Morag’s head appeared sideways, inches from mine. ‘She’s gone. You can come out.’
‘I don’t think I can move,’ I said. My breath disturbed a little flurry of dust and I finally sneezed. My body jerked, catching my head on the underside of the bed. ‘Ouch,’ I yelped. ‘Lift the bed up Morag. I can’t get out.’
Morag obliged and I wiggled out, brushing my clothes off. ‘Geez,’ I gasped as I straightened up. ‘My legs are like jelly.’ I rubbed my arm as pins and needles briefly took hold from the earlier lack of blood supply. ‘So what the hell was she doing in that bathroom?’
‘What do you think!’ Morag blew out her cheeks. ‘She took the bottle of GHB. She knew what she was looking for and where to find it, so it’s obviously hers. I cracked the wardrobe door open and,’ Morag thrust her mobile phone at me, ‘look! I’ve managed to film her removing it.’ Morag touched the mobile’s screen and played it back to me. The picture was a bit grainy and the wardrobe door partially encroached on the picture, but it was good enough.
I sat down on the bed. My legs were starting to tremble violently. ‘And another thing,’ I looked at Morag, ‘she let herself into this house – and not with just a single key. She had a bunch of keys. And they weren’t hers because she was holding her own keys! I saw her extract a second bunch from her coat pocket. Clearly those were Stevie’s house keys. She simply has to know where he is. Do you think we should arrange to meet her and, you know, confront her?’
‘No.’ Morag shook her head and sat down next to me on the bed. ‘She’s dangerous Cass. We have to tell the police what we know.’
‘What – that we were trespassing in a missing person’s house, and then hiding in wardrobes and under beds? Those two plods down the station will have us in custody before we can say parole. You have no idea how they turn the tables with their words.’
‘Then tell Jamie. He’ll know how to handle it.’
‘Will he?’ I gave a mirthless laugh. ‘You’re forgetting that he doesn’t know about our little jaunt over to Selina’s apartment, or subsequent entanglement with the nosy neighbour. Not to mention the delicate matter of him being in partnership with Selina’s fiancé. But you’re right, the police should know. And they will be told,’ I nodded. ‘But anonymously.’
‘Brilliant idea Cass!’ Morag nodded approvingly.
‘We’ll get hold of Jamie’s Super – Harry.’
‘What will you tell him exactly?’ Morag asked.
‘Oh I’m not going to tell him anything.’ I shook my head. ‘If they end up recording the call, they’ll have my voice on record. And I’m not risking Selina with her,’ I posted quotation marks in the air, ‘connections getting tipped off that a caller rang in accusing her of kidnap and abduction. If she listened to the recording she’d know it was me. However, she hasn’t a clue what you sound like. She’s never met you. So you’re going to make the call instead.’
‘Me?’ Morag’s eyes widened.
‘Yes, you! And you might as well do it now, before we go back to Nell’s and have babies screaming in the background or Rocket woofing away. Ring Directory Enquiries and ask for the number of the local nick. And when you get through, tell the operator you want to speak to Harry. And don’t forget to withhold your number.’
‘Don’t the police have fancy equipment that can work out where the caller is ringing from, even if the number is withheld?’ Morag frowned.
‘I don’t know,’ I considered. ‘What about we use Stevie’s landline then. Just in case.’
‘Good idea,’ said Morag. She stood up and went to the bedside cabinet. A telephone handset nestled against the lamp. ‘You keep a look-out by the window. Just in case Madam makes a second appearance. We don’t want to take any chances.’
‘Okay.’ I positioned myself discreetly behind the curtain. The cul-de-sac was quiet. Not a natty green sports car in sight.
A few minutes later and Morag was connected to the local police station.
‘Hello? Hello! Can I speak to Harry please? Yes. Harry. Well I’m not sure. All I know is the Harry bit. Oh hang on, it’s Super Harry. Yes, I’m quite sure. Sooper Har-ree,’ Morag enunciated. ‘No I’m not being ridiculous. No I don’t know Superman. What? No I don’t want to talk to any other super heroes. Hello?’ Morag stared at the receiver. ‘The bugger’s hung up!’
