The House on Rectory Lane

by Stuart James

  ∞∞∞∞ Reynolds was driving as she and Marsden followed the satnav to the address they had for Anton. The office was small, wedged between a locksmith and a bakery, with bright neon lights in the windows. As they entered, a smart looking guy in a suit peered up from a desk at the back. ‘How can I help?’

  Reynolds introduced them and flashed her ID.

  ‘Can I call you back. Yes. Lovely. Cheers. Sorry about that. I’m all ears.’ ‘We need to speak to Anton if possible?’

  ‘Anton? There must be some mistake.’

  ‘Mistake?’ Asked Reynolds. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We don’t have an Anton who works here. Never have.’

  ‘You’re quite sure of that?’

  ‘Yes. I’m the assistant manager. Henry Winters the owner and Simone who deals with lettings.’

  ‘And your duty is what exactly?’

  ‘I deal with all the residential sales.’

  ‘And you’ve never heard of an Anton?’

  ‘No. Never. He definitely doesn’t work here.’

  ‘Well, this is the address we have for him.’ She gave the details of Rectory Lane. As he

  checked on the computer, he looked up. ‘It’s not even one of our properties.’ Reynolds extended her hand. ‘Sorry to have troubled you. Have a good day.’ Outside, they made their way to the car. Reynolds removed her phone and searched all the agents within a fiftymile radius. There were several listed. She and Marsden called them all. No one had ever heard of an Anton.

  ∞∞∞∞ June knocked on the bedroom door. Jake was awake staring at the ceiling. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Jake. It’s me.’

  ‘Hey, June. Give me a sec.’ Jake got up and went to the door. ‘Is everything OK?’ ‘Yes, love. Look, I need to get back. I have work. The cats need feeding.’ ‘I thought your son was there.’

  ‘Yeah well. He’s with his girlfriend most evenings.’

  Jake pulled on a top and went out to the kitchen. He filled the pot with water they stored in the fridge and turned the dial. ‘You don’t need to go already. Come on. Stay for another day or two. It would mean a lot to the both of us.’

  ‘Jake. I can’t. You both have enough on your plate. I’m only in the way.’

  ‘Really. You’re not. But if you have to go, I’ll drop you to the station.’

  ‘Thank you, love.’

  Jake woke Kate and Sean. He didn’t want them staying on their own.

  Once June had grabbed her things, they headed out. The station was a good thirty minutes

  drive. They called ahead and depending on traffic; she’d make the ten thirty-five train. Jake pulled into the carpark, loaded the machine with twenty pence pieces and grabbed her bags. Sean held his nan’s hand.

  ‘Don’t go, Nana,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, baby. I’ll be back soon.’

  Sean’s eyes lit up when he saw the station. It was busier than they’d thought. Trains pelted

  past the platform blowing warm air into their faces. The familiar smell from the engines. It reminded Kate of when they used to go on day trips to Margate. They sat with June in the waiting room. The familiar stench of urine. Folding seats. Large clock showing ten twenty-nine. Kate had sadness in her. Train stations usually meant goodbye. Until the next time. Stale sandwiches and cold coffee. A brief encounter. Airports were always livelier. So much going on. Duty-free. Bars. Restaurants. A quick weekend break. She welled up. The pressure was now getting to her. She couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her mum. With the events of the last few days, she wondered if they’d ever meet again. Her family. Under a threat she didn’t want to imagine.

  The train arrived on time. They all hugged, and June climbed the steps. She sat by the window. They waited on the platform until the train pulled off. Jake with his arm around Kate. Sean waving. They stayed until the train disappeared down the track and turned the bend.

  On their way back to the lodge, they pulled in for breakfast.

  ∞∞∞∞ The driver had his orders. He had to locate the family and fast. His life depended on it. He’d been asking around. They’d left the house. That much was obvious. They had to be somewhere near. Now was his big chance. They’d gotten away last night. Although not his fault, the boss didn’t see it like that.

  As he arrived outside, the gates were open. The family’s first big mistake. He had parked over a half a mile away and walked up the quiet country lane. He went around the back and smashed the glass of the kitchen door, then looking over his shoulder, he placed his hand inside and unlocked it. Easy. Next. Find something.

