The Vineyard (32 page)

It didn’t take more than ten minutes to drink up their coffees but at least Lizzie was calmer so Sophie paid their bill and they returned to the Rue Antibes salon. Jean-Luc was standing over the bench watching in awe as Annatia sketched over the drawings. Lizzie and Sophie gathered behind them and were soon equally entranced as they glanced over to discover that the drawings had completely come to life. The etchings on the paper had become three dimensional and, seeing their enthusiasm, Annatia explained the detail in the changes and how the space could be worked more effectively with, she assured them, a stylish finish. She then gave them suggestions for materials which could work better. ‘You may be able to get the materials changed with your supplier if you have ordered them, but the tiles I suggest will look classier I promise and be less expensive.’

‘Wow,’ Lizzie and she and Sophie looked at one another approvingly. ‘That is amazing. Thank you.’ Lizzie enthused, absolutely delighted. ‘And, I also owe you an apology for running out like that.’

‘No, don’t apologise,’ Annatia said in a more confident tone than earlier. Twisting her hair and licking her lips, she said, ‘Cal explained to me that you have lots to worry about at the moment. Your mother, I’m sorry to hear she isn’t well. I don’t think Cal is necessarily a natural at introductions.’

‘Oh but I must have appeared so rude,’ Lizzie replied holding both cheeks in horror of her behaviour.

Annatia smiled, encouragingly gracious about it all. ‘I’m really glad he introduced us – I love what you’re creating here and am so pleased to give some input.’ Annatia slicked back her smooth dark hair. ‘I would like to build my business here in Cannes too. It is such a natural choice for me, so if I can have some input here, if you don’t mind, when the work is complete, I would like some images for my website and portfolio.’ Annatia pulled out a second sheet from under the first and continued to make more sketches of the first floor.

‘Well, it appears to be a great idea so far. Sophie?’

‘You don’t need to ask me. Go ahead,’ Sophie said.

‘This is now your business too, so you will have input,’ Lizzie told her in a schoolmarm tone. Then she turned to her builder who was now staring blankly at the dynamics of the group of women before him. ‘Are you ok with these?’ she asked him. Can you work with the tiles Annatia suggests?’

‘Will we go much over budget?’ he said.

‘Well, I will check later but, it seems we’ll save on budget.’

‘They will be less expensive than what you have listed,’ Annatia confirmed, pointing to the print out, ‘much more stylish and put up with a lot more wear than what you had originally and I’m sure you should save at least twenty per cent.’

‘Well, a no brainer then. I have to say, I have been on a roller coaster today.’ Lizzie gave a big sigh ‘There are ups as well as downs – I was beginning to wonder if I wasn’t just sliding one way down the longest cliff on earth. Thanks Annatia. I can’t wait to see it all come together.’

Annatia completed the first floor etchings, again in three dimensions and relayed her ideas which the rest of them found fascinating. It was almost two hours that had gone by. Annatia’s telephone rang. ‘Hi Cal, yes. I am still here. It has gone very well. It is very exciting. I will see you soon,’ she told him then sliding her phone into her jeans pocket looked up. ‘Cal is going to walk along with Charles. Jez is now with them. He says they’re all hungry.’

‘Well why don’t you guys go for a drink and a bite to eat. I need to get back,’ Lizzie said.

‘Yes. I need to get home too,’ Jean-Luc said, rolling up his new set of drawings. ‘I shall be here at eight in the morning. Bon soir ladies.’

‘Why don’t you come and have a quick bite to eat Lizzie. It will do you good,’ Sophie insisted.

‘I want to get back to Thierry.’ Lizzie got her keys out to lock up the shop and as she did so her phone rang. It was Marie-Claire. ‘Hi, are…?’ she said then her eyes sprang out from their sockets and her jaw dropped in horror. ‘I’m on my way – I’ll call the police.’ She threw the salon keys down and ran for her life, phone to her ear. Sophie picked them up and checked doors and lights before she addressed Annatia as she locked the salon main door.

‘Sounds like trouble. Will you be ok here?’ she said, leaving Annatia outside the door. ‘The boys won’t be long. I’m going after Lizzie.’

‘Fine, yes go.’ Annatia waved her off feeling helpless.

