The Hornbeam Tree

by Susan Lewis

  Ten minutes later Molly still hadn’t reappeared, so Katie went upstairs to find out what had happened.

  ‘Molly!’ she cried, finding her at the computer.

  ‘Go away!’ Molly shouted. ‘This is private.’

  ‘I hope you’re not in one of those chat rooms.’

  ‘I said go away.’

  ‘Don’t speak to me like that. Now, you have to go back to school, so turn that thing off and get going.’

  ‘I will when I’ve finished,’ but she was already logging off, and after waiting for the screen to go dark she leapt up from her chair and came to give Katie a hearty hug and resounding kiss on the cheek.

  ‘And how did I manage to deserve that?’ Katie asked suspiciously.

  ‘You just do. Can I take the charger to school, because my mobile’s nearly flat?’

  ‘Kissed for a charger. Go on, and try to say something nice to Michelle on your way past.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Just do it.’

  ‘I’m not wearing those jewels …’

  ‘Stop it.’

  ‘You’re laughing.’

  ‘I am not. Now go.’

  Michelle was sitting at the table reading Katie’s article when Molly thundered down the stairs and unplugged the charger.

  ‘Has your lost bag turned up yet?’ Molly asked.

  Surprised she’d remembered, Michelle said, ‘No. Not yet. I called this morning to see if there was any news, they said they’d get back to me.’

  Molly shrugged, and apparently satisfied with her attempt to be nice, sailed off out of the door to where the PE teacher was waiting in her car.

  ‘Well, seems we’re not devil-spawn today,’ Katie remarked, coming into the kitchen and watching Molly go. ‘Honestly, I thought my mood swings were bad enough, hers make me feel positively centred. Speaking of which, it’s about time for my meditation, so I’ll leave you to it. Feel free to try calling Tom if you like.’

  Michelle glanced at the clock. ‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind checking my email, if I can use your computer. Robbie’s probably sent a message, and some of the kids at the camp …’

  ‘Help yourself,’ Katie told her, gesturing towards the laptop she’d left open on the table, and she was about to start up the stairs when a car caught her eye out of the window. ‘Is that someone coming in here?’ she said, frowning.

  Michelle peered over her shoulder and watched two middle-aged men in jeans, shirtsleeves and dark glasses getting out of a silver saloon car.

  ‘Anyone you know?’ Katie asked, as they headed towards the gate.

  Michelle shook her head. ‘I don’t know anyone,’ she reminded her.

  ‘Then we must have won the lottery,’ Katie decided, ‘which would be a miracle since we don’t do it. Do we have any long-lost relatives who might have passed on? They look a bit grim.’

  ‘As far as I know it’s just us,’ Michelle answered, starting to feel vaguely uneasy.

  ‘OK, let’s find out who they are and what they want,’ Katie declared, as the front doorbell rang, and walking round the side of the house, she said, ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

  The shorter and stockier of the two men reached into his pocket and started towards her. ‘Detective Inspector Wilding,’ he told her. ‘This is FBI Legal Attaché Fellowes. We’re looking for Michelle Rowe. Is she here?’

  Katie turned as Michelle came to stand next to her.

  ‘I’m Michelle Rowe,’ she said, praying this wasn’t going to be about Tom, while knowing it must be – just please God let him be safe, and don’t let it be something to send Katie off the deep end again. ‘How can I help you?’

  Wilding hadn’t removed his sunglasses, so it wasn’t possible for her to read anything beyond his words. ‘We’re making enquiries about a friend of yours, Tom Chambers?’ he told her.

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘The Pakistani authorities are interested to know when you were last in contact with him.’

  Michelle’s eyes flicked to the other man – and he needs an FBI agent to hold his hand while he asks this, she was thinking. ‘Why would they want to know?’ she enquired politely.

  ‘He’s been reported missing,’ Wilding answered.

  A pang of fear hit her heart. ‘By whom?’ She was looking straight at Fellowes. ‘Who’s reported him missing?’

  Once again Wilding answered. ‘The Pakistani authorities are trying to locate him,’ he replied, which was actually no answer at all.

