A Proper Charlie (29 page)

‘
Our mother died in September and our father, as you probably know, isn’t well,’ he continued after a moment’s silence. ‘I think Camilla thought she was the cause of his illness.’ He pinched the top of his nose. ‘In fact, I’m certain that’s the reason she left.’

‘
I’m sorry,’ Charlie said. ‘I did know about Sir Donald’s health problems, but I didn’t know about your sister.’

‘
You wouldn’t; her disappearance has been kept out of the media in case it frightened her away completely. You wouldn’t believe the fear I felt when I saw Readman’s name in the paper as the third victim knowing that Cam was with her.’

Charlie cleared her throat. ‘So, you were questioning prostitutes to find your sister? Couldn’t you have hired a private investigator or something?’

Ben nodded. ‘I did. But I was impatient. I needed to search for her myself, but probably only ended up making his job harder.’ He sighed. ‘I found Sally Readman, but she was high as a kite although astute enough not to tell me a thing. I managed to snatch a number from her mobile but I lost it. God, maybe my father’s right about me and I am useless! I’m just grateful the PI is closing in on Camilla now.’ He sighed again.

‘
If he’s closing in, why pick me up?’

Ben looked at her without speaking for a moment and pushed a tendril of red hair from her eyes. Then, ‘Because I was worried for you, Charlie. I thought you were a, er, a prostitute and was worried you were going to be victim number four.’

Her eyes filled with tears, and Ben was under the impression that they weren’t because she was sad. They were because not many people would go out of their way to look out for her like he had.

‘
This phone number…’ Charlie finished her drink on a gulp, and placed her empty mug on the floor by her feet. She sniffed, smiled tearfully at him, then reached towards the arm of the settee where her jacket had been tossed – the same denim jacket that he’d tried to relieve her of earlier.

She fumbled in a pocket and brought out her mobile phone. Taking it over to her laptop where a notebook lay, she copied down a number. Tearing out the page she’d written on, she turned and said, ‘I found an old petrol receipt in your car on the first, er, occasion you picked me up. I – I gave it to the police.’ She nodded towards the small piece of paper in her fingers. ‘But not before copying it down. Here. It’s yours.’

THIRTY EIGHT

B
en looked at her curiously before taking the piece of paper in silence. Charlie could almost feel his heart pound as his hands began to shake.

‘
You gave it to the police?’

Charlie swallowed. ‘I had to, I thought it was from the abductor’s car. The woman on the phone was called Jane.’

‘
You rang it too?’ He sounded stunned. ‘Jane Jacob,’ he murmured. Charlie thought he was going to cry again. But he seemed to pull himself together and stood up and away from her.

Charlie missed his closeness and felt bereft. She hugged herself. ‘I wanted to warn her that I found her phone number in a murderer’s car.’

Ben looked at her, and Charlie saw a trace of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. ‘How’d she sound?’ he wanted to know.

Charlie remembered how wary and anxious the woman had sounded, and told Ben so. ‘But there was also something else,’ she said. She frowned as she tried to find the words, ‘It was as if she was disappointed; like I wasn’t the person she wanted to speak to. Are you certain this Jane is your sister?’ She didn’t sound like a little girl, Charlie wanted to add, but didn’t want to crush any hope he held.

‘
Jane was one of my mother’s middle names and Jacob is her maiden name,’ he explained. He glanced at the wall clock. ‘Do you suppose eleven o’clock is too late to phone her?’

‘
Would that really stop you?’ she said.

Ben grinned, he felt in his pocket for his mobile phone, bringing out instead the knife. Their eyes met and sheepishly fell away from one another. Then Ben located his phone, and pressed in the number.

It answered just as Charlie was about to offer words of comfort. ‘Cam?’

Ben, with tears shining in his eyes, was silent as a stream of words flooded the phone. Charlie could hear the tearful, but tinny voice from where she stood.

‘
Are you OK? Why didn’t you get in touch? Where have you been?’ Ben interrupted the disembodied voice.

