by Lisa Hobman
He was about to leap inside when strong arms grabbed him from behind. ‘Come on, sir, come away. You can’t save anything now.’ He turned and peered at the uniformed man in breathing apparatus but tried to struggle out of his grip.
‘No! I need to get in! You don’t understand!’
The fire officer gripped him hard by the shoulders. ‘Sir, the building is unsafe, please. You must leave the vicinity. We don’t want to lose you as well as the house.’
Another officer appeared and took his arm. ‘Come on, Mac,’ she shouted above the creaking and cracking sounds of the crumbling building. ‘Let’s get you back over to your friend. She’s worried sick.’
‘No! I need to get in! Please!’ Mac’s strained voice sounded alien to his own ears. Hoarse and croaky. He tried to pull away from the woman but her insistent grip on him wouldn’t relent.
A crowd had gathered at the end of the lane, a safe distance from the two burning structures and when he reached Cassie he collapsed into her.
‘Oh God, Mac. Are you okay? Please say you’re okay?’
He began to cough, hacking and holding his stomach as his lungs fought to pull in air and expel the smoke. He gazed up at the tear-stained faced of his friend. Managing to draw breath enough to gasp out a string of words he told her, ‘It’s all gone. Everything’s gone. I’ve lost everything.’
His head started to spin and he grasped at his throat. The air felt thick and tasted bitter. A sleepy haze began to settle over him and stars danced before his eyes…
*
Cassie
Cassie watched in horror as the paramedics worked on Mac. He was placed on a stretcher, an oxygen mask fastened over his face and he was carried into the back of the waiting ambulance.
Sally appeared and grabbed her arm. ‘Oh God, Cassie, is he okay? Is Tadhg okay?’ she asked as tears soaked her cheeks.
Cassie shook her head. ‘I… I don’t know. They took him. I… he looked…’
‘Come on. Derek will take you to the hospital. I’ll stay here and speak to the police.’
Cassie scrunched her brow. ‘Police?’
Sally nodded. ‘It’s just a matter of course that’s all. With it being unexplained at this point they said that they need to ask a few questions. Don’t worry. I’ll deal with them just now. You go follow Tadhg. It would be awful for him to be alone when he wakes up.’
Oh God. What if he doesn’t wake up? The thought hit Cassie like a jolt to her solar plexus and she grabbed her stomach as nausea hit.
Sally cupped her cheeks in both hands. ‘Hey. I know what you’re thinking and he will wake up. He’ll be fine. Okay? Now go! Derek has the car ready.’
The journey to the hospital couldn’t have been worse. They got stuck behind every long load, every learner driver and every tractor on the road. It was as if all the country’s slowest vehicles had descended on the Scottish Borders in one fell swoop. Cassie chewed at her nails, willing the road to clear, praying that everyone would just turn off at the next available exit. But of course, they didn’t.
A painful hour and fifteen minutes later they pulled into the car park and Cassie leapt from the car as soon as it came to a halt. ‘Derek, I’m sorry I need to get in there!’ she shouted over her shoulder and didn’t wait for a response. She felt sure that the doctor would totally understand.
Once inside she paused to catch her breath before approaching the reception desk. She was pointed through some double doors and into a room filled with curtained cubicles.
She asked a nurse for Mac but the man scrunched his brow. ‘Oh, I’m sorry we don’t have a Mac here just now,’ he informed her, glancing down at his clipboard.
A familiar voice came from behind her. ‘Jerry, hi, we’re looking for Tadhg Mackenzie. Brought in a short while ago after a house fire.’
The nurse looked up and smiled. ‘Hi, Derek. Ah right. Yes, Mr Mackenzie is in cubicle four. Very groggy but doing okay.’
Cassie covered her mouth with her hands and a relieved grunt came from her chest. Thank goodness he’s awake. Thank goodness.
‘Go on, Cassie. It’s best not to overcrowd him. You go on in and I’ll go see what I can find out.’ Derek urged her towards the blue curtains and she nodded.
She slipped in through the fabric and gasped when she saw Mac laying there, oxygen mask still in place, drip connected to the back of his hand, his face dirty and his hair filled with ash and soot. She rushed to his side, desperate to hug him but not knowing if he would appreciate that after their last conversation. So instead she pulled a chair up to the bed and sat.
