Cause & Effect (The Gemini Borders Trilogy Book 3)
Page 30
“Yes, I know. I’m not only having the baby of the man both my sister and I tried to kill. And I’m now going to marry him, too. Sick really! Don’t you think? Is it my penance? What do we tell this unborn child? If fate hadn’t intervened, it could have put a totally different spin on Fathers4Justice, what with you being dead, and the baby not even being born.”
“No Em, face facts. Both the baby and I will be OK as long as I don’t let you near any of your favourite things. Hard drugs, soft drugs, alcohol, poisons, syringes, et cetera. Sounds like you’re in for a boring life! But so far, you’ve done a great job of steering clear on your own. And anyway perhaps I’m invincible now, especially with my future sister-in-law now living thousands of miles away.”
“But maybe I’ll keep a loaded syringe under my pillow, just in case of emergencies.”
“I’m not panicking, Em. Before long you’ll be too out of practice to hold a syringe to my arm and too exhausted to worry about what I’m getting up to.” She tugged at his hands and both looked into each other eyes and laughed. Terry glanced across at the confused oarsman, and asked, “Do you understand English?” he nodded vigorously, and they laughed again. The boat bobbed on and all three conspirators ducked as they entered the small aperture in the cliffside.
After their initial shock at the size of the vast cavern they had now entered, they took in the beauty and serenity of the strikingly azure blue water, its dazzling light glinting and rippling across the sheer rock face. Emma’s trailing hand caressed the magical undulation of the water displaced by the boat’s silent passage, and she was aghast at the eerie glow emitted. It was now she said, “OK, then Terry Barnham. This certainly beats Starbucks, so you can get down on one knee, as long as you don’t capsize the boat, and propose romantically. We even have a witness.” And he did and it was witnessed.
Their darker thoughts had been expressed but the brightness of their love shone through, and the relationship remained solid. They returned to Secondigliano, and then on to Edinburgh. No welcoming committees at the airport, neither police nor media, were perceived and taken as good signs. And soon Emma Flynn was to become Mrs Emma Barnham, which would add a further layer of confusion to future track and trace searches.
Barnham had no qualms about leaving his Grosvenor Street bed-sit; he had already emailed his landlord giving notice that he would be quitting, due to its small size and his rapidly growing family. Emma was more concerned about returning to St Boswells but unnecessarily so, as Jessica’s flat was still safe, intact and silent. She needed to spend a couple of days there, not least to visit the Health Centre for her overdue scan; the result was surprising although thinking about it, not unexpected. She half expected DC Blister to be sniffing round but in the two days it took to pack both Jessica’s and her clothing; neither he nor any of his colleagues came near. She was back at Barnham’s within three days and her two cases plus his own, competed with the two of them for room space in the already compact lounge area. They would be able to consider their options over the next few weeks as to where they wished to spend their time together as a married couple. Short-term Jessica’s flat was the best bet but the area would never allow it to shake off its inherent infamy, even though its instigator was no longer around to accept the obloquy.
So the two, happily crossed back over the English Channel again, Emma now becoming quite the expert air traveller, with iPod, magazines, snacks, mints and wet wipes all part of her hand luggage allowance. However, the combined weight of their excess bulky luggage brought up a significant surcharge, but with having no intention of bringing it all back the other way that was not a problem.
Significantly enough, Emma now felt more safe and secure in the heartland of the Camorra than she did in the UK. Here, she had no need to look over her shoulder and even the ex DI Barnham seemed more relaxed, knowing that two and two would never be put together. His unlawful act could certainly put him in the dock and rob him of his hard earned pension but that was behind him and the future ahead only looked bright. The two lovers were welcomed back into the village, and not long afterwards Eduardo invited them around to the house where Pernille and he now lived. He had two surprises in store for Emma but one at a time. First, he took her by the arm and led her into the small study where an open laptop waited on the desk. Emma unsure what was expected of her, looked around the room until a familiar voice interrupted her. “Hi M, lovely to see you.” She did a double take but no one was there, until she caught sight of Jessica’s beaming face coming out of the computer screen.
“Jess, it’s lovely to see you, too. Oh my God, you look fantastic. Is it safe for you to talk?” “Yes, M. Eduardo’s Dark Web access is secure. You look to be blooming. How’s the bump? And is that Barnham treating you right?”
Terry muscled his way into shot and replied, “I’m treating her like a princess, Jessica. What else would you expect?”
“Hello Terry. I better be careful what I say, if you’re going to be family.”
“That’s OK. And Em’s right in what she says, you’re positively glowing.”
“Yes, I’m really happy. Gabriella has been so good to me. I’m staying with her at the moment but will be renting my own place soon. And she’s got a job lined up once the visa and work permit are sorted. But I think Eduardo’s had a little hand in chivvying that up. Tell me about your wedding.”
Emma went on to explain their recent activities and expressed her sadness that neither Jessica nor Gabriella would be able to celebrate the occasion.
“Well, take plenty of photographs, M. I even won’t mind seeing your husband’s mug as long as you’re on them,” she joked.
“Yes, I’m sure we’ll be doing that and I’ll make sure Nonna’s on some too. Oh, by the way, I’ve brought a lot of your clothes from the flat. I know you can afford to buy new but it’s pointless spending just for the sake of it. I’ll speak to Eduardo about shipping them over.” With that they said their farewells as Emma began to breakdown with emotion. Eduardo asked Jessica a few pertinent questions regarding the way their plans had come to fruition and then she was gone.
Emma’s melancholy did not last long; it could not with all the happy events fighting for her time. Mama had now called in to join in celebrating their safe return and Eduardo had still not told her his second surprise, so took advantage of the present time to do so. “Emma, Pernille and I know how keen you are to have a full service wedding and we have a solution if you wish to go along with it.”
“I’m all ears. I’ve always wanted a church white wedding, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be in Italy, and with the majority of my remaining family.”
“Well Pernille and I …,” here he paused, collecting his thoughts, “… I’m going to make an honest woman of her. We are going to get married too. And if we are at the same service, then you can be too, even if it won’t be recognised in the eyes of a Catholic God. But at least you’ll have all the formality and majesty of a church wedding. What do you think?” Emma liked the idea, liked it a lot.
“Cristiano has agreed that I can then perform the civil ceremony there in my capacity as mayor. So that will be fun, a newly married mayor, marrying you. If you understand what I mean?”
Emma understood. And to either continue the happy mood or because of it, she announced, “I’ve got some more happy news too. And I haven’t even told Terry yet.”
Those present looked expectantly, as she continued, “We’re going to have twins!”
And so the circle was completed.
Thank you for taking the time to read book three in ‘The Gemini Borders Trilogy’.
I hope you have enjoyed the chase and are contented with the conclusions of the numerous escapades. If yes, would you please be kind enough to visit Amazon and leave a review.
I am now writing another crime thriller but on a different subject matter, which I hope to have complete at some point in 2016.
Regards
Toni Parks