No Going Back (35 page)

‘Don't be so daft,' Daniel murmured into her glossy brown bob. ‘You were under huge stress. And as for what I did, you were the driving force. Without you, none of it would have happened. By the way,' he added, ‘I think you should meet and apologize to my boss, Fred Bowden. Fred, this is the young lady who's responsible for messing up your schedules.'

With introductions all round and the easy warmth of Meg's manner, the two youngest visitors soon began to relax and even become chatty, although Elena was handicapped by a limited grasp of the language, and a little overawed by the presence of Taz, who – growing bored with the human interaction – wandered across to the window and stood on his hind legs to look out.

Half an hour or so later, when Daniel had waved them all goodbye and again had the room to himself, he closed his eyes against the pain in his head and finally gave in to the depression that had been clouding his mind all day.

What had he done to turn Drew against him? Had it just been that one last rejection – as he saw it – that had tipped the scales, or had something or
someone
else influenced him? Given time, he felt the boy would eventually come round, but thanks to Amanda and her solicitor, time might well be something they weren't to be granted – at least, not time together.

Surely no judge would separate a father and his child without a solid reason. Would they? In Daniel's current mood, he felt anything was possible.

The nurse came in with a welcome dose of painkillers, and when she had gone, Daniel turned on his side and tried to doze, but as often when it's most desired, sleep remained stubbornly elusive.

What did his future hold? He'd made good friends here in Devon, but the job driving for Fred had only ever been a short-term solution in Daniel's mind. The same could be said of his relationship with Tamzin, however callous that sounded.

Tamzin had said he craved excitement, that he got a buzz from danger. Was that true? He certainly relished the challenge of pitting his wits against the criminally inclined – after all, wasn't that why he'd gone into the police force in the first place?

Did it make him an unfit father, though? His mind came back obstinately to his greatest anxiety and he sat up and punched his pillow to make it more comfortable. The room felt stuffy, and the sounds of hospital life from beyond the door were irritating him. He threw off the thin sheet that covered him and shifted his position.

‘Daniel?'

At some point he must have slept because at the sound of his name he opened his eyes to find Hilary in the room, clad in a bright-green, frog-print sweater and bearing a Tupperware box and an armful of magazines. Someone had been in to draw the blinds over a darkening window, and a cup of cold tea stood on the bedside unit.

‘How are you feeling? I thought you might like some sausage rolls. What I remember of hospital food doesn't fill me with longing to repeat the experience.'

‘My dear, you're an angel in disguise,' Daniel said, sitting up. ‘I'm fine, thanks, apart from a bit of a headache. If they can't find any other reason to keep me here, I should be going home tomorrow – well, to Fred and Meg's, anyway.'

‘You know you're always welcome at the farm, don't you?' Hilary said, putting her offerings down on the cabinet by his bed before tipping the cold tea down the nearby sink. ‘I'm hoping the girls will be coming to stay for a while when social services get their act together.'

‘Thank you. That's very kind. Have you had a busy day, or is the weather still bad?'

‘There's been a bit more snow on the moor and I had several cancellations, so I decided to phone the others and take the day off.'

‘You? A day off? I don't believe it,' Daniel stated.

‘Well, I did. What's more, I've had a brilliant afternoon making a new friend. I hope you don't mind, but I've brought him along.'

Daniel pursed his lips, shrugged and shook his head, slightly mystified, as without waiting for his answer, Hilary went to the door and stepped outside.

‘Dad?'

Suddenly, impossibly, Hilary had gone and it was Drew who stood there.

For a long moment, Daniel just stared, wondering if something the nurse had given him was making him hallucinate.

But it was Drew. Thinner than he remembered and pale, with dark smudges under his eyes, giving his face an unhappy, strained look, he stood just inside the door waiting for Daniel to say something.

‘Drew! How . . . ? I mean, what are you doing here? No, scrap that,' he said, finally pulling himself together. ‘Get over here and give me a hug – if you want to, that is . . .'

The boy needed no second invitation.

‘Oh, Dad,' he muttered into Daniel's shoulder. ‘I've been
so
unhappy. Then Hilary came with the paper. I knew you couldn't have run away before. You weren't afraid. Not you.'

Daniel frowned. ‘Who said I was afraid? What of?'

‘The boys at school. Chris Johnson mainly, but then the others all joined in. He said a girl got killed 'cos you were afraid to tackle a knifeman and then no one wanted to work with you. He said that was why you were thrown out of the police. I didn't want to believe him, but he said he heard his mum and dad talking . . .'

Chris Johnson, Jono's boy.
Thanks for that, mate.

‘So then I asked Mum if it was true.'

‘And she said?' Daniel noted that Drew had dropped the first-name habit.

‘She just said we'd talk about it when I was older and then changed the subject.' Drew took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘Then when Hilary brought the newspaper saying how you saved that girl from the bog and that you were a hero, I knew there was no way the other stuff could've been true.'

‘It's my fault. I should have told you what really happened at the time, but it's complicated and I never dreamed you'd find out like this. I'm sorry, Drew.'

A few minutes later, Hilary looked in.

‘Is everything OK?' Then, as she took in the scene, ‘Ah . . . right. I'll go and fetch a cup of coffee, shall I? And a hot choco-late for Drew?'

‘Before you go,' Daniel said over his son's head, ‘tell me just how you managed to get Amanda to agree to this. Assuming you did. Or did you just kidnap him? And how, come to that, did you even know where to find him?'

‘I'd tell you, but I wouldn't want to get Tom into trouble,' Hilary said with a twinkle. ‘And as for Amanda, well, she came with us, didn't she, Drew? She's in the café along the corridor as we speak. In fact, why don't you go and fetch her, Drew?'

After the boy left the room, Daniel said incredulously, ‘I don't believe you!
Amanda's here?
Not through any concern for my wellbeing, I know that much.'

‘Well, no, not exactly. I went to Taunton with the idea of having a chat with Drew – just to see if I couldn't straighten things out. You see, I knew it must be a misunderstanding of some kind. Anyway, I found Drew on his own, so I showed him that picture of you and me together – you remember, the one Katya took – and he kindly invited me in.

‘We had a little chat – quite a long chat, actually – in fact, Drew and I even had time for some lunch before Amanda turned up. Rather a long time for an eight-year-old to be on his own – especially when there might be a custody case in the offing – wouldn't you say?' Hilary added with a wink. ‘At first Amanda wasn't sure that Drew should come and see you, but after we discussed it, I found her surprisingly amenable.'

‘Mrs McEwen-Smith, you are wasted as a riding instructor!' Daniel exclaimed. ‘The legal profession is crying out for people like you.'

‘And you, Mr Whelan, are wasted as a truck driver!' she retorted.

After a moment, Drew returned, bearing a sticky cake in one hand.

‘Mum says she'll come in a minute,' he reported, then looked across at Hilary. ‘Can I please keep this hoodie? It's cool.'

Daniel glanced down and was met with the spectacle of a Tyrannosaurus rex in full roar.

‘It was always a little bit small for me,' Hilary said, a touch defensively. ‘I thought he might like it.'

Daniel groaned. ‘My God, woman! What have you started?'