'Mums in November

by Clare Revell

  “Sounds cool.” He loved her enthusiasm. “What are you doing?”

  “The house that Jack built. Rats, cats, and so on, and a huge house.”

  “Will the parson look like Pastor Jack?”

  Amber laughed. “Not if the kids have anything to do with it. It should be fun. I need to finish cutting the pictures out tonight, and we can start on it tomorrow.”

  “Will it take long?”

  She shook her head. “No. Different kids do different bits all at the same time. There are eleven kids and eleven parts. They can all do the house.”

  “Wait a sec.” Jackson counted on his fingers, tapping them against the steering wheel. “There’s the malt, rat, cat, dog, cow, maiden, tattered man, parson, rooster, farmer. That’s ten. Because the house doesn’t count.”

  “You forgot Jack.”

  “Oh, right.” He paused. “He’s not gonna look like me, is he?”

  Amber laughed. “Right down to his cowboy hat.”

  “Gee thanks, honey.”

  “Any time, cowboy. I am so looking forward to my afternoon off tomorrow. And it’s Friday too. So I don’t go back until ten on Monday morning.”

  “Any sign of this guy who was following you?”

  “Nothing definite for a day or two. I guess the cops must have scared him off.”

  He walked her to the door. “I have a practice meeting tomorrow. Can I see you Saturday?”

  “Sure. That would be good.”

  He kissed her gently. “Then I bid you good night, my lady.” He doffed his hat, making her grin.

  “Good night, Jackson.”

  ****

  Amber waited for the quarter to five bus. The display was up in record time and looked good. She’d spent her afternoon off in town window shopping and was now on her way home in the dark and cold.

  She pulled her collar up and got on the bus. As usual, she sat as close to the driver as she could.

  A man dashed on just as the doors were closing, tossing his cigarette to the roadside. He flashed his bus pass at the driver and took the seat opposite her.

  She pulled out her phone and checked for messages, not expecting to find one, but purely as a safety measure. Her email chimed and she read that first, her heart sinking and eyes tearing. She dashed off a reply. Before she could take it in, her text alert chimed. Jackson.

  Hey, honey. Practice meeting tonight. What are we doing tomorrow?

  I have to go and see a friend. She’s in the hospital and it doesn’t look good. I told her husband I’d go visit.

  His reply was almost instantaneous. Want some company? It’ll be like a busman’s holiday, but I don’t mind.

  She’s in the burns unit. It’s not pretty apparently.

  Her phone rang. “Hello.”

  “It’s me.” Jackson sounded as if he was making coffee. “Is that the woman mentioned on the news this morning? The one caught in that house fire? Do you know her?”

  “Yeah. She was Sarah King before she got married. We grew up in the same children’s home. She was the nearest thing I had to a friend. From what her husband said, Sarah started the fire and it’s being treated as attempted suicide. He thought he ought to let me know. It doesn’t look good and I’ll be a mess, so probably best if you don’t come with.”

  “Sure, honey, if that’s what you want. Text me when you’re home, and I’ll come over. Or if you change your mind, I’ll go with you.”

  “Thank you.” She got off the bus along with several others. It was a five minute walk to the house from the bus stop. “I have to go. The battery is about to die on me.”

  “OK, honey. Love you.”

  Amber stopped dead. The bloke behind her almost walked into her. She moved to one side. “Sorry.” Had she him heard right? “I’m sorry, Jackson?”

  “I said I love you. Is that OK?”

  “Yes. Yes, it’s most definitely OK. More than OK.” Was she gushing like a teenager? “I just hadn’t expected…”

  “What did you expect?” His chair squeaked, and she could imagine him leaning back on it.

  “I don’t know. Church bells, fireworks, you holding my hand, looking at me—” The call cut off. “Charming. Hang up on me, why don’t you?”

  The phone rang again with a video call. Jackson grinned at her. “Is this better?” He stared at her from the phone. “I love you. I luv ya. Je t’aime. Ich liebe dich. Te amo.”

