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Below, I can hear Adie’s voice talking, lilting with emphasis. There’s a brief pause, a soft whisper, so I assume she’s sobbing and then he starts again, all syrup and persuasion. I try to ignore them, breathe deeply, but instead I pick up a paper napkin and shred it between my fingers into a hundred pieces.
His phone is across the table. I glance towards where Bonnie and Adie have gone downstairs. There’s no one around, so I reach for it and flick it open. I know I shouldn’t, but I wonder how many other women he’s in contact with: his phone could have evidence of his philandering.
I check his most recent phone call – there are no details of a number, but he’s spoken to the same unidentified caller three times today and five times yesterday. I look back through his other calls. He’s tried to phone Bonnie a dozen times, more. Then I notice he has an unopened text, and I press the button and catch my breath. There it is, the photo of Bonnie and me and the man, Duncan Beddowes, taken in Adie’s office. Bonnie’s posing, smiling for the camera, and my face is twisted in annoyance. Just below it, the message reads: I never make empty threats. The phone nearly slips from my fingers.
I hear voices becoming louder, Adie’s protesting and Bonnie’s petulant tones. I thrust the phone to the other side of the table and start to play with the shredded napkin, sip cold coffee. The happy couple appear, holding hands, Adie cheerful again, Bonnie looking sad. She can’t meet my eyes. Adie’s smirking, triumphant. He speaks first.
‘We’re going home now.’
‘Bonnie?’ I stare at her. ‘Bon, are you sure?’ She shakes her head, nods and shrugs. I stand. ‘I want you to ring me later, Bonnie.’ I stare at Adie, who’s wrapped an arm round her and is now helping her into her coat, a true gentleman. ‘Seriously, Adie. I want to know she’s all right.’
He lifts his coat, turns his back and points her towards the stairs. ‘You don’t need to worry, Georgie. But thanks for your help. We’re all fine now.’
He’s eradicated his infidelity in one sentence. I glare at him. He remembers his phone, scoops it from the table and pushes it in a pocket. Bonnie looks over her shoulder as she’s ushered away.
‘Georgie, I …’
‘Ring me.’
He steers her down the stairs and the last thing I see is her staring over her shoulder, a round-eyed gaze and smudged make-up. I breathe in and out like a seething dog and clench my fists. An image is soaking into the screen of my mind and words follow: the picture of Bonnie and me either side of a man we don’t know and the warning underneath: Remember …
Adie’s made a very real enemy and he’s definitely in trouble above his head. I wonder what sort of corrupt business he’s involved in. A shiver goes through me, from my shoulders right down to my toes.
Chapter Six
The next day, Nanny’s surprisingly quiet during my visit. She picks at her roast dinner for one and leaves most of it on the side of her plate. When she gazes at the television, she hardly hears me talking to her. I sit on the rug, snuggle against her knees and gaze up at her as she sips the last of her beer. The music booms and a smooth voice proclaims today’s news headlines. There’s a politician who’s in trouble. He’s made a crass remark and other politicians are calling him a buffoon and demanding that he resign. A woman from some fiscal group at a university talks about 3 per cent inflation, how prices are going up, and that it’s going to be a hard summer for investors. Nanny tuts.
Then the local news: the screen moves to a street I recognise in Norris Green. A man’s voice narrates that the police have staged a big coup to do with money laundering in which a large amount of cash was involved: the first man was arrested in what’s expected to be a sequence of arrests. I stare at the screen, at a plastic door with no lights on inside. I remember the same view from Adie’s Boxster. An old pair of trainers hangs from the telegraph wire. It’s the same house.
Nanny Basham adjusts her glasses and sucks her teeth. ‘This city is full of scallies. It never used to be like this.’
I shake my head and wonder if Adie has anything to do with the crime on the television. When we stopped outside the house, he said someone owed him money. For a second, I wonder if he’s lost it all. I know he is a wheeler-dealer, but it’s possible he’s involved in something worse.