She took his hand and he opened his eyes. ‘Oh… hey Cassie. You came,’ he croaked.
She nodded and tried to smile without bursting into floods of tears. ‘Of course I came, Tiger.’
He smiled and his eyes drifted open and closed as if in slow motion. ‘Tiger…’
‘H-how are you feeling?’
He swallowed and scrunched his brow. ‘Sore. My chest hurts. Smoke. I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life and I definitely won’t be doing so any time soon,’ he slurred.
Cassie giggled and a couple of errant tears escaped the corners of her eyes. ‘No, I don’t blame you.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘I’m so sorry this has happened, Mac. After everything you’ve been through and now this. I just can’t believe it.’
He closed his eyes and his bottom lip trembled. He lifted his hand to his face and pressed his fingers into his eye corners but moisture escaped and left clean trails down his otherwise dirt-covered face. ‘It’s all gone. The fire took hold too fast. I’ve literally lost everything.’
‘But you’re still alive, Mac. That’s the most important thing. Things can be replaced.’
He rolled his head slowly from side to side. ‘No. Not all things can be replaced. My whole life was in that house and van. And it’s all gone. I might as well have died too.’
Cassie gritted her teeth and stood over him. ‘Stop that. I won’t listen to that kind of talk, Mac. You’re still surrounded by people who love you and care for you. So everything isn’t gone. We’re all still here. Do you hear me?’
He opened his eyes and gazed up at her. ‘I’m sorry. And thank you. And I’m sorry for shouting at you earlier. I wasn’t very nice and you didn’t deserve that.’
She closed her eyes briefly but then fixed him with an earnest expression. ‘No, you were right. I’ve let Seth Guthrie pull the wool over my eyes far too many times now. It won’t be happening again. If I see him again I’ll tell him in no uncertain terms where to go and if I need to, I’ll get that restraining order. You have my word on that. He’s manipulated me for the last time.’
Mac smiled weakly. ‘That’s good. I’m glad.’ He squeezed her hand back. ‘He doesn’t deserve you.’
‘Hmm, well I don’t know about that. But he’s out of my life. For good. Now I’m going to let you get some rest and I’ll come back tomorrow. Can I get you anything?’
He rolled his eyes downwards and peered at his dirty, torn clothes. ‘I think I could do with some clean clothing. But… but it’s all gone up in smoke.’
She shook her head. ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll call and pick something up from the supermarket in Galashiels. I’m sure I can find something there. In the meantime, what will you do?’
He smiled again and wheezed, ‘Oh I’m sure the hospital will supply me with a fetching arseless gown.’
She burst into laughter. Partly from adrenaline and partly from the relief of hearing him crack a joke. After what he’d been through, he could’ve been forgiven for losing his sense of humour entirely. But it was so good to know that he hadn’t.
She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his head. ‘See you tomorrow, Tiger. Don’t be a pain in the arse for the nurses.’
‘The only arse in pain will be mine, dying of embarrassment when it’s out there for everyone to see,’ he slurred his words with a grin and started coughing.
Just then a nurse came through the curtain
and adjusted his oxygen. ‘I think you could do with drinking some water, Mr Mackenzie,’ she told him as she helped him to sit and held a plastic cup to his lips.
‘You know you really should use paper cups, not plastic. It’s better for the environment,’ he told the nurse. Cassie smiled, knowing that the Mac she had grown so fond of was still there.
*
The following day Cassie made a detour via Galashiels to pick up some things for Mac. She bought underwear along with Star Wars lounge wear for him to sleep in and a pair of grey joggers and a navy-blue hoody and a pair of trainers for him to wear when they discharged him. She had managed to get his shoe size from the ones on the floor beside his hospital bed and had guessed at the other items, erring on the larger side just in case.
When she arrived at the hospital she was informed that Mac had been moved to a side room on a ward on the second floor so she made her way up in the elevator to locate him. When she arrived outside the room, the door was closed so she knocked and waited for a reply, which came from an unfamiliar voice. She walked in to find two uniformed police officers sitting by Mac’s bed. Mac was now free of the oxygen mask but a grave expression and a furrowed brow were what greeted her.
