“So?” Bella was waiting, asking a hundred and one questions with one raised eyebrow.
“So what?” Sally shrugged, her mind working hard, trying to figure out what to say to her cousin without actually lying.
“So what happened? What did he want?”
“Oh – um – nothing very much, really…”
Bella was bursting at the seams with curiosity. “Sally Rose, you’ve just spent an hour closeted with an excruciatingly gorgeous man whose voice could melt brass and you tell me that nothing happened!”
“Well it didn’t. He was just checking out security. It’s his job.” Sally smiled. “He is rather gorgeous, isn’t he…if you like that sort of thing.”
“And what exactly did Mister All-American Hunk want?”
Sally ran a hand through her mop of fair, flyaway hair and sighed. “Come on Bella. Let’s lock up and go and have a drink.”
Bella shook her head as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door behind the last departing clients of the week. “He must have spun you some incredible story to get you this rattled. Are you all right, love? You look kind of flushed.”
Flushed on the outside, pale on the inside, Sally thought as she turned on the alarm system, lowered the shutters and carefully locked the door behind them.
“I’m fine. Just a bit tired. It’s been quite a week. Did Rob phone?”
“No, but like you suggested if we didn’t hear from him, I phoned him. He said his foot was worse than he thought and he was going to have it X-rayed.”
“So, he won’t be back Monday.” Sally shivered and pulled her jacket closer around her. The sun had disappeared and there was an autumn chill in the air. “We’d better get onto the theatrical agency as soon as possible. I can’t handle this clown business as well as everything else. Besides, I’m no good at it.”
“I’ve already spoken with them.”
“And?”
“No joy. But I did tell Rob the problem and he said his brother’s in town and wouldn’t mind standing in for him for a while.”
“His brother!” Sally frowned. “I never knew he had a brother.”
“Well, apparently he has and he’ll do the job for us. It’ll be better than doing without. You know how well it works, bringing in the customers. The kids in the park expect it now. You can’t disappoint them.”
“Why not? I’ve been disappointing them all this week. A clown who doesn’t dance and tumble and do crazy things is no fun.”
Bella patted her shoulder and shoved her gently through the door of the Edwardian pub where they usually unwound over a drink.
“You did the best you could,” Bella said, elbowing her way up to the bar, exchanging jolly riposte with some of the other locals as she squeezed her bulk between them. “Same as usual, Meg. One large G and T and one dry white wine for my slim friend here.”
They took their drinks to a window table and Sally tried not to look too worried. She had never been able to hide anything from Bella. Come to think of it, she had never wanted to hide anything from her. It wasn’t fair of Gavin Calder to ask her not to tell anyone what was happening. If he wanted to keep it secret, he shouldn’t have involved her.
“Bella, I…” Bella looked at her expectantly and she lowered her eyes and took another sip of wine. “Look, I know I can trust you, Bella. There isn’t anyone else I trust more.”
“But? Come on, Sal! What can you possibly have discussed with Mr. Calder that’s so high-powered and secret? He is a stranger, after all.”
Sally nodded. She almost gave way to the temptation to tell her cousin everything, but at the last moment she held back.
“I’m not sure what I’m getting into, Bella,” she said slowly and almost in a whisper so that the other customers in the bar couldn’t hear. “The thing is, I’ve agreed to help him – heaven knows why, I must be all kinds of fool, but.. Anyway, if I tell you it could get you into trouble too – if things go wrong.”
“I don’t like the sound of this, Sal.” Bella knocked back her double gin and tonic and waved to Meg to serve her another and another wine for Sally.
“You’ll just have to trust me.”
“I trust you all right!” There was a sharp note of censure in Bella’s voice. “I trust you to land yourself into a heap of trouble, that’s what I trust you with. It’s happened twice already. And this big American bloke looks like he’ll give you a pretty long run for your money, whether you’re careful or not.”
“I have every intention of being careful, Bella, but it’s not anything like you’re imagining. I mean, it’s nothing on a personal level and I’ve seen his credentials and they look pretty genuine.”
