He shouted up the stairs, ‘Anyone there?’
Rosie prayed Casey wouldn’t reply. He’d be no match for this brute.
Before the intruder could go upstairs, Rosie’s mobile rang from the kitchen, so he dragged her back towards the sound, staring at it. ‘Whose phone is that?’
‘Mine.’
‘Answer it. But not a word about me or I’ll knock you out.’
Hands trembling, she picked up the phone and clicked on answer. ‘Hello?’
Brad’s voice. She cut off what he was saying quickly.
‘Oh hi, Paul. Are you ringing about our date tonight? I’m sorry but something’s cropped up, so I won’t be able to make it. See you soon.’
The silence that followed seemed to echo round Rosie. She prayed that Brad would understand her hidden message, that Casey wouldn’t make a single noise upstairs, that this madman wouldn’t hurt her.
* * *
Casey had started to go to Rosie’s aid, but it all happened so quickly that the man was inside before he could do more than move out on to the landing. So he stayed back, listening, terrified for his sister’s safety.
When her mobile rang, the man dragged her off to the kitchen to answer it. Casey realized this was his own opportunity. Picking up his own mobile, he dialled the police emergency number, whispering a plea for help, praying they’d take him seriously. ‘Mum came to see you about this man,’ he finished. ‘He’s been following her car round.’
‘Stay where you are. Don’t attempt to confront him,’ the voice ordered. ‘And stay on the line.’
‘Can’t. He might hear. Please hurry up.’
Casey disconnected and stayed where he was, afraid to move a step because the bedroom floorboards creaked.
Then an email arrived and his computer chimed a merry announcement. He stared across at it in horror. Why had he set it so loud?
Downstairs he heard a chair scrape and footsteps come along the hall.
‘It’s only one of the computers,’ Rosie said loudly. ‘They do that when an email arrives.’
‘We’ll just go upstairs and check, I think. Hurry up!’
‘I can’t move properly with you holding me like that.’
Guessing that she was trying to warn him, Casey looked round frantically for somewhere to hide.
* * *
Jane phoned Stu. She insisted the school secretary have him called out of class and waited impatiently, hearing his name echoing in the background on the PA. It took longer than she’d expected.
Running footsteps were followed by his voice. ‘Jane? What’s wrong?’
‘That lunatic who was following me the other night has gone round to our house after attacking Peggy. Can you get home quickly? Rosie and Casey are there and I think they’re in danger.’
‘I’ll be there as fast as I can.’
After that she rang the police and begged them to go round to her house.
‘We’ve already had a call from a young man called Casey about an intruder,’ she was told.
‘He’s my son.’
‘Officers are on their way.’
She got into her car and set off for home, praying she’d get there on time, breaking the speed limit most of the way.
* * *
The man shoved Rosie up the stairs ahead of him. ‘Where’s the computer?’
Since she hadn’t switched hers on yet, she led the way into Casey’s bedroom and pointed. ‘It’s my brother’s.’ To her relief the screensaver was on, so it didn’t give away the fact that someone had been using it recently.
While they were upstairs, the man peered into the other bedrooms, but there was no sign of anyone. She didn’t know where Casey was hiding, could only hope he’d not give himself away.
When they went back into the kitchen, the intruder took one of her mother’s kitchen knives out of the rack, pointing it at her. ‘Don’t – try – to escape.’
She stared at it in horror, then at his face. He looked as if he was on drugs or something, because his face looked wrong, with one side drooping slightly. ‘I won’t.’
‘Make me a cup of tea. Strong. Two sugars.’
This wasn’t the time to argue so she went to put the kettle on.
As she was turning round, someone rang the doorbell.
The man was on his feet in an instant, grabbing her arm. ‘Are you expecting anyone?’
‘No.’ She could see he didn’t believe her, though, and her heart lurched in fear. ‘Honest, I’m not. If it was Mum, she’d not ring the doorbell.’
‘Then we won’t answer it.’
