In Search of Hope

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘Oh, yes. Sorry. I’m Emily and this is Chad.’ She watched Joss move to stand near Libby and the boy. He looked protective, as if he cared for them.

  ‘You must be tired,’ he said. ‘Sit down and I’ll make the toast.’

  ‘Butter and jam are in the fridge.’ Emily took a seat and smiled at Ned again. ‘Is that your lamb?’

  He nodded.

  ‘What’s he called?’

  ‘Lamb.’

  She laughed. ‘That’s a very good name for him.’

  Ned nodded solemnly and the whole atmosphere lightened still further.

  By the time they’d toasted and eaten the whole of a loaf between them, the tale had been told.

  Emily laid one hand on Libby’s. ‘Of course you must stay here. You’ll be quite safe. If Chad and I can’t help Joss keep one man away from you, we’ve lost our touch.’

  ‘Thank you. I’ll try not to be a nuisance.’

  But Emily could tell that Libby was still worried.

  As Steven was making his way out to the moors again, he found an old lean-to at the back of the older buildings. It had a door, but no windows, and was empty. Clearly it wasn’t being used for anything at the moment. He looked up. The roof seemed watertight.

  He nodded. This would do as a hiding place. When he’d finished here, he could get out on to the moors easily from his hideout, without anyone seeing him.

  In the meantime he was hungry. He’d go back to his car and have something to eat, then find another place to park.

  He didn’t know who had turned up at the centre. Probably someone who worked here, given the early hour. No, it had been a luxury car. Perhaps it was the owner. In any case, there was no use hanging about at the moment. He knew the layout, had a vague plan and was prepared to wait for his moment.

  He was glad to find his car still in the layby, untouched. Well, there wouldn’t be vandals around up here, would there? But still, you never knew who was driving past.

  He drove slowly off, smiling as he saw another layby on the other side of the road, only a few hundred yards further up.

  He drove right to the top of the slope, where there was a lookout with a gravelled space for cars to park. He’d stay here for a couple of hours, he decided, before reconnoitring again. If the centre got busy, he might even go inside it and wander round. He could claim that he didn’t know his wife was there.

  He listened to the news and an interesting business report, watching the road get busier. But there was only a stupid chat show after that, or classical music on another channel. Miserable stuff it was, too. He should have brought something to read.

  He didn’t feel at all sleepy, so simply sat there, bored and irritated … waiting.

  All this was Libby’s fault, damn her. He’d teach her not to run away again. Oh, yes.

  Eighteen

  Libby found the hours passed slowly. She felt like a prisoner and was bursting with unused energy. There were only so many games you could play with a small child who hadn’t got many toys, so Ned was fidgety.

  Joss took over playing with him from time to time, but it was obvious that he too was chafing at the inaction.

  It was a relief when Ned fell asleep in the bedroom during the afternoon.

  ‘Let’s go and sit in my bedroom,’ Joss whispered. ‘We can chat and we’ll hear him if he wakes up. I think Chad and Emily deserve a little privacy, and I wouldn’t mind some time with you.’

  Joss gestured to the bed and went to sit on a chair beside the window, staring down at his loosely clasped hands. When he looked up, he asked, ‘What are you going to do afterwards, Libby?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Will you stay in Rose’s house?’

  ‘If it’s safe, I’d like that very much.’

  ‘I love living out there. I like the views, I enjoy walking on the moors and I find the people in the village friendly in the best of old-fashioned ways. What do you usually do in your spare time?’

  ‘I used to be so busy keeping the house immaculate and looking after Ned that I didn’t have time for hobbies.’

  ‘Before you were married, then?’

  ‘Oh, I was very active. I swam and hiked, played netball for my school. I loved any sport, come to that.’

  He looked sad and she went over impulsively to take his hands. ‘I’m sorry. I was forgetting your leg.’

  ‘It’s OK for walking and activities where you don’t have to jerk around at speed. I’d be getting a bit old for rough sports now anyway. I miss being able to kick a football around – that’s too risky. I like to go to the cinema or watch movies on DVD, and I enjoy reading.’

