May ended the call and slipped the phone back into her bag. ‘Carol says we should call her when we find out where Jack is. She tried him too and got no reply.’
Phoebe wondered whether Carol had swallowed her pride enough to try Archie too, but guessed from the fact that May didn’t mention it that there would be an ice-rink in hell before that happened.
May looked down at Maria. ‘How about we make good use of Phoebe’s key and let ourselves in? Knowing your dad there’ll be a cake in the larder with our names on it.’
‘Can we go to the park, Phoebe?’ Maria asked.
‘You’ve just come from the park!’ May laughed. ‘I’ll bet after a day at work what Phoebe needs is a cup of tea, not a race round the park trying to keep up with you.’
Maria giggled. ‘I won’t run fast.’
‘The only place we want to go fast is home…’ May held out a hand, ‘come on little madam. Time to head back.’
‘Okay,’ Maria grumbled, reaching up to hold onto May’s hand.
‘You work in the big toy shop in town, don’t you?’ May asked Phoebe as they began to saunter back in the direction of King’s Road.
‘I do. Started there at Christmas.’
‘And you like it?’
‘Some days. It’s not exactly a high-flying career but I’m happy enough there.’
As they continued to exchange small talk, Phoebe felt the irrational urge to answer every question with a question of her own about Rebecca. It probably wouldn’t be the best ice-breaker though, so she bit her lip and forced herself to think of other things.
‘That’s a lovely hairclip,’ May continued, gesturing towards an azure butterfly pinning back one side of Phoebe’s hair.
‘Oh, thank you!’ Phoebe put a hand up to feel the shape and remind herself what it was she had chosen to wear that morning. ‘I got it in Ibiza.’
‘It really suits you.’
Damn it, why did this woman have to be so bloody nice? She felt guiltier than ever for being in Jack’s life instead of her daughter. If Rebecca had been alive, it would have been her walking home with May, Maria swinging between them with each of her hands clasped in one of theirs. For the rest of the journey, Phoebe tried to focus the conversation on Maria and school; it was much less of an emotional minefield.
As they walked up the path to Jack’s front door, Phoebe with her key in her hand, Jack’s neighbour, Doreen, came rushing out and called to them over the fence.
‘Hello,’ May said amiably.
‘I saw you leaving the first time,’ Doreen said a little breathlessly, ‘but I couldn’t get out quick enough to catch you. The old arthritis, you know…’
‘I do know.’ Phoebe gave an encouraging smile. Doreen obviously needed to get something off her chest, but knowing her it could take a while. Phoebe prepared for a bit of verbal tennis before they got to the bottom of it.
‘Only I thought you ought to know that Jack and his brother are out,’ Doreen said.
Phoebe nodded patiently. ‘Did he pop in to tell you where he was going?’ she asked, trying to prompt Doreen to focus.
‘No… no he didn’t.’
‘Oh…’
‘But before he went out three men hammered on the door.’ Doreen lowered her voice and shot a furtive glance around her garden, as if the three men might still be hiding in the gladioli. ‘They didn’t look very nice.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘They were polite enough when I came out. But I could see by their faces they were trouble.’
Phoebe wondered why on earth Doreen would come out of her front door to face them if she thought they looked like trouble, but then she was so congenitally nosey that there was no telling what she’d do once curiosity took hold.
‘And they wanted Jack?’ Phoebe asked, glancing at May now with the first stirrings of real fear nibbling at her. She handed May her key and suggested that she take Maria inside.
‘No, they were asking after Archie. They looked like wrong ’uns, they did.’
‘When was this?’
‘About an hour ago. You probably only just missed him. Jack came to the door and they said they wouldn’t leave until Archie came to speak to them. Jack told me to go in but I stayed just inside the front door to listen. Jack said Archie couldn’t come out because he wasn’t living there anymore. Well, I know that’s not true and I wondered why Jack would lie about it… but they said they didn’t believe him either.’
‘What did they do then?’