‘Oh for heaven’s sake!’ I cried. ‘Give me that phone.’ I snatched the receiver and pressed the redial button. Placing two fingers over the bridge of my nose, I pinched my nostrils together. ‘Heddow? I want to deport a didnap. A man called Devie Derry-’
The phone was snatched out of my hands.
‘Hello. It’s me again. Yes I spoke to you a minute ago. Now listen here. So far you’ve wasted six minutes of precious police investigation time. I want to speak to Superintendent Harry Somebody-or-Other about a life threatening matter. Harry’s not there? Well who can I speak to? Yes I’ll hang on. Hello? Who’s that? PC Smith, I see.’
I paled and nudged Morag. ‘It’s Olive,’ I whispered. ‘She’s that horrendous female officer I was telling you about. She and Humpty questioned me and Charlotte. They both tried to tie us up in verbal knots and–’
Morag put up a hand to hush me. ‘Now then PC Smith – never mind who I am, that’s not important. The important thing Olive – I hope you don’t mind me calling you that – is that I have some information regarding the disappearance of Mr Stephen Cherry. Yes, very important information. And I’d like you to share it with your colleague, PC Humpty. Stevie Cherry has been kidnapped. He was drugged with Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid prior to his abduction. No I am not the kidnapper! No I am not asking for a ransom! Look Olive, will you listen to me please because this is a matter of life and death. The kidnapper is Selina Hadley. She’s an ex-cop. Oh you know her do you? Jolly good. Highly respected? Ha! More like highly dangerous. She’s a total fruitcake. Well Olive why don’t you ask her eh? Just pop along to her swanky Greenwich apartment that she shares with Ethan Fareham who – incidentally – she’s cheating on, and pop the little old question at her. Ask her if she knows Stevie Cherry. And how she comes to be in possession of his house keys and a few nifty bottles of GHB. No I can’t tell you my name, because if I did my life would be in danger. Although,’ Morag blanched, ‘I’ve just realised my life already is in danger because,’ the blood drained from Morag’s face, ‘Selina knows I nearly killed Victor.’
I made hand swiping motions in front of Morag. ‘No!’ I hissed. ‘Don’t say that or Selina will put two and two together!’
‘Hello Olive? You won’t tell Selina it’s me will you? Only I don’t want her paying a visit and–’ Morag paused, her expression stricken. Suddenly her face drained of colour, her eyes rolled backwards and she crumpled to the floor. The handset flew out of Morag’s hand and clattered against some skirting boards.
Oh bloody marvellous. Morag had fainted. I roughly shoved my friend into the recovery position before snatching up the phone.
‘Heddow? Dust do it Olive. Arrest Delina.’ I disconnected the call and slammed the handset back into its cradle. Morag’s eyes were fluttering open.
‘What happened?’ she groaned.
‘You keeled over. It’s shock from the realisation that we’re both dealing with an unstable, kidnapping, drug-inducing, nutcase who–’
‘Thank you Cass,’ Morag interrupted. She sat up carefully. Her hands fluttered up to her temples and she massaged them gingerly. ‘My bonce is making strange buzzing noises.’
‘Stay still for a minute.’
‘No thanks. I want to get the hell out of here and back to Nell’s.’ Morag hauled herself upright. ‘We better put Nell in the picture. Selina spotted my car on her driveway. We need to warn Nell and Ben to be vigilant. Thank God they have Rocket who will bark the place down if Selina pays a visit.’
‘We need to keep a level head on us – the last thing we want is to frighten Nell. Hopefully everything will be fine now. We’ve put Olive and Humpty on the tr
ail. They’re probably zooming off to Greenwich at this very moment to question Selina. I’m one hundred per cent sure that woman will be out of our hair by tomorrow morning,’ I said confidently.
Which goes to show how little I knew.
Chapter Twenty Nine
When we returned to Nell’s, our friend raised her eyebrows at Morag’s pale complexion and me covered in flick and dust.
‘What’s the matter with the pair of you?’ Nell scrutinised us as we piled into the hallway. ‘One of you looks like you’ve seen a ghost, and the other looks like she’s impersonating one.’
‘We’re fine,’ Morag assured. ‘It was just a bit odd seeing the house so,’ she paused to find the word she was looking for, ‘still. It made Stevie’s absence seem, you know, a lot more ominous. It just shook me up a bit. And Cass managed to trip over and get flick on her clothes.’
