Chapter Twenty-Three
Luke’s eyes opened. He was aware of the sound of bolts being shot back. He had no idea of the time but guessed it must be around mid-morning.
The young officer who normally delivered his meals appeared in the doorway. ‘DI Phillips wants to see you,’ he said.
He was ushered out of the custody suite and back into the corridor.
What now, he wondered. Another grilling, maybe?
They reached the door of the interview room and the officer showed him through, closing it behind him.
Phillips and Cousins sat with their backs to him, while a dark-suited man occupying the seat where his brief normally sat got to his feet.
Luke clocked thick jet-black hair and an expensive suit, a gold Rolex on his left wrist.
‘Ah.’ He looked up with a smile. ‘Mr Carrack.’ As Luke approached the desk he extended a hand in welcome. ‘Good morning. I’m Liam Richardson-Clarke. I’ve been appointed as your new legal brief. There’s been an important development. DI Phillips will explain …’
Aware of Luke’s imminent release on bail, Cat and Jodie had almost reached the outskirts of Truro when Nathan called to say after giving her statement he was on his way home with Em.
‘I’ve asked Liam to let Luke know you’ll be picking him up, so get a move on,’ he shouted down the phone.
‘Another five minutes and we’ll be there,’ Cat replied, giving Jodie the thumbs up. ‘He’s free,’ she said as she ended the call, trying her hardest not to cry. ‘Luke is free.’
Minutes later Jodie parked up in the pay and display car park opposite the police station.
Cat got out and headed for the pay station with a handful of coins.
As the machine ejected the ticket, she caught sight of Liam crossing into the car park and heading towards a grey Volvo Estate.
She waved. Dropping his briefcase on the back seat, he slammed the door and walked over to her.
‘Cat?’ He gave a puzzled frown. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘We’ve come to collect Luke.’
‘But I thought you’d already been and gone?’ He raised his hand, brushing his hair from his eyes.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What’s happened?’
‘We were with the custody sergeant. He was handing back all Luke’s personal possessions and I thought I’d better visit the little boys’ room before my drive back to Bristol.
By the time I came out, Luke had gone. When I asked the desk sergeant where he was he said his girlfriend had turned up to collect him. Naturally, I thought it was you.’
‘But why would he go with someone else when he already knew we were coming?’ Seeing Liam’s uncomfortable expression she added, ‘You did tell him, didn’t you?’
‘Actually, no.’ Liam shook his head, embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.’
Damn. Cat damped down on her frustration. Although they couldn’t change what had happened, the important thing was to find him. ‘How long ago did he leave?’ she asked.
‘Can’t have been more than ten minutes,’ Liam said as he checked his watch. ‘I would imagine whoever picked him up is on their way back to Carrenporth as we speak.’
‘Come on.’ Jodie tugged at her arm. ‘Let’s get back to the car. The quicker we’re on the road the better.’
The drive back to the village took them longer than expected due to an accident involving two cars on the A390.
As Jodie found an alternative but longer route to get around the holdup, Cat used the time to try to process what had happened.
A girlfriend? How? Where from? She’d been with Luke all through the summer.
Spent nights in his cottage; a place where there was absolutely no evidence of another female ever having been there.
This simply didn’t make sense. Could the custody sergeant have been mistaken?
Of course not. Someone had picked him up, but who?
And where had they taken him? She had already tried Luke’s mobile, which wasn’t responding, probably because after his stint in custody the battery was flat.
It left her feeling even more frustrated.
‘I’ll drive to the cottage first,’ Jodie announced once they were clear of the holdup. ‘He’s bound to be there, isn’t he? Don’t worry, Cat,’ she said, stretching out a reassuring hand, ‘I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to all this.’
Luke watched the countryside flash by in a blur.
‘We do have speed limits down here, you know,’ he reminded his companion, her long, purple, acrylic-tipped fingers gripping the leather steering wheel of the BMW.
‘Relax, Luke. C’mon, smile,’ she said with a little sideways smirk and a toss of her dark chin-length hair. ‘Anyone would think you weren’t pleased to see me, after all the effort I’ve made to find you.’
