Somewhere to Hide (The Estate, Book 1) (39 page)

Absent-mindedly, she picked up the greetings card standing on the window sill. On the front was a sepia picture of a young boy and girl. They were holding hands and walking along a dusty lane into the distance. She opened it and read the message written inside.

‘TO BECKY, HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELF LAST NIGHT. HA, HA. LOVE A.’

 Cathy’s shoulders suddenly relaxed. This Austin, whoever he was, didn’t sound like he was a deranged victim if he wrote messages like that. He obviously cared enough to buy a card in the first instance and it was some kind of joke they were sharing.

Then images of other words flew across the front of her mind.

‘I’M WATCHING YOU.’

‘YOU WILL NEVER BE SAFE.’

Cathy rushed downstairs to the kitchen. She pulled out the notes that Kevin had sent to Liz and looked at them carefully. Her hand covered her mouth as the reality sunk in.

‘I’M COMING AFTER YOU.’

‘STINKING WHORE.’

The handwriting on the card sent to Becky was the same as the handwriting on the notes. She’d – no, everyone – had thought that Kevin McIntyre was responsible for them. Everyone had thought they were meant for Liz.

Austin had written the card. Austin had written the notes. But he’d sent that card to Becky with affection so the notes couldn’t have been meant for her. Now she knew they weren’t meant for Liz, could they have been for Jess? But Jess didn’t really know Austin so why would he watch her?

She sat down with a thud at the table. Again she read the notes.

‘I’M WATCHING YOU.’

‘YOU WILL NEVER BE SAFE.’

‘I’M COMING AFTER YOU.’

‘STINKING WHORE.’

Cathy cast her mind back to the strange goings-on over the past few months. Her car had been vandalised. When the house was burgled, she had automatically thought it was Cheryl. But the only thing smashed up had been a photograph of her and Rich – maybe Cheryl’s bedroom had been trashed to make it look like it had been one of the girls. Could it have been Austin? Then there were the notes. 

Today’s date was the fifteenth of August.

It all fitted into place.

The messages were meant for her.

‘Jess!’ Cathy barged into her room. ‘Wake up! I need to talk to you.’

‘I’m awake,’ Jess shouted through from the bathroom. ‘I’ve been up ages actually. I’m going into town to –’

‘Becky didn’t come home last night.’

Jess opened the door. ‘What?’

‘I’ve texted her and rung her but there’s been no reply.’ Cathy paused to catch her breath. ‘Have you any idea where she would be? Please, Jess. This is no time to think you’re betraying a trust. I need to know.’

‘Austin’s squatting in the White Lion.’

A look of fury crossed Cathy’s face. ‘You knew where she was and you didn’t tell me!’

‘I didn’t know she wouldn’t come home!’ Jess looked on sheepishly.

‘Okay.’ Cathy tried to hide her panic. ‘I’m going over to look for her.’

‘I’ll come with you.’

‘No, I need you to stay here in case she comes back.’ She wiggled her mobile phone in her hand. ‘Will you ring me straight away if she does?’

Jess nodded. ‘I’m sorry. Becky’s grown up so much lately that I thought she could handle herself.’

‘I’m sorry too, for snapping at you.’ Cathy gave her a reassuring hug. ‘We all make mistakes,’ she added, praying that her one big mistake wasn’t about to catch up with her.

‘Anyone home?’ Matt waved his hand in front of Josie’s face to get her attention. ‘What’s up with you? You’re miles away.’

Josie looked up with a frown. She was listening to a voicemail on her office phone.

‘Cathy’s left me a message to say she’ll be late for this morning’s session. Becky didn’t come home last night. She reckons she’s out with that lad she’s been hanging around with.’

Matt raised his chin in recognition. ‘That Austin fella? I saw her with him last week. He was in a clapped-out Vauxhall. I remember when I had one of those back in the days. I added extras to make it look like an SR. Can you remember those, Josie?’ He paused. ‘I’m not helping, am I?’

