Alex had been itching to phone the EllaBellas but wasn’t sure whether Cleo would want them to know about her plight. Anyway, they must have news for her if they’d texted at this time. She moved Pharos from her neck and snuggled under the covers to make the call.
‘Hi, Ella, of course I’m awake. What’s up?’
‘What’s up? You tell us! Your Mum has been on to our Mum saying that there were police at your door and you two look guilty about something! She wanted to know if any of us knew anything. Your mum said that you couldn’t lie for toffee and you were clearly spinning her a yarn about the police and that she could tell you couldn’t wait to get her off the phone.
‘Our mum asked us about it but drew a blank, so she had the bright idea of phoning Heather and Mark and testing the water there. Heather had to tell her whatever she knew, in case your mum flew straight home to find out for herself.
‘So now our mum knows something that we don’t know but she won’t tell us. We’ve guessed it’s about Neil.’
Ella managed to relay all that to her without drawing a breath. Oh God. How embarrassing for Cleo but at least she hadn’t been the one who let this kitty out of the bag.
‘Alex? Are you there? Don’t leave us out of this one,’ Ella pleaded.
She didn’t need any more persuading to tell them the whole story. After she’d finished, it was Bella’s turn take over the call.
‘Dan flew back yesterday because that consultancy vacancy has come up and he’s heard all about this from Heather and Mark too. He is furious, calling Neil some choice words and saying that Cleo has been too soft and that she’s been played for being so kind. You’d think he still fancied her, Alex, truly you would.’
Alex came to Cleo’s defence, ‘There’s nothing wrong with that. She can be lovely when you get to know her.’
‘Oh God, Alex, you’ve changed your tune. But I’m glad if you can see some good in her.’
21
Cleo tussled with the sheets and watched the moon slip in and out of the clouds for hours; it was July’s thunder moon, how bloody apt. She tried, but she didn’t sleep; too much coffee while she was going through her laptop files and too much to worry about. She’d found the unpaid bills for a store card in her name that had reached its maximum. She worried about what else she might find out.
Why did Alex have a pregnancy test in her bag if she wasn’t going to use it? She hadn’t brought that up again but it preyed on her mind. She would have to trust that Alex would talk to her eventually, on her own terms.
How many more loans were there and would she be liable for the lot? She’d already resigned herself to using Mum’s old Range Rover and selling her car to clear her bank debts.
She must suffer the embarrassment of talking to someone at the bank about her accounts on Monday and admitting how foolish she’d been. Both worries whirled relentlessly around and kept sleep at bay.
The phone ringing at six in the morning didn’t disturb her, she was wide awake, but the unknown number did. Who would call at this time on a Sunday morning? She couldn’t ignore it; it might be something to do with this sorry mess.
A female voice said, ‘Hello, am I speaking to Cleo Moon?’
‘Yes who is this?’
‘Oh, thank goodness. How is Josh? I’m Marianne, his mum.’
So, she’d got in touch at last. ‘How is he? He’s confused of course, but he's ok. He’s a very easy-going little boy but, now both his parents have disappeared, he must feel mixed up. How did you get my number? Are you going to come and collect him?’
‘Can I speak to Josh, to reassure him? I got your number from Neil and he’s told me his story; that’s if there is any truth in it because he makes things up to suit himself.’
‘What, exactly, has he told you?’ Cleo asked.
‘That he wasn’t in lodgings but living with you, his girlfriend. I didn’t know that before I left Josh with him. That he’d borrowed from you and you threw him out but you have room in your cold heart to keep Josh with you until I collect him. Don’t worry, I’m not taken in by Neil’s excuses. He’ll have messed up big time and I can guess that he’s trying to hide something.’
Cleo couldn’t help herself, she had to ask, ‘How on earth could you leave your little boy with Neil when you seem to know just what he’s like?’
There was a long silence at the other end of the phone.
‘I don’t know what I was thinking. I certainly wasn’t thinking straight and I didn’t know what to do. You see, my father is critically ill; he had a heart attack and I needed to get home to see him and Josh didn’t have a passport.
