by Diane Ezzard
The tram's horn echoed in my head as I toppled closer to the platform’s edge. I screamed out. Everything happened so fast. An arm grabbed me and I was wrenched back to safety as my body contorted and twisted in panic.
“Are you okay, love?” Most people ignored me and clambered onto the tram but a couple had stopped behind out of concern for me.
A woman in her fifties, with thick shoulder length dark hair, grabbed hold of my arms and repeated: “Are you okay, love?” I was dazed. The woman’s tall dark haired partner looked at me with a worried look on his face.
“You were near to the edge, girl; you could have had a nasty accident. Lucky we managed to pull you back in the nick of time.” The tram doors began to close as I realised what just happened. Less concerned about getting home and more worried about my well-being, I pointed towards the bench.
“I’d better sit down.” The woman still had hold of my arm and helped me along. We both sat together, and the woman watched on as my rapid breathing got back to a normal pace.
“Thank you so much for your help. You saved my life.” I was close to tears.
“You don’t need to be so dramatic,” the woman laughed.
“We stopped you getting in the ring with a ten-ton tram as you might have lost, love. Are you injured at all?” her partner asked. I shook my head.
“I’m sorry I’ve made you miss your tram.” I looked at them both. The sadness in my eyes must have been noticeable.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. The next one will be along in a jiffy. Would you like us to sit with you until the tram comes?”
“No, I’ll be okay, thanks.”
“Do you need any more help?” The woman patted my arm.
“No, I’ll be fine honestly.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” The man looked at me, concerned. I nodded.
“Yes, you’ve been very kind. I’m alright now but I’ll stay here until the next tram comes.” I breathed deeply.
Standing up, the woman concluded, “I’d keep clear of the edge in future. Only last week a man was run over by a tram up near Debenhams.”
“I will, don’t worry and thank you both again.” I looked up at the couple as they said their goodbyes. Other people in the crowd looked over at me, staring. I suddenly had a horrible thought. Did I imagine things or was I pushed and if I was, is the person who pushed me still watching me? I shuddered. I would have to be more careful in future.
I got the next tram home and had to stand up until the Heaton Park stop, even though my legs felt like jelly. I thought a lot about what just occurred at the station. I still wasn’t sure whether or not I imagined it but decided to let the police know, anyway. I doubted there was anything they could do.
I phoned and spoke to the detective. I arranged to go to the police station to see her the following day. I sat drinking coffee in the incident room. I had given DC Slater the details about the tram incident, and she started asking me more questions.
“I want you to think of anyone else in your past that may have something against you.” She was busy looking down and writing. The police seemed as baffled as I was by the incidents that had been happening, and with little to go off, they hadn’t been making much headway. I told them all I knew.
Chapter Twenty Five
NOW
Fear gradually worked its way into every aspect of my life. I still couldn’t sleep. I was too busy going through every possible explanation as to who might be doing these things. Who would want to see me panic stricken? Who hated me so much yet was too much of a coward they wouldn’t come forward and show themselves? I began to doubt myself. Was I paranoid or was something more sinister going on. I suspected everyone.
Also, when I did manage to get a few hours sleep, I still had that haunting recurring dream about Mum. In the latest one, it was slightly different. She was outside, knocking to come in and I couldn’t or wouldn’t let her in. I didn’t know why but I woke up with the familiar knot in my stomach. I couldn’t go on like this so I had to take action to take the power out of the situation. The police weren’t having much success. Whoever was doing this needed to have a motive. I’d ruled out Jay. It didn’t seem feasible for him to be coming from Scotland to terrorise me after all these years. To be fair, even Kyle, who I hadn’t seen for some time now seemed an unlikely candidate, although behaviour wise, these two were top of my list. I’d watched enough police dramas to know I must keep an open mind, not ruling anything out until it was proven.
First port of call was phoning Joyce, Kyle’s mum as I wanted an update on what he was up to.
“Hi, Joyce, it’s Sophie. How are you?” I asked.
“I’m good, Sophie and it’s lovely to hear from you. How are you doing?” I was reticent to give her the details straight away.
“Joyce, I wondered if I could come round and have a chat with you. I’ve got a few problems at the moment I’d prefer to discuss them with you in person.”
“Yes, of course, you can come round. You’re always welcome here Sophie. It’s not about that son of mine is it, by any chance?” I briefly gave her an outline of what had been happening and I made plans to see her the following week. She told me she hadn’t spoken to Kyle in some time but she was happy for me to go round if it helped.
In the meantime, I decided to do a bit of investigating. I wasn’t sure how to find a missing person. I certainly didn’t want my efforts getting back to Kyle. If he knew I was looking for him, he might get the wrong idea. I thought about hiring a private detective to find him or look into things for me. I couldn’t afford that so I did what I always do when faced with a problem I didn’t know the answer to, I googled it to see if I could find a solution. The information I found told me to try social media first as it said everyone had a digital trail. I wasn’t on Facebook or any of the other similar sites myself as I didn’t want any more attention drawn to me than I already had. Trawling through the social media sites, I had no joy as I found absolutely zilch on Kyle. It didn’t help that his surname was Jones. I spent a whole day on the internet looking but it was all in vain as my efforts brought up nothing. No Facebook account, no Twitter or LinkedIn in his name.
