A Family Scandal (22 page)

When the meal was ready at five o’clock, Tommy managed to eat his in double-quick time and then apologised to Mrs Hawkins before bending down to give Mavis a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll see you soon.’

Tommy hoped that was true, though he had no idea how long it would take to get to Alec Pugh’s chosen meeting spot, nor how long it would take the persuade the man. Still, he now had a clear idea of how far he could afford to go when he bargained with him. Whatever he ended up offering, it would be worth it. He’d already arranged for a taxi to pick him up and as he got into it, Tommy felt no regret that he hadn’t told Stan what he was doing. He’d thought it through and decided against it as he didn’t want to involve his friend more than he had to.

‘Marine Head, mate,’ he said. ‘Can we get there before six?’

The driver shrugged. ‘Depends on the traffic. Some days it’s better than others. People are still coming home from work. What’s the rush?’

Tommy tapped his foot up and down with impatience. That was the trouble down here – nobody seemed to be in a hurry. ‘I’ve got someone waiting, that’s all,’ he said, striving to keep the strain from his voice. ‘I’ll need you to wait for me when we get there.’

The driver met his eye in the rear-view mirror. ‘I don’t know about that.’

‘I’ll make it worth your while,’ said Tommy, his tension growing.

‘In that case, fine, I’ll wait.’

Tommy sat back. Most people had their price. It was just a question of knowing when to mention it. No doubt Alec would be the same.

The driver pulled into the car park, which was emptying rapidly as all the tourists made their way home after an afternoon of beaching or walking. There were hardly any vehicles left once he’d finished parking. Tommy looked around and at first couldn’t see anybody. Then he spotted a lone figure on the far side of the area.

‘Right, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can,’ he said, handing over the first part of the fare to the driver, who didn’t seem to be very interested. He was already reaching for his newspaper and barely looked up.

Tommy strode towards Alec, who hadn’t waited for him but had already set off along the cliff path. He struggled to reach him – the man was fitter than he’d thought, or perhaps he was just used to these narrow, uneven paths. Tommy cast a glance down to the rocks below. He wouldn’t want to lose his footing here. Perhaps he should have worn something with a better grip than the new sandals he’d picked up from a shop on the seafront a couple of days ago.

Finally Alec slowed as he turned a bend in the path, the area now a little wider. ‘I think this is far enough,’ he said as he turned to face him.

‘It’s a strange place to meet.’

‘I didn’t want to be seen talking to the likes of you,’ Alec said, his expression supercilious. ‘There are no witnesses to our meeting here.’

Tommy’s blood began to pound in his ears. ‘You’re no better than me. I’m a businessman too.’

‘Is that so? All right then, let’s talk business, or should I say, let’s talk about my wife.’

When he thought of that smug face next to Mavis’s, those pale hands touching her, hitting her, Tommy’s head swam and it was all he could do not to reach out and grab the man around his neck. Somehow he managed to contain his temper and took a deep breath before saying, ‘I said I had an offer to make you. Well, here it is.’ Tommy named a sum that was actually half what he could run to but there was no sense in laying all his cards on the table if they were here to bargain.

Alec grunted. ‘I have spent the afternoon contemplating what would happen if I agree to your proposal. My children would be in the care of a slut, and a man who is prepared to bribe me for her freedom. I have watched you with my wife, seen your disgraceful and lecherous behaviour in front of my children, and I don’t want them tainted by such low morals. I’ve therefore already decided that I won’t be taking your bribe money.’ He turned to gaze out towards the horizon, as if Tommy was no longer worthy of his attention. ‘Now listen to me. If you do not persuade Mavis to give me full custody of my children I will expose her for the adulterous slut that she is. I will prove that she is an unfit mother and she will never see the children again.’ He gave a small, calculating smile. ‘Also, the scandal when I name you is sure to adversely affect your business and you won’t want that, will you? Two can play at this game. I’ve been checking up on you this afternoon while you’ve had your disgusting fun on the beach. You and my wife are adults and I can’t stop you, but I will not have my children’s minds infected with your degenerate natures. They require discipline and I now understand it is my business to see to that.’