‘They said they wanted to go inside and Jack told them he would call the police. Then they said that Jack could call the police all he liked but they would wait and grab Archie when they could and take him for a friendly chat. They didn’t look like they wanted a friendly chat though…’ Doreen shook her head. ‘Such a shame… such a nice family to be in trouble.’
‘We don’t actually know that it is trouble yet,’ said Phoebe, although she knew she was fooling no one. ‘So, Jack went with them?’ she asked, still struggling to get to the bottom of things.
‘No. But then Archie came to the door and said he would go with them. Jack shouted for him to come back but Archie shouted that he didn’t need Jack to fight his battles all the time and told Jack to go inside and leave him alone.’
‘And Jack did that?’
‘Yes.’
‘But if he went back inside then where is he now?’
‘I don’t know,’ Doreen said.
Phoebe wanted to shake her. She took a deep breath. ‘Did you see him go out afterwards?’
‘Oh yes! A couple of minutes later he hopped into his car and drove off. I think he must have gone after them.’
‘Probably,’ Phoebe agreed. ‘Were the three men who took Archie in a car?’
Doreen nodded.
‘Thank you Doreen. You’ve been a big help.’
‘Do you need me to come over?’ Doreen asked. It was clear she was not yet ready to relinquish her role in the drama.
‘I really don’t think there’s any need,’ Phoebe replied with a firm but diplomatic smile. ‘You’ve done quite enough for us already,’ she continued, ‘and I’m sure you have things you need to be getting on with.’
Doreen looked crestfallen, but nodded and shuffled back behind her own front door. ‘Let me know if you hear anything,’ she called as she closed it.
Phoebe rushed through the door that May had left open for her, and found her and Maria in the kitchen. She looked at May. She was a strange ally to find herself with but right now May was all she had. Then, with an encouraging smile for Maria she said, ‘Spud, how about you get out of that school uniform and into something snugly and comfy?’ Maria gave a solemn nod and then disappeared upstairs. Phoebe quickly filled May in on the rest of Doreen’s story. ‘What do we do?’ she asked.
‘I’d better call Edward.’
‘Okay.’ Phoebe didn’t relish the idea of bringing Jack’s parents into this mess but she understood that they didn’t have much of a choice.
May put her phone down after a brief conversation. ‘Edward says he’s going to call a few friends – the ones he knows of anyway – and then he’ll meet us here if he gets no joy from that.’
Phoebe wasn’t sure what Jack’s dad could do apart from stand around pondering the same scenarios they were, but the idea of him being there was still oddly comforting. She just hoped he would come alone.
‘Don’t worry,’ May added, ‘whatever is going on, I’m sure Jack has enough common sense for the both of them.’
‘What do you think has happened?’ Phoebe asked in a low voice.
‘Well, you see Jack a lot more than I do now. He was always so reliable but, of course, he’s changed over the years…’ She didn’t elaborate on the reasons for this. Phoebe had considered him reliable as he was now, but he must have been rock solid during his relationship with Rebecca. Archie would have been a lot younger then, too, Phoebe reasoned. Perhaps he’d had less to distract him. ‘Even I can see that
things are not right with him and his brother,’ May concluded.
So Jack had not told May about Archie’s problems, and neither had Carol, despite her alleged closeness to May. What did that say about their relationships, Phoebe wondered?
‘Carol hasn’t even mentioned that Archie moved out. I only found out from Maria that he was living here. If Carol hadn’t mentioned it then I didn’t think it was my place to quiz her, but I did wonder.’
‘He’s been here for a good few weeks now,’ Phoebe replied, her mind running over just how many problems that situation had caused.
‘Why’s that?’
Phoebe chewed on her lip as May found two cups and laid them out. ‘Not for me, thanks,’ she said as she noticed her open the coffee jar.
‘Tea?’
‘No thank you.’ What response could Phoebe give? It wasn’t up to her to share the information that the rest of the Andrews family had seen fit to keep a secret and yet, May was now involved and it didn’t seem fair to keep the truth from her. ‘I think there was some sort of family argument,’ she said carefully. ‘You know how teenagers can be.’
