by Anita Waller
Tanya appeared in the doorway. ‘Can I have another recce in here, please? We can’t find a key anywhere else, but logically it should be here in this room. One last look and then we’ll have to admit defeat and assume he threw it away.’
They all moved out, allowing Tanya and Lynda to double-check places they had already searched.
Five minutes later, with the fire brigade one minute away, Liz could see that Phil still hadn’t moved, but she could also see that Jake was standing in his cot, and leaning over the side looking at Phil.
‘Oh, God,’ she said, ‘look at him. Look at my boy. I was starting to think I’d lost him for good, and he looks so well. It won’t be long now, and I’ll have him back.’
‘He’ll be going straight to hospital,’ Brent said. ‘Let Dan go in the ambulance with him, and you follow in your car. That way, he’ll have a familiar face for the journey, and you’ll be able to get back from the hospital easier. They may want to keep Jake for a couple of days. He’s possibly dehydrated and under-nourished, so let them take care of him.’
‘And Phil? Have you notified Rosie?’
‘Not yet.’ He didn’t expand.
Liz stared at him. So, he did have a heart. He was allowing her to see Phil first, before telling Rosie that Phil was on his way to hospital.
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. ‘Thank you.’
Seconds later, the fire engine arrived. They had come fully prepared for cutting through a door, and it took them little time to get the equipment off the vehicle and inside the house. They did a full inspection of the door, then cut around the lock area.
It was noisy; sparks were cascading around, and Liz moved out of the way, standing inside the monitor room. Jake was crying, and looking over his shoulder, presumably towards the door area. The noise would be frightening him. Phil still hadn’t moved, and Liz felt sick.
Life couldn’t be this cruel, surely Phil wouldn’t be snatched away from her at the last minute. As if sensing what she was thinking, Dan put his arms around her.
‘Chin up, Mum. You’ll be with them in a couple of minutes. It may not be as bad as it looks.’
The four paramedics picked up their gear and moved closer, sensing the door was almost open. It finally went with a bang, and they trod down the stairs with caution. They too wanted no boobytrap surprises.
‘Wait here, Liz,’ Brent said. ‘I’ll call you when I’m sure it’s okay. Let us do our job, please.’
He turned to the firemen and thanked them. ‘We’ll pack our stuff away, but we’ll hang on for a bit, in case there’s anything else. We’d like to see the little lad, as well.’
Brent smiled. ‘Thanks. That’s fine.’
He went down the stairs into the cellar, and across to where the paramedics were already working on Phil Latimer. There was no movement from him, and no colour in his face.
Jane, the one who seemed to have taken charge, had her fingers on his neck for what seemed an eternity. The other paramedic was fitting an oxygen mask over his face. Jane gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, and muttered ‘very weak’.
She put in an intravenous drip of saline, and then checked his blood pressure. Again, she checked his pulse; again, the small shake of her head.
‘He’s not…’ Brent asked in a low voice.
‘Very close,’ Jane answered.
Brent went back to the bottom of the stairs and called Liz’s name. The word was hardly out of his mouth before she was standing in the doorway. ‘Come down,’ he said.
He held her hand as she reached the bottom of the stairs. ‘Go to Phil. The paramedics are looking after Jake, and he’s doing fine.’
She stared at Brent, allowing what he was saying without speaking the words, to sink into her brain. ‘No,’ she whispered, and moved across to Phil. Everything about him seemed sunken, the muscly toned man she loved had all but disappeared. He was clearly non-receptive to anything happening around him, and she reached for his hand.
‘I love you,’ she whispered. ‘Phil, don’t give up, you’re my life.’
She watched as Jane felt at his neck once more, and then saw her look at her partner. ‘Let’s go. We’re losing him.’
Liz stepped back with a small cry, and Brent moved to her side. ‘Come on. Jake needs you. Let them do their job and get him to the hospital. Northern General?’
Jane said yes, and within a minute they had taken him up the stairs and out to the waiting ambulance.
Liz pushed thoughts of Phil aside, and turned to her son. He too had a drip attached, and was staring at it in fascination.
‘Jake.’ He turned to her, and lifted his arms.
She parked her car in the multi-storey at the Children’s Hospital, and ran across the road to the entrance.
‘My son’s been admitted by ambulance,’ she said breathlessly to the receptionist. She was given directions to the appropriate department, and spotted Dan in a corridor, looking for her. ‘Is he okay?’ she asked.
Dan’s smile was infectious. ‘He seems fine. A doctor is with him. He’s quite the little celebrity, loads of nurses have popped in to see him, now that word’s got out that he’s been found. He was fine in the ambulance, I chatted to him all the way here, and he made brave attempts at chatting back to me. Seems to say “da” a lot.’
Liz stood in the corridor and let the tears finally fall. They rolled down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. She didn’t care. Weeks of worry had ended, and Jake was safe.
Dan, being fifteen, didn’t really know what to do with her. He held her and let her cry, not speaking, knowing he wouldn’t have the right words.
‘Mrs Chambers? Your son needs you,’ the doctor smiled. ‘You want some tissues?’
