by Shaun Baines
He smelled her perfume. It was light and fresh, in direct contrast to the damp he detected as soon as he entered. There was mould in the air. Somewhere a black fungus was growing.
Daniel moved the vase and reached out for her. She took his hand, but he sensed her reluctance.
“How did he die?” she asked.
His heart hammered in his chest and he swallowed down bile that burned the back of his throat. “I told you.”
She caught his eye and he was too afraid to look away in case she caught him out in his lie. “You told me a man called Fairbanks killed him. That it was one of your stupid turf wars.”
“That’s right,” he said, controlling his breathing.
He remembered tearing up the expensive carpet in the office. Together, Bronson and he wrapped up an unconscious Scott to muddy any evidence trail and carried him downstairs to a waiting car, bumping his head on the stairs as they went.
“But what happened?” Lily asked.
They’d dropped him into the boot and Daniel closed it quickly before he came to his senses.
“How are you going to do it?” he’d asked Bronson.
He’d shrugged and climbed into his car. “I’ve got a tyre iron in here.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer to use his gun? Might make it easier.”
Bronson started the engine. “I’d prefer not to do it at all.”
Slamming his door shut, Bronson sped down the gravel driveway. Daniel watched him leave and then collected the head of Dr Hilltop, pitching it into the lake.
Lily wrung his hand and he rubbed her knuckles with a fingertip. “There was a fight.”
“And that’s how you got the bruises on your face?”
He nodded. “Fairbanks had a gun. I couldn’t stop him. He - “
Lily’s face creased in pain. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This can’t be easy for you.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about.” Daniel straightened in his chair. “I know you still care about him. I think it’s best if I spare you the details. Try and remember him the way he was.”
She looked away, her eyes travelling over the grease marks on her kitchen wall. He knew it would all come out eventually, but he wanted to save her from the worst for as long as he could. How would she react when she learned her ex-husband had harmed Eisha? What would she say when she discovered Daniel had killed him for it? It was an unbearable thought and one he pushed to the back of his mind.
“I wish I could see him,” Lily said. “Tell him I didn’t hate him for leaving and landing me in this dump. It was part of his nature. He was distant. I don’t think he’d have been happy with anyone, really.”
The hum of the refrigerator grated on Daniel’s nerves, putting him on edge. He was sure it would blow at any moment and shower them in ice. The room was claustrophobic. The smell of damp was cloying. He had to get out. He had to get away. His guilt was choking him.
“How many people have died because of this Fairbanks man?”
“Too many.”
“Is it over now?”
He’d call Noodles later to arrange for the ransom money. Scott’s plan to pay Fairbanks was as good as any. At least Daniel didn’t have to worry about losing face. He and Bronson would get the money together and bring it back to Five Oaks. It would be safe there until Fairbanks contacted them.
“I’d do anything to keep you safe, Lily,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about Fairbanks.”
Lily finished the dregs of her coffee, carefully placing the mug on the table. “I better get back to unpacking.”
She reached for the vase and pulled out the newspaper. Smoothing it out, Lily slowly folded it into a square and tucked it in her pocket. Daniel caught sight of the date in the corner. It was over three months old.
“I thought you’d moved in recently,” he said.
Shaking her head, the curls of her hair hid her face. “There never seems to be enough time to unpack. I had to bring Eisha with me and she didn’t like it at first. She started acting up and then she was in hospital. I’ll get around to it eventually. I sometimes think if I unpack, I’ll have to accept I really live here.”
“Maybe you won’t have to unpack. Have you ever been to Scotland?” he asked.
“Isn’t that where you ran away to?”
He winced at her wording, but described his cottage and the rolling hills that surrounded it. He told her about his business, his honest income and his plans for the future. He told her how he hoped Eisha would settle down quickly and make friends. Maybe he’d try to make a few friends himself.
When he finished, he was flush with excitement. He hadn’t realised how much he missed his home until he’d described it to someone else.
“It sounds lovely, Daniel,” she said.
Lily placed their mugs in the sink. Daniel stood behind her. He reached out, but stopped himself at the last second. If he touched her that way, the way he wanted to, it would be much more than words. He would make it real and it scared him. He feared her rejection, but he feared hurting her more.
Lily leaned on the sink for support. “I was hoping you would stay here. With me.”
“I was hoping you’d leave.”
He couldn’t stay. The Daytons would crush him as they crushed everyone who tried to control them. He would be subsumed like a mouse in the stomach of a cat and his daughter would be next.
“Don’t make your mind up yet,” he said. “Come with me to the hospital. See your niece. Eisha will be awake by now.”
Lily turned to face him. Her jaw was set and there were angry lines around her mouth. “How do you know she’s awake? The last time I spoke to a nurse, she said there was no telling when she’d wake up. You haven’t had any phone calls so how do you know?”
He shrugged and stared at the floor.
Lily jabbed him in the chest. “Stop trying to protect me and talk to me like an adult instead.”
The weight of Daniel’s head seemed impossible to lift.
