What was a short walk seemed to take far longer than usual because, when Jack quickened his pace, his whole body ached thanks to the after effects of the carbon monoxide poisoning. A few minutes later he was at Ernie’s, calling through the letterbox and banging on the door. There was no answer – Ernie was missing too. Jack went and knocked on the neighbour’s door, which was quickly answered.
‘Hello, Jack, come in and have a cuppa, won’t you?’
‘Sorry, Audrey, I can’t stop. I’m trying to find Ernie. Have you seen him today?’
Audrey looked momentarily disappointed but she soon recovered and pondered the question. ‘I saw him leave about ten-ish I think. No, it was before ten because afterwards the news came on the radio …’
‘Thanks, Audrey,’ said Jack and he pulled an inquisitive Doris away and walked to the corner of Ernie’s road. He stood there for a moment catching his breath as if he were unfit. The carbon monoxide had taken its toll; he hoped its effects would soon wear off. His mind darted to Beth and it spurred him on. He needed to find Leo and for some reason he felt finding Ernie would hold some answers. He needed to think like Ernie and that gave him a sense of despair, for who knew how Ernie thought? It was hard to tell. He understood most things, it was communicating he struggled with, especially since Wilf had died. Wilf, that was it, thought Jack. Where would Ernie and Wilf have gone if they were troubled? He had no idea but he knew someone who might.
‘Stop the bloody banging!’ yelled Shirley moments before she opened her front door. ‘Oh, it’s you, what’s up?’ she said, standing in front of him with a limp cat under her arm. Jack looked at Mittens and felt the panic rise as he squinted at Doris, who was engrossed in sniffing the doorstep. Jack pointed elaborately at Doris and then Mittens, who had already clocked the large dog in her vicinity and was now starting to do something akin to the backstroke in mid-air.
‘Shut the door,’ said Jack softly.
‘Why? Don’t be ridiculous, they’re fine,’ said Shirley but Mittens made a break for it over Shirley’s shoulder and the movement and flash of white landing in Doris’s view kicked off World War Three. Doris charged into Shirley’s house and Jack had to let go of the lead as it was yanked from his grip or risk knocking Shirley over. Shirley shook her head. ‘Well, you’d better come in,’ she said, the reluctance evident in her voice.
Jack didn’t have time for this. His mind was a throbbing whirl of worries. There was no word on how Beth was. The thought of anything happening to her concerned him more than he cared to admit. He dared not ring Petra because the first question would be, ‘Where is Leo?’ And the sick feeling that was overpowering him was less to do with the poisoning and more to do with the creeping fear that Leo had been abducted. The pain that would cause Beth was too much to comprehend. She would never forgive him.
Jack shot past Shirley and she shut the door as a high-speed Mittens came skidding across the polished parquet floor. Shirley scooped Mittens up into her arms and the cat clung to her cardigan like Velcro, her tail the size and colour of a bleached toilet brush. Doris came to a halt in front of them and proceeded to bark her excitement.
‘Now stop,’ said Shirley and she bent her small frame forward and rested a bony finger on Doris’s wet nose. Doris stopped barking and went to lick the finger, her eyes shooting to the cat who was now very close indeed. Jack went to grab Doris’s collar. ‘No!’ said Shirley firmly. ‘They need to sort this out between the two of them.’
Jack struggled to think of a worse idea. ‘I think they said the same about Germany and Poland and look how that turned out!’ He agitatedly ran his hands through his hair. Shirley gave him an old-fashioned look. ‘I’m kind of in a hurry,’ said Jack, checking his watch and wishing he hadn’t as it reminded him of how long Leo had been missing and that it would soon start to get dark.
Shirley ignored him and carried Mittens off into the kitchen with Doris trotting after her in silence. Jack stood in the hallway shaking his head. This was getting him nowhere and precious time was ticking away. He could now see a glimpse of the madness of Dumbleford that Beth referred to.
The kitchen door reopened. Shirley came out and carefully closed the door behind her. Jack gave her a quick once-over with his eyes but she appeared to be all intact – no scratches, no bite marks.
