Deception (6 page)

“Well, dear, I just hope everything turns out well for you,” she said finally. “Just promise me you’ll get in touch with your family here from time to time, okay?”

I smiled, and then impulsively leaned forward and kissed her cheek. She smelt fragrant, and the feel of her skin was like touching satin with my lips.

“Don’t worry about me, mum, I’m a big girl now. I’ve even got the money for the fare. I’ll fly from Luton to St Helier,” I said. “It’ll be easier than hanging around and getting a train to the coast and then having to catch the ferry. Quicker, too, though the other way would’ve been cheaper, of course.”

“You should’ve learned how to drive. You could’ve driven all the way if you’d really wanted to. Saved yourself the expense of an air fare.”

I knew she was trying not to sound as if she was telling me off, so I wasn’t sharp with her. “Indeed, Mother, I should’ve bothered to learn how to drive a long time ago, and I’ve always relied too much on Freddie and other people chauffeuring me around. But then I would’ve needed a car if I’d passed the test. So I guess I’ve saved myself money in that way. But you’re right. I’ve relied on too many others too many times to do things for me instead of doing things myself. But I’m learning. Maybe a bit late in life, I guess, but you can stop worrying about me now. For once I know what I’m doing.”

“I’m glad, Bailey.”

She placed her hand on my shoulder, gently, and I turned around to look at her. Close up I noticed two little lines etched on the bridge of her nose which I didn’t think I’d seen before. Frown lines. Age or worry? I guess I’d had a hand helping to put them there and felt a moment’s guilt. I should’ve been a better daughter.

She said, somewhat diffidently, as if a little nervous that I’d bite her head off for asking, “Are you short of cash? Do you need any money?”

“Thanks, but I’m okay.”

She nodded, and after that there didn’t seem to be much more to say to one another. So I led her out into the hallway, where
Jonti and Miranda were standing and talking to one another at the front door, apparently just on their way out somewhere.

A rather splendid cherry-red Nissan Audi was parked illegally in front of the block of flats. A yellow parking fine was stuck on the windshield. My mother ripped it off with a look of contempt and stuffed it into her handbag before turning to wave at the three of us standing together on the steps of the entrance in order to watch her leave.

“So that’s that,” said Jonti, as the car disappeared from sight. “You’re not going to stay with her and Oliver then.”

I answered the query in his voice with a shake of my head. “No, I’m not. Sorry to disappoint you but I have other plans.”

“Like what?”

“Going to visit dad.”

“And then what?”

I blew out a breath. “Oh, God,
Jonti, I don’t know! One step at a time, okay? I’ll be out of your hair soon enough, I promise.”

He looked somewhat offended and it was hard not to be overly exasperated, especially since I knew
Jonti cared about me deeply, as I did him, but I felt as if I were being hemmed in from all sides, and suddenly I just wanted to be elsewhere, to feel free again, and without having to explain myself all the time.

“It was
so
good to see your mother again,” Miranda said, staring after the car had long disappeared with an overly sentimental look on her face. “She looks absolutely great for her age, doesn’t she? Just shows you what a happy marriage does for you.”

I didn’t say anything. We parted then. I walked around the corner to the local parade of
shops.There were a few things I required if I was going away. Also I wanted a Chemist or a pharmacy.Even a supermarket would do, if it had a dispensary.

I needed to buy a pregnancy test kit.

Chapter 5

The following morning, after I’d called my office and spoken to my boss, I bought airline tickets online and printed them out, and then I sat down and texted Freddie to say I wanted to come and pick up some of my belongings. I know I could’ve called but I didn’t want to speak to him; and it was just a whole lot easier to send a text message. He’d texted straight back saying he’d be at the flat all morning, and I was welcome to go there. He’d also said it would be good to see me again.

So there I was, sitting on a bench, waiting for the bus.

I was reading my Kindle and was so immersed in the story that I didn’t notice a black taxi rolling smoothly to a stop beside me at the kerb until a voice called out.

“Hi there!”

I looked up. Then I did a double take, recognising the driver as the same cabbie I’d met about a month earlier. The one who’d driven me on that fateful evening from Freddie’s to my brother’s flat. Small world.

I powered down the Kindle and smiled. “Hi there yourself.”

He leaned out of the window. “I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Well, it’s certainly me all right.”

“Good to see you again.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. I was hoping to catch up with you again some time.”

“And now you have.”

In broad daylight he looked even cuter. And when he smiled, two dimples appeared in his cheeks. Double cute.I began to rummage in my bag.

He looked puzzled. “Lost something?”

I put my head to one side, and regarded him innocently. “The tracking device. You must’ve slipped it into my bag last time when I wasn’t looking.”

He chuckled. “You don’t believe in coincidence?”

I pretended to consider, then I shook my head. “Mmm…no. Not really,” I said politely.

His grin widened. “And what if I had been stalking you?”

