CHAPTER THIRTY
‘It’s him!’ I grabbed Caleb’s hand and he looked behind.
Cursing loudly, he pushed me further onto the pavement so that I could feel the thorns of a hedge prickling my back. He was shielding me with his whole body and I knew that if that car was coming for us, Caleb would take the brunt of the smash.
I heard myself squeal as the engine revved loudly and I buried my face in Caleb’s shoulder. My arms were wrapped tightly around his back, as if I could protect him from harm.
Seconds later, I relaxed in his arms.
The danger had passed.
As we looked along the road, we saw that the car was moving slowly, indicating to turn right onto the high street.
‘False alarm,’ murmured Caleb in my ear.
I shuddered. ‘I really thought it was him again, back to finish the job.’
‘I feel slightly ridiculous now for pushing you into that hedge.’
I managed a small smile. ‘It was my fault for jumping to conclusions.’
‘Or mine for jumping into the hedge.’
I chuckled and so did he, and I knew it was sheer relief. ‘I hope we didn’t damage it. The hedge, I mean.’
He was still holding me as we turned to look. Caleb brushed down the back of my coat. ‘Hedge intact. No harm done.’
‘I’ll just grab some stuff,’ I told him, and he followed me up the stairs to the flat. And as I dashed into my bedroom and started throwing clothes and toiletries into a sports bag, Caleb went to the window, which overlooked the street, to keep watch.
‘Nothing suspicious,’ he said.
‘Maybe they’ve given up since you haven’t changed your statement.’ I glanced over at him. ‘I guess that would be one way of stopping all this.’
‘By changing my statement?’
‘Yes. Saying you couldn’t be certain who it was you saw at the petrol station?’
He shook his head. ‘And let that scumbag get away with murder? No way.’
I smiled, my heart full of love for this brave man who’d thrown himself in the way of danger down in the street just then, in order to protect me. ‘I knew you’d say that. I know I probably haven’t got a right to feel proud of you, but I do. I really do.’
‘You’ve got every right.’
My heart gave a little leap of joy. ‘Does that mean we’re still together?’
‘We were never really apart,’ he said softly. ‘You know I only wanted to cool things between us to try to keep you safe.’
‘I was annoyed with you at first for not confiding in me, but I understand that now.’
We exchanged a look of such tenderness that I almost forgot I was packing to flee from danger. But then Caleb said, ‘Come on. We’d better go. I know a place that’s off the beaten track where we can hide out.’
*****
‘So when did you find out you’d have to give evidence at the murder trial?’ I asked Caleb as we drove into the night.
‘It was the day after you and I were over at Penny’s house, looking after Will. The police called to say that the CID had been involved in a big drugs operation and they’d found evidence that tied the death of the guy at the petrol station to their investigation.’
‘Really? How?’
‘One of their main suspects – a man called Terry Garner – was already due to stand trial for a gun-related killing. The man I helped, but who eventually died from his injuries, was due to give evidence at Garner’s trial that was going to put him away for the murder.’
I gazed at him in horror. ‘So the man you helped at the petrol station was a witness to Garner shooting someone?’
‘Yes. His evidence would likely have put Garner away for life. Police believe Garner organised the elimination of the witness from his police cell.’
‘Garner ordered a hit man? And that’s what you were caught up in?’
‘Yup.’
‘Wow. That’s crazy. It’s the sort of thing that happens in movies, not in real life.’
Caleb nodded. ‘The silent phone calls started almost immediately I’d identified the killer and I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.
I’d given evidence that would put Garner away for murder if the police could prove he’d ordered the hit.
It was obvious Garner was going to try and intimidate me into changing my statement. ’
‘But you wouldn’t do that?’
‘God, no. Justice had to be done.’
‘Even though you knew that what happened to that other poor witness? That he’d likely been murdered?’
He shrugged. ‘It was very clear in my mind to start with. I was never going to be frightened into changing my statement and say I couldn’t be sure it was him.
I decided I could handle any threats to myself and I would go to the police and tell them what was happening.
But knowing Amanda had been a police officer for many years, I called her and explained everything, and she suggested we should meet to talk it over properly.
She was in Sunnybrook, visiting her sister that night, so I drove over and she met me and we had a long chat in my car. ’
‘I saw you!’ I burst out. ‘I thought it was you and then I saw Amanda get out of the car and I knew for certain.’
Caleb gave an apologetic grunt. ‘Yeah. I lied to you about that. Sorry. I remember running into you on the green and you suggested we go out for dinner that night. But I’d already decided to call Amanda to get her advice on what to do about the silent calls.
