by Anna Jacobs
Then came the hardest task of all: writing a note for Jivan to tell him she was leaving permanently. It took several attempts and in the end was very brief.
Jivan, I think it’s better if I leave now. We’ve said all that’s needed. I can manage with my family’s help.
Don’t try to come after me. I’ve got a seat on a plane this afternoon.
Thank you for everything.
Love
Jessica
When she carried the luggage out to the taxi, there didn’t seem to be very much. Was this all that was left of her life in Australia? That made her feel deeply sad.
The driver put her suitcase into the boot and she put the hand luggage containing the precious tablet on the back seat next to her. All the time she kept glancing along the street, terrified Jivan might return before she left.
But he didn’t.
She tried to tell herself she was relieved about that.
The drive up to Perth was an anti-climax. It was another sunny day, the traffic was light and the driver wasn’t talkative, thank goodness. She didn’t think she could have made sense at the moment. He switched on the radio and let a talk show take over. She didn’t hear a word anyone said, but the sound of voices and the occasional musical interlude were vaguely comforting.
At the airport, she confirmed her booking, checked her luggage in, then went to wait in the coffee shop.
Fifteen minutes later her friend arrived and they exchanged hugs, neither needing to say how they were feeling.
‘Want to talk about it?’ Barbara asked as they sat down.
Jessica shook her head. ‘No, not really. What good would that do? But there are a couple of things you should know.’ She managed a wobbly smile. ‘The most important one is I’m pregnant.’
‘How on earth did that happen in this day and age?’
‘First time we made love in Queensland. We were in too much of a hurry.’ Jessica gave a bitter laugh. ‘The irony is, it should have been the safe part of my cycle and we’ve been really careful ever since.’ She gave her companion a very level look. ‘Don’t worry about me. I won’t let it stop me writing and I will get on with my life. I realised on the way here that I won’t be alone from now on. I’ll have a child to love. That’s such a comfort. I never wanted children before, but I do want this one. Very much.’
‘I’m glad for you, then.’
‘That’s enough about my woes. Tell me what’s been happening at the department.’
Barbara chuckled. ‘Mike’s got himself a job over in New South Wales. Heaven help them! We’re going to have a big farewell party.’
‘Does he deserve one?’
‘Oh, he won’t be coming. It’ll be after he’s left.’
And to her surprise, Jessica found herself laughing. Then she glanced at her wristwatch and stood up. ‘Thank you for coming. I need to go through to the waiting area now.’
Barbara gave her a fierce hug. ‘All right. Keep in touch. One day I’ll come to England and descend on you for a visit. I’m due long service leave in two years. Three wonderful months away from the office. Or you might come back here for a visit one day, in which case you’re invited to stay with me.’
‘I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Australia in the foreseeable future. What I need at the moment is my family. Oh, hell, if I stay one minute longer I’ll weep all over you.’
Jessica hurried off and didn’t dare look back.
Barbara watched her until she was out of sight then bought a sandwich and another coffee. She got out her laptop and started work on a little job she’d been meaning to sort out. No one would be able to interrupt her here.
When she looked at her watch, two hours had passed.
She glanced at the notice board. Jessica’s plane had taken off a while ago.
As she was walking across the airport car park, she saw a figure she recognised getting out of a car parked crookedly in a corner, as if it had been hastily dumped there. She marched over to intercept Jivan. ‘You’ve got a nerve, following her here. Can’t you even let her go in peace?’
His gaze was filled with as much pain as Jessica’s had been. ‘I wanted to say goodbye properly.’
The professional in Barbara saw a man in extreme emotional crisis. ‘Her plane took off over an hour ago. You look upset. Come and have a coffee with me.’
He let her settle him in a corner and fetch him a coffee, all without a word, so she knew she was right to speak to him. She decided to use shock tactics.
‘Have you told her you love her?’
‘I don’t—’ He broke off and stared at her with such anguish on his face that she found herself taking his hand.
‘How long are you going to go on fooling yourself, Jivan? Of course you love her. And she loves you.’
‘I daren’t love her.’
‘That’s a strange word to use. Tell me why not.’
‘My ex-wife has been stalking me for years, but I think … no, I’m fairly sure she’s crossed some sort of mental boundary. To put it bluntly, I think she’s gone mad. And … Barbara, I’m pretty sure she’ll try to kill me if I won’t do what she wants, which is marry her again. If she sees me with Jessica, she’ll attack her too.’
‘Are you sure of this? Have you told the police?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. And I’ve hired a specialist company in the UK to pursue the matter. They’ve registered the problem with the police, but they can’t do anything without proof and … there are some other things happening that I can’t talk about. Unless we can catch Louisa out and get her locked away, I daren’t go back to Jessica. I don’t know why I even came here today. She’s safer away from me.’
‘You came because you love her.’
He nodded. ‘And to tell her I’ll support her and the child. That at least I can do through our mutual publisher without raising my ex’s suspicions. Will you give me her parents’ phone number and address?’
‘I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I’m going to ring and ask them to meet her plane. She shouldn’t arrive on her own. She looked rather fragile today.’
