`OKAY, WHAT WE NEED NOW is a plan,’ Will said, sitting down across from her at the kitchen table.
She cradled her cup of tea, avoided his gaze.
`Will, I just need to go. If I keep moving he can’t find me.’
He was silent for a minute and she looked up, smiled faintly at his obvious concern. She’d forgotten what it was like to have someone look at her that way. As if they actually cared about what happened to her.
`You can’t keep running Jo. You’re giving him all the power.’
She frowned. `No I’m not. I’m keeping myself safe.’
`He’s still controlling your life.’
She took a sip of tea, didn’t reply.
`What I don’t understand is why you let him get away with it,’ Will said after a pause.
`I didn’t let him get away with anything,’ she said through clenched teeth.
`Then how come he’s not behind bars somewhere?’
She felt a rush of familiar anger. `They gave him bail and he skipped it. I mean what did they expect him to do? Once I found out … well, it just seemed easier to leave. Safer.’
`But he’s found you anyway.’
`We don’t know that.’
`No, but it’s a pretty good guess.’
He reached out, laced his fingers through hers. `You can’t keep running. You need to stop this. Now. Or you will spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, never knowing when your world is going to collapse around you. You’ll be hunted and scared and lost in a deep dark shit hole of despair. Trust me, you don’t want to live like that.’
She looked up at his tone, heard the tinge of authority in it and wondered how he could describe her feelings so accurately.
Sighing, she rubbed at her temple, felt the headache returning. Where to now?
`I need to go feed my cat.’
He paused, his gaze assessing, then nodded.
`Okay, I’ll drive you round. After that I’m taking you to my sister’s place.’
`Why?’
`Her husband’s a cop. You need to tell someone what’s going on so they can keep a lookout for this guy. And Jo?’
`Hmmm?’
`You’re coming to stay here. So make sure you pack some bags.’
She felt her heart start racing again. `No. I can’t stay here.’
`Then I’m going to your place. I’m not leaving you alone until this guy’s caught.’
`Will, I have to go. Maybe move up country. Somewhere random, where he can’t find me.’
`He’ll find you eventually and I’m not leaving you alone,’ he said stubbornly.
She clenched her fist in frustration. `Will.’
`Take your pick. Either I go to your place or you stay here.’
`He knows where I live and I can’t stay here. What about my cat?’
`She can go to Julia’s.’
He stood up. `I’m not going to waste time arguing and I’m not backing down on this. So you may as well get used to the idea. Now, are you ready? Let’s go to your place and get your things.’
She frowned, watched him leave. Wondered if he saw the irony in telling her not to let people control her life then proceeding to do just that himself. But she sighed, stood up and followed him, knew she felt better not being alone.
`I don’t know if this is such a good idea,’ Jo said, shifting nervously in the car seat as she looked over at the house. It was a large, modern double-storey home with an acre or so of landscaped gardens.
Will sighed. `Why? Shaun will simply ask you some questions and they can keep an eye out for this guy. What’s his name anyway?’
`Jack,’ she felt herself tense as she spoke the name, tried not to give in to the fear. `Okay, let me get this over with,’ she said, climbing out the car without waiting for him to help.
He closed his door and waited in front of the car for her, holding out his hand as she came closer. She tried not to look nervous as they knocked at the front door.
`It’ll be fine,’ Will said, squeezing her hand and she smiled faintly. He obviously hadn’t the slightest idea how hard it was for her to talk to anyone about this.
`Oh hi. What are you guys doing here?’ Julia asked as she opened the door.
`Hi Jules. We’ve actually come round to see Shaun. Is he in?’
Julia frowned. `Yes, he’s in the lounge. Come in.’ She stepped back and Jo looked around the entrance hall, admiring a large abstract oil painting on the wall.
`That’s one of Julia’s,’ Will said and she turned to her in surprise.
`Are you a painter? Wow, I really like it,’ she said in admiration.
Julia smiled. `Thanks.’
She led them into a tastefully furnished sitting room and a lanky sandy-haired man stood up as they entered.
`Hey Will, how’s it going?’
`Good. Jo this Shaun, Shaun, Jo,’ he said and Jo leaned over to shake Shaun’s proffered hand.
He smiled warmly and she relaxed slightly.
There was a moment of silence then Will turned to Shaun.
`Actually Jo needs to see you in a sort of professional capacity,’ he said and Shaun looked surprised.
`Oh okay. What’s up?’
Will turned to face her and she reddened. Did they expect her to spill it all here? Now?
She let her breath out in relief when Shaun seemed to sense her discomfort.
`Maybe we should go into the dining room. Jo?’
She nodded, followed him in and sat down at the table, glad to see him close the sliding doors.
Will went over to the window and looked out at the garden, tried to calm the rage he’d felt burning ever since she’d told him what had happened. He sensed rather than saw or heard Julia come up to stand beside him. They were silent for a long time.
