Chapter 24
24
Wendy had never been as scared as she was in the hours after discovering that Chloe had gone missing and that in all likelihood she had Danni and Charlie’s baby boy with her. Part of her hadn’t wanted the girls to know what was going on, but she needed their help to find Chloe. There’d have been no way to keep it from them even if they’d tried, because it was already over social media after the police appeal for information went out, and CCTV images of Chloe wearing a blonde wig and pushing a laundry trolley out of the hospital were released. The trolley must have been how she’d got the baby all the way out without being questioned. The police said they were trying to track the woman’s movements using other CCTV in the area, but they’d also asked the public to be alert and call with any information that might be useful. Everyone would be looking for Chloe, and Wendy was terrified of what that might drive her to do. She couldn’t imagine any scenario in which she’d hurt Danni and Charlie’s baby, but it was all too easy to picture a situation in which she might hurt herself.
Zara had come straight home from college after Wendy had messaged her, and she’d been able to access Chloe’s phone, because she knew the passcode. By the time Alice had made the drive back from university, almost three hours had passed since the baby’s disappearance, and Wendy and Zara had gone through as many messages and as much of the search history in Chloe’s phone as they could. Gary had been out driving around looking for her. He’d even gone back to the house she’d shared with Mike, who’d predictably been no use at all.
‘“I told everyone she was a psycho.” Can you believe that’s what he actually said?’ Gary was incredulous when he got back to the house. ‘A woman he claimed to have loved, and who has just lost his child, is missing. And all he wants to do is use that to try and prove he’s not the arsehole.’
‘There’s far too much evidence that says he is.’ Alice dropped her bag on to the table as she came into the kitchen.
‘I’m sorry, love, I never meant for you to hear that, I shouldn’t have said it.’ Gary shot her an apologetic look.
‘Yes, you should, because it’s true.’ As she turned towards Wendy, it was obvious she’d been crying. ‘You don’t think she’ll hurt herself, do you?’
‘I really hope not.’ Wendy held her arms out towards her older daughter, hugging her close, just as she’d done with Zara. She didn’t want to lie to the girls and pretend there were any guarantees, because they’d been lied to by their father far too many times already. They also needed to understand just how urgent it was to find Chloe, and not just for the baby’s sake. ‘When was the last time you spoke to her?’
‘I called her last night and she seemed so much more upbeat.’ Alice pulled back from Wendy as Zara came into the room and immediately moved towards Gary, who put an arm around her. The girls had the kind of built-in safety net Chloe had never had, and Wendy’s heart ached to think that she’d have no one to reach out to, even if she realised she’d made a terrible mistake.
‘What did she say?’
‘That she was working out how to get back to her happy place again, and that it was only a matter of time before she got there.’
Zara’s mouth suddenly dropped open. ‘Oh my God, I think I know where she might be. She posted a picture on Instagram a little while ago. I’ll show you.’
Zara scrolled on her phone as the four of them gathered close, finding the post she’d been talking about. There was a caption underneath the photograph of a woman and a little girl, both grinning broadly at the camera, with afternoon tea spread out in front of them.
Throwback Thursday! Me and my mama in my happy place, at the last birthday celebration I ever had with her. High standards, even at seven! #BirthdayTea #Love #Family @TheSistersofAgnesIslandHotel
‘When Chloe and Dad got engaged, the first thing she said was that she wanted to get married there, because it was the place her mum always took her to when they were celebrating special occasions.’ Zara looked at Wendy. ‘I really think it might be where she’s gone.’
‘That doesn’t make any sense if she wants to get away with the baby.’ Even as Wendy said the words a sudden realisation hit her. ‘But maybe getting away was never the point, maybe she just wanted to share something with her baby that she hadn’t had since she lost her own mum. That might be all she wants to do.’
‘But he’s not her baby.’ Gary’s tone was gentle, but firm. ‘And as sad as we all feel for Chloe and everything she’s been through, Danni and Charlie are going through hell every second their little boy is missing.’
‘I know, I just hope to God that Chloe is there.’ Wendy dropped a kiss on Zara’s forehead. ‘Well done, sweetheart, you did brilliantly remembering the photograph. But you need to wait here with Alice, while Gary and I go and see if she’s there.’
‘I’m not staying here.’ Alice had folded her arms across her chest, even before her younger sister responded.
‘Neither am I. They’re going to arrest Chloe, aren’t they?’ Tears filled Zara’s eyes again as Wendy nodded. ‘I need to see her first, to tell her that whatever has happened I still love her and that she’s not going to be on her own.’
