by Susan Lewis
‘That sounds like the phone,’ Jerry murmured.
‘You stay there,’ she said, getting up. ‘I’ll bring you a cup of tea when I come back.’
By the time she walked into the house the answering machine had picked up, but she could hear Dee’s voice leaving a message and quickly grabbed the receiver. ‘Hi, I’m here,’ she said. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ Dee answered shakily. ‘Lawrence ran out of the cinema and we can’t find him.’
As fear exploded in Rosalind’s heart she shouted, ‘But he doesn’t know his way home from there. It’s too far. Have you called the police?’
‘That’s why I’m ringing, because I think maybe we ought.’
Lisa’s eyes were filled with astonishment. She and David were upstairs in Amy’s guest room, where he’d finally got round to telling her what had happened after the train ten days ago. It was bizarre, unimaginable, but he obviously wasn’t making it up, so somehow she had to accept that it was real. ‘Is it likely to happen again?’ she asked, already alarmed that it might.
‘I don’t think so. It’s hard to be sure, but as long as I find a better way to deal with stress, I guess everything should be OK.’
Still torn between shock and concern, she said, ‘Well, clearly you shouldn’t be bottling things up, and keeping them away from me as if I can’t cope. I’m not some delicate flower whose petals are going to wilt at the first sign of rain. I understand, and I accept, that you still have feelings for Catrina, and that you sometimes feel guilty about loving me. OK, it’s not great, but it’s not surprising either. Apart from anything else, it shows you’re human, and that you care.’
Apparently feeling the need to reassure her, he said, ‘I’ll get over it. It won’t come between us, I swear.’
Picturing him again sitting alone in his car, baffled and afraid, then concocting an elaborate tale to cover his embarrassment, she still couldn’t quite get to grips with it. It seemed so unlike him, and yet … Seeing how worried he looked now she felt an overwhelming tenderness come over her, and wrapped him tightly in her arms. The next instant he was sweeping her up off the floor and as they collapsed in a laughing, boisterous heap on the bed Roxy’s voice sailed in from next door.
‘I won’t ask what’s going on in there, but you’re too old to be having so much fun. It’s not decent.’
‘And you’re too young to be listening,’ Lisa shouted back. ‘Cover your ears, or play loud music like most normal people your age.’
‘Who said I was normal?’
‘Good point.’
After making himself more comfortable, with his hands behind his head and legs stretched out lazily, David watched her with wickedly gleaming eyes as she gathered up both their iPhones and switched them off. ‘Mm,’ he grunted disapprovingly, as she positioned herself cross-legged at the end of the bed, ‘I was rather hoping you were about to ravish me.’
Tilting her head to one side, she narrowed her eyes as she gazed down at him. ‘I will,’ she promised, ‘just as soon as we clear up the other little business you decided not to tell me about.’
He frowned, clearly confused.
‘I had lunch with Miles on Friday and he told me how your enemies have been digging around in my past to try and embarrass you, or worse, so I thought I should tell you about the money-laundering incident myself.’
Though his eyes widened, he didn’t say anything, so she pressed on with as much as she knew about what had happened the night Tony had found himself in a Filipino jail, and how he’d been released, without charge, the following day. ‘Tony swears it was a mistake,’ she assured him. ‘I’ve spoken to him and he insists that nothing came of it afterwards. I guess we could check that out, if you like, but I don’t think he’s lying.’
‘I see,’ he said. Then, after a beat, ‘So you’re still in touch with him?’
Feeling herself starting to turn hot, she said, ‘Only to find out if there was anything to worry about.’
He nodded slowly. ‘And where is he these days? Still gallivanting around the globe in his usual irresponsible fashion, I suppose. You know it beats me how you could have got yourself mixed up with someone like that – and for so long.’
On the brink of defending both herself and Tony, she made herself pull back, knowing it would only turn into a row that she really didn’t want to have. ‘We can’t always get things right every time,’ she said, trying to make light of it.
