The Back Road

by Abbott, Rachel

  * * *

  Ellie was very quiet when she returned to the car. Apart from saying that Abbie was no better, she hadn’t had much to say for the rest of the journey and appeared lost in thought. But by the time they reached John Lewis - Ellie’s idea of shopping heaven - Leo was relieved to see that her sister seemed to have recovered a little. The tension had eased in her face, and she was making a concerted effort to be a bit more cheerful.

  As it was Sunday the store didn’t open until late, so they had a few minutes to wait. Leo saw her sister typing away on her phone, and presumed she was texting Max. She hoped Ellie wasn’t having another dig.

  ‘What are you up to, Ellie?’

  ‘I’m texting Georgia. I somehow seem to have offended her, so I’m hoping it was just a mistake,’ she replied.

  She carried on typing with her thumbs.

  ‘I thought I’d keep it casual, as if whatever I’ve done to upset her never happened. I’ve written “Max being an arse. Gone to John Lewis. Plan to buy lots. Hope to see you soon.” Anyway, come on. The doors are opening. Let’s see what we can find to spend some money on, and irritate Max even more.’

  Leo wasn’t a great fan of shopping, and had only agreed to come for Ellie’s sake. She didn’t see herself buying any clothes from this store and she had no interest in kitchen appliances - Ellie’s passion at the moment. After ten minutes of listening to her sister extolling the virtues of a particular set of pans, Leo escaped to the perfume and cosmetics counters to wile away some time trying new fragrances and checking out the latest makeup. Not her favourite pastime, but infinitely better than comparing pans.

  Finally, she made her way back to the ground floor. It was forty minutes since they’d arrived, and she had no more than one new shiny red lipstick to show for her trip. Surely by now Ellie would have finished shopping?

  Her sister wasn’t where she’d expected her to be. The store was busy now, but there was no sign of her. Sod it, Leo thought. I’m going to do one skim of the basement, and if she’s not there I’ll go and get a cup of coffee. She used the seconds at the top of the escalator to scan the crowds below, and spotted Ellie in the garden department, looking at some imitation flowers. Out of the corner of her eye, Leo glimpsed a figure in the crowd who seemed to be walking purposefully in Ellie’s direction. All she could see of him as she looked down into the crowd was the top of his hat. It looked like an Australian leather bush hat, and she had always thought they looked sexy on the right man. He was making a beeline for her sister, but just as he got close, Ellie looked up and spotted Leo, raising her hand to wave. The man veered off to the right towards the greetings cards. Leo shrugged. She must have been wrong.

  Ellie was holding a fake bunch of freesias in her hand.

  ‘What do you want with those, Ellie? You’ve got a garden full of plants.’

  Ellie thrust the flowers towards Leo, and held them under her nose.

  ‘I was wondering why anybody would buy fake flowers when the fresh ones are so very beautiful. See, there’s no smell. Wouldn’t you think that by now with all these fake room perfumes they would build something into fake flowers? I was only rooting around while I waited for you.’

  Ellie put the flowers back into a huge vase, which was filled with every sort of bloom - from roses to tulips and daffodils.

  ‘Waiting for me? You have to be joking. I thought you would be ages with your pans - and you haven’t even bought anything yet.’

  ‘You think?’ Ellie laughed. ‘Everything has gone to collection, so that I can drive round and pick it up. But I need to pop into the supermarket next door for a few bits and pieces first. Come on. Let’s choose some scrummy things for lunch and try to cheer Max up. I won’t mention the car again. It’s not worth falling out about.’

  Ellie linked her arm through Leo’s and headed towards the escalator back to the ground floor. Leo gave it a second, and then gently removed her arm. Ellie gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing.

  In the event, they were longer than they thought buying the groceries and for once Leo enjoyed shopping for food. Ellie made everything sound so tasty. She could eulogise over some raw prawns, when all Leo could see were grey, slimy looking things. Somehow Ellie made them sound plump, pink and mouth-watering.

  Ellie glanced at her watch.