‘Don’t worry about them. What was it you were in such a hurry for?’ asked Shirley.
‘Yes, right,’ said Jack, reordering his thoughts. ‘Wilf and Ernie, was there somewhere they liked to go? Or perhaps a place they played when they were children?’
Shirley was staring at Jack like he’d gone loopy. ‘Why?’
‘Leo and Ernie are missing.’
Shirley drummed her fingers across her lips while she thought. ‘They used to play at the farm, we all did,’ said Shirley, her face softened by a smile as her eyes wandered off to somewhere over Jack’s right shoulder.
‘Bramble Hill Farm?’ asked Jack, his mind whirring away trying to work out his quickest route there.
‘Yes, we had such jolly good fun up there, me and the boys,’ said Shirley with a girlish giggle and Jack’s eyes widened.
‘Anywhere else?’
Shirley gave a pout as she thought. ‘On the green, obviously, and the farm and all the fields around and about.’
Jack felt his shoulders sag. Fields and countryside surrounded the village; it was impossible to cover it all before dark but he started towards the front door all the same. A thought struck him. ‘Was there anywhere that was a sanctuary, Shirley? Somewhere you would escape to?’
‘The pillbox,’ said Shirley without a flinch.
‘Pillbox?’ Jack was squinting at her.
‘Yes, on Bramble Hill not far past the farmhouse. After the war we used to hide in it, even into our teens, such japes!’ said Shirley with a giggle.
‘That old concrete box thing in a mound in the field?’
‘Yes, it’s a pillbox, those were our war defences, what do they teach you in school these days?’
Jack didn’t like to point out he hadn’t been a pupil in school for some years. He gave her a clumsy hug and he hoped beyond sanity that she had supplied the answer to the nightmare. Shirley was still giggling as Jack raced out of the door.
‘Hey, what about your dog?’ she called but it was too late, Jack was gone.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jack found some energy from somewhere and he sprinted off towards the farm. His heart was racing and his lungs were burning but all he could think about was finding Leo. His phone started to buzz in his pocket but he ignored it. The uphill climb to the farm pulled at his thighs and he started to understand what Clark the paramedic had been trying to tell him about the effects of too much carbon monoxide in his blood. He dragged in deep lungfuls of air through his mouth as the farmhouse came into sight. A few more strides and he could glimpse the grey concrete pillbox, partly obscured by a mound of grassed-over earth that was piled up on one side, which Jack guessed had been a crude attempt to hide the structure when it had first been built. He climbed over the fence and into the field, and crossing the meadow his stride lengthened.
‘Leo! Ernie! Leo! Ernie!’ he shouted breathlessly, drawing closer. He ran up to the pillbox and peered into the dark hole at the front. ‘Leo?’ There was no answer.
‘Leo, it’s me, Jack. I’m on my own. Everything is okay, you’re not in any trouble,’ he said, walking round the side to find an open entrance. It was pitch black inside. Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to ignore that he’d had a missed call from Petra. He switched on the torch and shone it into the darkness. The wall twisted away like a snail shell and he followed it round. It was a creepy, dank place with an unpleasant, pungent odour and it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Leo would be here. What would drive a six-year-old to hide somewhere like this? Jack’s footsteps echoed as the wall opened out into one small room.
Jack swept the light around and almost jumped out of his skin when it lit up
Ernie.
‘Bloody hell, Ernie!’ remonstrated Jack, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest at the sudden shock. Ernie was standing in front of a bench and he held up his hand to shield his eyes from the light. ‘Ernie, Leo is missing – do you know where he is?’
‘Beth wouldn’t wake up,’ said Ernie, still shielding his eyes.
‘I know, it’s okay, she’s in hospital, Ernie, where’s—’
‘Mum’s in hospital?’ said a small voice and Leo stepped out from behind Ernie.
‘Oh, thank God,’ said Jack, stepping forward and lifting Leo into his arms. ‘She’s going to be okay, mate. Come on, let’s get you out of here.’ Jack shone his phone to light the way out of the pillbox. ‘You too, Ernie!’ shouted Jack over his shoulder. When he got outside he put Leo down; he was about to hug him but Leo was frowning hard.
