When Night Closes in (19 page)

Sally stepped into the shower and turned on the tap. The water gushed, warm and steamy, running sensuously between her breasts and down her belly. It was too bad when the shower gave her more of a thrill than the guy she was going to bed with.

Still, her face became dreamy, there were other pebbles on the beach. Take that DI Lainey, he was a man and a half. It would not do to let Lowri know she was attracted to him, though. Lowri seemed to think Lainey was her own private bodyguard.

Later, when she was dressed, Sally looked at her watch. It was too early to go home. Perhaps she should stop at one of the pubs on the way. It was about time she dropped Timmy and found someone more worthy of her.

‘I think I'll have an early night.' She picked up her back and her jacket and Timmy looked at her, agreeing at once.

‘Yes, go on home, you look bushed.'

‘Gee, thanks!' She moved to the door, immediately suspicious, wondering what Timmy was up to. ‘Are you going out?'

He shook his head. ‘I doubt it.' He kissed her cheek. ‘Sorry I can't offer to drive you home but I don't want to risk a ban.' He picked up the empty bottle of wine and shook it as if to prove his point.

‘No problem,' Sally said. ‘Just ring for a taxi, will you, love?'

Timmy did so with alacrity and Sally looked at him sharply. ‘Are you up to something, Timmy?'

He was the picture of innocence as he replaced the receiver. ‘Me? What could I be up to? I can't drive anywhere, remember?'

She shrugged. ‘I'll believe you, thousands wouldn't.'

As Sally sat in the taxi heading for the other side of town she put Timmy out of her mind. She had no trouble forgetting him – he was eminently forgettable. She might have thought differently if she had waited to see him slip out of the building, his car keys jangling in his hand.

It was crowded in the pub, the lounge filled with young people. The volume of the taped music, combined with the sounds of laughter and chatter, gave the room a party atmosphere.

She walked purposefully up to the bar. ‘Any of the boys been in?' she asked the barmaid. The girl shook her head and her blonde pony-tail bobbed.

‘I don't think they're coming here tonight. Sorry, got customers to serve.'

The girl disappeared and Sally ordered a drink from the eager-looking barman, who had eyes only for her cleavage. This was what she was used to, and she flashed him a smile and a glimpse of leg as she climbed onto the bar-stool.

She finished her drink and ordered another glass of wine, staring at the group of people coming through the door. A tall figure of a man detached himself from the crowd; the cow of a barmaid had lied. Sally began to smile.

‘Well, Matthew, if you are taking me home tonight then I'm a very happy girl!'

Lowri sat at her desk and rubbed her temples. It was so stuffy in the office that she could feel a headache coming on. She thought of opening a window but she knew Sally would protest at the draught. It was either too cold or too hot in the office; there seemed no happy medium, and the air-conditioning had finally given out.

She rested her head in her hands and thought of Lainey's visit. He had raised her hopes, claiming he had something to tell her. He had sat in her little room and talked about Jon, about false passports, about the possibility of someone posing as Jon. It became clear that the police were no nearer to finding him than they had been before.

Lowri picked up her bag and rummaged in its untidy depths, hoping to find some painkillers. She was unlucky. ‘Damn! No pills, just when I've got the mother of all headaches coming on.'

‘I've got some,' Sally looked up from her computer screen, ‘in my bag there. Hang on, I'll get them for you.'

Lowri took the tablets and thanked her. ‘I'll just pop in the Ladies and get some water,' she said. It was cooler in the rest room, as it was euphemistically called. The windows were open and Lowri breathed in the cold air gratefully. She helped herself to water and swallowed the pills before sinking onto the one seat that had been provided for the comfort of women employees.

She would have to talk to Mr Watson again, ask his advice. He was wise and cool-headed and would offer an objective viewpoint on the whole sorry mess. He might even be able to get something out of the police. First Ken Major and then Lainey had raised her hopes, only to dash them again.

But she could not speak to Mr Watson today. He was away, in the country, a trip he did every few weeks or so. Sally claimed he had a girlfriend tucked away somewhere. Lowri's face softened. Even old Mr Watson had the right to his private life, his own secrets.

