Dead of Winter, page 3
5
TUESDAY 23 DECEMBER
The message from Daniel Whitlock came after a long morning of frustrating meetings with Rich Bradford, who wanted to slash his digital marketing budget for the following year, despite Lola showing him proof that her growth plan for the company was working better than anticipated. He expected the same results, just for half the price, and she couldn’t seem to get it through to him that she wouldn’t be able to deliver.
By the time they broke for lunch, she had a headache from repeatedly banging her head against the wall and her mood had soured. The only thing keeping her going was knowing that in a few hours she would be seeing Quinn again.
She had agreed to his dinner suggestion when he’d messaged her that morning, wanting to know if he should skip his train.
At that point, her message to Daniel had remained unread and she had given up hope that she was going to hear from him.
Now, seeing his invite, offering for her to come to his house and saying he would give her an hour of his time, she debated what to do.
Quinn had changed his plans to accommodate her and Lola was really looking forward to seeing him again, but she also wanted to meet Daniel. She had pleaded for this one chance and he had relented, but she was certain if she messed him around, she wouldn’t get another.
Was it possible she could do both? Go to Saham Toney, then have dinner with Quinn?
The timings would be tight. Probably too tight.
She couldn’t leave until her afternoon meeting with Rich had wrapped up and Saham Toney was about an hour away. She would have to get there and back, and that wasn’t even factoring in the time she would want to spend with her brother. It just wasn’t doable.
Deciding Quinn deserved an actual conversation rather than a message, she decided to call him.
‘Hey,’ he greeted her. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Will you really hate me if I have to cancel on you tonight?’
If he was annoyed or disappointed, he hid it well. ‘Have you heard from Daniel?’ he asked, understanding before she had even explained.
‘Yes, he’s offered to meet me after work. I’m so sorry, Quinn. I’ve really messed you around.’
‘He’s your brother. Forget about me; we can have dinner another time. This is more important. I’m still in Cambridge and haven’t sorted a hotel room yet, so I’ll just hang here for another night. I can always make sure I catch the same train back as you tomorrow, and we can catch up some more.’
Even though he was making this easy, she still felt guilty. ‘Yes, I’d like that. I was looking forward to tonight, but I don’t think I can get to Saham Toney and back in time.’
‘Saham Toney,’ Quinn repeated. ‘You’re going to your brother’s house?’
Now she heard the frown in his voice.
‘Yes, I’m hoping to hire a car as it will cost a small fortune to go by taxi, and it looks like the bus only goes to the nearest village.’
‘Can’t he come and meet you halfway?’
‘He’s in a wheelchair. I don’t want to make it difficult for him when he’s doing this for me.’
‘I get that,’ Quinn said patiently, ‘but it’s a long way to go, Lola, especially if there’s snow.’
‘Snow?’
‘Haven’t you seen the weather? There’s a blizzard forecast for later on tonight.’
She hadn’t, though it didn’t surprise her. It was bitterly cold.
‘It’s not that far,’ she reasoned. ‘I’ve looked on Google Maps. I reckon it’s about an hour’s drive. I can hopefully be there and back before it hits.’
‘Norfolk isn’t like it is up north,’ Quinn argued. ‘It’s all single carriageway and a lot of it is on B roads.’
She supposed he would know. Unlike Lola who had grown up in Cheshire, Quinn’s family had lived all over as his dad had been stationed in the RAF. They had frequently moved between bases.
‘I’ll be okay,’ she insisted, determined not to miss the opportunity to meet her birth brother. ‘I’ll drive carefully.’
Quinn was silent for a moment. ‘Let me come with you,’ he suggested.
He would do that for her after all this time?
Lola indulged herself for a moment, liking the idea of having him by her side as she made the journey to see Daniel. Although she was pushing them down, nerves jittered in her belly at the prospect of meeting a brother she hadn’t realised existed.
It wasn’t a good idea, though. Firstly, she hadn’t mentioned bringing anyone with her. And this wasn’t a coffee shop or cafe. Daniel had invited her to his house and his wife, possibly family, might be present, so it felt wrong to invade their space with someone else when they had so hesitantly welcomed her alone.
Besides, Quinn was a distraction, and she needed her focus on this meeting.
‘No, I have to do this alone,’ she told him, ‘but thank you for offering. It means a lot.’
It really did, and it was a stark reminder of what she had lost when their relationship had ended. He was a good man and he had always put her first, even when she hadn’t deserved it. Was there a way they could find a path back to one another? Right now, it seemed possible, but so much had happened between them. It was going to take more than one encounter on a train for them to rebuild what they had lost.
Quinn accepted her decision to travel in the worsening weather and to do so alone, but then she guessed he didn’t really have a choice.
‘Do me a favour,’ he asked before they ended the call, ‘let me know you get there safely, okay?’
‘If it makes you feel better,’ Lola joked, keeping her tone light.
‘It will,’ he insisted, and his words stayed with her as she replied to Daniel, accepting his invitation.