‘Okay, Mr Mackenzie. We’ll be in touch soon. Especially if we have more news. Thanks for your co-operation.’
Mac nodded. ‘Thank you for letting me know. Bye officers.’
The male and female officer both nodded politely at her as they passed and closed the door again behind them.
Cassie walked over to her friend and smiled. ‘That all looked very serious.’
Mac, still frowning tilted his face up towards her but didn’t mirror her smile. ‘You could say that.’
She was desperate to ask questions but also didn’t want to pry. So she decided to tell him what she had brought. ‘I got you some clothes for you to put on for now. There are some undies, joggers and I brought pyjamas for you too. Thought we could try and protect your modesty.’ She grinned as she nodded towards the pale blue gown he was now wearing.
He briefly glanced at the shopping bag. ‘Yeah. Okay. Thanks. You’ll have to tell me what I owe you.’
She shook her head. ‘Oh, no it’s really no bother. So… how are you feeling? Is your chest any better?’
He fixed his gaze on her once more. ‘It was arson.’
She widened her eyes. Had she heard him correctly? ‘Sorry? What?’ She had automatically presumed an electrical fault in the van had started the fire and the breeze had spread it to Rab’s. But arson? The thought had never crossed her mind.
‘The fire. It was deliberate. Someone burned down my van and Rab’s house on purpose, Cassie.’
‘But…’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Are they sure? I mean who would do—’
‘Oh I think the glass bottles and petrol soaked rags found at the scene were a bit of a giveaway.’ His tone was terse and his jaw clenched.
‘Oh my word. That’s… I don’t…’ She lowered herself to one of the chairs beside his bed.
‘I think it was Guthrie.’
She gasped. Her heart skipped and pounded at her ribs. That had been her immediate thought as soon as the word arson had fallen from his lips but she had shaken it off. Not willing to believe that the Seth she had loved would stoop so low. But the Seth of late with his sinister behaviour and talk of winning was a totally different case. She shook her head and stared at the waffle pattern of the pale orange blanket covering Mac’s legs.
She took a deep breath and raised her chin until her eyes met Mac’s. ‘I don’t think he would do such a thing. He’s not capable of such evil. I mean… I know he’s become quite horrible but I really don’t—’
‘You don’t think he’s capable? He’s made plenty of threats of revenge. But oh don’t worry, Cassie, he wasn’t trying to kill me. He made sure I was out which is his one saving grace. All he wanted to do was destroy my life. That’s all. Well I guess he succeeded, eh? But as you pointed out yesterday I’m still here.’ He held out his hands and grimaced. Then he lowered his gaze and sighed. ‘I think you should go.’
Her chin trembled. ‘Mac, don’t do this. Please?’
‘Cassie, he’s a psycho, a sociopath. I can’t begin to comprehend what would make one man do this to another. Just because I wouldn’t sell my land? And because of some stupid, misguided delusion that I’d stolen “his woman”. I guess he figured if he couldn’t have either then neither could I. Well, he got what he wanted. And as you pointed out once before, he always does.’
Chapter Thirty-six
Unable to settle, Cassie paced the floor after her visit to the hospital. Mac had been so hostile but could she really blame him? If it wasn’t for her he would no doubt still have his land and caravan—well, that’s if his suspicions were founded on truth. She needed to know. She needed to look Seth in the eye and ask him outright if he was responsible for this horrific life-changing event that had affected her friend so drastically. The last thing she wanted to do was to see Seth but it seemed to be the only way to really find out.
Glancing at her watch she realised it was only 12.30. It would take her just short of two hours to drive to the city of Glasgow. And there was a good chance he wouldn’t even be in his office. But she couldn’t sit around waiting and wondering. She had to take action. She grabbed her car keys and clipped Cliff’s lead on—hopefully Sally would dog-sit for her and failing that, Gordon was always happy to have him in the shop.
Thankfully Sally was happy to take him and Jack was ecstatic to have his furry friend around again. So once Cliff was happily settled, she hugged Sally.
‘I really appreciate this, you know. I owe you.’
