Finding Cassie, page 11
He saw Cassie at her kitchen window and gave her a thumbs up as he went to greet the removal crew.
Within half an hour, he’d retrieved his kettle, found some mugs and made them all cups of tea. He didn’t keep coffee, the smell of which seemed horribly strong since his various hospital treatments and made him feel slightly nauseous.
In just under two hours, the crew had unloaded everything and driven their empty vehicle away. He looked round at the chaos and felt happiness bubble up inside him, for all that his shoulder was still aching.
He really was home now and it didn’t matter if he had to take the unpacking slowly. All he needed was somewhere to sleep, sit and eat. The rest could be tackled as and when he felt up to it.
He walked to the doors leading out onto the back patio. He’d have to buy some better outdoor furniture than the few shabby pieces he already had. It’d be a great place to sit and chat to friends, or just read a book.
He hoped to spend his final years here. Life was good.
Keith had worried about leaving Fran on her own but he had an important meeting that he couldn’t afford to miss.
When he got home from work, his new wife greeted him with tears in her eyes. She hardly gave him time to close the front door before saying in a wobbly voice, ‘There’s still no sign of Evie and last night was the second without her. Keith, we’ll have to go to the police now. She may have been murdered!’
He put his briefcase down, hiding his annoyance about that stupid girl. ‘Not her. She’ll have found someone to stay with, I’m sure. She’s a sly one, I’m afraid, darling. You have to face facts about her. We’ll only be pandering to her prima donna antics if we go to the police. And she’s bound to tell them lies about why she ran away. That’s what teenagers do. Then there will be a huge fuss. You don’t want them taking her into care, surely?’
‘Take her away from me! Surely they wouldn’t do that?’
He put his arms round her and kissed her cheek then her lips, something that usually won her over, but though she clung to him, it only calmed her slightly today. He’d never met such a needy female. Or one with such a pretty young daughter. He’d fallen lucky there. If he played his cards right, he’d be getting two for the price of one.
Pity Fran didn’t have much money to contribute to the family purse now they were married, but there you were. He’d make sure she continued working and as for having other children, forget it. Babies and small brats were a pain to live with as he had found out the first time round. He’d had the operation years ago to ensure he couldn’t have any more.
With a sigh, Fran pushed away from him. ‘Well, Amelia will still be there. She’s not going to Italy till tomorrow. I’ll just give her a quick ring and see if she’s heard from Evie.’
He bit back a sharp response as the two women chatted on and on, then he led the way upstairs and made sure Fran had something else to occupy her mind and body before she cooked his tea.
Females! What a pity one couldn’t live without them. And he had an especially strong need for what only they could give him.
Fran pretended to be asleep, angry with herself for giving way to his skilful lovemaking yet again.
She couldn’t get it out of her mind that Amelia was worried about Evie too, had said in no uncertain terms that she should have gone to the police. But her cousin wouldn’t agree to stay in England, was still planning to leave soon. She’d said Fran must sort things out herself.
Fran sighed. She had a key to Amelia’s house, after all, so she could check whether Evie came back and took refuge there. But she wished her cousin was going to stay around, just in case Evie needed her.
Somehow Fran didn’t dare to go to the police, not now. Keith had been very emphatic about that, had shouted at her when she persisted. Somehow she felt a girl as clever as her daughter would keep herself safe. She had to believe that.
Why had Keith tried to force Evie to come and live with them when she was so set against it? She didn’t think Evie had agreed, but he’d claimed she had because he’d persuaded her to think of her mother.
Why had Evie run away when he’d sent her upstairs to pack, then?
Anyway, Amelia had told a different story, saying Evie had begged to be allowed to stay with her the previous evening. Fran had begun to wonder why the girl was so frightened of him.
If her daughter had persisted in objecting to moving in here, she’d have let her stay with Amelia for that crucial final year at school, even though it wasn’t her favourite option.
Fran chewed one of her nails, then stopped herself because she’d promised him to give up nail biting. And she’d managed it. Well, most of the time.
Why, oh why, had she rushed into marriage with Keith? He wasn’t always as nice when they were in his house. What if her marriage alienated her from her daughter permanently? She couldn’t bear the thought of that.
Lying in the darkness, listening to Keith’s steady breathing, Fran admitted to herself that she was – not exactly frightened, but definitely nervous of upsetting him. He’d proved what anger could drive him to do when he hit her.
She ought not to have married him till she knew him a lot better. He might be OK, but … he might not.
Only, her house was now rented out and her furniture in storage. If she decided to leave him, it’d be hard to arrange somewhere else to go without him finding out. And, oh hell, what a fool she’d look if she left him after such a short time married!
It occurred to her that he had poked into every aspect of her life and she was only just realising how much he had started controlling her. The only thing she’d held out about was them keeping their bank accounts separate. She wasn’t sure yet that she wanted to have a joint account. It was early days and they were both a bit on edge. He could be so nice at times, charming and caring.
But he had hit her. He might think she’d put up with that occasionally, but he was wrong. He’d better not do it again, even. It was her sticking point. She’d seen a TV programme about how battered women got sucked in and persuaded it was their fault for provoking their partner, and had never forgotten its lesson.
