Abigail: Chapter 31

I followed Ryan’s directions as he led me away from McDonalds and into a part of the town I’d not visited yet. Three right turns, a left, two more rights. It felt like we were going round in circles and I was beginning to have my doubts about Ryan’s sanity. As I drove he kept squirming round in his seat to try and see out the back.

“We’re not being followed,” I said.

“You sure?” Still he looked round frantically, his eyes wide.

“I’m sure. I’ve been in this game long enough to know when I’ve got a tail. We’re clean.”

“Okay, pull in here.” He pointed to a patch of mud slightly further back from the road. “There.”

I did as I was told and parked the van. “Where are we?”

“It’s the woods at the back of my old school. Used to come here for a smoke. Toby won’t know about this place. It’s safe. Come on.” He got out of the van and started walking into the woods. I locked up, grabbed my bag and followed him. We walked for about a mile in silence. I was trying my best to be patient but this whole cloak and dagger act was getting a bit tiresome. I’d had a long day and I was just about ready to head over to the hotel for a quiet night.

“This is far enough Ryan.” He’d gone a little way ahead of me but he stopped walking when I shouted to him. “You’re safe here. So tell me about Toby and let me help you.”

He walked back to me. “You really think we’re safe?”

“Absolutely. There’s not another soul for miles. Let’s get this over with. Tell me what you know.”

He glanced around him before speaking. “There’s something you need to know about Toby Rogers.”

“Go on?”

“Appearances can be deceptive.” He paced up and down as he spoke.

“Meaning?”

“He looks like the golden boy, with his fancy haircut and nice clothes. Have you seen the car he drives? I could feed myself for a year with the money he spent on that motor.”

“That doesn’t make sense Ryan. He was sleeping on your sofa, working in a fast food restaurant. No-one said anything about a flash car.”

“I’ve seen the photos. He showed me one day when he’d had a couple of drinks. Told me all about his little wifey and kids back home.”

“I don’t suppose he happened to mention how he ended up in Barnstaple?” I laughed. All this time I’d been trying to find Toby through his work contacts and what I really needed to do was talk to his drinking buddy.

“It’s not funny!” His face changed and he didn’t look like the scared little kid any more. I felt a knot settle in my stomach as I remembered what I’d told him. Not another soul for miles. I took a deep breath.

“You’re right, it’s not funny. So how about you tell me what you wanted to tell me and we get back into town?”

“You’re not going anywhere!” He was speaking through gritted teeth now, his face screwed up in the expression of a snarl.

Bugger, where had that come from?

I felt the knot grow into something resembling real fear as I started weighing up my chances of taking him down. He wasn’t particularly big, still just a scrawny kid, but I’d put money on him being a dirty fighter if it came to it.

“What are you doing Ryan?” I tried to keep my tone neutral. He was clearly a nut job and the last thing I wanted to do was provoke him further. “I thought you wanted me to help you?”

“Stupid little bitch! You think I need help from someone like you? You’re way out of your depth Charlie Diamond. Go back to Wales and find yourself a cosy insurance scam to bust. You’re done here.”

Before I had a chance to react he ran at me, his whole body thundering into mine. I felt myself stumble backwards, my foot connecting with a tree root, and I fell on my arse in the mud. He landed on top of me forcing the air out of my lungs and for a moment I just sat there, unable to move. He snatched my bag and ran in the direction of the van. It took me a moment to register what was happening but I was soon on my feet and doing my best to race after him, gasping for breath. I watched him riffle through my bag as he ran, business cards flying through the air like confetti alongside copies of Toby’s smiling face.

“Oi!” I wanted to tell him to keep running, to warn him that if I caught up to him, he’d be wiping my business cards clean with his face, but I needed to save my breath for more important things like running as fast as I could. As the distance between us grew I began to regret my all too frequent dinners in The Bont. By the time I broke free of the woods he had his hand on the van door and I was cursing the red wine, swearing to God that if I caught this kid I’d never drink again.

“Don’t you bloody dare!”

He turned round and waggled his fingers at me, before jumping into the van and starting the engine. 

“You little bastard!”

He pushed his foot to the floor and revved the engine. I wanted to give one last super human burst of energy so I could reach him in time to stop him, I wanted to believe this was all a bad dream, I wanted to be back home in my cosy little house in Gloddfa Bont but when I looked up, all I could see was my van racing off down the road out of sight leaving me standing all alone in the middle of nowhere. Bloody brilliant!