  Amber smiled. “Show off. I only know the one language. I love you, too.”

  “Good. I left you a present on the doorstep.”

  “Thank you.” Her phone beeped. “Jackson, I have to go, the battery warning has just come on.”

  “OK, honey. I have to go into this meeting anyway. Speak soon. Love you.”

  “Love you. Bye.” She put the phone into her pocket. She could see the house now. Childlike excitement gripped her. What could he have bought her? Chocolates? More flowers?

  She sped up as footsteps echoed behind her. She hated being followed. The steps kept pace with her and got closer. Amber slowed down. Maybe whoever it was would pass her. The steps slowed.

  Creeped out, Amber risked a glance over her shoulder. A man in dark clothes with shades was behind her, cigarette glowing in his fingers. Shades in the dark? Alarm bells went off in her mind. His build was hauntingly familiar.

  Amber began to run. The man did too. She pulled out her phone, praying there was enough power left to make one last call. Glancing down at the screen she tripped over the stone by the front gate. She fell, the phone flying from her hand.

  Someone turned her over.

  Amber struggled to get up to find herself hauled upright.

  The man smirked at her. “Dirk sends his greetings and requests that you join him.” He pressed something sharp against her arm.

  Her legs buckled and her vision darkened.

  9

  Amber struggled to open her eyes. She had a killer headache. Total darkness greeted her, yet she was moving. Unable to straighten her legs, it didn’t take long to realize she was in the boot of a car. If only she hadn’t dropped her phone.

  A red light glowed to her left, just above her face. A tail light. She’d seen a TV program once where the kidnap victim had punched out the glass and managed to attract the attention of the car behind.

  It had to be worth a go.

  Feeling around her, Amber’s fingers closed on a tire iron. Sending up prayers this would work, she hit the metal against the tail light. On the third attempt, the light broke. She shoved her hand through the broken glass and waved, hoping someone would notice.

  The car slowed down and stopped.

  Amber caught her breath, then banged the tire iron against the lid of the boot. Maybe someone would hear her.

  Voices came from the front of the car. “Can I help you, officer?”

  “You have a broken tail light.”

  “I’m on the way to get it fixed now. I reversed into a post at work. Pretty stupid I know. If you need to give me a ticket, that’s fine, but like I said, I’m going to get it fixed it. The garage is waiting for me.”

  Amber picked up the iron to start banging in the lid and opened her mouth to scream. Something small and cold pressed into her back. She flipped around. A hand, holding a gun, was shoved between the seat backs that faced into the boot. Her mouth went dry and she dropped the tool.

  It was another minute before the car pulled away.

  Amber turned back again and shoved her hand through the broken glass, hoping the cop would notice and pull them over again. But it didn’t happen.

  They drove for another ten minutes before the car slowed and finally stopped. Doors slammed.

  “I told you this wouldn’t work. She broke the tail light and got us pulled over by the cops.”

  “You’re here, aren’t you?”

  “Only because I was quick enough to climb into the back and poke a gun through the seats into the trunk. Shut her right up.”

  Amber caught her breath. She
’d recognize that first voice anywhere.

  The boot opened and light flooded in.

  Amber shut her eyes against the brightness.

  “Amber, how nice to see you again.”

  She squinted up. “Dirk…”

  He hauled her out of the car by her hair. “You and I have to talk. You have something that’s mine. And I want it back.”

  ****

  Saturday morning, Jackson headed over to Amber’s home. He needed to talk to her about Canada, the Judges, and the theft charge. And besides, he wanted to go with her to visit her friend. She’d need him there, no matter what she’d said. Plus, he wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her.

  Saying it over the phone, even via a video call, just wasn’t the same as saying it face to face. He finally knew what real love felt like and wanted to say it to Amber again. He rang the bell.

  No answer.

  Glancing around he saw the box where he’d left it the day before. “Guess you didn’t want it.” He rang the bell again. Maybe she’d left already. He dialed her mobile. He could catch up, meet her there.

  Ringing came from behind him.