Picking up his mug, she threw it against the refrigerator. Ceramic shards burst like a firework and the refrigerator stopping humming. “Answer me for once, Daniel. How do you know? Who attacked her? What happened to Scott? What do you want with me?”
Before he knew what he was doing, his lips were on hers and they kissed, desperate to find something in their embrace they couldn’t express in words, but the moment passed quickly. Lily pushed him away, ignoring the pleading in his eyes. “There are too many lies in the Dayton world. I don’t want the same life with you that I had with Scott.”
“I would never lie to you,” he said, remembering the story he invented regarding Scott’s death. “Come with me to Scotland. We can start again. As a family.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“When Scott left me, I saw what I was missing. A normal life with normal friends.”
“That’s what I’m offering you.”
“Without secrets, Daniel. You measure out truth like you hand out sweets to a child. I thought you might have changed. I hoped it with all my heart, but you’re a Dayton and you always will be.”
“I’m trying to change. I’m trying to be free of this life. Believe me, I know how dangerous secrets can be.”
Daniel heard a whining in his voice he didn’t recognise as his own.
Lily’s emerald eyes blazed. Her mouth was straight, but there was doubt in her face. She was waiting for reassurance and he couldn’t give her any. There was none to give. She was right.
He gritted his teeth. “I’ll be around for a few more days,” he said. “You know how to reach me.”
Lily nodded, holding back her tears.
“If you need anything…”
He left the sentence unfinished. Closing the door, he lingered on the step gulping fresh air. There was a click behind him and he knew Lily was on the other side, turning the lock. He forced his heart to harden, but he couldn’t stop loving her while he could taste her on his lips. With nothing more to s
ay and nothing he could do, he turned up the collar on his coat and walked away, knowing he would never return.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Dad?”
Eisha’s eyes fluttered open. Her voice was weak, but there was a crumpled smile on her face. Daniel had left Lily’s home and went directly to the hospital where he’d waited by his daughter’s bedside. The nurses had offered him countless cups of tea and coffee, which he’d dismissed, though the Ward Sister had kept her distance. He was content to sit and watch his daughter, and imagine the future they’d soon be living together.
“Is it really you, Daddy?”
He embraced her. “Yes, it’s me, baby.”
She trembled beneath him. The warmth of her arms around his neck went straight to his heart. It was almost too much to take. He buried her face in kisses.
“Where am I?” she asked.
He sat down, but held fast to her hand. “You’re in hospital.”
Eisha looked scared, scrutinising the medical equipment in her room. “Is there something wrong with me?”
“You just had a long sleep, that’s all.”
She relaxed and smiled at him, rubbing her eyes. He hadn’t seen them in so long, he’d forgotten they were the same shade of hazel as his own.
“I still feel sleepy,” she said.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Daniel asked.
She scrunched up her face as she tried to answer. Daniel waited patiently, but Eisha shook her head. “I can’t remember. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He was glad in a way. There’d be time to tell her everything later when they’d both had time to adjust. Luckily, for him at least, it wasn’t going to be today.
“It’s all mushy in my head. Is that what’s wrong with me?”
“It’s just the medicine they gave you when you were asleep. Dad’s head is mushy all the time and I’m okay, aren’t I?”
She watched him carefully, her eyebrows raised. She looked worried again.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You were away for ages. Much longer than I liked.”
“I know, but things have changed. We can be together again.”
Eisha’s face brightened. “Good. I missed you. I don’t mind falling asleep and waking up in hospital if it means you’re going to stay.”
Daniel shifted uncomfortably.
“Do you remember what I said when you went away?” she asked.
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“When you were in the car and you left me in the rain?”
The memory rushed at him and he was sliding down a sinkhole. The hospital was gone and he was back in his car. Daniel remembered. He remembered leaving her very well. She had spoken to him, but her words were drowned in the drumming of the rain.
“I told you,” he said, trying to keep his voice from breaking, “my head’s mushy all the time. I can’t remember. What did you say?”
Eisha placed her hand on top of his. It was so light, he hardly felt it.
“I said, ‘I’m angry.’”
He sat up slowly in his chair, watching her watching him. Angry? Because he left? Or because of something else? She had always been a wilful child, but never angry. Then again, he was often working. Perhaps he had missed the worst of her tantrums, leaving them to be dealt with by Lily. She’d mentioned Eisha had been acting up. Was it all part of the same thing?
“Why were you angry, honey?” he asked.
Eisha gave him a comforting smile. “I just am. All the time.”
The Ward Sister appeared at the door. Her stern face lit up when she saw Eisha awake and well. “Hello there, pumpkin. How are you feeling?”
“My Dad has come back,” Eisha answered, pointing at him.
The Sister consulted the monitors, scribbling numbers in her notebook. It was the same one she’d used to access Hilltop’s records that ultimately cost him his life. “He’s like a lost penny, isn’t he? Though not quite as valuable.”
Daniel coughed into his hand. “We were just talking about how Eisha doesn’t know how she got here.”
Glancing up from her notes, the Ward Sister met his gaze and her face grew stern again. “Do you?”
Hilltop had told him everything. Scott had drugged his daughter and presented her to the doctor for safe keeping. The exact details didn’t bother him. He had found the men responsible and they had been punished accordingly. That was all he cared about.