  Wishing she’d made Tom tell her more about Josh Shine and the documents so she’d have a better idea of what she was dealing with now, she said, ‘Why are they looking for him? Has he done something wrong?’

  Ignoring the question again he said, ‘Do you know where he is?’

  ‘I assume still in Pakistan, but I can’t tell you exactly where.’

  ‘When was your last contact with him?’

  Willing Katie not to contradict her, Michelle said, ‘The day I left Pakistan.’

  ‘You haven’t spoken to him since?’

  ‘It’s only been five days.’

  He allowed several seconds to elapse, then said, ‘Are you aware that he has connections with certain fundamentalist groups in Pakistan?’

  Her hands began clenching at her sides. ‘He would call them contacts, or sources,’ she responded.

  ‘I’m sure he would, but if there’s anything you can tell us about these contacts you’d be wise to.’

  She said nothing.

  He sighed. ‘Miss Rowe, I doubt you need me to remind you what can happen to American journalists who get tied up with the wrong people in Pakistan,’ he said.

  Michelle knew very well what he was alluding to and felt disgusted that anyone would use the tragic and barbaric murder of one of Tom’s colleagues in such an invidious way. ‘Can I see your ID again, please?’ she said, wanting them to know that she wasn’t quite as intimidated as they’d no doubt like her to be.

  Wilding reached into his pocket. After scrutinizing his badge, she turned to the FBI agent and waited for him to produce his. ‘Thank you,’ she said, satisfied that they were who they were claiming to be.

  ‘Don’t you want to help him?’ Wilding enquired.

  ‘If I thought he needed it, of course I would,’ she replied.

  ‘Oh, where he is, he needs it,’ Wilding assured her.

  Her face was taut as she said, ‘I thought you didn’t know where he was.’

  ‘You understand what I’m saying. You know the territory. You know it’s not a good place to disappear.’

  Her only response was to stare at him, while the fear inside her grew. However, she and Tom had had too many run-ins with the likes of Wilding and Fellowes over the years for her to tell them anything until she’d tried tracking Tom down herself first.

  Wilding shook his head in dismay. ‘You’re not doing him any favours,’ he warned.

  Still she said nothing.

  He turned to Katie.

  Michelle tensed, but to her relief Katie stayed silent.

  ‘There comes a time,’ Wilding told her, ‘when it’s wiser to reveal the identity of a source, or the whereabouts of someone who’s in danger, who might not even know they’re in danger, than to keep it hidden.’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t know who his sources are,’ Michelle responded. ‘And I’ve already told you, I don’t know where he is.’

  Finally the FBI legal officer spoke. ‘If you suddenly recover your memory,’ he said, removing a card from his shirt pocket, ‘my cell is on twenty-four/seven.’

  Taking the card she folded it in her palm and watched as both men turned to leave. Katie remained at her side, watching too. The sun seemed suddenly very hot, and neither of them spoke until the car had reversed from its parking spot and disappeared up the lane, leaving them with birdsong and butterflies and the bizarre tranquillity of an idyllic country setting.

  Michelle was on the point of turning round when Katie said, ‘OK. I want you out of
my house now.’

  Michelle took a breath to protest.

  ‘I don’t want to hear it,’ Katie raged. ‘You just lied to them. They’re police for God’s sake, and this is the second time terrorism’s raised its head since you’ve been here. I’m not waiting for the next. So just go upstairs, pack your belongings and go back to wherever the hell you came from.’

  ‘Katie! Will you just listen?’

  ‘I’ve heard enough. I don’t want you here, Michelle, with all your lies and secrets and covering up for Tom. Now just take whatever’s yours and please be gone by the time I get back,’ and before Michelle could utter another word she marched across the garden and slammed out of the gate.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Katie sobbed as Judy hugged her. ‘I know I’m probably overreacting, but I was so incensed when I heard her lie …’

  ‘Sssh, you don’t have to apologize,’ Judy soothed. ‘You know my door’s always open, and I’m glad I was here.’

