False Friends

by False Friends (retail) (epub)

  ‘I had to come to collect a few things he’d left behind. Don’t think you can stop me, we have it all planned. Sandra and I will be leaving tomorrow night to start a new life with him in Spain.’

  ‘You won’t get away. The police believe me now and there are so many people looking for him. Give him up, Marion. He’ll let you down. If you help the police now they’ll be lenient.’

  The movement behind her was so sudden she didn’t have a chance to run. Someone grabbed her from behind and held her. A hand covered her mouth and she saw Marion react, her hands covering the lower part of her face, her eyes staring and filled with shame. ‘I’m sorry, Lowri, I really am. But we have to do this.’

  There was momentary relief as the hand across her face slipped and she shouted, ‘Marion. You can’t let him harm me. You’re the one who’ll take the punishment. He’s leaving you behind!’ She was shouting and then the hand was back and another held her wrist and pulled her around. A knee pressed behind her own and she fell to the ground. It happened so fast she had no chance to break free. She heard Marion wailing for him to stop and then the pressure was gone and Marion and her assailant were gone. There were voices then, and feet running towards her and before she could stand, arms lifted her and Dic was holding her and uttering soothing sounds as though she were a child.

  Harold helped her up and Dic set off to where he had left the car, half supporting her in a way she found comforting. Alun was in pursuit of Marion and Ellis but he came back after a few minutes disgusted with himself for failing to catch the man yet again.

  ‘I didn’t see them go. One minute they were running across the grass and the next there was no sign of them.’

  ‘Take her back to The Ship, will you?’ Dic asked Harold. ‘Take my car and I’ll stay here with Alun. It’s time you had a rest.’

  ‘No, I’ll stay, Dic. You take her home and wait with her until someone comes. She shouldn’t be on her own, not for one minute. Besides keeping her safe, someone needs to make sure she doesn’t go wandering off again,’ he said, shaking his head with disapproval.

  Back at Badgers Brook, where Lowri insisted on being taken, Dic made tea and a sandwich and then admitted that he had to leave. ‘I have to be back for Sarah-Jane and Katie or they’ll wonder what’s happening,’ he told her. ‘Will you be all right here alone?’

  ‘Of course. You go and see to the girls.’

  ‘I shouldn’t leave you here, really. Won’t you come with me? Or I could take you to The Ship? Betty will look after you.’

  ‘I don’t need looking after, Dic. You go and see to the girls. I’ll be perfectly safe here.’

  ‘You’ll keep the doors locked and you won’t go out?’

  ‘Just go, Dic, I’ll be fine. Someone is sure to come soon. As you know this isn’t a house that’s empty for long.’

  He went out and waited until he heard the key turn and the bolt being pushed across, then he drove back to the shop. Barry was only about seven miles away but it seemed like double that as he left her further and further behind.

  Back in Badgers Brook Lowri picked up the cookery book that she had forgotten to give Dic. She propped it up on the mantelpiece, hoping that Sarah-Jane wouldn’t be too disappointed not to have it as promised. Lowri sat with the wireless off, listening to the small creaks and sighs of the old house settling for the night. She wished Dic had stayed. Her confidence was fading fast and she was tempted to leave and spend the evening hours with Stella, where there was a phone. Or with Betty Connors at The Ship.

  *

  The police were still unconvinced about Ellis Owen. After all, they had only a few sightings of the man and with nothing else to back them up they could hardly organize a full-strength manhunt for a man believed to be dead. It was only Harold Saunders’s determination that persuaded a few to help, and that was in their own time. One watched Marion’s house, another stood near the hut; no one watched Badgers Brook as nobody knew Lowri was there on her own, the presumption was that Dic had stayed.

  Alun served in the bar of The Ship for a few hours that evening, hoping that if Ellis heard of him being there he would be persuaded that they had given up their search. He had contacted Jake, who had agreed to row quietly along the stretch of beach where the cliffs rose straight out of the sea. He knew of the many small inlets capable of hiding a boat.

