by Marnie Perry
A feeling of annoyance gripped Adela then, she thought the couple would let her have the taxi and waited for the next one since they had each other and she was a lone female. She would have done it for the girl.
Alberta swallowed her annoyance and waited, she checked her watch, 10.33. She looked back at the theatre, which was now in darkness, debating whether to lave the taxi rank and walk to the bus stop across the street. She had seen only one bus go her way in twenty minutes and she didn’t want to walk back to the bus stop in case a taxi came around the corner, the driver would see no one waiting and drive on.
She reached into her bag for her phone and switched it on. She had programmed some taxi numbers into her phone and thought about calling one. But what if a taxi came round the corner now while she was waiting? She would have to wave it on and maybe have to wait even longer for the one she had called. Oh, she was torn now, what was the best thing to do? Putting the phone back in her bag she took out the small alarm thing that Sally had given to her and that emitted a shrill alarm. She slipped her bag over her head in case anyone tried to snatch it, not that the flimsy strap would hold, and anyway, if anyone demanded it she would give it to them.
Shifting nervously from on foot to the other Adela now wished she had taken Eddie and Christine up on their offer of a lift home. Oh she was a fool, no wonder Mr. Lando had looked at her with such scorn, she had invited danger both this morning and tonight. Where was the common sense she was so famous for? This was a quite street with no houses, few shops and the theatre of course, and only a handful of cars had gone past as she stood there clutching the alarm tightly in her fist.
Just then the silence was broken by a scream which sounded very loud in the silence and made Adela jump almost out of her skin. For a moment she thought she had pressed the alarm by mistake but quickly realised the sound had come from an alleyway to her left. Her heart thumped uncomfortably fast as she looked wildly around trying to decipher where exactly the scream had come from when it came again, closer this time.
She fumbled in her bag for her phone and gripping the alarm walked towards the alleyway.
As she approached she heard scuffling noises and a man’s voice although she could not tell what he was saying from this distance. She peeped around the wall of the alleyway her heart beating ten times its normal rate. What she saw when she looked closer almost stopped it completely.
Two men had hold of a woman, the first with one hand over her mouth and another across her chest. A second man had her by her feet and they were dragging her towards a car parked at the other end of the alley. The woman was kicking and struggling for all she was worth. Adela heard the man say, ‘no use struggling, you’re caught now. We’re gonna take a little drive. He wants to see you.’
Suddenly the man holding her mouth let go and shook his hand then swore, the woman had obviously bitten him. Then to Adela's horror the man raised his hand and punched the woman in the face, she made a humph sound then went limp.
Adela who had stood frozen suddenly came to life as for a moment her terror was replaced by anger. But a moment was all it took, and that was when Adela did what was probably the most unsensible, not to mention the most stupid thing she had ever done, up to that time anyway. She yelled, ‘hey, hey you, stop that, leave her be.’
Both men froze and turned towards Adela standing at the mouth of the alleyway.
The man who had hit the woman exclaimed, ‘oh fuck!’
But it was his next words that froze the blood in Adela’s veins and caused the anger to be replaced with heart stopping terror. ‘Get her, get her you stupid fuck.’
Adela stepped back and began dialling 911 which she now realised she should have done in the first place. Her hand trembled so much that the phone fell from her fingers, she then tried to press the button on the alarm thingy but for some reason it didn’t work. The numerous times David’s two boys had used it and nearly deafened them, as well as almost given them all heart attacks, and now when she really needed the thing it wouldn’t work, the battery was probably flat.
Adela stood glued to the spot with terror as the man approached her, she turned her head to the right then to the left desperately looking for someone, anyone else, on the street, there was no one. Adela had never thought so fast, there was no one there to help but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be.
She quickly looked to her right and as though had suddenly seen someone called out, ‘hey, hey you, help, please help me.’
The man jogging up the alleyway towards her paused in his stride. Adela took a few steps as though about to approach the person she was calling out too and shouted again, ‘help, please, a woman is being attacked.’
The other man now had the woman under her armpits and was dragging her towards the car but hesitated when his friend turned to him and yelled ‘let’s get the fuck outta here.’
The man began dragging the woman faster towards the car but dropped her when his friend running now shouted, ‘leave the bitch, someone else is coming, just get the car started.’ His cohort did as he was told and dropped the woman then ran to the car, started it and began to drive away causing his friend to have to run to catch up with him. He opened the passenger side door and flung himself into the seat. Adela could hear him shouting but couldn’t tell what he said, probably cursing his friend for driving off without him.
Adela picked up her phone and ran down the alleyway towards the woman. When she reached her she hesitated and peered around the corner of the alley just to make sure no one else was hiding there. She could see no one so she bent down to the woman who was conscious now but groggy.
Adela began to dial 911 saying, ‘take it easy, don’t move.’ She thanked the Lord that the phone had not broken when she’d dropped it. ‘I’ll call an ambulance and the police.’
But she was taken by complete surprise when the woman suddenly gripped her arm tightly, ‘no, no please, no ambulance, no police.’
