Chapter 40
FORTY
Joe was the first to his feet. ‘What? We have to stop them.’
The rest of them were standing now, unsure of which way to turn.
‘Have they gone already? If only we still had Grace on the tracker app.’
It was a stupid thing to say about a twenty-six-year-old woman. But Ellen wished she could still keep a hold of her daughter.
‘I’m calling Charlotte.’ Lucy already had her phone to her ear. ‘This is madness.’
‘And I’ll try Grace.’
‘What do you think they’re planning on doing?’ Robert looked so concerned that Ellen worried about his heart.
Joe was probably thinking the same, because he changed his tone to one of studied calm. ‘We need to all sit down. Once Lucy and Ellen have spoken to them, they’ll probably turn around and come straight back.’
After five rings, Grace’s number went to voicemail. Then Lucy tossed her phone down onto the table. ‘Charlotte isn’t answering. They know we’ll try and stop them.’
Ellen left a voicemail for Grace to call her. Then looked to Lucy. ‘What now?’
Lucy had already scooped her phone back up and was thumbing the screen. ‘We’ll have to find the bastard on Facebook. Ha. Of course his account is not locked down. He’d want everyone seeing everything, wouldn’t he?’
She’d found that pretty quickly. ‘Have you looked him up online before?’
Lucy shook her head. ‘I’ve had no interest whatsoever in knowing what disgusting things he’s up to.’
Ellen felt the same. She’d done her best to not even think about him for the last twenty-six years. To look at him online would’ve only been like reopening an old wound. Worse than that, she had the superstitious feeling that looking him up might conjure him back into her life.
‘I think I’ve found it.’ Lucy frowned. Then brought the phone closer. Then swore under her breath before reaching into a bag for a pair of reading glasses. Without looking up from the screen, she pointed at Joe. ‘Do not say a word.’
Joe laughed and then mimed zipping his lips.
Robert leaned towards Lucy. ‘What does it say? Where is he?’
Lucy was scanning the post. ‘It looks as if it’s some kind of conference in a hotel in central London, maybe an award ceremony. Oh my God, they’re giving him an award for something to do with his career. If only they knew.’
Ellen had a sick feeling that they might be about to find out. ‘We need to get there.’
Robert was out of his seat again and looking around him. ‘Where are my car keys?’
He was still under strict doctor’s orders to take things easy. ‘No way, you’re not going.’
‘But I’m the only one that hasn’t had anything to drink.’
It was true. Charlotte had brought Lucy and Joe in her car. She was staying sober because she was due at work early tomorrow, so Joe had already had three glasses of wine. As had Lucy and Ellen.
But there was no way Robert was getting into some kind of car chase less than two weeks after heart surgery. Lucy was swiping at her phone screen. ‘I’m already booking an Uber. It’s five minutes away. Ellen and I will go. Joe, you can stay here and keep an eye on Robert.’
Joe frowned. ‘I’m not sure I’m happy about you both going on your own.’
‘I feel the same,’ Robert agreed. ‘And I don’t need babysitting. Joe can come with you.’
‘Please.’ Ellen’s heart was racing, she needed to get to Grace as soon as possible. ‘I’m worried enough about Grace. I don’t want to worry about you here on your own.’
‘I agree.’ Lucy slipped her bag onto her shoulder. ‘Ellen and I have got this. You two stay here. We’re just going to find the girls and make them come back with us.’
Robert’s face darkened. ‘I don’t want you to have to see him. After what he did, I want to…’
She reached out and held his arm. ‘I know. And that’s exactly why you can’t come. Please, Robert. I need you to relax.’
After a strong look from Lucy, Joe retook his seat. ‘Yes, come on mate. I think we’ve been told on this one.’
Lucy waved her phone. ‘The Uber is here. Wish us luck. If either of the girls call you, tell them we’re coming.’
Once she’d given the Uber driver the hotel address, Lucy sat back and raised an eyebrow at Ellen. ‘This is not how I expected tonight to go.’
That was the understatement of the year. ‘Me neither. But it has been nice having you all in our home. I was thinking this afternoon, why did you invite us out to Spain? Really.’
This time Lucy told her the truth. ‘I was going to tell you that I knew, that I suspected, what had happened between you and Ian. I was even going to ask you if Grace was really Robert’s child.’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘No. When you first came, I was determined to show you what a great life I had. That I had made it despite what had happened to me. But when you came, it was you, my oldest friend, and I wanted to protect you from what you were about to find out about Robert. I don’t know if this will surprise you, but I don’t find it that easy to make female friends. ’
She pulled a face and, for the first time, Ellen saw that girl from over two decades ago. Young, fierce, determined to make her way in the world. ‘I don’t think I would have enjoyed my time at university half as much if I hadn’t met you.’
Lucy smiled. ‘Really? I feel the same. The time I spent with you was the closest I got to being myself.’
‘You should be yourself. I like yourself.’
Lucy laughed. ‘You might be the only one.’
‘I spoke to Joe earlier. In the kitchen. I’d misunderstood something.
I put a couple of things you said and a couple of things he said together and came up with five.
I thought…well, it doesn’t really matter what I thought.
But he really loves you, you know. He told me that he would never want anyone except you. ’
Tears filled Lucy’s eyes. ‘Robert said something similar about you.’
‘We’re very lucky.’
‘We are.’ Lucy winked. ‘And so are they.’
Despite the fear in her belly, Ellen laughed. ‘They are.’
Lucy checked Google Maps. ‘We’re about six minutes away. I hope we get there before they find him.’
It was a public place and they were together, but still Ellen’s stomach squeezed at the very idea of those two girls in front of that man. ‘I don’t want to see him, either.’
Lucy shook her head. ‘Nor me. I’m surprised that Charlotte has gone. I’ve always told her that she can contact her father if she wants to. I’ve even offered to help her. But she never has.’
‘Grace can be quite impulsive. And I think she’s still getting over the shock of finding out her boyfriend is still very much married. Plus the worry about Robert. She’s had a lot to cope with these last couple of weeks. What do you think they’re going to do?’
Lucy looked up from the map on her phone. ‘I really don’t know. What would you do if you were them?’
That was impossible to answer. ‘Not this. I’ve been trying to pretend he no longer exists.’
Lucy nodded. ‘They’re very different from us, aren’t they?’
The taxi pulled up by the side of a hotel. ‘Here you are, ladies. Door to door.’
‘Right, then.’ Ellen looked at Lucy. ‘Let’s go find our girls.’