  Jake moved slowly across the dark water, oars moving in the rowlocks with hardly a sound. The tide was high and calm. He checked the rocks and went into every inlet large enough to conceal a small boat. An hour passed without success, but he didn’t give up. His eyes were accustomed to the low light of a thin moon, and the shapes of the rocks were sufficient for memory to fill in the rest. As a boy, he had spent hours around the coast, hours that would have terrified his parents if they had known.

  It was as he reached the area below the place where the hut stood, where the rocks curved in, he was about to pass by when a straight line caught his eye – a straight line where there were only rough irregular shapes. He moved cautiously until he was certain, then moved slowly back before turning and making his way back to the beach from where he had begun. He was impatient now and, once he was far enough away from being heard by anyone on board, he increased speed, beached the boat and hurried to where he could telephone The Ship.

  *

  At Badgers Brook Lowri was relieved to hear a knock at the door. Kitty, Stella, or perhaps Dic was back. Oh, how she hoped it was Dic.

  ‘Lowri, dear, it’s me, Terri.’

  In haste Lowri unlocked the door and threw herself at Ellis’s wife. ‘Oh, thank goodness. I’m so glad to see you, I’ve been so scared.’

  ‘What’s happened?’ Terri asked hugging her. ‘Tell me everything.’

  ‘Ellis is alive.’

  ‘He can’t be. You’re imagining it, love.’

  ‘Someone else has seen him, someone he knows very well.’

  ‘Who, dear?’

  ‘You wouldn’t know him. His name is Alun Harris.’ Lowri felt a tightening of Terri’s grip but it was momentary and she didn’t give it a thought.

  ‘Alun Harris?’

  ‘He says your husband cheated him too. You’ve had a lucky escape, you might have been accused with him once he’s caught.’

  ‘There can’t be any evidence or all this would have come out at your father’s trial.’

  ‘You’re right, we’ve searched for Dad’s diaries but they aren’t among his things. They must have been destroyed by your husband when he left, taking the money with him. I’m sorry, but you must prepare for more trouble. You have to face the fact that he was a real criminal and he faked his death somehow.’

  ‘So many people saw him drown, how can you believe he’s alive?’

  ‘I’ve seen him. He attacked me earlier today. He’s alive, and planning to run out on you and the gullible, besotted girl who’s been helping him.’

  ‘Marion Lewis you mean?’

  ‘Come with me and find her. Between us we can persuade her to tell the police where to find him. This could all be over in hours if you’ll help. My father could be free and your husband behind bars where he deserves to be. Cheating on you in the worst possible way, you must want him caught?’

  ‘Oh no, dear. I don’t want him caught. He and I are leaving tomorrow on the early morning tide.’

  Lowri was alarmed to see a glint in Terri’s eyes, a tightening of her lips. ‘What do you mean? You can’t think of forgiving him?’

  ‘Why not? I planned the whole thing.’ Lowri made a dash for the door and when she reached it, the key was missing and the door firmly locked.

  ‘Sorry, but you can’t leave. Not yet.’ A man’s voice. She turned and stared at the man who had put her father in prison.

  ‘Ellis Owen.’

  She wondered later why she hadn’t struggled. Being faced with a woman whom she had trusted and the man she hated above all others, she had just surrendered. Terri’s hand on her arm, Ellis holding her wrists behind her, s
he went with them like a lamb.

  It wasn’t until they tried to push her into the car that she recovered from the almost trance-like acceptance. Then she shouted and screamed and pushed against them. But Ellis held her tight, kicked her legs from under her and within moments she was lying across the back seat with Ellis on top of her and Terri was driving down the lane like a maniac.

  *

  At The Ship and Compass, Betty watched Alun, who was trying to behave normally, yet was obviously on edge. ‘Alun, why don’t you take a break,’ she said loudly, then as she beckoned him towards the door into her back room, she whispered, ‘Please, Alun, go and find Jake and catch this man. I have an awful feeling about this. I’ll pretend you’re still here taking a break.’

