Firestarter

by Collins, Patsy

  Alice allowed herself a moment's fantasy of presenting Louise with a bottle for helping to teach her about conservation work. Tempting, but the poor woman didn't deserve that; all she'd done was threaten murder. She felt a laugh trying to escape and looked around at Kate for help. Mistake. Kate held up the vegetable dish, containing carrots, broccoli and parsnips. 'Would you like some sprouts?' she asked.

  The pair of them dissolved into the same uncontrollable giggles that vegetable had created during the Christmas dinner.

  'You're a brave man, son,' Alice's dad said to Pete.

  Her mum asked, 'Do you have any brothers or sisters, Hamish?'

  'I do, a brother called Donald.'

  'Oh another Scottish name. Are your family from Scotland?'

  'Yes, originally. I have a few cousins there and actually that's where Donald is working at the moment, but we and my parents were born in England.'

  Alice was puzzled for a moment. These were the kind of questions her mum asked people she didn't know very well... but of course her parents hadn't met Hamish before. It hadn't felt like that.

  The next time they went out, Hamish took her to see a romantic comedy. During the kissing and slightly erotic scenes she glanced at him. Each time he was looking at her with a hunger she doubted popcorn would satisfy.

  Tempting as it was to answer his query about what she'd like to do next with, 'go back to my place and act out what we've just seen,' she restrained herself.

  'Let's call in at the Sunken Yacht for a drink and I absolutely insist on paying this time.'

  'If you absolutely insist, I suppose I have no choice.'

  She bought the drinks and placed them next to a sheet of paper. On it was written a telephone number she recognised.

  'It's where the hoax call to your flat came from.'

  'Oh!' Alice stared at the familiar number.

  Hamish squeezed her hand. 'You recognise it, don't you?'

  Chapter 14

  'Yes. It's Tony's number.' That's what she'd feared, but these continued hoaxes didn't seem like something he'd do. He got angry sometimes but always calmed down quickly and he wasn't reckless. 'Why would he do this?'

  'You know him better than me, but he seemed a bit unbalanced when I met him.'

  'Because he was so jealous.'

  'Particularly of firemen?'

  'Yes. It's a family joke about me and firemen and Kate teased him about it.'

  'Tony doesn't do jokes, I take it?'

  'He used to...' It was horrible to think she'd upset him so much he was risking people's lives and getting himself into trouble.

  Hamish did his best to reassure her. 'This is in no way your fault. Someone will speak to him, in fact they'll have done it already, explaining why hoax calls are so dangerous and what the penalties might be. Unless he's completely stupid, he'll stop.'

  'You're right, he'll have seen sense by now. Thanks.' She needed to change the subject. 'Now... this cottage in Wales. Does it have electricity?'

  'It does. No TV or phone signal though. We'll have to make our own entertainment.'

  His grin told her exactly what kind of fun he had in mind. When he accepted her invitation to come in for coffee, she hoped to get a practical demonstration.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely before she could think of filling the kettle. He slid a warm hand inside her sweater and over her bare skin. Her back arched under his touch and she moaned with pleasure. Alice couldn't seem to control her own hands. They wanted to stroke his face, push through his hair and rake her nails down his back.

  The kisses went on and on, becoming slower and more gentle as Alice's heart pounded and her breathing became frantic. Not just her breathing. She wanted him so much. She had him there in her arms, his weight on her. Alice screamed joyfully, then went limp.

  Gradually her breathing and pulse slowed to normal and she realised they were lying fully clothed just inside her front door.

  'I can see Wales is going to be very entertaining indeed.' Hamish pulled her to her feet. 'Now, do I get that coffee or did you get me up here under false pretences?'

  He did get a mug of coffee but that was all. It seemed he too had decided to wait until they got to Wales before taking things any further.

  Kath left the office and went to the bank during her lunch break. She returned with a huge bouquet of lilies and roses which she presented to Alice. 'I was asked to give you these. Chap who brought them is waiting outside.'

  'He's not six foot with really blond hair, is he?' Alice asked.

