Listening to Luke’s mother pouring out what had happened in one garbled rush, Claire felt her blood run cold. ‘He did what?’ Shocked, she clutched the phone tight to her ear.
‘He’d been drinking,’ Joyce said, tearful and extremely upset. ‘Last night. Because of the problems between you two, I suppose. I don’t condone it, but…’ She paused, drawing in a shuddery breath. ‘He could barely stand up, Claire. He must have consumed a distillery. And then Derek made one of his usual nasty comments because I let him in so late. Luke was close to losing his temper then. I’ve never seen him like this before.’
Nor had Claire. But it was becoming more and more apparent that this was a side to Luke she hadn’t been aware of.
‘I was hoping to sit him down and have a talk with him this morning, once Derek had gone out, but he was up and dressed, about to leave, and then… God, why did Derek have to choose that moment to get up to his usual tricks?’
Those tricks being to act like a complete pig, bullying Joyce, no doubt. Claire had seen it with her own eyes. The man was obnoxious. She had no idea why Joyce hadn’t thrown him out years ago, except, of course, he wouldn’t go quietly. Whatever Derek had done, though, for Luke to have acted as he had… Claire’s stomach twisted with confusion and fear.
‘He’d got my purse,’ Joyce went on shakily. ‘He was helping himself to the contents when Luke came into the kitchen and…’ Gulping back her tears, she stopped. Dread settled icily in Claire’s chest. ‘It all happened so fast. Derek pushed past Luke, almost pushed him over. Luke’s face…’ Again, Joyce broke off on a sob. ‘Dear God, it was like thunder. I had no choice but to call the police when he went after him. I was so scared. I…’
She was crying in earnest now. Claire felt like crying with her. ‘Where is he?’ she asked, her throat parched.
‘At the police station,’ Joyce managed. ‘He almost killed him, Claire. I have no idea what they’ll charge him with. Whether they’ll charge him at all if Derek refuses to press charges. He better had refuse,’ she added angrily, ‘or I’ll bloody well kill him.’
Claire felt the frantic hammering of her heart abate a little. She’d thought… For a second, she’d imagined that Luke actually had killed him. She’d almost wished he had. Recalling an incident where Luke had squared up to him once before when Derek had made a derogatory comment to her, she realised how hypocritical she was being. She’d applauded him then, been pleased he’d defended her. Now, she was condemning him.
‘How is Derek?’ she asked, not that she much cared, other than about what the consequences might be for Luke.
‘Sore. Nursing his bruised ego.’ Joyce sniffled. ‘I don’t condone violence any more than I do drinking, but if you want my honest opinion, it’s about time someone gave him a good beating. I told him as much, too. Mark my words, he’ll come home from hospital to find the locks changed if he dares say Luke’s attack was unprovoked.’
Was a push sufficient provocation, though? Luke had said he’d pushed Anna, that was all. Clearly he didn’t think then that a push amounted to much.
‘I’d better go,’ Joyce said, taking a tremulous breath. ‘I’m hoping Luke will call me.’
Claire nodded. She wasn’t sure what to say. She could hardly ask Joyce to pass on her love to him. ‘Will you let me know what happens?’
Joyce was silent for a second, then, ‘Of course I will,’ she assured her. ‘But… will you talk to him? If he calls you? I’ve no idea what he’s doing messing about with other women – that’s unforgivable – but he’s worried to death about Ella. He’s frightened you won’t let him see her. She’s his whole world.’
She did know about the other woman, then. But did she know about the things Luke was being accused of, or had he been too ashamed to tell her? If he had, it wasn’t Claire’s place to do so. In any case, the woman was already upset enough.
‘Yes,’ she agreed guardedly. With Luke acting so aggressively, she’d been reluctant to talk to him at all, but she knew she would have to at some point.
‘Thanks, Claire.’ Joyce’s voice flooded with relief. ‘Bye, lovely. I’ll ring you as soon as I know anything. Give Ella a hug for me.’
‘I will,’ Claire promised. Then, feeling as if all the blood had drained from her body, she ended the call and sat unsteadily on the sofa, trying to assimilate what she’d learned. She could understand why Luke would have reacted to Derek’s despicable behaviour towards Joyce. The man would try the patience of a saint, let alone the son of a woman who was being abused right in front of his eyes. But how violent had he been that Joyce had been terrified he might actually kill him? Should she get the locks changed here? Luke still had his key. But he would never cause her or Ella any harm, she was sure of it.
Her heart aching with uncertainty, she was close to tears when Sophie tapped on the door and came into the lounge. ‘Everything all right, Claire?’ she asked her, her face full of concern.
‘No,’ Claire blurted, with a vigorous shake of her head. ‘It’s Luke.’ She gulped back a sob. ‘He attacked his mother’s partner. According to Joyce, he very nearly killed him. He’s been arrested. I’ve no idea what will happen now.’
‘Oh no…’ Sophie stared at her, looking as stunned as Claire felt. ‘God, Claire, as if you haven’t got enough to worry about.’ Sighing sympathetically, she walked across to sit next to her, wrapping her arm around her and giving her shoulders a firm squeeze. ‘Well, I can see now why you decided not to let him anywhere near Ella. A man who’s done what he’s done, someone who is clearly capable of killing someone, it would have been totally irresponsible to risk her safety like that. You’ve done the right thing, Claire, trust me.’
Hang on a minute. Claire knitted her brow. She hadn’t made any such decision. Sure, she’d been wary of Luke seeing Ella until there’d been some kind of resolution to the situation with Anna and she could see he was behaving more rationally. But she’d never said she’d decided to stop him seeing Ella completely. She couldn’t do that even if she wanted to, not without some kind of injunction.
‘He would never hurt her. He loves her more than his life,’ she said. She knew in her heart that that was true. He would never hurt Ella. Not ever.
Sophie looked at her, surprised. ‘He’s desperate, Claire. Why else would he leave dangerous things around the house? I’d bet it was him who slashed your tyre, making sure to curtail your freedom. And then there was his threat to inform social services of God knows what.’ Her eyes were wide with worry as they searched Claire’s. ‘Have you considered that if you allow him access, he might abscond with her?’
‘What?’ Claire laughed, disbelieving.
‘If he thinks he might go to prison,’ Sophie went on, her expression deadly serious. ‘He’ll get bail, presumably, and if he thinks he might not see her again…’
Claire had heard enough. ‘No. That’s utterly ridiculous. He would never do something like that.’ She got to her feet and headed determinedly for the door to check on Ella.
‘Is it?’ Sophie asked behind her. ‘I lied to you about my cat.’
Confused, Claire stopped in her tracks.
‘She’s okay but… He took her, Claire,’ Sophie said gravely, as she turned back to face her. ‘Put her in a plastic bag and threw her over a canal bridge. From the description one of my neighbours gave me, it was definitely him. He’s been harassing you, stalking you. You can’t deny his behaviour was threatening when he came here and tried to let himself in.’
Claire didn’t answer. She was too stunned to speak. The fact was, he had been harassing her.
‘You say he loves Ella more than his life. It seems to me he’s putting his own life above hers. Just be careful, Claire,’ Sophie warned her ominously, ‘for your little girl’s sake.’