  Without arguing Alun grabbed a coat; Betty handed him some sandwiches and made him wait until she had filled a coffee flask, then he hurried out by the side door. Betty picked up the phone to ring Dic, but put it down again. He would be at Badgers Brook looking after Lowri.

  Ken called in soon after Alun had left. ‘Where’s Lowri?’ he asked at once. Betty gave him blow by blow details of what had happened. ‘Where’s Lowri?’ he asked again.

  ‘Dic’s with her at Badgers Brook.’

  The telephone rang at that moment and it was Dic. ‘I wondered if there was any news,’ he asked.

  ‘Where are you?’ Betty asked. ‘Is Lowri with you?’ She listened for a moment, her eyes widening with alarm then put down the phone. ‘Lowri is on her own! He left her, without even asking Kitty to stay with her!’

  ‘How could he do that?’ Ken ran from the pub and drove to the old house where a light shone from the kitchen window, the door was wide open and the place was empty.

  *

  Alun rowed to the spot Jake had described and found Jake there, his boat a short distance from where he had seen the bows of the cruiser. He tied up his boat by fastening a rope around a convenient rock and they waited.

  Ellis had climbed a few yards above where the now loaded boat stood. If they didn’t leave soon, he’d miss the darkness. Not knowing exactly where Terri was added to the problems. After all these months on the run, to have messed up so close to departure was frustrating. That damned Lowri Vaughan. Why had she been so stubborn? And to have come to Cwm Derw to live was fate playing a cruel joke. In the calm movement of the water below, he remembered the night of the storm. He had been struggling in the wild sea for several minutes, then remembered the safest way to deal with the life-threatening situation. He relaxed and allowed the waves to take him where they chose. He concentrated on breathing and staying afloat by spread-eagling and floating. He hit against something and clung to one of the supports of the pier for a few moments, but the escape was illusory and he was wrenched away from it and sent further away from the shore.

  Fate was generous that day and he had hit his head against an anchored boat, turned upside down but still afloat and managed to get underneath it and clung to the seat, pushing his arms under to get better purchase, and there he stayed until the tide relented and he was able to make the shore.

  He smiled to himself. Being given those two chances that night had been an augury. A sign that he was going to succeed in getting away with the money. The confidence he’d had from that moment had never wavered. All he had to do now was stay calm and be patient. It was so easy.

  Then suddenly there were shouts from above…

  *

  Seven miles and Dic drove them faster than ever before. He’d been so stupid to leave Lowri on her own. But there was always the children. They would come first with him whatever happened. He wondered how much of his feelings for Lowri was because of them, a dream of having a mother for them as they grew up and needed a woman’s care.

  Guilt overcame him and he lost concentration, swirling to avoid a car coming from the opposite direction. He quickly picked up speed again and was soon running up the path to Badgers Brook. Like Ken before him, he found it empty apart from Kitty, who sat on the step wondering when someone would tell her what was going on.

  ‘I told Ken, Bob and I heard screams and shouts and when we went out there was a car driving off and that’s all I know. Bob’s gone to phone the police,’ she wailed. ‘Poor Lowri, something awful happened, I know it.’

  Without waiting for anything more, Dic drove to the cliffs. It had to be something to do with that area, although he couldn’t imagine anyone expecting it to hold any secrets any more.

  Ken was there when he reached the hut, kicking at the padlock and shouting in frustration. He turned on Dic and began calling him every name he could think of, then said, ‘Wait here, I’ll go back to the car and get some tools.’ He put a hand between the bars and held it against the window, and inside, a ghostly pale hand pressed against his behind the glass. ‘No,’ he said, changing his mind. ‘You go and I’ll wait with Lowri.’ He handed his keys to Dic who ran off instantly.

  The padlock was eventually broken under Ken’s frantic efforts and Lowri ran out. She was going to Dic to be hugged but Ken stopped her and turned her towards him. His arms held her and his voice was emotional as he said, ‘No, Lowri. It’s my arms you need. I’m your future, Dic is from the past. A big brother who’s always been there. But everything changes, I’m here now and I’ll never leave you.’

