Chapter Twenty-One
‘So, does that mean you won’t be coming up this weekend?’ Daniel asked when Anna phoned him later that afternoon.
‘I’m sorry. I wanted to, but I couldn’t say no to Eva.’
‘Of course you couldn’t. I understand that.’ And he did, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t disappointed. ‘I’ll miss you.’
‘Me too.’
After they said their goodbyes he switched off the phone, aware of two pairs of eager eyes watching him.
‘Anna’s not coming?’ Ben asked, his voice full of disappointment.
‘No, I’m afraid not.’
Lucinda, who’d brought Ben round to stay for the weekend, snorted. ‘Letting you down already, is she?’
Anger rose at his ex-wife’s comment. ‘No, she’s not. There’s something important she needs to do. It’s a work thing.’
‘That’s what you get when you give your assistant ideas above their station.’
‘Lucinda! Please!’ He glanced at Ben to warn her not to behave like this in front of him. She’d been tetchy since he’d arrived back in Cheshire. He wondered if she was annoyed with him wanting to see more of Ben — perhaps it was upsetting her routine. But on a more cynical level he thought she might be jealous. He’d come clean to both of them the previous night about Anna and him being together. He’d thought it best to tell them when Anna wasn’t around, give them time to get used to the idea before they saw her next. Ben had been delighted at the news. Lucinda not so much.
‘Right, well, I’ll leave you to it,’ Lucinda said.
‘Can you come and see my room first, Mum? You’ve never seen it before,’ Ben asked. Lucinda looked to Daniel for approval and he nodded. While they were gone, Daniel put the kettle on to make some coffee. It didn’t bother him if Lucinda was jealous of him and Anna. In fact, he understood it — he’d felt the same way when she’d first got together with Axel. But her snide comments were something he wasn’t going to put up with. Despite their differences, they’d always worked hard to put Ben first, and he didn’t want that undermined just because the dynamics had changed.
‘Mum loves my room,’ Ben said when the pair of them came back downstairs.
‘Yes, it’s very nice. You’re a lucky boy to have two such wonderful bedrooms.’
‘I am, aren’t I?’ Ben said, smiling. ‘Can I go and watch some telly now?’
‘Yes, of course you can.’ Daniel was glad of the chance to speak to Lucinda alone. ‘Do you want some coffee?’
She looked surprised for a moment. ‘If you want me to stay?’
‘Yes, I think we need to talk.’
She groaned as she pulled out a chair. ‘I knew it! I’m about to get a lecture.’
‘I’m not going to lecture you. Have I ever done that?’ He brought over two mugs of coffee and sat down next to her.
‘No, I suppose not, but I sense your disapproval.’
‘I appreciate that things are changing and that can be difficult to deal with. But we’ve always promised that, whatever happened, we’d do right by Ben. I realise I’ve upset the apple cart by wanting to see more of him, and I do appreciate you letting me do that. You’d be quite within your rights to make me stick to our agreed routine.’
‘I’ve never wanted to stop you from seeing him,’ Lucinda replied. ‘It’s always the location that’s got in the way, what with your work being in London. This is my home and I never want to move from here again. But now that you’re planning on spending more time here, perhaps we could . . .’
‘Perhaps we could what?’
Lucinda shifted uncomfortably in her chair. ‘You’re right, we’ve always tried to be amicable for Ben’s sake, but a lot has happened since we split and maybe now we can start being better friends.’ She placed her hand over his. ‘We used to be really good friends, didn’t we?’
He pulled his hand away. ‘I think being amicable is enough for now.’
She scowled. ‘Why, wouldn’t Anna like it?’ Her voice was bitter.
‘I don’t think Axel would like it much either.’
‘No, I suppose not,’ she said swiftly. ‘Well, I’d better go. I’ll just say goodbye to Ben and then see myself out.’
Daniel stared after her as she left, convinced she’d implied they could be a lot more than friends. He wondered if her sudden change in attitude was a knee-jerk reaction to him no longer being available. There had been a time when he would have jumped at the chance of getting back together, but meeting Anna had made him realise how wrong he and Lucinda were for each other. And while, from Ben’s point of view, being a family again would be ideal, he knew it would never work. Not with Lucinda.
* * *
It had been five days since Anna had seen Daniel. While she’d been incredibly busy, she’d missed him desperately and couldn’t wait to see him again.
She’d decided to cook a meal to welcome him home. She’d dressed up in a little black dress, set the table with candles and queued up some music to play softly in the background while they ate.
As he walked through the door he dropped his bag, pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly.