Tommy lost control of his temper, pushed beyond the limit by these ridiculous slanders, but fuelled by the thought that the authorities might believe them. ‘You don’t give a shit about those kids,’ he shouted. ‘You beat them just like you beat Mavis and then you buggered off, without so much as leaving them two pennies to rub together. You haven’t bothered to contact them since so why would you care now?’

‘Because I have seen the error of my ways. It was remiss of me to abandon them to your lax care, but I can remedy that. It’s up to you. Either you persuade Mavis to give me custody, or I take steps to leave my wife’s reputation in the gutter where it belongs, and take you down with it. You have the choice. It’s more than you deserve, but I am a fair and reasonable man.’

Tommy couldn’t believe his ears. ‘You piece of shit! You fucking bastard! You wouldn’t dare!’

‘I think you’ll find I would,’ said Alec. ‘However, I appreciate that this has come as a shock to you. You thought you were coming here to buy me off, but that isn’t going to happen so I’ll give you until morning to think about it. You know where to find me.’ With that he turned and began to stride along the cliff path that soared above the now-deserted beach and rocks.

For a minute or two Tommy watched him go, not quite able to take in that the tables had been turned so completely. Then he gave himself a shake. He wasn’t going to let this man ruin Mavis’s life – he’d done enough to wreck it already. As the gulls circled above his head, he came to a decision. Gathering his resolution, he ran after the stooping figure along the precipitous cliff path. As he rounded a corner the sun glinted off a windscreen back in the car park but he was too angry to notice.

Meanwhile, the taxi driver, bored with his newspaper, had decided to get out of the driver’s seat and stretch his legs. He began to wander towards the start of the cliff path. The air was still and the noise of the gulls carried from the faraway seafront.

Tommy broke into a sweat as he hurried after Alec Pugh, scarcely registering the jolt in his ankle as he narrowly missed slipping on an uneven stone. All that mattered was catching up with the bastard who thought he could ruin all their lives. Tommy couldn’t allow him to do that. Too much was at stake. Mavis had been through enough. So had the children – and so had he.

Finally Tommy caught up with the man, and shouted, ‘Wait! We need to talk.’

Alec swung around and nearly knocked him off balance with his outstretched arm, his eyes shining with a horrible intensity as he spat, ‘There is nothing more to say. You won’t change my mind. You are beneath contempt and I’ll never agree to anything you suggest.’

Tommy caught hold of the man’s arm and drew himself up to his full height, towering over him. ‘It’s no use you trying to twist away. We wouldn’t want any accidents, would we? Your days of messing up Mavis’s life are well and truly over.’

Stan tutted to himself as he stood at the bar. This was their last night out in Devon and Tommy hadn’t turned up before they left the house. He thought it an odd time to have a meeting about a new contract, but who was he to doubt what his friend told him? All the same, it was a pity, as for once they were all out together without the children.

‘And a bitter lemon as well,’ he said to the barman, who turned to the shelf of soft drinks. Stan lined up the pints for himself and Pete and the halves of cider for Jenny and Mavis. They’d joked that as they were in the West Country the least they could do was try the local brew.

Then he sensed someone close behind him. ‘Get us one of the usual,’ breathed Tommy, bending over to lean on the bar. ‘I’m parched.’

Stan swivelled round to look at him. ‘Blimey, what you been doing? I was going to say, make yourself useful and take these over to the girls, but by the state of you, you’ll drop them. I’ll get a tray. Seriously, mate, are you all right?’

Tommy screwed up his face for a moment then gave what looked like a forced smile. ‘Never better. Just in need of a good pint.’ He drank greedily from the glass the barman set in front of him. ‘There was a fair bit of traffic out there, maybe there’s been an accident or something, and not wanting to leave you all waiting I ditched the taxi and ran back, that’s all. Must be more unfit than I thought.’

‘Oh, right,’ said Stan, thinking that Tommy had just spent a week running around the beach playing football with James and Greg, not to mention the exercise with Mavis after hours, and hadn’t shown any sign of suffering before. ‘Better get you in training once we’re back home,’ he added weakly.

Tommy appeared not to be listening, staring at his pint, but then he put his shoulders back and gave the forced grin again as he swept a hand through his messy hair. ‘I suppose we should get these drinks over to the girls.’

‘Yes,’ Stan said as she looked directly at his friend, ‘but are you sure you’re all right? You’d tell me if there was anything wrong, wouldn’t you?’