‘You okay?’
Leo nodded quickly but he looked like he was fighting back tears.
‘Ernie, come on!’ called Jack.
‘Man was there,’ shouted back Ernie.
Jack’s eyes darted about as he tried and failed to make sense of what Ernie was saying. ‘What man?’
Leo shrugged his shoulders. Ernie shuffled out to the entrance and his eyes searched the field at speed.
‘Man was there,’ repeated Ernie, wringing his hands in agitation.
‘What man?’
‘Near the pub.’
‘What did he look like?’ asked Jack gently.
Ernie shook his head hard. ‘Black hair. Stranger. Laughed at me.’ Ernie briefly made eye contact with Jack then hung his head as if exhausted.
‘It’s okay, Ernie. Don’t worry, there’s no man about now. We need to get Leo back to Beth.’
‘Stranger looking for Eliz-a-beth,’ said Ernie, struggling to pronounce the name.
Jack patted Ernie on the back. ‘Thanks for keeping Leo safe, Ernie, you did great. Let’s get you both home.’ Ernie was agitated but he took hold of Jack’s hand and walked with him across the field.
Jack, Ernie and Leo walked back to the village and dropped Ernie off at his bungalow on the way. He didn’t say goodbye, just unlocked the door and went in.
‘Leo, you had everyone worried. We’ve been hunting for you everywhere. What happened after you left the pub?’
‘Sorry,’ said Leo with a shrug. He clearly had no idea of the drama that had unfurled. ‘I went to the cottage and knocked on the door but Mum didn’t answer. She was asleep on the sofa. Ernie was hiding in the back garden and he came round shouting about a stranger.’
‘Did you see this stranger?’ asked Jack.
‘Nope. But Ernie was all panicky and really scared and that made me kind of scared too. Ernie said we needed to get away and he took me to that dark room.’
‘What did you do there all that time?’
Leo looked thoughtful. ‘We ate my big Easter egg and I told Ernie about the Romans. It was weird in the dark but I wasn’t scared,’ he said, jutting out his jaw defiantly.
‘I’m sure you weren’t,’ said Jack, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
‘Are we going to hospital to see Mum now?’ asked Leo.
‘I don’t know, mate.’ Jack remembered the call he had missed when he had been searching for Leo. He took out his phone and called Petra back. After a brief conversation with her the phone was passed to Beth.
Jack covered his mobile and turned to a concerned-looking Leo. ‘Your mum doesn’t know about you going missing, okay?’
‘Are you going to tell?’ asked Leo, narrowing his eyes. Jack shook his head and handed over the phone.
When Leo had chatted to his mum and brightened up considerably he passed the phone back to Jack. Jack felt Leo’s hand snake into his and he smiled.
‘I hear I owe you a thank-you,’ said Beth, her voice weaker than usual. Jack smiled to hear her.
‘Ah, it was nothing.’
‘No, Jack, don’t go all modest on me. You saved my life and …’ Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome,’ he said, mirroring her sombre tone. ‘But you know me, all-round saint,’ he added with fun in his voice.
‘Are you going to lecture me on the reconditioned boiler?’
‘Not now, but I will,’ he said. ‘We could have lost you.’ He found he was gripping Leo’s hand as he spoke.
‘But I’m fine thanks to you. Is Leo okay?’
‘Yeah, he’s brilliant,’ he said, glancing down at the small boy staring up at him. ‘Don’t worry about him, I won’t let him out of my sight.’
‘I’m very grateful, Jack. And are you all right? I was worried because Petra said you were unconscious when she left.’
‘She exaggerates, I’m fine …’
Leo pulled at his hand and pointed to an elated-looking Rhonda waving at them from outside the tearoom. ‘I’ve got to go. You concentrate on getting better and don’t worry about a thing. Promise?’
‘Promise,’ said Beth, her voice sounding full of emotion.
