‘But you said that Charlotte -’
‘Was not Adam’s?’
Gabrielle nodded.
‘No, she wasn’t. That was something else my husband told me. When Charlotte was born Lucinda and her lover had been having an affair for over a year, and she hadn’t been sure when she fell pregnant of who the father was. It could have been Adam’s or this other man’s. She made her lover have a blood test and it proved positive. He was the father.’
‘So Jeremy Jacobs knows it was his daughter who was murdered?’
‘Evidently not, but I can’t explain why he doesn’t know, because I don’t know all the details. Lucinda used some other reason for the blood test, but as I said I don’t know the details. She had to stay with Adam because if she didn’t there would have been a scandal and their well planned cover could have suffered. Anyway, the only person who knew other than Lucinda was my husband. She told him so that if anything ever happened to her then the truth could be revealed and …’
Christina’s voice trailed off as she bowed her head. She had managed to maintain her composure while relating what she knew to Gabrielle and Lolita, but now she was on the point of breaking down. ‘I wish … I just wish that -’
Gabrielle leant forward and put a hand on Christina’s arm. ‘You told all this to Adam?’
She nodded slowly.
Gabrielle looked at Lolita. ‘Did he take the car we came in?’
‘Yes,’ Lolita replied.
‘Is there another car here?’
‘Yes, two,’ Lolita said.
‘My husband’s and mine. I suggest you take the Porsche. Do you know where Adam might have gone?’
‘Yes, I think I know where I’ll find him, but I must leave now.’
‘Are you sure you’re well enough to drive?’
‘If I am to find Adam, then I have little choice, Mrs Yong.’
‘Then you must go, but answer me one question ...’ said Christina.
‘Of course I will, if I can.’
‘Do you love my son?’
‘I think I do, yes. No, I don’t think I do, I know I love him.’
‘Then once more I must ask you to find him and bring him home.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
She had never driven such a powerful car before and to start with she had to drive very cautiously. Time was of the essence, so she hoped that once she reached the motorway her confidence would improve and she could speed up.
The Porsche had very little fuel in its tank.
Stopping at the first petrol station she came to in Blandford Forum, Gabrielle attracted a lot of attention. She filled the car and as she was paying for the petrol she bought a road atlas. She could only guess that the distance from Blandford to Loch Lomond was over four hundred miles, probably nearer five hundred, and even in a Porsche it was going to take her at least eight or nine hours and that would be without any breaks.
She estimated that Adam had about a two-hour start. Lolita had shown her the mobile phone Adam had left behind, so she could not call him.
Ignoring the admiring looks she got as she returned to the Porsche, she moved the car a few yards away from the pumps and reached for the atlas so that she could plan her route.
She also prayed.
Gabrielle drove through the night.
She stopped twice to fill up with fuel again and to grab a sandwich and a drink. Her strength and her confidence, miraculously boosted by the thought of her vital goal, did improve and she was able to hold the car at a steady eighty for a lot of the way.
Loch Lomond was where he had gone the first time and she prayed over and over again that it was where he was heading this time. She scanned every vehicle she saw but she hadn’t really taken any notice of what type of car Adam had hired. She knew it was a red saloon but didn’t have the faintest idea what its make and registration number were. Even if she had contacted the police, she wouldn’t have been able to give them sufficient information. She thought about the radio but as she believed Adam was driving with one aim in mind he would not be listening to the radio.
On four occasions before crossing the border she was held up because of accidents and on each occasion she looked anxiously to see whether a red saloon was involved. She also kept on glancing down at her mobile phone on the passenger seat willing it to ring, willing the caller to be either Christina or Lolita telling her that he was back at Forestgreen Lodge or at least telling them where he was.
But there were no calls or messages.
She was alone and somewhere miles in front of her he was also alone.
At just after nine o’clock on the Monday morning Gabrielle pulled into the Oak Tree car park. Because of the accidents, one of which had temporarily closed the motorway, the journey had taken her nearly eleven hours.
There was one other car parked on the far side of the car park.
It was a red saloon.
It was in exactly the same spot Adam had parked the Lexus in what seemed like months ago.
She thought she recognised the car.
She prayed she was right.
She parked the Porsche next to the other car and ran round to the passenger door.
It was not locked.
She yanked open the door and looked inside.
In the door-well were the tissues she had used the previous day.
Her first prayer had been answered.
Then she noticed a piece of paper on the driver’s seat on top of which were the ignition keys.
Please return this car to Hertz. Thank you.
Racing back to the Porsche, Gabrielle drove to the edge of the Loch where she had first met Adam. It was as though time had stood still. Nothing seemed to be any different - except he was not there.
She ran down to the water’s edge.
Shading her eyes against the sun, she peered across the water for something, anything.
But there was nothing.
She sat down on the rough ground, buried her head in her hands and gave in to the torrent of tears she had no way of stopping.
‘Creatures of habit, aren’t we?’
Gabrielle did not want to look round because she was sure she had only imagined his voice.
‘But it’s role reversal this time,’ the voice said, ‘so come away from the water before you do something both of us would regret.’
Slowly she turned her head. Her second prayer had been answered.
He was sitting on the same log she had sat on an eternity ago.
‘You’re safe,’ she said.
‘I am.’
‘And you’re real?’
He nodded and smiled. ‘For the first time in months I can say yes, I am real.’