But Josie didn’t seem to be listening. ‘Matt, have you and Cathy ever discussed her past?’

‘I know she was widowed three years ago and I know about the baby that she gave up for adoption, if that’s what you mean.’

Josie smiled. ‘She’s trusting you, then?’

‘She was upset the other night because it’s his birthday this week.’

‘Did she tell you that she’d tried to make contact with him?’

‘Yes. And that he didn’t want anything to do with her. I wish he’d give her a chance. He’d love the Cathy we know, despite her mistake. And she was only young. Surely he can’t hold that against her?’

Josie ran her hands through her hair and then rested her chin in her palms. ‘Something’s not right. I just can’t put my finger on it.’

Matt smiled. ‘You really care for her, don’t you?’

Josie nodded. ‘I care for them all. They’re like my extended family.’ Suddenly Josie sat upright. ‘Oh fuck!’

Matt looked on in bewilderment.

‘I’m not sure but I think Cathy could be in danger. And if Becky didn’t come home…’ Josie picked up her car keys. ‘I’m going over to Cathy’s.’

‘Wait, I’m coming too,’ said Matt.

Becky hadn’t got a clue what time it was but she reckoned that it must be morning. The room was a tiny bit lighter and she could see more than the shadows, which didn’t help in the slightest. Every part of her body felt stiff from sitting in the same position for hours. Behind the double doors that led through to the kitchen, she could hear Austin banging about. Every now and then he’d come out, pick up a couple of stools and take them back into the room. When he next appeared, she tried to talk to him. She said the first thing that came into her head.

‘Austin, I need to pee.’

‘You’re not getting me on that one. That’s the oldest trick in the book. Even if there was a working loo, you’d only try and do a runner.’

‘But, please, I –’

‘Piss in your pants,’ he told her cruelly without even looking her way. ‘I had to do that loads of times when I was young. My foster brother used to tie me up in a chair and keep me there for hours.’

He disappeared into the back room again with another stool in each hand. Becky’s eyes were sore. One of them was swollen now but she could still see out of it. In desperation, she glanced around the room. She couldn’t see anything sharp except for the knife on the bar but she’d never reach that. She couldn’t even stand up because her feet were tied together. One slight move and she’d topple over. That was the last thing she needed to do, to rouse his suspicion.

The double doors banged open again and Austin reappeared. Dust was smeared down his face and his shirt had dirty marks down its front. Much to Becky’s dismay, the gun was tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

‘Everything’s in position now,’ he said. He held his arms up high as if saluting the air. ‘Just one more thing to fetch until Mummy dear shows up.’ He checked his watch. ‘Not long now, I’m sure. She’s bound to work things out soon.’

‘What time is it?’ Becky asked.

Austin switched on the CD player that she’d given him last night. As the music pumped out its beat, he turned it up louder and louder until the bass reverberated around the room.

‘It’s party time!’ he shouted. ‘And now for my party trick.’

He ran out of the room, laughing like a hyena. He was back moments later with a canister in each hand. He raised them high in the air before twirling round, letting the liquid pour out and splash over everything around him. As some dropped into Becky’s lap, she let out a scream.

It was petrol.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Cathy pulled up erratically in the car park of the White Lion and scrambled out of her car. She glanced at the metal sheeting covering the windows and doors but couldn’t see any clear way in. She raced around the back. As she got nearer to the building, she heard the music. For a split second, she thought the pub had re-opened. But then she heard a scream. She pulled her mobile phone from her pocket and dialled Andy’s number. As she waited for him to answer, she heard another scream. Shit: his phone went through to voicemail. There was no time to call anyone else. She would have to go inside.

At the first bay window, she ran her hands over the metal sheeting but couldn’t feel anything out of place. She tried the next bay window: nothing there either. On the third attempt, she was almost in tears with frustration when she noticed the jemmied corner. She climbed up onto the thin window ledge and pulled it up. The glass had been smashed, scattered over the seating inside. She stepped in carefully. Then she froze. Although she didn’t know what he looked like, she was half expecting Austin to be waiting there with an axe, ready to chop her head off. But there was no one there.