Sally smiled. ‘It’s what friends do. But… is everything okay? I called Mac this morning and he said you’d just left. He sounded… odd. But when I pressed him on the matter he rushed me off the phone, saying the police were there again. Why would they be there again? And now you’re dashing off somewhere mysteriously.’ She folded her arms across her chest; worry was evident in her furrowed brow.
Cassie sighed. ‘It’s all a bit complicated just now. I feel… responsible for what Mac’s going through.’
Sally shook her head. ‘Cassie that’s crazy. You were with him when the fire started so how the heck could you be responsible? I don’t understand what’s going on between you two but I wish you’d just kiss and get on with it.’
‘It’s not like that. Well… that is… I mean… Look, there’s something I need to do. I promised myself I’d find the truth. And that’s what I intend to do. That’s all I can say just now. I’m sorry. I really need to go now. Is that okay?’
Sally pulled her in to a tight hug. ‘Just be careful, okay? I don’t like all this cloak and dagger stuff. I can’t help feeling that you’re putting yourself in the middle of something that you shouldn’t.’
‘I promise I’ll be fine,’ Cassie lied and pulled away to head for the door. She waved goodbye before climbing into her car and setting off.
Thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad, although being in the city she had once called home now sent shivers of displeasure down her spine. Everything looked bigger somehow, busier, noisier. The place that had once been her favourite city was now somewhere she no longer belonged nor wanted to be. She made good time, arriving in the city centre at around 2.30pm. She parked in the multi-storey close to the location of Guthrie Developments and dashed across the road to the huge, imposingly modern high-rise on Bath Street. With sweating palms and shaking limbs she took the lift to the fourth floor and exited as soon as the door opened.
Marjorie, the long-standing receptionist greeted her with a warm yet confused smile. ‘Miss Montgomery, how lovely to see you. B-but you don’t have an appointment, do you?’
‘No, it’s fine, Madge, I’ll just go through.’ She turned left and headed towards Seth’s office.
The receptionist called after her, ‘But Miss Montgomery, Mr Guthrie isn’t to be disturbed!’
Yeah well that’s probably ’cause he’s disturbed enough already, Cassie thought as she carried on walking. She didn’t knock; instead she opened the door and strode inside.
Seth jumped and looked up from the pile of papers on his desk; his eyes widened. ‘Cassie? What are you—’
She stomped over and slammed her hands on his desk. ‘What the hell have you done? Hmm? I’m presuming it was you. Or your associates.’
Seth smiled. ‘I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, poppet. Would you like a coffee?’
‘No I wouldn’t like a bloody coffee. What I’d like is an explanation.’ She glanced at his hand, which was bandaged. ‘What have you done? Burned yourself?’ she asked with a tilt of her head.
He glanced at his hand and immediately moved it out of sight as his cheeks flared red. ‘I cut myself making dinner. Not that it’s any of your business.’
She straightened and folded her arms across her chest. ‘Show me.’
He scowled. ‘I’ll do no such thing. If you’ve got something to say, Cassandra, just say it.’
‘Did you burn down Mac’s house?’
Seth smirked. ‘I thought Mr Mackenzie lived in a rather delightful caravan?’
‘Stop being a pedantic shit and answer me. Was it you?’
He leaned back nonchalantly in his huge, black leather swivel chair. ‘I assure you I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.’
At that moment, the office door opened and a man barged in and blurted in a panicked voice, ‘Mr Guthrie, the Coldingham—’ The familiar looking bald-headed man stopped talking as soon as he realised Seth wasn’t alone.
Cassie swung around and glared at the man. ‘You! You were there. In the village. I saw you.’ She turned back to face Seth. ‘It was you, wasn’t it? You arranged for Mac’s home to be burned down. You couldn’t have the land and so you figured neither could he.’ She heard the utter disbelief in her own voice and her heart sank. She hadn’t wanted it to be true. However, that wasn’t because she wanted to believe better of Seth. It was simply because she knew that if it had been arranged by him there was a good chance that her friendship with Mac—and everyone else in Coldingham—was ruined. Seth had killed the one good thing that had happened to her since he had cheated on her.