  ‘I think we need to do a bit of multi tasking here, Leo. I’ll walk round to the collection point, but can you take the shopping back to the car and drive round to meet me?’

  Leo looked at her sister in surprise.

  ‘Drive your car? To what do I owe this privilege? Max seemed to think that would be out of the question.’

  ‘Hah! That’s because I wouldn’t let him borrow it.’ Ellie giggled. ‘It was all part of my cunning plan to get him to buy a new one. But of course you can drive it, and so can Max.’

  Ellie threw the keys to her sister, and set off back towards the department store.

  Leo pushed the trolley through the car park, and in spite of only having the vaguest idea of where they’d parked, she found Ellie’s Mercedes easily and went straight to the rear to unload the shopping. With the trolley returned, she went round to the driver’s side, and stopped. There was something on the windscreen.

  Strange, she thought. Why would anybody leave a fake flower there? She pulled it out from under the wiper blade, climbed into the car and threw it on the passenger seat. After giving herself a moment or two to become familiar with the controls, Leo drove round to where her sister was waiting with some large bags. She pulled into a parking bay and jumped out to give Ellie a hand. Everything was quickly stowed in the back of the car, and Ellie surprised Leo.

  ‘You drive. Just to prove that I am not precious about my car.’

  Leo shrugged and went back round to the driver’s door. As she settled into her seat and adjusted the mirror, she realised that Ellie wasn’t in the car. She was standing by the passenger side, holding the fake yellow rose and staring at it intently.

  ‘What’s this doing here?’ she asked Leo, her voice wobbling slightly.

  ‘Oh yes. I’d forgotten about it. The weirdest thing,’ Leo said. ‘It was on the windscreen when I got back to the car. It’s like those that were on display with the freesias, isn’t it?’

  Ellie didn’t answer. She walked over to the nearest waste bin and threw it in. When she returned to the car, she was quiet. The earlier good humour seemed to have evaporated.

  19

  Pat had told Mimi that he was going to see Abbie’s parents, which was the truth. But he wasn’t there for very long. He only stayed for half an hour. Kath Campbell was at the hospital, and her husband Brian was in no fit state for visitors, although he had asked if Pat would help the police to talk to the ‘little cows’ that had been out with Abbie on Friday night to see if they were holding anything back. But then he had given up trying to speak. The poor man had started to weep openly and Pat had found it difficult to know what to say.

  He wasn’t good at dealing with other people’s grief. It affected him deeply, and he needed to share his feelings with somebody. His first thought was Georgia. It was always Georgia. God, what a mess.

  He decided to drive his car out into the country. He needed some thinking time, and he needed time without Mimi. He knew he was going to have to deal with his own problems, one way or another. But Mimi was expecting his child now, and whatever mistakes he might have made, it wasn’t the baby’s fault.

  His car seemed to have a mind of its own, though, and within fifteen minutes he found himself outside his home. His real home. Georgia’s car was in the drive. Without stopping to think, he made his way up the front path and approached the door. He remembered how much they had loved this house from the moment they saw it. A large, late Victorian semi, it had huge bay windows and high ceilings. With fields to the rear, it had a stunning view over the Cheshire countryside to the hills beyond.

  He knocked on the door, realising that using his key wouldn’t set the right tone.
He needn’t have worried. Georgia opened the door, and she was running at full steam. She jabbed her finger at him, as if she would like to jab his chest with a six inch knife.

  ‘You’ve got a bloody nerve, Patrick Keever. After the last few hours, I can’t believe that you would have the audacity to turn up here.’

  Pat looked as his wife in confusion. God, but she was beautiful. Her spiky blonde hair was catching the sunlight, and her huge brown eyes sparkled with fury. Tall and slim, she looked perfect to him. But he had no idea what he’d done. At least, not in the last day or two.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Georgia. Can I come in, or are we going to fight on the doorstep?’

  ‘You can come into the hall so that we can shut the door,’ she answered. ‘But that’s as far as you’re getting.’