Adela was amazed, ‘but those men tried to abduct you, he hit you, you need to go to the hospital and report it to the police.’ She began to dial again but the woman with real urgency now pleaded, ‘please, please, I’m begging you, no police. I’ll be all right.’ She tried to stand but sank back down again.
Adela put her arm around her, ‘oh gosh. All right, no police and no ambulance, but I can’t leave you here. I’ll get a taxi.’
The woman turned and looked directly at Adela for the first time and Adela saw that she was no woman but a young girl no more than seventeen or eighteen. The face said young girl but the eyes were those of a much older person. They were glassy from the blow she had received and the fear was obviously as a result of what had just occurred, but none of these things could account for the hollowness and emptiness Adela saw there. They were haunted eyes. Too old eyes for one so young.
Adela felt every protective instinct in her react to those eyes. A mother’s protectiveness for her child, a big brother’s for his little sister’s. Maybe it was intrinsic in Adela having looked after and protected her mother all those years, but whatever it was Adela could not ignore it. The girl looked oddly at her and Adela realised that she had only just registered her accent. She said, ‘come on, we have to get out of here in case,’ she was about to say in case those men come back but didn’t want to frighten the girl any more than she already was so finished, ‘anyone comes by.’ She helped the girl to her feet, they began to walk down the alleyway but the girl pulled her up sharply whispering, ‘what about the other person, where are they?’ Adela frowned not understanding, ‘I thought I heard you call to someone for help.’
‘Oh that, there was no one there, I just pretended there was.’ She smiled shakily, ‘I must have been pretty convincing though because it worked didn’t it. I even fooled you and you were only half conscious’
The girl looked at her with a mixture of amazement and admiration.
Adela’s smile vanished as they continued to walk down the alley holding their breath until they r
eached the brightness of the street.
She said, ‘we can’t stand out here on the street, I’ll call for a taxi. We can wait in a shop doorway out of sight.’ They crossed the road, Adela dialling as they went. She thanked God then that she had programmed those taxi firms into her mobile phone just in case, and this was definitely a “just in case” scenario. She was about to press the relevant number when suddenly they heard a car in the distance, it turned the corner and was coming towards them. Adela began pulling the girl towards a shop doorway but then saw the bright red sign on top of the car that said “in service.” A taxi.
They let out a collective sigh of relief and Adela whispered ‘oh thank God,’ under her breath. She put out her hand and flagged the taxi down. He stopped and Adela opened the back door, put the girl inside then got in beside her asking the driver to take them to Alban.
As soon as she’d done this she began to have doubts. What if this was a trick of some kind? What if they had planned this? What if the two men and the girl were part of a crime ring waiting to snare an unsuspecting innocent abroad…like her? What if the taxi driver was in on it too? What if as soon as they were in her house the girl called the two men and they came and…oh God, what an idiot she was, a foolish, gullible idiot.
She calmed herself, no, the girl was distressed and terrified, she couldn’t possibly fake that, and she had been hurt. Adela had seen the man hit her; she had a thick lip and a huge bruise on her chin to show for it. And anyway how would they know she was even there, how would they know she would look down the alleyway and see them? No, she was being silly, this was no ruse, what she’d seen had been real. But right at that moment she wasn’t sure which scenario frightened her the most.
The girl kept her face averted from the driver and they drove in silence for a while until the driver asked, ‘is the young lady all right?’
Adela felt the girl tense as though she was about to open the car door and jump out. Adela tightened her hold just in case and answered the taxi driver, ‘she fell in the street, I’m taking her home.’
The driver nodded, ‘oh, too bad. Are y’all sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?’
Adela looked at the girl and saw the pleading in her eyes. She answered the driver, ‘oh no. It’s just a small cut, she’ll be fine once she’s home, but thank you anyway.’
The driver nodded again but Adela could see he was uncertain so to divert his attention asked, ‘are we your last fare of the night?’
‘Oh no, ma’am, I’m on until six.’
Adela smiled as she always did at the “ma’am,”, ‘oh poor thing, sooner you than me. I’d fall asleep and kill all my fares.’
The driver laughed and then asked the inevitable questions about where she came from what she was doing in Alabama etcetera, and in no time at all they were at the town. He pulled up and asked, ‘are you sure you’ll be all right?’
‘Oh yes thank you,’ Adela replied, ‘I…we’re staying right there,’ she nodded to the small hotel.’
‘Well, all right.’ Adela paid him and gave him a twenty dollar tip which amazed and delighted him. He gave Adela his card which gave his name as Luke, ‘whenever you need a ride just call me, I’m independent so I can come anytime.’
She took the card, ‘anytime? Even when you’re asleep.’
He smiled but then said seriously, ‘anytime.’
Adela was aware that he knew something was wrong but thanked him and she and the girl got out and after giving them both a wave he drove away. Adela clutched the girl to her, ‘it’s this way, I’m staying in a cabin in the woods.’ Something she was grateful for right now because had she being staying in one of the only two hotels in town she didn’t know how she would have explained the girl.
