by Anita Waller
They waited until the children had left and then Dunbar spoke.
‘I have some news. I’m holding nothing back, what I know you will know in about five minutes.’
They waited.
‘The shop Treverick turned into the grotto is owned by a chap called Ralph Burgin. He sells crafts and other tourist stuff all summer in the premises, then shuts up shop and overwinters in Spain. He met Liam Ryland at the beginning of summer, in May he thinks. They became really friendly and when it came time to leave for Spain, Ryland asked him if he could stay in the flat over the shop until Burgin returned in March, saying that it was much better than the flat he was living in. Burgin agreed and asked him to keep an eye on the shop instead of paying rent. He needed some repairs doing and Ryland said they would all be done by the time he came home.
‘Once Burgin had departed for foreign shores, it seems that Treverick began to put his plan into operation. The shop had full frontage shutters so nobody had any idea what was going on behind them. He set up the grotto, figuring – hoping, I reckon – that you would take your three children to see Santa, especially Grace. He made a damn good job of it and cleverly didn’t advertise it until a couple of days before it opened.
‘Then he really got lucky because you turned up on the opening day. His biggest problem was always going to be that someone in authority might realise he didn’t have a licence, a police check, or anything that would make his grotto legal.’
‘But why?’ Lauren looked bewildered. ‘What did he gain from that?’
‘He needs Grace. He needed to see her and I think it’s as simple as that. Plus, he needs you scared. He’s punishing you for taking Grace away from him. Don’t forget that this all started because he punished your mother for being what he perceived as the cause of his imprisonment. He is very clever at disguise, planning his life and the incessant stalking he seems to crave and is by far the most dangerous man I have ever come across during my time with the police force.’
‘So he disappeared as soon as we came away from the grotto?’
‘Immediately. The ones who followed you in to see him said he simply wasn’t there. They hung about a bit thinking maybe he’d gone to the toilet. Even Santa needs to pee. But it seems he ducked under the sparkly fabric drape at the back of his chair and disappeared. We found the Santa outfit in the back room so I suspect he had all his normal clothes on underneath the outfit to make him look a bit fatter. He couldn’t hang about just in case you let Grace open her present immediately. He just wanted you to know he’s still here, still following and controlling you and making you aware that you need to be on your guard at all times.’
Pilot growled.
‘It makes me sick to my stomach that he actually touched our kids. And of course, he was lucky because Noah was asleep. He dropped his voice to a whisper using the old excuse of not waking the baby but really, it all helped with the disguise. Grace would only know his normal voice. And to be honest I think he’d disguised his accent anyway. He sounded like a posh Geordie rather than a Devonian.’
‘The biggest plus side to all of this,’ Dunbar continued, ‘is that he is starting to take chances. This was a very risky thing to do just to have a two-minute contact with Grace and to let you know just how unsafe you all are. If you hadn’t turned up on the first day he could very well have had a council visit after about three days and then he would have had to disappear because a second council visit would have had police back up. I think he is getting desperate to have Grace back with him.’
‘And Christmas Eve? Do we have extra protection?’
Dunbar nodded. ‘Yes. There will be two armed officers and there will also be dogs. He might be able to escape humans but he’ll not get away from dogs.’
Pilot didn’t comment and didn’t look at Dunbar, afraid his face would reveal too much.
‘There is one other thing. I’m not sure whether it’s relevant because Treverick doesn’t know this and it doesn’t help with the investigation as it stands at the moment, but Treverick has a son. I wouldn’t normally tell you but I said you would know as much as I know, so there it is.’
‘A son? Did he marry?’
‘No, a one-night-stand with a lovely girl who fell for his charms. She never saw him again – tried to contact him but he’d done his disappearing act once again. I’ve met the little lad who is ten now. He’s a bright intelligent kid who’s going to have to be told one day just who his father is. So, we have lots of information about what brought Treverick to this point but nothing that tells us where he is, or what he’s going to do next...’