So I said the first thing that came into my head – something about an urgent meeting in Guildford? ’
I nodded. ‘I thought Amanda was a bit cagey when I asked her about that meeting. I guess she knew you were trying to protect me by keeping me in the dark, so she went along with your story.’
‘Yes. She felt bad the whole time we were operating behind your back. She’s a good person.’
‘I know.’ I smiled ruefully. ‘At least, I know that now. But at the time, I was really worried you might be . . . well, having an affair.’
‘Never. I’m not that kind of guy,’ he said immediately.
‘I know. But I was so confused by the sudden distance between us that my head was all over the place. I really didn’t know what to believe.’
He nodded. ‘Sorry. But you have to believe me that the only reason I was trying to pull away was because I was so scared they might hurt you. I suppose my reasoning was that if we weren’t seen together, in a romantic relationship, they would no longer consider you a good target?’
‘So when did you change your mind about going to the police?’
‘Well, I was all set to report what had been happening, after talking to Amanda, but then the site office was ransacked and the threatening note left on top of the photograph of you on my desk.’ He sighed.
‘That was when everything changed. And I mean everything. The fear of what might happen to you took over and I just froze. I couldn’t think straight after that.
I mean, I knew I needed to give evidence that would get this murdering bastard locked up for life – but at what price? The life of the woman I loved?’
He glanced over at me then. Our eyes met and a lump rose in my throat.
I’d been so wrong when I’d thought he no longer cared about me the way he used to . . .
Caleb was shaking his head. ‘The freeze was real. It was like I was paralysed with indecision. Thank God for Amanda. She kept me sane, listening to my endless theories about what would happen if I went to the police – or what would happen if I just stayed silent, hoping the whole damn mess would just go away!’
Feeling his pain, I reached out and covered his hand briefly with mine. ‘I just wish you could have shared it with me. I might have been able to help.’
I’d witnessed Caleb’s inner struggle for myself, I was now realising – on the occasions I’d been with him, physically, but feeling that I’d lost him and he was far away, thinking about something else altogether.
I understood now, all too clearly, why he’d seemed distracted and distant.
He’d been wrestling with this hellish, impossible dilemma the whole time – frozen with fear that if he made just one false move, the consequences for me could be deadly.
Telling me he wanted to cool things between us had been the act of a desperate man – wanting to protect me from all the horror that was going on in his life.
The relief I was now feeling, knowing he’d told me everything, was huge.
There were no secrets between us now. I just had to trust we were doing the right thing, going into hiding.
But at least we were together now. And if we stayed together until the trial on Monday, maybe everything would be all right.
Just then, when he’d described me as ‘the woman I loved’, my heart had given a joyful leap of hope.
If Caleb loved me then, maybe he still loved me . . .
*****
A while later, we arrived at a small hotel in the village of Primrose Wood.
As the village was one of the stops on my weekly cake run, I’d passed the hotel on many occasions and thought how cute it looked.
Caleb drew into the car park. ‘We can go to ground here until Monday morning and the trial.’
I nodded, thinking how much safer I felt now, knowing he’d be with me.
Then something occurred to me. ‘Oh, hell, I’m manning the bakery stall tomorrow.’ How could I have forgotten about Ellie’s Christmas market? I supposed that under the circumstances, it was excusable – but I couldn’t possibly let her down.
‘Bakery stall? Oh, you mean at the Christmas market?’
‘Yes. Ellie’s worked her butt off, organising it and we’ve all been helping. I have to do it, Caleb. It’s all in aid of the local homeless charity.’
‘Well, that’s a shame, but you really have no choice,’ said Caleb bluntly. ‘They’ll just have to find someone else to man the stall.’
I groaned. ‘But it’s too late in the day to say I can’t do it. I’d feel terrible and I’d have to tell her what’s going on.’
‘You can say you’re not feeling well. Really, the fewer people who know what’s going on, the better. We need to keep this between ourselves.’
‘But I’ll feel awful having to let Ellie down – especially after all the effort she’s put in to make it happen.’
‘Listen, Katja, it’s your safety that’s at stake here. You’re just going to have to be selfish for once in your life.’
I stared at him miserably. ‘I guess so.’
‘Come on. Let’s get you inside,’ he murmured. ‘You look shattered.’
‘I am,’ I confessed.
The truth was, I was desperate for sleep.
I hadn’t been sleeping properly for a while now, what with the nightmares and all the recent turmoil in my life.
But finally, tucked away in this little village miles from Sunnybrook, and with Caleb at my side, I felt safe and protected for the first time in ages.
We hadn’t been followed. At least, I didn’t think so. ‘They’ didn’t know we were here.
I was looking forward to crashing out in that hotel room and sleeping for hours.
Even if I wanted to, I doubted I’d be in any fit state to man a Christmas market stall bright and early the following morning . . .