by Deb McEwan
‘But I do.’
Val was flicking a duster around and couldn’t help but overhear her son’s part of the conversation. She sensed the tension and urgency and knew that she’d need to speak to Libby soon or risk losing her for good.
‘Tell her to come round tonight. You and Tony can go for a pint while we talk.’
Carl conveyed the message to his sister and she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her mother would eventually forgive her if she played her cards right.
Chapter 9
Gary missed Val more than he’d expected. It made him feel weak and vulnerable and this annoyed him. Like a wasp with a headache, Gary’s bad mood had ramifications for all those he came into contact with. Mary was used and abused and his staff avoided him as much as they could, too frightened to go to him with problems or questions. All Gary wanted was to see Val as soon as possible, to explore her body at long last, to laugh and joke with her, touch her, smell her...
He knew that going back to England was a risky business, even though nobody would recognise him for the man he used to be, but Gary didn’t want to take too many risks. Some of his old contacts in Western Europe had been after exotic young girls for quite a while and he knew he could make a fortune from them. If his plan came to fruition, he could also arrange to pick up some more girls on the way. He started to make the arrangements and his staff noticed a marked change in their boss. From moody to determined they knew that nothing would get in the way of his plans when he wanted to bring an idea to fruition.
*****
Tony had elected to drop Libby off and visit his brother. They didn’t see so much of each other these days. Fiona was going out with her mates and their mother had gone to Yorkshire for a few days to meet up with some old school friends that she’d reconnected with through Facebook, so it seemed like an ideal opportunity for a catch-up. He’d said hi to Carl and politely refused his invitation to the pub. He helped Libby inside with the massive bouquet she’d bought for her mother. The welcome was lukewarm to say the least but Tony had apologised for their actions and said he hoped she would eventually forgive them so that they could move forward as a family. Feeling like Ban Ki-moon must have before attempting to broker a deal between two opposing sides, Tony decided to leave them to it now the scene was set. Carl followed Tony and gave him a man hug before thanking him for grovelling to his mother.
‘I know the wedding was Libby’s idea and you just went along with it, mate, so you shouldn’t have had to do that,’ they were at the front door and Tony was more than ready to leave.
‘Small price to pay if it helps to smooth the way.’
Carl nodded and the men shook hands. Tony got into his car and made his way to his brother’s, feeling a little cowardly for leaving his wife to face the music alone, but also glad to be out of the firing line.
Enjoying the football and their catch up the twins stopped what they were doing at the same time and a knowing look passed between them.
‘You could have waited until half-time,’ said Jim as both men looked upwards.
Claire wondered why they always looked skyward, no matter where she was. She was actually looking out of the window and had tried to be patient but it wasn’t really in her nature, so she’d let them know she was paying a visit.
‘Glad to see that Mum didn’t take it too badly.’
They made polite conversation for a few minutes before Claire sensed that they were waiting for her real reason for visiting.
‘It’s not particularly good news but I need your help.’
‘Go on,’ they were both intrigued and had temporarily forgotten about the match.
‘Remember the guy who kidnapped Mel?’
‘Of course,’ said Tony. ‘I remember the poor woman he murdered as well. I know it’s frustrating for Dad and Mel that he hasn’t been found yet. They’re getting on with their lives but there’s always that niggling doubt that he may turn up and...’
‘He has,’ interrupted Claire. ‘But he’s thousands of miles away just now but we don’t know how long for.’
‘What do you mean “we”?’
‘Never mind that,’ said Jim. ‘Where is he and what do you expect him to do?’
His question was met with silence, but the twins could sense Claire’s presence and knew she hadn’t left. Now that the time had come for her to tell her brothers that the man who had kidnapped their half-sister, was likely to be shagging Tony’s mother-in-law in the near future, Claire was delaying the bad news.
‘Claire, what else is there?’
She knew they would be shocked and hoped they could help.
‘Big Ed has changed his name to Gary Jamieson and he turned up in Zambia...’
The twins were not liking the sound of this.
‘...at the orphanage where Mum and Val worked. He has a building business in the area but is up to his old tricks as well.’
‘What do you mean, Claire? Does he know Mum and Val? Is he still grooming young girls?’
‘All of the above,’ she paused. ‘There’s no easy way to say this but him and Val are, well you know.’
‘Oh my God,’ said Tony. ‘How am going to tell Libby. We have to call the police, Interpol or something. Can you track him Claire? Do you know where he is? We could get him arrested and extradited. Do they have an extradition treaty...’
‘Whoa, hang on a minute,’ she hadn’t meant to be so loud and the curtains shook and the door slammed shut, shocking the twins.
‘Jesus, was that you, Claire?’
They calmed down when they heard her giggles. ‘Wow, I didn’t know I could do that. I’m almost as impressed are you are.’
Knowing their sister as they did, they listened patiently as other doors around the flat closed the blind banged against the window in the kitchen and open windows blew shut. She was obviously trying out her newfound tricks and eventually she returned to the conversation.
‘Sorry about that. A bit frivolous I know but I just couldn’t help myself. Have you had time for the news to sink in now?’