Clearly not ready to let it go, he said again, ‘So where is he these days?’
Realising that to tell him the truth would only make matters worse, she said, ‘I’m not sure, and wherever I think he might be, by this time next week it’s likely to be somewhere else.’
He nodded and continued to fix her with a look she was finding hard to meet.
Please don’t let him ask if I’ve seen him, she was begging silently. It would be one lie too far if she denied that.
‘Do you still think about him?’ he asked.
‘No, of course not,’ she cried, plunging straight into the next lie. ‘I mean apart from when something like this comes up. Anyway, even if I did, it’s not the same way I think about you.’
It took a while, but eventually his mood started to show signs of lightening. ‘I’ll be having words with Miles about talking to you before he’s brought the problem to me,’ he told her gravely.
She was confused. ‘But he said he’d told you and that you didn’t want to … Oh look, it doesn’t matter,’ she said hastily, as the darkness returned to his eyes. ‘Why don’t we just let all this go and get on with the ravishing you were waiting for just now?’
As she swung round to lie beside him, he slipped an arm around her and pulled her in close. However, instead of turning to kiss her, as she’d expected, he lay staring at the ceiling until eventually he said, ‘Do you wish it was Tony you were marrying in a couple of weeks?’
Stunned, she sat up sharply and looked down at him. ‘Absolutely not,’ she told him truthfully, ‘and I can’t believe you’re even asking it.’
Raising a hand to her face, he cupped it gently. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, gazing into her eyes, ‘I didn’t mean to make you angry,’ and pulling her back into his arms he put his mouth to hers in a kiss that took a while to feel as intimate as it was.
Rosalind and Jerry were speeding up over Dundry, heading into the centre of Bristol. As Jerry struggled to keep out of the ditch, and avoid oncoming traffic, Rosalind was calling her father.
‘His phone’s off,’ she cried furiously as she was diverted to messages. ‘Dad! It’s me!’ she shouted into his voicemail. ‘You have to call me back. Lawrence is missing! He was at the cinema with Dee …’ Her voice broke on a sob. ‘Call me back,’ she choked, and snapping the phone shut, she gasped as Jerry braked hard behind a tractor.
‘Bloody thing! Get out of the way,’ Jerry growled, jamming a hand on the horn.
The farmer continued poodling along, shedding bits of straw like cares and woes as he went.
‘Overtake,’ Rosalind commanded.
‘I can’t. There are too many bends.’
‘I’m going to try Dad again.’
‘Why? There’s nothing he can do.’
‘He knows the Chief Constable. He can ask him to make sure every available officer is put on the case.’
‘Let’s try and calm down, shall we?’ Jerry said shakily. ‘They might have found him by now …’
‘If they had they’d have rung.’
Her hand was clutching the phone so tightly she might have crushed it. ‘Where would he have gone?’ she cried. ‘He’s only ever been to Cabot Circus once, and he doesn’t even know which bus to take home.’
‘Someone will realise he’s lost and take care of him,’ Jerry replied, sounding more confident than he felt. Then, jamming his hand on the horn again, ‘For God’s sake, why doesn’t this idiot pull over?’
Rosalind covered her face, unable to bear the snail-like pace they we
re being forced to keep to, when they had to find their son. Terrible, horrific images were tearing through her mind of a lawless, sadistic gang torturing him to death; or of him walking into traffic without realising it wouldn’t stop; of some paedophile getting hold of him and subjecting him to unthinkable acts. She could see his face, so innocent and beautiful, confused and racked with pain. She had to get to him. She couldn’t allow anything bad to happen to him. This was all her fault. She should never have allowed him to go to the cinema without her. If she’d been there, she’d have been after him the minute he ran away; she’d have caught him and he’d be safe now, but instead, no one knew where he was and if this bloody tractor didn’t get out of the way this minute she was going to SCREAM!
