by Karen Moore
“You need to talk things through with him before you get married. Otherwise, it could cause all sorts of problems later…” Hanna’s words trailed away. She was loath to voice the thoughts running through her head.
“Yes, you’re right.” Ceri sighed. “I’ll try and find some time to talk to him in the next day or so. He’s usually home so late, especially now as he sometimes calls in to see his mum on the way home.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s had a series of falls; no real damage, but she’s getting quite forgetful. Fortunately, Sergio’s sister Lina lives nearby and pops in during the day to make sure she’s okay and get her some lunch. Sergio’s father is worried that he may have to reduce his hours, although the police have got their hands full with the continuing migrant situation.”
“And what do you want?”
“With everything going on, I’d prefer to move away, but I don’t want to pressurise Sergio in doing it just for me. It has to be a joint decision.”
“Good luck with that one.”
Ceri sighed again. “The whole thing is taking the edge off the wedding preparations, but we do need to talk about it.”
“I’ll let you go. Get in touch if there’s any more news.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” Ceri rang off.
Hanna didn’t envy their situation. She could see how difficult it would be for Sergio to move away, although mainland Italy wasn’t that far. Whatever they decided, there would always be downsides. She felt something brushing against her leg and heard a pitiful whine. A pair of imploring eyes looked up at her. Feeding time again.
***
Shortly before 8 o’clock the following morning, Eva wandered into the kitchen dressed in her hedgehog pyjamas, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “Where’s Daddy gone?”
Hanna stared at her, startled. Eva had always called Rhys by his first name, but a few times lately she had referred to him as Daddy. Was she finally starting to accept him in that role? Hanna hoped so.
She smiled and said: “He’s had to pop into work this morning. So we’re going shopping today, just the two of us. I want to go to the market in Llangefni and see if we can get you some new shoes for school. We need to have breakfast and get going. Can you feed the boys please?”
“Okay.”
Bryn and Cosmo circled Eva’s legs eagerly, almost knocking her over, in their anticipation of breakfast. She mechanically filled their respective bowls with pellets of dried pet food and put them down on the floor to a rapturous reception. The bowls clattered on the slate tiles as the animals gobbled up every last morsel.
“How come Bryn’s still here?” Eva asked.
“Daddy had a few meetings in the office today and thought he’d be better staying here.”
The little girl seemed satisfied with this response. “I’ll go and get dressed now,” she announced, marching out of the kitchen. Hanna watched her go in disbelief.
***
It came as no surprise that Eva’s attempt at dressing herself wasn’t entirely successful. She’d managed to put on a pair of shorts and even zip them up, but the polo shirt was inside out and the buckles on her sandals had proved too difficult. Still, it was progress, Hanna noted, marvelling at how quickly she was growing up. After taking Bryn for a quick run, they left him in the cottage looking sad at being left behind.
“You’ll be fine. We won’t be long,” Hanna assured him. He watched glumly from the window as they got into the car and drove off. Hanna pulled the visor down to shield her eyes from the bright light, despite the sky being more overcast than it had been of late. The temperature had dipped several degrees.
She glanced sideways at Eva who was looking out of the window at the passing countryside and humming to herself. “Are you okay? Missing school?”
Eva contemplated the question as if she’d just been asked about world peace or climate change.
“Not really,” she replied finally. “It’s great being here with you and Bryn and Cosmo. But I miss seeing all my friends. It’ll be nice to see them again. And Ms Jones.”
That teacher of Eva’s again! She’d certainly made an impression on the youngster, which could only be a good thing. Hanna remembered from her own schooldays how she’d flourished whenever she’d developed a special affinity with a particular teacher.
“Apart from new shoes, is there anything else you need for school?” Eva’s old school shoes were too small; she was growing so quickly.
“A new schoolbag,” replied Eva without hesitation, as if she’d been expecting the question. “I’d like one with those furry animals on, those with the funny name that Auntie Nerys keeps in her garden.”
