Father Unknown (24 page)

‘As I pointed out, you told them she wasn't with you. They believed you. So why shouldn't they believe me when I tell them Tamara's not with me?'

‘Because she has to be somewhere. I'd have worried myself stiff, imagining a much darker scenario. That she was wandering the streets of London, or some other big city. That she'd fallen into the hands of some undesirable character who'd offered her a bed. Even, God forbid, that she'd committed suicide. But Millie, bless her, says Tamara sent her a card. That she was safe and well, and being sheltered by someone she apparently trusts. So I ask myself, who else could that be but her favourite aunt? Living in a conveniently secluded house, not too far from Anne Hathaway's cottage, which was depicted on the card?'

Suzie glanced at Frances just in time to catch the twitch of alarmed annoyance at the mention of the notelet. It was a clue she had overlooked when she gave it to Tamara. As the Fewings themselves had failed to see its significance, until Prudence had identified the picture.

They had come to the right place, hadn't they? She wished desperately that she could ask Nick what had happened between Frances inviting Nick and Millie indoors and her own panicked speed-dialling Nick's number.

Nick and Millie. For the first time, her thoughts leaped on to a different track. The fact that neither Tamara nor Millie was in the room had come as more of a relief than a surprise. Yet where
were
the girls?

She listened for girlish voices from a room upstairs. But that was nonsense. If they were up there, they would be waiting in tense silence, desperate to hear what was going on down here. Frances would not be putting up this valiant defence of Tamara's privacy if the girl were not frightened of being discovered, even by her own father. Why? Was it just her traumatic experience with Leonard Dawson which had made her so scared of men?

Of men in general? Or this particular man?

It was hard to believe.

Her phone rang, making her jump. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Tom. She snapped it off. She couldn't handle his suspicions just now.

‘Sorry,' she said to the others.

She watched Reynard Woodman's relaxed pose on the sofa. But his sister seemed immune to the crinkle in his eyes when he smiled.

She had lost the thread of the conversation. The red-haired couple were still sparring with each other.

‘How long are you going to sit on my sofa before you get it into your head that I'm not harbouring your daughter? Poor Petronella will be starting to get chilly on that boat. If you're not going to invite her in, shouldn't you go and relieve her boredom?'

‘Pet knows she's a lucky woman. She'll wait till I come.'

‘God's gift to the female sex.' Frances rolled her eyes.

‘Success is a well-known aphrodisiac. I have to plead guilty.' The warmth of the smile he shot at Suzie disarmed the apparent conceit.

But she was growing edgy. Why
wasn't
he more worried?

A disconcerting thought entered her mind. Until now, she had believed that Frances was lying through her teeth when she said she was not sheltering Tamara. But what if it were true? What if it had been Reynard who was lying, when he told them Tamara was not with him at Burwood?

She turned to study the man on the sofa beside her more closely.

But it didn't make sense. Why, if he knew where Tamara was, would he come all this way to Little Fairings in his boat at dusk, to see if Tamara was here? If she was in his own house, he wouldn't have needed to ask Frances.

Unless – a new, darker, thought insinuated itself – he wanted to create an illusion of innocence. To divert suspicion from himself.

Suspicion of
what
, for heaven's sake? Giving refuge to his own daughter? What could possibly be the harm in that?

Before her mind could take her any further down that alarming road, Reynard asked the question she had been hoping he would not.

‘And while we're trying to clear up this mystery about where Tamara is, what's happened to the delightful Millie?'

He turned to look her full in the face. The laughter was gone. The light-blue eyes locked on hers, demanding an answer.

She had no excuse ready.

Nick came to her rescue. ‘We left her back at the Bear and Staff. She's feeling a bit under the weather. Queasy stomach, I'm afraid. Didn't want to risk another car journey.'

‘I'm
so
sorry. Do give her my love.' The sympathetic smile was back. ‘I do hope it's not the same reason Tamara is . . . unwell.'

She saw by the compression of Nick's lips how he was controlling his anger. For a moment, she sided with him.

