Abigail

by El Edwards

  “Lucy! That’s enough!”

  “But me not want go. Me want stay with you.”

  She made the word stretch into three syllables and looked up at Abigail as she said it. Under different circumstances it would have been incredibly sweet and endearing but we had places to be and Abigail was determined that her daughter’s performance shouldn’t delay us.

  “No Lucy. You’re going to see Nanny and Grandad. They want to see you before Christmas. Now go back in your room and bring out your things.”

  “No!” The child stamped her foot and crossed her arms against her chest.

  “If you don’t go and get them, we’ll be leaving without them.” She gave Lucy a look. “I mean it. If you want teddy and Mr Pickles and your pink dress at Nanny’s house you have to go and get them and put them back in this bag.”

  Abigail turned and went back in the direction of her bedroom leaving Lucy standing in the hallway, arms still crossed. She stayed like that for a couple of minutes but then seemingly had a change of heart. She walked out of sight and soon retuned with her arms full of stuff. I smiled as I watched her try and shove them all back into one of the bags. It was a minor victory for parents everywhere and I revelled in every second of it.

  Not long after that there was a knock at the door.

  “Charlie, would you get that? I’m just finishing up here.”

  I opened the door and there stood Rob. I looked behind him. “Where’s the helicopter?”

  “Helicopter?”

  “You got here so fast, I thought you must have flown.”

  “Piss off!”

  “Language Robert, there are children present.”

  He looked over my shoulder and saw Lucy staring up at him. “Oops, sorry.”

  Abigail came into the hallway, took one look at Rob standing on her doorstep, and shrieked. She ran back upstairs where the noise of packing soon resumed.

  “Something I said?”

  I smiled. “I think the reality of the situation is finally starting to hit home. Come on, I’ll make you a cuppa. This might take a while.”

  Two hours later and we finally pulled up outside Carol and Saul’s house. When Abigail had tried persuading her parents to have the children for a couple of days it quickly became obvious that that was never going to work. They had far too many plans, appointments booked weeks ago that couldn’t possibly be changed. I was all in favour of telling the two of them to get their act together and stop being so selfish but Abigail wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, Carol and Saul had come to the rescue, sounding delighted to be asked. Having witnessed Little Miss Tantrum in action, I wasn’t convinced they’d be quite so delighted by the end of the visit but I decided it was best to keep my thoughts to myself.

  Abigail walked with the children up the path to the house while Rob and I unloaded the luggage. When Carol opened the door and looked past her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to see me and Rob struggling under the weight of everything Abigail had packed, her eyes widened.

  “Don’t worry, this is just the bare essentials,” I reassured her with a smile. “They’re not staying for a month.”

  Carol smiled and led us all into the house. “Pop the bags down there would you?” she said, gesturing to a space at the bottom of the stairs.

  We unloaded and I rolled my shoulders. “I’m sure the Queen and her whole entourage travel with less,” I whispered to Rob.

  He grinned and followed Carol into the front room. Rob and I had the luxury of sitting back and watching the scene unfold before us. I’d not seen Abigail and the children together outside their own environment and it was fascinating to watch. Saul appeared to glow in his grandchildren’s company and it made me smile to think that I’d helped to make that happen. I might never know what had caused Abigail’s frostiness to thaw but watching them together, I realised it didn’t matter.

  Carol made a fuss of showing the children to their room while the rest of us sat and made small talk. No-one mentioned the one subject that was on all our minds: Toby. I had to believe that the next time I saw Carol, Saul and the children, we’d be bringing him home to them. I ignored the doubt that was niggling at the back of my mind. I knew that if we were to have any chance of making this a successful trip, we all had to stay positive, and none more so than me. Abigail was taking her cues from me and if I started to doubt the outcome in anyway, she’d likely fall apart.

  When I’d finished my coffee I took a look at the time and decided that we really needed to get on the road. I was keen to get to Barnstaple before dark and thanks to the time it had taken to get us all here, that was looking less and less likely.

  I caught Rob’s eye and motioned to my wrist. He nodded so I stood up and touched Abigail gently on the arm. “We should be making a move.”

  “Okay, let me just say goodbye to the children then I’ll be right back.”

  Rob and I said our goodbyes to Saul and called upstairs to Carol with the children, then went out to the car to wait for Abigail. The look Rob and I gave each other spoke volumes. This was it. It was time.

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  The journey to Barnstaple was slow and made worse by the heavy atmosphere in the car. Abigail was sitting in the back, her eyes focussed on the road in front. Rob and I would usually put some music on and have a chat when we were in the car together but with Abigail sitting in silence just inches behind us it felt wrong, disrespectful somehow. We’d gone over the plan two or three times while sat at her kitchen table but it didn’t feel real to me, and I was the pro, so I could only begin to imagine what must be going through her mind.

  “Do you know where the bank is?” Abigail asked when we’d been travelling for about an hour.

  I’d phoned the bank in Barnstaple earlier to arrange an appointment for us to come in and withdraw the money. It was such a large amount they’d asked us to give them until the following day to count it, but personally I was glad not to be driving around with thousands of pounds in cash in the boot.