‘After we broke up, Neil took Josh’s passport and destroyed it. I was hunting all over for it and called Neil to ask if he’d seen it and he eventually owned up. I was desperate to catch my flight; that’s why I told him that the responsibility for Josh was his, until my father was out of danger.’
‘Neil did tell me that but I didn’t know if it was true,’ Cleo said. ‘Are you still in the Netherlands?’
‘Yes. My father’s just out of hospital and needs nursing care. I’m trying to sort things out and his sister is coming to take over in a day or two but now Neil has left our son with people I don’t know. He says you’re a teacher so you must understand kids and be treating him kindly, I hope.’
More sobs down the phone made Cleo feel helpless. ‘Shush, don’t get upset; Josh is fine. As I said, he’s a bit confused but fine and he is quite settled here. He hasn’t been that phased about his dad going because he’s been with my sister and me quite a lot over the past couple of weeks.’ Cleo tried to soothe Marianne.
‘That’s Neil. I should never have left Josh with him but I was in a panic and thought maybe it was a chance for him to show he could cope, like a proper father. But no, he’s an idiot.’
‘Look, Neil has left in a hurry because of more than a disagreement and I’m not sure if or when he’ll be back, so how soon can you get home for Josh?’
‘I’m trying to get a flight straight over and to get care in place for my father. Please, can he stay with you until I arrive? I have no one reliable over there and I’ve talked to him a couple of times on Neil’s phone and he always says he’s having fun.’
Cleo’s mind was in turmoil. She needed time to think. No, she didn’t really have to think this through.
‘OK, Marianne. At the moment, Josh is sleeping over with a friend of mine who has a son of her own. I work, so Heather has offered to help with some day to day care. I’ll give you her number so that you can chat to Josh now, but do be assured that he is in safe hands.’
‘Oh, please, give me that number. I need to know that he is not pining too much.’
Cleo gave Marianne the number and said, ‘We’ll both look after Josh but, in return, can you help in finding Neil? Any clues at all?’
‘I’m sorry, he didn’t tell me where he was and he changes his number all the time. I’d guess that, if he’s in trouble, he’ll have gone into hiding until he finds someone else who is willing to rescue him. His favourite place to retreat is Milan but who knows where he could be?’
‘Thank you, I thought as much myself,’ Cleo admitted.
‘Don’t be offended when I say rescue, I was the biggest fool. I married him and he went through my money like water; my father was furious and only now can I make my peace with my him. I’ll be back as soon as I can - in a day, maybe two at most. I do keep my word. I’ve sorted out a new passport for Josh, so we can both return to my father’s home. Thank you so much for this help.’
‘Don’t worry; we will make sure Josh is looked after.’
‘Thank you. I’ll call again soon.’
Cleo put the phone down. She had worries and Marianne had just as many by the sound of it. Now that she'd agreed to help out, she wouldn’t be calling in social services.
Cleo lay back in bed feeling relieved; things were never black and white. She’d thought the mother was uncaring leaving Josh with Neil but she had
a difficult choice to make. Marianne had more trust in Neil's parenting skills than Cleo could ever have, but then at times, Neil was very attentive to Josh. She would have hated to see that little boy being taken away to more strangers. His Dad was a louse but his mum seemed caring and she must be missing him so much.
Cleo’s agitated mind gave up the fight with her exhausted body and she sank into oblivion.
Oblivion lasted all of an hour. The phone rang again dragging her from her much needed sleep but hearing Dan’s voice jolted her wide awake.
‘Hi, Cleo. Are you and Alex at High Rigg?’
‘No. No, we’re at my apartment. Why do you ask?’
‘I’m out walking the dogs and I can see all the lights are on at High Rigg - there’s someone moving about in there and, if it’s not you, I’m going to investigate. I just wanted to check.’
‘Dan, what are you talking about? Don’t you go in there on your own!’
No good; he’d gone.