His reply came back promptly, agreeing to the time she had asked to meet and giving her his address – the name of his house, Midwinter Manor, sounded imposing. There were no pleasantries, but then she supposed he didn’t know her.
Yet.
After going online and booking a rental car, arranging to have it delivered that afternoon, she stopped for a sandwich, then headed back up the road to the Safe Hands office for round two of meetings.
She was almost there when a spit of something wet landed on her cheek.
Sleet, she realised, though not snow. Not yet.
Hopefully it would hold off long enough for her to get to Norfolk and back.
She had come so far and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to meet her birth brother and seek some answers for the sake of thirty-six miles and possibly a bit of snow.
Plus she had the return journey with Quinn to look forward to.
It was all going to work out.
6
‘I can’t believe you’re letting her come here. Are you both stupid?’
Jimmy’s laugh was harsh, his tone insulting, and Rose was tempted to snap at him. Instead, she bit down on her temper, knowing sweetness was usually the way to go when she wanted something from her older brother. He might be five years her senior, but often she felt like she was the responsible one of the two.
He could be argumentative just for the sake of it, especially when he had sobered up after sleeping off one of his drinking sessions and was nursing a mammoth hangover. It wouldn’t last long, though, and she noticed he was already eyeing up the vodka bottle that sat on the kitchen counter.
‘It’s only going to be a brief visit,’ she pointed out. ‘She messaged Daniel saying she’s working locally and asked to meet him. What were we supposed to say? She’s his sister.’
‘Nothing! You were supposed to say nothing.’ Jimmy’s eyes, which had once been a mirror of her own, were now puffy and bloodshot; the blue of his irises bright with anger against the redness around them. ‘Ignore her and she’ll go away. It’s too dangerous.’
‘It will be fine,’ she assured him, keeping her tone smooth and thinking to herself that the only danger came from Jimmy and his big, clumsy mouth. Especially once he started drinking. ‘We couldn’t risk her showing up uninvited.’
She didn’t want Jimmy here when Lola Henderson came to the house and hoped she would be able to persuade him to go out to the pub.
Honestly, if she could find a way to get him to move out, then she would. It was Daniel’s fault he was here. Her husband was too soft on Jimmy. And now it was too risky to force him to go; the terrible thing they had done binding them closer together.
‘What if she figures it out, if she realises what you did?’
What you did.
Rose’s temper spiked at his phrasing. Not what we all did. Jimmy was taking himself firmly out of the equation.
Typical of her brother. Run at the first sign of trouble.
They had let him live here. Putting a roof over his head and meals on the table. They had provided for him when he’d hit rock bottom and had nothing, and this was his way of saying thank you.
‘She’s not going to find out,’ she insisted, keeping her smile pleasant, even though she was gritting her teeth. ‘She’s going to come to the house, we’ll try to answer her questions, then she will leave. She’s given her word that she will back off. After today, we never have to see her again.’
‘You hope,’ Jimmy goaded. ‘When she sees the size of this place, she’ll want to stay. Get her feet under the table and make sure she’s in the will.’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘Why the hell did you invite her here to the house? You could have gone somewhere else to meet her.’
‘Because it’s safer. For all of us.’
Rose glanced out of the window at the sleet that had started to fall again. She had seen on the news the predictions for a white Christmas, and she knew that snow was forecast for tonight.
With any luck, Lola Henderson would realise how bad the roads were and she would turn back.
Then they wouldn’t have to go through this charade at all.
7
Lola needed to be in Saham Toney no later than 7 p.m. and, aware she had to allow extra travelling time for the poor weather conditions, she decided that she needed to leave the Safe Hands office when they closed at 5 p.m. It would give her half an hour to nip back to the hotel and quickly freshen up before hitting the road.
Unfortunately, it seemed Rich Bradford had other ideas.
‘I thought we could order in some food and talk things through some more,’ he complained when she tried to draw their meeting to a close. ‘I have a couple of marketing ideas I still want to discuss with you.’
‘We can go over them tomorrow,’ Lola said, keeping her tone amenable as she buttoned her coat. It was one she didn’t wear often, tending to reserve it for client meetings, when she made more of an effort with her appearance, and the soft caramel shade complemented the understated black jeans and jumper underneath it. Right now, she was glad she had brought it with her; the calf-length woollen coat would keep her warm against the elements.
‘I don’t understand why we can’t just carry on tonight,’ he argued. ‘You’re only going to be sitting around in a hotel room.’
She bristled at his words. Even if she was intending to do that, it was her free time, and she pointed this out now, reminding him that she had already accommodated his request for meetings so close to Christmas. ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘I won’t be at the hotel. I have plans.’
‘Really?’ He sounded intrigued. ‘What plans?’
None of your business, she wanted to say, but he was a client and she wouldn’t be rude, even if he was.
‘I’m seeing family,’ she told him, deciding to keep it simple. Rich had no business knowing about Daniel or why she was meeting him.
‘I didn’t know you had anyone in Ely.’
As it wasn’t a question, she didn’t attempt to explain that she was actually going to Norfolk.
‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ she said instead, eager to be on her way.
