Shadow Watcher, A Romantic Suspense Novel

by Carolyn Mahony

  ‘I’m sure Will’s father is quite capable of looking after himself,’ Grace said mildly. She couldn’t picture the two of them together, but who knew what went on behind closed doors?

  The doorbell rang as they were finishing breakfast.

  ‘That’ll be Will,’ Ellie said jumping up. ‘Let him in for me, Mum, will you – I’ll just go and brush my teeth.’

  Grace opened the door with an easy smile. ‘Ellie won’t be a minute – come on in.’

  ‘Thanks, Mrs Harper.’

  ‘Oh, call me Grace please, Mrs Harper’s too formal.’ And not technically true.

  He followed her through to the kitchen. ‘What time do you want me to get Ellie back for?’

  ‘What time would you normally be back?’

  ‘No particular time. Dad gets in from work around six. He’s in a bit of a stew at the moment. He’d organised for someone to keep an eye on me during the summer holidays and she’s let him down – as if I need anyone,’ he added scornfully. ‘I’m fourteen.’

  He’d subconsciously drawn himself up to his full height, indignation etched in every line of his body.

  ‘Well, you know what we parents are like,’ Grace said, smiling. ‘Ellie’s always moaning at me that I fuss over her too much. But you know you’re welcome to spend some time with us, if that’s any help? I’d try not to tread on your toes too much.’

  ‘I’m ready,’ her daughter announced from the doorway. ‘Are you, Will?’

  ‘Yup … we’ll be off then.’

  ‘See you later, Mum.’ A quick kiss blown airily in her direction and they were gone, and as she watched them walk off down the path, chatting together, she felt a profound sense of gratitude at the ease with which her daughter appeared to be putting the past behind her.

  If only she could do the same…

  She pulled herself up. She had to stop thinking like that. She could do the same. Life could be as normal for her as anyone else in the future if she allowed it to happen – she just needed to make small changes that would encourage that.

  And she knew what the first step in that process had to be.

  The doctor’s surgery was large and crowded as Grace took her seat and waited her turn. Around her sat an eclectic mix of people who reflected the more rural community she was now living in. Mothers with small children mingled happily with manual farm workers, and the short man sitting opposite her sporting a cap in his hands, was clearly a jockey from one of the studs.

  Her hands twisted in her lap. Was she doing the right thing? It had seemed a good idea this morning when she’d made the appointment but now she couldn’t help worrying that she’d made a big mistake. What if Marianne refused to see her or had her thrown out? She’d been curt to the point of rudeness when Grace had plucked up the courage to dial her home number to try and breach the rift between them. Grace couldn’t blame her. But if she was to be successful in kick-starting her life again she needed to do this.

  Her number flashed up on the board and she rose slowly from her seat, heading for the door marked Dr Marianne Vickers.

  ‘Hello, Marianne.’

  Marianne’s returning look was cool. She’d hardly changed in the intervening years – her gleaming black hair scooped back in a ponytail that made her look no more than twenty-five, and certainly not old enough to be a qualified GP.

  ‘What can I do for you, Grace?’ Her tone was briskly professional.

  ‘I’ve come to apologise ... and I felt this was probably the only way I’d get to speak to you.’

  ‘There’s really no need, and I’m very busy.’

  ‘There is a need. You’ve every right to be angry. It was wrong of me to leave like that with no explanation and I know how much that must have hurt you. But there was a reason, and if our friendship meant anything to you, then I’d really appreciate it if you’d hear me out. If you still want nothing more to do with me when I’ve finished then I won’t bother you again. But please – at least give me a chance to explain.’

  Marianne stared at her for a long, hard moment before dropping her gaze to fiddle with some papers on her desk.

  ‘It did hurt me,’ she said finally, her eyes lifting to meet Grace’s coolly. ‘And I’m not sure that anything you say can undo that, but ...’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose the least I can do is listen. This isn’t the best time or place though.’

  ‘You could come round to see me some time when you’re free? I’m back at Gran’s now.’

