A Place of Hope

by Anna Jacobs

  Grumbling under her breath, she went to the door and, not thinking, opened it without checking who was there.

  ‘Ah!’ George set his hand on the door and pushed it wide open, sending her stumbling backwards. ‘I thought so. You are living here.’ He turned to beckon to someone.

  She looked beyond him to see Marcia helping Liz out of the car. The yell to Rachel for help died in her throat, because even George wouldn’t hurt her in front of his mother, surely? But if Emily caused a scene, it would definitely hurt Liz.

  He grinned at her, a nasty, triumphant expression. ‘Careful what you say and do, Auntie dear. We don’t want to upset someone with a dodgy heart, do we? Mum fainted yesterday.’

  ‘You should be careful, too!’ she tossed back at him.

  ‘Oh, I will be. Much more careful than last time I dealt with you.’

  From across the car park, her sister waved to her, then began hurrying towards the pub. Now, that was strange. Liz wasn’t wearing her usual smile. What was going on here? Something was definitely wrong.

  Emily moved past George and ran lightly down the steps to throw her arms round her sister.

  Liz kissed her cheek and hugged her convulsively.

  ‘Better come inside, everyone.’ But when Emily looked, George was already inside. As they went in, she saw him standing with legs apart, turning slowly round to study the outer bar.

  ‘What a dump! Good thing you’re going to sell it.’

  ‘Whatever gave you that idea, George? I have no intention of selling this place.’

  ‘Then why did you sign the contract with Barton & Halling?’

  ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘Oh, but you did. Just shows how bad your memory has become.’

  Liz’s hand tightened on her arm. She shot Emily a quick, shocked glance, then looked down, trying to hide her agitation, but unable to stop tears welling in her eyes. Fortunately, her son had resumed his survey of the bar and didn’t notice as she quickly wiped the tears away.

  There was an exclamation from the stairs at the rear of the bar and Emily looked round to see Rachel standing nearly at the bottom, staring at them in shock. Before her friend could move, let alone turn back to the safety of her bedroom, George ran across and grabbed her by the arm.

  ‘Do come and join us, Mrs Nosey Parker. You don’t want to miss the final scene.’

  ‘Let go of me!’

  He only did that after giving her a shake and saying, ‘I thought I told you to leave my aunt alone. Your interfering has only confused her.’

  Liz made a sound part way between a gasp and a sob.

  She’s guessed he’s doing something wrong, Emily thought. Does he realize that? She didn’t think so from his smug expression as he resumed his survey of the bar.

  Had Liz guessed he was creaming money off her retirement fund as well? Well, even if she had, she probably wouldn’t have the courage to stand up to her son.

  George’s wife went to look out of the window.

  She’s opting out, Emily decided. Doesn’t want to rock the boat. Or was Marcia wholeheartedly behind her husband in what he was doing? Who knew? Marcia had always been cool and distant, good at hiding her feelings.

  ‘Where in this hovel of a place do you live, Auntie dear? Mother needs somewhere more comfortable to sit down.’

  ‘My flat is over here.’ Linking her arm in Liz’s again, Emily led the way. She slowed down as she saw George flourish a mocking bow in Rachel’s direction and point, waiting till her friend had gone into the flat before following them.

  He stared round again, his face showing further disdain. ‘Why on earth are you putting up a fight about selling this place? No one in their right mind would want to live in such a dump.’

  ‘I like it here. I shall enjoy renovating and remodelling it. And if I ever do sell it, I don’t intend the money to go to you, George.’ She saw another upset expression on her sister’s face, but once again George didn’t notice that. He seemed to be growing careless with what he let his mother see. Emily wondered if she could push him into revealing more.

  He gave her one of his wolfish grins. ‘The money won’t be going to me. It’ll be going into a trust which I’ll be managing for you. As I manage my mother’s trust.’

  Liz’s eyes filled with more tears but she didn’t say anything, just sat there, shoulders drooping.

  It was obvious to Emily that Rachel had missed none of this. She sat down close to Liz and patted her back.