‘Me too, because I’m really scared about what might happen if she thinks she’s lost us too.’ Alice was every bit as resolute as Zara, their maturity and empathy taking Wendy’s breath away yet again. Mike might well have wreaked havoc and made one hell of a mess of so many people’s lives, but his daughters had grown up to be extraordinary young women despite everything he’d done.
‘Right then, if we’re all going, we’d better do it.’ Gary grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter. ‘I just hope we can make it before high tide cuts off the access road.’
As Wendy and the girls followed him towards the front door, it wasn’t just a low tide she was praying for.
Danni jumped every time she heard a footstep in the corridor outside her room. The police had suggested they leave the maternity department, but she couldn’t bear to walk out of the room where she’d last seen her son. Every noise around them seemed heightened, and the sound of talking and even laughing from other families felt so alien. It was impossible to believe that the world could still be turning when her baby was missing. When the police had established that the kidnapper was no longer within the hospital, the lockdown had been partially lifted, although increased security meant only essential access was permitted. But women were still giving birth, and they needed their loved ones with them at the most important moment of their lives. She couldn’t begrudge them that, but the distant sound of a baby crying had hit her like a truck, physically and emotionally. Her body had responded all by itself to the cry, making her breasts heavy, despite the fact that she couldn’t feed her son and that she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to do it again. Her emotional reaction to the sound was every bit as visceral, and it made her feel as if she was drowning on the inside.
‘I want my baby, I just want him back.’ The effects of the medication had long since worn off completely and she was sobbing so hard her breath was coming in gasps, as Charlie pulled her towards him.
‘I know, darling, I know, and I’m so sorry, but we’ll get him back. You’ve got to keep believing that.’
‘I can’t stand it any more. I can’t just hang around, waiting for them to tell us if there’s any news. I’ve got to go and look for him.’ There was an almost overpowering feeling of fight or flight building up inside of Danni. The unwillingness to leave the room where she’d last seen her baby was suddenly replaced by an overwhelming desire to just run and run, until she found her little boy, but Charlie was still holding her tightly.
‘I want to do that too, but we’ll just get in the way, and you’re not well enough. The baby’s going to need you here, and for you to be okay, when he comes back.’
‘I just feel so helpless.’
‘So do I.’ He still didn’t let her go, the shaking of his shoulders making it obvious that he was crying too. Charlie was the only person who understood the depth of her pain, and deep down she knew he was right about them being in the way if they tried to find Chloe. She just hoped Charlie was right about the police being able to bring their baby back to them too, because she couldn’t imagine wanting her life to go on if they didn’t.
Wendy could have cried with relief when they got to the slip road and the tide was still low enough to drive to the Sisters of Agnes Island. They’d discussed calling the police on the journey over, to alert them to their suspicions, but they’d decided against it, reasoning that Chloe was most likely to remain calm if they spoke to her first.
‘What are we going to say when we get inside? It’s going to look odd, four of us turning up and asking if they’ve got a woman and a baby staying with them. Although I’m guessing she’ll probably have kept the baby hidden away somehow, knowing the police will be looking for him.’ Gary turned to Wendy, as he brought the car to a stop in the hotel car park. She’d been running through scenarios in her head all the way over.
‘If she’s trying to relive the experiences she shared with her mum, I’ll think she’ll have checked in using her mother’s name.’ Wendy turned to look at her daughters in the back of the car. ‘It was Josephine, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ Alice nodded. ‘And Chloe already has her mother’s maiden name as her surname. She changed it when she was eighteen and things got even worse with her dad.’
‘Okay, I’m going to go in there and say I’ve come to see Josephine Adlington.’
‘They won’t just tell you her room number.’ Zara pulled a face. ‘We’ll have to be more inventive than that.’
‘How about if I come with you, show my ID card, and we ask them to call her because she said she was staying at the hotel, but discharged herself after coming into A all they want is to have their son home where he belongs.’
‘I don’t know why I did it.’ Chloe was crying again, which made it was almost impossible to make out what she was saying, and Wendy took the chance to inch closer to her. ‘I just thought if I could have another baby, even for a little while, it would be easier to let Beau go. But as soon as I was outside the hospital, I wanted to take the baby back, and to undo what I’d done. But then I heard the sirens and I couldn’t do it.’
‘You’ve been through so much, and people will understand that you never wanted to hurt anyone.’ Wendy could almost reach out and touch Chloe now, and suddenly the younger woman seemed to notice how close she was.