He disappeared to return a few moments later with a box of tissues, and handed it to her. ‘Take your time. He’s not going anywhere for a couple of days, so you’ve many hours in which to get to know each other again.’
Jake was sitting up in a cot, only wearing a nappy.
‘We’re not putting any clothes on,’ the nurse explained. ‘He’s got a bit of a temperature, so we don’t want him getting any warmer. He’s on antibiotics, because the temperature is probably due to a small infection. He’ll be feeling much livelier tomorrow. All in all, he’s doing extremely well, considering what he’s been through. Thank goodness you’ve got him back, Mrs Chambers. We’ve all been following this story, as you can imagine, and I feel honoured to be his designated nurse. Now, go and give him a cuddle.’
And, finally, he was in her arms. The little boy she had ached for, over so many long nights, was back in her arms, and snuggling up to her.
‘You want a cup of tea?’ the nurse asked.
‘No, thank you,’ Liz smiled. ‘I’ve got everything I need.’
Rosie looked down at her husband. She wouldn’t have recognised him; his appearance had changed completely. He had aged; he was so pale as to appear dead, and she knew without having to be told that he was near death.
She leaned forward and kissed his head. He felt cold.
In her head, she had already given him to Liz, but Rosie was beginning to realise that he would be always hers. Till death do us part, she thought.
The doctor finished writing his notes and checked Phil’s pulse and blood pressure. The doctor initially made no comment, until Rosie said, ‘Well?’
He removed his glasses and looked at her. ‘Are you planning on going home?’
‘Yes, I have a young daughter…’
‘Where is she now?’
‘With my mother.’
‘Then I suggest you ring your mother and ask if she can keep her overnight.’
The implication was clear.
‘We’ll provide you with a chair bed so that you can rest, but I do have to tell you that your husband is extremely weak. If he makes it through the night, then there will be some hope. However…’
‘I understand, doctor. I have a however, too. However, I don’t think I’m the one my h
usband would want by his side. I will be going home. I need to explain to Melissa that her daddy has been found, but he is poorly. She has to come first, now.’
She touched Phil’s hand. ‘Bye, my love. You’re in my prayers.’
The doctor watched her leave the room; his mind was reeling. He had never had such a reaction before, when he had been forced to deliver news of the worst kind.
He didn’t expect this man to still be here in the morning, and the only thing he could do for him was make sure he wasn’t alone. He left Phil’s room and headed for the nursing station, to give instructions that he wanted someone with Mr Latimer at all times.
Chapter 53
Sadie Fremantle’s funeral went off without a hitch. There weren’t many people there, and her few close relatives went for a meal afterwards. The circumstances surrounding her death were known to all of them, and it made talking about it difficult. Christian talked about the life he had shared with his mother before his departure to Solent, and eventually everyone joined in, remembering the good times they had experienced with her.
DI Brent had been there, and Christian was grateful. He could so easily have cancelled; the case was over. He had shaken Christian’s hand, and wished him well. ‘Don’t let this stop you aiming high. Good luck with everything you do.’
Christian thanked him, and watched as he walked away.
He had decided to go back to the south coast, and his bags were already stored in his Nan’s car, ready for the journey. The next time he would visit Sheffield would be to make the house tidy for selling.
Christian knew of the rescue of baby Jake, and had left a message on Liz’s answerphone, saying how pleased he was. She hadn’t responded, so he guessed she would be at the hospital. That was his last tie severed. He climbed into the car, and they left.
Chapter 54
Tom went in to work the following morning, and finally told all the staff the full story. He recognised that they would probably have press hounding them for details of Oliver’s background, so he thought it best they knew the truth.
Except Tom didn’t really know why it had happened, why Oliver had suddenly changed. He had hoped the autopsy on his friend would reveal something medical like a brain tumour, but it hadn’t. It seemed he had suddenly become paranoid about different things, and the end result had been two murders, and two kidnappings – possibly three murders if Phil Latimer didn’t make it.
He knew they would never open a second branch now, acknowledging that it had all been Oliver’s baby anyway; he hoped the house had been bought for the right reasons, to increase their business, and not for the sole intention of kidnap.
He would wait a year and then put it back on the market. In the meantime, he would work with the existing staff to hold tight to the business, and trust that their previously excellent reputation would see them through. He would clear out Oliver’s office and leave it empty; maybe one day a new partner would be brought in, but that was a long time in the future.
At the moment, though, the future looked pretty damn bleak.
Epilogue
It had been hot for most of July. The garden looked well, now that Liz had the time to spend on it. Her decision to leave Banton and Hardwick hadn’t been easy, but it had been right. Karen, who had taken on Liz’s job officially, spoke to her on a regular basis, but she knew that would fade, as Karen became more confident.
Tom still contacted her, but she almost thought that was out of guilt. His partner had caused her so many problems, and Tom was still hurting. She knew that, too, would disappear, and then she would really feel that she could get on with her life.
Julia had rung once, to say she was glad she had Jake back. Most of Oliver’s money had gone to various charities, and he had left instructions that the properties he owned were to be sold, and the proceeds given to the Salvation Army. Julia was left with the house she lived in, and she had decided to simply cut her losses and not contest the will. She was going to sell up and move to London.