Chapter 35

‘Let him go!’ Lizzie screamed as Anton gripped Thierry under his arm. He hovered as stunned as she was frozen at the bottom of the stairs. As Lizzie stepped forward a burly man, dressed in black, stamped a huge boot in her path and reached for her arm. ‘Don’t touch me,’ she thundered, almost losing her balance and slamming back into the door. ‘Anton please, you must let him down. You have no idea how it will…aargh,’ the man in black tugged at her small frame and threw himself on to her, and as he bounced off, God knows where her strength came from but as she screamed ‘get off you…’ she heaved a kick with all her might right into his crotch so hard he squealed away doubled up in agony. Lizzie fell backwards with the force, almost on the floor, but managed to quickly correct her balance. She glanced eagerly back at Thierry, his eyes wide with fright pleading for her, so scared, his little arms reaching for her, his little legs wildly kicking the air, missing his captor. Lizzie sprinted towards them.

Sweat oozed from Anton’s face as he held his victim to his chest. Thierry was squeezed around the waist with one hand and Anton held up his palm with the other.

‘Get back,’ he said. ‘You’ll get hurt.’ The man in black was making for her again and Lizzie just managed to dodge him, and before she could reach Thierry, Marie-Claire hurtled down the staircase behind Anton. Lizzie gawped as Marie-Claire lunged at him from behind, both arms thrusting, and ‘CRASH!’, thick green shards of glass scattered around the side of his head. Without hesitation Lizzie caught Thierry as Anton stumbled, then collapsed to the floor. Lizzie felt like she was in a scene from an American gangster film. Marie-Claire ran to Lizzie and Thierry and grabbed the boy again as Lizzie instinctively kicked out again at the man in black with every ounce of strength she could muster. Before he could regain his balance, she spun round and dashed like hell for the door. ‘Quick,’ she said, almost on top of Marie-Claire and Thierry. As Lizzie grabbed the door the three of them were flung back with brutish force as two uniformed police surged in and immediately seized the man in black. Again Lizzie pulled the door back and they shot outside, stopped to Lizzie’s relief, by more police. Police with guns ready. Gasping for breath, Lizzie pointed to the stairs, and Anton’s body.

‘Grab them. They’re trying to take my child,’ she screamed. ‘Hold on to him,’ she ordered, this time directing her finger to the man in black, and then dared to peek at Anton as the police checked for signs of movement.

‘Ok. We have them,’ one officer replied. ‘Was it just the two?’

‘Yes,’ Marie-Claire confirmed as Lizzie pulled Thierry from her arms.

‘Are you ok sweetheart?’ she said, clutching her son. ‘You, Marie-Claire?’ and she pulled her close. ‘Thank you, thank you,’ she said as her emotions spilled into tears. Both were shaking.

‘Please, tell us what happened?’ One of the officers, ushered them back inside.

They re-entered and stayed close to the door, seeing the horror of the motionless, bloody body at the foot of the stairs. Lizzie gripped Thierry until he could only just about breathe. Marie-Claire clung on beside her, her face ashen.

‘You did what you had to do,’ Lizzie assured Marie-Claire, the tears still trickling down her cheeks. The first police officer was still with the body on the floor feeling for a pulse and speaking on his radio. Lizzie passed Thierry to Marie-Claire and instructed her to take her child upstairs to safety. But as Marie-Claire stepped forward, an officer stopped her, raising his arm.

‘You wait,’ he said. Not sure what to do next, Lizzie was comforted knowing her son was now safe but she then asked, ‘We would prefer the child not to be here. Can’t we take him upstairs? My apartment is on the top floor. You can speak to us up there.’ And she stared down at Thierry’s menacing father. She went to step forward but her legs wobbled and she knelt down quickly to stabilise herself. A sharp pain shot through her knee. Shakily, she rose again and began to put one foot in front of the other like an infant taking its first step. She must have kicked that man so hard, she could feel her knee pulsating and swelling.

‘One minute,’ said the officer. As she peered nauseously over at the man in black, the officer handcuffed him. Another official came into the foyer, the policeman spoke to him. He was plain-clothed and got out a camera and began photographing the scene and Anton. Again, she dared to gaze down the floor by the stairs. Anton’s body still didn’t move. Blood stained his face and hair and trickled around his ear and down his neck. The designer cream silk shirt was now soiled by the same red fluid and shards of thick green glass were sprayed around the area. She should have felt pity, but she couldn’t. He looked dead but she didn’t care. The sight of him made her want to vomit. Her head went hot while her body shivered then her head began to spin and dizziness took over and suddenly she saw black...

When she came round, the room was blurred with just some cloud-like shapes around her. A panic set in as voices mushed in her ears and then an image of men in black swirled around the cloud shapes, then her mind began to clear and in a blink, jerked back to reality.

‘Where’s Thierry?’ her voice screeched.

