Beyond Life (12 page)

Giving her a chance to calm down he drove for a few minutes then noticed a sign for a truck stop and refreshments. He pulled in and parked.

‘I’m sorry. It just upset me seeing her like that. I guess it was too much of a surprise and I should have said something before she came home,’ she started crying again.

Another mood change but this time Tony was relieved his wife had decided not to take it out on him, so he let the earlier comments pass. He reached across but the hug was awkward with the gear stick and handbrake in the way. They decided to get out of the car and have a coffee and leg stretch while they thought about how they could make it up to Val.

The cafe owner turned to look at Tony as he mumbled, ‘now’s not a good time, Claire.’ There was nobody with the customer and Tony didn’t make eye contact with the man who turned back to his machine and carried on preparing their drinks. When Libby had finished the call to her brother to explain what had happened, the man served their coffees and tapped his nose and winked at Tony as he heard him say
Are you all right Libby?

‘What was that about?’ she asked and her husband shrugged his shoulders seemingly none the wiser than she was.

*****

Val slammed the door behind her and gave the house the quick once over. There were basic provisions in the cupboard and the fridge and the house looked clean and tidy. Libby had done something right she thought as she dragged her bags upstairs. Thinking of what her daughter had done upset her and she cried while she closed the curtains and undressed. The tears eventually dried up and, both physically and emotionally drained Val got into her freshly made bed. She closed her eyes and tried to work out why Libby had thought she wouldn’t be upset about the wedding. Even though she’d slept on the plane, the tiredness eventually took hold and Val drifted off. It was early evening by the time she awoke and Val had a long shower then looked at the bags on the floor. She emptied them and sorted her belongings into piles for washing, wanting to sanitise absolutely everything that she’d brought back from Africa. On autopilot she hooked up to the Internet and ordered some of her favourite foods from Tesco, then made herself a coffee. Her thoughts turned to Libby again and she recalled the conversations they’d had throughout the years about Libby’s future wedding. Val always thought that when Libby met her Mr Right she would want a big wedding. She now realised that her daughter had been deadly serious when she’d said otherwise and she wondered why she hadn’t thought so at the time; after all, they’d talked about weddings on more than one occasion. Maybe it was because she’d expected her father to give her away so Val always assumed they would both be there and she’d be able to talk her into having a big wedding. What if Libby was punishing her for what she’d done to her father? Or maybe punishing her because she’d gone away and decided to get on with her own life? Maybe that’s why Carl had arranged to be away too, because he wanted to punish her as well? She should have taken her daughter’s comments seriously and then it wouldn’t have been such a shock. The doorbell stopped her negative stream of thoughts and Val dried her eyes as she went to collect her groceries.

‘Surprise!’

Her hand rushed to her mouth when she saw her son on the doorstep. Looking tanned and relaxed he’d be a fine catch for any girl thought his mother as he picked her up and swung her around before returning her to the doorstep and giving her a big hug. Val started to feel better as Carl followed her into the house.

Ron was very concerned about his wife and knowing how vulnerable she was at that moment worried him. She would be more susceptible to the advances of Gary and Ron was only too glad that there were thousands of miles between them. He was proud that his son had cut short his holiday to offer Val some moral support and realised that as parents, they had done something right to produce two such great adults. Ron understood Val’s upset at the wedding but also understood Libby’s logic too. He wondered how Val would feel if she’d known he’d been there and was just glad that she would never find out.

*****

Two days later and Libby was frustrated and upset that her mother still refused to take her calls. They’d met with Marion who was staying at Jim’s flat with Jim and Fiona. She’d told them that she was disappointed that they hadn’t thought to invite their mothers to the wedding. She’d finished by saying that she would forgive them only if they arranged a suitable and fitting occasion for the blessing. When Libby had asked what might be fitting, Marion had said that being Val’s only daughter, it would be appropriate to discuss it with her mother and that they could let Marion know when arrangements had been made. Both Tony and Libby left Jim’s flat feeling as if they’d just had a dressing down from a very disappointed head teacher and that they should now go away and try harder. Despite the dressing down, Libby knew that she and Tony’s mother would get along just fine and that the current situation was merely a hiccup. She was worried that the future would not be so rosy with her own mother.

