“Yeah, but what about security?” he whispered. He didn’t want to come across as paranoid, but Sam’s disclosure had horrified him.
“There’s no need to worry,” Sam consoled him, his hand squeezing Maisie’s. “Didn’t you see the burglar alarm on the wall? This house is fully wired and fitted with security lights, and if there’s the slightest bit of aggro, I’ll be down like a shot. It’s not like Bognor Regis...”
Dissing Bognor now, was he?
Joe felt a spark of annoyance, but aware of Sam’s hospitality - never mind the work dangling under his nose like a carrot - he swallowed back his retort.
“Right,” he muttered and gave a lop sided-sided smile. “Look, don’t get me wrong, mate, this house is the dog’s bollocks. Just promise to keep her safe!”
“Oh, lighten up will you?” Jess scoffed. “Given the choice, I’d swap places any day. Now is it possible we can enjoy our visit here?”
“Can I get you another drink?” Maisie interrupted. “Lunch is nearly ready.”
The warmth of her gaze reassured him before she turned back to the kitchen.
Yet as Joe lowered his eyes, a burn of humiliation spread through him. And with Jess not drinking, he knew when to keep quiet.
“Well, it looks like Maisie’s fallen on her feet,” Jess sniffed as they embarked on their journey back to Bognor. “What a gorgeous place to live, though! It looked like something out of Country Living magazine. Lucky bitch!”
“Is she?” Joe replied. “I’m a bit worried about her if I’m honest...”
Jess rolled her eyes. “Oh, why do you always have to be so bloody cynical?”
“What, you don’t think it’s a bit sudden?” he snapped. “Sam comes waltzing into her life, the moment our backs are turned, and next thing you know this house turns up, some rich bastard’s weekend cottage, and it just happens to be a few miles up the road from where she works?”
“I don’t get it,” Jess frowned. “What’s your problem? We’re happy, Maisie’s happy. You’re not jealous are you?”
Joe sighed, tempted to shake some sense into her.
“No, I’m not jealous, I’m just looking out for Maisie. I was worried when she was on her own in Bognor, but at least she had us around the corner. She’s so cut off out here! Something about this set up don’t feel right.”
Jess smirked. “She’s not on her own though, is she? She’s got Sam.”
He shook his head, at a loss to explain the fear raking over him.
If anyone was suffering from jealousy, it was her; sat around the table, it had oozed from every pore, from her flitting eyes to her sickly sweet compliments.
As if he didn’t feel inadequate enough with her constant sniping. But after two short weeks of living together, they were getting on each other’s nerves already. His lips tightened. Sad though it seemed, it hadn’t taken long for the novelty to wear off. Unaccustomed to his ways, she treated him more like an irritant lately.
Take the day he had emptied his coat pockets on the coffee table, a few till receipts, ATM slips, Rizlas from his smoking days... she had gone apeshit.
His head hung low, a wave of sadness running through him as his thoughts turned back to Maisie. Only now did he realise how much he was missing her. Maisie, who had been so tolerant, never once berating him for his habits.
So maybe Jess hoped to refine him but it was like trying to teach a dog new tricks. However hard he tried, he was never going to fit into her perfect world.
Next day he awoke even more depressed. Much as he loved his passionate weekends with Jess, moving in had been a mistake, and the more sensible part of him had always known this.
What could he do, though, other than to talk to Maisie?
Given she was no longer in Bognor, he could hardly pop round for a cup of tea any more, but he could phone her. Just to hear her voice would be a pleasurable diversion, so without further delay he dialled her mobile.
Except it rang and rang, until finally going to voice mail.
Joe exhaled a heavy sigh, his soul deflated and empty.
He found himself wondering whether there was a decent signal in East Lavant, but there was always tomorrow. Or he could try phoning her at work.
Over the next week, however, he made several attempts to get in touch.
