A Deadly Deception
Page 20
He started pressing bells.
‘I wonder if I could interest you in a new kitchen?’ he asked.
‘Naw,’ the woman who opened the first door replied, before banging the door shut in his face.
The woman next door gave a more polite refusal. As did the third. He was about to knock at the fourth door when he noticed, just in time, the name Patterson on the name plate.
He suddenly remembered the girl had insisted her name was Cheryl Patterson and she lived on the thirtieth floor of The Heights. Sweat trickled down from his brow as he hastened over, stiff with tension and suspense, to press the button for the lift to take him quickly down to the twenty-ninth floor.
*****
Meanwhile, down below, it suddenly occurred to Monty that the Photofit description he’d seen on Crimewatch was a perfect march for the tall, thin man he’d seen entering the lift. His hand trembled as he reached for the phone and dialled 999.
34
Mabel didn’t know how long she’d slept. She had been dozing off despite her mind being full of anxieties about the doctor’s visit. She dreaded him announcing that he’d been successful in getting her ‘put away’. He wouldn’t use those words, of course, but that’s how she thought of what he was trying to do. Banished to hell, that was another way she thought of being shut away in an institution. Maybe that’s what she deserved, of course. Maybe that was going to be her punishment.
She thought she heard a noise in the lobby.
‘Is that you, Doctor?’ she called out.
After a moment’s silence a voice suddenly roared out, ‘Angela!’
John’s voice.
Horror grabbed her by the throat. She couldn’t utter a sound.
She heard the door crash back. Then a scuffle of feet and John cursing and shouting, ‘I want to see her. I need to see her.’
Another man’s voice said, ‘You’re not seeing anybody. You’re coming with us.’
Footsteps retreating, then complete silence.
*****
Not long afterwards the doctor appeared at the bedroom door.
‘I got your neighbour’s phone message. Now let’s see how you are.’
‘Oh, Doctor …’ She was still finding it difficult to speak. Already he was taking her madly racing pulse. Then, after he had sounded her chest and found her heart thumping erratically, he peeled the stethoscope from his neck. He looked at her seriously.
‘You’ve had more than enough shocks and worry. The quicker we get you away from here the better. I’ve managed to get you considered for one of the council places. I’ll write the address down for you. I’ve given them all your particulars and they’re sending someone to see you later. You’re going to be all right. Meantime I’ll give you something to calm you down.’
He was away before she could recover from her trauma. He had always been such a brusque man and never had much time to chat with his patients. Nor listen to them, it seemed. He was an extremely busy man, of course.
A few minutes later, Mrs Patterson arrived.
‘I’ll go and get your prescription,’ she told Mabel. ‘The quicker you start it, the better. The doctor was saying on the phone he was getting you into some place where you’d be safer. I’m pleased about that, aren’t you? I mean, you could fall or anything could happen while you’re on your own here.’
Mabel didn’t know what to say. Life was getting all too much for her. She was still in shock after hearing John’s voice and then him being arrested.
When Mrs Patterson left, Mabel forced herself to get up and put on some clothes. A woman had phoned from the council place and she wanted to look independent when the woman arrived. That way the council might be persuaded that she didn’t need ‘put away’ after all.
When the doorbell rang, she made her way as best she could along the lobby to open the door to the woman. But it was a man standing at the door. She knew she’d seen him before but, for a few seconds, she couldn’t quite place him.
‘It’s Tommy, Miss Smith. Cheryl’s boyfriend.’
‘Oh yes. Come in, Tommy. Has there been any news of Cheryl?’
Tommy followed her slow progress back along the lobby and into the sitting room.
‘Well, yes. I’m hoping something will come of this.’
He sat down in the chair opposite Mabel.
‘You know Monty, the concierge?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, he saw this strange guy come into the foyer and he realised he answered the description that had been given out. You know – a very tall thin man with shoulders hunched forward. So he phoned the police. They came immediately and took him away for questioning. I’m praying that he’s the one and they’ll find out from him where Cheryl is.’
‘Oh, thank goodness,’ Mabel said. ‘Oh, thank you so much for telling me, Tommy. That was very thoughtful of you. I’m so relieved. I feel sure you’ll soon have her back now.’
His young face lit up. ‘Do you think so? It’ll be so wonderful if I get her back safe and well. Talk about relief! I’ve been nearly demented. I’ll never let her out of my sight again.’
‘Yes, I’m sure.’
She smiled at him and he rose.
‘Do you mind if I push off again, Miss Smith? I want to go and try to find out if there’ve been any more developments. The police said they’d let us know but I can’t bear to wait.’
‘Yes, on you go, son. And thank you again.’
With a wave he was gone. The outside door banged shut. She was left feeling relieved and glad, yet at the same time not sure at all. She was relieved the police had got John and she felt sure they’d find out from him where he’d taken Cheryl. They would find Cheryl but would she be alive and well?
‘Oh please God. Oh please God.’
*****
Cheryl could hear the occasional gurgle of water. The icy dampness that had been seeping into the very marrow of her bones now added to her terror. Was she near a stream or a river? Could it be that somewhere near, water was slowly rising, ready to engulf her?
Already she was as cold as death. In a frantic effort to keep alive, she tried to kick her tightly bound feet backwards and forwards. Desperately she struggled to twist her body from side to side. But weakness and exhaustion from lack of food and water soon dragged her back down into hopelessness. The foul fusty smell of the place made her retch uselessly to one side. In the heavy silent blackness of the place she felt death creeping closer.