I mumble, ‘I shouldn’t be surprised if it’s connected to Adie. Who knows what he does? It’s probably not legitimate. Bonnie’s best away from him, Nan.’
‘I agree, Georgina. But it can’t be easy for her.’
‘Of course it is. You just walk out of the door.’
‘Splitting up, like you did with Terry Wood? Some women find it difficult to be by themselves all the time.’
‘I don’t.’
‘Perhaps Bonnie’s not like you, Georgina. Perhaps she doesn’t hold with your ideas about women’s lubrication.’
‘Liberation, Nan.’
The voice on television talks about the arrest and how further arrests will be made.
Nanny shakes her head. ‘They want locking up, all of them. And the key throwing away.’
Nan looks tired. I ask her if she’s all right and she tells me she’s fine, she’s just worried about Bonnie. We both are. I can’t stop thinking about the text messages; burned in my mind is the photo of us standing either side of the man called Beddowes and I can’t rid myself of the image of Adie’s fading pallor as he watched his business contact take the selfie.
Bonnie doesn’t call me. I text her three times on Sunday night and by midnight I’m so worried, I ring. She answers me with a faint voice. She’s in bed with a migraine.
On Monday, I leave her alone and decide she should have time to herself. She can call me if she needs me. For all I know, she’s in Sri Lanka on a second honeymoon.
On Tuesday, my feet don’t touch the ground. Amanda and I are busy all day and we spend lunchtime advertising for a new beauty therapist. Now Jade is away so often, we need help and business is good enough to try out a new pair of hands.
I rush to Nan’s at lunch to put her groceries away and during the afternoon, I move from client to client. Diane Morris, now Diane Morris-Kandeh, arrives at 3 p.m. for a facial and spends an hour chattering about her husband, twenty-five-year-old Lamin who by all accounts is descended from a Mandinka warrior. He’s especially warlike in the bedroom. I roll my eyes because hers are closed, make my voice light and coo, ‘Lovely.’
Amanda and I are still busy at five o’clock. Jade texts me that she’ll jump in a taxi at the station when she arrives back from Brighton just before midnight. She has a client first thing tomorrow, at 7.30. I check my email and we have two applicants already for the therapist’s job: seventeen-year-old Lexi and twenty-three-year-old Ella-Louise, both claiming to have experience in treatments I’ve never even heard of. The younger one has apparently invented new nail-art designs and Ella-Louise has qualifications in intimate waxing for men, so I decide to interview them both on Thursday morning.
My last client of the day, Mrs Gaffney, whose first name is really Daphne, arrives for her pedicure at five fifteen. She’s seventy-seven and sprightlier than I am at the moment, given my thumping headache. She entertains me with a catalogue of raunchy tales about her first three husbands, so I always enjoy those sessions. She seldom talks about the fourth, who died last year, except to say, ‘He was the love of my life, God rest him.’
We finish just after six o’clock and Amanda stares out of the window. Beyond the frame, all is grey – the sky is dishwater dark outside, and then a splattering of rain hits the glass and she shudders.
‘Rhys’s working the late shift. It looks horrible out there. Am I up for a twenty-minute walk home in a freezing downpour through the park?’
I take the hint. ‘Stop for a cheeky glass of wine, a bite to eat. I’ll get you a taxi home later. We’ve worked hard today.’
She sits at the kitchen table and smiles. I uncork a bottle of Merlot and it splashes into two large glasses with a familiar glug. I’ll make beans on toast. The company will be nice.
Half an hour later, the Merlot bottle is half empty. Or half full. Amanda’s chatting about the coming summer and a holiday in the sun.
‘When we first met, Rhys and I spent July on the Algarve in a villa. We had a pool outside, rolling hills, no neighbours. He used to stroll around naked all day in the sunshine …’
I wrinkle my nose. ‘Sounds like a fire hazard to me.’
She misunderstands my cynicism.
‘Oh, definitely. I believe in keeping our relationship hot. I mean, I didn’t choose a firefighter for nothing. Sometimes I even get him to keep his yellow helmet on.’