  ‘Is that enough to fill your life?’

  ‘No. But I’m hoping Leon will give me something interesting to do.’

  She realised she was still holding his hands and tried to pull away, but he drew her gently down to sit on his knee.

  ‘Stay with me.’

  She did as he asked and when he kissed her, she kissed him back. Oh, she’d wanted to do that, wanted to feel cared for again, desired.

  They stayed there, hardly saying a word, kissing occasionally until they heard Ned’s voice calling for his mother.

  ‘That was a good time,’ she said quietly as she stood up.

  ‘Very good,’ Joss corrected. ‘To be continued.’

  ‘Definitely.’ She raised her voice. ‘I’m coming, Ned.’

  That quiet hour was the highlight of her day. She wasn’t going to make love to Joss until she was free of Steven. It wouldn’t feel right. At this stage it would be more a way of sealing their growing feelings for one another than out of lust, anyway.

  She really hoped they could nurture their relationship. At the moment she was too anxious about other things to lose herself in sex.

  She could forget Steven for a few minutes, but that was all. She was so sure he was coming after her. So sure there would be more trouble.

  In the late afternoon Libby decided to take Ned to play ball in the rear courtyard while Joss made a couple of phone calls. She was halfway down the stairs when a man entered the antiques centre. He looked frazzled and his clothes were wrinkled, even though he’d clearly made an attempt to tidy himself up.

  She stopped to watch him and he stopped, too, staring at her so openly she had to wonder if there was something wrong with her appearance.

  Then Chad came out of the ground-floor offices to the left of the entrance, beaming a welcome at the newcomer. ‘Des! I saw you drive up. What happened to your other car? Have you traded down?’

  The newcomer scowled. ‘Someone trashed it, hacking the tyres. I’ve hired that slug of a car because it was the only thing available today.’

  No wonder he looked angry, Libby thought, surprised when once again his eyes slid towards her. He looked as if he recognised her, but she was quite sure she’d never seen him before in her life.

  He followed Chad into the office and the door closed behind them, so she continued towards the Old Barn. ‘Hold my hand, Ned.’

  ‘Don’t want to.’

  ‘If you don’t, we’ll go back to the bedroom.’

  For a minute he looked at her, bottom lip jutting out, then he took the hand she was offering.

  He cheered up immediately they went into the huge room. As it was Tuesday, there were only a couple of customers there and some of the stalls were covered. For a while they enjoyed looking at the stalls, particularly the toy stall. She wished she could buy him something but didn’t dare spend any money.

  After a while, she took Ned out into the rear courtyard and let him chase the ball around. He laughed and shouted as he ran to and fro, full of energy.

  Toby and Ashley came to the door of their units to watch him, smiling.

  Then Ned missed the ball and let it roll round the corner. He chased after it, shouting happily. Suddenly his voice cut out and there was only silence, not even the sound of footsteps.

  Something was wrong. She started running across the courtyard, y
elling, ‘Toby, fetch Joss. Fetch Joss quickly.’

  He stood staring at her.

  Ashley said, ‘I’ll go.’

  Round the corner, Libby stopped dead.

  Her worst nightmare had just come true.

  Steven was standing there, holding Ned in his arms, his hand firmly across their son’s mouth.

  Ned was rigid with terror.

  ‘Not a sound, unless you want me to hurt him.’ Even though he spoke very quietly, Steven’s voice rang with menace and he looked different from usual, wild and angry, as if he’d let his temper off its chain. She froze, terrified of what he might do in this state of mind.

  ‘Follow me, and don’t make a noise.’

  If she followed him and they got as far as a car, who knew what he’d do to them? Whatever happened to her, she wasn’t going to let him hurt Ned, so she had to stop him and let her child escape.

  She walked forward as slowly as she dared, pretending to stumble on the uneven ground.

  ‘Hurry up!’ Even though Steven’s voice was low, it was sharp.

  ‘Let Ned go,’ she pleaded. ‘I’ll come with you. I won’t struggle. But let Ned go.’