“Alpacas?”
“Yes, them,” Eva confirmed, nodding her head firmly. She must have given the issue some thought.
“Well, we can look but I don’t know if we’ll find one. Anything else?”
“I’d like some of those glittery pens, too.”
Hanna laughed. “I think the budget will probably run to that. And possibly an ice-cream later?”
Eva’s eyes lit up at the mention of her favourite treat. “Oooh, awesome!” she said, clapping her hands together.
For the umpteenth time, Hanna recalled Rhys’ suggestion about them having a child together. She had to admit that she was sorely tempted. If she left it much longer, there’d be too much of an age gap between the siblings. Should she, or shouldn’t she? She’d have to decide soon; Rhys was waiting for an answer.
***
The trip to Llangefni turned out to be surprisingly successful, providing everything they wanted. At the market, Hanna bought a piece of salmon for dinner, along with fresh bread, some local cheese, sausages, and a range of fruit and vegetables. She even managed to get a pair of school shoes for Eva. Laden with bags, they were about to leave the market when she heard a squeal of joy.
“Mummy, look! Look over there!” Eva pointed at a stall selling bags of all shapes and sizes. “That’s just what I want!”
Hanna followed her gaze to a small, duck-egg blue rucksack printed with white llamas or alpacas. She had to admit that it was seriously cute. “Try it on and see how it feels.”
The stallholder, a stout middle-aged woman who was serving another customer, nodded her approval. Hanna put down her bags and helped Eva slip her arms through the straps.
“I love it!” the little girl declared. “Can I have it, Mummy? Please?”
The price tag was marked £8.50. A snip: she’d have paid twice as much for something similar elsewhere. “We’ll have it!” she said to the stallholder, holding out a £10 note.
“Shall I wrap it for you, dearie?” the stallholder asked.
Eva scowled as if she didn’t want to be parted from her new find.
“Better not. It might end in tears!” Hanna replied, smiling, and taking her change.
“You can put some of the shopping in my new bag,” Eva suggested, pointing to her back.
“OK.”
Hanna started to rummage through the bags to find some lighter items that would be suitable, then she caught a snatch of conversation from a small group of women gathered at the neighbouring stall. From the mixture of Welsh and English, she could just make out something about young black girls roaming the streets of Holyhead late at night. The conversation soon ended, and the women drifted off as if they sensed they were being overheard. Curious, thought Hanna, wondering if they might have anything to do with the people staying at her old cottage?
Chapter Seven
Bryn’s ears twitched and he started to whine, a sure sign that Rhys was in the vicinity. Eva ran to the window in expectation. Hanna looked up from the sofa and in the twilight saw the faint glow of the porch light reflected through the window. No sound of a car engine or footsteps on the path. But Bryn knew better. A few minutes later she heard the key in the lock and Rhys appeared in the doorway. The dog leapt to his feet, barking and jumping up to welcome his master home.
“Whoa, there, Bry
n! Let me at least get in the house!” He staggered in, laden with a carrier bag in each hand. “Sorry I’m late. Stopped off for a drink after work at Aled’s leaving do. Did you get my message?
“Yes, sorry, didn’t I reply?” Without waiting for an answer, Hanna pointed to the bags. “What’s that you’ve got there?”
“Remember we were talking about your next writing project and I mentioned we had some information in the archives that you might be interested in? Well, this is it. Personal stories about Snowdonia and its past that people have given us over the years. Stuff about the castles, the princes of Gwynedd, the slate industry. There seems to be loads about witches and witchcraft passed down from generation to generation. You’ve not got long with it, mind. There’s a team from Bangor University coming in next month to sift through it all and archive anything important.”
“Fancy you remembering!” Hanna rose, threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Rhys Morgan, you’re a marvel! I’ll put it all out of harm’s way.”