After many more calls Libby knew the only way to get through to her mother was by giving her an ultimatum.

‘Right, Carl, I’ve had enough. I’ll hold on while you go and tell Mum that this is the last time I’m calling. I want to come and talk to her and if she says no, that’s it.’

‘Don’t say that, Libby. You know you don’t mean it.’

‘But I do.’

Val was flicking a duster around and couldn’t help but overhear her son’s part of the conversation. She sensed the tension and urgency and knew that she’d need to speak to Libby soon or risk losing her for good.

‘Tell her to come round tonight. You and Tony can go for a pint while we talk.’

Carl conveyed the message to his sister and she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her mother would eventually forgive her if she played her cards right.

Chapter 9

Gary missed Val more than he’d expected. It made him feel weak and vulnerable and this annoyed him. Like a wasp with a headache, Gary’s bad mood had ramifications for all those he came into contact with. Mary was used and abused and his staff avoided him as much as they could, too frightened to go to him with problems or questions. All Gary wanted was to see Val as soon as possible, to explore her body at long last, to laugh and joke with her, touch her, smell her...

He knew that going back to England was a risky business, even though nobody would recognise him for the man he used to be, but Gary didn’t want to take too many risks. Some of his old contacts in Western Europe had been after exotic young girls for quite a while and he knew he could make a fortune from them. If his plan came to fruition, he could also arrange to pick up some more girls on the way. He started to make the arrangements and his staff noticed a marked change in their boss. From moody to determined they knew that nothing would get in the way of his plans when he wanted to bring an idea to fruition.

*****

Tony had elected to drop Libby off and visit his brother. They didn’t see so much of each other these days. Fiona was going out with her mates and their mother had gone to Yorkshire for a few days to meet up with some old school friends that she’d reconnected with through Facebook, so it seemed like an ideal opportunity for a catch-up. He’d said hi to Carl and politely refused his invitation to the pub. He helped Libby inside with the massive bouquet she’d bought for her mother. The welcome was lukewarm to say the least but Tony had apologised for their actions and said he hoped she would eventually forgive them so that they could move forward as a family. Feeling like Ban Ki-moon must have before attempting to broker a deal between two opposing sides, Tony decided to leave them to it now the scene was set. Carl followed Tony and gave him a man hug before thanking him for grovelling to his mother.

‘I know the wedding was Libby’s idea and you just went along with it, mate, so you shouldn’t have had to do that,’ they were at the front door and Tony was more than ready to leave.

‘Small price to pay if it helps to smooth the way.’

Carl nodded and the men shook hands. Tony got into his car and made his way to his brother’s, feeling a little cowardly for leaving his wife to face the music alone, but also glad to be out of the firing line.

Enjoying the football and their catch up the twins stopped what they were doing at the same time and a knowing look passed between them.

‘You could have waited until half-time,’ said Jim as both men looked upwards.

Claire wondered why they always looked skyward, no matter where she was. She was actually looking out of the window and had tried to be patient but it wasn’t really in her nature, so she’d let them know she was paying a visit.

‘Glad to see that Mum didn’t take it too badly.’

They made polite conversation for a few minutes before Claire sensed that they were waiting for her real reason for visiting.

‘It’s not particularly good news but I need your help.’

‘Go on,’ they were both intrigued and had temporarily forgotten about the match.

‘Remember the guy who kidnapped Mel?’

‘Of course,’ said Tony. ‘I remember the poor woman he murdered as well. I know it’s frustrating for Dad and Mel that he hasn’t been found yet. They’re getting on with their lives but there’s always that niggling doubt that he may turn up and...’

‘He has,’ interrupted Claire. ‘But he’s thousands of miles away just now but we don’t know how long for.’

‘What do you mean “we”?’