  ‘I just don’t know what to do,’ Katie said, pulling away and attempting to calm down. ‘I thought we were getting somewhere, I started to open up and then the next thing I know the police are on my doorstep – what am I talking about, the police, like it was Reg Killet on his pushbike just popped over from Chippenham nick. It was the anti-terrorist squad, or Special Branch or …’

  ‘You don’t know that …’

  ‘I saw her face, Judy. And the other one was American. FBI, no less, and she damned well lied to them.’

  ‘You need to talk to her,’ Judy said. ‘Let her explain what’s happening, why she said what she did, and I’m sure it can all be sorted out.’

  ‘Judy, for God’s sake, we’re talking about terrorism here. I know that’s hard to digest when we’re in the middle of Membury Hempton where the worst explosions we get are from George Arnold’s rear end in church on Sundays … Don’t laugh, it wasn’t supposed to be funny. She’s brought it with her, Jude. Whether she meant to or not, it’s here, and I can’t deal with it. You must understand that. Molly has to have someone she can feel safe and secure with, and while Michelle is …’

  ‘Katie, stop! Take some deep breaths and count to ten. Make it a hundred, I’m in no hurry. No! Just do as I say. In, out, in, out. This is probably nowhere near as bad as you think, and if you just give her the chance to explain I’m sure you’ll find she’s needing to take a few deep breaths too. After all, she’s the one who’s just been told someone she loves is missing, or whatever he is, and we all know what happened to that poor American boy they took captive over there, so she’s probably got the fear of God in her now. Keep breathing, then take some time to think about how she’s feeling right now, and if, after you’ve discussed it, you still feel it’s better for her to go, I’m sure it’ll be a mutual agreement. I’m absolutely certain the last thing she wants is to cause you and Molly any more stress than you’re already going through.’

  Katie looked at her with tired, haunted eyes. ‘You’re right, of course,’ she said. ‘I’m too afraid of everything these days … I never used to be like this …’

  ‘Stop being the victim,’ Judy gently chided.

  Katie’s eyes closed and after a few moments she started to shake her head. ‘It scares me half to death, but … I don’t know. I’m glad she’s here, and I don’t actually want her to go …’

  ‘Then talk to her. Find out why she lied, listen to what she has to say without going off the handle, and try to remember, this was the kind of intrigue you used to thrive on in your heyday, so go and start living again, girl, because, not to put too fine a point on it, you’re going to be a long time dead.’

  Michelle was sitting at the kitchen table when Katie returned, her face bloodless and strained, her whole demeanour showing the turmoil she was locked in.

  She looked up as Katie came in, bracing herself for another onslaught of anger, but Katie merely came and sat down opposite her, bunching her hands on the table, and fixing her with eyes that were still wary, but a lot less hostile than before she’d stormed off.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Michelle asked.

  ‘Yes. Are you?’

  Michelle nodded. ‘I want you to know,’ she said, ‘if I thought for one minute that I posed any kind of risk to you and Molly I wouldn’t even dream of staying.’

  Katie swallowed and nodded to show that she appreciated the words. ‘Then tell me what that was all about,’ she said. ‘Why did you lie?’

  ‘Because I didn’t want them to think that we know anything about what Tom’s involved in. It doesn’t concern us …’

  ‘But what is he involved in? Just what are we covering up here?’

  ‘All I know is that someone we’ve long believed to be a CIA operative passed him some documents that, considering the fuss they’re causing, must be classified. I don’t know what’s in them, Tom wouldn’t tell me because he doesn’t want us to get dragged in.’

  ‘So Wilding and his federal friend. Who were they, exactly?’

  ‘Wilding’s badge was from the Metropolitan Police, so he could be anti-terrorist, Special Branch, or MI5 using the badge as a cover. And the FBI agent is presumably London based, because he was calling himself a legal attaché. That’s the term they use when they’re stationed outside the US.’

  ‘So do you think Tom really is missing?’

  ‘I don’t know. He could just have gone underground for a while. There are people I can call, or email. Without my computer … I can go into town and find an Internet café if you’d rather I didn’t use yours.’

  ‘You can use mine,’ Katie told her.