She picked up the bags and disappeared upstairs into the spare room she used as an office. Taking a quick peep into one of them, she pulled out several slim volumes filled with spidery faded handwriting. Clearly some sort of journal containing not only text, in a mixture of Welsh and English, but symbols and sketches too. She longed to explore further, but it would have to wait for now. Her fascination with local folklore had flourished to such an extent that she’d decided to pen her own novel, one that would be steeped in these legends. This would make perfect research material and help her develop the outline idea she had for the book. She put the journals back and placed both bags next to the desk, ready for her to start work on them.
Back in the lounge, Bryn was still bouncing around Rhys in excitement, barking loudly.
“Bryn, that’s enough now. Down!”
The dog obeyed his master’s command and sheepishly retreated to the rug in front of the fireplace. Eva bounded over and threw her arms around Rhys’ legs in a big hug.
“Hi, munchkin! What have you two girls been up to today?” He tousled her hair before picking her up and putting her across his shoulders. Eva squealed in delight. She was getting a bit too big for that now, Hanna thought.
“Mummy bought me a new bag for school, and it’s got alla … appa … What are they called, Mummy?”
“Alpacas,” Hanna confirmed.
“It’s got them on it,” said Eva, triumphantly, wriggling to get down now, in her eagerness to show him the bag.
“I don’t suppose you’ve had time to look up the rental agreement on my old cottage?” asked Hanna, as Eva scurried across the room to retrieve her new bag.
“Actually, I did. Funny thing is, I looked everywhere but there was no sign of an agreement. No hard copy, no computer record, nothing. It’s as though the cottage is empty and hasn’t been let out to anyone.”
Hanna frowned. “That’s really weird. You don’t think they could be squatters, do you?”
“Who knows? Something strange is going on, that’s for sure. I’ll have to look into it further and find out exactly what.”
***
The following morning, Rhys took Eva and Bryn off for a walk to give Hanna a chance to get some work done. She had a pressing deadline for the forthcoming Anglesey Show, and was sitting at her laptop in the spare room, trying to finish off the press packs, when her mobile rang. She glanced at the screen.
“Hi, Ceri, what’s up?”
“Just checking in. All quiet here. Not heard anything else about Luciano or his family. In fact, Sergio’s informant seems to have gone to ground.”
“Is that a cause for concern?”
Ceri sighed. “Who knows? But maybe no news is good news.”
“You may be right. But I can’t help but worry, now that Luciano’s on the loose again.”
“I’d do the same in your place. Hope you haven’t changed your mind about coming over for the wedding? It’s not far off now, only a month away, and I’m counting on Rhys to give me away.”
“Well, everything’s arranged but I’ve still got my doubts. I’d hate to miss it, but I wouldn’t want my being there to jeopardise the whole thing.”
“Sergio’s dad can look into getting you police cover while you’re here if you’re still worried.” Ceri’s retort was prompt, as if she’d been expecting this response.
“I’d just like some reassurance that Luciano will leave us alone. Preferably before we come. What are the chances of that, d’you think? Surely there’s a possibility, either through Sergio or his father?”
A moment of hesitation. “We can try, but it’ll be tricky; you know that. I’ll speak to Sergio about it.”
“Thanks, Ceri, appreciate it. Everything OK, otherwise?”
“Oh, meant to tell you. I’ve started doing some voluntary work helping out at the local refugee centre.”
“That can’t be easy.”
“It’s not. You hear such harrowing stories: people who’ve been tortured, or whose families have disappeared without trace, young girls who’ve been trafficked. But at least I feel I’m doing my bit to support them.”
Hanna heard Sergio calling Ceri’s name in the background.
“Sorry, gotta go.”
“Let me know how you get on.”
“Will do. I’ll call you as soon as there’s any news.” Ceri hung up.
Hanna didn’t know how worried she should be about returning to Sicily. The wedding would be a perfect opportunity for Luciano to take action if he was intent on retaliation. Would police protection be enough? She’d be on tenterhooks the whole time, not only for herself and Rhys, but also for Ceri and Sergio, their family and all the guests. Was she being selfish even thinking about attending the big event?