As if the girl was thinking the same thing she said with some relief, ‘not the hotel?’
Adela shook her head, ‘no,’ she smiled, ‘I’m an independent lady.’
The girl looked at her frowning, ‘but why did you tell the cab driver you were staying there?’
Adela wasn’t quite sure why herself; maybe because of the girl’s fear or maybe the fewer people who knew where she lived the better. A sort of sixth sense that she should cover their tracks. She said, ‘I’m staying here alone, I just don’t want lots of people knowing that.’
The girl continued to frown as she looked at Adela curiously. Maybe wondering if she could trust this odd English woman who would pick up a stranger and bring them home with her. Maybe she thought Adela was eccentric. Adela quite liked the idea of being thought eccentric.
She said, ‘come on, it’s not far, just a few hundred yards through the woods.’
Adela hoped they would not run into Jonas Lando, she had seen him in the woods near her cabin and about this time once before. She had thought he was perhaps poaching or hunting so had never been concerned about it. Not that he would ask questions of course, that wasn’t his way, he kept himself to himself and expected everyone else to do the same, but she really did not want anyone to see her with the girl.
They walked through the woods and very soon arrived at the cabin. Adela was wary because she knew the girl was poised for flight every second. She opened the door and pushed the girl gently in front of her. She found the switch and turned on the light in the living room saying, ‘here we are, safe and sound.’
The girl turned to look at her doubt as well as impatience in her expression and Adela was wondering if she believed that nowhere could be safe, at least for her.
‘Sit down over here,’ Adela led the girl to the sofa and sat her down, ‘stay there and relax and I’ll get something for that cut.’ She went to the kitchen and found the small first aid kit then returned to the girl who sat stiffly and uncomfortably on the sofa.
Adela took out some cotton wool which she soaked with witch hazel and applied it to the girl’s lip. She winced and Adela said, ‘sorry, it stings a bit doesn’t it? But it’s very good for cuts and bruises.’
When she’d finished she asked, ‘are you hungry?’
The girl shook her head but Adela said, ‘well I am, so how about some soup?’ The girl did not reply just looked at Adela who knew she was thinking, is this woman deaf, mad or something more sinister? It was obvious to Adela that the girl found it hard to trust people, even those trying to help her. She did not know how she knew but she was sure that this young woman had not had much affection or tenderness in her life. And yet she had come home with Adela, she had trusted her. Why? Desperation perhaps.
She said, ‘my name’s Adela, what’s yours?’ The girl did not answer but looked away. Adela smiled and tried again, ‘shall I try to guess? Although that could take all night, and I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted.’
The girl looked quickly at her and Adela could have sworn there was a ghost of a smile on her lips, she fought it and said almost inaudibly, ‘Olivia.’
The look of uncertainty then fear that crossed the girl’s face told Adela she had given her real name and was now questioning the wisdom of it. ‘Olivia?’ She said, ‘that’s a nice name.’
‘I thought the same about yours.’
Adela’s smile widened, ‘well thank you. Now how about that food?’
This time Olivia nodded. Adela picked up the first aid kit and took it back to the kitchen then began to prepare the soup. As she waited for it to warm she pondered how to approach what had happened tonight with those two men and why Olivia had been so against, afraid even, of getting the police involved.
She looked over at Olivia who had sat back on the sofa her eyes closed looking small and vulnerable; Adela’s heart went out to her. She studied her in more detail. She was about three or four inches taller than herself, making her five seven or eight, her face seemed very pale in contrast with the black hair and dark brown eyes. She reminded Adela of someone from the Balkan regions. She wondered where she was from; she was American obviously but did not have a southern accent.
When the soup and toast was d
one she made coffee, and putting them all on a tray, took it over to the living area where she sat it down on the coffee table.
Olivia opened her eyes and Adela said, ‘I made it warm rather than hot because of your lip.’ Olivia said nothing but leaned forward and took the bowl of soup that was offered to her. Adela said, ‘help yourself to toast.’
Olivia tentatively took a spoonful of soup then winced.
Adela said, ‘I’m afraid your lip is going to hurt for a while.’ But was amazed when the girl replied, ‘I’ve had worse.’ Adela wanted to ask then and there what she had meant by that but knew she would get nothing from her tonight, she was much too tired and traumatised. Adela had been terrified too and realised suddenly that she still was. But helping Olivia and getting them both off the street had somehow put the effects off what had happened to the back of her mind. She knew however that she would have trouble sleeping tonight, replaying over in her mind that awful moment when she had seen the man hit Olivia and drag her towards the car, and the other man coming towards her menacingly.
She knew she should have called the police; she still could when Olivia was asleep, because those men might try the same thing with another woman. But somehow she didn’t think so, what had happened had looked personal; “He wants to see you.” That’s what the man had said. Yes, it was Olivia they had wanted.
She said, ‘you can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the sofa,’ she smiled, ‘it looks very comfy.’
The girl looked up amazement in her eyes, ‘you want me to take your bed?’