She wasn’t going down that track. Another show of violence would prove that he wasn’t trustworthy and she’d end their relationship, however humiliating that was.
She snuggled down, feeling she’d taken one good decision, at least: separate bank accounts was something she’d not give way on.
The rest had been put on a rather wobbly footing.
If she only knew for certain that Evie was safe, she’d be able to concentrate better on sorting out her own situation.
Chapter Eleven
Cassie strolled up to the hotel, which took only a couple of minutes, and found out that the snack bar did takeaways, so she took a menu home and rang through an order for the two meals they’d chosen.
She and Evie walked up to collect them but she left her granddaughter outside, because that really was a dreadful wig, not only an obvious fake but well past its use-by date.
They walked back quickly and sat in the middle of partially organised chaos, eating. For the first time in ages Cassie was truly hungry and cleared her plate.
Evie pushed her empty plate away with a happy sigh. ‘It’s lovely here. Could we go for a walk round the lake after we’ve cleared up, do you think?’
‘Why not? As long as you put that wig on again. In fact, let’s go now before it gets dark. We can clear up the kitchen later.’
Evie did as she’d been asked and tugged on the stupid wig, rolling her eyes at her reflection in the mirror.
They stopped at the other side of the lake to look across at the group of new houses.
‘Do you have any plans yet for what to do about me, Gran?’ Evie asked suddenly.
‘Not really. I’ll have to contact a lawyer before we make any important decisions. I’d better do that as soon as possible, tomorrow if I can find one. I don’t want to be charged by the police with abducting you.’
Evie stared at her in dismay. ‘I never thought of that! I don’t want to get you in trouble, Gran.’
‘I wouldn’t be helping you if I didn’t want to do it, or if I felt it was morally wrong.’ She put her arm round the girl’s shoulders and gave her a hug. ‘Truly. You really are the best thing that’s happened to me for years.’
Evie nestled against her. ‘Well, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time. He does nothing but complain about me. It’s as if he’s trying to come between me and Mum.’ After a slight pause, she added in a near whisper, ‘I, um, feel the same about you, too, Gran.’
That brought a lump into Cassie’s throat.
They finished their walk and as they passed Hal’s house, he came to the front door. ‘I’m just about to take a break. Do you fancy a cup of tea? I don’t have any coffee, I’m afraid.’
‘I’d love a cup of tea,’ Cassie said at once and they joined him inside.
‘Did you enjoy your walk?’
‘Loved it.’
‘I saw you go past and would have liked to join you, but my shoulder is aching and walking jolts it too much, so I’ve postponed that pleasure. Look, I feel like celebrating moving into my new home. How about a glass of wine instead of the tea, Cassie? We can drink to your new home as well.’
‘Sounds perfect.’
‘And I can offer a choice of tea, drinking chocolate or a can of ginger beer for you, Lacey.’
It took a few seconds for Evie to remember her new name and realise he was addressing her. ‘Ginger beer would be lovely, thank you, Mr Kennedy.’ When he turned to get it for her, she shot a guilty glance for her lapse at her grandmother.
Cassie grinned and winked at her, and she relaxed again.
They sat in Hal’s lounge for nearly an hour chatting and toasting their new homes, then the two women headed next door.
Cassie yawned. ‘Another early night for us both, I think.’
When they got inside, Evie flung her arms round her grandmother, surprising her. ‘What a lovely day it’s been! Thank you so much for saving me.’
‘My pleasure. Will you be all right on that old couch? We’ll go and buy you a proper bed tomorrow.’
‘I could sleep on the floor, I’m so tired.’
Cassie didn’t spoil the moment by reminding her that staying here was only a temporary fix for her problems. She wished it wasn’t, wished Evie could stay with her permanently.
But the law might decree otherwise.
When her granddaughter had gone to bed, she got out her phone and called a friend she hadn’t been in contact with for a while, apologising for that.
‘I heard about the terrorist incident and called you, but when you didn’t answer your phone, I guessed you were being hounded by the press. Are you all right, Cassie?’
‘Yes.’
‘Really?’
‘Well, I’m getting there, Judy, because something good has happened to balance the scales.’ She knew Judy well enough to explain about her granddaughter turning up and her need for a lawyer to help her deal with this. ‘Don’t you have a relative who is a lawyer?’
Her friend laughed. ‘Yes. And what’s more, my cousin specialises in family law. I’ll give Thomas a ring tonight and tell him he absolutely must fit you in tomorrow.’
‘Thanks. I’m truly grateful.’
‘The trouble is, he’s moved down to Chichester. Will you be able to get there?’
‘Actually, that’s better for me. I’ve just moved to a new house near Swindon, so I’m not too far away. I shall enjoy a drive there much more than a train ride into London.’ She’d decided to say ‘near Swindon’ instead of ‘near Marlbury’ and not mention the words ‘leisure village’ to hide her actual location.
‘I’ll ring him at home tonight, then, and you can phone him at work just after nine. Here’s his number.’