Chapter 29
His beautiful Angel would be eight on Christmas Day. He was looking forward to spending it with her. Her holiday break was over now, she had to come home.
On Christmas Eve, it rained. It was more or less torrential all day and Grace and Olivia spent time baking with Lauren. Grace enjoyed her first mince pie ever and everyone else the first mince pies of the season.
They had all come over from Moorgate to help with preparations for the following day. Josh was constantly at Freda’s side. She was very frail. The bullet from Treverick’s gun hadn’t killed her but it had taken so much else away from her. She now spent her days in a wheel chair; she never complained outwardly but inwardly she raged.
While her family saw her as a much-loved family member who needed their help, Freda saw herself as a burden. Josh passed her a small knife and she sat listening to the chatter while on sprout preparation duties.
There was an undercurrent to their chatter that she recognised as fear. What hadn’t they told her? Did they know something they had deliberately shielded her from? It didn’t take much guesswork to know the subject of the fear.
And Pat was too quiet. Freda looked across at her as she sat on the floor playing with Olivia and smiled. The answering smile was bleak. Her first Christmas without her beloved David was clearly going to be hard.
‘Freda?’
She looked up at the sound of Josh’s voice who mimed drinking a glass of wine from the open doorway leading into the kitchen.
‘Please,’ said Freda, ‘Merlot if we have it.’
He laughed. ‘It’s like they bought the entire stock of Sainsbury’s wine department. Trust me, they have it. Merlot, it is,’ and he disappeared into the kitchen.
It was like having John back. His smile, the way he held his head when he was joking with her, even the way he stood. His son was almost a mirror image.
Dawn moved behind her and kissed the top of her head and whispered, ‘I know. It almost breaks my heart, too.’
They had a makeshift lunch and then everyone went to the cemetery except Freda, Jess and Noah, They took the wreaths for the two graves as they did every year, along with a third one for David’s grave. But it was different this year, for they were accompanied by two policemen and two of Mark’s men. They didn’t stay long, just said their own private messages to these people they had loved so much and headed back towards the cars, slipping and sliding in the mud. Grace and Olivia were a little bit bewildered. They knew nothing of John and Amy other than they were grandparents they had never met. But David, they had both known. They hadn’t been to the cemetery before and neither of them looked particularly impressed by this strange trip out on what had, so far, been such a lovely day.
Noah was having his afternoon nap and Jess was in her own room. She was looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year she had spent it alone in a tiny flat while her mother enjoyed the sunshine of Fuerteventura. This year, people she had grown to love and admire surrounded her. Their lives were lived under such difficult circumstances and yet only Lauren occasionally allowed the mask to slip. Only she showed the utter frustration of living like a prisoner and knowing she could do nothing about it.
Jess heard a knock on her door and called that it was open. Josh popped his head around it.
‘Can I come in?’
‘Of course.’
He laughed at the tiny Ch
ristmas tree on her desk. She had a few cards scattered around and had put some decorations up around the window area.
‘Is this it? Is this Christmas?’
‘Don’t be cheeky. I have to do this with a baby on my hip, you know.’
‘Sorry.’ He looked contrite.
‘Does Lauren want me?’
‘No.’ He hesitated. ‘I do.’
She looked puzzled.
‘I’m not doing this very well, am I? I’d like to take you out, maybe for a meal, or cinema or something?’
She looked a little shocked. ‘Me?’
‘Of course you.’ He laughed.
‘When?’
‘Boxing Day?’
‘Can I let you know once I’ve checked that Lauren doesn’t need me?’
‘She doesn’t. I’ve checked.’
‘Oh.’ She looked stunned. ‘Then thank you, I’d like that.’
‘Good. I wouldn’t have accepted a no, anyway.’ He grinned as he quietly closed her door.