‘Tommy.’ Her mind formed the word before sliding into unconsciousness.
*****
When the woman from the council place arrived, Mabel’s mind was still so fixed on Cheryl and the suspense of waiting to hear any more news about her that she couldn’t concentrate or really care much what the woman was saying. She tried to be at least polite, however, and even offered to make a cup of tea.
‘No, no,’ the woman said, ‘don’t worry, dear. I think I’ve got all the information I need now. Fortunately there’s a very nice place vacant at the moment. You’ll be getting a letter very soon. No, just sit where you are. I’ll see myself out.’
The woman was right. The letter came the very next day giving an ‘appointment to view’. Transport would be provided, it said. Mabel tried not to feel as if she was on her way to hell. After all, she told herself, just because she went to ‘view’ surely didn’t mean she’d be forced to stay.
Later, she’d just been coming out of the lift on her way towards the ‘transport’, when Tommy burst into the foyer and yelled out, ‘They’ve found her! They’ve found her! She’s in hospital but she’s going to be all right. I’m rushing to tell her mum and dad and take them with me to see her.’
He raced across the foyer and disappeared into the lift before Mabel could express the intensity of her relief. Tears blurred her eyes as she made her way outside. She didn’t care now if she was on her way to hell or what happened to her. Cheryl was safe. That was all that mattered.
The private car that the counci
l had sent sped her away to the opposite end of the city. She relaxed back, allowing the relief to keep washing over her.
‘Here we are,’ the driver was saying. ‘Out you come.’ He helped her from the car. She looked around and found herself on the drive of a large block of very modern-looking flats.
‘Nice, aren’t they?’ The driver cupped her elbow with his hand. ‘The manager will show you around.’
At the main door of the building, he pressed the bell and spoke into a security panel.
‘It’s Bert with Miss Smith.’
In a few minutes, the door opened and a pleasant-looking woman was smiling at her.
‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ Bert said and off he went, whistling cheerfully.
‘I’m Mrs Anderson, the manager. Molly, if you’d rather.’ She laughed. ‘Molly the Manager, most of them call me. Come on up and welcome. I’ll show you first of all up to the flat.’
‘Flat?’ Mabel echoed in confusion.
‘Here’s the lift ready and waiting.’
A group of elderly men and women were emerging from the lift, chatting and laughing. One of them said, ‘Hello, Molly.’
‘Come on, you lot, out of my way.’
The others laughed again and one of them said, ‘Cheeky old devil.’
‘Here you, less of the old. I’m a young thing compared to you lot.’
The lift doors shut and Molly said, ‘There’s three floors but the flat that’s empty just now is one up.’
Out of the lift, Molly led Mabel across to a door that she opened with a key.
Mabel looked around inside with mounting disbelief. It was a lovely bright flat with a bathroom, a kitchen, a sitting room and one bedroom. In the little square hall and in each room, as well as the kitchen and bathroom, there was a red cord hanging loose.
Molly explained, ‘If you have any trouble or worry about anything, or if you fall, you just pull one of the cords and I’ll come immediately, or if I’m off duty – although I do live in the place – a carer will come to help. Everybody gets a pendant to wear as well, so that if anybody doesn’t happen to be near a cord, all that’s needed is to press the button on the pendant. Then of course I phone each flat every morning to check that everybody’s OK.’
‘Goodness!’ Mabel said.
‘Do you like the flat, then?’
‘Oh, it’s lovely.’
‘OK then, you can move in as soon as you like. Come on down to the common room and meet some of the others. But don’t get me wrong. You never need to have anything to do with anybody else, if you don’t want to. But there’s a tea bar there and I usually join everyone for elevenses. You know, a wee cup of tea or coffee and a blether. And of course we have different things always going on if you’re interested – sewing bees, bingo nights, whatever we can think up to keep everybody cheery. Here we are. It’s just along the corridor. Take your time now. There’s no hurry.’
Everybody was sitting in a circle on comfortable cushioned chairs in pretty shades of blue and red. They were happily chatting and drinking from floral mugs.
‘Here we are,’ Molly called out. ‘Another new pal for you. Mabel Smith.’
‘Hello, Mabel’ and ‘Welcome’ were called out.
‘There, now!’ Molly helped her gently into a seat. ‘What’ll you have then? I’m the best tea and coffee maker in the business.’
Mabel gazed up at Molly’s plump, kindly face. It was then she realised without a doubt that, far from being in hell, she was in heaven.
Other B&W titles
by Margaret Thomson Davis
THE BREADMAKERS SAGA
THE NEW BREADMAKERS
THE CLYDESIDERS TRILOGY
THE TOBACCO LORDS TRILOGY
A DARKENING OF THE HEART
THE DARK SIDE OF PLEASURE
BURNING AMBITION
THE GLASGOW BELLE
LIGHT AND DARK
COPYRIGHT
First published 2005
by Black & White Publishing Ltd
29 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh EH6 6JL
www.blackandwhitepublishing.com
This electronic edition published in 2014
ISBN: 978 1 84502 657 8 in EPub format
ISBN: 978 1 84502 067 5 in paperback format
Copyright © Margaret Thomson Davies 2005
The right of Margaret Thomson Davies to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Ebook compilation by RefineCatch Ltd, Bungay