Considering Kyle’s natural persuasion towards technology, I thought that was surprising. Given his superior knowledge over me in this field, maybe he knew how to keep himself hidden if that was what he wanted to do. Whatever he was up to, it didn’t help me find him. I was annoyed about the hours I’d wasted and all the time I’d spent with nothing to show for my efforts. Then I had a bright idea. His mum Joyce remarried and although I didn’t know her surname after some research I found out it was Greenhalgh. I did another trace on Kyle using that surname, to no avail. I felt despondent because now it meant putting the footwork in.
Joyce lived in a big old house on the edge of Bolton, near Edgeworth. The countryside was beautiful nearby with a picturesque view and a lovely setting. It was a shock once I got inside though. The impressive exterior gave out false expectations as to what the interior might hold. Once through the front door, I was met with clutter as if everything had been piled up ready for a jumble sale. The house was full of old furniture that had seen better days. The carpets were frayed and worn. The walls were adorned with dark wood panelling and the whole place had an atmosphere of gloom about it, very dull and drab. It seemed like the type of place they’d use for a horror movie. I imagined séances taking place there. I came to the conclusion Joyce was something of a hoarder.
“Sorry it’s a bit of a mess, Sophie,” she said as she picked up a pile of papers off a chair. She signalled for me to sit down.
“Housework is not my forte. I keep saying I’ll get someone in to do the cleaning but I haven’t got round to arranging it yet. Can I get you a tea?” She didn’t wait for my reply. She had already walked into the kitchen to prepare a drink.
“How do you like it?” I hoped she was talking about the tea and not her house. “With milk please,” I said. A few minutes later she ca
me back through with a tray carrying two mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits. She sat beside me.
“Sorry, I should have asked if you’d prefer coffee?”
“It’s okay, Joyce, tea is perfect.” I smiled at her.
“So how are things, Sophie?” she enquired as she took a sip of the piping hot drink.
“I’m doing well Joyce. That is apart from this niggling problem I’ve got with someone stalking me.” I tried to make light of the matter but proceeded to tell Joyce everything. I was able to open up to her in a way I hadn’t been able to with the police. I thought I could trust her and she had such a caring manner. She listened intently as I went into detail about all that happened including the times when I had my suspicions that I was being followed. With Joyce, conversation came out so naturally.
She didn’t interrupt me but when I finished she asked, “And you think Kyle might be doing this?” I looked over at her and even though we were speaking about her son, she appeared calm and not at all upset by any potential accusation.
“I just want to rule him out, Joyce. I don’t believe he would do something like this because threatening behaviour isn’t normally in his nature. It’s an avenue I have to explore though. We both know that he could be erratic and if he’s been taking drugs, I don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“You poor dear, Sophie. You must be going through hell worrying about this. You mustn’t try to deal with this on your own.” She looked at me sternly but with a glint in her eye as though she could read my mind.
“And yes, you’re right to investigate. I hope it’s not Kyle for his sake because if it is and I get my hands on him. I’ll skin him alive.” We both laughed at this and Joyce looked thoughtful.
“He was seeing someone for a while after you.” Joyce thought hard.
“Julie, I think her name was. She was a beautician. I don’t think their relationship lasted long but I do know he pestered her as well for some time after it ended. It was like he couldn’t let go. He is prone to get obsessive with his girlfriends. I wish he’d get a job to sort himself out. I blame myself of course but it’s too late to change him now, and he doesn’t listen, anyway.”
We spent a pleasant hour talking over things and I felt comfortable in Joyce’s company. She also told me about another friend of Kyle’s, Phil, who she thought it might be worth getting in touch with as she knew he’d seen him recently. She promised to contact me if she heard anything and I agreed to let her know how I got on with my search.
I couldn’t track Phil down but I did manage to get hold of Stephen, Kyle’s drinking buddy from when we were together. I met up with him and he told me he hadn’t seen Kyle lately. He said the last time he heard from him Kyle had moved to Blackburn to stay with his new girlfriend who was a lot older than him. I didn’t want Stephen to know the truth about the real reason I was looking for Kyle so told him I found a few things of Kyle’s I wanted to give him back. I was about to walk off when he called me back. He didn’t like me and the feeling was mutual. He had a snide look on his face.
“There was one other thing I’ve remembered.” He waited for a response from me. I stood passing my body weight from foot to foot.
“Go on then,” I urged. I didn’t want to stay in his company any longer than I needed to.
“He told me you killed his cat,” he said with a smirk.
“What!” I shrieked. “Are you kidding me?”
“No, he wouldn’t shut up about it. He kept on and on about it the last time I saw him. He said he would sue you and get compensation out of you for what you had done.” I stared at him in disbelief trying to figure out if he was winding me up or not but his face now looked deadly serious.
My mouth was wide open as I answered, “I didn’t know he had a cat.” I looked at him despondently.
“No, I didn’t really think it was the kind of thing you’d do.” I turned to leave, thinking that was the nicest thing I’d heard Stephen say about me.