Her heart racing in time to the music’s upbeat tempo, she edged towards its source. It took every ounce of courage but when she got to a door, she peeped through the tiny diamond window at the top. Knowing the layout of the pub having been there many times before it closed, she knew it was the lounge. In the dim light, she could make out a few tables and chairs, a long forgotten dartboard hanging forlornly over on the far wall. Then she saw Becky. Her back towards her, she was sitting on a chair, another empty one beside her. Cathy could see her hands tied behind her back. There was a man standing over her, waving his hands around. From where she stood, he seemed to be dancing. Her breath came in shallow bursts. For the first time ever, she was looking at her son.

She moved away from the door, hoping to calm herself while she thought what to do next. Should she just walk in and announce her presence? But what would he do when he saw her?

Should she go and get help or could she talk to him, see if he would let Becky go?

Would he hurt Becky?

Cathy held back a sob as she realised she had no idea how he would react. She’d never spoken to him; she didn’t know anything about him. She couldn’t judge his character.

But it was Becky who decided for her. When Cathy heard her screaming again, she pushed open the door.

‘She isn’t here,’ Jess told Josie and Matt as they came down the path towards her. ‘I took Chloe to her friend’s house and when I came back there was still no sign of her. What shall I do?’

‘We haven’t come about Becky.’ Josie moved past her. ‘It’s Cathy we need to talk to. Is she in?’

‘I meant Cathy.’ Jess frowned. ‘What’s going on?’

Josie had no time to answer questions. ‘Do you know where she was heading?’  

‘The White Lion.’

‘But it’s boarded up.’

‘Austin broke in. Becky told me he’s been sleeping rough in there.’

‘Shit!’ Josie paused. ‘Did Becky mention anything else about him?’

‘She told me he’d been abandoned at birth; that he hated his mother. She said –’

‘It’s him!’ said Matt.

Josie nodded. ‘He’s holding Becky because he knows that Cathy will go looking for her.’

‘What’s going on?’ Jess repeated. ‘Tell me! I need –’

Josie held up a hand in dismissal and spoke to Matt. ‘What if I was wrong about Kevin McIntyre beating you up? What if it was Austin and he was warning you against seeing Cathy?’

Matt gulped. ‘If you’re right, then Austin is out to hurt Cathy, maybe Becky too. We need to get to them quickly.’ He disappeared down the path towards his car.

‘You think he’s going to hurt them?’ said Jess. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘I – I can’t tell you,’ said Josie, not wanting to betray Cathy. ‘I’m going with Matt. You wait here until –’

 ‘I’m coming with you.’

‘No. I need you to –’

‘I’m not staying behind again. They’re all I have! I have to know if they’re all right.’

‘But I want you on standby in case we have to call for backup from the police.’

‘The police! You don’t think –’

‘Come on, Josie,’ Matt urged her. ‘We need to move fast.’

‘I’ll wait outside,’ said Jess, ‘and if I don’t hear from you in ten minutes, I can ring the police on my mobile. But I’m not staying here.’

Josie nodded and they ran to catch up with Matt. Within seconds, they were speeding towards the White Lion.

When Austin spotted Cathy walking into the room, he ran to switch off the music. It left an eerie silence bouncing around the walls. He held out his arms as if to welcome her.  

‘I knew you’d come.’ He smiled as if happy to see her. ‘You’ve remembered what day it is.’

Cathy couldn’t speak. She was mesmerised by the man standing in front of her. His dark hair, his medium build, his good looks in a devil-may-care sense, the scar down the side of his face. A carbon copy of her eyes stared at her but on him, they looked mean, moody and menacing. In dismay, she noticed his long fingers curled around the handle of a gun. Tears sprang to her eyes. She wanted to reach out to him, but she knew it would be too antagonistic.