Ignoring her comment he turned his attention to the road ahead.
Tanya. She was the last person he expected …
or wanted to see. As Liam had disappeared to the toilets it was the desk sergeant who had leaned over and told him his girlfriend was waiting for him outside.
He was so keen to see Cat he’d not waited for the solicitor’s return.
Instead, he’d dashed out of the building only to find Tanya leaning against her black BMW.
So why was she here now, after what had happened in Bali?
And how did she know he was about to be released?
More to the point, how did she know he was there at all?
He cursed under his breath. He should have gone back into the station and spoken to Liam first. Instead he’d panicked, desperate to deal with this unwanted surprise.
A secret he shouldn’t have held onto. One which when Cat found out …
he didn’t even want to think about the consequences.
But had there been any reason to tell Cat about her?
It wasn’t exactly a relationship. One night was all they’d spent together and in the morning she’d gone.
Now the past had caught up with him and he knew when he saw Cat again he would have some explaining to do. He prayed she’d understand.
Looking at Tanya out of the corner of his eye he knew he needed answers, but he’d held off during their journey back to the cottage.
He wanted somewhere away from the village where he could collect his thoughts, talk to her properly and settle this once and for all.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes to rid himself of the smell of incarceration, they’d headed out to find somewhere for lunch.
Finding his phone battery flat, he’d put it on charge and borrowed Tanya’s to make contact with Cat to reassure her everything was okay.
Now they were back on the road and travelling north, and his thoughts strayed back to Bali.
Tanya was one of three girls who had joined the group he’d been hanging around with while staying at Balian Beach.
While two of them left for Flores after a week she decided to stay on.
She settled in well and soon became ‘one of the boys’.
A couple of days before he was due to fly home they’d all been out drinking.
It was well after midnight when he decided it was time to turn in.
On an intoxication scale of one to ten he reckoned he was currently hovering around seven.
Any more and he’d be totally hammered and he wanted to avoid waking up the next morning with the mother of all hangovers.
Turning down an invitation from the others to visit another bar, he headed back to their rented bungalow.
Making his way along the beach he was surprised to find Tanya slipping into step beside him.
She, too, had had enough to drink for one evening, she told him.
They made their way slowly back, stopping for a moment to watch the full moon cast its silver light over the sea.
The air was warm, the sound of music and laughter echoing across the beach.
Maybe it was the magic of the moment, the realisation that their time in this beautiful paradise was coming to an end, or the alcohol he’d consumed.
Or a combination of all three. All he remembered was looking at Tanya and feeling a sudden need to wrap his arms around her; to feel the softness of her mouth against his.
Sensing his mood she melted against him, eager arms slipping around his neck as their lips met in a hot and intense kiss.
‘Come on,’ she said as she pulled away from him, breathless from a moment of passion he felt hadn’t lasted long enough, ‘the others won’t be back for ages.’ He smiled as she reached for his hand and led him along the cool sand.
Waking the next morning to find bright sunlight filtering through the window blind, he stretched and rolled over only to discover her side of the bed empty.
Cool sheets told him she’d been gone for some time.
Pulling on his boxers, he went in search of her, wondering whether she was busy organising breakfast. The living area was quiet and empty.
From the other bedrooms he could hear the sound of his friends sleeping off their night’s excesses.
Returning to his room he searched for his shorts, intending to go and look for her.
It was then he noticed the folded note with his name on it.
He opened it and read the words ‘Bye, Luke, and thanks for everything.’ That was it.
No explanation. Nothing. For some reason which no one else appeared to know about Tanya had decided it was time to leave.
And now here she was, smiling at him just as she’d done five months ago when they had shared happier moments.
But she couldn’t be here. She was part of another place and time that no longer had any meaning in his life.
His future was with Cat; something he was going to have to make very clear to Tanya.
When Cat and Jodie reached the cottage they found it shuttered and silent. Peering through the downstairs window, Cat couldn’t see any sign of life.
‘He’s gone.’