  'No. Dark haired. Actually I think it's your ex, looks like the bloke you brought to the Christmas party.'

  'I was afraid of that.'

  She'd have ignored him, but Miles returned from his own break and said, 'Did you know your ex-boyfriend is waiting outside?'

  'Yes. Sorry if he's being a nuisance, Miles.'

  'It's not your fault. Shall I come down with you and see he doesn't do anything daft?'

  Thinking that would be the quickest way to get rid of Tony she agreed.

  'Alice, get in the car so we can talk privately,' Tony said as she approached.

  She didn't need Miles muttering in her ear to know that probably wasn't a good idea. 'Just say whatever it is you've come to say, Tony, and go.'

  'I love you, Alice. Give me another chance.'

  'No, Tony.' She spoke gently. 'It's over. It would be best for you to accept that and not contact me again... or the fire brigade.'

  He seemed to shrink. 'You know? I'm sorry, Alice. That was a really stupid thing to do. I was so angry when I saw you with that fireman and I'd been drinking... but it's no excuse.'

  'It certainly isn't,' Miles snapped. 'Now stop harassing my employee.' He put a hand on Alice's shoulder and steered her away.

  'Alice, please!' Tony called.

  She didn't look back.

  'Are you OK?' Miles asked.

  'I'm fine. Thank you.' She'd have liked to get back to work and try to forget it, but he took her into his office and made tea.

  'Do the police know it was him making the hoax calls?' Miles asked.

  'I'm not sure, but the fire brigade do and they'll take action.'

  'Do you think he's dangerous? Would he start a fire?'

  'No, I'm sure he wouldn't.' She was sure; almost.

  'It's worrying, especially with him hanging around here at night.'

  Alice jerked her head up.

  'I didn't realise who it was of course, but twice I've come by after a night out and seen his Audi.'

  Miles called another staff meeting that afternoon. He told everyone they weren't to worry as he was going to have CCTV installed and arrange fire training. No one had been particularly worried before, but they started speculating furiously afterwards. Learning how to use extinguishers and listening to talks on fire safety were a novelty though and broke up the tedious working days a bit. The promised increase in business wasn't yet having any impact.

  Miles gave each member of staff a key and requested that, if they were in the area outside of working hours, they drove down the track to check everything was OK. 'Don't get out your car though, I don't want anyone to take risks on my behalf.'

  'Yeah, right,' Kath muttered. 'Like I'm going to come into work after hours.' It seemed to be a common sentiment.

  Hamish came round for spaghetti bolognese that evening. She hadn't cooked what used to be her signature dish for ages as Tony turned his nose up the first time she'd made it for him. Apparently she would have needed streaky bacon, rosemary and celery to be authentic.

  'This is really great,' Hamish said as he finished a second portion. 'I've never had it with chilli in before.'

  'I tried it once when I'd run out of black pepper and liked it.'

  'Genius!'

  That word being how she often referred to her mum's truly exceptional cooking made the compliment all the better.

  When Hamish helped wash up in her tiny kitchen and spotted the fresh herbs on her win
dowsill he was even more impressed. So was she. Tony loaded the dishwasher at his place, but she'd never seen him with his hands in a sink of greasy water except the once after Christmas dinner and there he'd had a sizeable audience to impress. She wasn't going to spoil the time she had with Hamish before he went in for a night shift by thinking about Tony, though.

  Instead they talked. She learned William's wife was expecting a daughter and Jeff had a girlfriend.

  'She seems sane, so I doubt it'll last.'

  'He can't be that bad or you wouldn't be friends with him,' Alice pointed out.

  'He's fun, but not exactly politically correct, is he?'

  'True. I don't think that's the real problem. Seems to me he's putting on a front of not caring much, but underneath he'd happily be in William's situation.'

  'You noticed that too? So what advice can I give him?'

  'About not scaring women away? Treat them with respect. Real respect, not all this getting upset over words like chairman and insisting on chairperson, just treat them like people with opinions and personalities not with hidden agendas and guilty secrets.'

