Tagan's Child (52 page)

I took a pained
breath before reaching across to pick up the flowers from the
passenger seat. I walked up the garden path, knocked on the front
door and waited. The door opened and Audrey greeted me with a hug.
I cannot describe how good it was to see her.

“Sophie, thank
God you are both okay, I’ve been so worried.”

She felt
smaller than I remembered.

I pulled away.
“I’m so sorry I’ve not been in touch sooner. I feel so terrible I
left you in such a state.”

“Oh now, don’t
you worry about me, I’m as tough as old boots. Let me have a look
at you,” she said, holding me at arm’s length. I didn’t push her
for a thorough rundown of her condition, she obviously didn’t want
to talk about it.

“Have you been
eating properly?” she asked, her brows knitting together.

Food was the
answer to most of life’s problems according to Audrey.

I shrugged.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks.”

“You poor
dear.” She reached past me to shut the front door. “Let’s go into
the kitchen where it’s warm.”

Her house smelt
familiar and comforting like an old patchwork quilt. She put the
kettle on the Aga and placed some warm scones on a plate. She moved
gingerly around the kitchen doing everything with her right hand,
holding her left arm against her stomach as if it was in an
imaginary sling. It was like she had aged ten years. My sympathy
and guilt increased in equal measures.

“Are you sure
you should be out of hospital?” I asked doubtfully. It seemed very
early for Audrey to be at home fending for herself.

“I couldn’t
have stayed in that place for another minute,” she said briskly. “I
was surrounded by old people who were waiting to die. I’m much
better off at home. There’s a girl that comes around in the
evenings to bring me a meal and to check I’m okay and Paul’s been
helping me out with shopping.”

“Oh, well
that’s good then.”

“Yes, the
hospital is piloting a new initiative to provide those who don’t
actually need a hospital bed with care in their own homes.”

“At least they
haven’t left you entirely on your own. Sandie said that you are
having physio.”

“Yes, for some
reason my left arm doesn’t seem to want to work properly,” she
said, looking at it disapprovingly. “There.” She put the plate of
scones on the table and returned to the whistling kettle on the
Aga.

“Would you mind
getting the jam and cream out of the fridge dear?” she asked as she
made the tea.

“Yes of
course,” I replied, jumping up. I had been sitting there allowing
myself to be waited on hand and foot when I should have been
helping her.

“You didn’t
have to go to all this trouble,” I said as we both sat down at the
table.

“Don’t be
silly, it’s no trouble at all. I am so pleased you’re back.”

The left side
of Audrey’s face was slightly less mobile than the right, it
wouldn’t have been that noticeable to anyone else but it was a face
so familiar to me it was easy to spot something wasn’t quite
right.

“I feel so bad
about what happened to you Audes, I wish I hadn’t left you on your
own in the shop.”

“Stop that
talk, you weren’t to know. I’m just glad it was me and not you.
I’ve got no one depending on me.” She began to pour the tea into
two china cups and added a little milk. “Anyway, I should be the
least of your worries. You’ve been through enough over the last
couple of weeks. Tell me about Toby. What on earth happened?”

I took a sip of
tea, she always made it stronger than I usually liked but today I
welcomed its metallic taste. “Toby was kidnapped the day after you
were attacked.”

“The thought of
that poor little boy being taken,” she said, shaking her head.
“What sort of person would do such a thing?”

“There are some
pretty evil people out there,” I said. And not just in this world I
thought to myself.

“Do you think
there is any connection between Toby’s kidnap and my attack?”

I took a deep
breath. “I’m afraid I think there was.” I slowly started to butter
a scone. “Do you remember the guy who came into the coffee shop
asking for me, the one with the accent that you couldn’t place?” I
deliberately made him faceless in my mind. If I didn’t picture him
it made it easier.

“Yes, he wasn’t
the one that kidnapped Toby was he?” Audrey asked, looking
appalled.

“No, no, it
wasn’t him,” I said, shaking my head. “It turns out that he’s
related to Toby’s father and he was looking for me because he was
worried that Toby was in danger. He wanted us to stay with his
family so they could us.” It also helped if I didn’t say his
name.