Barbara gave his hand a pat, then let go of it and wrote down the Lords’ number. After all, he was in Australia, so there wasn’t much he could do from here.
‘If you need to talk, phone me. Any time. I mean it.’ She gave him her business card. ‘I have your home phone number. What about your mobile?’
She put it on her phone then walked out to the car park with him. Impulsively, she gave him another hug, which clearly startled him. He gave her a quick hug in return, a hug so tentative she hugged him again.
She hadn’t expected to feel sorry for him. If he was telling the truth, and she was pretty good at knowing when someone was lying, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
As she got into her car, memories hit her hard. She’d had a couple of encounters with stalkers during her former career as a psychologist. One had ended badly in the death of her client, and was part of the reason she’d changed career track.
She wouldn’t give him Jessica’s address in the UK and she’d try to persuade him to stay away from her.
It would be better by far for her friend to be unhappy than dead.
Jessica trudged slowly out of the luggage pick-up area in Manchester airport, feeling so exhausted it was hard to put one foot in front of the other. When she saw her parents waiting for her, she blinked, thinking she’d imagined it, but no, there they were, waving.
Her father had lost a little weight and her mother had put some on in the years she’d been away. Only a few years, but both were greyer than she remembered. They were looking at her uncertainly, as if wondering whether she was glad to see them.
She abandoned the luggage trolley and ran into her mother’s arms. ‘How did you know I was arriving today?’
‘Your friend Barbara phoned us.’
‘I was never so glad to see anyone in my whole life. I was just wondering about hiring a car and—’
Her father, who had retrieved the trolley, pushed his wife gently aside. ‘Don’t I get a hug, too, Jessica?’
‘Of course you do!’ She flung her arms round the solid warmth of him. ‘Dad, you look so well.’
‘I’m feeling well. Our Peter is managing the shops now – not that I don’t help out – but I haven’t got the worries and responsibilities. He loves it. Eh, what am I talking about that for when you’ve just got off a plane? Let’s get you home.’
In the comfort of the car, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. ‘I can’t believe I’m in England again.’
‘We hope you’re going to stay here this time,’ he said severely. ‘Your mother’s been worried sick about you. Family belong together.’
She blinked away a tear. She mustn’t keep crying all over everyone. ‘Maybe I had to go all the way to Australia to realise how much I needed you.’
‘Do you want to talk about it – what brought you back?’ her mother asked hesitantly. ‘You don’t need to, if you don’t want. Your friend said to leave that up to you. But if that man has hurt you and comes anywhere near me, I won’t be held responsible.’
‘Barbara didn’t tell you the rest of it, then?’
‘No.’
‘Then I’d like to.’ And very quietly, she explained the situation.
There was a long silence, then her mother said softly, ‘It’s bound to be a beautiful child, with a mother like you and a father like that. I’ve seen photos of him. He looks good, even if he doesn’t act it. And we’ve always got room for another little one in the family.’
‘We certainly have,’ her father echoed.
‘Oh, Mum! Dad! You’re absolutely wonderful.’ And for the first time in her life, Jessica truly felt a part of the Lord clan, there at the warm centre of their circle, loved and loving.
When they got back, even Peter was more friendly than ever before. ‘You did right to come home, Jess,’ he said gruffly. ‘We won’t let you down like that fellow did.’
Twenty
Jivan left Perth airport feeling as if he’d made a friend. He now had Barbara’s mobile number and could ask her advice if he had trouble with persuading Jessica to accept his help.
At first he had a dream run home, hitting every traffic light at green and getting on to the Roe Highway more quickly than he’d expected.
Then a traffic light changed just before he reached it and when he braked, the car was sluggish in responding. He made a mental note to have the brakes checked. You couldn’t be too careful about such things.
When he turned on to the Kwinana Freeway the traffic was much heavier, with a line of big trucks heading south, so he changed to the central lane. It was then that he noticed the big silver four-wheel drive, which had been travelling behind him for a while. It had started moving closer and tail-gating him.
‘Get back, you fool,’ he muttered. In this patch of heavy traffic, coming so close was sheer lunacy. To his dismay, it crept even closer, so he sounded his horn. But its driver took no notice and suddenly accelerated, nudging Jivan’s vehicle sharply from behind.
He cried out in shock and tried to brake, but his car was even slower in responding this time.
Before he knew what was going on, the silver vehicle had thumped into him again, far harder this time, not hitting him squarely but catching the left rear corner. When his brakes failed completely, Jivan was helpless to prevent the front of his car swinging round towards the vehicles in the fast lane.
As he fought for control, a truck in the fast lane just managed to accelerate out of his way and he missed it by inches. The car behind it braked just enough to avoid him narrowly. By some lucky freak, he was able to steer towards an emergency stopping area for some roadworks.
The brakes weren’t working at all now and he couldn’t even slow his car, so it crashed hard into a temporary fence of huge plastic containers filled with water. Air bags ballooned up around him, cushioning the impact, and his car shuddered to a halt, among sounds of tortured metal.
But he was still alive!
Stomach churning, he punched the deflating air bag out of his way and bowed his head over the wheel for a few seconds, then realised he might still be in danger. He looked all round to make sure his attacker hadn’t followed him, but there was no sign of the big silver car.