He patted his daughter’s knee. “How would I know?”
His iPhone sounded a message and he retrieved it from his pocket. It read ‘5pm. Bring a picnic to Jesmond Dene.’ Fairbanks had called the meet. By tomorrow evening, this would all be over, he thought and sighed his relief.
Placing the phone back in his pocket, he noticed the Ward Sister watching him, her eyes glinting.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up. Family time is so important,” she said before leaving.
For the next hour, he sat at Eisha’s bed and talked as father and daughter. Eisha told him about school, her new dress and Auntie Lily. He talked about the weather, Scotland and Auntie Lily. Occasionally, Eisha frowned and Daniel asked if she was okay. She smiled or nodded and told him she was fine.
And all the while, Daniel was trying to forget what his daughter had said about being angry.
She began to tire, snapping her eyes open every time her lids drooped, but it was a losing battle. Daniel tucked the blanket around her and kissed her forehead.
“I don’t want to go to sleep again, Dad,” she said.
“It’s okay, pet. It’ll only be for a little bit. Not like last time.”
“Will you be here when I wake up?”
Daniel was about to answer, but Eisha was already asleep. He sneaked out of her room, casting a backward glance when the Ward Sister approached. “Can I have a word, Mr Dayton?”
Daniel followed her into the waiting room. It was empty again. Did anyone ever come to see these sick kids, he wondered?
“Eisha is doing well,” the Ward Sister said. Her voice was flat, as if the last few days had robbed her of sleep. “She’s ready to go home.”
Daniel held up his hands, but she immediately shooed them away. “No, Mr Dayton, we had an agreement.”
“I know and I’m sorry, but I can’t take her. She needs someone to look after her and I can’t be there.”
“Why?”
Daniel grazed his cheek with the palm of his hand and swallowed hard. “I’m busy.”
The Ward Sister ground her heel into the floor. “Busy? Are you her father or not?”
“Sister, I appreciate all you’ve done, but it’s not safe to take Eisha home at the moment. One more day. Surely you can’t discharge her the moment she wakes?”
“You will not use this hospital as a surrogate family, Daniel. You need to take some responsibility.”
He looked at the Disney characters on the wall. Whoever had drawn them was good, but not that good. The characters weren’t quite right. The smile on Donald Duck’s face made him look sad. Cinderella’s eyes were crossed. They were poor imitations of what they were supposed to be and everybody knew it.
The Ward Sister cleared her throat. “Dr Hilltop hasn’t been to work and there is no answer at his home. Do you know anything about that?”
Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No.”
She held his gaze and then frowned, checking the watch pinned to her uniform. “I can feel your presence dirtying everything I hold dear. I want you out.”
“I’ll go, but Eisha has to stay. I’ll send someone to pick her up. Okay?”
Her disgust was written all over her face. Daniel flushed, admonished by her judgement. Another broken promise, he thought. The Ward Sister had done so much to help him. It was because of her his daughter was back in his life.
“This is no way to thank you, but - “
She didn’t stay to hear the rest of his apology. Returning to the nurses’ station, the War
d Sister busied herself with pointless paperwork, striving not to look in his direction.
He hated leaving Eisha so soon after getting her back, but she was in the best of care. No matter what she felt about him, the Ward Sister was a professional. Daniel left the hospital and texted Lily about Eisha. He couldn’t bring himself to speak to her in person yet.
Leaving the hospital, Daniel called Bronson and gave him his instructions.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The offices of Reeceman and Co were above a branch of Laurie’s Estate Agents in Walker. Its heavy door was clean, but unmaintained. Black paint flaked away to reveal a red undercoat. Electrical wires hung loose from the doorway where the doorbell had been. By the brass handle was a handwritten note taped to the door with one word on it - ‘Closed’.
Daniel had watched the entrance for over an hour while waiting for Bronson to arrive. No-one came or went. He wasn’t surprised. The Daytons were Noodles’ only clients, but the note on his door worried him. His patience was stretched thinly enough. He emerged from his hiding spot by the bins of a bakery called Bagel of the North and tried the door. It was open.
Climbing a narrow staircase to the second floor, Daniel winced every time a step creaked. He found a glass door marked Office, but no receptionist. Packing boxes were stacked against the wall.
“Daniel? Is that you?”
He entered and saw Noodles by the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore another ill-fitting suit and a smile that showed his yellow teeth. The room was lit by two dirty windows and a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Dented metal filing cabinets lay open and empty. There were more packing boxes standing on Noodles’ desk.
“Going somewhere?” Daniel asked.
“Yes. Far away from here.”
“And when were you going to tell me?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you. I worked for your father, not you. I entertained the idea of working for your brother. There is still money to be made from the Dayton name, but having narrowly escaped with my life, I realised my time here had come to a close.”
The carpet of the office was threadbare. Daniel’s footsteps reverberated as he closed the gap between them, but Noodles was faster than he anticipated, retreating quickly behind his desk. The barrier was more psychological than physical. There was no need to breach it yet.
