apprehensive. What on earth was she doing?

  ‘I don’t really understand,’ sighed Grace. ‘Where can I sit down?’

  ‘Through there. The living room. There isn’t much furniture.’ She followed her visitor into the room, where Grace slumped onto one of the chairs. ‘I’ll make tea,’ said Thea. ‘The kettle’s in the next room. I’ll go and fetch it.’ She noted the surprise when she came back with the makings of tea on a tray and took it all to the side of the room, where she switched on the kettle. ‘I told you – it’s all rather chaotic. The kitchen’s out of bounds, so the basics are all in here and the dining room. Do you take milk? There’s no sugar, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Black, please.’

  In a different world, Thea would perhaps have offered China tea, or Earl Grey. As it was, there was a box of Tetley’s teabags and nothing else. The milk would soon go off, as well. ‘There are some biscuits, luckily,’ she announced. ‘And I’ve got a tin of soup and some fruit for later. We won’t starve – quite.’

  The kettle was making a breathless sound, which Thea realised meant that there was hardly any water in it. ‘Oops!’ she said. ‘Better not burn out the element.’ She switched it off again and took it to the downstairs toilet, where she awkwardly filled it from the cold tap of the basin. ‘This gets more like camping by the hour,’ she muttered to herself.

  ‘How can you be here without a car?’ Grace gazed up at her, the question clearly confounding her. She took the mug of tea with one hand, the injured shoulder still obviously causing pain if she moved it. ‘It makes no sense.’

  ‘I agree. It’s ridiculous. But I thought I’d be fine just pottering about on foot, having a few meals at the pub, doing a bit of sketching. It’s only for a week or so. The weather’s going to be quite nice, I think.’ She looked out of the window at the road outside, where there was no sign whatever of any human activity. ‘I thought I might find somebody who’d give me a lift now and then, perhaps. It all sounds terribly vague, I know. Really, I just needed to be by myself for a bit, somewhere different.’ She was feeling more normal now they were indoors. Grace’s obvious fear had been more contagious than she’d realised. There had been a tightness in her chest that
was only noticed now that it had almost gone.

  ‘And now I’m here to spoil it for you.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. So, what are we going to do about that shoulder? It ought to be X-rayed, and strapped up, even if it isn’t dislocated. You could have torn a tendon. They take ages to heal up, if so.’

  ‘You can strap it up for me as well as a doctor, I expect.’

  ‘I doubt that. Besides, I can’t see that it would be of much help.’

  ‘You’re probably right. So have you anything I can put on it? A gel that might ease the inflammation? Did you say you’d got some Ibuprofen?’

  Thea went to find her bag and upended it on the table. ‘Sorry – doesn’t look as if I have.’ Helplessness swept through her. ‘I’m almost entirely useless to you.’

  ‘You’ve been kind and concerned. That counts for a lot. And nobody’s going to find me here.’

  ‘That’s true. I’m not expecting any visitors. Although there will be builders here on Monday,’ she remembered. ‘They’ll see you. So you’d better be gone by then, like you said.’

  Grace settled herself more deeply into the sofa, looking pale but determined. ‘I’ll have to consider my options and find some money somehow. And you’re right, of course. I should have spare clothes and a toothbrush. I just wish I knew if those … people have stopped chasing me.’ She gave Thea a narrow look, her black eyes suddenly suspicious. ‘I can trust you, can’t I, not to call the police?’

  ‘I suppose so. What were you saying about being ashamed of yourself? Do you mean you’ve done something illegal?’

  Grace attempted a lopsided little shrug. ‘That’s my secret,’ she said. ‘I can’t tell you.’

  ‘You’re in some kind of gang, then? And your friends, or whatever they are, don’t like something you’ve done. Or they’re scared you’re going to get them into trouble somehow? You’ve obviously upset them in a big way.’

  ‘Close enough,’ Grace nodded, with signs of relief. ‘You know the saying “We fear those we hurt”? Well, it’s a bit like that. In a way.’ She frowned. ‘Except—’ She stopped herself. ‘No, I’m not saying any more. I need to have a proper think about it all before it makes much sense, anyway.’

  ‘All right,’ said Thea reluctantly, still not inclined to trust this very odd person, who virtually admitted to having at least some criminal tendencies. ‘But I really don’t want you to stay more than one night. That’s what you said. You can’t foist yourself on me for any more than that.’ She took a long breath, and bit back any further words. It was all her own fault, after all, and there was no real reason to throw her visitor out at this stage. She could easily call Gladwin if necessary. Grace presented no physical threat, with her injured shoulder. Even if she was a karate expert or something of the sort, Thea was confident she could defend herself. Besides, what good would it do the woman to render her host incapacitated? Looked at logically, there seemed little to fear other than considerable inconvenience and perhaps embarrassment. On the plus side, she could see she wasn’t going to be bored.

  ‘Please don’t worry,’ Grace urged her. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to either of us now. If I can just have a bit of something to eat, I’ll go and lie down somewhere and not bother you any more. Where can I sleep?’

  Thea spent ten minutes warming soup, making a banana sandwich and refreshing the tea. Grace ate everything she was given, and then repeated her wish to lie down.

  Here was another unforeseen difficulty. Only two of the rooms had beds in them – Tabitha’s and the one Thea was using. Tabitha’s was locked and explicitly stated as out of bounds; no way was Thea going to share or give up hers.