Audrey looked
completely bewildered. “Why in God’s name was Toby in danger?”

I almost told
her Toby’s grandfather was royalty but thought better of it. The
less she knew the better.

“Toby’s father
had got into some kind of trouble and kidnapping Toby was his
enemies’ idea of just retribution,” I said, thinking on my
feet.

“That’s
dreadful!”

“You’re telling
me,” I said, feeling downhearted and dejected.

“So you know
who Toby’s father is?”

“Yes.
Unfortunately he was killed nearly nine years ago, but his parents
are very keen to get to know Toby and bring him into the family
fold.” I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice. Audrey
didn’t seem to notice any change in my tone, she was too busy
trying to piece together what I was telling her.

“Who are these
people? They sound like some kind of hoodlum?”

“Toby’s
grandparents are very respectable,” I said and smiled inwardly at
the world’s biggest understatement. But Bazeera and her henchmen?
They were really no different to mobsters. They were thugs and
criminals who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

“And how did
you find Toby?”

“Ahran and I…”
It happened so quickly, his named slipped out and an image of him
flashed in my mind before I even had a chance to slam down the
shutters. I felt a jolt to the centre of my chest like I’d been hit
squarely with a sledgehammer. I took a few deep breaths and used
all my willpower to compose myself. Was this always going to happen
every time I let my guard down? I took a shuddery breath.

“This is
upsetting you dear,” Audrey said as she squeezed my hand that had
inadvertently gripped the table cloth. “You really don’t have to go
into all of it now. It’s enough to know you are both safe.”

“No, it’s
okay.” I had to continue. It was the only way I would be able to
build up any resistance. The more I talked about him, the easier it
would become. Wouldn’t it?

I paused.
“Ahran and I spent the days following Toby’s kidnap searching for
him. Eventually we found out where they had taken him and were able
to rescue him. He’s now with his grandparents for his own
protection.”

“Good grief
Sophie, it all sounds utterly dreadful. Do the police know about
this?”

“Well, that’s
the thing, they don’t know and they can’t know.”

“I see dear.”
She was still struggling to take it all in and I was glad I had
only told her the bare minimum. “I’ve never heard anything like it.
It’s the sort of thing that only happens in films.”

“I know it all
sounds crazy, I would struggle to believe it if I hadn’t been there
and witnessed it for myself,” I said. “I hate lying to the police
but I’ve told them that the kidnappers blackmailed me and that I
was double crossed at the last moment. I had to say something that
would explain why I was back and Toby was not. I didn’t want them
to think I had anything to do with his kidnap.”

“Well, dear you
haven’t got to worry about me, I won’t tell a soul.” She gave my
hand another reassuring squeeze. “When will you see Toby
again?”

“The police
have asked me to make a television plea tomorrow. I’ve got to carry
on with the pretence that Toby is still missing,” I said unhappily.
“And then I shall go to see him after that. In the short term I’ll
try and see him as often as I can.”

“And in the
long term?”

I shrugged. “I
really don’t know.” I struggled to keep the despair from my
voice.

“So where do
his grandparents live?”

“It’s better
for yours and Toby’s sake that you don’t know,” I explained.

“I see dear.
Well, it will all sort itself out in the end, things always do,”
she said with an air of confidence.

“I hope so.” I
had to change the subject, my chest felt heavy and I could feel
tears beginning to threaten.

I said the
first thing that came into my head. “How’s Paul? Did he paint your
windows?”

Audrey took a
sip of her tea. “Yes, we had a couple of dry days last week, they
were long overdue. He’s been trying to keep himself busy as much as
possible, Eva has taken a turn for the worse.”

“Oh, I’m sorry
to hear that. Is she in hospital?”

“No, she’s in
St Magdalene’s.”

“Oh, so really
not good.” St. Magdalene’s was a hospice for the terminally ill
just outside Brighton.

Audrey shook
her head but didn’t say anything.

“I suppose it
was going to happen one day. How’s Paul taking it?”

“He’s keeping
himself busy. I think he’s been preparing himself for some time
now.”