  Cookbooks were stacked neatly next to the microwave. Pizza boxes lay on the table next to an empty bottle of wine. A radio on low playing a jazz station. He looked in the fridge. It was empty apart from a couple of beers. He cracked one open and downed it, then threw the empty can on the floor. A stack of paperwork lay on the windowsill. He flicked through the pile. Bills. Telephone. Electric. Gas. A receipt and instructions for an alarm system. He gave a whistle looking at the price.

  Then he saw something. Something of interest. A birthday card from Nanny to Sean. An address on the back of the envelope, return to sender in case it had gotten into the wrong hands. It may have contained money at some stage.

  ‘You beauty.’

  ∞∞∞∞ Jake held the door open for Kate and Sean. The cafe was busy. Families drinking teas, coffees, children colouring in books at the table. A couple of bikers sat at the counter swigging bottles of beer, even at this time of the morning. Jake had noticed the Harley’s out the front. A jukebox over one side of the room played Buddy Holly’s, ‘That’ll Be the Day’. Elvis pictures adorned the walls. A waitress, wearing a red and white apron decorated with polka dots walked over. She was late forties, tight bobbed black hair, greying, chewing gum with her mouth open.

  ‘Hey all, you have a choice.’ She moved her arm slowly around the place. Kate pointed to the corner. They were shown to their seats. Jake nodded, and the two bikers raised their bottles. She returned with three menus and a Noddy book with pictures ready to be filled in.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Asked Sean. They explained he was a popular character back in the eighties. He continued colouring the pictures with the set of crayons.

  ‘You ready to order?’ They nodded. Kate went for a couple of poached eggs on toast. Jake

  had the works. Double egg. Bacon. Double sausage. Chips. Beans. Toast. White and black pudding

  and a pot of tea. Kate gave him a shocked look.

  ‘What? I’m hungry.’ There weren't any spaghetti hoops on the menu, so they ordered Sean

  sausage, chips and beans with a vanilla shake. The waitress handed them a placard with forty-two clearly written in black felt, then moved towards the back and pinned the order to the wall of the

  kitchen.

  ‘Thirty-seven?’ A guy sat with a woman and two kids raised his arm. Jake wished they were

  thirty-eight. He was ravenous.

  ‘I miss Mum already. It was great having her over.’

  ‘Yeah. She’ll be back soon, babe. She’s a good woman.’ Jake glanced out the window. He

  noticed a black Jeep pull up. Watching it from his seat, he noticed a guy in the front driver’s seat. ‘What’s up, babe?’

  ‘The Jeep out the front.’ She turned her head.

  ‘Do you think …?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ The driver looked like he was talking on his mobile phone. Jake weighed up

  their options. They could go out the back way. When he entered, they’d run for the car. This posed a

  problem. The driver would know they were gone, see them running and be back to the Jeep within

  seconds.

  He could stay and face the guy. Not a good call. They were maniacs. Jake assumed there had

  to be a few of them working together. He’d slit Jake’s throat before he had a chance to throw a

  punch. The driver didn’t appear to have seen them. Yet. Which was a good sign.
<
br />   There’s no way he could know they were inside. Unless Of course, he recognised their car?

  They owned a black Volkswagen Golf. There were plenty of them on the road.

  The driver put his phone down and looked towards the café.

  The waitress arrived with the food ‘I called your number three times.’

  ‘Sorry. I was miles away.’

  She gave Jake a friendly smile as she laid plates in front of the three of them. Jake glanced back out the front as he cut the sausage in half, topped it with beans and shovelled it into his mouth. The Jeep was still there. The driver had gone. Jake looked to the door. It was

  still closed. He jumped up and went to the waitress.

  ‘We need to go. Now.’

  ‘What? Is our food that bad?’

  He handed her thirty pounds. ‘This will cover it.’

  Jake saw the corridor just to the side of the kitchen where the toilets were. He eyed Kate. ‘Quick. now.’ Kate grabbed her son, and they ran towards the back door. They bumped into an elderly lady who was coming out of the ladies, brushing her red coat

  down.