But the doorbell rang again and she looked in that direction, hoping it was someone who’d help them, wondering if she should scream for help, but not daring to, not with the knife blade shining in a beam of sunlight.
The man let go of her arm and gave her a shove towards the sink. ‘Make the tea, you silly bitch. They’ll go away when you don’t answer.’
* * *
Upstairs, Casey also heard the doorbell. He eased himself out of the cistern cupboard, which had been a very tight fit, and limped as quietly as he could into his parents’ bedroom, which looked out on to the street. Once, a floorboard creaked beneath his foot and he froze for a moment or two, hardly daring even to breathe. But there was no sound from below, so one careful step at a time he made his way to the window.
He looked out to see a man walk away, then saw him crouch down with two women behind the front hedge. It was Rosie’s Brad. They must know something was wrong from the strange way they were behaving.
Casey waved and waved, trying to attract their attention, but they had their heads close together, talking. Then, just as he was about to stop waving, the older of the woman looked up and saw him, nudging Brad.
Trying to signal that a lunatic was in the house and had Rosie downstairs was difficult, but Casey had to give it a go. Then he had a brainwave and mouthed ‘Wait’. He tiptoed across to the dressing table, picked up his mother’s lipstick and scrawled. ‘Madman got Rosie in kitchen’ on a tissue, dropping it out through the small window at the top, which was open.
He watched, heart thumping as it fluttered this way and that, finally landing right in the middle of the path. He listened, but the voices below were still coming from the kitchen so he pointed to it and nodded. Brad darted out, picked up the tissue and darted back again to read it and pass it to his companions. He looked up at Casey and raised one thumb to show he’d understood.
Letting out a long shuddering breath, the lad stayed where he was. Then he suddenly jerked to attention as his dad’s car came roaring into the street and drew to a screeching halt in front of the house. He heard sounds in the kitchen, a chair falling over, Rosie saying ‘Ouch!’ and went to the door of the bedroom to try to see what was happening downstairs.
There was the sound of a key in the front-door lock.
The man had hold of Rosie by the hair and was dragging her forward. As the door opened, he yelled, ‘You’d better not come any further or the girl will get hurt.’
Casey bit his finger hard to keep from calling out as the man placed a kitchen knife against Rosie’s throat. He had to do something or she’d get hurt. He looked round and picked up a heavy cut glass vase from the landing table. Give him half a chance and he’d brain that lunatic with it.
In the doorway his dad stood very still. ‘If you hurt Rosie, I’ll kill you.’
The man laughed, a harsh jangling sound. ‘That’d be too late to help her. Anyway, I don’t want to hurt her, I want to see my wife. I’ll give you Peggy’s brother’s phone number and you can ring and tell her to come home. Tell her I’ll let your daughter go as soon as she does. Now, get away from the door. We’re going to my house. If you make one wrong move, your daughter will suffer.’
Casey saw the old woman who’d been crouching behind the wall stand up suddenly. ‘Let her go and I’ll come with you now, Hartley.’
At the same time there was a sound from the kitchen and the man jerk
ed round, staring from Stu to the woman, then over his shoulder at the kitchen.
Casey seized his opportunity and lobbed the vase carefully down over the landing banisters. Although he missed the man’s head, he hit him on the shoulder and the knife dropped out of his hand.
Stu grabbed Rosie and thrust her behind him, facing the intruder as he backed away.
Hartley picked up the knife quickly and raised it threateningly, but by that time Brad had come in from the kitchen and grabbed him from behind.
‘Run!’ Shoving Rosie outside Stu went to help Brad and the two men struggled to overcome the intruder.
Casey saw through the landing window that another car had driven quietly into the street. Two police officers got out of it, running towards the house. He looked down, hearing yells, curses and crashes as his dad and the other men rolled to and fro. The hall table fell over sending all its ornaments flying.
Then the two policemen came in, though even with them helping, it took a while to subdue the intruder and handcuff him. He didn’t stop cursing and yelling and threatening the whole time they were taking him out to the car and when he saw the two women, he renewed his attempts to escape.