Charlie stood up and was about to tiptoe away to allow him privacy, but he held out his hand to her and beckoned her over. Close, she could make out the words of his sister, tearfully telling Ben how sorry she was, and assuring him that she was all right.

‘
Did a crazy sounding woman ring you up and tell you she found your number on the back of the abductor’s car seat?’ he said raising an eyebrow at Charlie. He laughed, his voice threaded with relief.

Charlie squirmed under his arm and tried not to listen.

‘
That was me. I mean, I wasn’t the abductor, but I was out trawling red-light areas for you. I even got myself arrested for kerb-crawling.’ Silence as Jane, or Camilla, spoke. Ben chuckled into the phone. ‘Yes, we’ll keep that a secret from dad, and yes, he’s fine. I’m sure he’ll live for many more years yet.’

More silence as Camilla spoke, and Charlie gave up wriggling to escape his arm curling around her waist and even leaned closer against him. She was rewarded by being held tighter with Ben smiling down at her as if he loved her! Charlie mentally shook herself, the light that danced in his eyes and over his face was for his suddenly found sister, not her!

‘
I know about Sally, sweetheart. I’m really sorry. If it’s any comfort the police think they are close in nailing this monster.’

Ben and Camilla chatted for a further ten minutes while Charlie stood snug, circled in Ben’s arms.

He clicked off the phone, and replaced it in his pocket. ‘She’s living in someone’s spare room at the moment, but feels it’s too late for me to collect her tonight. Too late for her hosts, that is, who’re in bed.’ Charlie felt him hesitate. ‘She doesn’t want to go home. She doesn’t feel strong enough to meet Father again yet, so I’ll organise her a room in a hotel.’

‘
She could stay here,’ Charlie said before she could stop herself.

‘
Here? No, I don’t think so.’

Charlie lowered her gaze, feeling her cheeks flush. Of course, he’d want to distance himself from her as soon as possible, and never have anything to do with her again.

‘
You’ve done enough, Charlie. You’ve found me Camilla.’

‘
I’ve delayed your rescue of her, you mean,’ she said.

‘
No, you didn’t. The car was valetted the day I lost her number, and it would’ve ended up in someone’s vacuum or even at the police station when it was, er, impounded. You know Ms Wallis, I like you, and I hope you’ll continue to work for
Core
for many years to come.’

Charlie blushed. ‘Really?’

‘
Very much so. And we’ll forget the earlier, silly, incident where we almost … you know, almost …’ he pulled a face, looking embarrassed.

Made love, Charlie mentally said. I bet you can’t wait to forget, she thought again.

‘
It’s something we’ll be cringing about in years to come, I’m sure. Still, no harm done,’ he added cheerfully. ‘Who’s Andy?’ his next question startled her.

‘
Who?’

‘
Andy, the man who interrupted, er, telephoned an hour or so ago. Is he your boyfriend?’

An hour ago? Charlie wondered to herself. It felt like years ago. ‘No, he’s one of these fair-weather friends that I can really do without.’ This was the man who, only a month ago, she would have happily married had he asked. ‘He’s been away for a while, visiting a sick relative.’

‘
Not varicose veins? Those things are really catching, eh?’

A flush brightened Charlie’s face.

Ben chuckled. ‘Where’d they find you?’ He kissed her forehead, then bent to retrieve his hat and dark glasses. The glasses were broken. ‘You pack one hell of a punch!’ he said, turning them over in his hand.

‘
Did I really hurt you?’ she sounded hopeful.

‘
Lara Croft
has nothing on you.’ He became sombre. ‘Thank you Charlie for, er, you know.’ He flushed. ‘Goodbye, no doubt I’ll see you around at
Core
.’

Charlie nodded; understanding, if disliking, his eagerness to make a distance between them.

‘
I want to speak to my father and let him know Camilla’s OK. It’s something I can’t do on the phone. Will you be all right?’