Traffic droned past next to him, the drivers gawking at him.
The truck and car that had managed to avoid him had pulled up in the same emergency lane, one further ahead and one behind him. The truck driver was running towards him.
‘You all right, mate? I saw in my wing mirror how that bastard shoved you into our lane. Good thing he braked in time.’ He pointed to the younger guy next to him who had now joined them.
‘You two did brilliantly to get out of the way,’ Jivan said. ‘I probably owe you my life.’
‘In my job, you learn to keep your eye on what’s going on around you. It was you sounding your horn that made me look and realise what was going on,’ the truck driver said.
‘I’ve called the police,’ the younger man said. ‘And I’ve got the number of that car. You’re sure you’re not hurt?’
‘I’ve probably got a few bruises but that’s all.’ He brushed futilely at the white powder from the air bags which was all over him.
‘You’ve got an enemy,’ the truck driver said thoughtfully. ‘I mean, that wasn’t an accident.’
Jivan shrugged. ‘Only my ex, but she’s in England.’
‘Did she catch you playing the field? Good-looking fellow like you wouldn’t have any trouble finding women who’re up for it.’
‘No. I caught her out, actually.’
‘Then why the hell would she send someone after you in Australia?’
Jivan shrugged. ‘Who knows? Perhaps it’s not her.’ He suddenly began to shake and couldn’t stop for a moment, so had to lean against the car. ‘Sorry. Reaction.’
The man patted him awkwardly on the arm. ‘Not surprising. Take your time.’
The police arrived ten minutes later and it was two hours before Jivan was free to go. He was glad he had two witnesses, because when he first told his tale, they looked at him suspiciously and whipped out a breathalyser.
‘Nothing,’ the officer reading the results said.
They took him more seriously after that, questioning the two other drivers in more detail.
As soon as the police let him go, the truck driver took off. After they’d questioned Jivan about the failing brakes, the police insisted on taking the car away to be examined. It was badly crumpled and not drivable anyway.
They offered him a lift, but the younger driver, who seemed to have quite enjoyed all the fuss, offered him a lift down to Mandurah, so he took that.
‘I recognised you straight away,’ the young man said as he waited for a break in the traffic. ‘I’ve got a couple of your books.’
‘Oh. That’s nice.’
‘Bloody good stories, they are.’
‘Well, when we get to my place, I’ll give you a copy of my latest, if you like. As a thank you.’
‘Great! I’ve always wanted to ask where you get your ideas.’
Jivan patiently answered the same old questions all readers asked. He was relieved when the man dropped him off and left with his book.
The first thing Jivan did was make a cup of strong coffee, then phone Barbara and tell her what had happened. ‘There’s no doubt it was done on purpose. I need to contact Jessica and get her a bodyguard and a safe place to stay ASAP.’
‘You think your ex will go after her? Even now Jessica has left you?’
‘Who knows what Louisa will do? I’m not risking anything. Only, I don’t think Jessica will speak to me.’
‘Phone me if she won’t and I’ll call her and tell her to listen to you. I already gave you her parents’ phone number. This is their address.’
He scribbled it down. ‘Thanks for taking me seriously, Barbara.’
‘Make sure you continue to
protect yourself as well as Jessica.’
The next day, feeling rested after a good night’s sleep in her old bedroom, Jessica went downstairs to find her mother and father. They plied her with food and a big mug of tea, then sat down one on either side of her at the kitchen table.
‘You had a phone call last night,’ her father said. ‘About an hour after you’d gone to bed.’
‘I did come up to tell you,’ Maureen added, ‘but you didn’t stir, not even when I put the light on. You looked so exhausted I didn’t wake you up.’
‘Who was it?’
‘That writer fellow, Childering.’
‘Oh.’ She frowned as she stared down at her piece of toast. She swallowed what she had in her mouth and put the piece down, adjusting it to sit neatly in the middle of her plate.
When she thought she could control her voice, she asked, ‘What did he want?’
‘First he wanted to know if you were all right,’ her father went on. ‘He sounded really worried, so that’s a point in his favour, at least. I said of course you were all right and I told him straight out that we Lords look after our own.’
Grim satisfaction sounded in his voice as he added, ‘He didn’t like that, I could tell, but I’m not pussy-footing around when someone hurts my lass.’
‘Mmm.’
‘He said he’d ring back at a more convenient time.’
‘If he rings again, I don’t want to speak to him.’
She was beginning to find a fragile peace because she was surrounded by love. She’d have to think carefully about her future, how to support herself and her child, and she’d make sure that child was surrounded by people who loved it. Family.
It would be folly to look back. She didn’t dare talk to Jivan. If she did, she might weaken.
When Barbara rang a little later, Jessica was happy to take that call.
‘Have you forgiven me for telling your parents you were coming, Jessica?’
‘Forgiven? I was grateful. They were waiting for me at the airport and I was never so glad to see anyone.’
‘That’s good. Look, I’m ringing about something else today. Jivan phoned me and said—’
‘I don’t want to know what he said. It’s over between him and me.’
