***
Kate repositioned herself closer to her friend. The second she had walked into the room, she had had a feeling there had been violence within the four walls, terrible violence resulting in someone’s death. That feeling had not diminished. Now Jim Baxter knew the cart had been moved, she actually feared for their lives. She was desperate to talk to Sam, to warn her, but that was out of the question until she could get her on her own. Now, all she could hope for was Jim Baxter would be lenient in his wrath. Before they could answer the question about the cart though, the tune from his iPhone rang out.
“I’ve got to take this, Cooper. Keep an eye on them, they’re not to go anywhere!”
He took himself to the far right of the room and began to pace up and down.
“Leo, mate! Disappointed you couldn’t make my birthday bash, it was a good weekend catching up with everyone. I understand you were trying to reach me yesterday … Sorry, I was out of it for most of the day, partied too hard on Saturday night, can’t take my drink like I used to. So, what’s new?”
The call went on for several minutes. He seemed to be listening intently to the person on the other end, saying occasionally, ‘Lies, all lies’ and ‘go on’, before signing off with, “Thanks, I owe you one, we’ll have to meet up for a drink and a meal.” He placed his phone on the desk. Folding his arms, he looked intensely at Sam and Kate. “Tell me ladies, where are you staying?”
They both looked alarmed at his question. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business,” rebuked Sam.
Baring his teeth, he brought his clenched fist down hard on top of the desk.
“Under the circumstances, that attitude won’t cut it with me! I’ll ask you again, where are you staying?”
There was no way they were going to tell him. Concerned that the question about the cart, which was obviously angering him, was still hanging over their heads, Sam asked, “Look, if the cart’s been moved, what makes you think it was us who moved it? It’s been almost twenty-four hours since we were there, anyone could have.”
He shook his head. “You are unbelievable! You’re still insisting it wasn’t you, when quite clearly it was … Cooper, I want you and the boys to find out where these women are staying even if you have to knock on every bloody door in town! When you do, collect their things and bring them here!” he roared.
Picking up a pen he wrote down Sam and Kate’s names on a piece of paper and handed it to Cooper who immediately left the room.
“You can’t do that! You can’t break into our rooms and take our things,” cried Kate, “they’re our private property.”
“I can do anything I want to, this is my town and the sooner you understand that, the better it’ll be for you! Now, is there anything else you’re holding back from me?”
“I don’t follow,” answered Sam.
He walked over to the display cabinet and picked up another silver frame, this time of a group photo. “This is a picture of the class of ‘75. We all look so young and wet behind the ears, don’t we? Here’s me and Leo,” he said pointing to two youths right in the middle of the shot. “He’s always been so ambitious has Leo. Always wanting to do the right thing. He became head boy, got a lot of stick for it, but that didn’t faze him. I’ve always admired him, and the fact he’s made his own way in life. Can you guess what he ended up doing?” Hardly pausing for breath, he answered his own question. “Well I’ll tell you, he’s a police inspector in Christchurch.”
Sam felt sick. She reached over and squeezed Kate’s hand.
“Apparently,” he continued, “he received a phone call yesterday from a woman telling him that I was holding her and her friend prisoner in my home. Can you believe it? I told him there was nobody here, it was just a woman’s fantasy … Now, tell me you didn’t move that damn cart!”
They jumped to their feet. They had to get out of there and now before his bodyguards or whatever they were, returned.
“OK, yes!” exclaimed Sam, “we moved the cart and now we’re going to walk out of here, and if you’ve got any sense you won’t try and stop us!”
They started to move swiftly towards the double doors. He just stood and watched, and then smirked as they came face to face with two more of his guards outside in the corridor.
“Sorry, ladies, I can’t possibly let you leave now.” Addressing his men, he said, “Bring them back here!” Reaching down, he picked up the house phone again. “Tell Lucas to get my plane ready, I’m going on a little trip. Yes, I know it needs refuelling, that’s why I’m calling you to make sure it’s done now! I want to leave as soon as Cooper and the boys get back!”