I’m ready to join her in spluttering laughter, but her face is serious. I giggle anyway.
‘Rhys and I have everything we want, though. This year, I’ve asked him if we can spend money on experiences. I need a holiday. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.’
I imagine the beaches, the surf, the cocktails, the garlands; lei placed round my neck by a welcoming islander with a huge smile.
‘I’ll have to get the calendar out and look at holidays. It’ll be easy if we can appoint one of these new applicants.’
‘I hope we find someone.’ Amanda wrinkles her nose.
‘We’ll interview on Thursday. I’ve invited Lexi and Ella-Louise.’
‘We have plenty of work for at least one of them.’ Amanda scrapes her fork on the plate. ‘We both work far too hard.’
I agree and reward us both with a top-up from the wine bottle.
‘In fact, Georgie, you need a holiday, too.’
I think of Bonnie and wonder again if she’s at the airport with Adie.
I nod. ‘It’s been a while.’
‘When did you last have a break?’
I think about it.
‘I went to Paris eighteen months ago for a weekend. And before that I went to Palma for ten days. That was ages ago, though.’
She folds her arms across her chest. ‘By yourself?’
I nod. ‘I don’t mind travelling alone. It’s always an experience. I talk to people and I go to places where it’s safe, and there’s either a lot of sightseeing, or shopping, or a nice beach or a pool.’
‘What about a man?’
‘Oh, you can get one of those anywhere. You don’t have to go abroad.’
She giggles, humouring me. ‘No, really, Georgie, when did you last have a proper relationship?’
I trot out an easy answer. ‘I’m too busy.’ Then I stop to think. ‘No, I’m not interested in men and they’re not interested in me. Not the nice ones. There was the sleazy man with the clipped beard at Demi’s wedding. That’s the sort of man who tries to chat me up – the unpleasant ones. You can smell the desperation – they’ll sidle up to anything in a skirt. I don’t get many offers nowadays but I’m not at all worried.’
She leans forwards and pats my hand. ‘You’re still young, Georgie. You look good.’
I shake my head. ‘No, that’s all over with now.’
‘What is – love?’
‘I’m too independent, too old for love and all that nonsense. Men. Sex. The hassle. Having to compromise. Do what they want to do, go where they want. “Yes, dear – whatever you say, dear.” Sharing a bed with a snoring, sweaty bloke with a beer gut. Having to lend him money for the next bet or wondering if I’ll find frilly knickers in the back of his car that belong to the woman he’s seeing behind my back.’
‘You’re cynical.’
‘Not at all.’
‘Terry must’ve really hurt you.’
‘I’m well over him. He did me a favour. I’d rather have this place and the business, to be honest.’
‘But what about the company? Someone to cuddle up to? Someone to love who loves you back?’
‘I’m happy as I am. Besides, I’m past all that.’
‘Is it dating that bothers you, Georgie? I mean, after all these years, do you think you’d still be able to get excited about going out with a man?’
‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘I’ve had two dates since Terry, both disasters. It put me off completely. What would be the point? I’m too set in my ways. And anyway, men only want a younger, prettier version after a few years …’
‘You mean like Rabbity Alison?’
I push the memory away, finish my wine and grin at her. ‘Okay. It’s big decision time.’ Amanda looks hopeful: she thinks I might agree to start dating. Instead, I offer her a mischievous grin. ‘Should we open another bottle or have a coffee?’
She glances up at the clock on the wall. ‘It’s nearly nine. Coffee, please. I’d better get off soon.’
I pick up the empty plates. The prospect of a bit of quiet, even an early night tucked up with the hot-water bottle, looms in front of me like an old friend. Jade’ll be home around midnight, but she has a key. I’ll see her at breakfast time. I don’t want to appear the fretful, needy mum.