“Showed you a Mickey Mouse badge did he. Oh, Sal! Why do you have to be so naïve where good-looking men are concerned? Why don’t you find yourself a nice, ordinary local boy? Lord knows, there are plenty of them about who would jump at the chance of holding your hand in the back row of the Odeon.”
Sally smiled at that. “There has to be more than willingness on the part of the boy to make him attractive to me,” she said and patted Bella’s chubby hand as she got up to go. “I’m whacked. See you on Monday.”
It was cold and starting to rain, but she walked slowly back to the flat, enjoying a few minutes of solitude to get her thoughts in order. She really did seem to be getting herself involved in a very sticky situation here. Why she had agreed she didn’t know.
The American must have worked some kind of charm to get her to agree to his demands. The whole thing was crazy. When he came back on Monday she would tell him that she had changed her mind. He would have to find some other safe house to lodge his rich employer’s little girl.
The flat seemed particularly chilly and empty when she let herself in and switched on all the lights. She had got into the habit of lighting the place like Blackpool Illuminations ever since they had had a break-in while she was watching the tele in the dark with a cup of cocoa in her hand.
Sally shuddered and hurried to switch on the gas fire, boosting the appliance to its full capacity and sitting huddled over it until the place was thawed through.
Looking around her she felt she was seeing her home for the first time. Seeing it through a stranger’s eyes. It was pretty drab. Gavin Calder couldn’t have thought much of the way she lived. Not after the luxury he was probably used to. As soon as Rob got himself back to work, she promised herself, she would take some time off and redecorate. And maybe she would buy one or two bits of furniture that didn’t look as if they came out of the local bric-a-brac shop.
It wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford to buy a few things to pretty up her lifestyle. She just hadn’t bothered. It hadn’t seemed too important. She had just been just too damned relieved to get out of a marriage that was too painful to support. What did it matter if she didn’t have any personal items to take with her?
Of course, when her aunt died, she could have had the house and what was in it, but she had never been happy with the old lady, so the house and its contents only served to remind her of her life there. Her half-life.
She had sold the house with its contents and bought The Rose Carousel. Not that it was called that then. It had been a paint and paper shop with a warehouse over it. It had taken a lot of time and hard work to turn it into her dream of a children’s paradise and she was madly proud of the results.
Now, it was time to take her own personal life into stock and think more in terms of a little more elegance. And a lot more comfort. After all, she had never been born a martyr, though her aunt would have liked to turn her into one.
Thinking again of Rob and his foot, her conscience pricked her and she decided to give him a ring and find out how he was. Maybe he needed her to do some shopping for him, cook him a meal or two. He had always been so good when she needed help. It was time to return the favour.
“Hello, Rob? It’s me, Sally.”
It obviously wasn’t Rob on the other end of the line. She heard a muffled, hasty conversation that sounded as if someone had put their hand over the mouthpiece. She wondered for a moment if Rob had got himself a new partner, since he had been without one for some time now. Then she remembered what Bella had said about his brother.
There were one or two more noises as the handset was transferred and she recognised Rob’s voice, though he sounded a bit strange.
“Hello – er – Sally? Wh-what are you phoning for? I mean…”
“Is it a bad time. I can hang up and you can ring me back if you like.”
“No-oh! No, don’t do that. It’s all right. Did you – um – did you want something?”
“Just to know how you were. How’s the foot? Bella said it was worse.”
“The foot? Oh, yes. Well – um – yes, I – er – they think it’s broken.”
“Have you had it X-rayed?”
“Tomorrow – er – yes, tomorrow. Sorry about the job, but…”
“Bella said your brother was going to help out.” Sally hesitated as she could hear a constrained muttering in the background. “I didn’t know you had a brother, Rob.”
“No, well – er – we haven’t seen each other in a long time. Family business, you know. It’s all right now.”
“Is that who you’ve got with you now?”
“Who? Oh – um – yes. That’s him. My brother.”
“What’s his name?”
“His name?” There was a long pause, then he said quickly: “Bruce. Look, sorry, Sally, but I have to go – I mean, there’s somebody at the door…”
“Yes, all right. Tell Bruce I’ll look forward to meeting him on Monday morning.”