  Emily remained standing near the fireplace. She glanced at her watch, worrying about what might happen if Chad and Oliver returned. They’d notice the car parked outside but would they come rushing in and get into a fight with George, either verbally or literally?

  She didn’t know what to do, how to react.

  George was so confident, and seemed to have won every trick so far.

  Why had he come to the north? What was he planning this time?

  After the three men left The Drover’s Hope, they drove straight down the hill to Oliver’s house. Kevin’s car was already parked there and he got out, waiting for them.

  Toby didn’t come with the others, but stayed in the back seat, hunched up and looking miserable.

  Chad opened the back door for Toby, saying quietly, ‘Kevin won’t hurt you. There’s no need to be afraid.’

  With a doubtful look, Toby got out. But he stayed as far away as he could from his social worker when they entered the house.

  Oliver gestured to one side. ‘You and Toby can use the morning room, if you want to be private, Kevin.’

  Toby stopped dead.

  Kevin spoke gently. ‘I need to speak to you on your own, Toby. I’m not going to hurt you or force you to go back to the home.’

  ‘I want Chad with me.’

  Chad could see Kevin start to shake his head. ‘How about I stay in the hall, just outside the room? You can call me if you’re frightened.’

  Toby looked from one to the other, heaved a sigh and waited for Kevin to go into the room first.

  ‘Where do you want to sit?’ the social worker asked.

  As he closed the door behind them, Chad heard the lad say, ‘I’ll sit here. By the door.’

  He felt sorry for Toby, but you could only buck the system so far, and Toby did need caring for in some way.

  Oliver poked his head out of a door at the rear of the hall. ‘Want a coffee while we wait?’

  ‘No, thanks. I’d better stay within earshot. Toby’s very nervous.’

  Oliver disappeared into the kitchen again and Chad began to look at the paintings and photographs in the hall.

  Inside the room, Kevin tried to set Toby at ease. ‘No one’s going to make you go back to Mrs Corrish if you’re unhappy there, I promise you.’

  Toby looked at him suspiciously. ‘She said you send me back. Not going.’

  ‘Tell me, why do you keep running away?’

  ‘To see Miss Penelope. I like to do things with her. I like to walk on the moors. I like to help in the pub. Mrs Corrish shouts if I get my shoes dirty. Shouts a lot.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me about that last time.’

  Toby wriggled uncomfortably. ‘She was listening. She gets mad.’

  Kevin looked at him in shock. ‘Mrs Corrish? But she wasn’t in the room.’

  ‘She listens on the intercom. Listens a lot. We always know.’ He made a faint hissing sound. ‘We can hear it.’

  ‘I see.’ Kevin was again shocked by this. ‘Look, I can find you somewhere else to live, but it won’t be as nice as the group home. You’ll probably be with old people or in lodgings.’

  Toby scowled at him. ‘I’ve got somewhere to live. With Emily and Chad.’

  ‘Do they know that you want to live there?’

  ‘Yes. Emily said I could. I like the pub. It’s safe there.’

  It was Kevin’s turn to feel uncomfortable as he wondered how to explain that Emily and Chad couldn’t be considered suitable people to care for Toby, not with their
own troubles unresolved. And the nephew said Emily was becoming forgetful, whatever the specialist said. Surely the nephew knew her better than someone who’d only seen her once? Dementia was such a sad condition.

  Toby stood up, jigging about. ‘Go to toilet.’

  ‘Do you know where it is?’

  ‘Yes.’ He left the room before Kevin could say another word.

  Toby saw Chad standing with his back to the hall and moved quietly towards the front door. He was in luck because a neighbour started mowing the lawn and the sound of that covered up the click of the door opening.

  When Kevin came out to look for Toby, Chad was studying a rather lovely painting of the moors.

  ‘Hasn’t Toby finished in the toilet yet?’

  Chad turned round in surprise. ‘I’ve not seen him. I thought he was still with you.’

  ‘No, he went to use the toilet.’

  They looked at one another in dismay and Chad went to the small cloakroom near the front door. The door was half open. There was no one inside.

  Kevin went into the kitchen. ‘Oliver, have you seen Toby?’

  ‘No. I thought he was with you.’