‘I do that,’ May said with a chuckle. ‘But I’m sure he’ll be moving back in with them once they make it up. Carol adores her boys and she wouldn’t let that situation last for long.’
Phoebe almost snorted. That wasn’t the Carol she knew. Was there more to the ice-queen than met the eye? It was hard to believe. ‘It does seem a bit drastic to throw someone out over a family disagreement,’ Phoebe conceded. She knew the truth, of course, that Archie had taken money from his parents to gamble. But Jack had explained that his intentions had been honourable, if his morality a little muddied, and that he had honestly believed he would be able to make their money back with a healthy bonus on top. So why was Carol still refusing to forgive Archie? Surely, she shouldn’t even need it explaining – Archie was her son and it should be her priority to understand his problems. Phoebe felt more awkward by the minute as the lies and half-truths stacked up.
‘I suppose a bit of distance will help everyone to see sense.’ May poured some boiling water into a cup for herself.
‘Do you think we ought to call the police?’
May shook her head. ‘I don’t think they’d do anything just yet; the boys haven’t been missing long enough.’
‘But, what Doreen said –’
‘Sounds bad, I admit. But for all Doreen knows it could have been a bunch of rowdy friends calling for Archie. I think we’ll have to wait until we’re sure there’s a problem before we take it any further. Besides, I don’t think Jack would appreciate a full scale police search for him if it turns out he’s only gone to the supermarket or something.’
Phoebe wished she could share May’s calm optimism. ‘Perhaps we should check the hospitals,’ she added after a moment. ‘Just to be certain.’
‘Will it make you feel that you’re doing something useful?’ May asked with a smile.
‘Something like that. Sitting here doing nothing is driving me insane.’
‘Edward will be here soon and you and he can take a drive around the streets to see if you can spot them.’
Well yes, but only if Carol’s not in the car too… Phoebe chewed on a fingernail. ‘I just wish Jack would answer his damned phone. Even a quick text would be better than nothing. If it’s something simple and straightforward going on here I won’t be happy about the lack of contact.’
‘I’m sure there’s a good reason for it.’
‘That’s what I’m worried about.’
‘Come and sit down. Are you sure you don’t want a hot drink? It might make you feel better.’
Phoebe flopped into a seat at the table. ‘I just want him to call.’
For the next twenty minutes, May took charge and Phoebe was happy to let her. After rustling up a quick tea for Maria and doing a fantastic job of keeping her mind off Jack’s absence by quizzing her about school, she made sure that Phoebe ate a slice of toast. The more time Phoebe spent with May, the more she liked her. She was a natural mother hen, an emotional rock, and Phoebe was almost jealous of her fortitude and calm. She wished she could be half the woman May was rather than the snivelling wreck who sat at the table watching her and Maria chat whilst fighting back pointless and stupid tears. As May had pointed out more than once, they didn’t even know if there was anything to worry about yet. Phoebe rubbed her eyes and silently concluded that it must be those pesky hormones to blame again.
A knock at the front door made them both jump. May hurried to answer it and returned with Jack’s dad. He gave Phoebe a brisk nod.
‘No Carol?’ May asked.
‘She’s staying at home in case they turn up there.’
‘Good idea. What do you think we ought to do?’
‘Have you tried to call them again since you phoned me?’
‘More than once. Although only Jack; neither of us has Archie’s mobile number.’
‘I tried that before I left home and it’s switched off.’
‘Jack’s is just ringing out,’ Phoebe said.
Edward nodded. ‘I know. It’s a hell of a nuisance.’ He ran a hand over his chin thoughtfully. ‘I’ll go around to the usual haunts, see if anyone has seen them or knows anything about these men. What exactly did Doreen say about them?’
‘I’m surprised she didn’t come out when you arrived to tell you herself,’ May said.
‘It’s probably a good thing she didn’t,’ Phoebe said. ‘What she told us wasn’t a great deal of use and you’d have been there all night. She didn’t like the look of them though.’
‘I don’t like the sound of them either,’ Edward said. ‘Knowing Archie he’s mixed up with something he shouldn’t be.’ He turned to May. ‘I’m sorry you had to be involved in this.’