Finally she turned to him.
`Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’
He clenched his jaw. `I don’t know if Jo’d be happy about it.’
`Oh. Okay. That bad, huh?’
He turned to look at her. `We’ll deal with it.’
She nodded, turned back to the window.
`Jo’s going to come stay at my place for a few weeks. Would you mind looking after her cat for a bit?’
He saw her hesitate, frown. `Yes, okay. Will are you sure about this?’
`About what?’
`Getting involved with her? Don’t get me wrong, she seems nice. But you’ve just got yourself sorted. I’m worried you’re going to get dragged down again.’
He tried to stop the sudden flare of temper. `I’m fine. Don’t worry.’
`Will ...’ she broke off and he turned, saw Jo standing at the door.
She looked upset and he wondered if she’d overheard the conversation.
`All done?’ he asked and she nodded.
Shaun came back from the study a few moments later, his jacket draped over one arm. He went to kiss Julia on the cheek.
`Just going in to the station for a few minutes. Be back soon,’ he said.
Julia nodded, looked a little put out and Will knew she was dying to know what was going on. He just figured it wasn’t up to him to say anything.
Jo seemed to sense it too as she sighed, sat down on the couch once Shaun had left.
`You can tell Julia. Only please leave it till I’m not here to listen to it. I don’t want to go over it again.’
`You don’t need to tell me anything,’ Julia said and he watched her go sit down next to Jo, felt a fist squeezing at his heart as Jo started crying again.
Julia put an arm around her shoulders and shook her head at him as he started towards them, pointed at the door.
Angry, knowing it was probably better to leave Julia to comfort Jo, he went outside, kicked at the gravel in the driveway and started planning what he’d do to the guy when he finally found him.
Frustrated, he wondered over to the edge of the lawn, stood looking out at the town spread out below him. A town he’d known most of his life. It was a strange feeling standing there looking down at the harbor, the crazy maze of brown stone buildings that had stood there for centuries and most likely would still be standing centuries from now.
Amazing how far he’d run to try find himself only to come back and finally find peace in his own backyard. Only now it seemed it was all starting again. He tried to shrug off the pervasive sense of unease.
It was more than the situation with Jo. He’d felt it even before her met her, sensed it in the air. A restlessness, a need to get away, escape from the narrow confines of his world. Thank God he no longer felt like the star of some freak show. People had stopped coming up and asking him about the accident, giving their condolences.
He no longer felt the need to play the hero, pretend everything was fine when inside he felt like screaming at them to bloody wake up. Realize what reality was, that he wasn’t any hero, that it had been a damn mistake that he was one of the few to walk out of there alive. That he had to live with the memories of the people who had died - friends, enemies, it didn’t matter. He was responsible. For all of them.
God, he had to stop thinking this way.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts, wandered back over to the house.
Jo turned as Will came in the front door, surprised at how dejected he looked. He looked up and smiled, seemed to consciously force himself to brighten up as he came to sit down next to her.
`Feeling better?’
She nodded.
`Yes, Julia’s gone to make some tea. She’s been great. You’re lucky to have her as a sister.’
He nodded, laid his arm along the back of the couch and ran his hand through her hair.
`You okay?’ she asked.
`Yes, I’m fine. I’m more worried about you. What did Shaun say he was going to do?’
She leaned back against the couch. `He’s circulating a description of … of Jack. Said he’d get in contact with the airlines and so on, try find out how he got into the country, what name he might be using. He’s contacting the police in New Zealand and getting copies of all the case notes and that sort of thing. I may need to see a lawyer.’
She sighed. It had all gotten so complicated.
`He say how long it would take?’
She shrugged. `Depends on what they can come up with. I’m just going to try enjoy the weekend and not think about it.’
`Good plan.’
They both looked up as Julia came into the room, carrying a tray of tea and some cake and muffins.
`Here you go,’ she said, setting it down on the table.
Jo leaned over and helped herself to a muffin, put a piece of cake on a plate and handed it to Will.
They sat talking about mundane issues until Shaun returned.
As they were saying goodbye, Jo felt a pang of gratitude to Will and his family for being so helpful and understanding. She knew what it must look like, this stranger bursting into their lives and causing trouble. She hadn’t missed Julia’s comment to Will but she could understand why Julia would feel that way.
It still didn’t stop Jo wondering what she had meant by him finally getting himself sorted but obviously Will wasn’t about to tell her and she wasn’t one to pry. So she said her goodbyes and got in the car, thinking how lucky she was to have these people looking after her. She dreaded to think what would have happened if she hadn’t met Will. What would have been the outcome last night if Will hadn’t seen the car?
He watched as she came out the back door, called the cat and put her in a cage. Was she going somewhere? He drew in a deep breath, turned the binoculars to the road and saw the Land Rover. It was about time he found out what was going on there. That guy was around much too often. Time to pay a little visit.