22
Cleo looked in the hallway cupboard; her key for High Rigg was not on its usual hook and, although he’d never been, Neil knew the address. Neil always had the lights blazing in her apartment and she was sure it was him at High Rigg. She called the police explaining that she thought Neil had taken her mother’s key and that he could have gone to High Rigg.
She gently shook Alex awake and told her what was happening, as they pulled on clothes and put Pharos in his basket for the journey home.
Heather was up with Archie and Josh and had promised to keep Josh until she heard from them. She had already had a chat with Marianne and Josh was happy after hearing from his mum.
Within half an hour they were in the car and heading north. Before eight o’clock on a Sunday morning, the roads were empty and they were making good time. Alex tried Dan's number to tell him they were on their way but got no answer.
A coral dawn sky was breaking when Cleo pulled up at the house behind a police car - the only other car on the drive. As she got out and stretched herself awake, she looked up at the windows; all the lights were on but she couldn’t see any figures in any of the rooms. Alex was out of the passenger seat and already running along the side of the house to the back door to use her key to get in.
They didn’t need a key as Pete Laidlaw, their local bobby, was in the kitchen. Alex made tea while he updated them on the morning’s events.
‘It seems like young Dan Collingwood was walking the spaniels past here before he called for the Sunday papers. What he was doing out with them that early, I don’t know; Mrs. Collingwood usually takes them out at around nine.
‘Anyway, he sees the lights on and thinks that something is amiss. He phones you girls to check it’s not you or your mum back early from her trip and, when it’s not, he goes to the door.
‘Nobody answers when he rings the bell so he goes round to the back and sees a fellow in your garden room and he’s going through a lot of your papers. There’s a mess of documents on the floor and the fellow is looking toward the main house, so he gets a shock when Dan bangs on the window. Brazen as brass, he comes to the garden room door and has the nerve to ask Dan what he’s doing snooping round the back. He tries to bluff his way out of trouble by saying he’s a friend of yours and has been invited to stay.
‘Dan says he’s phoned you and this chap gives him a sharp right hook and tries to run past. That sets the springers off and they are onto him, licks not bites, more’s the pity, but they trip him up. Dan drags him back in and holds onto him while he phones the station.
‘I race around, almost breaking the speed limit on my bike, and we get him into handcuffs. The chap is moaning and saying that he’s in pain and needs a doctor because Dan has roughed him up. Dan says this is rubbish and he’s a doctor and can see there’s nothing wrong with him. Dan’s lip is bleeding and he tells me that Neil threw a punch before Dan could get hold of him.
‘I can’t risk taking the perpetrator into custody without a medical check-up - procedures you know; and I can hardly ask Dr Collingwood when his son is involved, so I call an ambulance to take him to A and E and call in PC Johnson to go with him. I stay here to secure the building...can’t abide hospitals meself and now... here you are!’
‘So Neil is in casualty, but where is Dan?’ Cleo asked.
‘I take it you know the intruder...this Neil?’ Sergeant Laidlaw answered her question with his own.
‘Yes, he’s wanted by Newcastle police for fraud and theft, Sergeant Laidlaw. He took Mum’s key from my apartment. Now you must tell me, where is Dan?’
‘Ah, I’ll leave all that side to the city chaps and if they need me they’ll find me. There’s no damage as such, Cleo; so it’s a clear up job you’ll be needing to do and a check to see if anything is missing. The blighter said he’d taken nothing but I saw him drop a couple of things from his pockets before he left the house so I take it he’s going to try to get away with as little as possible.’
‘Dan? Where is he, Sergeant?’ Cleo wasn’t bothered about the house, she wanted to know that Dan was OK.
‘Oh Dan? Ah yes, he took the dogs off home and was going to get cleaned up and come straight back here to give you girls a hand.
‘I’ll be on my way, I’ll get in touch with the city team and we’ll sort out the paperwork in the morning. No need to take up all our Sunday because our detainee is going nowhere.’ The sergeant put his notebook away and bid them goodbye.
After he left, Alex and Cleo checked all the rooms; drawers had been turned out everywhere and valuable items were lined up on the beds ready to pick up. Downstairs was left tidy, except for the garden room. He’d emptied their moondream jar out and papers were spread out all over the floor.