As it turned into the next field, Jerry zoomed on and she tried to force herself to breathe. In, out. In, out. It was going to be all right. They’d find him, and before they knew it they’d all be on their way home as though nothing had happened.
Opening up her phone she tried her father’s number again.
‘He’ll call as soon as he gets your message,’ Jerry snapped.
Her eyes went down. ‘I know. I just … I have to do something.’
Realising that his jealousy of the way she always turned to her father had no place now, he reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. Then, putting his foot down, he sped through a set of lights as they were turning red.
‘Let’s try to get there in one piece,’ she begged.
Easing off the accelerator he checked the mirror, willing a police car to come up behind them. Once they understood the situation they’d surely put on their sirens and get them through the traffic.
When finally they reached Cabot Circus Jerry pulled over for Rosalind to jump out, then drove on to find a safe, if not legal place to leave the car.
Still clutching her mobile, Rosalind ran between Next and La Senza into the glossy new shopping mall where Sunday shoppers were still meandering about, and a four-piece jazz band was playing outside a jeweller’s. She looked around, turning in circles, searching the upper levels, while heading for the steps to the cinema. There was no sign of Dee, or Sally, so flipping open her phone she dialled quickly. No answer from Dee. Forcing down more panic, she tried Sally.
‘Where are you?’ she cried when Sally answered.
‘Outside Boots, in Broadmead. Where are you?’
‘Cabot Circus. Have you found him?’
‘Not yet. Dee’s still over there. We decided to split up. It’ll be all right, Ros, we’ll find him.’
Trying not to sob, Rosalind closed down the phone and looked frantically around for Dee again. She started shouting, ‘Dee! Lawrence!’ Her voice ricocheted around the terraces, and up to the glass-domed roof, causing people to stare down at her as though she were some impromptu theatre act. ‘Dee!’ she screamed. ‘Where are you?’
‘Are you all right?’ someone asked. ‘Can I help?’
She swung round to find an old lady looking concerned. ‘I’ve lost my son,’ she told her. ‘He ran out of the cinema … Oh God,’ she choked. ‘I have to find him.’
Dashing up the steps she turned to the escalators, then slipped and fell, dropping her phone. Grabbing the pieces, she forced herself up and limped on. ‘Lawrence!’ she yelled desperately. ‘Where are you?’
‘Rosalind!’ It was Dee, leaning over a balcony above. ‘It’s all right, we’ve got him.’
Such a wave of relief hit her that she had to cling to the railing to stop herself falling again.
Somehow she got up to the next level, and the instant she saw Lawrence with her aunt and two policemen a surge of unbridled fury overcame her. ‘You silly boy!’ she seethed, shaking him with all her might. ‘What did you do that for? You’ll never be allowed out again, do you hear me? Never. Never. You don’t think …’
‘Ros, stop,’ Jerry said, panting for breath as he came up behind her. ‘He’s all right, that’s all that matters.’
‘He could have been killed,’ she sobbed hysterically. ‘Why doesn’t he realise …’
‘Ssh,’ he soothed, loosening her grip on Lawrence and pulling her into his arms.
‘You’re the parents?’ one of the policemen asked.
‘Yes,’ Jerry answered. ‘I’m sorry about this …’
‘No need for apologies, the important thing is we found him.’
‘Where was he? Where were you?’ Jerry asked Lawrence.
Lawrence’s eyes were glassy as he stared at his mother.
‘He was tucked inside a doorway, round the corner there,’ Dee said, pointing. ‘He wasn’t there the first time we looked, so I don’t know where he was till then.’
‘Why did you run away?’ Rosalind cried, turning back to Lawrence. ‘Didn’t you realise how much it would scare everyone?’
‘They were going to kill Lucy,’ he shouted.
Rosalind frowned in confusion. She looked at Dee, who shrugged, not understanding either. ‘What do you mean?’ Rosalind demanded. ‘Was it someone in the film?’ she asked Dee.
Dee shook her head. ‘Not that I recall.’