‘Wow, you look amazing. And something smells amazing too.’
‘Welcome home,’ she said simply and kissed him again.
‘Whatever it is you have cooking, would it spoil if it waited a while?’
‘I think it will be okay.’ She made sure that everything was turned off before she allowed herself to be led upstairs.
Afterwards, they sat at the dining table in their dressing gowns, eating the beef bourguignon she’d cooked for him.
‘This is delicious,’ he said between mouthfuls. ‘And it’s so good to be here with you. I’ve missed you.’
She smiled at the thought of him being here with her. It was his home, not hers, but she’d been spending so much time there recently, she could almost imagine it was her home too.
‘I’ve missed you too. Did you make good progress?’ she asked him.
‘I did. I met a woman who had her own school and she was happy to show me round.’
‘Wasn’t she worried that you’d be in competition with each other?’
‘No, it’s a completely different market. She’s catering for the hobbyist who can afford it. It was interesting to see what courses she runs, although I think mine will have to be more structured, maybe even leading to a qualification.’
‘That could mean a lot of red tape.’
‘Yes, it would. So I went around a couple of colleges to see what they’re offering. I’m still not sure I know which way I want to go with this, but the research is good. I don’t want to commit to anything before I’m good and ready.’
‘So it looks like we’re going to be spending more time apart then?’
‘Unless you come with me?’ He reached for her hand.
‘Well, I still need to do some more work on my Chester exhibition, but after that I don’t know what I’ll be doing.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘I don’t like being away from you any more than you do, but whatever happens we’ll make it work.’
‘We’ll just have to, won’t we?’ She’d realised that being apart from him for a while was better than not having him at all.
‘You know why I’m doing this, don’t you?’
‘Of course. I know how much you miss seeing Ben, and I’d never begrudge you spending more time with him. How is he?’
‘Great.’ The way Daniel’s face lit up when he spoke about his son made her realise the joy he’d miss out on if he didn’t see more of him. She could never stand in the way of that. ‘In fact, he breaks up for the summer on Wednesday, and Lucinda was talking about bringing him down here for a week during the holidays.’
Anna nearly choked on a mouthful of food. ‘Really? I thought she hated London.’
‘She hated living here. But Axel’s going to be down here recording, so she’s coming with him. She thought it might be nice for me to see more of Ben without me doing the travelling.’
‘That’s nice of her.’ Anna could barely keep the scepticism out of her voice. From what Daniel had said, however much they tried to make it work for Ben, it had largely been on her terms.
‘She was a bit frosty when I first told her about us, but maybe she’s coming round to the idea.’
‘Maybe.’ Anna didn’t believe that for a second.
Daniel leaned back in his chair. ‘Enough about my ex-wife. Tell me all about your meeting with Eva.’
‘Oh, she’s so amazing. I can’t believe how upbeat she is.’
‘It’s good that you’re helping her.’
‘How could I not? And I’m enjoying it. She’s great to be around and I think it’s important people realise the long-term effects these things have.’
‘Yes. Once the headlines disappear, it’s easy to forget about it, but not for those who were there or lost someone.’
‘No, it’s not.’
‘Still having nightmares?’
She nodded. ‘Although I think I’ll sleep better tonight with you by my side.’
‘I think I will too.’ He smiled.
* * *
It was great to have Daniel back — they soon fell into a routine of working together and separately on their individual projects. Eva’s Instagram posts were getting great engagement and she’d even been asked to do some magazine articles, for which she had insisted that Anna provide the photographs. It felt strange going out on shoots where she was the lead photographer rather than the assistant. But Daniel was on hand to give her all the advice she needed, and plenty of moral support. Sometimes she wanted to pinch herself — she could barely believe she’d been catapulted into the career she’d always dreamed of, with a handsome and loving partner who supported her all the way. When she compared it to the life she had had only a few months ago, which had consisted of drudgery, conflict and heartache, she was amazed to realise how far she’d come in such a short time. She just hoped that nothing would come along to burst the bubble.
* * *
Anna was just packing up in the studio late the following Wednesday when her phone rang. She picked it up from the desk, startled to see Jack’s name flash up on the screen. No one had heard from him since he’d left, though she’d tried to contact him several times.
‘Jack.’
Daniel looked up as she mentioned her estranged brother’s name, a frown creasing his forehead.
‘Anna, hi.’
‘Long time no hear. How are you?’
‘Not so great to be honest. I’m at the City of London police station. I’ve been arrested.’
Anna gasped, dropping onto a chair. ‘What for?’
‘Robbery.’
‘Robbery? Jack, what on earth’s going on?’