“Oh come on, Maisie, please pick up,” he whispered through gritted teeth, but every time he was left with no choice than to leave another message. “Hi, Maisie, it’s Joe again... Sorry to hassle you but is there any chance we can meet up? I need to talk to you, so if you get a moment will you text me?”
Maybe she was pre-occupied with the garden or something, but why couldn’t she just answer her fucking phone?
His frustration grew, but at the back of his mind, a more devastating ribbon of thought was beginning to unwind itself.
What if she was in some kind of danger?
Chapter Fifty-Six
Poor Joe. Sweet though it was of him to show concern for me, anyone could see how much it had irked Sam. It was as if he didn’t trust him. Yet with time marching on, I had someone else to consider: Connor.
Was it really a month since that memorable day on the beach?
My life had changed so rapidly, it was difficult to keep pace with everything, but a promise was a promise. Sarah and I had a long-standing arrangement, and I was not about to let her down.
“I’m sure I mentioned it,” I said on the phone to him that evening.
He was due to drive down tomorrow, the advent of a brand new weekend.
“Or would you prefer it if we went back to Bognor for the day?”
“Don’t be silly,” Sam sighed. “Didn’t I say this house would be great for him? I’d just forgotten it was this weekend, that’s all.”
“So you’re okay with it then?”
“Of course! There’s loads of space. You’ll just have to make another bed up.”
I could almost hear the smile in his voice, and a rush of relief poured over me.
The first person to roll up, however, was Sarah. Sam had been delayed, due to traffic congestion on the motorway, and had no idea when he would get here.
Gazing at Sarah, I felt my heart twist.
I would so much have liked her to meet him.
“You’re looking very well,” she complimented me, “though hardly surprising with all this lovely fresh air and countryside.”
Stepping out of the car with Connor, she was quick to embrace me, her eyes feasting on the grounds, just as Jess’s had.
“This cottage is stunning! So what have you been up to all week?”
Oh, where to start.
I raked my fingers through my hair before ushering them inside. Making sure they were settled comfortably, only then did I explain.
For the last few days, my feet had barely touched the ground; from a meal out in Chichester with my colleagues, to another taken up with one of our Fostering Information evenings. But at every opportunity, I could not wait to get out in the garden and start pottering. The evenings were light, the air sweetened with the haunting notes of a song thrush, and I felt more in tune with my surroundings than at any time I could remember.
“I know,” Sarah mused, “I’ve seen your photos on Instagram. I’ll tell you now, your foster parents are thrilled, and looking forward to a day they can visit.”
Her green eyes glittered, drawing my thoughts back to the garden. Filling the empty pots with summer flowers, I had dotted them around the patio to create instant colour, deciding my perennial borders would have to wait.
“Oh Connor, you’re going to have a great time,” she kept beaming, “not just getting out and about in the countryside but with all this state of the art stuff here, you won’t be bored.”
She was right. Gazing around the lounge with its deeply padded sofas, huge plasma TV screen and smart speaker, I realised I’d had little time to bask in the luxury of my new environment.
But maybe this weekend would be different.
&
nbsp; Connor, meanwhile, looked mesmerised, his eyes growing bigger as I led him up to his room. I had prepared one at the back for him, which lay farthest from the road, but with superb views across the landscape. Giving him time to settle, I left him staring out of the window. The fields stretched into the distance alongside the forest edge, a cloud of encircling woodland, the trees in full leaf.
Hearing the crunch of tyres on gravel, I sped to the door, delighted to see Sam’s car. Flinging the door open, I braced myself. But as he strode towards the door to greet me, I almost recoiled. For never had I seen him look so exhausted, his hair lank, eyes wreathed in dark shadows.
“Finally,” he muttered under his breath. “Fucking traffic.”
“Sam,” I whispered in horror, “are you okay?”
My eyes were drawn to his legs, long and supple in casual linen shorts; yet as he moved close to embrace me he discharged a potent tang of sweat.
“Sorry for the delay. I worked late last night, thinking I’d have time to go to the gym this morning, but then I got stuck in that snarl-up.”