‘Thanks, Judy. I’m so grateful.’
When she’d put the phone down, Cassie smiled, feeling as if fate were on their side. She could drive to Chichester easily and it would be safer for both of them not to have to travel on public transport as they would in London.
But the smile soon faded because she doubted from what Evie had told her that things would go easily with the girl’s mother and her husband-to-be. And she knew from checking online that a mother’s rights usually trumped a grandmother’s when it came to making arrangements for the care of children.
Well, it did unless you could prove there was a problem such as Evie had described, which she doubted would be possible in this case. She believed what her granddaughter had told her about that horrible man, oh yes, because the way Evie said he was acting fitted the type. Only, he’d been clever and had managed not to alert anyone else so far to what he was really after, damn him to high hell!
She didn’t think she could bear to send Evie back into the lion’s den – but would she have any choice?
She’d have to wait and see what the lawyer said.
But if necessary, as a final resort she’d break the law. She even knew one or two people who would shelter the girl temporarily, people she trusted who hated perverts just as much as she did. She wasn’t letting Evie join the homeless and have to sleep rough regularly.
Her granddaughter’s safety came before anything else.
Evie proved to be an earlier riser than Cassie had expected for a teenager and was up and showered by 8 a.m., hungry and ready to continue helping her sort out the house.
If only that was all they needed to do today, what fun they could have had going shopping together.
After breakfast Cassie couldn’t put it off any longer. ‘Don’t get up from the table yet. I have something to tell you.’ She explained about phoning her friend and finding out about her lawyer cousin.
She hated to see the happiness vanish from her granddaughter’s face. ‘I’m sorry, love, but we have to find out where we stand. I’d prefer not to flout the law. That wouldn’t help our case at all.’
‘Our case?’
‘For you to stay with me. If you want to, that is?’
‘You really mean that, don’t you?’
‘Oh, darling, of course I do!’
‘I can’t think of anything I’d like more, but they’ll make me go back to Mum, I know they will. I’ll run away if they do and live rough if necessary. I love her but I’m not living with him.’
‘Let’s find out first where we stand before we panic, shall we? Then we’ll make plans together – for all eventualities. If the worst comes to the worst, I can help you do better than live on the streets, believe me.’
She rang Thomas Wutherington (why did lawyers so often have weird names?) just after nine o’clock and was put straight through to him by his secretary when she gave her name.
‘Judy rang me at home last night, Ms Bennington.’
‘Did she explain my problem?’
‘Yes. Well, she gave me a broad-brush outline anyway. Why don’t you come in and see me today? I have an hour free at eleven. Can you and the girl get here by then?’
‘Yes, definitely.’
He checked that she knew his address and told her where best to park, which was very thoughtful of him, before he rang off.
Evie looked at her, just looked, but it hurt to see the fear on that young face.
‘We need to leave immediately. And you’d better wear the wig till we’re away from here, then you can take it off. We don’t want him to see you looking like that. I’m so sorry to have to put you through this, love. And I can lend you a smarter jacket than that red thing.’
‘You don’t need to keep apologising, Gran. I don’t want you to be arrested.’ She accepted the jacket, but clearly didn’t care about clothes at the moment.
‘You can tell the lawyer that you won’t live with Keith, but remember, it makes a better impression to speak your piece calmly and not sound hysterical. And always tell the truth. This is not about pleasing me but getting the best outcome for you and what you really, really want.’
Evie frowned, then nodded slowly as she thought about that. ‘You’re right. I’ll do my best to stay calm. I’m pretty good at it usually. I’ve had to be, because Mum can get a bit, um, excitable.’
Remarks like that made Cassie wonder what sort of woman her daughter had grown into, let alone what sort of mother she’d been. Evie spoke of her fondly, but sometimes she sounded to have played a more adult role than Fran had.
They were on the road within ten minutes. Thank heaven for satnavs.
Thomas Wutherington was about forty, a big teddy bear of a man, which seemed appropriate for someone specialising in family law. His expression however was distinctly shrewd and Cassie liked that. She wanted the best advice she could get, the very best, not waffling and kindness.
She outlined the situation, then he turned to Evie and offered to speak to her privately if she preferred, but she shook her head.
‘I can say anything I need to in front of my grandmother. She’s not forcing me to do anything; it’s my mother who’s trying to do that.’
He then asked a few more detailed questions about her wishes, after which he sat frowning for a while before speaking to Cassie. ‘If you were the acknowledged grandmother, Ms Bennington, it’d be a lot easier, because she’s nearly sixteen and that’s usually the age where a child is considered old enough to decide where to live. But in your case you’d never met Evie until she turned up on your doorstep – what? – two or three days ago? So if the mother creates a fuss about parental responsibility, I doubt it’ll be straightforward.’
‘What should we do, then?’
‘First, I’d advise you to take a DNA test, so that you can prove there’s a genuine relationship. Ask them to send a copy directly to me. Their clerk will bring it round, it’s so close to here and my clients use their services regularly. That way, there will be no doubt that I got the real results if we have to go to court. Secondly you ought to return Evie to her mother’s care in the interim.’