“Where are you taking us?” cried Kate.
He positioned himself in front of her and eyed her up and down. Without answering her question, he said. “So, Leo tells me you’re a medium, interesting. What exactly did you see out there at the farmhouse?”
Kate swallowed; she was trying so hard not to show him how frightened she was. “I’m not telling you anything, you’re a bully. You don’t scare me.”
With madness in his eyes, he raised his arm and struck her across the face, his large signet ring splitting her bottom lip – blood trickled from the gash it made.
Enraged by his reaction, Sam put a comforting arm around Kate. “Now we’re seeing your true colours!” she yelled, “I can see it in your face you enjoy hitting women! Did you hit your wife? Is that why she left you? Does your friend Leo Ralston know exactly what type of man you are? I’m guessing he doesn’t.”
He raised his arm again and with full force knocked Sam to the ground.
With Kate screaming in his ear, he growled, “Never ever mention my wife again!”
***
Mrs. Manning stood in her guests’ dining room and looked up at the clock on the wall. Two minutes past nine, she was annoyed. She had always made it quite clear when booking in that breakfast was between seven thirty and nine o’clock. The two English women were her only guests at the moment, she supposed they must have come in very late last night and were probably sleeping it off. There was no way she was going to prepare their breakfast now. Locking the dining room door behind her, she made her way back to her private quarters. Brewing a pot of tea in her Royal Worcester teapot, she poured the dark brown liquid into a delicate matching china teacup and just as she put the rim to her lips, the phone rang. Sighing, she heaved herself to her feet.
“The Balmoral Bed and Breakfast, can I help you?”
“Hello, yes I’m calling from England. My name is Sally Montague-Brown and I’m trying to reach my daughter Samantha Adams, who I understand is staying at your establishment.”
Mrs. Manning stood to attention, on hearing from someone from England with a double-barrelled name. In her world, that meant they must be important.
“Yes, that’s right, they are staying here, but I’ve not seen them this morning. Do you want me to go and tell them you’re on the phone?”
“Yes, would you be so kind? It’s quite urgent I speak to her.”
“It’s no problem, I’ll go and get her straight away.”
Mrs. Manning put down the receiver and made her way to Sam and Kate’s room and knocked. No answer. She knocked again, still no answer, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her passkey. Pushing open the door it was immediately obvious the room was unoccupied. Alarmed by this discovery she returned to the phone.
“It appears the ladies didn’t come home last night.”
The revelation, that her daughter was apparently missing, came as a big shock to Sally. Unable to speak, she passed the phone immediately to Polly.
“Hello, my name’s Mrs. Brennan, both Mrs. Montague-Brown and myself are very concerned for the welfare of Mrs. Adams and her friend Mrs. Robinson. Have you any idea where they are? Only their phones appear to have been turned off, which is very unlike them.”
Mrs. Manning had to sit down. She couldn’t believe she was talking to a Mrs. Brennan. She wondered if she was Daniel’s mo
ther or his wife? She certainly wasn’t going to ask.
“I’m sorry, I’ve no idea where they are. If I hear anything, would you like me to call you on this number?”
“Yes, please. I can’t stress enough how worried we are. If you don’t hear from them in the next few hours, please, for our peace of mind, call the police.”
“Yes, yes, of course I’ll do that, goodbye.”
Mrs. Manning was really worried herself now, she remembered quite clearly warning the two women not to ask questions about the Baxters. Had they gone against her warning and continued to do so? That could be one explanation for their disappearance. She knew Big Jim was already back from his weekend away, she’d heard the drone of his plane’s engine over her roof earlier.
Finishing her tea, she was about to pour herself another cup, when, from her bay window she observed a large vehicle screeching to a halt in front of her bungalow. Recognising it immediately as one of the fleet of cars from Oaklands, she waited nervously for the occupants to reach her front door. When the doorbell rang, she was taken aback to find her grandson standing in the doorway.