‘But -’
He held up his hand. ‘Explanations shortly but the first thing I need from you, minister or not, is a kiss to prove we are both real.’
He rose to his feet and held out his arms.
She walked slowly across the pebbles, her eyes never leaving his.
After a few seconds hesitation she went on tiptoes and pressed her lips onto his.
‘What do we do now?’ she finally asked, her arms still round his neck.
‘Is the Oak Tree open?’
She smiled at him. ‘It will be in about ten minutes.’
‘Coffee?’
‘And a little déjà vu.’
‘But you left that note in the car.’
Adam picked up his coffee cup. ‘I didn’t change my mind until I got to our spot by the water.’
‘But why here?’
‘Because I hoped you would know where to look.’
‘You wanted me to find you? You took one hell of a risk.’
‘Perhaps.’ He smiled. ‘I sat down on that log and I heard again everything you had said before, but on this occasion I decided I really did have something to live for. If you had not come there would have been nothing.’
‘Where were you when I got here?’
‘I’d walked further along th
e road.’
‘And you came back expecting to find me.’
‘I walked back hoping to find you.’
Gabrielle lowered her eyes. ‘Your mother told me everything.’
‘I thought she would.’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘You have nothing to be sorry about. I should be apologising for getting you involved.’
‘You didn’t. I involved myself. You didn’t ask me to come looking for you.’
‘Not then, no, but I’m pleased you did. What happened to you, though, is my responsibility.’
‘Again my answer has to be, no it isn’t. I was very foolish and just a little arrogant. I walked into a trap and paid the consequences.’
‘You’re talking as though -’
‘Inside I’m screaming and will be for a very long time. You’ll have to be very patient with me but for now there are more important matters to discuss.’
‘Like where do we go from here?’
‘Yes.’
‘We decide all that over a coffee in the Oak Tree?’ Adam reached for both Gabrielle’s hands and entwined his fingers with hers.
‘No, we decide after we’ve been back to the vicarage and you have helped me write my letter of resignation. A locum minister is looking after my parish, by the way, but he didn’t move into the vicarage.’
‘You’re resigning?’
‘A silly question, but yes. If being together is an option then we must start afresh. We must go somewhere where we’re not known and then take it from there.’
‘We do want the same thing?’
‘I think so.’
As they left The Oak Tree with their arms round each other’s waists, the manageress watched them go. As soon as the door closed Anne reached for the phone.
‘I was right,’ she said, ‘young Gabrielle Brooks and that bloke I saw her with a couple of weeks ago have got a thing going.’
Forty-five minutes later they drove towards the vicarage in convoy.
Gabrielle was leading and therefore it was she who was first to negotiate the final bend in the road.
It was she who saw the police car parked in front of the vicarage and it was she who saw two policemen and a policewoman walking away from the front door.
She thought she knew what they wanted, but she had no idea how the Strathclyde Police could have been contacted so quickly, and how on earth her connection with Patrick Yong’s and the Chinese woman’s deaths had been discovered.
Gabrielle stopped the Porsche in front of the police car. The two policemen and policewoman were at the gate. They too had stopped and were looking at her. She took a deep breath and opened the door of the Porsche.
Adam drew up behind her and leapt out of his car. He was with Gabrielle, his arm round her waist, as she closed the car door. They approached the gate together.
‘Can I help you?’ Gabrielle asked.
One of the policemen, a sergeant, stepped forward. ‘Are you Gabrielle Brooks?’ he asked, rather abruptly.
‘Yes.’
‘And you, sir?’ the sergeant asked, looking at Adam.
‘My name is Adam Harrison.’
The other policeman and the policewoman had moved through the gate and were now standing behind Gabrielle and Adam.
The sergeant nodded. ‘Have you both recently returned from Hong Kong?’
‘Yes.’ Adam replied. ‘Two days ago. Can I ask what this is all about?’
‘You can, sir, and I will tell you. We would like you both to come with us to the police station in Helensburgh.’
‘Is this to do with the death of my brother, Patrick Yong, Sergeant?’
The sergeant frowned. ‘Patrick Yong, sir? I know nothing about the death of any Patrick Yong. No, we wish to question you both about the murders of Eric and Elizabeth Elliott.’
Adam heard Gabrielle cry out just before she slumped against him.
The End
Dedications
Dedicating this novel to three particular people is inadequate praise for their unbridled enthusiasm, support and encouragement, because without them my first and second novels would not have been published, and certainly not this, my third.
So to Sheena Wilcox and my sons Simon and Andrew, I would like to say a very big and heartfelt thank you. Without you nothing would have happened other than me putting yet another unedited manuscript under your noses.
Sheena, Simon and Andrew, thank you.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the part two people played in the writing and eventual publication of this novel:
My first acknowledgment goes to The Reverend Joanna Jepson who, without knowing about her contribution, gave me the idea to introduce and develop the character of Gabrielle Brooks into this story.
Joanna, thank you.
Shelia Mary Belshaw is one of the editors with Taylor Street Books. She painstakingly and meticulously edited my manuscript, but it is the way in which she managed me over the editing period that I would really like to acknowledge. Her author management is second to none and even when pointing out some pretty fundamental errors she did it with such an easy style I never felt I was being patronised!
Sheila, thank you.
In Denial Page 39