‘I think not. And I don't find Tamara's condition a laughing matter.'

‘Oh, no. It's definitely not that. She's my daughter, remember. But, do you know, I don't believe you. Millie's here, isn't she? With Tamara. And the two of them are either in this house, or not very far from it. So which of you is going to take me to them?'

No one met his eye. Frances rose and began ostentatiously collecting the cups and plates.

For a while, Reynard sat on, wilfully ignoring the hint. Then he stood up and confronted his sister. ‘Since you insist that Tamara is not in your house, you won't mind if I look upstairs.'

‘That's an outrageous suggestion. You most certainly may not.'

They remained locked in an unspoken confrontation. Suzie realized that the rangy Frances was slightly the taller of the two. She had that air of the older sister. There was a confident authority towards him, which even the self-possessed Reynard found it hard to face down.

After moments of tension, he relaxed and smiled. ‘Very well. You can hardly wonder that I'm not a frequent visitor here. You couldn't claim to make me feel welcome. But at least you won't object if I visit your bathroom before I leave.'

The smile he gave her was not the warm, eye-crinkling laughter that made Suzie's heart skip a beat. She saw a clever little boy, calculating how to outwit his authoritative big sister, and releasing a smile of pleasure at his plan.

Her certainty of his innocence faltered.

Her gaze flew to Frances. She couldn't let him go upstairs, could she? And she could hardly escort him to the bathroom, like a security guard with a prisoner in transit. What would he find, up there on the landing? Two girls, huddling in a bedroom, terrified of discovery? An empty bedroom, all too obviously inhabited recently by a teenage girl?

But that scenario depended on the supposition that Tamara really had found refuge here, and was not, after all, at her father's house. Was Reynard bluffing, to throw them off the scent? Whose protestations of ignorance should she believe?

Or were they both telling the truth? Was Tamara in some different hideout altogether?

And if she was not here, then where was Millie?

Frances's smile was broader than her brother's, but equally lacking in warmth.

‘Of course. You'll find a cloakroom in the hall, to the right of the stairs.'

A shadow passed quickly over Reynard's face. He kept his smile in place with an effort.

As he made his way into the entrance hall, Nick followed him. Through the open door, Suzie saw Reynard head for the foot of the stairs. His head went up. Listening? Then he turned away and made for the cloakroom Frances had indicated.

Despite her doubts, it was a relief to see Nick's tall figure stationed at the foot of the stairs.

What now? Frances and Reynard were engaged in a cat-and-mouse game. But why? Supposing Tamara had fled to Frances, why was her aunt so determined to act as the gatekeeper, beyond whom her brother might not pass to reach his daughter?

Tamara was desperately in need of a loving parent. What harm could it do for her father to share her burden?

She had not wanted to think it, but the sick realization of the dark lives some children endure came creeping over her again. The same black thoughts she had nursed about Leonard Dawson. But no, surely not Reynard Woodman? He was a completely different character. A children's hero, sharing their dreams, spellbinding, even if he had grown just a little bit too pleased with his own success. She could not imagine him violating any child, let alone Tamara.

There had to be some other reason for Tamara's fear.

Reynard was back in the hall, saying a polite goodbye to Nick. He ignored his sister. But he shot that crinkling smile through the doorway at Suzie. ‘Goodnight, Suzie. Lovely to meet you again. I do hope Millie will feel better in the morning.'

The porch light shone on his red hair as he walked out between the dragon and the troll, on either side of the door.

His final sentence unnerved her. How sincere was it? She suspected he knew Nick had been lying to him. That Millie had come with them. That she was probably with Tamara, either in this house, or somewhere near.

She found she was trembling.

TWENTY-SIX

N
ick did not immediately come back into the room. He stood at the front door, watching Reynard make his way through the wood. Then he went outside. The river was at the back of the house. Nick would have to walk round the corner to make sure that Reynard was really going back to his boat.

Where else would he go?

Restlessly, she got to her feet. She and Frances stood in silence, waiting.