“Cooper, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“Grandma, this isn’t a social call, we’re looking for a couple of English women, or at least we’re trying to find out where they’re staying. Have you any guests at the moment?”
It had been a sad day for Mrs. Manning, when Cooper told her he was going to work for Jim Baxter. Having raised him, following the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law in a plane crash, only two years after the death of her husband, she had tried to encourage him to leave Jacob’s Rest when he left school and find employment elsewhere. Sadly, when Jim Baxter dangled dollar signs in front of him, it had been too big a lure for the youth. When he finally moved out of her home to live at Oaklands, she knew she had lost him forever.
“No, there’s nobody here at the moment, it’s always a quiet time before the snow, you know that.”
Cooper eyeballed her. “Then you won’t mind me looking at your register, will you Grandma?”
Mrs. Manning looked at him with heavy eyes. “What’s happened to you Cooper, you were always such a kind boy? Why don’t we leave here together, I’ll sell this place, we could move to Wellington, you could get a job there.”
“Not this again Grandma, you know I’m happy working for Big Jim, he’s training me up to be his right-hand man. Now, show me the book.”
A teardrop rolled down her cheek as she opened the register.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any guests,” he said.
“I said that because they’re not here at the moment.”
Cooper puffed up his chest and beamed. “I know, they’re at Oaklands with Big Jim. I was the one who found them snooping around the old farmhouse. He’s real pleased with me. Now give me the key to their room.”
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her passkey. Snatching it from her, he shouted out to the men outside. “This is the place, guys’. Here’s the key, come in and get their things.”
Still coming to terms with her grandson’s disclosure that Sam and Kate were at Oaklands, she asked, “What does Big Jim intend to do with the women? Why does he want their belongings?”
Cooper deliberated, before his face broke into a grin. “He’s taking them up in his plane. I’m guessing he wants to scare them a little. You know how he hates people trespassing on his land.”
Watching them load up the vehicle with the women’s cases, Mrs. Manning wiped the tears from her eyes and reached for her phone and dialled. She had no other choice now; she had to save her grandson from a life of crime. She knew who to call, whom to trust, it was time all this came to an end – before there was another unexplained disappearance.
Chapter 25 – An Ally
New Zealand, Sunday 28th May
The sun was setting as the cabin crew announced they were coming into Christchurch International Airport, it was a relief to hear those words after such a long flight. With the undercarriage released, the plane touched down smoothly on the runway and taxied along the tarmac towards the arrivals side of the terminal. Manoeuvring into place, the giant of the sky finally crawled to a halt. The minute the seat belt signs switched off, Alex unbuckled his. It was like a dream to be here in New Zealand, less than thirty-six hours ago it wasn’t even on his itinerary. Twenty-four hours ago, he should have been putting on a grey morning-suit for his wedding. It certainly had been a manic period. When Josie told him about Ana and her plot to find a husband, it was all he could do to stop himself from going to see her at the hotel and having it out with her. Josie had been right to put him off the idea; certainly, he would have done something he would have regretted. Finding out Sam had left the country because he was getting married, for him spoke volumes. Did he dare believe she loved him after all this time? He was desperate to find out from her if this was the case, which was the reason he had come all this way. He couldn’t wait another minute to talk to her in person, not on the phone or by text. He wanted to witness her lips as she said the words of love to him for the first time.
Going into the station, after his conversation with Josie and telling Digger the wedding was off, was humiliating enough, but when James walked in to wish him well and to tell him once again how sorry he was that he and Kate weren’t able to attend, was the last straw. James’s face was a picture when he told him he knew that both Kate and Sam were in New Zealand, and the reason why. After much heart to heart discussion between the three men they had gone online and purchased two return tickets to New Zealand, leaving the following morning – his wedding day. Two tickets, because James decided to tag along too!
Collecting their luggage, the guys made their way to the car hire booth. They had organised a vehicle from the airport online as well as a room in a motel nearby. After picking up a four by four, they drove on to their accommodation. Their room was unpretentious, but it was all they needed; after all they only intended staying one night before driving on to Jacob’s Rest.