An hour later, the kitchen is clean, with the plates put away, and I’m curled up in bed reading a book about a man who’s lived for hundreds of years but who’s lonely and can’t adjust to the present time. I’m immersed in the middle chapters. The radio is a tinny rattle of music in my ears. The eleven o’clock newsreader mutters something about rising crime rates and the high price of an average family house. I push my feet against the furry warmth of the hot-water bottle beneath my toes and I feel sleepy. I place the book gently on the floor on its front, switch off the radio and reach for the light. My phone buzzes an in-coming call and I pick up.
‘Hello. Bonnie. How are you?’
Her voice comes back as a whisper. ‘Georgie. I’m scared. There’s someone in the house.’
‘Huh? Tell Adie …’
‘Adie’s out. There’s someone downstairs. I’m in the bedroom.’ I can hear her breathing, a shallow rasp. ‘What shall I do?’
I sit upright, wide awake. ‘Are you sure? Did you Skype Demi?’
‘Yes, a few minutes ago. Then I heard someone moving about in the lounge and something fell or smashed. I don’t know what happened but someone’s definitely here. I’m scared.’
My thoughts race. ‘Are you on your own?’
‘Yes. Adie’s out until midnight, at a business meeting.’
I make up my mind at once. ‘Are you dressed?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you get to the back door safely?’
‘No, but I could climb out of the window and onto the garage roof, grab the drainpipe, drop down to the lawn.’
‘Go now. Take your bag. Keep talking to me.’
‘Then what?’
‘Run to the road across the garden. Get in a taxi, drive into town. Call me.’
I hear her breath in ragged gasps. ‘Okay, I’m doing it, now.’
She’s left the phone on and at first I hear nothing, then a soft dragging sound, perhaps a window opening or a leg stretching, Bonnie climbing outside. A soft bump, silence, then she’s running. I’m holding my breath.
She gasps into the mouthpiece, ‘I think something awful has happened, Georgie. Someone’s broken in. I’m on the drive, my feet are wet – I’ll put my shoes back on …’ There’s silence, soft sounds, then she’s whispering into the phone: ‘I’m on the road now, looking up and down, but there’s no taxi. I was all on my own, Georgie. Adie left hours ago and said he’d be back late; there was a banging noise downstairs and … hang on. Taxi!’ There’s a pause, an engine. ‘Please, yes, the city centre – yes, of course, all that way. Please, quick as you can.’
There’s the gritty sound of a male voice in the background and her reply.
I whisper, ‘Are you all right, Bonnie?’
She breathes out. ‘Yes. I know someone was in the house. I could hear them moving. I can’t talk now.’
‘Bonnie. Do you have money?’
‘I have my card in my handbag. I don’t have a coat, though. I’m freezing.’
An idea pops in my head.
‘Go to the station. Jade’s coming back from Brighton. I’ll call her, tell her what’s happened. The station’ll be busy and it’ll look like you’re getting a train somewhere. Jade’ll meet you and you can come back here together. You’ll be better with people round you. Ring me as soon as you’re at Lime Street.’
‘Okay.’ Her voice trembles and then she’s gone.
My hands shake as I ring Jade. It takes her a while to pick up and at first she’s irritated with my babble, but I take a deep breath and explain.
She says, ‘Oh my God, Mum,’ and is silent.
‘Keep in touch, will you, Jade? And get back here as soon as possible.’
‘Right, Mum. I’ll be back soon with Aunty Bonnie.’
I breathe out. ‘I’ll get the kettle on.’
There’s a pause then Jade says, ‘That’d be nice. I could do with a chat before we go to bed.’ I can hear her thinking. I wait and then she says, ‘I have some news for you too, Mum. I think it’s going to be one of those nights.’
Chapter Seven
It’s past one o’clock. Bonnie’s hunched over a glass of brandy in the lounge. She’s in my favourite armchair, staring out of the French windows at the patch of lawn outside, wrapped in a thick dressing gown, my striped pyjamas and a pair of my old fluffy slippers. The bracelet still encircles her wrist, the little charms winking in the light. Jade’s in her cream coat, standing by the windows, frowning with her arms tightly folded. She reminds me so much of Terry.
‘Go on then, Mum. Tell me I’m being stupid.’