  He walked in and headed towards the kitchen. But Georgia just stood by the door with her arms folded.

  ‘What am I supposed to have done? I’ve had a shit morning, and I didn’t come here for an ear bashing. I came for sympathy.’ Even to himself, Pat sounded a bit pathetic.

  ‘What in God’s name makes you think I’ll give you any sympathy? First you send me a text message, telling me baldly that you are about to become a father. Then when I phone to ask you what the hell you’re talking about, you reject my calls. Not once, but three times. And on top of that, I got a message from Ellie last night saying how happy they were for you because - and I quote - “Mimi’s a little treasure”.’

  Georgia’s hands fell to sit firmly on her hips, arms bent at the elbow. She was a picture of anger and resentment. But Patrick was totally bewildered.

  ‘I never sent you a text. Why the hell would I do that? I had no idea how I was going to tell you about the baby - I was going to wait a bit to make sure it wasn’t a false alarm.’

  ‘Bloody typical of you. Try to avoid the issue and hope it resolves itself without any intervention on your part. It doesn’t work like that, Pat. It didn’t take you long, though, did it? My God - just because I said I wasn’t ready to have babies you have to go and make one with somebody else within about five minutes. You really are unbelievable. And then - yet again - I learn about your behaviour by text. Last time it was with the happy news that you were being unfaithful. This time I get a few words to tell me that you will soon be a proud father.’

  ‘Georgia, we’ve been through this before. I don’t know who could have told you about me and Mimi. Nobody knew. Not even Max! And I wouldn’t have told you about the baby this way. Surely you know that?’

  ‘Well all I can suggest is that your tart must have got hold of your phone and sent it. Because it definitely came from your mobile.’

  Pat was astounded. He’d caught Mimi with his phone a few days ago. She said she was looking up the weather forecast, because she didn’t have a smart phone. But since then he’d changed the password, and to something that she would never guess in a million years.

  ‘When did you phone me, exactly, because I would never reject a call from you? You know that, or at least you damn well should do.’

  ‘I phoned you three times, between ten and eleven this morning.’

  Pat felt confusion and a rising sense of panic. He didn’t want to do anything else to upset his wife.

  ‘I promise you, I never got any calls from you. If you got a text, it wasn’t from me.’

  Georgia shoved past him and stormed down the hallway. He made a move to follow her, but she half turned and held up her hand, palm facing outwards. A definite sign that he should stay where he was. She returned a few seconds later with her mobile clutched in her hand and waved it in his face.

  ‘So explain this, if you’re so bloody clever. Here’s the text. And look - oh surprise, surprise. It’s from your phone.’

  Pat stared at the screen in amazement. She was right.

  Before they could pursue this any further, his own phone rang. Mimi. Perfect timing. Sometimes he thought she had some sixth sense. He clicked to answer.

  ‘What is it, Mimi?’

  ‘I’m sorry Patrick. Am I disturbing you?’ she said in a soft voice. ‘Are you still with that girl’s parents? I need you at home. I’ve lost a bit of blood, and I’m scared.’

  Pat leaned back against the wall, resting his head there and closing his eyes.

  ‘Okay. I’m about to leave Abbie’s now. I’m on my way.’

  He hung up and turned to his wife. ‘Georgia…’

  ‘Piss off, Pat. I won’t be calling you again, so you don’t need to think about rejecting my calls. I have to say that I’m delighted to see you still don’t see the necessity for honesty. I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets lied to.’

  She walked away, leaving him to show himself out.

  20

  The silence in the car wasn’t comfortable, and Ellie knew that if she didn’t break it soon, Leo was going to start with the questions again. Where did she go on Friday night? Why did she switch her mobile off without answering it? Why had she gone all moody since they got back in the car? And she couldn’t answer any of them truthfully. All she could think was that he had been there. He had followed her that morning and left her the rose so that she’d realise he was watching. He seemed to know her every move, and she felt violated.