***
New Zealand, Monday 29th May
Managing to get on the road before six in the morning, they travelled in silence for several miles both thinking of the woman in their lives and how stunned they’d be when they turned up.
James was gazing out of the side window. “Have you decided what you’re going to say to Sam?”
“I’ve been thinking of nothing else, repeating the words over and over again in my head, when I see her … who knows?”
Three hours later, James, looked down at his phone, it was Polly.
“James,” she began, “Josie has just told us you’re in New Zealand, thank god! Sam and Kate are missing, we’re going out of our minds with worry. Where are you? Are you on the way to Jacob’s Rest?”
Alarmed at their news, James turned to Alex. “It’s Polly, apparently the girls are missing!”
Putting his foot down hard on the brake, Alex pulled the car over.
“Calm down, Polly,” coaxed James, switching his phone to loud speaker, “now, tell us exactly what you know …”
***
Sam’s head was thumping as Kate helped her to her feet. A large, purple bruise had already manifested itself on her cheek below her left eye, and she wasn’t absolutely sure whether or not he had fractured her jaw.
Jim Baxter knew everything, even that they believed there was a body buried in the grounds of the old farmhouse. Bugger! How the hell were they going to get out of this? The thought he was going to take them up in his plane scared the shit out of them. What was his motive? The best they could hope for was that he intended taking them to Christchurch, to catch a plane home. Home. They would give anything to be there right now.
“Where’s this phone you called Leo on? Come on, hand it over!” demanded Jim Baxter.
Sam removed it from her jacket. Seizing it, he threw it to the ground and stamped on it.
“Who else knows you went to the farmhouse yesterday?”
“No one,” rep
lied Kate, whose lip looked and felt tender, and had already swollen to the size of a large grape.
“Good, so your departure from Jacob’s Rest can be easily managed.”
“Where are you taking us?” asked Sam, still holding her head.
Jim Baxter’s face broke into a knife-edged thin smile. “I thought I would treat you to one of my tourist excursions. The lake and the mountains look quite spectacular at this time of the year.”
“What if I said we would leave here, and go straight back to England without saying anything to anyone?” pleaded Kate.
“I’d say you were a bloody liar.”
The double doors opened, and Cooper entered alongside the two heavies who were dragging Sam and Kate’s luggage, which they dumped unceremoniously before exiting the room.
“Well done Cooper, I knew I could rely on you. Where were they staying?”
“The Balmoral,” replied Cooper. Refocusing his gaze, he was immediately shocked by the evidence of physical harm on both the women’s faces.
Ignorant of the disapproval now rising within the young man, Jim Baxter put a hand on his shoulder. “Great, how was your grandma? Well, I hope? What did you tell her? I’m guessing she was curious about why you wanted their things.”
Cooper swallowed, his mouth felt dry. What had gone on here? The two women looked bloodied and bruised. He knew Big Jim had a temper; he’d been on the end of it enough times, he was going to have to be careful about how he answered him. He loved his grandma, and there were times he wished he still lived with her, although he wasn’t going to admit it, even to himself. The bottom line was he desperately wanted to prove to her he could make his own way in the world and if it meant working for Big Jim for a few years, keeping his eyes and ears shut, then that’s what he had to do. When eventually he’d made enough money, he would fulfil his grandma’s dream of leaving Jacob’s Rest, and naturally, he would take her with him, at least up until this moment that had been the plan. The truth of the matter was he was not a man of violence, especially against females. Seeing the women’s messed-up faces, he was becoming increasingly uneasy about Big Jim’s intentions. It was true, he would often wave his shotgun about, and he knew he had frightened the women at the old farmhouse, but all that was just show, he was simply trying to be the big man Big Jim was encouraging him to be. To be honest, he’d never fired a gun with the intention of killing a living creature of any kind.
Faraway Eyes_A fast-paced romantic murder mystery Page 15