  “Yep, we’re going to Barclays.”

  “Is that the same one Toby used?”

  I nodded. “That’s right. They were really nice on the phone so we shouldn’t have any problems.”

  “And you said Carol told you Toby went to Barnstaple on holiday, when he was little?”

  I nodded again and tried to hide my sigh. We’d been over this before too. “She did. Up until he was fifteen she said.”

  Abigail smiled. “It’ll be nice to see the place.”

  “Be even nicer when we leave again, Toby with us,” I added.

  Abigail didn’t say anything, she just nodded and looked out of the window. I didn’t think I’d ever met anyone quite so difficult to read.

  The rest of the journey passed in the same oppressive silence as before, the only slight respite being when a bird pooped on Rob’s windscreen. I don’t think I’d ever been more delighted to see a bird do its business than at that moment. It allowed Rob and I to laugh, without feeling guilty for doing so.

  Eventually we arrived at the Travelodge just outside Barnstaple where I’d booked us rooms for the night. Abigail and I would be sharing, leaving Rob a room to himself. We checked in and collected our keycards, agreeing to meet back downstairs in about an hour for dinner.

  “Good luck!” Rob whispered when we got to our room.

  I smiled and put the key in the door, hoping that Abigail’s mood might lift a little now we were finally here. It certainly couldn’t get any darker.

  Rob was waiting for us in the lobby when we walked back down. I didn’t know how he’d done it but somewhere in his tiny luggage he’d managed to stash a three piece suit which he was now wearing, not a crease or a wrinkle in sight. I’d never tell him so, but I had to admit that he scrubbed up very nicely. He was even wearing a tie and I didn’t know whether to be impressed that he’d gone to so much effort or outraged that he never did it when it was just the two of us.

  “How’d you manage that?” I asked.

  �
�What?” he said, his face the picture of innocence.

  “Your suit doesn’t have a crease on it. But your overnight bag’s tiny!”

  Rob tapped the side of his nose. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

  “Ha! That’s my line!”

  “Learned it from the best.” He offered me and Abigail an arm each and we walked together to the car.

  Rob and I had agreed we’d park near the bank so we could walk Abigail past it on the way to dinner. As we got closer and could see the glow of the bank’s signage in the distance, Abigail seemed to shrink. She dragged her feet. I’d never seen her look so scared. I reached over and put my hand on her arm.

  “It’s okay. It’ll all be okay.”

  She looked at me and smiled weakly. “Hope so.”

  Having shown her the bank, we crossed the road and went into a bar. We hadn’t booked a table and the place was surprisingly busy but we found a seat near the back, underneath a painting of an old colonel I didn’t recognise. Rob played the part of the perfect gentleman, holding Abigail’s chair out for her and doing his utmost to help her feel relaxed. I felt something twinge in my tummy as I watched them together and was shocked to realise it was jealousy. I dismissed the thought with a large glass of wine, swiftly followed by a second.

  “Slow down Charlie, you’ve not eaten all day,” said Rob.

  I dismissed his warning with a wave of my hand. “I’ll be fine. Where’s the menu?”

  He handed me the menu with a frown and turned his attention back to Abigail. “Hungry?” he asked her.

  Abigail smiled. “Starving!” She laughed and I saw a glimmer of the old Abigail returning. “What do you recommend?”

  They sat with their heads together, pouring over the menu, while I sat opposite them feeling like someone’s maiden aunt. When I’d had enough of being ignored I got up and made a fuss of going to the bar to get more drinks. Rob quickly got up and followed me.

  “What’s the matter with you?” he said, when we were out of Abigail’s earshot.

  “Nothing. Just thirsty.” I turned away from him but he came round the other side of me, refusing to let me ignore him.

  “Don’t give me that. What’s going on?” He looked at me, waiting for a reply, and then he smirked. “You’re jealous.”

  “Bloody am not!”

  “Ha! Liar!” He nudged me on the arm and smiled. “I’m showing Abigail a nice time and you’re jealous.”

  “Piss off!” I turned to the man behind the bar and ordered some drinks.

  “There’s no use denying it Charlie Diamond. It’s written all over your face.”

  I paid for my drinks and turned to walk back to the table. “So what if I am? Whatcha going to do about it?”

  And without waiting for a reply, I sauntered back to the table with our drinks leaving Rob trailing behind, grinning from ear to ear.

  FIFTY-NINE

  Rob looked like he might wet his pants from laughing so much when he walked into the hotel lobby the following morning to find me sitting in the corner with my head wrapped in my scarf and a pair of sunglasses on.

  “Morning Charlie. Beautiful day!” Rob’s voice was like a drill in the side of my skull.

  “Shhh, not so loud. Quiet voices this morning please.”

  Abigail breezed in after Rob, her eyes bright and skin glowing. I thought I might be sick and excused myself.

  When I came back, Rob and Abigail were sitting together chatting. I knew from the snoring that had kept me awake half the night that Abigail had slept well and, unlike me, she hadn’t had the larger half of a bottle of wine. She’d transformed overnight into a more alive version of the Abigail we’d travelled with in the car yesterday and it suited her.