  'OK, I'll see Jeff takes note.'

  Ah. Not just Jeff. Still, to be fair she hadn't just been thinking of him either.

  Hamish gave a cheeky wink when she'd offered coffee.

  'Just coffee?'

  'Ah all right, I'll let you have some of my After Eights.'

  She was only half glad he didn't suggest anything more exciting, but knew she was doing the right thing by getting to know him first. It was a good thing too that she was spending time with her family and having nights out with friends she'd reconnected with at the school reunion. The trips to the wildlife sanctuary looked set to become a regular thing too. Louise hadn't suddenly become her best friend but she greeted Alice at least as warmly as the spray-tanned scrap of skin and muscle who worked on reception at the gym she and Tony had used. Sausage-Snowball had put in an appearance on one occasion which pleased Alice enormously. Besides, wading through mud was more beneficial all round than battling with shiny fitness machines. She wanted Hamish so, so much, but she wasn't going to allow herself to become reliant on one person for her entire social life ever again.

  A paramedic on a motorbike roared down the track to where Alice worked. Medical kit in hand, he ran into the building.

  'Where is she?' he demanded of those staff who'd rushed out from the warehouse and down from the offices to see what was wrong.

  'There's no problem here. It must be another hoax,' Miles informed him.

  Before he'd convinced the paramedic of that an ambulance and fire engine arrived. Alice recognised the fire crew as people from Red Watch, but Hamish, William and Jeff weren't among them.

  'We had a call saying someone was trapped under fallen shelving,' the paramedic explained.

  Most of the storage area was visible from the entranceway, but Miles invited him and other members of the emergency services to look while he ensured all staff were accounted for. Miles explained about the hoaxes. 'I've been told they were made from pay phones, making it impossible to trace who made them.'

  The paramedic went to confer with the ambulance driver, then said, 'Not an anonymous hoax this time. The caller was a Miles Molde. They're trying to contact him now to see if we have the wrong address, but I don't think that's very likely.'

  'That's me. I'm Miles Molde, but I've been here all morning.' He looked round at his staff who nodded in agreement.

  'Does the name Alice Bakewell mean anything to you?' the paramedic asked.

  'I didn't. I wouldn't,' Alice said.

  'That's the name we were given for the victim. '

  Alice shuddered. Being trapped under fallen wood and metal sounded very much like the accident she'd had as a child with her dog Frodo. She couldn't remember ever telling Tony about it, but it was likely that she had. Plenty of people did know, including everyone she'd gone to school with. Rachel would definitely have known. Whoever was doing this was clearly targeting her. Why would anyone want to hurt her? Louise did; she'd said she'd drown her. Alice's ears pounded as though her head were under water and she felt weak from lack of air. She was so, so cold.

  Miles caught her as she sank to her knees. 'I'd better take you home.'

  'No!' Whoever was doing this knew where she lived. 'To my parents.' Her enemy might know their address too, but at least she wouldn't be alone there.

  'Come on then, lean on me.' Miles helped her into his car and made sure she was buckled in safely. 'Coleville Avenue, isn't it?'

  'Yes. Thank you.'

  Alice's mum wrapped her in a crocheted blanket, gave her hot water bottles, sweet tea and cake. By the time her dad finished work and Kate called in, on her way home from her job at the bank, Alice was feeling silly for reacting so badly. Obviously someone was deliberately causing trouble and it must be someone who knew her, but that didn't mean they intended to kill her. Louise had said that; surely she wouldn't if she'd actually meant it and anyway, the hoaxes had started before the two women met. No, Louise just resented her relationship with Hamish, or was warning her not to hurt him or something. She wouldn't involve the fire brigade in that.

  Rachel seemed too cold and rational to make hoax calls, even if she was secretly in love with Tony. And if that were the case she'd have stopped, not started after Alice broke up with him. And Tony himself? He seemed the obvious suspect and she knew he'd made at least one call, but she still couldn't believe he'd go to these lengths. That suggested desperation. Tony had been upset at the split and his pride was hurt, but she was sure he'd never been desperately in love with her. It had to be him though, didn't it? Perhaps he'd had some kind of breakdown or something.