  Jackson spun, expecting to see Amber, but she wasn’t there. He glanced around. The phone was on the ground by the gate. “What in tarnation are you doing there?” He bent and picked it up. The phone was wet, but the ground underneath it was dry. A shoe lay partly hidden under a bush next to it.

  Was she hurt? Is that why she wasn’t answering the door? Had something happened last night after she’d ended the call?

  Jackson ran across the road to Nate’s, grateful his friend lived so close, and pounded on the door. “Nate!”

  Acting DI Nate Holmes opened the door. “Morning, Jackson. A little early for a house call, isn’t it?”

  “Do you have a key for Jared’s place? Amber isn’t answering and Jared and Niamh are away. I found her phone and shoe on the front path. They’ve been there all night.”

  “One second.” Nate vanished for a moment, then came out with the key. “When did you last see her?”

  “Last night on her way home from work. We chatted on the phone. It was a video call.” He pointed to the ground. “Her phone was here and her shoe over there.”

  Nate unlocked the door. “Amber?”

  Jackson charged past him. The house hadn’t been touched. Her bed hadn’t been slept in…unless she’d been up for hours, which he doubted. He looked at Nate. “She said there’d been no sign of the stalker since David spoke to him, but maybe he was just keeping his distance.”

  “Stalker?”

  Jackson filled him in, before reiterating the conversation he’d had with his brothers. He also mentioned that Amber’s necklace was just like the description of the missing one. “My brother is a cop in Toronto. He can fill you in properly about the locket. It might not be related, but she wouldn’t just leave her phone outside all night. She wanted to charge it. The last thing she said was the battery was almost dead. She was meant to be seeing a friend in the hospital today. I was going with her.”

  “She wouldn’t have gone alone?”

  Jackson paused. “I don’t know. She might have. But with only one shoe and no phone? Besides which, I left her a package on the doorstep yesterday, and that’s still there too.”

  “Perhaps she didn’t see it. Most women own several pairs of shoes. There’s probably a perfectly sensible explanation. Maybe she dropped her phone while running for the bus.”

  “And caught the bus with only one shoe on?” Jackson shook his head. He turned on her phone. “Look, the battery is at ten percent. She didn’t charge it. I don’t think she got home last night.”

  Nate took Amber’s phone. “Did she say where she was going?”

  “The hospital. She knew the woman who was in that fire yesterday.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll head over there in case she’s arrived.”

  Nate nodded. “I’ll lock up here. Then I’ll give David a call and find out what’s going on with this stalker. Let me know if you find her at the hospital. If not, then I’ll call it in and put out a BOLO.”

  At Jackson’s look, Nate elaborated. “Be on the lookout.”

  Jackson nodded, running for the car. Please, God, let her be all right…

  ****

  Amber woke, once more in a moving vehicle. But at least this time she was sitting upright inside the car itself and not squashed in the boot like a sack of potatoes. Her hands were bound in front of her and her head pounded. She groaned and tried to move.

  “You’re awake.” Dirk’s voice reminded her of the waking nightmare she was caught in.

  Her head swam. “What did you give me?”

  “Just a little something to help you sleep and keep you compliant. That was a nice touch with the tail light, by the way. Just a shame we’d both seen the same TV show. And yes, the door’s child latch is engaged. You can’t open it, even if you unlock it.”

  “I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Why did you do it? Why not kill me immediately?”

  “Where’s the fun in that? You can’t give me what I need if you’re dead now, can you? We have a long way to go. I have a series of meetings and functions to go to in a hotel. The future of the company depends on it. And I need a wife.”

  “You shouldn’t have killed her then,” Amber muttered. Her head swung sharply to the side as Dirk’s hand connected with it.

  “I had no choice.”

  “’Course not,” she muttered. “She asked you to do it. Same way the kids did.”

  Dirk wound his fingers tightly into her hair, his eyes glinting in the street light. “I need a wife for the next few days. That is the other reason you’re still alive. You know Joanne enough to pass as her. You’ve done it before.”