‘I think he really has run mad,’ Peggy whispered to Gina. She stood very upright as Hartley was dragged past, not speaking, not even clutching her companion’s arm just staring at him.
Rosie flung herself into Stu’s arms, sobbing. ‘Oh, Dad! I thought he was going to kill you.’
Tears were pouring down his cheeks as he hugged her close. ‘I thought he was going to kill you too, Rosie darling, and I couldn’t have borne that.’
When her sobs had died down, Stu looked over her head to Brad. ‘Thanks. I couldn’t have managed without you.’
Brad nodded but didn’t move towards them. They were very much a father and daughter just then, and he was only a bystander.
Another car drove up and Jane came rushing towards them. Stu and Rosie turned to include her in their hug and explain what had happened. Casey limped down the stairs and went to join them.
Gina edged past them and walked into Brad’s arms, clinging tightly to him. ‘I was terrified he’d hurt you.’
‘I felt the same about you.’ He glanced in the direction of Rosie and Stu, sadness in his eyes.
‘He’ll always be her father,’ Gina said gently. ‘You can’t change that now.’
‘I know. I missed so much. She’s a great kid.’
‘You can still be her friend, sort of like an extra uncle.’
The sad look faded a little and he pulled her closer. ‘And you? Are you still my friend?’
‘Not exactly.’ She could feel a smile creeping over her face, something she’d not have believed possible an hour ago.
‘Oh?’ His eyes roamed over her like a caress. ‘What are you then?’
‘Your lover.’
‘My beloved,’ he corrected. ‘When I thought he’d hurt you, I was ready to pound him to a pulp.’ He looked at her wryly. ‘I’ve never thought of myself as a violent man, but I came near to it today. First because of you, then Rosie.’
‘It’s all ended well.’ She turned to beckon Peggy inside. ‘And I hope I’ve made another friend today.’
Peggy smiled. ‘Not a friend, a sister. Thank you so much for helping me.’
‘We were a team.’
Peggy looked at them. ‘Did you two come from Australia together?’
‘No, we met here – what, two weeks ago?’ Gina looked at Brad for confirmation. ‘Such a short time, really. And yet so much has happened.’ She put one arm round her sister’s shoulders. ‘I’d come to England to trace my family, Brad had come to meet Rosie. We met at the hotel and fell in love – if not at first glance, pretty soon afterwards.’
Brad smiled at her and for a moment or two, she forgot about everything else.
‘How brave of you to come so far on your own!’ Peggy said.
‘Me? Brave? I don’t think so.’ Gina shook her head. ‘I’m a very ordinary person.’
‘I think you’re extremely brave,’ Peggy said firmly. ‘You’ve gone out and lived. I’ve stayed home and cowered like a mouse in a hole. I’ve wasted most of my life running round after Hartley and—’ She broke off and sucked in a long, painful breath. ‘But I’m not wasting the rest of it, not one single second from now onwards.’
Jake had come into the house to join them. ‘Peggy love, did you think Hartley’s face looked strange?’
She frowned, trying to picture it, then nodded. ‘One side of his mouth was sort of droopy and he was limping.’
‘I reckon he’s had a slight stroke, a TIA they call it. A friend of mine had one a couple of years ago and he behaved very strangely for a while afterwards.’
‘Perhaps we ought to ring the police and let them know.’
‘They asked me to take you down to the station, to make a statement.’ He looked from one woman to the other and smiled. ‘The only good thing about today is the way it’s brought you two together.’
‘I think we were coming together even before that,’ Gina said. ‘Goodness, it does seem a long time ago now since I found those documents. Mel will scold me again for getting into trouble. It was just like one of those police dramas.’
‘My daughter probably won’t speak to me,’ Peggy said bitterly. ‘She’ll be more upset about her father.’