  Marianne seemed to be struggling with some inner turmoil, but finally she nodded. ‘Okay. I could come this evening on my way home, around five-thirty?’

  Grace rose to take her leave. ‘Thanks. I appreciate it. I won’t keep you now …’

  She was a nervous wreck by the time Marianne arrived, despite taking time out to listen to her soothing Mindfulness CD.

  She went over it in her head a million times what she’d say, how she’d explain herself – but when the time came and her friend stood on the doorstep her courage almost deserted her.

  ‘You look good, Grace,’ Marianne said stiffly, following her through to the kitchen. ‘You’ve hardly changed at all, apart from the hair.’

  ‘Neither have you.’

  Marianne looked around as Grace prepared their tea. ‘It looks different to when your grandparents were here.’

  ‘It’s been rented out the last few years, we were lucky, we–’

  She broke off as Ellie and Will appeared, drawn magically by the sound of clattering teacups.

  ‘Any biscuits, Mum? We’re starving!’

  ‘In the cupboard over the toaster and you can put a few out on a plate for me and Marianne while you’re at it.’

  Marianne was staring at Ellie in shock.

  ‘Your daughter?’ she directed at Grace in a low, incredulous voice as Grace placed the mugs on the table. It wasn’t hard to see that Marianne was frantically doing the maths.

  ‘She’s thirteen,’ Grace murmured helpfully, sitting down, and Marianne shook her head.

  By mutual consent they waited until Ellie had brought the biscuits over and disappeared back into the lounge with Will.

  ‘You’re not married though?’

  ‘No.’ And then realising it was bound to come out sooner or later, she said, ‘Ellie’s Rory’s child.’

  Marianne looked stunned. ‘My God! Of course she is, I can see it now. Is that why you went?’

  Grace nodded.

  ‘But why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I couldn’t. Rory was so angry about it – and his parents even more so. They wanted me to have an abortion – his father even threatened to sack Grandpa. I went to London and had the baby secretly. I was terrified that if I told you, Keith might somehow find out and tell Rory. I couldn’t risk that – you don’t know what he was like.’

  Marianne was shaking her head in disbelief but at these last words, her face sobered and she nodded. ‘Actually I do know something of what he was like. After his father died and left him all that money, he didn’t work; just lived the high life and went down hill fast. I saw him as a favour to Keith a few times and tried to get him interested in alcohol and drugs rehab programs, but he wasn’t interested. He had real issues towards the end.’

  ‘I managed to hide the fact I’d had Ellie from him for five years,’ Grace said, ‘but evidently one day he bumped into my grandmother, and for some reason she told him. I can’t think what made her do that but Rory took great delight in telling me how he’d charmed the information out of her – and you know how charming he could be if he put his mind to it. She didn’t know the full story, and I guess she thought she was helping me – but our lives changed the day he turned up on my doorstep. He was livid that I hadn’t had the abortion and he made our lives a nightmare. I don’t want to go into the details – it’s all behind us now, but …’

  ‘Don’t say any more.’

  Marianne hesitated, then reached out a hand to cover Grace’s. ‘If you want to tell me sometime that�
�s fine, but don’t feel pressured into doing it now. I missed you so much. We’d always been so close. I couldn’t believe you could just drop me like that.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to.’

  Her eyes begged for her friend’s understanding and finally Marianne smiled, her hand squeezing Grace’s.

  ‘It was a shock when Keith told me you were coming back and I won’t lie to you, I didn’t know what to think – or how I was going to react, but…’ She grinned. ‘It’s great seeing you again. Maybe we should try to put the past behind us and move on?’

  Grace nodded. ‘I’d like that.’

  ‘And for starters you must come over and meet my husband, Matt and my little boy, Thomas. In fact we’re having a barbecue this Saturday. Why don’t you and Ellie come along? There’ll be quite a few of the old crowd there.’

  Grace felt a moment’s panic at the thought. What if everyone plagued her with questions about where she’d been – what she’d been doing these last few years? She wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet.

  ‘You have to do it sometime,’ Marianne said, watching her face. ‘Might as well get it over with, don’t you think?’