  ‘Perhaps we can make some sort of nest for you in one of the bedrooms, but they’re not at all cosy. Actually, you might be better up in the attic,’ she said. ‘It’s got a rug on the floor, and we can find cushions and probably a blanket somewhere.’ Visions of Anne Frank floated up, adding a range of new emotions to the situation.

  ‘An attic would be perfect,’ Grace enthused. ‘It will keep me out of your way, and I can have a long quiet sleep.’

  ‘Okay, then,’ said Thea.

  Chapter Four

  Gathering cushions, a sheet from the airing cupboard and a blanket from a shelf in Thea’s room, they slowly climbed the steep stairway to the top storey of the house. It was clean and light, but uncomfortably hot. Thea managed to push the dormer window open. The room was small and completely empty, but the rug on the floor made it a tolerable place to sleep. ‘Will you be all right?’ Thea asked doubtfully. ‘It’s very hot up here.’ It seemed perverse and unkind to banish Grace like this, when she could curl up on the sofa far more comfortably. But that would leave Thea herself with nowhere to spend the evening, having to keep quiet and still − which would be annoying. Besides, Grace herself obviously wanted somewhere private. ‘At least nobody would ever think to look for you up here,’ Thea said, as much to reassure herself as her guest. Again, she imagined Anne Frank, and other terrified fugitives from hostile forces. There was a romantic kind of heroism to the providing of sanctuary like this. She just hoped the woman was a worthy recipient of her benevolence.

  Grace evidently read at least some of these thoughts. ‘I would be in your way downstairs,’ she acknowledged. ‘And I am not too worried about the heat – and I suppose it will be cooler in the night. It is actually quite perfect,’ she said with apparent sincerity.

  Still Thea had no notion of what this woman’s life had been. What were her qualifications, her career? Did she have any close family? Was she actually a criminal of some kind? Was she perhaps insane? Would it be wise to barricade the way to the attic, to prevent herself from being murdered in her bed? Again, the damaged shoulder swung the argument. ‘Will you manage to get down to the loo?’ she wondered. ‘I’ll leave the landing light on for you, so you can find the bathroom.’

  ‘I can wait until morning,’ said Grace with a very oriental serenity. ‘I’ll be more myself tomorrow.’

  ‘Good – because I still don’t understand what’s going on. I’m trusting you, okay?’ Somewhere at the back of her mind, Thea had the idea that to mention trust was to reduce its force. People said Trust me when they were at their most unreliable and dishonest. Too late now, she thought.

  ‘I understand. I really am grateful. And actually, I haven’t told you any lies.’ Grace finished with a direct look.

  The words only served to increase Thea’s doubts. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Although …’

  ‘You will be calling your husband this evening, I expect?’

  Thea nodded.

  ‘Can I ask you not to say anything about me? Is that completely unreasonable? Is it too much to ask? It’s because he’d obviously worry about you. He might even come to see for himself. And then people might notice something unusual. It’s probably silly, but I think there’s a chance that they might still be watching out for me – somewhere out there. Do you understand?’

  Thea found the emotion behind these words difficult to assess. Everything sounded formal and calculated, on the one hand, but why should the woman bother to say these things at all if she wasn’t genuinely frightened? ‘Just for this evening,’ Thea conceded. ‘But after that, I’m not making any promises.’ Again, she felt tendrils of apprehension that this mysterious woman might actually attack her in the night. She wondered whether she could block her bedroom door somehow.

  When she finally went back downstairs it was half past eight. The sun had set and an owl was hooting loudly somewhere close by. An owl! Thea thought ruefully that she would have found this exciting before she’d raised the bar on thrill levels by admitting an extremely strange woman into a house that did not belong to her. What was wrong with her, she asked herself fiercely. Nobody else would have done as she had – except she did have good reasons. Grace was so helpless, with no car or phone. In the face of such evident need, there really had been nothing else to do. Perhaps if Thea had taken her own phone with her on th
e walk, everything would have been different.

  She called Drew, once she’d tracked her mobile to the pocket of her light jacket, slung over the back of a chair. His first words made her feel that things were even more complicated than before. ‘Gladwin called at five with a message for you. She couldn’t get you to answer your own phone – as usual. She says there are two new investigations since yesterday, and she won’t have time to come and see you. She won’t even be able to talk to you, the way things are going. And she’s sorry.’

  ‘That’s the way it goes in her job,’ said Thea, both philosophical and anxious at the same time.

  ‘So – how’s it going with you? Are you missing me? Us?’

  ‘I am. It all feels a bit silly, actually. But I’m committed now. It’s awkward not having a car.’

  ‘I could bring you a box of food. You didn’t take much this morning.’

  ‘I might hold you to that, on Monday or Tuesday. I might equally well have something worked out by then. It’s not very far to Bibury, and there’s a shop there. I should have had the sense to borrow a bike from someone.’

  ‘You might even bite the bullet and sign up with Tesco for home deliveries,’ he said lightly. ‘Stephanie would be proud of you.’

  ‘I will if I’m desperate,’ she said, knowing the chances were extremely small.

  ‘We haven’t got used to managing without you yet,’ Drew said forlornly. ‘We’ve all got embarrassingly dependent.’

  ‘You’re trying to tell me I’m doing something therapeutic, are you? Something that’s going to be good for you.’

  ‘I’m trying to tell myself that. But it doesn’t feel right. It’s never going to feel right. I thought you’d finished with house-sitting for ever. It’s weird to have you revert to your old self.’

  ‘I haven’t done that. Maybe I just needed this last one to get it out of my system. I’m remembering how glad I was to give it up – how boring it can be. Except when things happen.’