Double Danger (10 page)

‘After being back home again and being able to wear whatever I fancied, it’s murder having to be hidden all the time from top to toe.’

‘I’m sorry, but you’d better get used to it again.’

Once out of the compound, Jessica said, ‘By the way, you never told me everything about Patrick O’Rourke. Did you get properly organised? Did he agree to everything you wanted?’

‘Yes. I’m not going to pay him much of a wage, to begin with at least. For one thing, he’ll have board and lodging. And we’ll see how he gets on. Although he certainly sounds as if he knows landscape gardening, right enough. I’ve arranged it all through the bank and the solicitor. The previous owner already had a financial arrangement set up for Mr and Mrs Peterson’s wages and expenses. He was away from the house a lot on shoots, apparently.’

‘That’s obvious from the horrible trophies all round the walls. Once we settle there to live, I’m going to get rid of them. I don’t want reminded every day about all those poor animals he killed.’

‘Fair enough. I don’t like the look of them either. We could try to find a few good paintings.’

‘Bright-coloured ones. Some good modern paintings with bright, abstract colours.’

Brian smiled. ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’

‘Aye, right,’ Jessica said. All the same, she wished she was back home in Scotland, but not in Hilltop House. She was a Glasgow girl at heart, always had been and always would be. She no more wanted to settle in Hilltop House than in the middle of the desert. Often she still secretly longed for the Barras and her flat in the Calton. Despite what Mrs Mellors said about the Barras not being the cheery place it used to be.

‘Remember the laughs we used to get at some of the patter?’ Mrs Mellors had said. ‘And you were in there doing your spiel with the best of them, even when you were a wee lassie helping your mammy on her stall.’

‘Och, the Barras’ll never change.’

‘You’re wrong, Jessie. They’ve changed all right. It’s still an enormous market and of course, you can still get everything from a wee needle to a kitchen sink and bigger. But there’s not the same cheery patter.’

Jessica wondered how Evie was getting on in the clinic and drop-in centre. How she admired the girl and the work she so willingly and generously did for what most people would regard as hopeless cases. Jessica had invited her to come out to the compound for a holiday and a rest. She had concentrated on telling Evie about the beautiful sunshine and all the wonderful facilities and social events in the compound. But Evie had refused the invitation.

‘Too many of “my people” ’, she said, ‘urgently need me and depend on me in the Calton. I can’t leave them.’

Jessica believed that Evie Jeffreys was the nearest thing to a saint that she’d come across or would ever be likely to come across. She’d once said as much to Evie and Evie had laughed.

‘Don’t be daft. I’m just doing my job, like everyone else. I’m not the only one who works here, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

Nevertheless, Jessica believed Evie was the best of them all.

‘I remember one time,’ Brian was saying now, ‘some of my Saudi friends invited me out to the desert for food and soft drinks. They slaughtered a sheep – halal style – and slowly baked it in a hole they had dug in the ground. The Saudi hospitality is always absolutely fantastic.’

Brian was always going on about his Saudi friends. He loved the people, the compound and the country as much as she loved the people of Glasgow, the Calton and Scotland. Sometimes she worried in case he might never want to leave the place. He was now talking happily about Tabuk’s historical background being long and distinguished.

‘The marks can still be seen today.’

‘What marks?’ Jessica hadn’t been paying too much attention. Her mind had wandered back to Scotland.

‘In the past, it served as a railway station on the Hejaz line until its destruction in World War One by Lawrence of Arabia. It’s remained unrepaired ever since. But that’s because of the development of road and air links.’

‘I think I once saw a film about him.’

‘Yes, I believe there was a film. Look, there’s a desert dog! The Arabs consider it to be the finest dog in the world. Never try to approach one, though. They’re wild animals.’

Jessica rolled her eyes. ‘As if I’d come away out here to pat a dog.’

‘Of course not, but they often loiter about near where any humans live, looking for food. Camels are different. They keep away from population centres.’

A few camels were making their leisurely way across the road in front of the car.