Luckily, Cleo hadn’t a key for Mum’s studio at her apartment and the safe in there remained secure.
Cleo tried Dan’s phone but there was still no answer, so they set about the painful task of replacing everything into drawers and cupboards
‘Gosh, Alex your room looks tidier than usual,’ Cleo said, as they set about putting things straight.
‘Ha, bloody ha, you’re so unfunny,’ but Alex was grinning.
Once the upstairs was straight, they went downstairs and made more tea.
‘Shall I risk the shops in the square and go and get some supplies?’ asked Alex.
Their break in would be news of the day in Dunleith. There wouldn’t be paparazzi but there would be Mrs. Weddell to contend with.
‘Yes, you could do that. I’ll just try Dan again.’ He answered this time.
‘Hi, Cleo. No, no damage, I’m fine. I was just about to drop by, to give you a hand. I’m bloody furious though, that sneaky bastard is trying to get time in hospital instead of the cells. I didn’t touch him, as much as I would have liked to!’
Trying it on for leniency, that sums up Neil, thought Cleo.
‘It would be lovely to see you, Dan. Alex and I are just going to buy some brunch before we sort the garden room out.’
‘Why don’t I buy some stuff on the way round and help you to eat it?’
‘Great idea, see you soon.’ Cleo walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face.
‘You look happy, sis.’
‘That’s because I’ve heard from Dan and he’s not badly hurt.’
‘I think you still feel the love for him,’ Alex teased.
Cleo felt a blush and was going to say “rubbish” but she said nothing. She couldn’t hide it- yes, she did feel the love.
Dan turned up, with a plaster over one brow and a grazed, fat lip, looking as sexy as ever, with the EllaBellas in tow.
‘These two were woken up by Alex and had to come around. Chuck them out if you want to.’ He looked pensive and Cleo knew why; old wounds. She’d never liked all the kids around them in the past.
Cleo thanked him and told them they were all welcome, purposely ignoring the surprised glances that the EllaBellas were giving each other. He helped Cleo with breakfast while the girls laid the table and got c
aught up on all the events from Alex.
As they sat down, Cleo sensed Dan looking at her and, as she returned his smile, she wondered whether he was thinking along the same lines as her. It was really nice, but seriously weird, to be sitting here having breakfast with their sisters after all this time.
When the Collingwoods left, Cleo and Alex agreed that they’d try to nap for a couple of hours. They were both shattered and they still had the garden room to put to rights before they returned to Mariner’s Wharf and got ready for school next day.
Cleo slipped under the duvet in Mum’s room because her bed wasn’t made up and was just drifting off when her door opened. Alex stood there in her dressing gown.
‘Cleo, can I come into Mum’s bed with you? ‘
Cleo pulled the covers back. ‘Come on then.’
They had never, ever bunked up before thought Cleo, as they snuggled under the duvet.
‘I miss Mum,’ Alex murmured.
‘So do I, munchkin.’ As she uttered one of Mum’s pet names, Cleo wondered what she would have made of all this. She’d be happy, as long as they were safe and together; her girls, as she always proudly called them.
‘What do you think Mum will say?’ Cleo asked, but Alex was already asleep. As she stroked the hair from her sister’s eyes, a protective jolt struck Cleo; she really liked having her baby sister around.
Alex’s arrival had felt like the end of the world to Cleo and, until now, she had never been able to forgive her sister for ruining her life. It was not her arrival exactly; Mac’s accident seemed like the end of the world to Cleo and, for years, she convinced herself it was Alex that had caused it. She’d told herself that from the beginning, otherwise she’d have to face all of the blame herself.
As Cleo lay back on Mum’s bed, her self-centred teenage self, seemed long gone. She was such a different person now but it still made her cringe to think of her last evening with her dad. She remembered, but could hardly bare to recall, that night of the accident.
A Jarful of Moondreams: What Secrets Are Ready to Spill Out? Page 14