  ‘Why should I? He’s my son. I’ve a right to have him living with me. You’re both coming home and you’re going to tell the busybodies that’s where you want to be.’

  She saw a tear roll down Ned’s cheek and that was the final straw. Not giving herself time to think, she flew at Steven, taking him by surprise and making him stumble. She scratched the hand that was across Ned’s mouth then clouted Steven across the head before he recovered from his shock.

  ‘Ouch! You bitch! Stop it!’

  She tried to kick him where it would hurt most and in defending himself, he dropped Ned.

  ‘Run to Joss, Ned!’ she shouted and began screaming at the top of her voice, till something hit her on the head and she knew nothing more.

  Joss looked up as he heard someone running up the stairs, calling his name. He was already at the door of the flat when Ashley arrived.

  ‘Come quickly! There’s a bad man. He’s hurting Ned. Libby says to fetch you.’ Ashley turned and ran downstairs again.

  He was after her at once, yelling for help as he clattered down the stairs.

  Chad and another man came to the door of the office.

  ‘Libby’s in trouble!’ Joss yelled.

  Ashley ran ahead, taking him across the courtyard.

  There was no sign of Toby, and when they turned the corner, there was no sign of Ned – or of anyone else.

  ‘Where are they?’ Joss asked.

  ‘They were here. The man was holding her. They’ve gone.’

  ‘Stand still and be quiet.’ He listened carefully and thought he could hear the sound of footsteps from the direction of the outbuildings. ‘Shhh!’

  He listened again. Yes, that was definitely the faint squeak of a door being closed.

  Chad caught up with him just then, so Joss pointed, whispering ‘What’s over there?’

  ‘Some sheds.’

  ‘I think he’s hiding in one.’

  Des stepped forward. ‘Shall I call the police?’

  Joss hesitated. ‘We don’t know what’s happening. There are three of us. If it’s only Pulford, we can take him down.’

  ‘And if her abusive husband has got Libby, that might be a hostage situation,’ Chad said.

  Joss swallowed hard. Dear heaven, how had this happened? Why had he left her on her own? The damned phone calls could have waited. If anything happened to her …

  ‘Better safe than sorry. I’ll call the police; you go after them. I’ll catch up with you.’ Des moved back into the courtyard and took out his mobile to dial 999.

  Joss nodded to Chad and they began to move forward as quietly as they could.

  Cursing his son, who’d run back towards the house, Steven slung Libby’s unconscious body over his shoulder and ran along the back of the building to the empty shed. It’d do as a place from which to bargain. They’d have to let him go or … or he’d end it here and now.

  He was panting by the time he got there and she was stirring.

  Dammit, he should have brought something to tie her up with. He hadn’t planned this as well as he usually did. That was her fault for upsetting him.

  He fumbled through his pockets and came up with his handkerchief. That’d have to do. He yanked her arms behind her and tied her hands at the wrists, noting that the back of his hand was bloody where she’d scratched him. The bitch!

  Where was the kid?

  He thought he heard something outside and opened the door a crack to peer out, ducking back, cursing. Two men. Strangers. They were looking for something – him, probably.

  He must have been seen.

  ‘Pulford! We know you’re there. Stop this now. Don’t make things worse.’

  The door creaked, so he stopped trying to hide and pushed the door back, dragging Libby forward to show them he wasn’t alone. ‘Stay where you are. Do not move another step forward or I’ll thump her again.’

  They froze.

  He smiled. ‘That’s right. Now listen. This is just a domestic dispute. My wife and I can settle it if you leave us alone. She’s agreed to come home with me. I’ll not hurt her if you let us go.’

  She tried to wriggle away from him and he was forced to yank her back by the hair.

  ‘Where’s Ned?’ she yelled.

  Steven glared at her. Always the child. She cared more about the boy than she did about her own husband. That was wrong. ‘I’ve got him safe in the car. You’ve been unconscious. I came back for you.’