I walked off saying, “He’s mad,” but I saw this action as a worrying development. It sounded like Kyle’s mental state must have taken a turn for the worst. I was upset by what Stephen had told me but at least if Kyle was behind everything, I could get to the bottom of who had been stalking me. The more I thought about what he had said, though, the more I was filled with disbelief. I was a cat lover myself. I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to my Max and would never do anything to hurt an animal.
I decided it was time to contact the police again and update them on my new information. I could tell they weren’t making my case high priority. I felt if something wasn’t done soon the consequences could be dire with me on the receiving end.
I phoned DC Slater to tell her and she showed interest in what I had to say. She took all the details. She told me they hadn’t made an awful lot of progress but enquiries were still ongoing. She did say the Scottish police had been in touch with Jay and he had alibis to cover his movements for most of the dates in question. My stomach churned and flipped over when she said that. I knew how volatile Jay could be and if he was still the same as when I knew him, he wouldn’t take a visit from the police well.
Things went quiet for a while and my hopes got up. If it was Kyle who had been bothering me and he heard I was on to him, maybe he decided to stop his actions.
I bumped into Martin sometime later and updated him on what had been going on. I told him the police had been in touch with Jay and questioned him. He looked at me and frowned.
“Oh dear, I don’t like the sound of that. You don’t want to upset Jay. You know I hear he’s got himself involved in organised crime up there. He’s hanging out with the big boys now and there’s talk he’s mixed up in drugs and firearms.”
I felt sick. I’d never wanted to involve the police when we were together for fear of reprisals and now this news made me go cold. I prayed it was too much trouble for him to come to England and get on my case again. Martin could tell I was upset.
“Don’t worry, Sophie.” He patted my arm, “I’ll let you know if I hear anything about him coming down.”
A few days later, I walked from the supermarket car park into Tesco’s when I experienced a strange feeling. I heard footsteps then loud breathing. A car horn made me jump. The rumble of a car engine provoked me into turning to look. Something didn’t feel right. There was a tingling down my spine. I jerked my head around. Had I noticed a slight movement in the corner of my eye? I stopped dead in my tracks. A young family of four walked past me laughing and joking. I looked over the parking lot. I had the urge to crouch down by the cars and jump up to see if I could catch someone unaware or spot something untoward. I was too self-conscious and there were too many people walking by.
A young couple walked arm in arm and two middle-aged ladies chatted close by. No one looked my way, and I saw nothing suspicious. Had I imagined it? Was it all in my head? Was I just being overly cautious? I stood still for a few moments. Having an unexplainable feeling inside me, my gut instinct told me something was not right. I clasped hold of the handle of the car door. I hesitated, unsure of what to do next then suddenly, my mind was made up. I decided to change my plans and try another supermarket so turned and opened my car door. I drove off.
Looking back all the time, I checked if I could spot anyone following me. I set off, double checking my mirrors. I had one eye on the road and one eye on my mirror. I made a split second decision to veer off the main roads and take a shortcut down the back streets. My heart pounded, and I felt nauseous. I looked at my hands gripping the steering wheel. They were clenched so tightly, they had gone white. I stopped the car and took a few minutes out to try to calm down. My whole being was filled with fear. What was I going to do? I couldn’t go on like this. My strong resolve had left me and I felt defeated. I decided to leave the shopping for today. Maybe I should order my groceries online if it would make me feel better. I’d got to the stage where I didn’t think it was safe being out on my own anymore.
I got in a
nd phoned Angela to ask if we could meet up as I was out of sorts. She was busy but said she would call back that night and we could have a good chat. By evening, I felt fine, and I wasn’t sure whether or not to say anything to her. I realised it could have all been in my mind because I had nothing concrete to back up my fears. When I spoke to her, I glossed over how things were. I didn’t tell her about my supermarket incident as I felt foolish now but it was good to catch up with her and it made me feel stronger.
Chapter Twenty Six
NOW
The following Tuesday I’d finished work at lunch time to go to a dental appointment. I walked through Bury and was about to cross the road near the town hall to get to the surgery when a black car slowed down and started crawling along next to me. I hurried along the pavement. I couldn’t ignore it and I didn’t have a good feeling about it.
The car pulled up, and I noticed it had tinted windows. I didn’t like tinted windows on cars. They always made me think the owner must have something to hide. With my eyes fixed on the dark glass I watched. Slowly the electric window descended. I wriggled with discomfort and fear. A knot of anxiety began to grow in my stomach. I peered inside the car afraid of who might be there. Sitting in the driver’s seat was Jay. A pang went through my chest as the recognition struck me like a bolt. My adrenaline ran high and my heart thumped fast.
“Get in Sophie.” He glared at me. The sound of that familiar voice made my whole body shudder and shake. Fear gripped me. Should I make a dash for it and try to lose him? I scanned the scene. In that moment whilst weighing up my options, Jay had jumped out of the driver’s seat and grabbed hold of me roughly. He pushed me into the passenger side. I kicked and screamed as I grappled with him. An elderly lady stopped to watch what happened.