  ‘Oh, be careful,’ she announced, ‘People are always in such a hurry.’

  They passed a coat stand as one of the chefs who was flipping an omelette shouted out if

  they were OK? The kitchen was covered in smoke from the pans on the hob, a small radio perched

  on the side overpowered by the jukebox out the front. Jake waited until the door opened. Then they

  ran for it. Their only option. There was no sign of the driver.

  Kate wondered if her husband was overreacting. Sean bounced in his arms as they raced

  across the forecourt. Jake pressed the alarm, and it beeped. Not too loud to draw attention, he

  hoped.

  He stood Sean down, opened the door for Kate and placed Sean in the backseat. Ducking, so

  not to be seen, he made his way to the driver’s seat.

  The front door of the café was slightly ajar. The Jeep driver was inside. Shouting. The waitress shrugging her shoulders.

  Jake placed the key in the ignition and cranked the engine. The car was temperamental.

  Didn’t always start straight away. Luckily, this time, it did. He looked behind and shifted the gearstick into reverse. The waitress screamed. She looked frightened. The guy charged around, going

  into the kitchen and then down the back corridor. Once he’d checked the toilets, he ran to the front

  again. Jake reversed the car, both watching the café in horror from the front seats. The guy removed

  something from his jacket which he pointed at the waitress. As they turned the car to the side, they

  heard it.

  BANG!

  They watched the waitress drop to the floor as they pulled out onto the main road. Jake and

  Kate drove for five minutes without speaking. He continually checked the rear-view mirror. He

  hadn’t seen the driver behind him. The road was clear. A few lorries passed them going the other

  way. The odd car on the other side. He hit eighty and stayed at that speed for as long as he could,

  not caring if he was stopped. Jake swerved around a caravan further up the road and hoped the driver would slow the guy down if he came after them, give them enough time to get away. Jake dropped the speed as he turned down a narrow dirt track easing up on the accelerator. A

  couple of minutes later he could see the lodge. He needed to make sure it was safe. There may be

  someone waiting inside the old cabin. Maybe the guy worked with someone who had located where

  they were staying. If they’d found them at the cafe, how easy would it now be to trace them where

  they were staying? He pulled the car up fifty yards from the lodge.

  ‘Wait here.’

  He stepped out, pressing the locking mechanism and walked around the car. He could just

  about here the main road from the dirt track. Nothing had passed in the few seconds he stood outside. The road ran along the side of the lodge. He looked up. What would he do if the jeep pulled

  in? How would they escape? They’d be trapped. He’d get it first, then his family. He had to protect

  them at any cost. He walked slowly over to the cabin aware of how exposed he was. Jake stayed

  low, crouching as he made his way around the back. He peered into one of the bedroom windows

  fighting branches back from an old tree. Inside, the bed was made. The room was empty. The window, slightly open. A lapse on his part. He pulled the glass frame back and hoisted himself up to the

  edge, snapping his arm on a sharp branch. He cursed to himself. Once halfway in, he dived forward

  onto his hands and landed loudly on the floor.

  Jake waited, hoping he hadn’t been heard if someone was inside.

  He made his way out of the room and into the corridor checking Sean’s room, the store cupboard, then the bathroom and into the kitchen.

  There was no one else inside.

  Next, he checked out the back, the forest surrounding them. He edged forward, walking

  around the outside of the old cabin, scanning the area. The forest was empty from what he could

  see. Jake went a little deeper. A squirrel to the left-hand side, up on its hind legs, looking towards

  Jake. He had startled it, and it made off up one of the tall trees. Leaves rustled in the wind, Jake’s

  boots crunched on a fallen branch. Once he was satisfied no-one was around, he headed back out.

  Jake made his way back to the car and quickly moved his family into the lodge. He needed to check

  the main road. The Jeep could be pulled over waiting, watching. He reached the top after a few

  minutes. His family were safe for the time being. One way in and out. He crouched behind a tree at

  the corner of the highway watching a couple of vehicles speed past. He lost track of time. Jake

  didn’t think he’d seen the Jeep drive past but couldn’t be sure. Could they see him? Standing out in

  the open, vulnerable. Jake waited a short while longer. Once he was sure there wasn’t anyone pulled

  over, he made his way back down the dirt track.