  She immediately yelled, ‘He says Ned’s in the car. Save my son! I don’t—’

  In desperation, Steven dragged his tie off and fastened it across her mouth, which more or less shut her up. Then he saw a third man join them – that sod from the hotel – and shouted again, ‘Stay back or she’ll suffer.’

  Des crept closer and whispered, ‘I’ve called the police, told them it’s urgent. Where’s the boy?’

  ‘She just shouted that he’s locked in Pulford’s car.’

  ‘His car isn’t in the car park,’ Des said at once. ‘I was keeping my eye on him yesterday and I’d have recognised it. Where else could he have parked?’

  ‘Well? Do you accept my terms?’ Steven yelled.

  ‘No!’ Joss replied at once. ‘It’s stalemate, so you’ll have to negotiate. You can’t get away.’

  ‘But I’ve got Libby and the boy. You wouldn’t want me to hurt her, would you? If you try to come any nearer, I’ll lock the door of this shed, and then who knows what I’ll do?’

  ‘What’s his car like?’ Chad asked suddenly.

  ‘Big silver Mercedes.’

  ‘There was one parked in a layby up the road when we drove down from the moors yesterday. You could go to the road and see whether it’s still there.’

  Des set off at a run.

  ‘Answer me, damn you,’ Pulford called. ‘Do I have to hurt her to make you negotiate?’

  ‘We won’t do anything till we have the boy back.’

  ‘She was lying to you. He’s here, inside this shed.’

  Somehow, Joss didn’t believe that. ‘Prove it. Show him to us.’

  Pulford laughed, but it only sounded like a bad stage laugh. ‘Why should I?’

  ‘The fellow’s lost it,’ Joss whispered. ‘Listen to him. We’d better tread really carefully here. He’s already hurt her and who knows where he’ll stop.’

  ‘Are you a trained negotiator?’

  ‘Yes. But I’m way out of practice. And anyway, I’m emotionally involved.’

  ‘You’re all we’ve got at the moment. Do what you can.’

  Des ran through the antiques centre, pausing briefly to yell to Emily. ‘We’ve got a hostage situation. No one to go outside.’

  ‘Who’s the hostage? Not Libby!’

  ‘Yes. Her husband’s got her. But we can’t see Ned.’

  He ran out to the roa
d and stared up the hill. He could see a layby, but there was no car parked in it. He couldn’t see the road beyond that very clearly, so clambered up on the wall, holding on to the gatepost. That was better.

  There was a car further up the hill, silver, could be Pulford’s.

  He didn’t believe the boy was there because Pulford hadn’t had time to get here and back, so he didn’t linger.

  As he was going back into the centre, he thought he could hear police sirens in the distance, so he asked Emily, who was standing in the rear courtyard, to tell the police where the others were and what was going on. Then he ran back through the front showroom and outside.

  Perhaps he could get round to the back and take Pulford by surprise.

  Pretending to be only semi-conscious, Libby watched Steven carefully. He was staring out of a small dusty window and jerking to and fro like a mechanical toy that wasn’t working properly.

  Something was very wrong with him. In the six years of their marriage she had never seen him so out of control, never been so afraid of him, either.

  He turned towards her and she managed a small groan. But the tie was partly in her mouth and she couldn’t speak.

  ‘You shouldn’t have shouted out like that,’ he said abruptly. He reached out to hold her face, thumb and fingers digging into her cheeks, forcing her to look him in the eyes. ‘I’ll have to teach you to do as you’re told in future. Do you understand?’

  He seemed to expect something so she forced herself to nod and groan again.

  He let go of her and turned back towards the window, muttering to himself. Then he yelled suddenly to the men standing guard on them, ‘I’m coming out with her and if you don’t stay back, I’ll hurt her again.’

  This time he took out a knife.

  She stared at him in terror. Was he going to kill her?

  He yanked her to her feet and she staggered more than she needed to. ‘You’d better move only when I tell you. Got it?’ He pressed the knife tip against her throat.

  She nodded very slightly, but it satisfied him.

  As he opened the door, she could see Joss standing there, with Chad behind him. There was no sign of Ned. Dear heaven, what had this monster of a husband done with her son?