At last, Nick came back. It was almost dark under the trees, beyond the porch light.

‘He seems to be heading back to the river. What now?'

‘I don't trust him. He gave in just a shade too easily for someone who's always been used to getting his own way.'

‘Where's . . . Millie?' Suzie asked. The real question was still too delicate to voice.

Frances looked startled. Then she smiled. ‘I'm sorry. I forgot you were one step behind Nick. The truthful answer is, I'm not quite sure. When I knew you'd been to see Kevin – I'm sorry, I can't bring myself to call him by that ridiculous pen name – and that you'd told him about Tamara's card, I thought it wouldn't take him long to guess where she was. I've sent her out of the house until the coast is clear. A little hideaway of mine. Then when Millie showed up with Nick, I knew how much Tamara would love to see her. I let her out by the side door.'

‘So both girls are out there? In the woods?' Fear was rising. She remembered the shock of Reynard coming up behind her, while she had been watching the road.

‘I have to say, I had a moment of panic when I found Kevin had come by boat. Millie would have been screened from the drive, but not from the river. Well, not the whole way. I'm assuming he
didn't
see her, or he wouldn't have come to the house and found you. But it must have been a close thing.'

‘So the girls don't know he's here?'

‘Don't worry. When you rang Nick, he relayed the warning to Millie's mobile. So, yes, they're both out in the woods, somewhere. I only hope Millie's found Tamara and that she knows he's close. And that Kevin doesn't decide to do some night manoeuvres of his own.'

‘You're talking as though it would be a terrible thing if he found her,' Suzie protested. ‘Would it really be so bad?'

All the warmth went out of Frances's eyes. ‘Yes.'

The single word chilled Suzie.

‘Is there anywhere we can keep an eye on his boat?' Nick asked. ‘Make sure he leaves?'

‘There's a veranda at the back. Built precisely to give a good view of the river. Shall we?'

She led the way through a back door to a wooden deck with comfortable chairs. She didn't switch on any more lights. They sat in the dusk, on cushions that were just beginning to feel the damp of the night air.

Through the trees, Suzie could make out the launch in the paler grey over the river. There was a light in the cabin.

‘No sign of him going,' Nick said after a while.

‘That's what I was afraid of. He doesn't give up easily. To do him justice, that's why he's got where he has. Single-mindedness. He's always had talent, but he's worked for years to become the overnight success people think he is. It means a lot to him. Success.'

They were talking quietly, but Suzie was still afraid to ask the question that was uppermost in her mind. Where were the girls?

Nick must have been feeling the same. He murmured, ‘Do you think I should go looking for them? See if they're OK?'

‘I wouldn't,' Frances said. ‘I don't trust Kevin further than I could throw him. He's not waiting on the river just to enjoy the calls of the night birds. He thinks when the coast is clear, we'll do just that. Lead him to her.'

Suzie ventured a question that was almost a whisper. ‘Why is it so important that he doesn't find her?'

Frances turned to her. It was impossible to read her expression in the dusk. ‘She didn't tell you? No. Then I don't think I should breach her privacy, either.'

It opened the door on Suzie's darkest fear.

Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, ‘What do you think will happen if he does find her?'

Frances did not answer for a while. Then she sighed. ‘I'm his sister. It's hard for me to say this. But, as I said, he's single-minded. I'm frightened he'd do whatever it takes to ensure her silence. To preserve his career. Tamara might meet with an unfortunate accident.'

Her fingers drummed on the wooden arm of her chair.

‘You mean, he'd
kill
her?' Suzie breathed.

‘Oh, he wouldn't use that word. He'd rationalize it somehow. I wondered why he didn't leap into his car straight away and drive over here. When I knew he'd come by boat, it made sense. You know how it is with teenagers. Their minds can't keep pace with the speed their limbs are growing. A clumsy move on the boat. Pitching over the side. A frantic search in the dark. They find her too late, of course. Must have hit her head going down. He'd convince himself, as well as everyone else. He's a very good storyteller.'