  “You alright?” Rob asked me.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  I didn’t have the energy to start debating the state of my hangover. We had an appointment with the bank and I had no intention of being late. Before that though we’d agreed we’d go and visit Muriel. I thought the old lady would appreciate meeting Toby’s wife and after the shock of seeing her look so frail the other day, I wanted to reassure myself she was going to get better.

  I travelled with the window down all the way to the hospital and by the time we arrived I was starting to feel a little more human. Sunglasses safety tucked out of sight in my bag, we retraced our steps back to the ward.

  “I’m sorry but visiting isn’t until this afternoon,” the nurse said.

  My heart sunk. I hadn’t thought to check visiting times. “But we’ve come all this way.”

  “From South Wales,” Rob added, giving the nurse his most earnest look. “Is there any way we could pop in, just for a few minutes? We’d appreciate it ever so much.”

  “Go on then, but only five minutes mind. And if her breakfast comes you’ll have to go.”

  “Promise!”

  We practically skipped down the ward to Muriel’s room. When we walked in she was sitting up in bed, both eyes open. She looked so much better than earlier in the week, I could hardly believe it had only been three days.

  “Muriel! Look at you!” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Charlie!” Her voice still sounded weak but just to hear her speak felt like a miracle after last time. “Hello love.” She looked at Rob. “Who’s this?”

  “This is my friend Rob. He’s a policeman Muriel. He’s helping with Ryan.”

  Rob gently kissed Muriel’s cheek then stood to one side so Abigail could come forward.

  “And this is Abigail, Toby’s wife. You remember Toby, from next door?”

  Muriel nodded but Abigail frowned. “Next door?” she asked.

  “Tell you later.” I whispered. “Come and meet Muriel. She’s been an absolute star. Helped us find your Toby.”

  The two women said hello and exchanged smiles but soon our time was up and we had to leave.

  “Be back soon Muriel,” I promised. “And next time I come we’ll bring you lots of news.”

  We drove the short distance from the hospital to town and parked in the same car park as the night before. We walked towards the bank in silence but as we got closer Abigail came and walked next to me.

  “You told that old lady that Toby lived next door to her?”

  Ah yeah, that. “That’s right.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. How could he have been living next door to her? Was he there the whole time?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Please don’t lie to me Charlie.”

  “I’m not, I swear. All I know is that Toby was living in the flat next door to Muriel for a little while, a few weeks at most.”

  “But why?”

  “I’m sorry Abigail, I don’t know.”

  Suddenly her cheeks flushed with colour. “Was he living there on his own?”

  I shook my head. “It was …”

  “Please don’t tell me he was shacked up with some woman! Is that why he disappeared? To be with another woman?” Her voice had risen several octaves and her face looked like it might crumble at any second.

  “No, no, nothing like that. It’s Ryan’s flat.”

  “Ryan, the kid who kidnapped him?”

  “That’s right.”

  “That still makes no sense.”

  “I know.”

  “So why would he …”

  “I don’t know.” I couldn’t help but sigh. “Please Abigail, I promise you, if I knew I’d tell you. We don’t know how Toby and Ryan know each other or why they were sharing a flat together. I’ve asked around but no-one seems to know anything. But we will find out, I promise.”

  We arrived outside the bank. “Let’s forget about it for now and just focus on the job in hand.”

  Abigail nodded and we walked into the bank.

  I’d been worried that withdrawing all that money might prove tricky but as it was we were in and out in fifteen minutes. There had been the expected security checks and questions about what I was
planning on spending the money on, to which I gave a vague answer about an extension, but otherwise the transaction was smooth. The only problem we had now was what to do with all the cash. In the end it was decided that the safest thing possible would be for Rob to keep it in his hotel room and Abigail and I would go out and get food for us to share back in the room.

  “Just watch you don’t scratch my car!” Rob warned.

  “As if I’d do a thing like that. Relax, we’ll be fine. You just make sure you don’t open the door to any strange people and when we get back, listen for the knock.”

  Rob had said it was completely ridiculous to agree a special knock but he had the good sense to humour me. He was a big bloke but I didn’t fancy his chances if someone caught him by surprise. The last thing we needed after coming all this way was him being robbed of the ransom money.

  SIXTY

  We woke Saturday morning to the sound of rain battering the windows. The crisp dry spell we’d been enjoying was over and it was blowing a gale outside. It was the kind of day that made you wish you could stay tucked up warm and dry inside but we had a drop-off to make and weren’t going to let a little thing like a bit of rain stop us. We spent Saturday morning holed up in one of the cafes in town drinking coffee. All three of us were twitchy with nerves and we spent much of the time just sitting in silence staring out the window at the rain.

  “Did he say whereabouts in the woods to wait?” Abigail asked.

  “He just said the woods, near where he left me last time.”

  “And you remember where that is?”

  I nodded. “Stop worrying. I know where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. We won’t be late. There’s nothing that can go wrong.”

  I began to regret those words an hour later when we were standing on the side of the road watching Rob change a tyre, rain dripping off the end of his nose. We’d left in plenty of time so I knew we wouldn’t be late but it was hard to shake the thought that this was an omen.