He would have to suggest Annie not call him for a while. If the police questioned him again, which they would, they could decide to ask for his phone and computer. They were welcome to the computer. He would get a new mobile with a new number rather than have Annie’s recent messages raise questions.
Hugh drove the dark and winding lanes toward Naunton. Why Naunton? He was damned if he knew why Annie would choose to go and hang out in a car park there – in the middle of the night. At least it was no distance from Folly. And the drive gave him the opportunity to be sure he was alone to think without interruption for a few minutes.
He had seen Neve early in the evening as she tried to slip through the front door of the Black Dog without encountering anyone. Before she could escape, he followed her out and asked when she and Perry would be moving on.
‘When we feel like it unless you want to throw us out and make a scene in front of all your sycophants. Give me what I want and I’ll go.’
And she’d walked to a dark green Mercedes parked at the curb. She got in, floored the petrol, and drove away too fast.
They must have somewhere else to stay while they kept the room at the inn for whatever purpose they had dreamed up. Hugh had checked on the rental property where he’d gone to meet them that morning in Burford but they were no longer there.
When he reached Naunton, the village was largely in darkness with lights showing at a few windows where night owls burned the late oil. Finding the car park was easy enough but despite Annie’s request that he keep his headlights on low, he had to turn them on high to locate the Mini in a far corner and beneath trees.
Once he got close enough, he cut the lights and pulled alongside. He rolled down his window, letting in the night scents. Annie’s outline was clear but she didn’t move from behind the wheel.
He got out and climbed in beside her. From the swollen and tear-stained eyes and face he guessed there was a lot on the girl’s mind.
‘Did you lock your car?’ she said.
‘Yes.’
‘I’m locking this one.’ Clicks sounded. ‘You know I wouldn’t call you like this if I knew what to do next. I don’t.’
‘Slow down. First, please don’t call the number you have again. I’m replacing it and I’ll let you know the new number.’
‘Why?’ Her voice rose and she turned sideways in her seat to look at him. ‘What’s wrong. Nobody knows anything, do they?’
‘What is there to know, Annie? I’m just being cautious. We both know there have been difficult events and so far I’ve heard nothing to suggest any resolutions. What are you doing out here? You said you were staying with a friend.’
She took his hand and he was aware again of what a thin person she was.
‘I didn’t tell you everything yet,’ she said and he could see the slick of more falling tears. ‘Something’s wrong with Elyan, it has to be. He’s changed … toward me.’
Before getting into this, he wanted to know the reason for her being here rather than in her bed at the Black Dog. As yet, he had not had any luck trying to move her elsewhere.
‘He hasn’t changed toward you,’ he said shortly. ‘Again, why are you here? Could you tell me what’s happened with you today and where exactly you’ve been?’ He couldn’t tell her about the fire or his suspicions about where she’d been early that afternoon. She’d take it as an accusation and be devastated. Not that he thought she’d had anything to do with what happened at Radhika’s.
‘I went shopping in Bourton-on-the-Water,’ she said quietly. ‘I was there a long time. I met a friend. Then I had trouble finding my car in the car park.’
That had been Alex’s suggested reason for Annie’s long absence.
‘Did the two of you have dinner?’
She cleared her throat and said in an even softer voice, ‘Yes.’
‘So that’s why you came to Naunton?’ Giving her the third degree was embarrassing but necessary.
‘I ate in Bourton-on-the-Water. At the Kingsbridge by the Windrush. The river makes me feel calm.’
‘You ate there. What about your friend?’
‘He didn’t stay for dinner – I made that bit up. I wasn’t ready to come back.’
‘OK. Fair enough but you could just have said so.’
Annie swiped at her eyes. ‘Everything’s a muddle. I thought if I came here where I could talk to you it would all be clearer. It’s not you, it’s me going to see Sonia that started everything falling apart. I knew I was wrong to do that, I was warned.’
He took a breath. And another. ‘When was that? When you saw Sonia?’
‘Only about a week ago. It was a couple of nights, or maybe just one, before there was news of Percy Quillam’s death in that horrible water. I went to ask Sonia to go and see Elyan. That was the other reason I came.’
She would tell him what she felt the need to say. He waited.
‘I didn’t think she would go even though she said she’d try. Then I heard stories about someone missing from Green Friday.’
‘But you didn’t go to the police, Annie?’
‘No. I hope Sonia’s all right but going to the police wouldn’t help Elyan. I don’t trust them.’ She rested her head against the seat. ‘They’ve only done him harm. I don’t mean that what he did wasn’t wrong, but he needed to be helped and not the way he’s being treated in that place now.’
Hugh didn’t think Annie had seen him at Green Friday when Sonia was there or she would have told him. ‘When you first came to me at the Black Dog you were very upset. You weren’t making a lot of sense. What made you say you believed Elyan didn’t want you anymore? What makes you still believe it?’
‘I was given a letter from him.’ She cried openly again. ‘I can’t bear to think about it.’
‘Elyan loves you even more than he ever has,’ Hugh told her, holding back from physically comforting her. ‘How did you get the letter? By mail, you mean?’
She shook her head, no. ‘He sent it with someone. I promised I’d never say who and if I do, it could be bad for Elyan.’
Now he was vigilant, searching for answers. ‘You’re saying you were blackmailed not to reveal this?’
For a moment she remained quiet, then she sat up and made an effort to calm herself. ‘No, not at all. It wasn’t like that. They were trying to be kind and help us both. Please, Hugh, help me decide what I should do. Do I go back and try to see him again? I don’t think I can … I can’t just give up on him.’
As much as he wished Annie could start over, he understood her feelings. ‘Follow me back to the Black Dog,’ he said. ‘A good night’s sleep will help and we’ll try to work out what to do over the next couple of days.’
‘If I go to see Elyan – will you come with me?’
He couldn’t say he thought that was a lousy idea, but he did. ‘Please tell me who gave you the letter, Annie.’
‘I can’t!’ She made a choking sound. ‘Try to understand. I’m not being blackmailed, honestly, I’m not. But I’m afraid I might do something that could cause Elyan to get badly hurt – or die.’