“I’d be somewhat concerned that I’d actually feel flattered.”

He laughed. “Then I won’t disappoint you by telling you otherwise.”

Rather enjoying the banter, as it had been some time since I’d flirted with an attractive man, my attention was distracted as my long-awaited bus suddenly loomed into sight from around the corner, only being temporarily held up at some traffic lights at the junction of the crossroads before it would arrive at my stop.

Feeling a little disappointed that the flirting had to end, I stood up and stored the Kindle safely in my bag as my fingers felt around for my purse.

I said, “Well, so long, it’s been nice chatting but my ride’s arrived.”

He glanced into his driver’s mirror before he jerked his head at me, motioning towards the back of the cab with his thumb.

“Hop in,” he said affably. “I’ll give you a lift.”

I smiled but shook my head firmly. “Thanks but I can’t afford to keep taking taxis everywhere. I’ve resolved to save money from now on instead of wasting it on luxuries like cab fares, theatre tickets and takeaways.”My protests glided off him like cold cream applied to wet skin. He grimaced in mock disapproval.

He said, “Aw, that doesn’t sound like fun at all. I believe a person should grab the opportunities as they present themselves.”

I shrugged. His beliefs were no affair of mine so I didn’t reply, but he beckoned to me, and I took a pace closer, one eye on him, the other on the idling bus still waiting at the lights.

He said earnestly, “I think you misunderstood. I’m not touting for a fare.”

My eyebrow rose in disbelief.

“No, really, I don’t want your money. This is a freebie. On me.”

I guess I still looked dubious, because he only nodded more vigorously.

“Seriously.”

“What’s in it for you?”

He drew back, pretending to be affronted. “I’m crushed that you should think I’m the sort of guy who would demand some sort of payment in return for a good deed. Honest, yer lordship, I want nuffin’ in return.”

He got a smile out of me at his attempt to sound as if he were off the set of
East
Enders
.

Seeing this, he pressed home his advantage. “And let me say this is a one-time only offer. I’ll take you wherever you want to go, at entirely no cost to you at all. How’s that for a money-saving bargain?”

I stared at him, but maybe with a little less suspicion. “No catch? Really?”

He smiled broadly. “Such a cynic. I’m totally sincere. Honestly. I’m completely trustworthy. Ask my mother.”

I sniffed and gazed off into the distance. “In my experience, few men can be trusted.” Looking back at him again, I raised my chin and I put on what Jonti calls my ‘haughty’ tone. “Anyway, for all you know I might be on my way to Scotland.”

“
Are
you on your way to Scotland?”

“No.”

“Well then. Get in.”

He must’ve seen something in my expression, because his face softened.

“Look, I promise you’re safe with me. If you want to know, ever since we first met, when I saw you standing there on the pavement looking like a mangled cat, I’ve been hoping to run into you again. Not literally, of course,” he added swiftly, with a warm smile.I liked this guy’s sense of humour and could feel my resolve flagging.

Weakly I said, “So you’re not going to abduct me or try anything gruesome?”

He looked quite shocked at the suggestion. “No molestation intended, madam. Well, not unless you decide otherwise, of course. Rest assured I’m a perfect gentleman. But anyway, you give the impression you can take care of yourself,” he added, his eyes skimming me from top to toe in a way that almost had me blushing. “Like I said, I almost didn’t recognise you at first. Had to do two U-turns in the road before I was a hundred per cent sure.”

Suddenly we were both startled by the sound of loud honking behind us, and the taxi driver glanced quickly again into his rear view mirror as the bus lumbered towards the bus stop.

“Whoa! I can almost see his nasal hairs! And from his scowl I’d guess he’s not at all happy that a taxi’s idling where it shouldn’t be idling.”

He shot me a pleading look, and his tone raised a notch.

“So won’t you please just get in before we have an accident?”

It really wasn’t such a hard decision. Swiftly opening the passenger door, I clambered in and he just as quickly accelerated, sending me sprawling backwards onto the seat. A moment later, he slid open the partition that divided us and spoke again in the mock cockney accent.

“So, where to, Miss?”

Appreciating the chirpy humour, I leaned forward and gave him the address of Freddie Gillette in Palmers Green.

“Déjà vu,” he said as I sat back and got comfortable again. He smoothly joined the flow of traffic. “Back to the scene of our first meeting.”

I was impressed. “That’s a remarkable memory you have there, my man. You didn’t even need to check your sat nav.”

I could see his wide grin in the driver’s mirror.

I went on, “Is that a skill you guys have to acquire in addition to the Knowledge exam you have to pass in order to get your licence?”

“Sure. GPS is just so passé nowadays. The best drivers have chips implanted in our skulls. Hey, didn’t I already say that’s how I tracked you down?”

“Actually, I
am
a little surprised you recognised me at all in these clothes.”