Bonnie’s face is anxious and tired, stripped of make-up. She bites her lip.
‘You have to follow your heart, love. It’s the only thing.’ She thinks for a moment. ‘But look where that’s got me. Well, maybe you’ll have more luck, Jade. Of course you will. I mean, Demi’s happy. She and Kyle are in Phuket. She sent me some pictures. I’m so glad she’s away from all this …’ Her face freezes. She’s thinking of Adie, of her escape in the taxi.
I stare from Bonnie to Jade and realise I haven’t spoken. I don’t know what to say to my daughter, which is unusual, so I just mutter, ‘I’ll support whatever you want to do, Jade.’
Her face clouds. I’ve said the wrong thing. ‘Can’t you just be happy for me, Mum?’
I slide from the chair and go over to her, wrap my arms round her. Her shoulders stiffen.
‘I’m happy for you, love. It’s only …’
‘You think it’s too soon?’ She pulls back and her eyes blaze.
I start to yawn and wish I hadn’t. She’ll think I’m bored. I’m so tired my bones ache.
‘Jade, you and Luis love each other. I can see why you want to move to Brighton to be with him. Of course. You’re smart, talented, sophisticated, beautiful.’ She rolls her violet eyes. ‘You’ll have a great life there. Of course I’m happy for you.’
Bonnie gives a dry laugh, but her face is sad. ‘You’ll be fine. You won’t mess up like your mum did. Like I’ve done.’
Tears start and she sucks the dregs from the brandy glass. I fill it halfway and she brings it to her lips. I offer a small glass to Jade and pour one for myself.
Jade sidles over to her. ‘You’ll be okay, Aunty Bonnie.’
Bonnie takes a breath and forces a smile. ‘I hope you’ll be lucky in love, Jade.’ She breathes out. ‘You’re off to start a new chapter of your life with your lovely young man. And I …’ A tear tipples from her eye and she dabs it away. ‘I’m about to end a chapter with my wicked old man.’ A laugh bubbles in her throat. ‘So, cheers to you and to me. In fact, cheers to all three of us.’
‘Bring it on,’ I grin and our glasses chime together.
Suddenly, there’s a rap at the door, loud and insistent. It can only be one person. Bonnie leaps up and runs off like a wild-eyed rabbit to hide upstairs, swiping her handbag from the table and, as an afterthought, taking her glass of brandy with her.
I tweak the door open. His face is grey in shadow.
‘Let me in, Georgie.’
I keep the door slightly ajar.
‘I’m in my pyjamas, Adie. For God’s sake.’
‘Where’s Bonnie?’ Then he’s in, looking round the reception area for signs of her. ‘Is she here?’
He charges up to the kitchen. Jade and I are behind him. I check that Bonnie hasn’t left anything and breathe out.
‘No, Adie, she’s not here. Do you never talk to her? Wherever would she be at this time of night?’
Jade stands behind me.
Adie stares round the room. ‘She must be here …’ He rushes from the kitchen to the lounge, stares out of the French windows at the raised garden.
I follow him.
‘She’s not.’ I make my voice low. ‘What the hell’s going on, Adie?’
He shakes his head: I think he’s going to cry. I hope not.
‘She’s gone.’
‘Where?’ I put my hands on my hips in a Haka stance and think about thrusting my tongue out but decide against it. ‘Where’s my sister?’
He says nothing so I grab his arm.
‘Adie, I’m going to call the police.’
He snatches at my wrist and holds it too hard.
‘No. Don’t do that.’
Jade says, ‘Get off my mum.’
I pull my arm away. ‘Where is she, then?’
His face blanches even more.
‘She’s not at home. I’m worried about her. Something’s happened.’
‘To Bonnie? What have you done, Adie?’ I raise my phone, a sign of intent.
‘Georgie, I’m in a bit of trouble. I owe a man some money. I think he came to the house …’
I gasp. Jade does the same behind me. I’m suddenly relieved that Bonnie’s upstairs. I breathe out.
‘You should phone the police.’