The sound of voices drifted up the stairs of the cottage. Rhys and Eva must have returned from their walk. The stairs creaked and Rhys appeared in the doorway, his face flushed.
“We took the truck up near your old cottage and saw a small group – seven or eight – young black girls, maybe early teens but dressed way beyond their years, in the back garden,” he blurted out. “And you’ll never guess who was with them!”
“Go on,” Hanna prompted impatiently as he paused for breath.
“It was the van driver we saw the other day. Remember I said his face was familiar? Well, I recognised him from school. He picks up his little boy sometimes. Can’t remember his name but it’s unusual. You’d know. I think he’s Italian.”
Hanna stared at him. “D’you mean Ottavio’s father? The little boy who used to be at nursery school with Eva?”
Rhys nodded. “Yes, that’s him!”
Hanna gulped. Ottavio’s family was from Sicily.
Chapter Eight
Try as she might, Hanna struggled to switch off and get to sleep, despite the fact she could hardly keep her eyes open after dinner and had been fighting back yawns. She was plagued by fears of a possible connection between the quiet Welsh community where she lived and her previous home in Sicily. What was going on? And would it affect her and her family in any way?
Hanna’s thoughts turned back to Sicily and Luciano’s release from prison. Memories came flooding back of the death threat delivered to her home – the three silver bullets, one for each of them. And then it suddenly hit her: the sickening realisation that it wasn’t only Luciano she needed to worry about.
***
She awoke bleary-eyed and alone. The bedside alarm clock told her it was 8.23am. Rhys must have crept out of bed and gone off to work again without waking her. So much for the week off. But she could hear noises coming from the kitchen. She flung the duvet off and padded across the bedroom floor to investigate.
A soft sing-song monologue drifted through the cottage. Hanna popped her head around the kitchen door to find Eva attempting to feed Cosmo, who was, for once, waiting patiently. The kibble she was trying to pour into a bowl scattered across the kitchen floor, much to Cosmo’s delight. He chased after the
food and gobbled it up. The scene was so comical that Hanna had to suppress a desire to laugh.
“Hi, pumpkin. D’you need a hand?” she asked instead.
“No, Mummy, I’m fine,” replied Eva, struggling with the bags of pet food.
Hanna smiled and took them off her. “Breakfast?”
Eva nodded. “Remember I’m going out with Megan today?”
“’Course I do. Let me check what time they’re picking you up.”
Hanna reached for her mobile phone and scrolled through her messages. 9.30am. Enough time to get ready and have breakfast. Hanna was staying behind. She had to finish off and send out the press packs for the Anglesey Show while Eva and her best friend Megan were going out for the day. Megan’s mum was taking them to the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay. Eva had never been before and was beside herself with excitement.
Hanna popped some bread into the toaster and poured out two bowls of cereal, passing one to Eva sitting at the kitchen table.
“Did I tell you they’ve got red pandas?” Eva asked, banging her spoon against the bowl. Red pandas were her favourite animal.
“Yes, only about a thousand times!” Hanna replied with a grin. “Let’s hope you get to see them – they’re really cute. You’ll have a great day. Now eat up or you’ll be late.”
Eva started shovelling cereal into her mouth. “And snow leopards,” she said, with her mouth crammed full. “And meerkats.”
“They’re not like the ones on the TV adverts, you know. They don’t talk,” said Hanna.
A brief scowl flitted across Eva’s face. “Of course I know. I’m not a baby.”
“Here, have a piece of toast and marmalade. Then you need to get dressed. They’ll be here soon.”
Polishing off the toast in a couple of mouthfuls, Eva rushed off. Hanna had laid out her clothes the previous evening so all she had to do was brush her teeth, have a quick wash, and put them on. Hanna decided to leave her to it.