‘Never mind that,’ said Jim. ‘Where is he and what do you expect him to do?’

His question was met with silence, but the twins could sense Claire’s presence and knew she hadn’t left. Now that the time had come for her to tell her brothers that the man who had kidnapped their half-sister, was likely to be shagging Tony’s mother-in-law in the near future, Claire was delaying the bad news.

‘Claire, what else is there?’

She knew they would be shocked and hoped they could help.

‘Big Ed has changed his name to Gary Jamieson and he turned up in Zambia...’

The twins were not liking the sound of this.

‘...at the orphanage where Mum and Val worked. He has a building business in the area but is up to his old tricks as well.’

‘What do you mean, Claire? Does he know Mum and Val? Is he still grooming young girls?’

‘All of the above,’ she paused. ‘There’s no easy way to say this but him and Val are, well you know.’

‘Oh my God,’ said Tony. ‘How am going to tell Libby. We have to call the police, Interpol or something. Can you track him Claire? Do you know where he is? We could get him arrested and extradited. Do they have an extradition treaty...’

‘Whoa, hang on a minute,’ she hadn’t meant to be so loud and the curtains shook and the door slammed shut, shocking the twins.

‘Jesus, was that you, Claire?’

They calmed down when they heard her giggles. ‘Wow, I didn’t know I could do that. I’m almost as impressed are you are.’

Knowing their sister as they did, they listened patiently as other doors around the flat closed the blind banged against the window in the kitchen and open windows blew shut. She was obviously trying out her newfound tricks and eventually she returned to the conversation.

‘Sorry about that. A bit frivolous I know but I just couldn’t help myself. Have you had time for the news to sink in now?’

Seeing them both nod, she carried on. ‘Gary, Big Ed, whatever you want to call the man, has had cosmetic surgery so his face isn’t recognisable. He is very dangerous. I can tell you that it’s not always possible for us... me I mean, to keep track of him.’

‘Why’s that?’

Claire hadn’t been told not to tell them about the evil spirits and, in fact, wanted them to be aware so that if the time came, they wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.

‘He’s being accompanied by some very unsavoury characters, not of your world. You know that I can now do a few tricks. Well, his soul mates are evil and are also able to perform certain tricks which makes keeping a track on him a risky business.’

‘So you’re telling us that there’s a chance that this guy and Libby’s Mum might already be sleeping together and he might be grooming young girls, and there’s nothing we can do about it?’

‘Not exactly,’ said Claire. ‘Firstly, I don’t think they have slept together yet which is good news. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but Val wasn’t quite ready to start the physical side of their relationship. Secondly, girls have gone missing from the orphanage but no boys. We’re going to try and find out more information and keep you informed.’

‘So what do you want us to do?’ asked Tony.

‘He’s really keen on Val. We think he might try to visit her. You need to keep her away from him if he does. See, it’s not much to ask is it?’

‘And what am I supposed to tell Libby?’

‘Easy. Now she’s a believer you can tell her the truth. The more people looking out for Val, the better. Oh, and the good news is that Mum met him and took an instant dislike to him. She’s quite perceptive, our mother.’

The twins were relieved that their mother hadn’t been taken in by the evil charmer.

‘But what about telling the police?’

‘You can do that if you can think of a plausible reason for how you’ve got hold of this information.’

Fair point thought both men. Neither of them could come up with a good reason to explain how they’d found out about this man and even if they told the police about the girls going missing, they were sure that they’d be told it was a national and not an international crime.

‘Best not to mention any of this to Mum and Dad either,’ Claire moved an ornament to regain their attention.

‘For Christ sake, stop that! You’re freaking us out,’ said Jim and Claire giggled for a few seconds before turning serious.

‘I don’t want to worry the rest of the family unnecessarily. If he arrives in this country that might change, but you can tell Fiona,’ Claire had anticipated Jim’s next question. ‘Libby may need her help and support.’

The twins were mulling over the information passed to them by Claire as she said a quick goodbye and disappeared.