Sally looked up as Lowri returned to the office, her face grim. ‘There's been a phone call for you, your mum I think. She wants you to ring her back as soon as poss.'

‘Thanks, Sally.' Lowri picked up the phone and dialled the number of the house in Summer's Dean. It was Charles who answered. Lowri asked to speak to her mother.

‘Your mother is out for the day, I haven't seen her since breakfast-time.' The phone went dead.

‘She's out,' Lowri said and Sally shrugged.

‘Then she couldn't have been ringing from home, could she?' She paused and examined her nails. ‘Want to go out tonight?'

‘Why, have you fixed me up with Ken again?'

‘Well, yes, but I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself.'

‘All right, I'd love to come.' It would give her the opportunity to ask Ken what exactly he knew about Jon. ‘Can you pick me up?'

‘Sorry, my car's sick,' Sally said, ‘I hoped you'd drive.'

‘No problem,' Lowri said.

‘That's settled then.'

Later, as Lowri drove home through the evening traffic, she wondered if she should tackle Sally as well as Ken. It was becoming increasingly clear that Sally knew more about Jon than she was letting on. It seemed quite possible that she had stayed at the Swan Hotel with him at some time. It was a mystery what Jon would see in Sally, though, she was hardly the big-business tycoon, she had little money and even less brainpower. Or was the dumb-blonde routine simply an act?

‘Lowri my girl,' she said out loud, ‘you are becoming a bitter and twisted woman!' She showered and put on her dressing-gown, made a cup of tea and some toast and sat in front of the gas fire.

It was colder now, with a bite of winter in the air, but the hot tea and the warmth of the fire cheered her. She was even looking forward to the challenge of a night out with Sally and the boys. Lowri wondered what to wear. Should she be the vamp with the hope of coaxing some information out of Ken or Matthew or should she simply be businesslike and tough? She shrugged; it was a gamble either way.

The phone rang and Lowri rose in one supple movement, half expecting the call to be from Sally, but it was Timmy's voice that came over the wire.

‘Hi, what can I do for you?' Lowri said. There was a long silence and then she heard Timmy clear his throat. It sounded as if he had been crying.

‘It's Sally, I think she's had enough of me, we've had an awful row.' Lowri could almost feel his unhappiness.

‘She's probably just in a mood. She'll come round.'

‘I've tried to get hold of her but she's not answering her phone. And I know she's had her eye on another chap for some time.'

‘She didn't say anything about you at work today,' Lowri said.

‘She's probably keeping it for tonight, you know the sort of thing, women enjoy complaining about how awful we men are,' he said woefully.

‘Maybe,' Lowri said, making a face at herself in the small mirror hanging in the hall. She looked pale, she noticed, and there were shadows under her eyes.

‘What if I speak to her, see what she has to say about you. Is that any good?' Lowri felt the cold of the floor beneath her feet and winced, rubbing one foot against her leg in an attempt to bring life back into her toes. ‘I'm picking her up later.'

‘What time?'

‘Oh, about seven thirty, eight o'clock, why?'

‘Just wondering. Right then, you've got my number haven't you?'

‘Better give it to me again. Hang on, I'll get a pen.' Lowri scribbled the number on the corner of the TV magazine. ‘OK, I'll speak to you later.'

Back in the sitting-room she pulled a chair nearer the fire and put her make-up bag on it. She shivered, perhaps she was getting a cold. Or perhaps she was just becoming a nervous wreck.

As she outlined her eyebrows and padded shadow onto her lids she tried to rehearse what she would say to Sally. How could she begin?

Look, I know there's something you're hiding from me, Sally. No, that sounded like a jealous lover. How about: come clean, I know what'sgoing on here and I want you to tell me about it or I'll go to the police. That sounded weak, pathetic, like a character in an old film. And if Matthew chanced to hear her, he would just laugh and remind her he
was
the police.

She dressed warmly and comfortably in black trousers and a black polo-neck sweater and brushed her hair until it shone. At last she could procrastinate no longer, it was time to go and pick up Sally.

It was cold in the Mazda. Lowri shivered as she settled herself in the driving seat and put the key into the ignition. She wondered why she felt such a reluctance to start the car, was she really so afraid of facing Sally? Or was she more afraid of what she might hear about Jon?