Liz put the bed linen into the washing machine, and switched it on. It was the first load, and on such a lovely day it wouldn’t take long to dry. Through the open door she could hear the sounds of Jake’s laughter, as Dan pushed him on the swing. Jake’s giggles always made her heart rate accelerate, and he was a proper little toddler. She remembered how shocked she had been in the hospital when she had sat him on the ward floor to play with some toys, and he had stood up and walked. He hadn’t been walking when Oliver had taken him from her.
Sitting quietly on a lounger, and smiling at the antics of his new family, Phil was a picture of contentment. He would have liked to stand and get out the lawnmower, to try and help Liz with the more strenuous of the garden chores, but he knew he couldn’t. He looked up and smiled, as she came down to sit with him, carrying a tray of drinks. He took the small pot of pills from her, followed by a glass of water.
‘Here, time for tablets,’ and she gave him a kiss.
‘The nurses never used to kiss me at tablet time,’ he remarked, thoughtfully.
She smiled at him. ‘They’d better not – you’re mine now.’
Despite the diagnosis from Phil’s consultant. She couldn’t help but feel he was getting better. Thanks to the sunshine and the warmth, his skin had lost the pallor, and he was finally starting to put on a little weight, although his frame was still skeletal.
The consultant had explained that they’d barely got Phil through that first night. His organs were closing down, and he was in advanced heart failure. They had discussed the possibility of a heart bypass, but Mr Enwright had been quite adamant that Phil would die during the operation. They could give him tablets to help prolong his life, maybe give him six months of a reasonably comfortable time with his family, but the failing organs wouldn’t stand up to a six-hour operation.
Liz knew that Phil was in acceptance. He took the medication, saw Melissa and Rosie at least twice a week when they came to Liz’s for a meal, and spent every night holding Liz tightly, never wanting the morning to come, forcing himself to let her go to start the new day.
She handed him eight or nine pills, and he waited until she sat in the lounger placed at the side of him, before reaching for her hand.
‘All of that, those bloody awful months, it’s all been worth it, to be here with you, Jake and Dan. And I know I’m leaving you in safe hands with Dan.’
‘You’re going nowhere, Phil Latimer. You’re starting to improve, looking a whole lot better. Let’s not talk about the future, it’s what’s happening right now that’s important.’
He simply nodded, and they sat in silence for a while.
‘Can I ask you a question?’ Liz said. ‘It’s the one thing that’s bugged me about everything that happened. I mean, I understand what drove Oliver, and really that was down to a mental problem that he managed to hide from everybody, even his wife. And I understand Rosie not reporting you as missing, because she genuinely was trying to come to terms with you having left her, or so she thought. But what I don’t understand is why you didn’t pay a cheque in for nearly £100,000.’
He gave a small laugh. ‘I didn’t want to pay it in. At the time I was hurting so bad from losing you, knowing you were going through a pregnancy without me by your side, and holding on to that cheque was kind of keeping you with me. I did intend paying it in, but wanted to hang on to it for a bit longer. And besides, I thought you might one day contact me, to find out why it hadn’t been paid in. It seemed that if that money was in the bank, it would be the final thing between us, put to bed. That cheque was in my wallet when I was taken.’
‘Was it? Oliver must have destroyed it, because it wasn’t there when they found your wallet. That’s cleared that little mystery for me. When you really stop and think about it, it’s a good job you didn’t pay it in. If you had, Rosie would have continued believing you’d left her, and I wouldn’t have had a reason to contact her and discover you were missing.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Thank God we found yo
u both.’
Dan lifted Jake out of the baby swing, and set him down on the grass. He hauled himself up and headed for his parents.
‘Da.’ he said.
‘Da,’ his father responded.
Liz watched her son as he giggled. ‘They had no idea what da meant, but Phil had explained it had been their form of communication while they were locked away. An assumption that it meant dad had proved to be wrong; Jake said da to everything. He had six teeth, combined with an awesomely cheeky grin, and Liz was slowly finding the courage to let him out of her sight occasionally.
Dan followed him up the garden. ‘We’ve got steak for tea – are Rosie and Melissa coming?’
Liz nodded. ‘Yes, they are. They’ll be here about three. Shall we barbecue?’
‘You mean, will you barbecue, please, Dan?’
‘Whatever.’
‘And, Phil, the rest of us will be having salad, you’ll be having chips with yours.’
‘Am I complaining?’ Phil smiled. He knew Dan had every intention of turning him into Billy Bunter; he had seen the horror on the young man’s face the first time they had met. It seemed it was the chef’s mission in life to build him up. But Phil knew it was pointless. It would only make the coffin so much heavier to carry.
‘I’m going across to the shop, Mum, get some fresh salad. We don’t have enough in to feed all of us. I’ll pop Jake in his pram and take him with me, it’s easier for carrying the shopping. Is that okay?’
There was a brief moment of hesitation and Liz squashed it. ‘Yes, of course. Take care crossing the road.’ A mum’s automatic response.