She found herself speaking to an empty line, except for the purring in her ear that told her Rob had hung up without even saying goodbye. That wasn’t like Rob. He was usually so well-mannered. She sighed and creased her forehead, hoping that Rob wasn’t getting into another session with drugs. He had been off them for two years now and seemed to be doing well.
Sally suddenly remembered her conversation with the American security man. He had made particular mention of Rob. He wasn’t sure about him for some reason. She had to admit she didn’t like the idea of either herself or her staff being checked up on by any security firm. Calder and his firm had a cheek to do this behind her back, treating them all like possible criminals under surveillance.
The nights were beginning to draw in and darkness was descending on the streets of Harrogate almost before the lamps were lit. Sally got up and went to close the curtains. She really had better get something to eat before it got too late or she would never sleep.
Being a converted warehouse, there were windows both back and front, yet the world she could see from one window was very different from the other. At the front of the building the street was still active and the people animated. The roads shone greasily in the light from the lamps and the passing cars hissed along like snakes rushing for cover.
The back was a half-world of grey and black shadows that did not move. It was dead and silent. Not even a cat to disturb a dustbin lid. It was a dark, sombre place, which was why Sally always liked to return home in relative daylight because the flat’s entrance was down there. It saved her going through the complicated procedure of switching on and off the alarm system in the shop. It was something of a no-man’s land and it scared her to be there even in daylight when the sun didn’t shine.
She ate a simple cheese omelette and salad, listening to some Mozart and tried to settle down to read. At first, she couldn’t concentrate. Her mind was far too busy to take in the printed words, so she ended up turning the pages blindly. Then her eyes closed and her head started nodding towards her chest.
It was only ten o’clock, but she decided she might as well go to bed and sleep off her exhaustion there. Tomorrow, she would rest and recuperate as much as possible before throwing herself into another busy week. And it would get busier up to Christmas. It always did. Toy shops were particularly hectic.
She climbed into bed, jotted down a couple of ideas for a Christmas theme for the shop, then switched off her light and lay, strangely awake now, staring up at the invisible ceiling.
Sally must have dropped off to sleep at some stage, because she awoke with a start, wondering what she had heard. There were often disturbing noises in the night. It was an old building. The timbers shifted and creaked, mice scratched and gnawed.
She opened her eyes and felt completely blind in the blanket of darkness that enveloped her. It was a moonless night and as silent as the grave.
Two o’clock, her bedside alarm told her. She groaned and turned over, facing the window. She had opened the curtains after putting out the main light because she preferred to wake up naturally with the rising sun unless it was winter, then the alarm had to be set.
There it was again. A soft, rasping, grating sound. She sat up, propping herself on her elbows. Yes, again the same noise. It seemed to be coming from the yard down below.
Sally slid out of bed and padded barefoot to the window, keeping well back out of sight as she peered out into the night. She could see nothing, but darkness, a great empty, soulless void.
She shrugged and started to turn away, but then a sudden light made her halt and started her heart off at a gallop. The flare of a match had lit up a face half turned away in shadow. Then she saw the red glow of a lit cigarette being drawn and a tell-tale wisp of grey smoke against the blackness like floating ether.
How had he got in? There was a seven-foot wall all around the yard. But then, the man – it surely was a man, though she could see little of his form – was exceptionally tall. The wall would not have presented much of a problem to such a tall individual. Especially if he was fit and athletic.
Like Gavin Calder perhaps.
Sally crossed the wide expanse of her warehouse apartment, not needing light to find what she was looking for. She triggered the alarm, then shot back to the window in time to see the intruder launch himself at the top of the wall and virtually throw himself over and back into the deserted road at the rear.
A few seconds later she heard the soft thunk of a car door and an engine starting up. It purred down the lane that separated the yard from the Children’s Garden area.
The two young constables who appeared in answer to the alarm summons, of course, thought she had been hallucinating, having a bad dream, behaving neurotically. After all, she was a young woman living alone and these things happen!