‘Gone with Marie-Claire upstairs and a police officer,’ someone informed her. Her teeth began to chatter. A cover was over her body and she could feel her head rested on a something soft, her hair was being stroked and a familiar soothing voice was telling her she was ok. It was Sophie. Sophie was with her, holding her. A man was asking questions now and Sophie was telling the officer Anton’s name ‘D’Aramitz’ and explaining he was an ex-boyfriend of Lizzie’s and she was telling them he’d attempted to abduct the child.

Cal couldn’t take his eyes off her as she lay on Sophie’s lap. He knelt down next to her and surveyed her as her eyes twitched, blinked open and her awareness re-orientated. He observed the panic in her as she licked those soft pink lips after a gasp. He was relieved as she stirred awake. His eyes anxiously scanned her face and body for any signs of blood or bruising and then again searched achingly into her eyes. He screwed up his face, scolding himself for not being there to protect her. Was she really ok? God, this could have so easily been her lying there instead of Anton. He rubbed his forehead with force at the thought. He had seen trauma before – being in combat as well as preparing for it taught you much about human fragility. She must have experienced one almighty shock, worse than any scenes of horror he’d witnessed. Anton really was an absolute bastard. She had, against all odds, physically survived, she and Thierry. They would however, both suffer a huge mental bruise. How could he have not been here for her?

His instinct was to sweep her up in his arms and never ever let her go. She looked so vulnerable yet she had been so strong. She didn’t deserve this. How was he going to explain this to Caroline? He felt he had really let them both down. Anton was not going to get away with this. Bloodied, Anton may be but Cal needed to make sure this evil mad man never got an opportunity like this again.

‘Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?’ his voice spoke to her softly but she didn’t answer. She bent her head forward and looked through Cal and at the front door.

‘Thierry.’ She squealed repeating herself. ‘Where is Thierry?’

‘Thierry’s ok. He’s with Marie-Claire. Upstairs.’ Sophie assured her, and then set her eyes on Cal. ‘She’s in shock.’

Fixing her eyes to the entrance, Lizzie vaguely made out Charles. He was speaking to another officer outside the door and ambulance sirens drew close.

‘Are you ok Lizzie, are you hurt?’ Cal urged again. ‘Did they hurt you?’

‘Where’s Thierry?’ she said again.

‘Upstairs with Marie-Claire,’ Cal said. ‘He’s safe, don’t worry. Are you hurt?’

Lizzie rolled her head, her eyes blinking. ‘I’m fine. Just shaken but Thierry is…’ her eyes shut for a few seconds as she fitted the thoughts back into place, ‘he’s upstairs with Marie-Claire but go and find them. They need help.’ Her senses were becoming clearer.

‘Can you talk about it Lizzie?’ Cal asked. ‘What happened?’

‘That bastard Anton.’ She rubbed her eyes. ‘I…’ Lizzie attempted to explain.

‘Lie still, Lizzie.’ Sophie caressed her friend’s face.

Cal gazed at her and asked the inevitable. ‘How did Anton…?’

‘Anton was on the stairs with Thierry…but then from behind the wall appeared arms and a Champagne bottle smashed on his head and I just remember Marie-Claire and Thierry…’

The ambulance crew rushed in. One of them dashed to Lizzie.

‘Is Mademoiselle ok,’ asked a medic.

‘Yes, I just fainted, check my son is alright,’ she straightened up further. ‘He’s upstairs, top.’

‘I’ll go with them, check Thierry and Marie-Claire are ok,’ Cal assured her. ‘I’ll need to step over…’ he looked at the body surrounded by blood and the officer who was now standing and addressing the paramedic crew. Cal skipped past.

‘So glad you are ok. The police stopped us outside. Fuck me you ran fast.’ Sophie said. ‘I thought I was virtually behind you and when I rounded the corner at Rue Antibes and up Rue Teisseire, you had disappeared.’

‘That’s not all!’ Lizzie swallowed hard now feeling rather proud of her accomplishment. ‘I just fought off that creep there, but bravo Marie-Claire fought Anton off, bless her.’

‘Clever girl! He doesn’t look well does he?’ Sophie murmured softly in Anton’s direction.

‘He shouldn’t with a whack like that but, do I care?’ Lizzie scoffed also trying not to be too loud. ‘Thank God for Marie-Claire.’

‘Sophie.’ Cal returned panting. ‘Can you go see Marie-Claire? She seems a bit shocked.’ ‘Bastard. I knew he would try something like this,’ he said bitterly. ‘It was just a case of when.’