She put her book down. There was no chance of carrying on reading now. Standing, she moved to her wardrobe. She took out the grey silk dress she had bought to wear for Christmas Day and smiled. No way would that be worn at that time, it would be saved for Boxing Day.
And so, Christmas Eve drew to a close. Pat, Freda, Dawn and Josh returned to Moorgate. They had delivered all their gifts for the Hillside branch of the family, mostly wrapped in festive wrapping paper but a few wrapped in birthday paper for the child they had thought they would never see again. Pilot and Lauren had been quite emphatic that the birthday celebrations had to be kept separate to Christmas so the plan was a huge Christmas lunch and then a birthday tea party later in the day when Grace would open her birthday presents.
Freda was in bed by eight o’clock, exhausted after her day trip out; Josh, Dawn and Pat stayed up talking. They shared memories of David, of Christmases in past years until finally Dawn and Pat took themselves off to bed just after ten o’clock.
As Dawn began to climb the stairs, Josh touched her arm. She stopped.
‘Something wrong?’
‘I’m taking the car.’
‘What? But...’
‘I’m going back. To Hillside.’
‘Oh, Josh, be careful. They’ve got enough protection, you know. Do the security men know you’re going?’
‘Don’t worry. Pilot’s told them to expect me at eleven o’clock. I’m going to sit in Grace’s room. Hopefully, it’s just a precaution. See you in the morning,’ and he kissed her. ‘Love you.’
‘And I love you. Take care.’
‘I will.’
He climbed into the Mondeo, the rental car they had hired until they bought a new one, and drove to Hillside. He was followed by one of the Moorgate protection group until he reached the police car parked at the bottom of the Hillside drive. He waved to them and one of the officers got out of the squad car to check the Mondeo. He saw the Moorgate car turn around and drive off and then wound down his window to speak to the policeman.
‘Josh Thornton. I’m going up to Hillside for the night.’
‘Pop your boot please, sir.’
He looked a little nonplussed but did as they requested. He heard the boot close with a bang and the officer returned to his window.
‘Thank you, sir. We’re taking no chances. Have a good night.’
Josh thanked him and drove up to the house feeling impressed. They quite rightly didn’t trust anybody. He heard the growl of the dog as he put a foot outside the driver door. He stopped, not sure what to do.
Another policeman came up to him, this one holding tightly on to a dog leash attached to a massive German Shepherd.
‘Luther, stay.’
The dog dropped down and the policeman opened the driver door. ‘You’re okay now, sir, but please don’t walk about outside tonight. The other adults in the house have been advised.’
Josh nodded. He had nothing to say. He kept an eye on the dog all the way up to the front door. Once inside, he found himself wishing Treverick would actually turn up...
The tree looked magnificent. The children’s presents were piled underneath the tree and spilling out across the carpet. To one side was a folding table with a large pile of birthday presents and cards and Lauren had left on the tree lights. It was a magical display to greet the children when they came downstairs the next morning.
It was at that point that Josh changed his mind about wanting Treverick to turn up. He realised it would completely spoil Christmas for the children and that above all the others, Grace needed to see the festive season in all its glory. She didn’t need to be woken by the sound of dogs barking, or the report from a gun; she needed normality.
Pilot entered the room and stood by him.
‘Looks lovely, doesn’t it?’
Josh nodded.
‘She’ll love it.’ Both men knew who ‘she’ was.
‘Okay,’ said Pilot, ‘there’s an armed officer positioned at the top of the stairs and we’ll actually be in Grace’s room. I’ve had about three hours sleep while Lauren was doing all of this so I’ll be okay all night. If you feel the need to nap, come out on to the landing. There’s a comfy chair there. And it’s just outside Grace’s room, so if I need you I can easily get to you.’
‘Where are Mark’s men?’
‘At various points inside and out. Iain is covering this room and the patio area and I think Sam has drawn the short straw with the top of the drive area. He’s in for a cold night.’
‘Is that all we have?’