Seeing them both nod, she carried on. ‘Gary, Big Ed, whatever you want to call the man, has had cosmetic surgery so his face isn’t recognisable. He is very dangerous. I can tell you that it’s not always possible for us... me I mean, to keep track of him.’
‘Why’s that?’
Claire hadn’t been told not to tell them about the evil spirits and, in fact, wanted them to be aware so that if the time came, they wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.
‘He’s being accompanied by some very unsavoury characters, not of your world. You know that I can now do a few tricks. Well, his soul mates are evil and are also able to perform certain tricks which makes keeping a track on him a risky business.’
‘So you’re telling us that there’s a chance that this guy and Libby’s Mum might already be sleeping together and he might be grooming young girls, and there’s nothing we can do about it?’
‘Not exactly,’ said Claire. ‘Firstly, I don’t think they have slept together yet which is good news. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but Val wasn’t quite ready to start the physical side of their relationship. Secondly, girls have gone missing from the orphanage but no boys. We’re going to try and find out more information and keep you informed.’
‘So what do you want us to do?’ asked Tony.
‘He’s really keen on Val. We think he might try to visit her. You need to keep her away from him if he does. See, it’s not much to ask is it?’
‘And what am I supposed to tell Libby?’
‘Easy. Now she’s a believer you can tell her the truth. The more people looking out for Val, the better. Oh, and the good news is that Mum met him and took an instant dislike to him. She’s quite perceptive, our mother.’
The twins were relieved that their mother hadn’t been taken in by the evil charmer.
‘But what about telling the police?’
‘You can do that if you can think of a plausible re
ason for how you’ve got hold of this information.’
Fair point thought both men. Neither of them could come up with a good reason to explain how they’d found out about this man and even if they told the police about the girls going missing, they were sure that they’d be told it was a national and not an international crime.
‘Best not to mention any of this to Mum and Dad either,’ Claire moved an ornament to regain their attention.
‘For Christ sake, stop that! You’re freaking us out,’ said Jim and Claire giggled for a few seconds before turning serious.
‘I don’t want to worry the rest of the family unnecessarily. If he arrives in this country that might change, but you can tell Fiona,’ Claire had anticipated Jim’s next question. ‘Libby may need her help and support.’
The twins were mulling over the information passed to them by Claire as she said a quick goodbye and disappeared.
‘It sounds to me like there’s a battle between good and evil going on in her world,’ said Jim. ‘So she can’t be in heaven yet, can she?’
His brother was thinking exactly the same thing and none of it yet made any sense to either of them.
*****
Marion was on the train to London on her way back from Yorkshire. She’d contacted People Against Poverty during a quiet moment at the hotel and had initially spoken to Gail. Gail had carried out the volunteer training for Marion and Val and both women were now friends with the easy-going trainer. Marion hadn’t meant to share her worries with Gail but once she’d started telling her concerns about Daniel, all the other stuff had come out and by the end of the call, she’d felt relieved that she’d been able to share her problems and that Gail hadn’t thought she was making something out nothing. Marion knew deep down to trust her own instincts but Val’s reaction had made her doubt herself. Gail had obviously trusted her judgement as Marion had just hung up on a call asking that she and Val visit the charity HQ the following day at 10 am. They must be very concerned she thought, to respond to her call at 7pm and convene a meeting for the next morning. She wasn’t looking forward to calling Val to tell her about the meeting, but they had to try and sort something out soon thought Marion, if they were going to work on the orphanage project together in Romania.
*****
Carl had made them tea before retreating to the pub and Val had thanked Libby for the flowers. The two women now sat opposite each other, Val on the green leather settee, and Libby on one of the matching armchairs. She took a deep breath.
‘I don’t know how many more times to say I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be so upset especially when you knew I didn’t want a big wedding.’
They’d been around this buoy already but Libby felt the need to repeat herself.
‘You are my only daughter, Libby. I wanted to show you off to all our family and friends at your wedding, so that everyone knows how proud I am and how much you mean to me,’ she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. ‘And now I’ll never have that chance.’
‘Oh, Mum.’ Libby put down her mug and moved to her mother and hugged her.
‘But why didn’t you tell me this when we talked about weddings?’
‘Because I didn’t want to say I thought I could talk you round. As you didn’t have a serious boyfriend at the time I...’ They were quiet for a moment while Val gathered her thoughts.
‘I expected you to meet someone and come home one day and say it was serious. Then get carried away with me about planning your wedding and then you’d change your mind and say you wanted a big do, a dress with a long train, reception, the works. Your father and I have been putting a bit away for years for yours and Carl’s wedding you know.’
Libby wasn’t aware of their wedding funds and up until a few minutes before hadn’t realised that she could actually feel guiltier than she already did.
‘I’m so sorry, Mum,’ now they were both crying and hugging. ‘It would have been hard without Dad there to give me away too. Please say you’ll forgive me?’ This wasn’t the time to tell her mother about the message from her father, perhaps there would never be a right time.
Val wiped a tear from her daughter’s face and pulled her to her. She stroked her hair and Libby enjoyed the closeness to her mother, which she hadn’t had for ages.