  The social worker let out a grunt of annoyance. ‘I think he must have done a runner. Could you check the rest of the house, please?’

  A quick search showed no sign of Toby.

  ‘He’ll have gone back to The Drover’s Hope,’ Oliver said confidently. ‘He loves it there. Why the hell don’t you let him stay there with Emily?’

  Kevin looked at Chad. ‘There are . . . problems about that.’

  ‘You mean someone’s suggested that Emily and I are losing our wits?’ Chad said at once. ‘It’s a lie. We are not suffering from dementia. I have amnesia, due to injuries, and even that is improving.’ As he spoke, he saw a sudden image of Marina, her face contorted in anger as he handed her some papers, and he had to stop speaking for a moment.

  Kevin didn’t seem to notice his distress. ‘Nonetheless, it’s enough to worry the authorities. We have to be very careful where we place people.’

  The image had gone. Chad forced himself to pay attention. ‘Oh. So we’ve been judged and found guilty, have we? Even though a specialist has cleared us?’

  ‘We can’t take chances.’

  ‘And Toby’s happy with Mrs Corrish, is he? You certainly got it wrong there.’

  ‘I’m afraid we did. I take the blame for not realizing sooner how Toby felt. I had . . . personal problems.’

  ‘How is your partner?’ Oliver asked.

  ‘Coping. But lying down for several months isn’t an easy thing to do. We won’t be having any more children, if I have my way.’ He ran a hand through his curly hair, making it stand out wildly. ‘Um . . . so you think Toby will have gone back to the pub?’

  ‘He usually does.’

  ‘Does he know the way?’

  ‘He knows this area very well. He loves the moors.’

  ‘I think we’ve been underestimating him, even though we knew he was functioning at a higher level of intelligence than most people with Down syndrome.’

  ‘He’s good with people, very sensitive about their feelings.’ Chad didn’t mention the way Toby seemed attuned to the old house. If he’d ever believed in ghosts, he’d have believed in them at The Drover’s Hope.

  ‘Should we go after him?’

  ‘No need. There’s a short cut across the fields. I’d guess he’ll be back before we can drive there. But if he doesn’t want to be found, there are several places he can hide, both inside the building and on the moors nearby. I don’t know them all.’

  ‘Oh, hell! Mrs Corrish is creating an almighty stink about this already. If I lose track of him, there’ll be the devil to pay from my area supervisor.’ Kevin frowned. ‘I can’t figure out why Mrs Corrish knows so much about you people or why she’s so against you.’

  ‘I can guess,’ Chad said grimly. ‘Emily’s nephew George is stirring up trouble everywhere and has someone in the area reporting on what his aunt is doing.’

  ‘We’d better go back to the pub,’ Oliver said.

  But when they went outside, there had been an accident in the lane, a load of animal feed coming off a trailer that had lost one of its wheels. The lane was completely blocked.

  Oliver reversed back into his drive. ‘We could be waiting ages for them to clear that. I think we’d better walk back to the pub. As I said before, there’s a short cut across the fields.’

  George looked at the group of women with a smug smile. It was clear he felt things were working to his advantage, Emily thought.

  ‘A word with you in private, Auntie dear.’

  ‘I’ve nothing to say to you, George. Except that you are not selling my home or getting your hands on my money.’

  ‘We really do need a quiet word.’ He moved across, took her arm and dragged her away from the others. When Rachel would have gone to her help, he snapped, ‘Don’t even think of interfering in family matters. You have done enough harm already.’

  Emily tried in vain to tug her arm away. ‘Let go! You’re hurting me.’

  Liz whimpered, one hand splayed across her chest. ‘Oh George, don’t be so rough.’

  He stopped to speak to his mother in a kindly voice. ‘Sometimes you have to be firm with a person, in their own best interests, Mother. Trust me. I need to talk to my aunt privately.’

  Marcia moved to bend down and take her mother-in-law’s hand. ‘It’ll be all right. George knows what he’s doing.’

  ‘It’s not—’ Liz caught her son’s eye and didn’t finish her sentence. But she shook Marcia’s hand off and moved along the sofa to sit closer to Rachel, trembling so visibly that Rachel put her arm round the older woman.