  'Sorry I got in such a state,' she said to her family. 'I got the silly idea someone was threatening what would actually happen to me and it reminded me of being trapped with Frodo.'

  'You're not silly, love. You come home for a while.'

  'There's no need, Mum.' She loved her parents but they tended to smother their 'baby' daughter.

  'Sorry, I think Mum's right to be worried,' Kate said. 'This isn't just Tony being annoyed you dumped him. It's more than that.'

  'Tony wouldn't be so stupid,' her dad said. 'He always was a bit odd, but not dangerous, surely?'

  'No,' Alice said. 'Once when we had a row while he was driving he pulled over and stopped to cool down because he wasn't safe to drive and might hurt someone.'

  'Talking of cars, if you must go, you'll take mine,' her mum said. 'You're insured and I never use it.'

  'Yes you do, Mum. You use it for work, shopping and going down the library.'

  'I'll get the bus. You're not to. I don't want you going out anywhere on your own and you're to drive to work. Promise me?'

  'OK. Thanks. Actually maybe I will stay here, just until I go to Wales.' That was only two days; she could survive being fussed over and force-fed cake for that long. She'd be sleeping in Kate's room so it wasn't as though she was regressing to childhood.

  Miles called to ask how she was.

  'I'm fine now, thank you.'

  'That's good, but obviously it was a horrible shock. You needn't come in to work until after your holiday if you don't feel up to it.'

  'Thank you. I...' She nearly said she was fine again, but knew if she went in to work the others would keep talking about the incident and the other hoaxes, plus it was daft to turn down a couple of free days off when they were offered. 'That's nice of you, Miles. It might be better not to be reminded just yet.'

  'Alice... the police have been in contact and would like a statement. I said having them turn up at your parents' home this afternoon might be upsetting and I'd let you know.'

  'Thank you. That was thoughtful.'

  He gave her the details of how to contact the police and who to ask for, then added, 'Have a nice time, wherever it is you're going.'

  'I will, thank you.' She was glad she hadn't told anyone, other than Kate and her parents, where exactly she was s
pending her week off.

  Alice's mum drove her to the police station the next day and sat with her while she gave the statement. The police woman guided her through the procedure, prompting her to mention each hoax call she could remember, starting with the one to her flat. Alice was asked if she had any ideas who might be responsible.

  'Not really.'

  'The first one was made by your ex-boyfriend, Tony Salmon wasn't it?'

  'Yes.'

  'Have you had any contact with him since?'

  'No, well he's called me a few times.'

  'How many?'

  A lot of times and he'd called her parents and Kate. Lying to the police wasn't going to help anyone. 'I didn't keep a record, but he rang quite often to start with and tried my family too. He's stopped that now though, hasn't he?'

  Alice's mum nodded her agreement.

  'He's been harassing you in fact?'

  Alice shrugged. She supposed he had.

  'And he's visited you at work?'

  'Yes.'

  'And would he have known anything about the warehouse, that there was metal shelving for instance?'

  'He came with me to a Christmas party.'

  The police seemed convinced Tony was responsible for all the hoaxes and she had to admit they were probably right. It wasn't a nice thought at all, but at least now they'd be able to stop him.

  It was such a relief to get away, that part felt almost as important as the fact she'd be alone with Hamish for days, and nights, on end. No one would know where she was and Hamish would look after her.

  When he'd seen her after the latest hoax she'd still been shaky and told him she didn't know who she could trust. He'd shown her his work rota and compared it with the times of the hoaxes. Hamish had been at work when three of the calls were made and cutting someone out of a car for one of them. Although she'd never suspected him it was nice there was proof.

  On the journey up to Wales they didn't discuss the calls or work. Instead he told her about his previous visits to the cottage they'd be staying in. It had been derelict when his cousin had bought it and Hamish and his brother Donald had helped renovate it. As payment they got to use it pretty much whenever they wanted.