‘I do feel hurt, Libby, but I’ll get over it. Especially if you and Tony do decide to have a proper blessing and invite lots of friends and family, have a reception, a beautiful dress, maybe a piper and some beautiful photographs...’
Libby laughed. How could she deny her mother this after seeing how upset she’d been?
Now that the bridge between mother and daughter had been fixed, Val was keen to tell Libby about some of her experiences in Zambia. Libby already knew a little of the country from the tales her mother had told her the first time she’d gone away with Marion. Val gradually added Gary into the anecdotes and Libby noticed her mother’s eyes sparkle when she talked about this new mystery man.
‘Ooh, he sounds interesting. Is he good to you?’
‘Very.’
‘And is he good looking.’
Val laughed, embarrassed. ‘Very,’ she turned serious. ‘Do you think it’s too soon, Libby? It’s platonic up to now but that may very well change.’
Libby wasn’t used to seeing her mother blush and tried not to show that she’d noticed. ‘Mum, Dad’s been gone for just over two years now. You loved each other but I’m sure he’ll understand.’
‘You mean he would have understood?’
‘Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. You have to be sure that it’s what you want though, Mum. I don’t want you to be hurt by this man.’
‘If you knew him you’d know he’d never hurt me, Libby. I really miss him and can’t wait to see him again.’
‘When’s that likely to happen?’
Val explained that Gary had been in touch and was hoping to do some business in Europe. He was trying to arrange his dates so that it coincided with her break, halfway through her next tour in Romania, or at the end of that tour. The phone went and Libby listened to her mother’s discussion. She got the impression that it was Marion but still didn’t know her mother’s reason for their falling out.
‘What’s happened between you two?’ Libby asked as soon as her mother had rung off and Val explained that Marion was jealous of her new relationship with the charming and good-looking Gary.
‘Ooh. I never knew Tony’s Mum was like that.’
Val explained that she had doubts about whether they could work together in Romania and told Libby about the meeting at the charity HQ the following morning.
‘I really want to do this job in Romania but they’ve said they want us as a package. So I’m going to be grown-up and try and put what happened in Zambia behind us. I don’t want Marion to know when and I where I’m meeting Gary though, that part of my life is none of her business.’
Libby thought it was sad that there was a tear in the friendship and hoped that it could be mended. It was a shame as they had been inseparable before their latest tour to Zambia and that closeness had meant that Carl and Libby worried about their mother a lot less than they used to. She wondered if she were being selfish in hoping that her mother and mother-in-law would regain that close friendship again in the not too distant future.
Tony came to pick Libby up a little later and she wondered why he hadn’t seemed really pleased that her relationship with her mother was almost back to normal.
‘Are you okay? You seem preoccupied.’
‘Can we wait until we’re home and then we’ll talk?’
He hadn’t said that everything was fine and Libby didn’t have a good feeling about what was to come later.
‘There’s no easy way to tell you this, sweetheart,’ he pushed her gently into the lounge and she sat down.
Libby knew that nobody had died, but Tony looked so solemn and worried, she was scared.
‘Whatever it is. Just tell me!’
‘Your mothe
r’s seeing someone new, and that man...’
‘Oh, I see. You’ve been talking to your mother and she’s told you her version of events. My mother said your mother’s jealous of her new bloke and that’s why they’ve fallen out. Apparently he’s really good looking and charming and is kind and thoughtful as well and...’ her words trailed off and she stopped when she saw the look on her husband’s face. ‘What?’
‘Do you want a drink?’
‘I just want to know what’s going on here?’
‘Libby. The man your mother is falling for is the one who kidnapped my step sister.’
‘WHAT!’ this time it was a scream. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, his picture was all over the papers, she’s been in Zambia, not on another planet. Has your mother told you that?’
‘I don’t know why you keep talking about my mother, this is nothing to do with her...’
‘But I thought she told you, nobody else knows about my mother seeing this man called Gary.’
‘He’s changed his name to Gary Jamieson, Libby. He used to be known as Big Ed and has had cosmetic surgery to change his appearance. He’s a murderer and grooms young girls to have sex with older men. He’s evil, Libby and we have to protect your mother.’
‘Oh my God,’ she put her hand over her mouth finding it difficult to take in the information. A few seconds later she realised something didn’t quite ring true. ‘Hang on a minute. How do you know all this? Who told you if it wasn’t your mother?’
Libby saw the look on her husband’s face and realised what must have happened. ‘So she came to talk to you when you were with Jim?’
‘Yup.’
Before she’d received a message from the Medium Michael Gray, Libby didn’t believe that their dead sister was really communicating with them. She thought it was their way of handling the grief. Now she was in no doubt that the departed could contact some of those on the living plain, but still found Tony’s revelation a bit of a stretch.
‘So let me get this right. Your sister has been to Zambia watching your mother, sorry, her mother as well, and my mother. And, even though that guy has apparently had cosmetic surgery, she recognised him as the man who kidnapped your stepsister and murdered another woman. Is that about right?’