  In a moment of clarity, a sense of relief and happiness overwhelmed her and Lowri knew he was right. She raised her head awaiting the kiss that would confirm their love and their future.

  They moved away after Lowri had told Harold Saunders all she knew and the information had been passed to the policemen. In the distance, a police launch would soon be on its way to the rocky anchorage below.

  *

  Ellis knew he had to get away, but how? The boat he had was far more powerful than those waiting outside the inlet, but once he started the engine whoever was in them would have plenty of opportunity to leap aboard and overpower him. He looked up apprehensively. He had made the climb several times just for fun, but he had been fully equipped then and precautions had been in place and he’d had a friend with him. Could he do it alone? It had to be soon, before the police were here in force. Taking the risk of there being someone waiting for him above, he tried to remember a point where he could change direction and reach the top, out of sight of the hut. Memorizing the places higher up where there were loose pebbles and soft soil where his feet might slip, he began to climb.

  *

  When the police found Terri sitting calmly in a small hotel a few miles away she pretended surprise at their questions and denied any rumour about her husband being alive. Then they brought Lowri into the room and Terri’s face betrayed the truth and they took her away for questioning.

  *

  In her mother’s house, Marion sat waiting for the night to pass so she could go with her new suitcase to where Ellis had promised to be waiting. Less than twenty-four hours now and they’d be on their way. Excitement filled her and made her heart race. To have such an adventure was unbelievable. Imagine the story she’d be able to tell Sandra when she was old enough to understand. It’s better than a story book, but unlike the best stories, the ending was not what she had so often dreamed.

  The police came and after a very brief interview with her mother and stepfather present, she was taken to the same police station as Ellis’s wife, where she learned the painful truth that she had been used and had been helping a criminal evade justice. A criminal who all along had planned to leave her behind.

  *

  Ken didn’t leave Lowri. ‘I’m not leaving until the police tell us Ellis has been arrested,’ he said. ‘Even then, I don’t want you to be on your own.’

  Lowri stared at him as though seeing him for the first time. ‘Why have I been so wrong about you?’

  ‘You had no brothers and Dic filled the gap so well, you convinced yourself you couldn’t manage without him. And you probably thought he needed you, too.’

  She snuggled closer. ‘D’you think your parents will acc
ept me now they know my father isn’t a criminal?’

  ‘Lowri, don’t build up your hopes. Ellis being alive is one thing, but proving he was responsible for the fraud is another. It will probably mean another trial.’

  ‘But they’ll have to admit they were wrong!’

  ‘I hope so. As for my mother and father and giggling brothers, forget them. I’m marrying you whether they come to the wedding or not. Besides, I haven’t met your father, and he might not approve of me!’

  Lowri frowned. ‘All this and we still haven’t any proof of my father’s innocence?’

  ‘I’m hoping that will follow, but don’t expect everything to be perfect straightaway. It must justify further investigation and surely that will be enough.’

  ‘If only we could have found Dad’s diaries.’ She rose to make some tea. ‘Will a sandwich do?’ she asked.

  ‘A sandwich? And what’s the cookery book doing on the mantelpiece? Don’t tell me I’m marrying a woman who can’t cook!’

  ‘Fish and chips from Gwennie Flint’s?’

  ‘No, a sandwich will be perfect.’ He picked up the cookery book and opened it at random. ‘Lowri?’ he called thumbing through it. ‘What sort of cookery book is this? It’s full of figures.’ The covers were loose and inside them, instead of recipes there was a notebook filled with her father’s writing with dates and figures to show he was noting Ellis’s thieving.

  ‘Ken! It’s my father’s diary. It’s been in front of us all along.’ Then she frowned. ‘But why didn’t Dad tell anyone? He must have put it there for safe keeping, so why didn’t he show the police?’

  ‘I don’t understand either. What did he say about it?’

  ‘That the evidence was in a notebook somewhere.’ She looked at the cover with it’s picture of a picnic table set in a vegetable garden. ‘He must have used an old cover so it looked like a harmless recipe book. And that’s just what I presumed it was.’