  She waited patiently until Grace gave a little sigh. ‘I suppose so–’

  ‘Mum, Will’s off now ... I’m just going to the village shop to get some chocolate.’

  As Ellie and Will sauntered off Marianne’s eyes followed them.

  ‘I see you’ve met the Brandons. It was such a shame about Rosie, but it amazes me Nick never remarried. It’s been nearly seven years now.’

  ‘Rosie? You don’t mean Rosie Pearson?’

  Marianne nodded. ‘You didn’t know?’

  ‘I had no idea. What happened?’

  ‘Cancer. But she was very private about it and everyone respected that. The church was packed when she died. And there was poor little Will sitting between his dad and his grandma looking so lost. It was awful.’

  Grace digested this for a long moment. ‘Poor Rosie,’ she said softly.

  Marianne looked at her watch. ‘I’d better be off. Matt was picking Tom up from nursery today, but he’ll still want me to tuck him in.’

  They both rose from their seats and Marianne gave Grace an impulsive hug. ‘I’m glad you came to see me. Sorry I was frosty. Do come on Saturday, won’t you? It’ll be fun.’

  After she’d gone, Grace walked slowly back into the kitchen, her head full of their conversation. She found her thoughts drifting to Rosie Pearson. The only child of successful, doting parents, she’d been pretty, vivacious, generous and surprisingly unspoiled with it all. Always wearing the most up-to-date fashions, she’d been the icon the younger girls had aspired to.

  And she’d been married to Nick. That took a bit of absorbing but she could see in retrospect that they must have made the perfect couple. And how much easier it was to picture him with Rosie than his neighbour, Suzanne.

  Still, she couldn’t help agreeing with Marianne. Seven years was a long time for any man to have stayed on his own with a young son.

  He went up a notch in her estimation.

  Later that evening, as she tucked Ellie into bed, a ritual they both still enjoyed despite Ellie’s advancing years, Ellie surprised her by giving her an impulsive hug.

  ‘I’m sorry I was horrible about moving, Mum. I like it here. I think we’ll be happy.’

  Grace hugged her back, surprised as always by the maturity her daughter displayed on occasions.

  ‘So do I, sweetheart. It’s got a good feel about it, hasn’t it?’

  ‘And ... I’m sorry about the smoking thing. I only did it because the others did – I hated it really. It tasted disgusting. I haven’t done it since we’ve been here. You can trust me.’

  Grace’s hug tightened. ‘I know I can. And I do. This is the chance of a new start for us both, Ellie. We need to make the most of it.’

  A sound downstairs made her swing her head in the direction of the landing. ‘What was that?’

  ‘What? I didn’t hear anything.’

  Grace frowned, but forced her voice to sound unconcerned as she rose from the bed. ‘It must have been someone outside in the road. Night, night, my sweet. Love you.’

  ‘Luv you too,’ her daughter murmured drowsily, turning on her side and snuggling down.

  Out in the hallway, Grace stood at the top of the stairs and listened, her ears straining to catch any sound. She found her nails were digging into the palms of her hand and she relaxed them determinedly. She needed to move on. But then a scratching noise, coming from somewhere downstairs, or outside, had her fingers curling into fists again, her heart starting a slow, insidious thump.

  All she wanted was to feel safe. Was it really too much to ask?

  The piercing ring of the doorbell made her jump.

  Who the hell was that at this time of the evening?

  She made her way slowly down the stairs.

  ‘Who is it?’ she asked through the closed door.

  ‘It’s Nick.’

  She wasn’t in the mood for company; she needed to get a grip on herself. ‘Is it urgent?’

  ‘Uh, no … not particularly. I can come back another time if that’s easier?’

  The normality of his response made her feel stupid. He must think she was loony. She was beginning to think it herself.

  She took the chain off, fumbling with the mortice lock and two bolts before finally swinging the door open.

  His look was amused. ‘Clearly you’ve locked up for the night. Sorry.’