They said their goodbyes, Jack ended the call and carried on across the green. Rhonda gave Jack and Leo very tight hugs and Leo rubbed her wet kisses off his cheek with his sleeve. Jack gave Rhonda money to cover the costs of the tea for the search party and the police who were now all looking relieved that the drama was over. Jack promised to come back for celebratory cake later despite Leo’s pleas to get cake now.
Jack was beyond thrilled to have found Leo safe and well; the feelings he had experienced when Leo was missing were very new to him. He’d lost sight of Doris at a beach once but that didn’t come close to the terror of imagining Leo had been taken. He wished he knew for sure who the stranger was who had freaked Ernie out so much that he had run off to the pillbox but perhaps he’d never know. For now he was going to concentrate on keeping Leo safe and looking forward to seeing Beth fit and well again.
Leo started to head towards Jack’s house.
‘We need to pick up Doris first.’
‘Why? Where is she?’ Leo asked, quickening his stride to keep pace with Jack.
‘She’s on a play date but you’ll never guess who with,’ said Jack with a grin. They walked across the green together and up to Shirley’s house.
Leo scanned the huge door. ‘There’s no doorbell.’
‘Yeah, there is,’ said Jack, lifting up Leo and showing him the iron rod and handle at the side of the door. ‘Pull that.’
Leo did as he was asked and was delighted by the resulting peal of bells that came from inside.
Shirley opened the door and a smile danced momentarily on her lips when she saw Leo. She turned her attention to Jack. ‘I thought you’d forgotten the dog,’ she said, stepping aside and letting them into the large hall. She shut the door and they followed her. ‘They’re in the snug,’ she said over her shoulder and Leo giggled.
Shirley opened the door to a small wood-panelled room with a real fire crackling in an ornate fireplace. On the heavily patterned rug in front of the fire lay Doris and Mittens back to back. Jack and Leo stared for a minute. The two animals looked up but neither showed enough interest to actually move.
‘I don’t know how you did it,’ said Jack to Shirley, ‘but you’re a marvel.’
‘Like all of us they needed to learn a little tolerance,’ said Shirley wisely, ‘and I find the tiniest smear of pâté works wonders too.’ She sat down with a thud in a large wing-backed leather chair. ‘You’ll see yourselves out, won’t you?’ she added and she picked up a hardback book and started to read.
‘Shirley, one question. Does Mittens remind you of anyone?’ asked Jack.
Shirley looked at the cat. ‘Like who?’
‘A certain moustached dictator.’
‘Oh, yes, I see what you mean.’ She nodded wisely. ‘But I didn’t know you’d met my sister Miriam.’ She hid her wry smile and turned back to her book. Jack looked more puzzled than ever.
‘Come on, Doris,’ said Leo and the do
g yawned and stretched. Doris stood up, then paused for a moment to sniff Mittens, almost as if she were kissing her goodbye. Jack held his breath but Mittens just closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
‘You need to calm down because you’re giving me another headache,’ said Beth, only half joking as she tried to speak over a very agitated Carly.
‘I rang to tell you the amazing news that Fergus had come round and your phone was answered by some woman from the tearoom who told me you’d been carted off to hospital in an ambulance. And I’ve spent the last two hours trying to find out if you’re dead or alive …’ Carly paused for breath.
‘I’m alive.’
‘I know,’ said Carly, her voice dissolving into tears. ‘But for a moment I thought you weren’t. I thought I’d got Fergus back only to lose you.’
A corresponding sob escaped from Beth. She knew exactly how she would have felt if the tables had been reversed. ‘I’m sorry you had a fright. But I’m okay, honestly I am.’
‘I don’t know what I’d do without you, Beth,’ said Carly, followed by a loud sniff, her voice now gentle and childlike.
‘And I don’t know what I’d do without you and you’re making me cry now, which won’t help anything. Although it is meant to be good for your skin.’
‘You daft sod,’ Carly spluttered through more tears.
‘I’m so pleased about Fergus, that is such good news.’
‘He’s still in hospital or I’d be on the next train, you know that, don’t you?’
‘I do and that’s lovely of you but they’re just keeping me in for observation and I’ll be home tomorrow.’
Escape to Willow Cottage Page 33