The roads were clear as she drove away from the house. A light rain had begun to fall and cursing her luck Lowri turned on the wipers; she hated driving in the rain. The lights of the oncoming cars dazzled her and for a moment she panicked. She drew the car into the kerb and leaned on the wheel, wondering if she should simply turn around and go home.

A woman walking a dog came towards the car and knocked on the window. Lowri wound it down.

‘Are you all right, dear?' The woman had a scarf tied tightly around her head. She was plump and homely, her eyes crinkled in concern.

‘Yes, I'm fine.' Lowri forced a smile. ‘I just don't like driving in the rain, stupid of me I know but there it is.'

‘Oh well, my late husband was the same, dear, mind you he had bad eyes. You got bad eyes, have you?'

‘No, no.' Lowri began to wind up the window and hesitated. ‘Thank you for your concern but I'd better get on, I'm meeting my friend and I'm late already. Have you got the time by any chance?'

The woman consulted the watch on her plump wrist, holding up her arm to catch the light from the street lamp. ‘Just past eight. You take care then and next time it rains, take a taxi.' The woman's face broke into a broad smile. ‘You're so nice and there's me thinking all you modern young girls so brazen, frightened of nothing.'

‘Ah but I'm past twenty-five, not really so young any more,' Lowri said, slipping the car into gear. The woman's smile widened.

‘You're just a little chick compared to me, now go on out and enjoy yourself, make the most of it, that's my advice.'

Lowri felt more cheerful as she joined the broken line of traffic heading along the rain-swept street. She squared her shoulders. She had never been a moral coward and she did not intend to start being one now. She would tackle Sally first; she would be alone and perhaps more ready to talk. ‘Nothing like hoping!'

The sound of her own voice made Lowri feel lonely and she turned on the radio. Music filled the car, loud, with no melody, only an insistent head-throbbing beat. She switched it off impatiently.

At last she drew up outside the end house in the terrace where Sally lived. Lowri switched off the engine and climbed out of the Mazda. As she walked up the path she saw light spilling out from the open front door.

Lowri knocked and waited. There was no sound from inside. Somewhere a dog barked; the noise was lonely, mournful on the still, misty air. She knocked again, louder this time. The door swung wider and she stepped inside.

‘Sally, are you in?' There was no answer.

‘It's me,' Lowri called. She moved further into the hallway. ‘Are you there, Sal?' She hesitated and then went towards the living-room. It was empty, though the lights were on, and the images on the mute television screen mouthed unintelligible words. Sally must have become tired of waiting for her. But there was an eerie, empty feel about the place.

‘Sally, where are you?' Her voice was shaky – she was suddenly very frightened. She should pull herself together – she was falling apart, imagining things.

She walked back into the hallway and looked around her, wondering what to do. Perhaps Sally had just slipped out for a moment, gone next door on some errand. Though even as she stood there, Lowri knew that was a remote possibility. Sally was always raring to go out – it was a wonder she had not been standing on the step waiting for Lowri to turn up.

She headed for the door at the end of the hallway. It was closed and from inside, Lowri heard the sound of the kettle coming to the boil. She sighed in relief. Sally was in the kitchen, no doubt making one of her endless cups of coffee while she waited.

‘Sally, didn't you hear me calling?' Lowri pushed open the door just as the kettle clicked off. The room was empty, the back door swinging wide, letting in the cold. ‘Sally?'

Lowri moved towards the back garden. ‘Sally!' The garden was small, nowhere to hide, Sally was not out there.

‘Sally, where are you?'

A dog began to bark in response to her voice and quickly, Lowri went inside and pulled the door shut. ‘Sally?' She looked around, wondering what she should do next. Perhaps she should check upstairs.

The bedrooms were in darkness but Lowri switched on the lights, all of them, and looked in each of the three small rooms. Everything seemed normal, nothing was out of place. In spite of the open doors, nothing in the house had been smashed or vandalized.

Could Sally have gone out and forgotten to close the doors? It did not seem likely. She ran back downstairs into the living-room and noticed Sally's coat and bag were on the chair. Sally would never go anywhere without her stock of make-up and it was far too cold to leave her coat behind.