‘I can’t. I have to find Bonnie.’
‘Do you have any idea where she might be?’
He’s miserable. ‘I hoped she might be here. I got home an hour ago. Someone had broken in, been through the things in my office, and Bonnie was missing.’
I fold my arms. ‘I’m worried now, Adie.’
He nods, licks thin lips. ‘She hasn’t taken her coat but her handbag’s gone. I’m just worried. I’m having a few problems with a business deal and now she’s missing.’
‘Adie, what on earth have you done?’
‘Nothing I can’t sort out.’
His elbows move out from his body, he stands taller. He’s recovering his poise.
I wonder what to do, how to get him out of the house. Then his phone buzzes and he grabs it from his pocket.
‘It’s a text. From Bonnie.’
Jade puts a steady hand on my shoulder.
I frown. ‘Where is she, Adie?’ My mind’s accelerating. She’s probably under the bed.
‘At the airport. She’s telling me to meet her there. We can catch a plane somewhere – get away together.’ He gapes at me for a moment. ‘She’s okay. Thank goodness. She said she heard someone downstairs and knew instinctively we’d need to get away for a bit. My clever little Bonnie. I’ll go back to the house quickly, pack a bag and we’ll be gone.’
He turns away. He’s not interested in me any more. He’s off, through the kitchen and reception, towards the door.
‘I’ll be in touch, Georgie.’
He flips the bolt and is outside, letting chilly air whoosh into the house. He slips into the darkness and he’s a shadow. I hear the clip of his car door, the growl of an engine. Then he’s gone. I close the door and lock it.
‘And good riddance to Adie. Well done, Bonnie. She played a genius card there.’
Jade’s face contorts. ‘But when he gets to the airport, she won’t be there. What then?’
‘It buys us time.’ I shrug. ‘But we’ll have to think of something.’
I go back to the lounge and Bonnie’s standing in the doorway, holding her phone in her fist.
‘In an hour or two, I’ll message him again. I’ll tell him I was nervous, I imagined someone was following me and I took a cab to Edinburgh Airport. I’ll send him on a goose chase.’
‘You heard it all, Bon?’
Her brows are knit in a frown. She’s clearly furious.
‘I snuck down and listened. Adie’s messed up one of his deals. I tiptoed back upstairs and texted him. I’m not being frightened out of my own house by his dodgy friends. I want out.’
Jade links her arm through Bonnie’s. ‘What are you going to do?’
Bonnie’s new resolve and determination fills me with optimism. She’ll be better away from Adie. I plaster a smile on my face and launch in.
‘We have to avoid Adie until he’s out of trouble. We need to think carefully and come up with a plan.’
I gaze from my daughter to my sister. Jade’s face is calm, her skin luminous. She’s off to Brighton to start a new life with her Spanish beau. Bonnie’s pale, anxious. I have to get her away from Adie. I think of what might have happened to Bonnie if she hadn’t left the house in Frodsham and my mind shuffles thoughts about what to do next.
Jade leans back in her seat and stretches her arms out, flexing the muscles. I’ll miss her when she’s in Brighton. The feeling of loss is already starting to squat on my shoulders and clutch at my heart. Then an idea flashes in my mind, perfectly formed. It’s an opportunity, exploding in front of me like a firework. In one move, I can persuade my sister to leave her philandering husband and stay close to my daughter at the same time. Adie and his criminal capers are the perfect excuse.
My mind moves to Nanny, all alone in her cold home. At once, I know how to resolve all of our problems in a single checkmate move. And we can have some fun at the same time. It’s the perfect opportunity to be together, to bond, three generations of women celebrating independence. A wide grin stretches across my face and, quick as lightning, I change it to a serious frown.
‘Bonnie, Jade – I know what we have to do. It’s as clear as daylight. We can’t stay here and wait for Adie to find out we’ve sent him on a goose chase. We’ll take things into our own hands, be in charge of the situation. Until this problem with Adie blows over, we have to put ourselves first. So, we’ll all go away together, tonight. And I know the perfect place.’