  George took a deep breath. ‘I’ll explain it all to you later, Mother. You’ll understand then that I’m doing this for the best.’

  She shook her head. ‘You’re bullying her, George. And what Emily does is none of your business.’

  ‘Rubbish.’

  He turned to his wife. ‘See that Mrs Nosey Parker doesn’t follow me or poison my mother’s mind against me.’ He walked out, forcing Emily to move with him.

  As they left the flat, she tried to sag to the ground to prevent him from dragging her, but she was so light in comparison to him that he just picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.

  Ignoring her kicking and shouting, he took her into the rear bar. ‘This will do as well as anywhere.’

  She started to shout for help, in case Chad and Oliver were close enough to hear.

  He shook her hard and set her on her feet again. ‘Shut up! I’m not going to hurt you.’

  ‘You’ve already hurt me.’ She held out a bruised wrist.

  ‘A tiny bruise! You did it to yourself.’

  She frowned. He sounded as if he believed that. Surely he didn’t really think he was helping her? No. He was just keeping up the pretence to support what he wanted: control of the money.

  ‘Now. I think you’ll agree that my mother’s health is fragile and she doesn’t cope easily with stress. If you don’t help her, she could be in trouble.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re getting at.’

  ‘My mother needs someone to live with her and look after her, and who better than her sister?’

  ‘I’ve no intention of spending my retirement as a carer. Not even for my sister. And in that tiny house, too. No, thank you. She and I are too different in our ways. Anyway, Liz doesn’t need coddling. She needs to get a life, make friends and go out more. She could do that if you let her control her own money. You keep her so short financially.’

  ‘Times are precarious and she’s not good with money. I’m making sure there’s enough left to care for her as long as necessary.’

  ‘Then you live with her and look after her.’

  ‘She needs her sister, not her son, someone of her own generation.’ He held up one hand. ‘Let me finish.’

  Emily folded her arms, wondering how he could po
ssibly think he’d persuade her to give in.

  ‘I already have a contract to sell this dump, signed by you before you ran away from the geriatric unit. There’s a witness to your signature who is prepared to come forward: the sister from the unit. Your memory is faulty, and I can prove it.’

  ‘I knew Pauline was involved in your scam. How much were you paying her to keep me doped and in that place, anyway?’

  He ignored that and went on, still in the same arrogant tone. ‘I even have evidence of you acting irrationally before you fell down the stairs at the hotel, driving so badly you ran right off the road.’

  She frowned, not remembering any incident that could be twisted to seem like that. ‘What did you arrange?’

  He laughed. ‘I had no need to arrange anything. The incident happened just before you stopped for the night at the hotel. One of the staff told me about it. You’d mentioned it to them.’

  ‘Stop trying to fool me, George. I’m not as gullible as your mother.’

  He shrugged. ‘OK. Then let’s talk frankly. Bit of luck for me, that coma. Should have made it all quite easy to arrange, once you’d been shown that you needed a quiet life from now on. But no, you had to escape and mess up the plans I’d made to look after you. And I would have looked after you, you know. I’m not heartless. Well, I know a way to make sure you won’t do that again.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  He leaned closer than she liked, almost touching her. ‘Unless you do what I ask, my mother will be the one to suffer.’

  She gaped at him. ‘What the hell do you mean?’

  ‘It’d be really easy to persuade people that my mother can’t look after herself any longer, especially after her recent fall. I could easily persuade her that her mind is failing. She is . . . an extremely persuadable woman. If you aren’t going to look after her, I shall have to put her into a care home. And it might not be a nice one, unless you co-operate with me.’

  Emily stared at him in horror, then shook her head. She had discovered as a child that you must never give in to bullies, even when they were bigger or more powerful than you. She wasn’t going to start giving in to her nephew now. ‘I’m not letting you have my money, whatever you threaten.’

  ‘What’s so bad about living comfortably with my mother, anyway? At your age, a quiet life is best, much safer, especially if there turn out to be any other mental consequences of the coma. You’ve always been a quiet person. That’s probably why you never married. It’ll make very little difference to your life, really.’