Charlie nodded. ‘Of course I will.’ She forced a smile. ‘I understand why you have to go.’ And she did, only she badly wanted him to stay. To stay and finish making love to her. To tell her he loved her.

She swallowed hard. Her world was miles apart from Ben’s. She bought her clothes from Primark, whereas he had his tailor-made. He ate the finest foods, while she dined on oven chips and fish fingers. He drove a fresh-off-the-forecourt, Audi while she drove a battered old Fiesta. She lived in a dingy block of flats, with junkies and single mothers, while he lived in a beautiful house with a swimming pool and a butler. She didn’t know the latter, but she could imagine it.

He’d probably feel embarrassed if he knew what she felt about him, or worse, pity.

‘
What’s going through your mind?’

She blinked herself to the present. ‘Eh?’

‘
You’ve been standing in a trance for the last few minutes.’

She flushed. ‘Ben,’ she began. But she couldn’t finish. ‘Good night,’ she said instead. ‘I sincerely wish you well with your family bust-up.’

He smiled. ‘Thank you. Families,’ he said, with a jerk of his head. ‘Who’d have them?’

Then he was gone.

‘
I would,’ she answered the closed door. ‘I would.’

THIRTY NINE

B
en sat in his car outside Charlie’s block of flats. He had to get away from her because he doubted he could not resist kissing her, and this time they’d be no ‘mistaken identity’ to hide behind. She’d fitted perfectly in his arms, her body all squishy and rounded in the right places.

Ben turned up the air-con and tried to visualise it pelting him with snow. His body burned; he could still feel the imprint of her mouth against his. He licked his lips and tasted her. He needed a diversion before he raced back inside to finish making love. He reversed out of the parking space and headed towards Westminster.

He drove slowly up the high-class Vincent Street looking for house numbers, as the distant bells of Big Ben chimed midnight He stopped outside a large Georgian house and stared at the shuttered windows. This is where Camilla had been all along.

He took out his mobile again and pressed redial.

‘
Hi,’ he said. ‘Sorry, did I wake you?’

‘
No, I wasn’t asleep.’

‘
I’m outside.’

‘
What?’ She sounded shocked, but pleased too.

‘
Come to a window. I need to see that you’re all right, even if I can’t persuade you to leave with me tonight.’

‘
OK.’ There was a slight noise as if Camilla was walking with the phone clamped to her ear. Then movement of a curtain, and her face appeared behind a window at the top of the house. She searched the street until her face fell on Ben’s car, then she raised her hand in a wave. ‘You see, I’m fine.’

‘
I needed to check. I’ve seen some things searching for you Cam, and I imagined all sorts.’

‘
I’m sorry. I never realised I’d cause so much…’ she trailed off as her voice thickened with the suspicion of tears. ‘Sally took me in for a couple of nights,’ she said in a stronger voice. ‘I lost my phone, car and cash card and she took me in and seemed nice, a-and helped me. I was a wreck, wandering the streets and… well, she looked after me for a couple of days. Once I was feeling better I made a few phone calls to some old friends and ended up here.’ She gave a laugh. ‘It wasn’t until I was here that I realised it had been Sally who’d been stealing from me, which was why she was so keen on helping me. She probably even arranged to have my car stolen!’

‘
And probably thought I was an angry relative out to reclaim your things and that’s why she refused to admit to knowing you.’

‘
Sounds like her. I never realised my cash card was missing until … well, none of that matters now; she’s dead. But, by God, she didn’t deserve to die like that!’

‘
Nobody knows what’s happened to her, honey. She may still be alive somewhere.’

‘
I hope so. I really do. I-I’m sorry you’ve been so worried. I didn’t mean that to happen. I wouldn’t have stayed with Sally for long. I’m too much of a spoilt rich kid for that to happen!’

Ben chuckled. ‘I’ll come for you tomorrow morning,’ he checked his watch, ‘or rather at a later time this morning.’

‘
And I’ll stay in a hotel?’