He nodded brusquely before managing the hint of a smile. ‘Don’t stay out too late. I want to get an early start tomorrow. I was thinking we could meet here at 8 a.m.’
‘Fine.’ She would give him that one concession. Besides, an earlier start meant she might be able to get away sooner. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’
It surprised her that Rich wanted to stay late at the office. She didn’t know much about his personal life, but a photo sat on his desk of a smiling woman holding a toddler, suggesting that he had a family waiting for him at home.
No, this was all about work and trying to get extra for free. Plus, the man appeared to enjoy making life difficult for people. He didn’t have a huge workforce, hence why he outsourced his marketing, and Lola felt sorry for his employees. There wasn’t much Christmas spirit about the place, with just a tiny tinsel tree on the front reception desk.
She pushed the main door open, stepping outside into the dark night, the bitterly cold temperature stealing her breath. Although she could hear the faint hum of traffic on the city roads, there was no one else in the car park, and she hurried over to the Peugeot she had rented. It sat beneath the one security light at the far end of the car park, its bonnet glowing where sleet had melted. For now, the dark sky was clear and full of stars, and there was a stillness to the air, as if in anticipation of the blizzard Quinn had mentioned. Lola hoped to be back in Ely before it hit.
Letting herself into the car, she locked the doors, cranked up the heating and quickly familiarised herself with the dashboard and indicators before heading off.
Arguing with Rich had eaten into her precious half an hour, so she only had time for a quick freshen up when she arrived at the hotel, switching her black jumper for an olive-coloured blouse, the long, wide sleeves and elegant neckline smartening up her appearance. Given his reluctance, it would probably be the one and only time she would get to meet Daniel and while he might not care or even notice, she wanted to make a good impression.
Ignoring the jittery nerves in her stomach, she touched up her make-up and ran a comb through her hair, spritzed on perfume, then wrapped up warm again in her thick coat and scarf. Thinking practically, she grabbed one of the bottles of water from the minibar, then her phone and charger.
As she went to slip the phone in her coat pocket, she spotted she had a WhatsApp message from Quinn, wishing her a safe journey.
She replied, thanking him and letting him know she would be leaving shortly, promising – because it would put his mind at rest – that she would let him know once she had arrived safely at Daniel’s house.
It was weird, she surmised, seeing Quinn’s name popping up on her phone screen again. Though, in a good way. And she was already thinking ahead to their train ride home tomorrow. He seemed keen to spend time with her and she wondered if this was the start of rebuilding a friendship with him. Possibly more.
Although she had always been a firm believer in never looking back, their relationship breakdown had been borne of a tragedy and neither one’s fault. They had been different people then.
He remained on her mind as she drove out of Ely, her only company coming from the satnav, and the radio, which she had on low, the steady stream of festive songs providing a comforting background noise, while at the same time evoking memories.
Lola had spent every Christmas with her mum, at the home where she had grown up. There would always be a beautifully decorated tree and her mum’s Christmas dinner, then bubble and squeak leftovers and cold meats, pickles and salads the following day. They played boardgames, watched festive movies, and Kelly had made sure there were always gifts under the tree. Last year, the roles had reversed, as Lola had tried to make things special for her mum, and it had been bittersweet, both of them realising it was the end of a tradition.
Perhaps it was good that she was here and focused on meeting Daniel. At least it was a distraction.
As another flurry of sleet started, and the radio station cut to the news and local weather, warning again of the approaching blizzard, she was glad of the warmth inside the car.
Her belly was rumbling with hunger pains, but there had been no time to grab food, and if she was completely honest, she wasn’t sure she would be able to eat anything anyway.
The nerves that were present in her tight shoulders and jittery stomach were only natural, she supposed. This was hardly an everyday event.
When she left Daniel’s, she would find a McDonald’s.
Quinn was right about her route being mostly B roads, but apart from getting stuck behind a lorry for one stretch, the traffic wasn’t too bad.
As she spotted signs for Saham Toney, the sleet became heavier, turning into snow. The wind had picked up speed and thick white flakes were hitting the windscreen from all directions, reducing her visibility, even as the wipers tried to bat them away.
Lola was glad for the directions from the satnav, even though it skirted her around the edge of the main village, where several of the houses were decked out with fairy lights and Christmas trees twinkled in the glowing light of windows, before heading back out into the countryside.
Pockets of fir trees were sprouting up now on the sides of the road, caught in the glare of the headlights, and replacing the hedgerows and open fields that had been her view for much of the journey. As her path ahead twisted then narrowed, the trees became more closely intertwined, thickening into longer stretches of woodland.
The satnav was assuring her she was only one minute from her destination, but it looked more like she was in a remote Christmas card scene, and she hadn’t seen any houses for at least the last couple of miles.
Lola was a city girl, used to the bright lights and bustle of central Manchester, and this was a world away from what she was accustomed to. A world away from Ely, too, and it was hard to believe the city she had left behind was less than forty miles away.
The road twisted again, this time the bend sharper than she was anticipating, and as the tyres skidded on ice, she almost lost control of the car.