‘I wish I could take you to two of the holiest cities in Saudi – Mecca and Medina. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Mecca each year but entry into Mecca or Medina is prohibited to non-Muslims.’

‘Good job then. I’ve not the slightest interest in going there.’

Brian sighed. ‘Don’t you feel the magic of the place yet, Jessica? It’s such a marvellous country.’

‘I can see you definitely think so.’

‘But it is.’

‘OK. OK.’

‘Its people enjoy an enviable standard of living. It’s one of the most politically stable and prosperous countries in the world.’

‘OK, I said. I believe you. Honestly, I do. It’s just that you keep going on about it so much.’

Brian shrugged. ‘Sorry.’

After that, they concentrated on sightseeing and having a picnic. Eventually, they made their way back to the compound. Jessica felt exhausted, partly by the heat and partly by the long drive. She decided to have a quick plunge in the pool to cool down before going to the sports centre to collect the children. Brian drove round to his office building to prepare a few notes for the next day’s schedule.

It was when she went to collect the children that she discovered to her shock and horror that there had been a terrorist attack on the compound earlier in the day.

‘Now, there’s no need to worry,’ one of the teachers assured her. ‘We took all the children into the school’s panic room and the guards repulsed the terrorists and sent them packing in no time. The children thought it was great fun, an exciting adventure.’

Jessica was not comforted. Terrorist attacks, as far as she knew, always happened during the night. Never again would she be happy allowing Fiona and Tommy out of her sight.

‘Honestly,’ the teacher repeated, even laughing as she spoke. ‘There’s no need whatsoever to worry.You’ll get used to it.’

Now Jessica was not so sure.

‘You’ve got to stop being so neurotic about this.’ Brian’s voice had an edge of anger as well as impatience. ‘You cannot go on coddling the twins and stopping their freedom to enjoy life here.’

‘Neurotic?’ Jessica gasped. ‘You think I’m just imagining the danger they could be in? There was a terrorist attack, for God’s sake. They could have been killed.’

‘No, they could not. The terrorists never get through the gates. The guards always repulse them. I’ve been here for years and I know what I’m talking about. And you’re forgetting the panic room. Once that iron wall comes down, nobody could possibly get in.’

‘They’re obviously getting worse when they’re now attacking the place during the day.’

‘Jessica, will you relax and just enjoy life here like you were doing before, and allow the children to enjoy life as they were doing before. Look at all the other children. They haven’t let anything bother them. And don’t forget about all the good teachers who are looking after the children so well.’

Jessica closed her eyes, bit her lip and then took a deep breath.

‘OK. OK. I’ll try.’

And so Tommy and Fiona went back to their school lessons and to racing about enjoying all the after-school activities.

Jessica went back to the café and began chatting to her friends there about her trip to Scotland. She described Hilltop House and its jungle of surrounding land and they gasped and shuddered at how eerie it all sounded. They giggled about the handsome and charming Irishman who was going to be living and working there.

‘You’d better watch him, Jessica. He’ll be making passes at you before you know what’s happening. You’d probably enjoy it, though.’

‘No way! I’ve a handsome husband, don’t forget, and I’m madly in love with him. I don’t need any Irish charmers.’

‘Well,’ one of the girls laughed, ‘next time you go over there, take me with you and introduce me. I could do fine with an Irish charmer.’

‘Once I settle there, you’ll all be welcome to come and visit.’

She meant it. It was hard to imagine a gregarious person like herself being happy and feeling at home in such an isolated and wild-looking place. Of course, once Brian retired, he’d be with her and once they transformed the place into a hotel, it wouldn’t be so isolated. It would be cheerful and interesting. She would be happy and content having him at her side. At the back of her mind, however, was always the worry that he’d never want to leave his excellent, very highly paid job and all the freebies he had at the compound. Then there was the obvious fact that he loved Saudi Arabia and all his Arab friends.

She could understand how he felt. Life in the compound (if you didn’t consider the terrorist attacks) was truly wonderful. Even the climate was wonderful. There was an air of such happy excitement about the place with so many activities and social pleasures to look forward to each and every day.