‘No. We have two police officers with dogs, two armed police officers and four of Mark’s men. And us.’
‘If he comes.’
Pilot looked at him. ‘You don’t think he will?’
‘Well, let’s think about this logically. He deliberately said See you Christmas Eve in that grotto. When has he ever given us advance warning before? There was definitely no indication of the bomb under David’s car and no warning at all of the bullet that came within a hairsbreadth of taking out Freda. He is one of the most devious men out there and he’ll know what is waiting here tonight. So, no, I don’t think he’ll come tonight. I think he said that just to wind us up. He knows we cannot have this level of protection all the time. He’ll turn up when we’ve dropped our guard. I don’t know what we can do, Pilot.’
‘For tonight, we stick to the plan. I’m not leaving my daughter at all. When she wakes up, I’ll be there.’
Josh nodded. ‘Of course. I wasn’t suggesting anything different. Let’s go get comfortable.’
They climbed the stairs and walked along the long landing to the end. Grace’s door faced the room now used by Jess and she must have been listening for them. She opened her door and whispered,
‘Good luck, you two. And take care.’ Pilot handed her two gifts, one to be placed in Noah’s cot and the other to be placed on the end of Olivia’s bed.
‘For the ends of their beds,’ he explained.
Lauren and Pilot had decided to leave just one gift on the bed, and put the rest around the tree. Jess took them and Pilot said he would place Grace’s on her bed.
Pilot had already placed two chairs in Grace’s room and put two bottles of water on the bookcase that was rapidly filling up with books. They moved as quietly as they could and settled down for the long night ahead of them. Both had brought a book with them knowing they would be able to see by the light of the lamp that Grace liked to have on at all times. Pilot’s right hand rested on a gun placed on the small table between the two chairs.
She was laid on her left side, her back to them. Pilot felt an overwhelming upsurge of love for the little girl. He hoped Josh hadn’t noticed the moisture in his eyes. Josh had done, but said nothing.
Grace lay very still with her eyes tightly closed, controlling her breathing so they didn’t know she hadn’t yet given in to sleep. Mummy had told her to go straight to sleep so that Father Christmas could call with her presents and she had simply n
odded.
She had learnt not to show any sign of life when a man came into her room in the dead of night.
Chapter 30
To Josh it felt anticlimactic. For Pilot it was relief. Josh had clearly read the situation correctly and Pilot put it down to being one step removed from the issue. As Grace’s Papa, he was too close. As Grace’s uncle, Josh had used logic. And had been right.
Grace had finally succumbed to sleep by about one o’clock and had woken just after seven o’clock. At around five o’clock, Josh had moved out of her room and on to the chair on the landing. Pilot had put Grace’s gift on her bed at the same time, his Father Christmas duties now complete.
By 7.15 am, all three children were downstairs and staring in awe at the massive pile of gifts. Lauren was giddy with relief. Josh kissed everyone and disappeared back to Moorgate, to join the others for bacon sandwiches and champagne for breakfast. A good start to what they prayed would be a good day.
During the opening of the presents, Grace spoke very little. Olivia chatted constantly and had to immediately take each gift out of its packaging before going on to the next one but Grace seemed overwhelmed.
Lauren put her arms round the little girl and held her tightly.
‘You have nothing to fear, sweetheart,’ she whispered. ‘You’re safe here and we love you very much. Would you like some help opening your gifts?’
Grace shook her head.
‘No, thank you. But can I leave them for a bit? There are too many. I...’ She looked around the room and burst into tears.
‘What’s wrong, Grace?’ Pilot moved across to her.
‘He came.’
‘What?’
‘Father Christmas. He came during the night and I fell asleep. I tried not to fall asleep, Papa, but I had to because I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Did he touch me, Papa, did he touch me?’
Her parents stared at each other in horror.
‘No, my love, Father Christmas doesn’t touch anyone except his reindeer. He just delivers gifts to all the children in the world.’