“I hope for
everyone’s sake it happens quickly.” I glanced over at Audrey and
she looked away as she stood up to get some more milk. She never
spoke about her feelings for Paul but I knew how much she cared for
him.

“I’m sure it
will take him some time to come to terms with it, he is a devoted
husband,” she said defensively.

“Yes of course
he is Audrey, but nobody would blame him for wanting to get on with
his life.” Audrey and Paul were in love with each other but I knew
Audrey was worried about what people would think if they got
together. I hoped beyond hope that she and Paul would choose to
follow their hearts rather than do what they thought they ought to
do.

Audrey poured
us both another cup of tea.

“How has Toby
taken to his new-found family?” she asked, deflecting the attention
away from herself.

“Finding out
that he has a family he never knew about has been very exciting for
him, as you can imagine, but I’m not sure it has quite sunk in that
he can’t come home yet.”

“He’ll miss you
no doubt, but he’s a resilient little boy and I’m sure he’ll take
it all in his stride.”

“It worries me
though Audrey.” It felt good to have someone to confide in, I might
not be able to tell her everything but at least I was able to talk
about some of my fears.

Audrey took
another sip of her tea as she waited for me to continue.

“I’m worried
I’ll lose him. His grandparents are very wealthy and they can offer
a far more exciting and privileged life than I can, what if he
doesn’t want to come back?”

“Sophie, this
is where all his memories of his mum are, it’s where you are and
it’s his home, you aren’t going to lose him,” she said.

I sighed
deeply.

“He loves you
Sophie. Besides he’s still only a child he needs you now more than
ever.”

I thought about
what she had said for a moment. “I suppose you’re right.” Her words
had given me some hope although I was still not convinced Halsan
would ever let him return to Earth.

“Well, I
suppose I ought to get going,” I said, looking at the clock on
Audrey’s wall.

“I need to get
some shopping. I’ve got nothing left in the cupboards.” I finished
my second cup of tea.

“You must look
after yourself Sophie, you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment
and you need to keep your strength up.” This is exactly what Bennie
had said to me but no one seemed to realise how much effort it took
to look after oneself when it was a full time job worrying about a
child who had been torn from you as well as nursing a broken
heart.

I gathered the
dirty dishes up and started to wash them in the sink. “I’m so glad
you are making a good recovery Audes. My last image of you was
lying unconscious in a hospital bed plugged into a machine, it’s
haunted me ever since.”

“It would take
more than a beating to keep me down,” she said with a chuckle.

They were tough
words but not entirely true as I turned around to look at my more
fragile-looking friend.

I dried my
hands on a tea towel. “Thank you for the scones, they were
delicious.” I gave her a hug.

“Send my love
to Toby, I hope everything settles down and he is able to come home
soon. Keep me informed won’t you dear?”

“Yes, of course
I will.

She followed me
out into the hallway.

“Oh,” I turned
around. “I know it’s very early days but I’m opening the shop on
Wednesday. I completely understand if you never want to set foot
inside the place again but your job will always be there for you if
you feel ready to come back.”

“Thanks love.
Once I’ve got this working a bit better,” she said, touching her
left arm. “You won’t be able to keep me away.”

I had to admire
her spirit. “Is there anything you need?” I asked after I had given
her a kiss on the cheek.

“I don’t think
so dear. Paul did some shopping for me yesterday and my meals are
being provided at the moment. You just concentrate on looking after
yourself.”

“Okay, as long
as you are sure.” I opened the front door. “Take care, I’ll pop in
later this week.”

“I’ll look
forward to it and tell Toby that Auntie Audrey sends her love.”

“I will.”

Walking down
Audrey’s path I glanced over the hedge at Paul’s equally neat
garden and hoped she wouldn’t be on her own for too much
longer.

I went home via
the nearest supermarket and bought something for tea. There was
little point buying too much if I was going to be in Ramia for the
next couple of days. I usually enjoyed my weekly shop but I
struggled to face the aisles and aisles of food. I grabbed some
fresh pasta and a ready-made sauce and got out as quickly as I
could.