‘Don’t come any nearer.’ Her eyes widened and she frantically waved the scissors in the air.
‘You’re not going to hurt me either, are you?’ Wendy took another step forward, reaching out to try and take the scissors, but Chloe raised them higher and out of her grasp.
‘Wendy, don’t!’ Gary called out her name, making Chloe jump and then shoot forward, the scissors glancing Wendy’s arms as she did so. The pain made Wendy gasp and she felt the blood trickling down towards her elbow before she saw it.
‘No!’ Chloe dropped the scissors and screamed, as Wendy looked down at her arm. The pain seemed to have passed, but there was more blood than she’d ever seen in her life. For a second the room seemed to swim around her, and she was only vaguely aware of Gary running towards her before she passed out.
‘Don’t ever scare me like that again.’ When Gary came back into focus, he was leaning over Wendy, holding her arm in an elevated position, with a blood-streaked white towel pressed against it.
‘What happened?’ She blinked again, but everything still looked and felt fuzzy, like she was under water.
‘The scissors slashed an artery in your arm, and you fainted.’
‘Where’s the baby?’ Wendy tried to get up, as she spoke.
‘Don’t try and move, sweetheart. Alice has got him; Chloe ran down to get the girls as soon as it happened.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘Waiting for the police with the girls.’
‘She didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t want them to know about this.’ She tried to get up again, and Gary gently put a hand on the shoulder of her good arm.
‘I know it was an accident, but I’ve got a feeling she’ll tell them everything.’
‘How long did I faint for?’ It didn’t make any sense that all of that had happened, when it felt as if she’d only just dropped to the ground.
‘Ten seconds or so at the most, but you weren’t making a lot of sense at first and you kept closing your eyes, almost like you were going in and out of consciousness. I was focusing on controlling the bleeding when Chloe ran out and I didn’t know if she’d come back. I didn’t try to stop her, I was too worried about you. Alice was up here within about two minutes, and she said Chloe had asked Oliver to call for an ambulance and the police.’
‘I need to be there when they speak to her.’
‘Alice said she’ll go with her, but now you need to rest. The blood seems to be clotting and I don’t think you’ll need surgery, but I’m not taking any chances.’ Gary fixed her with a look that dared her to argue. ‘I knew you were special before today, but I had no idea just how amazing you were. And I am not going to lose you for a second time. Alice will look after Chloe, but me and all four of our kids need you to look after yourself. You’re the glue that holds this family together.’
For a moment Wendy’s eyes felt so heavy she wasn’t sure she could respond at all, but then she opened them and focused on Gary’s face.
‘Has anyone spoken to Danni and Charlie?’ She couldn’t even begin to imagine what they’d been through. The terror she’d felt when she’d thought the baby might be dead inside the bag was something she’d never forget, but it had only been a couple of seconds before she’d been able to see that he was okay. They’d been waiting on news and no doubt fearing the worst, for hours.
‘I gave Alice my phone and told her to call them, so they’ll know by now that he’s okay.’
‘I wish I could have stopped this.’ Wendy’s arm was throbbing now, but it wasn’t the pain that was making the tears slide out of her eyes again, straight into her hair.
‘Me too, but Chloe needs more help than we can give her and at least now she’s going to get it.’
‘If she ends up in prison, it’s going to kill her.’ The thought of that was like a knife twisting in her gut. After what Chloe had put Danni and Charlie through, some people might argue that she deserved to rot in a cell somewhere, but that wouldn’t undo what she’d done and she needed help, not incarceration.
‘I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, all we can do is be there for her. And you can’t do that if you don’t take the time to get better. So, for now, you’re going to focus on yourself, whether you like it or not.’
‘I never knew you could be this forceful.’ For the first time since she’d got Chloe’s letter, Wendy managed to smile, and Gary leant forward again to gently kiss her. He’d never lied to Wendy, or misled her, which made it easy to choose to believe what he was saying now too. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she breathed out. The baby would be back with his parents soon, and Chloe hadn’t done the one thing that Wendy had feared the most and decided to join Beau. There was a road back for her, and they’d all be cheerleading her journey to recovery when the time came. But Gary was right again, she couldn’t do that unless she got over her own injury first. She had someone she could completely rely on, for the first time in decades, and she was going to lean on Gary until she was strong enough for Chloe to lean on her. That was what love was after all. The last few weeks had taught her there was enough of it to go around, and that it could flourish in the most unexpected of places, but she had no idea just how unexpected the power of love could still turn out to be.