‘I see.’ Nell didn’t look convinced as she shut the door behind us. We followed her through to the kitchen. ‘Let’s have that coffee and you can tell me if you found anything of interest.’ She reached for the kettle.
‘Actually I’ll pass on the coffee,’ I said. I was very aware of Morag twitching violently next to me, desperate to remove her car from Nell’s drive. ‘I’d really like to get home and change these clothes.’
‘I need to get back too,’ Morag said quickly. ‘I’ve just remembered the window cleaner is coming.’
‘But I’ve not seen anything of you both!’ Nell protested. ‘The babies are asleep, and I was thinking we’d have a nice gossip about your snoop around.’
‘There’s nothing to tell,’ Morag assured. ‘The place looked perfectly normal.’ Morag walked over to Rosie’s playpen and peered over the side. ‘Ah, look at them. Three little cherubs all fast-a-bye-byes.’ She leant over the safety rail, picked up Henry and then turned to face me. ‘Come on Cass. Take Eddie. We’ll leave you in peace Nell.’
Nell was looking thoroughly short-changed. ‘When will I see you both again?’
‘Soon,’ I assured as I scooped up my little boy. He was out for the count. I placed Eddie gently over my shoulder. ‘After we’ve gone Nell, make sure the door is firmly shut. In fact I’d lock it if I were you.’
‘And put the safety chain on for good measure,’ Morag added.
‘Whatever for?’ Nell asked.
‘Because you’re a woman on your own with a baby. You can’t be too careful these days,’ said Morag. ‘You never know who’s going to come a-knocking on your door.’
‘It’s only ever the Born Again brigade. And I quite like chatting to them actually,’ Nell sniffed. ‘There’s nothing like a bit of spirituality in one’s life. You should try it some time.’
Morag and I gave each other a look. Not so long ago Nell had had a deep flirtation with the local church. Which had been nothing to do with wanting to follow Lord Jesus but everything to do with an unrequited crush on the gay vicar.
‘Well just watch out please Nell,’ Morag said. ‘They’re not called Bible Bashers for nothing.’
‘Are you absolutely sure nothing happened in that house?’ Nell frowned.
‘Quite sure.’ Morag grabbed her baby holdall. ‘Come along Cass. The window cleaner beckons.’
I reached for my own holdall. ‘See you soon Nell.’ I gave my old neighbour a hug. ‘And don’t forget to put that chain on after we’ve gone.’
‘Well,’ said Morag as we sped along the main road, ‘I think we got away with that quite lightly.’
‘What – not getting found by Selina?’
‘No, I mean not arousing Nell’s suspicions.’
‘Oh come off it,’ I snorted. ‘She thought we’d lost the plot.’ I looked out the window at the scenery rushing by. Houses. Somebody mowing a front lawn. A man walking into a newsagent. A park full of children playing in the chill winter air. People doing normal things. Not hiding under beds or worrying about police investigations. ‘I wonder if Olive and Humpty have caught up with Selina yet. Just think,’ I shifted in my seat and turned to face Morag, ‘she might be in a patrol car right now. Sitting on the back seat and shaking like a jelly. Shouting that she knows her rights and demanding a solicitor.’
‘Well let’s hope so,’ said Morag gripping the steering wheel, ‘because I’ll sleep a lot easier once I know she’s not on the loose. Either way Cass, I’m going to tell Matt everything.’ Morag lifted one hand off the wheel to silence me. ‘Hear me out please! Things are looking a bit different now. And not in a good way. Selina’s on the warpath. And I don’t want to be the next person to vanish into thin air. I need Matt by my side, looking out for me.’ Morag slowed down for some traffic lights on the change to red. ‘And if you’ve got any sense, you’ll tell Jamie too. Ideally before my husband gets on the blower to yours and spills the beans on what the pair of us have been up to. Matt will go ballistic to begin with. Hopefully he’ll calm down when he knows the police are now properly involved.’
‘I understand,’ I sighed. ‘But could you ask Matt to refrain from calling Jamie until tomorrow? Just until I’ve spoken to Jamie myself. I’m going to have to pick my moment. He’s not going to be too impressed when he hears what we were doing this morning. It’s very likely that this is going to put a spanner in the works regarding the bank’s ball tomorrow. If Selina’s arrested, she won’t be attending. In which case Ethan will be too frantic about his fiancée to attend himself.’