Becoming aware of a crowd starting to hover, Jerry said, ‘Come on, let’s get him home.’
After providing all their details for the police, they waited for Dee to finish giving hers, then keeping an arm round Rosalind, Jerry put a careful hand on Lawrence’s back to steer him towards the stairs.
When they reached the ground floor where the jazz band was still strumming a lively tune, Dee said, ‘I’d better call Sally to let her know everything’s OK. What time are you leaving for London?’
‘In about an hour,’ Jerry replied, ‘but I’ll probably call in sick.’
‘You don’t have to,’ Rosalind told him. ‘We’re fine now. Aren’t we?’ she said to Lawrence.
His only answer was to abruptly avert his head.
‘We’re taking the other kids for pasta,’ Dee said, ‘so I’ll pop in and see you on my way back. Listen, I’m really sorry we didn’t do a better job of taking care of him. I blame myself, I should have made sure he was sitting next to me …’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Jerry assured her. ‘He’s been out with you plenty of times before and nothing like this has happened, so please don’t give yourself a hard time over it.’
By the time Jerry drove them in through the gates at home, Lawrence was dozing on the back seat, while Rosalind, looking utterly drained, kept turning round to check on him.
‘I’m going to call in now,’ Jerry said, ‘they should have enough time to get someone in from standby.’
‘You don’t need to,’ she told him again. ‘We’ll be fine.’
‘I don’t want to leave …’
‘It’s OK,’ she said more forcefully. ‘I can manage, honestly.’
Realising to argue any further was pointless, at least for now, he got out of the car, and opening the back door he gently shook Lawrence awake. ‘Come on, son, we’re home,’ he said, fighting back the urge to scoop him up and carry him in. If he did he’d probably start screaming, and that wasn’t what any of them needed right now.
Bleary-eyed and tousled, Lawrence slid out of the car and with his head hanging down he walked to the kitchen door, where he waited for one of his parents to come and unlock it.
Once inside, Rosalind sat him down at the table. After pouring him a glass of milk she squatted down beside him as she said, ‘Tell me again why you ran away. I’m not going to punish you. I just need to know.’
‘They were going to kill Lucy,’ he growled angrily.
‘Who were?’
‘They were going to kill Lucy,’ he repeated.
‘Who’s Lucy?’ Jerry asked.
‘They were going to kill Lucy,’ he said, banging a fist on the table.
Rosalind stood up. ‘You’d better go and change,’ she said to Jerry. ‘You’ll have to leave soon.’
Wondering if a day would ever dawn when he didn’t feel next to useless where his son – and wife –
were concerned, Jerry dropped her dismantled mobile phone on the table and went off upstairs.
Reaching for the battery, Lawrence tucked it under his arm and held it there as he rocked back and forth.
‘Drink your milk,’ Rosalind said brusquely, and going to the fridge she poured herself an enormous glass of wine.
By the time Jerry came down, wearing his uniform and looking as worried as he clearly felt, she was already on to her second glass. ‘We’ll be fine,’ she told him again.
Jerry looked at Lawrence, who was still sitting at the table, swinging his legs and tapping his glass with the battery. He wanted to tell him to stop in case he broke it, but all too often when he reprimanded Lawrence a tantrum flared up, and that wasn’t how he wanted to leave his family today.
‘I’ll come out with you,’ Rosalind said, getting to her feet.
As she staggered he caught her and keeping an arm around her, he walked her out to where he’d left his holdall next to the car.
‘Call if you need to,’ he said, dropping it in the boot. ‘They can always get hold of me.’
She looked up into his eyes, but as he put a hand on her face, ready to kiss her, the phone inside started to ring.
‘I’d better go and see who it is,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you next Monday.’
He nodded, knowing that her urgency to get away was in case it was her father on the line.
She was halfway back to the house when, seeming to realise she hadn’t kissed him, she made a swift return and went up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his mouth. ‘We’ll be fine,’ she told him once more, and after an unsteady smile she ran into the kitchen.