‘Course I would,’ smiled Tommy. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Chapter Twenty-One

By Tuesday morning Rhona was desperate. She’d finished her meagre supply of food and the last dribble of lemonade the night before, so thirst and hunger raged. She was racked with non-stop stomach cramps too and with no other choice, her toilet had to be a rusty waste paper bin. She’d managed to sleep a little in the uncomfortable chair but was haunted by dreams in which everyone she knew kept turning their backs to her. When she woke up she felt even more stricken with shame, yet terrified that nobody would come to find her.

She had shouted and banged on the door that morning until her voice was hoarse and now all she could manage was a croak. Her watch told her it was ten o’clock. Why had no one opened up upstairs? Wouldn’t somebody arrive to clean the place after the mess everyone had made on Sunday night? She strained her ears to try to catch any sounds from above, maybe footsteps or the hum of a vacuum cleaner, but there was nothing. Her nerves were becoming more and more frayed. She couldn’t take much more of this and paced back and forth in the small room.

She jumped, thinking she’d heard something, but her hope died as she realised it was only her frayed jacket hem catching a pencil on the edge of the desk and knocking it over. Angrily she balled her fist and hit the desk. It hurt, but then so did her head. A sob caught in her throat but she forced it down. She would not cry. She wouldn’t give Andy Forsyth the satisfaction.

Ten thirty came and then eleven o’clock. Rhona’s pacing got faster and she dug her nails into the palms of her hands so hard they began to bleed, but it somehow helped with the hunger pains. She tried to remember all the words to every song by the Rolling Stones. She told herself that if she could do that, then she hadn’t gone mad. She worked her way through all the hits of the previous year and the singles that she loved from the spring. It was only when she got stuck on ‘The Last Time’ that she thought she heard a noise. She froze. There is was again, a sort of dull thud.

Her heart started to race. Then she ran to the connecting door and banged on it with her fists. ‘Help!’ but her voice was only a croak. ‘Help … oh please …’

For one agonising moment Rhona thought whoever it was hadn’t heard her. Then came the best sound in the world, as a key rattled in the lock and the door handle squeaked as it turned.

Slowly the door opened. A middle-aged woman in an overall and headscarf stood there, her jaw dropping open. For a second she couldn’t say anything, then she gasped in shock. ‘Oh my good God.’ She stared at Rhona. ‘What happened to you? Oh my God. What are you doing in there? What happened to your head? Who are you?’

Rhona couldn’t answer as finally she gave way to her tears, and she sobbed in relief at the sight of her startled rescuer, whom she’d feared would never come.

‘Of course we were worried sick,’ said Marilyn Foster as she hugged her daughter. ‘Trouble is, it’s not the first time you’ve disappeared with no warning, so we made ourselves just get on with everything as usual and wait for you to come home. I’m so sorry, love, if we’d known we’d have been up to that pub like a shot.’

‘No, it’s me that’s sorry,’ said Rhona sadly. ‘I never realised how worried I’d made you. I know now.’ She hugged her mother back and then collapsed on to their old sofa. ‘At least the police believed me when I told them I had nothing to do with the robbery. To begin with I reckon one of them thought I’d been part of the gang.’

‘I should hope so too!’ Marilyn exclaimed. ‘I’d have given them what for if they’d tried to take you in. There are some right funny ones working in that station. Look at the state of you, any fool should have seen that you couldn’t have done that to yourself. You sit still and take it easy, and the doctor will be here soon.’

Rhona snuggled against the cushion balanced on the armrest and yawned. ‘I could sleep for a week. I had nightmares down in that bloody cellar.’

‘Shall I make you something to eat?’ asked Marilyn. ‘I know they gave you a sandwich in the pub but that’s not enough to fill you up.’

Rhona smiled, or as much of a smile as she could manage now that the bruising was coming out on her face where it had been shoved against the stinking cellar floor. ‘Yes please. I’ll stay awake for that.’

‘I’ve got some pie left from last night. How about that?’

Rhona sighed with pleasure. ‘I kept thinking about your cooking all the time I was down there. Some pie, and lots of bread and butter with it, and a big mug of tea. And have you got any tins of rice pudding?’