‘I doubt any of you will be going,’ Morag glanced at me.
‘What do you mean? Jamie will insist the pair of us still go. It’s business! So I’ll carry on as normal – get ready and drive myself up to Oxfordshire.’
‘Cass, I know you can be a bit ditzy, but you seem to be forgetting something.’ Morag looked away from me as the lights shifted through their colour change to green. Shoving the car into gear we lurched forward. ‘Stop and think. What will happen when the truth comes out?’
‘Well, Selina will go to jail,’ I replied. ‘Obviously.’
‘Y-e-s. But you seem to have suffered a memory bypass on the other obvious matter.’
I frowned. And then gasped. ‘Stevie!’
‘Yes! Stevie! I don’t think Jamie is going to agree to waltz off to some ball – business or otherwise – when your ex-husband, father of your twins no less, is finally found and probably in need of a hospital.’ Morag gripped the steering wheel again. ‘Hopefully Stevie will only be drugged up to his eyeballs, and not in a body bag from whatever that bitch has been doing to him.’
‘Oh God Morag,’ I let out a shuddering gasp. ‘Don’t say that. I just assumed that once Selina was in for questioning all would be well. You know – Stevie would be found safe and sound. Selina would go to jail. Stevie then goes home. And we’re not looking over our shoulders all the time. Happy endings all round.’ Suddenly the earlier nausea made an unwelcome return. I clung on to the door handle, closed my eyes and willed it to pass. ‘Anyway,’ I opened my eyes again and took a deep breath, ‘I’d better give Charlotte a call. Have her on standby.’
‘No. Not yet. We don’t want her getting hysterical and turning up on your doorstep. Not until you’ve put Jamie in the picture. For the moment, just let events take their course. All the chess pieces are in place. We just sit tight and wait.’
When Jamie came home that evening, he looked absolutely knackered.
‘Hi darling.’ I pecked him on the cheek. ‘Arthur has taken Edna out for a romantic candlelit dinner, so you have my cooking tonight.’
Jamie pulled me into his arms and gave me a hug. ‘Please tell me you’ve not attempted anything adventurous.’
‘You’re safe tonight.’ I hugged him back. ‘Omelette and chips.’
At that moment the girls came down the stairs. Livvy was holding Eddie on her hip and letting him play with her mobile phone.
‘I’ve been trying to get hold of Dad for two days now,’ she grumbled, ‘and he’s not picking up. Hello Jamie,’ Livvy waved Eddie’s hand at her step-father. ‘I suppose he’s
taken off with a new girlfriend and is all loved up at the moment.’ She rolled her eyes.
Jamie and I exchanged a look. ‘Ah ha ha ha.’ I gave a strangled laugh. ‘Good old Dad!’
‘I suppose one day he’ll grow up,’ Livvy sighed.
‘Hey Dad,’ Petra pecked her father on the cheek.
‘Hello girls. What are you both up to?’ Jamie shrugged off his suit jacket and slung it over the banisters.
‘We’re about to watch The Only Way Is Essex,’ said Livvy, opening the door to their TV room.
‘Isn’t that reality rubbish?’ Jamie asked.
‘Certainly not!’ said Petra haughtily. ‘It’s a documentary. And anyway, Eddie loves it.’ And with that the door to the TV room briskly closed.
‘Wonderful,’ Jamie sighed, and followed me into the kitchen.
I went to the range and retrieved a plated dinner while Jamie settled himself at the table.
‘Et voilà!’ I set the meal before my husband. He was suddenly looking rather glum. ‘Sorry about the omelette.’ I followed his gaze to the scrambled mess on his plate. ‘It got stuck to the pan.’
Jamie smiled ruefully. ‘The omelette isn’t the problem Cassie.’
‘What’s up?’ I pulled out a chair and sat down.
‘Ah, you know,’ Jamie sighed.
‘No, I don’t know. Enlighten me.’
Jamie picked up his knife and fork, but didn’t tuck in. ‘Work. It’s crap at the moment.’
Lipstick and Lies Page 28