She settled back into compound life and began thoroughly enjoying it again. They began entertaining quite a lot in their villa. She would have been happier preparing the food herself

but, of course, with such an eager and conscientious Indian houseboy, she didn’t stand a chance. She and Brian visited their friends’ villas too. They played cards on the veranda and sipped long cool drinks of lemonade or orange juice. They didn’t dare risk anything resembling alcohol, which was a bit of a nuisance, but it could literally cost you your life to flout any Muslim laws. They still could dream of double whiskies and tall glasses of frothy beer, however.

One night in bed, as he held Jessica lovingly in his arms, Brian said, ‘Are you happy now, darling?’

‘After being made love to like that – of course I’m happy.’

‘Now, you know what I mean. Are you happy to be back in the compound and are you completely enjoying life here like you did before my last leave?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘It’s a truly wonderful life, isn’t it?’

Again she felt a tweak of worry.

‘Yes, it definitely is, Brian. Nobody could deny that. But you will retire eventually, won’t you? I mean, you will move back with me and the twins to Scotland eventually?’

‘Of course. But that’s a long way off yet. Meantime, we’ll spend at least some of my leaves there because we’d be best to keep in touch with how Patrick O’Rourke’s getting on.’

She was glad of the regular correspondence she had with Mrs Mellors and Evie. They thought she was really lucky to be living in what sounded like such a wonderful place. She had, of course, described in her letters to them the compound, the climate and all the exciting social life, and she believed she really was lucky. It was just the idea of being there forever that worried her. She couldn’t help it. There were still times when she missed Glasgow.

Mrs Mellors’ son had been over to visit her in Vale of Lennox and was still trying to persuade her to go over to Australia – at least for a few months, to begin with.

‘I’ve promised that I’ll go over. It’s just a case of deciding when,’ Mrs Mellors wrote.

Jessica hoped she wouldn’t disappear away to Australia when she and Brian came to live in Hilltop House. Mrs Mellors had been like a mother to her since her own mother died. And a friendly, protective one at that. No doubt her visit to Australia would be long past before she and Brian settled in Hilltop House.

The next day Brian started talking about a trip to the beach.

‘Oh, the children will love that,’ Jessica said.

‘No, we can’t take the children.’

‘Why on earth not?’

‘Well, for one thing they might take their shoes off and even with them on, they could get cut on the razor-sharp coral. Then there’s the spiny sea urchins and the highly poisonous stonefish.’

‘Charming!’

‘You know they love doing everything in the compound. They never want to go outside of it.’

Now she wasn’t fussy about a beach trip. As usual, however, Brian was brimming over with enthusiasm and so she tried to share his pleasant anticipation.

Admittedly, once they reached the beach, she truly did enjoy the experience. The scenery was out of this world. The turquoise blue sea shimmered into the distance, the sand sparkled as if it was strewn with diamonds as minute particles of silica reflected the brazen sun. A cool breeze, redolent of ozone, wafted shorewards.

‘I told you,’ Brian said, ‘how beautiful it would be. I knew you’d enjoy it.’

She gave him a loving hug.

‘You’re far too good for me. And patient as well. I don’t deserve you.’

He kissed the tip of her nose.

‘I adore you. Always have done and always will.’

They enjoyed a leisurely drive back and went to the café for a bite to eat before going in search of the children to take them home. Brian said he would drive to his office and do an hour’s work before joining them at the villa. After they enjoyed a coffee and a snack, off Brian went and she stayed for another cup of coffee and a chat with some of her friends out on the café veranda.

Some of the others also had children to collect. One of them said, ‘I always find it’s a devil of a job trying to drag them away. They’re always having such a wonderful time. Sometimes, I think they get over-excited with it all.’

‘What have they been up to today, I wonder?’ Jessica asked.

‘I think the teachers were taking them on a walk to the furthest away bits of the compound that they haven’t seen before.’

‘At least that should tire them out,’ Jessica said, ‘and they’ll get a good sleep tonight.’

Eventually, they all waved goodbye to each other and made for their own villas, except for a couple of the women who did part-time work at the café and who started clearing up the tables.