“I thought you looked a bit stressed,” I commented.
Leaning in to kiss me, his lips felt hot against my own. “I am, and the first thing I need is a shower, freshen up a bit. Any chance of a coffee?”
Turning towards the stairs with a wink, I felt my insides turn to goo, the state he had arrived in forgiven.
By the time he had stepped into the gleam of the hallway, he was transformed. His skin glowed from the shower, damp hair a burnished blonde. Still in shorts, he had changed into a crisp white over-shirt, top buttons undone revealing his shapely pectorals. I held my breath, fighting the urge to tug it off him again, but conscious of Connor loitering.
“Well, hello!” he greeted him. His face split into a smile. “You must be Connor.”
Observing him with interest, Connor gave the tiniest nod. “Yes. Are you Sam? Thanks for letting me stay, and I like your house. It’s well cool.”
Sam’s face froze in surprise. “Well, cheers, mate, but I might as well come clean. It’s not actually my house. Didn’t Maisie tell you? We’re doing it up for a client, so he can sell it.”
“Yeah, but it is really cool,” Connor pressed. “It’s even got a basement...” Gazing past the rug at the bottom of the stairs, he pointed to a shadowy corner, the brackets of a trapdoor only just visible. “Do you know what’s down there?”
“Knowing Craig, I expect he uses it as a wine cellar,” Sam said. He followed it with a laugh. “Have a snoop if you like. Anywhere else you want to explore?”
“What about the woods around here?”
His eyes flared with hope, filling me with unease before Sam quickly responded.
“No, Connor. I’m sorry, but if you’re our responsibility, we can’t let you go wandering off into the forest. What if you ended up lost?”
I watched in curiosity, happy to see a rapport developing between them.
“But we could still go out for an excursion somewhere,” I intervened.
“Good idea,” Sam said. “After being cooped up in a car for two hours, I need some fresh air. So let’s make a picnic. Goodwood Trundle isn’t far...”
He was right. I hadn’t given much thought to the dramatic scenery that lingered virtually on our doorstep. Seeing Goodwood Hill brought back memories of our first excursion, only this time we stopped in the car park.
Connor sped ahead but at least we were able to keep an eye on him. Drinking in our surroundings, we found ourselves climbing a path to an area of open hills. They overlooked the racecourse, but the views up here were fantastic, the exposed chalk paths painting diamond white lines across the landscape.
“This is great, Sam,” I sighed as we settled into a hollow between the hills.
Surrounded by carpets of wild flowers, I saw butterflies flitting among the petals, and caught myself thinking we couldn’t have picked a nicer spot for our picnic.
“You were right about the woods though, imagine if he’d gone missing? According to Sarah, he’s got a habit of wandering off and hiding. It’s got him into a lot of trouble in the past, never mind causing worry...”
Sam shrugged. “At least this area’s public, so he won’t get very far without other people seeing him. Just as well. Last thing we want is to call the police out.”
“No,” I pondered. “We haven’t heard from them lately, have we?”
My words hung suspended before I felt a dart of panic.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
“What is it?” Sam frowned.
“Something’s just occurred to me and I’m surprised Sarah didn’t mention it... but please don’t say anything about Connor staying with us.”
Sam jerked his body upright, as if startled. “Why not?”
“I’ve broken the rules. If anything happened to him I could lose my job over this but with you being my partner, the authorities would normally want to run some background checks on you first...”
“What the fuck for?” he baulked. “It’s not like I’m some pervert!”
“Shh,” I tried to calm him but it was too late.
Fury blazed in his eyes as he turned and glared into the distance. I had never seen him like this.
“Don’t be offended, it’s just a procedure for looking after a minor.”
“Offended?” he snarled. “I don’t think you realise how much I’m offended.”
I would have replied, but before I had a chance, his mobile rang.
“Sorry, I have to take this,” he snapped.