‘It’s a long story. And I don’t have time. I need a solicitor. They’ve given me a duty solicitor but he’s useless. I know I shouldn’t expect any help from you after all I’ve done, but can you? Can you help me, Anna? Please?’
‘Jack, I don’t know any solicitors.’ She looked across to Daniel in a panic. Jack sounded desperate, not the self-assured cocky young man he’d been at home.
‘I’ll sort it,’ Daniel said.
With a wave of relief Anna told Jack, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find someone and we’ll be with you soon.’
She heard Jack exhale. ‘Thank you, Anna. You don’t know how much this means to me.’
‘You’re my brother,’ she replied. That’s all that mattered.
‘I won’t forget this,’ he said. ‘Anna, please don’t tell Dad.’
‘I won’t. Not now at least. But when this is sorted you’ll need to tell him yourself.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can and you will,’ she said sternly. ‘That’s my condition for helping you. I want you to sort things with Dad. A family needs to stick together.’
‘Okay, I’ll try.’ She heard someone in the background. ‘My time’s up. I’ve got to go. But thank you, Anna. I really mean that.’
She ended the call and sank down in her chair, suddenly deflated. Immediately Daniel was by her side, holding her close to him as she tried to regain her equilibrium. Eventually he pulled away from her.
‘I’ll try to get hold of my solicitor before he leaves the office. He works for a big firm so I’m sure he’ll know a decent criminal lawyer.’
‘Thank you, Daniel, I really appreciate it.’
‘That’s okay, family is family.’
‘I doubt Jack can afford it, but I’ll pay whatever it costs.’
‘Don’t worry about that. We’ll sort out the finances later. The most important thing for now is helping Jack.’
* * *
Anna and Daniel had been sitting in the waiting room of the police station for what seemed like hours. True to his word, Daniel had found a lawyer, who was with Jack while he was being questioned. Anna was sick with worry, wondering how bad things really were. Eventually the solicitor appeared.
‘How bad is it?’
He shook his head. ‘Let’s go somewhere away from here.’
Anna’s stomach lurched. If he didn’t want to talk about it at the police station, it must be worse than she’d thought.
They went to a wine bar near to the station. Daniel went to the bar while Anna sat down with the solicitor.
‘Please, Mr Braithwaite, how much trouble is Jack in?’
‘Call me Simon,’ he replied. ‘And I’m afraid it’s not good. It seems that Jack and two other men attempted to rob an off-licence.’
‘Oh, God! I can’t believe it. My dad kicked him out and no one knew how he’d been living since then. But I never thought it would lead to this.’
‘That’s not all. Two of the men were carrying guns. When the owner refused to hand over the money, he was shot.’
Daniel put the drinks down on the table with a thump. ‘Was he badly hurt?’
Simon shook his head. ‘Fortunately the man was a pretty poor shot, or only intended to wound, and shot him in the arm.’
Finally able to speak, Anna asked, ‘Was Jack carrying a gun?’
‘No, he was the look out. The shopkeeper must have had a panic button, because soon after the shooting the police arrived. The other two fled but Jack stayed behind to administer first aid, and that’s when he was arrested.’
‘But if he tried to help and he wasn’t carrying a gun, will that be better for him?’
Simon paused before answering. ‘Well, you’d hope so, wouldn’t you? But have you heard of joint enterprise?’
She shook her head. ‘No.’
‘It’s where someone can be convicted for the crime of another, if the court decides that they either encouraged the crime or foresaw it could happen.’
Anna felt sick. ‘So he could be convicted of the shooting, even though he wasn’t carrying a gun and he stayed to help?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
Daniel put his hand over hers and she was grateful for its warmth. She felt icy cold.
‘There are many people who don’t believe that joint enterprise is just, so that could work in Jack’s favour. He told me that he was coerced into being there because he owed one of the men money, and that they told him the guns were firing blanks. So we’ll have to work the evidence to try to prove he was there unwillingly and that he couldn’t have envisaged the outcome.’
‘Will that work?’
‘We can try. But your brother will be spending time in prison, whatever the outcome. Tomorrow he’ll go to court and it’s likely he won’t get bail.’
‘So he’ll go to prison straight away?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘And the other men? Have they been arrested?’
‘Yes. But because they were both armed they’ll be sent to higher security prisons, so hopefully that will keep your brother safe.’
‘Because he’s testifying against them?’
‘Yes. I’ve made him aware of the consequences, but he’s insistent that he wants to tell the truth.’
‘Well, at least there’s some good in him.’ Anna sighed.