Arriving back at the office, Eric and Kate both shuffled in through the door, made a run for the radiator and leaned against it.
‘What the hell are you doing here? Don’t you have a home to go to?’ Kate asked Patrick, who was doing his best to operate the coffee machine and failing badly. ‘Here, let me do it.’ She pushed past him and after having watched Gloria earlier that day, she took charge of the machine and managed to press all the right buttons. ‘There, is that what you wanted?’ she asked, as she placed a frothy coffee on the table before him.
‘Brilliant. I’ve been trying to get that damned thing to work for the past half-hour.’ He lifted the coffee to his lips, took a short, sharp sip then blew at the surface. ‘Ben rang. We all need to wait here. Until he gets back,’ Patrick said quietly, then looked down at the floor.
Anxiously, Kate began to pace. Something was wrong. There was something she wasn’t being told and her mind exploded with random thoughts. She went through every scenario, and every possible outcome, until wearily she flopped onto the settee, and closed her eyes with exhaustion.
* * *
The sound of the door opening and closing brought Kate back into a conscious state. She could hear Ben’s muffled voice, garbled whispers, orders given and telephones answered. Then, she felt his presence.
‘Kate, Kate, wake up.’ He spoke calmly, stroked her cheek, waited for her eyes to flicker. ‘Open your eyes, we need to talk.’
‘What’s wrong? What is it?’ Her mind went from half asleep to wide awake in three seconds flat and quickly, she pushed herself up and yawned.
‘It’s Rob.’ He shook his head. ‘We don’t know what happened. But it looks like they all got away. He, Luca and Isobel are somehow all missing.’
‘Could they be dead?’ Kate whispered the words. She could barely say them out loud and even though she hated Rob after what he’d done, the thought that he might have died, confused her. She had no idea how she should feel, how she should act and with her heart pounding uncontrollably in her chest, she lifted her legs up in front of her and hugged them as tightly as she could.
‘The truth is,’ Ben sighed. ‘I don’t know, but I doubt it.’ He casually rested a hand against her knee, gave her a knowing smile. ‘This is what I do know. The Red Lady was stationary for hours and in the end, intelligence took a boat out to it. When we got there, the boat was empty. A bit like the Mary Celeste. Everyone had literally disappeared and even the captain had fled the scene. The coastguard has sent underwater search teams in. But it all takes time.’
‘What… I mean, do you…’ She paused, took a breath. ‘Do you think they knew we were watching?’ Kate asked what everyone else was thinking, and they all looked towards Ben for an answer.
‘I don’t know, but whatever happened, they certainly had a plan. They’re probably still out there, and because of that I think you should come home with me.’ He directed his words at Kate and then turned to Eric. ‘And you need to go and stay with Eve. Don’t leave her side, not until they’re found, just in case.’
Eric picked up his coat and opened the door. ‘Ring me if you hear anything.’ He held his mobile up in the air and waved it around.
‘What do I do, boss?’ Patrick looked towards Ben for instruction.
‘Patrick, I need you to go over to Isobel’s. Take the small van. I need to know if any of them go back there.’ He paused, pulled Kate into a hug. ‘And I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not until they find him.’
* * *
Just a few hours later, Kate was following Ben through his house with the first rays of sunlight already making an attempt to creep in through the windows.
Since Rob had attacked her, Kate had stayed with Ben at his house. Yet for some reason, coming here today felt different, and with her heart pounding heavily in her chest, she took his hand and followed him down the hallway, up the stairs and onto the landing, where she automatically stopped and looked through the door at the bed.
‘Ben… Maybe if I stay here much more often, then maybe I should you know, pop home and get some of my things?’ She looked down thoughtfully. ‘I’d love to go back to the cottage and grab some of my own stuff.’
Leaning against the window sill, Ben crossed his arms and pursed his lips. The sparkle she’d so often seen in his eyes had returned, along with the glimmer of a warm, but mischievous, smile. ‘Or…’ He leaned forward, pulled open his bedside drawer and slid a parcel across the bed and directly at her. ‘I could give you these,’ he said with a wink.
‘What is it?’ She looked down at the small cardboard box with its fancy design and pale pink satin bow. For a moment, she simply stared and couldn’t bring herself to touch the gift, or to open it. With her breath held tight, she tried to remember when she’d last had a gift that had been only intended for her. Had it been months, over a year? The only person who ever bought her anything, was Eve.
‘Open it,’ Ben said eagerly.
‘But…’ Shakily, her fingers went to the bow and with her eyes dancing up to meet his, she gave it a tug. ‘I didn’t do anything to deserve a gift.’ She took a step back, and peered anxiously at the box as though it might bite.
‘Well, I was going to wait for a more appropriate time, but…’ he lifted his eyebrows and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. ‘Mum said that a girl couldn’t sleep in a man’s pyjamas forever,’ he laughed. ‘She gave me a bit of a lecture and said that I should get you a pair of your own.’ He tipped his head to one side. ‘And, I have to say, she was right.’ He pulled open a drawer, central to his side unit. ‘So, I cleared you some space.’
It was a moment of recognition. A way of showing how far their relationship had moved on and a clear indication of where it was going. Taking a step forward, Kate lifted the floral, satin pyjamas to her lips and kissed them. In saving her life, Ben had given her a second chance. A chance she intended to take and with a smile, she padded across the room and into the en suite. ‘I’m going to put these on,’ she shouted. But then leaned out of the door, and gave him a wink. ‘And you…’ she looked back at the bed. ‘If you can’t let me out of your sight, then you can’t sleep downstairs.’ She pointed to the bed, ‘So, you’d better make yourself comfortable.’