Jake patted her shoulder. ‘I’m going to have a word with that young lady. I think they’ll have to put your husband into a mental hospital till they’ve worked out exactly what’s wrong with him. Well, they did with my friend. I’ve always thought Hartley was a bit strange, but today, he went way beyond that.’
Jane came over to them. ‘Won’t you come and sit down? I think we could all do with a strong drink. Stu, could you get the whisky?’
‘I’d prefer a nice cup of tea,’ Gina and Peggy said together, then smiled at one another.
‘I’m not driving,’ Jake said. ‘I enjoy a good whisky.’
As they were saying goodbye in the street afterwards, Gina suddenly remembered the letters she’d brought with her and pulled them out of her handbag. ‘I think you should have these. And maybe this time you’ll open them.’ She gave one bundle to Peggy, the other to Jake.
They both stared at the envelopes in puzzlement.
‘I’ve never seen them before,’ Jake said.
‘That’s Mum’s handwriting saying not wanted,’ Peggy said.
They exchanged glances then Jake bit his lip and said in a voice thickened by tears, ‘So Dad did try to contact us. And he tried again recently, but I didn’t open the letter. I’m going to read all of them when I get back.’
Peggy held her bundle close to her chest, clasping them with both hands.
‘You’ll read them, too?’ Gina asked her.
She nodded. ‘I need to know my father cared.’
‘I’m sure he did.’
EPILOGUE
When all the fuss had died down, Bridie insisted on giving a very special dinner to celebrate not only the family being reunited, but also Brad finding his daughter and falling in love with her niece. The Quentins were invited as well as Jake, Peggy and Cheryl.
‘I’m hiring one of the small banqueting rooms,’ Bridie told everyone, ‘then we can be private. You’re all to wear your very best clothes and I’ll book you rooms in the hotel for the night, so you won’t need to drive. My treat.’
Protests were useless. She insisted and got her own way.
‘It’ll cost you a fortune, auntie,’ Jake said. ‘I could easily drive home afterwards.’
‘I’ve plenty of money, but only one family. Humour me this time, Jake.’
* * *
On the following Saturday morning, while the Quentin women were shopping, not only for groceries, but for new outfits for the celebration, the front doorbell rang.
Stu went to open it and found a woman he felt he ought to recognize standing there.
‘Mr Quentin, isn’t it?’
&n
bsp; ‘Yes.’
‘Clare Lester. We met at an area conference. I was one of the organizers. Look, I wonder if I can come in and have a word with you? It’s about your job next year.’
He looked at her in surprise, but offered her a seat in the living room.
‘You haven’t been in touch,’ she said, frowning.
‘Should I have been?’
She stared at him. ‘Mr Binnings said he’d passed on my message.’
Stu shook his head. ‘He didn’t pass on any message.’
She frowned. ‘That’s strange. But it explains why you’ve not contacted me about the job.’
‘What job?’
‘With the area program development unit.’
He couldn’t speak. It was a small, elite group and he’d give his eye teeth to be part of it.
She smiled. ‘I heard you give a talk back in February about the work you’d been doing with reluctant learners. What you said impressed me, but I had to make sure we had the funding before I could speak to you. If you’re agreeable, I’d like to second you to the unit next year. After that, we’ll have to see, but I can at least promise you a job in your own area afterwards.’
‘Binnings must have forgotten to pass on your message.’
‘That’s what he’ll claim, no doubt.’ She smiled conspiratorially. ‘He’s a sod to work with, isn’t he? I’ve tangled with him a few times and I was really sorry when he got the job at the new school.’
‘To hell with Binnings, tell me more about the job.’
By the time Jane and Rosie came home, the visitor had left.
As Stu rushed out to the car, they looked at one another.
‘It can’t be more bad news,’ Rosie whispered. ‘He’s smiling like he used to.’
Stu flung open the car door and pulled Jane out, taking her in his arms and dancing her down the garden path.
Laughing and protesting, she let him lead her inside and Rosie followed, eager to find out what had happened.
Casey came down the stairs. ‘What’s up?’ he whispered to his sister.
Family Connections Page 29