I was wearing a red leather biker jacket over a short black top that barely covered my midriff, a pair of tight black jeans that fitted me better now I’d lost weight, and red, high heeled, platform shoes that I could scarcely walk in. I’d bought the outfit when Freddie and I had been invited to a fancy dress party given by some artist friends of his. I’d been Sandy to his Danny from ‘Grease’. I’d never worn the clothes since, as they were hardly my normal style at all. I was generally more a business suit or a skirt and blouse girl. But that was before I’d cut my hair short and dyed it
blonde.Before I’d gone edgy and spikey.

And today I’d dressed the way I had in a sort of act of defiance and because I’d decided that since I was actually going to see my ex again, I wanted him to think sex, to see what he was missing, and to remember what he’d thrown away so easily. Piqued? Most definitely. Being dumped had hurt, and I wanted him to regret what he’d done. That’s if he had a remorseful bone in his body.

The taxi driver’s voice brought me back from my brief reverie.

“A pretty woman is a pretty woman, whatever she’s wearing. And you were unforgettable that night. May I say you made a lasting impression on me?”

Once more I felt myself blushing. I reasoned he was simply flattering me, but why should I object even if that were the case? I’d been the girlfriend of a mature man for some years. I was no coy young virgin, no silly young teenager but why would I not be thrilled by the attentions of an attractive man not much older than myself? For attractive he certainly was, there was no getting away from it.

From what I could see of him and from what I could recall from the first time we’d met, not that I’d been in a great place in my mind to really notice much at the time, but the guy was fit. He was tanned and had a thick mop of jet black hair swept back off a high forehead, and great eyes of a deep chocolate colour, sparking with intelligence, and surrounded by fringes of long inky lashes. What was not to like? He was a handsome, buff brute.

Casually he asked, “So, will you be staying long in Palmers Green, or will you want to be returning again to your brother’s home once you’ve finished your business there?”

I’d already decided there was no harm in the guy, and no reason not to be truthful, so I simply shrugged and said, emphasising my words deliberately, “I need to collect some stuff from my
ex
-
boyfriend’s
pad.” I paused. “Then, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to go on to Luton Airport.”

He spoke without taking his eyes off the road. “Sure. No problem. Going somewhere nice?”

I stared out of the window, watching people going about their business.

“Jersey.”

“Holiday?” he asked, making conversation.

“My father and step-mother live there,” I answered. “They have a small hotel, in Saint
Brelade’s Bay, called ‘Pegasus’.”

“After ‘Pegasus’, the winged stallion, son of Poseidon, lord of the seas?”

I smiled.
So
he
knew
his
Greek
mythology
and
wanted
me
to
know
it
.

“I believe that originally the hotel was a large house with stables,” I explained. “It’s situated on a promontory, in fact it looks a bit like a big spoon jutting out from the land into the sea. It’s very craggy and very rocky around there, and built high, with the hotel sort of balancing over a natural cliff formation on the rocks with the sea practically circling all around it at the back.”

“Sounds quite formidable. Like something out of a movie.”

I agreed. “Well, certainly it’s rather isolated and a bit desolate.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a fun place to go for a family trip,” he observed, easily overtaking a girl in a
Smart
car that had been trying to outrun him.

I gazed at the back of his head.

“There’s a small strip of beach in front of the place,” I said, musing reflectively. “Great place to sunbathe nude as there are few people around. On the whole it’s a good place to live if you’re the reclusive type, or maybe into ornithology as there are loads of birds about, but you’re right, I don’t suppose it’s so popular for families. But maybe that’s what some people like.”

He looked at me in his mirror and said cheerfully, “Sounds just like my sort of place.”

“Well, you must come out and visit sometime…” I glanced ahead into his cab, and saw his ID swinging on a chain from above the windscreen. “…Mr Ferrari.”

Ferrari
? My mother would love
that
. Well, initially, anyway.

He said, “Thanks. I will. But, please, call me Ari.”

“Ari it is. Great name, incidentally.”

“Thanks. I respond to it well, too. And it’s all down to my Jewish Italian parents. And you?”

“Protestant and English.”

He grinned. “I meant, what’s
your
name?”

“Oh.” I felt foolish. “Bailey. Bailey Cathcart.”

“OK. Miss Bailey Cathcart… I presume it’s a Miss since I see no evidence of a wedding band?”

I nodded, again rather impressed, this time by his powers of observation, but he just inclined his head formally.

“So, now we’ve introduced ourselves and have become good friends,” Ari went on, “maybe you’ll allow me to buy you a coffee and an iced bun at the airport, if you’ve time before your flight, that is.”

“Sure. That’d be nice,” I replied. “The plane doesn’t leave until after six.” I tilted my head and this time deliberately caught his eye again in the mirror. “As long as you let me pay for the coffee and cake, Ari. It’s the least I can do in the circumstances. And I can manage to afford coffee and cake.”