‘Don’t be silly. I think of you all as family and I want to help.’
‘It’s appreciated. Are you okay to stay here?’ He looked at them both in turn and both women nodded.
‘Didn’t you want to go out with Edward?’ May asked Phoebe.
‘I think I’ll stay here actually.’ Phoebe didn’t have much faith in Edward finding his sons by driving around the town looking for them in pubs and betting shops. There was no way Jack would be sitting in a pub with his brother and not answering his phone if he knew he was expected to be home for Maria. She voiced her original thoughts to May again. ‘I’ll call the hospital, see if they’ve turned up there. And we should call the police now.’
‘Don’t involve the police just yet,’ Edward said. ‘It’s too early and there might be a simple explanation for all this.’
‘Another hour or so and we’ll have to call them,’ Phoebe insisted.
Edward looked at his watch and nodded his agreement. ‘You’re probably right. Let’s give them a chance to turn up first, though.’ He glanced around, as if suddenly realising something was missing. ‘Where’s Maria?’
‘Bed,’ May replied. ‘It’s a tad early but I thought it was the best place for her to be right now, away from the drama. I wondered if I’d have trouble getting her off but she must have been exhausted from racing around the park because she fell asleep half way through her bedtime story.’
‘Bless her,’ Edward said. ‘Look, I’ll get going. I have my mobile phone with me if there are any developments here.’
‘No problem. We’ll hold the fort.’
He left them and May joined Phoebe at the table. ‘Are you sure I can’t get you a drink? You must be parched.’
Phoebe looked up. ‘I’m fine. I don’t much care for tea or coffee these days.’ The remark had slipped out before she thought about it. But if May attached any significance to it she let it pass.
‘Water maybe? Or something more to eat?’
‘Thank you, but the toast you made has done the trick. Besides, I can’t have you waiting on me.’ Phoebe scraped her chair away from the table and went to run herself a glass of water. ‘Do you really think they’re okay? It’s half sev
en and there’s no way Jack would miss Maria’s bedtime without arranging it first. This is just not like him at all.’
‘It’s not,’ May agreed.
Phoebe turned to her as she leaned against the sink and sipped her water. What sort of relationship had she had with Jack before Rebecca’s death? Had she viewed him as a good son-in-law? Was she as fond of him as Carol had been of Rebecca? How had she felt when Rebecca had died? Did she blame Jack at first? Had she hated him?
‘Maybe I’ll try his phone again,’ Phoebe said, snatching hers up from the table. She didn’t expect it to do any good but it was better than doing nothing.
She dialled the number and listened to the ringing tone. Just like before it rang and rang but no one answered. Phoebe turned to the window to hide her tears. They weren’t tears of sadness or fear, but of frustration. How could Jack behave like this? She could believe it of Archie, but not Jack. Didn’t he know that everyone would be scared to death for him? Didn’t he realise he should have left a note, sent a text, anything before he went dashing off after Archie, knowing that there may well be trouble waiting for them both? She felt a gentle hand on her arm.
‘Don’t worry,’ May said. ‘I’m sure everything will be fine. We’ll probably be laughing about this tomorrow when it turns out they’ve just been to Sainsbury’s.’
Phoebe turned and gave her a watery smile. ‘You’re right. It’s one hell of an introduction for us, though, isn’t it?’
May returned the smile. ‘It is. I felt as if I knew you already, though. Maria talks about you all the time and I can tell she adores you.’
‘Is that okay?’ Phoebe asked. It was hard to understand what had suddenly made her desperate for May’s approval, but she was. She needed to know that it was okay to be here, where Rebecca should have been.
‘I think Maria is an excellent judge of character, even at her age. And it’s more than okay.’
Phoebe silently wondered how much Carol had told May to try and undo Maria’s good work. Would she pull any punches when reporting her dislike of Phoebe? Phoebe doubted it. If that was the case, it was good to see that May was happy to make up her own mind.
The Spring of Second Chances : An absolutely perfect and uplifting romantic comedy Page 25