  Then there was Max. Was he really having an affair? Would he do that to them? She thought she knew him so well, but for the last few months there had been a subtle difference, she couldn’t deny it. That’s why she’d booked the holiday. Would they still go, or would he want to cancel? And what about the fact that he’d lied to her? Why would he lie about where he’d been if he had nothing to hide? He was such a useless liar too. Using Pat as his cover wasn’t his wisest move. How could he think she wouldn’t find out?

  She could feel Leo glancing at her every few seconds. She needed to think of a topic soon before the inquisition began. But she was too late.

  ‘Ellie,’ Leo started. ‘Is everything okay? It’s just that things don’t seem quite normal at the moment, and I’m wondering if I’m getting in the way.’

  ‘What?’ Ellie said. She was going to have to play things carefully. ‘Of course they’re okay. We’ve all been a bit busy with the house and everything, but that’s all done now. Things will start to settle down again. And we love having you here.’

  ‘It’s just that there were one or two things …’

  Ellie interrupted.

  ‘Speaking of one or two things, I wanted to talk to you about what Mimi said last night - the stuff about you not getting any of The Old Witch’s money. You do know, I hope, that I meant it when I offered you half. You can still have it - honestly. There’s more than enough for us.’

  Leo laughed, and Ellie was relieved to have steered her sister away from the edge of a very deep precipice.

  ‘I wasn’t bothered about that. She was your mother, not mine. She left the money to you.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ellie replied, wishing Leo would slow down so that this conversation could be finished before they got home. She didn’t want Max adding his two penn’orth. ‘She did leave the money to me, but it must have started out as being our father’s money - at least a fair chunk of it.’

  Leo turned to look at Ellie with a scornful expression. ‘Is that supposed to make it somehow more appealing?’

  ‘Oh, Leo. You are hopeless. You loved him once.’

  Leo turned her attention back to the road.

  ‘I loved him when I was a small child. That was before I discovered that he had another child living not thirty miles away, and that for the whole of my short life he had been cheating on my mother.’

  ‘Well, for what it’s worth, I think you misunderstood him. He made a mistake - people do. Don’t be so hard on him, Leo. Perhaps his biggest mistake was marrying my evil mother. You don’t know how envious of you I was as a child.’

  Leo swivelled round to glance at Ellie, a look of genuine surprise on her face.

  ‘You envied me? Why, for God’s sake? I’d
lost my mother and I’d come to live with The Old Witch. What was there to envy?’

  Ellie felt heavy-hearted for a moment when she thought of herself and Leo as children.

  ‘I envied the fact that you’d had a mother that loved you. Even if you’d lost her, you knew how it felt to be loved.’ Ellie saw the dawning realisation on Leo’s face that this might make sense.

  ‘Oh Ellie, I’m so sorry. I never knew you felt like that. I’m sure your mother loved you, in her own way.’

  Ellie snorted. ‘What way was that, Leo? The controlling, emotionless, lying way? She may have made a slave out of you, but everything she made me do - the piano, the relentless studying, the extra tutor lessons - they were all designed to show that her daughter was better than the cuckoo in her nest. It had nothing to do with love. But I always felt that Dad loved me. I know he wasn’t around much, but when he was, he was kind to me. He stopped her from doing her worst, I think. I felt happy when he was there.’

  Leo said nothing, and Ellie knew she wasn’t convinced.

  ‘I’m sure he would have shown you some affection if you’d only let him in - but you know what you were like. You wouldn’t even speak to him.’

  ‘As a parent yourself, Ellie, I thought you would know better than that. You don’t give love to your child on the basis that they must reciprocate. He wanted payback for any affection he doled out. He got it from you, but I was too much like hard work and not worth the effort.’

  ‘You mustn’t think like that. That’s one of the reasons that I hope we can find him now - after all these years. I know she had him declared dead, but that just means she couldn’t find him. Perhaps he didn’t want to be found. He didn’t run away from us, he ran away from my mother. She’s dead - so it’s safe for him to come back. And you never know, you might see him for what he really is.’