  ∞∞∞∞ The driver calmly walked out to the Jeep. He sat in the driver’s seat, first removing his mask, peeling it from his face. He’d checked for CCTV; it was an old-fashioned café, the owner probably never had any need for it. Then, the blood-splattered shirt. He unbuttoned the front and wriggled out. The driver noticed how heavy it had become. Drenched in the thick substance from the waitress who refused to speak. Once the items were dumped on the floor of the car, he picked up the envelope with an address scribbled on the back. It was time to wreak havoc.

  He placed the car in drive, pressed the accelerator and slowly pulled out onto the highway. He kept at a steady sixty-five not wanting any attention. He burst into song, the Oklahoma classic, ‘Oh What a Beautiful Morning.’ The sun glared from the cloudless sky causing him to drop the visor. He passed fields with horses running in the distance. Others packed with cows and sheep. A bridge crossing over a glistening lake. Oh, how he’d love to jump in now. The calmness of the water brushing against his skin. Just float. Drift away. He turned on the radio. The weather girl warned of a storm. Not long left before the clouds came. The rain causing its mayhem. There were often floods. Road closures. The darkness. Oh, yes, there will be darkness. He needed to move. The driver pressed the accelerator harder. He pulled to the top of the dirt track, parked up and waited. He was sure it was the right place. He sat for over an hour. Needed to be sure, playing with his phone, glancing up every few minutes. The rain had started. A strong torrent of water and hail pelted the car. The wiper blades racing left and right. He needed to keep watch. He didn’t welcome this weather. It made it harder for him to look out. Condensation dripped down the inside of the windows. He didn’t want to turn on the engine and attract attention. He was ca
lm. He would wait, however long it took, he’d wait. Finally, he saw a figure. They were at the address now. Racing to get to shelter. Trying to fend off the water pouring from the skies. They looked prepared for the storm. They weren’t prepared for him.

  ∞∞∞∞ June arrived back at her house. She was soaked having decided to walk from the station rather than hail a taxi. She brushed herself down, wrung out her umbrella, and removed her headscarf. The heating was already on. A good thing. The smell of freshly washed laundry filled the hall. A hoover was running in one of the rooms. June walked down to the back bedroom and opened the door. A noise startled her.

  ‘Robina. I’d forgotten it was your day. You frightened me.’

  ‘Hi, Mrs Bradshaw. It’s OK. You frightened me too.’ She turned off the vacuum. ‘I’ll put the kettle on. I’ve been up to see my daughter for a couple of nights.’ ‘Oh. Lovely. How was it?’ June wasn’t going there.

  ‘Yes. Fine.’ She made her way to the kitchen.

  ∞∞∞∞ The driver was still outside. The place was in the middle of no man’s land. Nothing else around. Shops. Restaurants. cafés. Pubs. Dog walkers. Joggers. Empty of life. There was movement. Someone coming out the front.

  ∞∞∞∞

  ‘Kate, I need to pop to the car.’

  Kate was in the bath at the back of the lodge. Sean was sat on the floor by her, still colouring in the Noddy book. He’d only salvaged one crayon from the pack.

  ∞∞∞∞ June stopped Robina who had three rubbish bags in her hand.

  ‘It’s lashing out. You’ll catch your death.’

  ‘It’s OK, Mrs Bradshaw.’

  ‘No. Really. It’s so bad outside. Let me do it. I’m already soaked so what difference does it

  make?’ June took the bags from the cleaner’s hands and placed her scarf around her head. Then opened the umbrella. She dashed out to the bottom of the drive and dumped them in the large wheelie bin.

  ∞∞∞∞ Jake was outside routing around in the front of his Volkswagen. He’d lost his phone. He needed to call Reynolds and explain about the café. He knew she’d be over there now, that the place would be swarming with officers, but Jake wanted to talk to her personally. Find out what they needed to do. Would they be safe wherever they were? How were they going to keep hidden? He was determined