Chapter 17 #2
‘No flights landed yesterday that had connections to the UK. I checked. If it were him, then he either took his time coming here or he’s been around for a few days. Do you think it’s possible he’s worked out where you are?’
‘He probably guessed I’d come home, but I’d made sure I’d destroyed or deleted any reference to contact details on his phone and amongst our papers. No doubt he could have found out, but he’d have had to make an effort to do that. And Alistair doesn’t much like making an effort.’
‘Then maybe he wasn’t here. Maybe it was the outside umbrella caught by the wind and moonlight.’
She followed his gaze. It was true; the umbrella stood upright and unmoving in the morning’s stillness.
A mobile hung from the umbrella. Its central large, flat shell surrounded by strings of smaller shells like hair, was distinctly un-mobile now.
But in last night’s breeze? The whole thing could have come alive, the shells catching the moonlight.
She bit her lip. ‘Maybe. I don’t know what to do. What do you think, Sam? Should I take Liam and leave, or should we stay?’
‘I think you take the middle path. Stay, but be vigilant. We’ll let the cops know, and I’ll be around more, especially in the next few days.
But until you know for sure, I don’t think you should leave.
You’ll always be running if you do, which won’t be good for Liam, he’s only just settling.
And you won’t be any safer. If Alistair travelled across the world to find you, then he’ll find you again. ’
Sam’s words sent a chill down her spine. But he spoke the truth.
‘I’ll stay. Can I ask you one thing? ‘
‘Anything.’
‘What do you think?’
He inhaled deeply. ‘You know Alistair, I don’t. But I’m getting to know Liam, and I see a kid who’s scared of his own shadow… and other shadows.’
The implication was there. He didn’t need to say anything further.
‘Anyway, bacon’s ready. Fancy a bacon sandwich?’
‘That would be great.’ She watched as he scraped a couple of pieces of bacon off the bottom of the blackened pan and lifted an overly-crisp rasher onto an unbuttered piece of bread. He looked ruefully down into the blackened pan. ‘I hope your mum will forgive me.’
‘I’m sure she will. I’ve never known my mum not to forgive anyone.’
‘Yeah, she was always the first one I’d go to when I’d done something naughty. When I knew my mum would give me more than a clip around the ear.’
Jen huffed a laugh, appreciating the fact Sam was trying to take her mind off her worries. ‘Mum was always good at talking your mum around. Just as well they were such good friends.’
The door suddenly opened, and Kate stepped into the room. ‘Why was it just as well?’ she asked.
‘Because otherwise Sam would have got more than one hiding from his mother.’
Kate shrugged. ‘She was a lovely woman, your mum, but not particularly suited to motherhood.’ She kissed Jen on the cheek. ‘Found it hard.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘So, is Liam OK? I didn’t hear him during the night.’
‘He slept well.’
‘And no further sign of Alistair?’
Jen shook her head and glanced at Sam. ‘You didn’t hear anything after we went to bed?’
Sam shook his head. ‘No, and I’m a light sleeper.’
‘Well thank you for staying, Sam, we appreciate it.’
‘So,’ said Kate, batting away some smoke and gazing ruefully at the state of her frying pan, ‘how about I take over here?’
Sam topped up Jen’s coffee, poured a cup for Kate and went outside on the deck with Jen. He followed her gaze up to Liam’s window. The attic had dual aspect windows, one that looked out to sea, and the other to the road. There was still no sound coming from the child monitor.
‘What am I going to do, Sam?’
‘You aren’t going to do anything. If Alistair really is here, then we — all of us — are going to make sure you and Liam don’t come to any harm. And’ — he shrugged — ‘if he isn’t, then no problem. We all carry on living our lives.’
Jen looked straight out to sea, her mind thousands of miles away.
‘I’ve run from him, but I can’t escape him.
Even if he’s not here at the moment, I know I’ll have to face him at some point.
He’ll always be this…’ She gestured with a flick of her hand.
‘This fear lurking in the background, like an ominous shadow. Never knowing where or when he’ll show up, never knowing if we’ll ever be safe.
’ She turned to Sam. ‘I appreciate you being here for us, but this has been a wake-up call. The fact is, I still need to face him. To talk with him. To deal with him — alone.’
Sam shook his head. ‘That’s not necessary.’
‘It is necessary,’ she said quietly but firmly. ‘I’ve spent too much of my life allowing someone else to control me.’
He took a step back as if he’d been struck. ‘You think I’m controlling you?’
She scrunched her brow as she tried to find the right words to convey what she meant. ‘I know that’s not your intention. You want to protect me and Liam, and don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate that.’
‘You don’t have to keep thanking me. It’s what people do for friends.’
‘Friends,’ she repeated. She felt her relationship with Sam was blossoming into something so much more than friendship.
Had this possible appearance of Alistair changed how Sam was feeling?
She certainly came with complications, and perhaps now that he knew that, he might be feeling a little less lonely, a little less keen for her to go to the dance with him.
‘And as my friend, surely you must understand how I feel? This is my problem, and I really believe I’m the only person who can make it go away.’
Sam cleared his throat and took a step back. ‘OK. I guess if it were the other way around, I’d feel the same. So, what do you intend to do?’
‘If Alistair really is here, I need to find him and meet with him on neutral ground. I can’t have him lurking around the house at any time of day or night.
It’ll terrify Liam, not to mention me. No, I need to meet him during the day when there are plenty of people around.
And I need to make him understand that there is no longer any possibility of a future between us.
I’m going to call him later this morning.
’ She pressed her lips together. ‘Although it’ll have to be when Liam is distracted because, obviously, I can’t go to work now. ’
‘I think you should go. Liam will be fine. Your mother’s here, and so will I be.’ He arched his eyebrow as she opened her mouth to contradict him.
She grimaced. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘You do what you think best, Jen. You know your son, and you know your ex, so do whatever you think is necessary.’
She nodded, appreciating Sam’s words, and feeling strangely buoyant. It was only after she’d taken a few steps away from him that she figured out why she felt so good. She smiled. He believed in her, and he respected her. She liked that.