  “Once,” she managed, fear coursing as her eyes watered in pain. “When you’d hit her so hard the bruises showed, and she couldn’t go out.”

  “More than once, and you know it. I need you to do this.”

  “What’s in it for me? Other than you not killing me right now?”

  “You have something I need. Joanne’s pendant.”

  Amber swallowed, resisting the urge to touch it. It became heavy around her neck. But the last thing Joanne had said to her was ‘don’t let Dirk find this.´ So she had to keep it safe. “Why?”

  “Because she put something I need in it and gave it to you.”

  “Did…did she?”

  “Don’t lie to me, Amber. You always were a lousy liar. She told me you had the pendant before I killed her. I want it back. You give it to me. I drop the charges and we go our separate ways.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  Dirk smirked. “I simply hand you over to the police. You get extradited to Canada to face charges of theft. Oh, and murder. You’ll spend the rest of your life in prison, and we all know what happens to child killers in jail. Especially when they’ve abused the kids as well.”

  She swallowed. “You can’t…”

  “Oh, but I can. I kept a record of the bumps and bruises and other marks on the kids. And who’s going to believe you instead of the children’s father? Especially when your prints are on the knife buried with the bodies.”

  Amber slumped back in the seat. She had no choice but to play along for now. Perhaps she’d be able to get a message to Jackson. He’d believe her, wouldn’t he? He loved her, he said he did. He’d almost proposed the other night. “What do I need to do?” she whispered.

  Dirk ran a hand over her arm. “I knew you’d see sense. You have to become Joanne for the next few days. You know the drill. You attend a series of meetings, and dinners, and chat with clients wives. When you are not with me, Frank will keep an eye on you. You will make no phone calls, emails, or Internet posts. You tell anyone where you are…”

  Amber would not show fear in front of him. “You can’t kill me. You just said you needed me.”

  “I can make you sorry in other ways,” he said, giving her a vicious burn on her wrist. “Why
do you think Joanne was sick so much? I slipped up and the bruises showed once or twice. But I’m sure you could fall into a table and carry on chatting, regardless.”

  She whimpered in pain as her wrist contorted. “OK…”

  He let go and she cradled her wrist to her chest. “So… is this a merger or takeover or what? If I’m to be your wife, then I ought to know.”

  “All in due time.” He looked out of the window. “You should sleep. We’ve still got over two hundred miles to go.”

  “Where are we going? You owe me that, at least.”

  His eyes glinted. “I owe you nothing.”

  Amber dropped it. He’d never let her go, she knew too much. She closed her eyes, faked sleep, and prayed for strength to see this through, and for a chance, even a faint one, of calling for help.

  10

  Sunday evening. Jackson had heard nothing. He’d called the police, but they had nothing new.

  Amber was now officially missing, and thus light of the allegations against her in Canada were being flagged as relevant.

  Jared and Niamh would be home now. Jackson headed over there. He hoped Amber would be back, but was afraid she was gone for good. Maybe Nate was right and she was on the run. He stepped out and locked his car.

  Nate came across from his place.

  “Anything?”

  “No. I need to tell Jared.”

  “That’s why I’m here.” Jackson rang the bell.

  Jared opened the door. “Hello. Amber isn’t here right now.”

  “I know. Can I come in?”

  Jared looked past him. “Nate?”

  Nate pulled out his ID. “Can we talk inside?”

  Jackson followed the two men into the lounge. He’d let Nate do the explaining. Nate was the cop. He was just the worried boyfriend.

  Jared and Niamh sat in shock, a range of expressions crossing their faces.

  Nate left nothing out—including the theft allegation laid against Amber in Canada.

  Jared looked at Jackson. “Did you know about this?”

  “I knew about the stalker, but thought David had dealt with that. I didn’t know about the theft allegation until shortly before she disappeared,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to her about it. But unlike Nate, I don’t think she’s on the run. She wouldn’t go just like that. Not without saying goodbye.” Not just having told me she loved me.