  Michelle looked at her uncertainly. ‘Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to …’

  ‘Don’t argue, I’m as keen as you are to know he’s all right, so just use it.’

  As Michelle typed in her emails Katie sat with her, wishing there was someone she could contact too to help in the search, but it wasn’t a part of the world she knew. So she reconciled herself to being a sounding board for Michelle, as she ran through the list of those who were most likely to know where Tom was.

  By seven that evening Michelle had tried just about everyone she knew from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, even the camp at Shamshuta, but no-one had heard from Tom in the last few days, not even Sajid, his fixer. This was alarming her more than anything, for he rarely went anywhere without taking Sajid, or at least informing him of where he was going.

  ‘I am very sorry,’ Sajid was telling her now, speaking to her for the fourth time in as many hours. ‘I try hotel in Karachi again, and someone say he is leaving without paying the bill.’

  ‘Then he must have left in a hurry,’ Michelle cried, unable to stop herself running with the implications of that.

  ‘I go to Karachi to learn truth.’

  ‘Yes, Sajid, do that. Please do it,’ she told him, ‘and call me as soon as you can.’

  As he rang off she looked at Katie across the table, then buried her face in her hands. ‘I’m sorry about this,’ she murmured, ‘I’m really, really …’

  ‘Stop it,’ Katie chided, glancing at her watch. ‘It’s important to know he’s safe, so I say we give it until morning, and if we still haven’t managed to find out anything by then, you should call our federal friend who left his card, to ask for an update.’

  Michelle nodded and wiped her hands over her face. ‘Shall I pour us some wine?’ she said, as Katie began packing up her laptop. ‘I think we could both do with it.’ Then, remembering Katie probably wouldn’t be allowed to have alcohol while on so much medication, she winced and said, ‘Sorry. That was insensitive.’

  Katie looked startled. ‘Why? I’d love a glass,’ she responded, ‘but we’ll have to save it until later, because I’m supposed to be at a parish magazine meeting in less than five minutes. If I weren’t this quarter’s editor I’d trade their front page for what seems to be taking shape in our kitchen, but I can’t let them down. I’m afraid I’ll have to take the computer with me too.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ Mi
chelle assured her. ‘It’s past midnight over there anyway, so it’s unlikely there’ll be any more news tonight. Shall I make some dinner for when you come back?’

  ‘We ate an hour ago,’ Katie gently reminded her.

  Michelle shook her head and laughed dryly. ‘Of course,’ she mumbled. ‘What about Molly? Shouldn’t she be home by now?’

  ‘She sent a text from Allison’s saying she was doing her homework there, but could I record EastEnders.’ She rolled her eyes and chuckled. ‘That’s what I love about my daughter,’ she commented, ‘she has this unfailing ability to focus you right back on everything that’s trivial and tosh, and make it seem like the most important thing in the world, which to her, I suppose, it is.’

  *

  Uncertainty was quivering in Molly’s smile as she turned from the computer screen and looked up at Allison.

  ‘You know the rules,’ Allison told her tartly. ‘If you want to go on being a Daughter of Lilith you’ve got to meet someone off the Internet. Everyone else has done it, we’re just waiting for you now so we can all move on.’

  Molly still looked hesitant.

  ‘For God’s sake!’ Allison exclaimed. ‘You’re only in because I really stuck my neck out for you, so don’t let me down now. You want to go out with Brad, don’t you? Well, no way are any of us going to help you if you don’t do this.’

  Molly turned back to the keyboard.

  ‘All you’ve got to do is meet him!’ Allison cried when she didn’t start typing. ‘You don’t have to do anything else …’

  ‘Why don’t I give him your email address?’ Molly suggested, referring to the boy they were instant-messaging.

  Another message started coming through.

  Are you still there, Sexxy? Have

  you got any clothes on?

  Though shocked, Molly joined in Allison’s shriek of laughter.

  ‘Tell him no,’ Allison demanded.

  ‘No way am I going to arrange to meet him if I do that,’ Molly told her.

  ‘All right. Just tell him anyway.’

  Feeling off the hook for meeting him, Molly immediately went to it:

  I am totally naked. Are you?

  The reply came back: