Tagan's Child (5 page)

“It’s me
chick,” Bennie replied.

I opened the
door. See, there was nothing to worry about. Bennie stood on my
doorstep with a Chinese takeaway in one hand and a bottle of rosé
in the other.

“The wanderer
returns bearing gifts of alcohol and bucket loads of MSG,” she
said, holding out her arms. I had never been more pleased to see
her.

“Come in its
freezing,” I said with a grin, shutting the door behind her and
giving her a hug.

“Steady on
girl, you’ll break a rib,” she said breathlessly.

Bennie was a
stunner. She had sleek, shiny, jet black hair cut into a blunt bob.
Her recent trip away had given her a golden tan which made her blue
eyes almost luminescent. She looked just like a Russian Bond
girl.

“You look
fantastic,” I said as I took the food and bottle of wine from
her.

“You look
pasty,” said Bennie, less generously.

“Thanks love, I
can always rely on you for a compliment,” I said with a
chuckle.

“You know me
Sophe, I say it how it is. What’s the matter?”

I loved Bennie.
She was great at reading people and especially good at reading me.
She never skirted around the issue she just got straight to the
point. This approach worked for me, I wasn’t big on small talk.

“Oh, I’ve just
been working hard and it was the anniversary of Katie’s death at
the weekend.” I wanted to add that mine and Toby’s lives were
possibly in danger but I was going to have to build myself up to
that.

“I did try and
call you on Sunday,” Bennie said apologetically, “but the phone at
the ranch we were staying at was on the blink and then I had to
catch my flight. Well, you know how it is,” she said, seeking my
forgiveness.

I understood
and I certainly didn’t hold it against her. “Don’t worry hun, I
know it’s not easy when you’re in the middle of nowhere. Let’s eat
before this gets cold.” She followed me into the kitchen and I got
the plates out of the oven. Bennie started to dish out the
food.

It smelt
fantastic, MSG or no MSG, Chinese food was my favourite. I put the
wine Bennie had brought in the fridge and took out the bottle I’d
put in there earlier.

“Shall we eat
it in the lounge in front of the fire?” I suggested, pouring us
both a glass. I knew I didn’t have to stand on ceremony with Ben,
eating off our laps was standard practice.

“Yes please,
it’s taking me a little while to adjust to the change in climate,”
she replied with a shiver. “It’s supposed to be the rainy season in
Kenya but it was unseasonably hot and dry.”

“That’s global
warming for you,” I said with a wry smile.

I balanced the
prawn crackers on my plate and carried my wine in the other hand. I
had already pushed the sofa nearer to the log burner and we both
perched on the edge of our seats balancing our plates on our knees.
Not surprisingly Mungo made an appearance at the smell of the
food.

“Mungo, mind my
drink.” I put my hand down to shield the wine glass by my foot but
he took no notice. It wasn’t the wine he was interested in and
before I could stop him he stole a prawn cracker from the bowl I’d
put on the floor.

“In your bed!”
I growled and he reluctantly obliged. As far as he was concerned it
had been worth the risk. He skulked off, his tongue smacking at his
lips.

“Mungo still
looking after his figure I see,” Bennie said as she twirled some
noodles around her fork. I nodded and rolled my eyes. I’d have
answered if I hadn’t just put a forkful of rice in my mouth. I
swallowed. “How was your trip?”

“Yeah good, the
lion cubs were adorable. I love filming them, they seem to know how
to play to the cameras. We got some really good footage.” Bennie
loved her job.

“Doesn’t it
ever worry you, being so close to lions that one could rip your
throat out as soon as look at you, especially when they’ve got
young?”

“I don’t really
think about it, I’m too busy trying to get the right shot, besides
we always have rangers with tranquilizer guns at the ready,” she
explained.

“I don’t think
I could do it,” I confessed sipping my wine. I felt uneasy at the
lion enclosure at the zoo, somehow the fencing never seemed robust
enough.

“How’s the shop
going?” Bennie asked.

My life seemed
mundane in comparison, although the recent turn of events had
brought some unwelcome excitement. I willed myself to tell Bennie
about Ahran’s visit but bottled it at the last minute. “The shop’s
doing well even the locals are catching onto the idea of the
Panini.”

Bennie
chuckled. “I bet you haven’t converted Mrs Groombridge.”

“You’re right,
I haven’t,” I replied. “She continues to eye them with nothing but
suspicion. She’d never stray from a toasted teacake and a cup of
strong tea,” I said as I bit into a prawn ball. “Have you heard
anything from Matt?”

Matthew
Waterhouse was one of the producers Bennie sometimes worked with.
He was also her occasional bed partner. I knew she was in love with
him but he was an arrogant arse living the playboy lifestyle that
life in the media offered him. As far as I could see, he didn’t
view Bennie as anything more than a willing body. She was far too
good for him and it always amazed me that someone so strong and
beautiful as Bennie had such a weakness for someone like Matt ‘git
features’ Waterhouse. I knew she was hoping I wasn’t going to ask
her about him, she was fully aware that he was her Achilles heel,
but I figured if I gave her a hard time often enough she might come
to her senses.

“He might have
been there,” Bennie replied vaguely, and by the look on her face I
knew she had done more than just film lion cubs with him.

“Bennie!” I
cried in frustration.

“I know, I know
so send me to rehab. I just can’t help myself, he’s got the most
glorious ...” she hesitated and I winced at what was coming next.
She gave me a sideways look, “Arse.” Bennie could sometimes be
rather too graphic about her sex life and the mental image of my
best friend doing bedroom gymnastics was not one I liked to dwell
on.

“And how’s the
charismatic Dr Hampton?” she asked sarcastically.

“Touché! I
said, raising my glass of wine at her and gave her a crooked smile.
“He’s not that bad, I don’t know what your problem is with him.
He’s nice looking, he’s got a pretty good sense of humour and good
prospects.”

“That’s exactly
it! You keep telling me he’s got good prospects, which tells me
that he’s obviously not lighting your fire in the sack,” she
concluded.

“Um, I’m not
exactly sure what he is like in the bedroom yet,” I added a little
sheepishly.

“You mean you
haven’t slept with him yet?” Her voice going up several octaves.
“How long have you been seeing him?”

“It’s only been
three months.”

“Three months!
For God’s sake Sophe, what are you waiting for? You’ve got to try
before you buy love, and if the goods don’t hit the spot you move
on.”

Sometimes she
could be really annoying. “We don’t all shag every guy we meet,” I
said, defending myself.

“Ouch!” Bennie
responded good-naturedly. She could take it as well as dish it
out.

“You’ve never
been short of male attention,” she declared. “Just look at
yourself. Those big innocent green eyes, the slightly mad but
utterly gorgeous blonde hair and a figure that most men can only
dream about getting their hands on. Get out there and have some
fun! Even better, come and spend a weekend with me I’ll find you
someone more interesting than Dr Boring.”

I put my plate
down on the floor by the side of the sofa.

“He’s not
boring! He’s funny and a good kisser. In fact, for your
information, I have decided to take our relationship to the next
level, it’s about time I moved my life on.” I sat deeper into the
sofa and curled my legs underneath me. “I feel like my life has
stood still over the last year whilst I’ve been dealing with
Katie’s death, but Sunday was definitely a turning point for me. I
finally feel like I want to get on with the job of living and start
to build a future for Toby and me.”

“Do you know
what Sophe? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all week.” She put her
plate down and picked up her glass of wine. “I’ve watched you over
the last year knowing that you were grieving and hurting, feeling
like I wasn’t being much help. It’s so good to hear that you are
coming out the other end.”

“You have
helped, just by being my friend.” I leaned over and gave her a hug.
She squeezed me back.

Bennie wasn’t
into big displays of emotion and she pulled away looking a touch
embarrassed. “Want more wine?”

“Is the Pope
Catholic?”

She refilled
our glasses. “Speaking of Toby, how is that gorgeous little
boy?”

I knew the time
had come for me to tell Bennie about the mysterious Ahran Elessar
and so I took a deep breath. “Oh he’s fine. For an eight year old
he’s so mature and sensible, sometimes I feel like he’s looking
after me.”

“I think you
underestimate how much he has learnt from you Sophe.”

“He’s doing
really well, bless him.” I hesitated. “Although, I had some rather
disturbing news yesterday.”

Bennie took a
sip of wine. “Go on.”

“This guy
turned up at the shop asking for me,” I began.

She raised her
eyebrows. “What did he want?”

“I wasn’t
there, Audrey spoke to him. He said he would come back at lunchtime
but didn’t show. When I got home he was waiting for me.”

“Was he
hot?”

I pictured
Ahran in my mind and my heart picked up tempo. I couldn’t decide
whether it was because I was attracted to him or because of the
worrying news he had told me. To my dismay I realised it was
probably both. “Yeah, he was absolutely gorgeous,” I sighed.

Bennie leant
forward. “And?”

“Well, it
wasn’t like that.”

She looked
disappointed. “So what did he want then?”

I picked my
words carefully, knowing I was at risk of sounding like a complete
loon.

“He told me
that Toby’s father was some kind of foreign prince and heir to a
massive fortune, that he was dead and that Toby was the next
rightful heir.” I looked at my friend willing her not to think that
I had gone crazy.

“Wow Sophe!
What are we talking? Millions?”

I gave her an
exasperated look. Trust her to think about the money. “The fortune
is only half the story because he also said that some mad, power
hungry woman has a vendetta against Toby’s father for killing her
son.”

“Shit!” Bennie
exclaimed.

“That’s not the
end of it,” I continued. “This guy seems to think she wants to get
hold of Toby to wreak her revenge and use him as a bargaining tool
to get her hands on Toby’s father’s wealth.” It still sounded
completely insane to me and I expected her to laugh in my face.

She didn’t. In
fact she didn’t say anything for a while.

“It’s crazy
isn’t it?” I said, willing her to agree with me and to tell me to
get a grip. But much to my disappointment she didn’t do either of
those things.

“Well, maybe
there is something in it. Why else would he make up a story like
that?”

“So you think
he could be telling the truth?”

“I don’t know,
what did he say his name was?”

“Ahran
Elessar.”

“And who is he
in relation to Toby’s father?

“He’s his
cousin. He wants me and Toby to stay with his family until they’ve
got rid of this woman.”

“What?! Are
they gangsters or something?” Bennie asked.

“That’s what I
thought, but apparently not.”

“What did he
say Toby’s father’s name was?”

“Tagan
Halsan.”

“Have you
googled it?” she asked.

“No,” I
confessed.

“Sophie! That
would have been the first thing I’d have done. Get your laptop,”
she instructed. “If he is who this Ahran says he is, there should
be some record somewhere, like on some international royal rich
list.” So simple, why hadn’t I thought of that?

I jumped up to
get my computer. I could feel the adrenaline starting to pump. It
seemed to take an age for it to boot up. Finally, the distinctive
search engine loaded and the cursor flashed impatiently. I stared
at it motionless, unable to type anything as I thought more
seriously about the danger Toby could be in.

“Give it to
me,” Bennie said, taking the computer and putting it on her own
lap.

She quickly
typed in Taygan Halson and after a few seconds it reported that
nothing had been found but suggested a different spelling. Bennie
looked at me.

“Try the other
spelling,” I said, looking over her shoulder.

Only a few
random threads came up with either Tagan or Halsan but nothing with
both names. I felt deflated but relieved at the same time. “Well, I
suppose that proves it was a piss take.”

“Not
necessarily, it might not show up if he’s from a different country.
Where did you say he was from?”

“Um, I didn’t
ask him.” Suddenly I realised how remiss I had been, it was pretty
crucial considering he had asked me and Toby to stay with his
family but I had been too worried about the implications of what he
was suggesting to think rationally.

“Sophie!”

“He’s got an
accent but I didn’t recognise it. He left me a phone to call him on
if I felt we were in any kind of danger.” I felt relieved I had
something to offer.

“And have you
phoned it to see if it checks out?” she asked

“Well, no, I
haven’t felt in any danger yet,” I replied defensively.

“So you didn’t
call it anyway?” Bennie asked.

“No.” I was
starting to feel cross with myself and frustrated that Bennie had
highlighted each one of my mistakes.