And without another word, he rose to his feet - stormed over to the other side of the hill, leaving me speechless.
I went in search of Connor.
Fortunately, he hadn’t wandered far. A svelte silhouette against the skyline, he stood admiring the view. So I quickened my pace, staggering to the top of the hill almost breathless.
“Alright, Connor?” I panted.
“You can see the sea up here,” he observed shrewdly. “I think that’s Bognor over there, but what’s that big body of water inland?”
Following the direction of his finger, I made an educated guess. “That must be Chichester Harbour where the boats come in. It’s got a lovely coastline and a little further west is Portsmouth. See that fuzzy shape in the distance? I’m betting that’s the Isle of Wight.”
“Right,” he muttered, snapping his head around. “So where’s Sam?”
Clasping the lapels of my cardigan, I pulled it tighter around my chest. “Taking a call on his mobile. I expect it’s something to do with work...”
I closed my eyes, of a mind to let him stew. I would have to face him at some point, but my heart filled with sadness as I pictured his angry face.
Unfortunately, his mood didn’t improve, not even on the journey back. Risking a sideways glance, I hardly recognised him any more, his face set like stone.
“Who was on the phone, then,” I asked quietly.
“It was the surveyor,” he said, his voice clipped and cold.
“But that’s good, isn’t it?” I pressed, wary of Connor in the back seat.
Sam shrugged, saying nothing more, and our journey ended in an uncomfortable knot of silence.
Once we were back in East Lavant, I switched the kettle on. Even Connor had turned quiet, which put me on edge. It seemed obvious he had picked up the tension between us and it stifled the air like a thunder cloud.
At a loss as to how to break the deadlock, I found it hard to believe Sam could be like this. Tears burned my eyes but I blinked them back, determined not to let him drag me down. He seemed to have completely withdrawn into himself.
Yet why? What had I done to make him flip so suddenly?
Busying myself in the garden for an hour, I even managed to engage Connor in some of the hedge pruning. But as evening approached, I could bear it no longer. Sam stood in the lounge, staring out of the window, and with Connor preoccupied in his bedroom for now, it was time to confront him.
�
��Look,” I sighed. “I think it’s best if Connor and I go back to Bognor after all. I can tell we’ve outworn our welcome...”
“Don’t go,” I heard him whisper.
Turning away from the window, he no longer looked angry.
He looked haunted.
His eyes swam with tears as they rose to meet mine, yet they harboured a terrible darkness.
“Sorry. I’m behaving like a complete arse, I know, but I’ve been stressed as hell. Can we forget what happened and enjoy the rest of our weekend?”
How could I not forgive him - the relief rolling over me so immense, I almost tumbled into his arms.
With the friction discharged, the evening evolved into a bubble of merriment. Sam and I threw a meal together in our lovely kitchen. Happy to entertain Connor, whilst curling up on the sofa together, we scrolled through a list of movies. The choice was endless, until we eventually agreed on a James Bond film.
Next day, however, Connor was due to return home.
Sam had insisted on driving, keen to make a day of it and find a pub to stop for lunch. The thought of finally introducing him to Sarah excited me and for that reason, I suggested we could meet her halfway.
By early afternoon, we had hooked up in a place just off the motorway near Crawley, and like me, Sarah seemed utterly bedazzled.
“It’s so good to meet you,” she said, “after everything Maisie’s told me.”
“You too,” Sam smiled, “and I was touched by your efforts to find me. There is something I would like to ask you though...”
She stared at him. “Go on.”
“You met Yvonne Draper, didn’t you?” His eyes lowered, a cloud passing over his face. “How was she?”
Observing the exchange, I saw the smile drop from Sarah’s face. Time seemed to stand still, the atmosphere melancholy before she had even opened her mouth to speak.
“She was terrified, Sam. Defensive, as if fearing she would come to some harm. She told me that someone came through for you, but the identity of that person had to remain a secret.”
Lethal Ties Page 32