  She flushed. Her obsession with security verged on the realms of paranoia she knew that. The first thing she’d done when they’d moved in was to have new locks fitted to the front door.

  She shrugged, standing back to let him in. ‘I’ve lived in London for the last thirteen years. Old habits die hard.’

  ‘Sorry to call so late.’

  ‘It’s not a problem. Come through to the lounge, we can talk there without disturbing Ellie.’

  She led the way, offering him a seat in one of the chairs before settling herself opposite him. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

  ‘No, I’m fine thanks. I wanted to thank you for having Will today.’

  ‘I didn’t do much and he’s good company for Ellie.’

  ‘I’m having a few problems trying to find someone to keep an eye on him while I’m at work. I don’t like the idea of him wandering around unsupervised all day.’

  ‘He told me – not impressed that you feel he still needs a nanny!’

  Nick smiled. ‘Did he say that? It’s getting trickier now he’s getting older. He told me about your offer to help out–’

  ‘I’d be happy to. I should really be sorting a job out for myself but I felt it was important for Ellie that I didn’t do that until she’s settled. Once she starts school I’ll need to get onto it. But until then …’

  She broke off, aware that she was rambling.

  ‘What do you do?’ He looked interested and Grace wished she could tell him something a bit more exciting.

  ‘I’m a medical secretary.’

  ‘Interesting, but hard work I should think?’

  ‘For not a lot of reward,’ Grace agreed with a rueful smile. ‘Financial, that is. I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it.’

  ‘Did you go to university?’

  ‘No. It wasn’t really an option once I’d had Ellie ...’

  ‘I can see it would have been difficult. Still – plenty of time for that if you want to, I guess.’

  ‘I’m thirty-two.’

  ‘My cousin did a French degree at fifty-three.’

  She felt an unexpected stab of excitement at the thought.

  ‘By the way, we’ve just about finished winding up Rory’s estate now – or what’s left of it. It beggars belief how someone could get through as much money as he did in such a short space of time. There’s not a lot left I’m afraid ... probably something in the region of fifteen thousand pounds, but we’ll need to discu
ss what you want to do with it until Ellie comes of age.’

  ‘Oh ...’

  Grace hadn’t given much thought to what Ellie’s inheritance might be and although she wouldn’t want to touch a penny of it herself, she supposed she had to accept that it was Ellie’s right.

  ‘We can set up a Trust fund for her, if you like. I’ll give you the name of an independent financial advisor so that you can take some advice. There’s no hurry. Has Evelyn been in touch with you yet?’

  ‘No. And I hope she’s not going to.’

  Nick sighed but he kept his voice calm. ‘I can see things haven’t been that easy for you and Ellie, but can’t you try and understand her point of view?’

  Grace looked right at him. ‘Like she saw mine all those years ago, you mean?’ She drew a breath. ‘You mentioned before that she was considering taking legal advice. Has she done anything about that yet?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of. I think she’s biding her time – giving you some space to sort out how you feel.’

  ‘I don’t need space. I know exactly how I feel. She wanted nothing to do with Ellie thirteen years ago and I’m damned if I’ll let her have anything to do with her now. It’s not rocket science to work it out. You get out of life what you put into it and as far as Ellie’s concerned her input has been zero.’

  His eyebrows shot up at the vehemence in her tone, but he was also looking puzzled. ‘What do you mean thirteen years ago? Evelyn didn’t know about Ellie until after Rory’s death.’

  ‘Only because she thought I’d aborted her like they’d told me to. Rory’s father put it very succinctly – they weren’t sympathetic to the idea of bastards in their family.’

  ‘He said that to you?’

  ‘Yes. So perhaps now you can understand why the image of this poor grandmother being deprived of her only granddaughter, rather sticks in my throat.’

  Nick shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t believe Evelyn would ever condone someone saying something like that. It’s just not her.’

  Grace shrugged. ‘It was her husband who said it, but I can’t believe she didn’t know what was going on. He accused me of deliberately getting pregnant to ensnare his precious son.’ She laughed bitterly. ‘If he only knew the truth.’