Least Said (10 page)

I
reached
out
my
hand, and it
was
actually
touching
the
receiver
when
it
rang.
I
jumped
so
much
that
I
knocked
the
handset
to
the
floor
and
ended
up
on
my
hands
and
knees,
scrabbling
under
the
hall
table
for
it.

I
thought
it
would
be
Tina.
In
fact
I
was
certain
it
would
be
Tina
because
we
had
always
been
so
in
tune
that
I
was
convinced
that
she
would
instinctively
know
that
I
needed
her.

When
a
man’s
deep
voice
said,
‘Is
that
Mrs
Wendy
Hammond?’
my
heart
literally
stopped
beating,
and
when
it
started
again
it
beat
so
fast
that
I
couldn’t
catch
my
breath
and
almost
keeled
over.
I
couldn’t
have
spoken
if
my
life
depended
on
it.
The
man
persisted,
his
tone
becoming
impatient,
‘Hello,
hello,
are
you
there,
Mrs
Hammond?’

I
forced
myself
to
take
a
deep
steadying
breath,
resisted
the
urge
to
simply
replace
the
receiver
without
saying
a
word,
and
finally
responded
with
a
very
brief,
‘Yes.’

It
was
him,
I
just
knew
it.
He
had
found
me.
How
he
had
found
me
or
why
didn’t
occur
to
me
–
only
that
he
had.

The
man
started
speaking,
quite
rapidly,
and
the
state
I
was
in
meant
I
couldn’t
quite
take
in
what
he
was
saying.
It
took
me
a
moment
to
pick
apart
the
words
and
assimilate
them
into
some
kind
of
order
and
work
out
the
right
kind
of
response.

‘No,’
I
said,
quietly
but
firmly,
‘I
haven’t
been
mis-sold
PPI,
but
thank
you
for
calling,’
and
then
I
dropped
the
phone
onto
its
stand
and
I
laughed.

I
laughed,
and
kept
laughing
so
hard
that
it
was
bordering
on
hysteria,
and
tears
came
to
my
eyes
and
rained
down
my
face.
The
relief
was
such
that
the
strength
went
from
my
legs
and
I
sagged
against
the
wall
–
and
then
the
doorbell
rang.

The
laughter
died
on
my
lips
as
suddenly
as
it
had
started
and
the
fear
was
back
with
a
vengeance
as
I
realised
I
should
have
known
that
he
wouldn’t
ring
first,
but
would
just
turn
up
on
my
doorstep
unannounced.

He
must
have
seen
me
earlier,
followed
me
back
to
the
car,
and
then
all
the
way
home.
Why
hadn’t
I
thought
to
use
diversionary
tactics?
I
knew
the
area
like
the
back
of
my
hand,
for
goodness
sake,
and
could
easily
have
avoided
the
main
route
from
Bournemouth
to
Brankstone,
taken
the
back
roads,
and
thrown
him
off
the
scent.

The
bell
rang
again,
a
long
drawn-out
peal
this
time
as
an
impatient
finger
pressed
a
lot
harder.
He
wasn’t
going
to
go
away,
was
he?
Eventually,
I
was
going
to
have
to
go
out
there
to
collect
Will
from
school.
The
thought
of
my
son
hardened
my
resolve
and
I
wrenched
the
door
open,
ready
to
do
whatever
it
took
to
keep
this
interloper
away
from
my
family.

I
was
shocked
into
silence
for
several
seconds
and
then
I
screamed
and
threw
myself
forward
and
straight
into
Tina’s
arms.
I
trusted
that
she
would
catch
me
and
hold
me
safe
–
and
she
did.

‘Oh,
my
God,’
I
finally
stood
back
and
looked
my
fill
at
my
dearest
friend,
‘what
on
earth
are
you
doing
here?’

She
laughed,
a
light-hearted,
carefree
laugh,
and
I
envied
her
a
life
that
had
finally
given
her
everything
that
she
had
ever
wanted.
I
immediately
felt
selfish
because
I,
of
all
people,
knew
what
she
had
gone
through
to
find
her
present
happiness
–
and
how
she
had
helped
me
to
find
mine.

‘Would
you
believe
that
Calum
suddenly
dropped
into
the
breakfast
table
conversation
that
he
was
coming
down
this
way
to
visit
a
client
–
you
remember
Bette
Ireland,
don’t
you?’

As
I
nodded,
a
picture
of
that
flamboyant,
larger
than
life
author
was
popping
straight
into
my
head.
A
big
blonde
woman,
she
had
been
Tina’s
good
friend
for
years.
In
fact,
she
had
been
there,
literally,
when
Tina
and
Calum
had
first
met.
That
meeting
had
led
to
a
passionate
but
doomed
affair
and
Bette
was
the
only
person
–
apart
from
Tina
herself
–
who
had
known
all
along
that
Calum
had
fathered
a
child
with
Tina.
Their
now
grown
up
daughter,
Leanne.