Abigail: Chapter 56
I woke the following morning still feeling very pleased with myself. It was a bit weird waking up to an empty house though and I would have loved to be able to magically whisk the girls and Missy home so we could enjoy breakfast together. As it was I had to content myself with a phone call. Knowing Louise was terrible at answering her phone, I called Grace, hoping that I wouldn’t wake her. The last thing I needed was an irate teenager.
“Hello?” She sounded slightly bleary but not cross.
“Grace it’s me, your mum.”
“Hi Mum.” She paused. “What time is it?”
“Eight. Sorry, were you sleeping?”
“Eight in the morning? In the school holidays? Are you crazy?”
“Sorry, I just wanted to speak to you. How’s it going there with Dad and Tricia?”
“They’re alright. Few digs about your long hours but we just ignore that.”
“Awww, well done love. And thanks for putting up with them. Won’t be long now and you can come home. Is Missy okay?”
“Yeah she’s fine. Did you want to speak to Louise?”
“Sure.”
I listened as Grace wandered around trying to find her sister. Louise was our early bird. It didn’t surprise me that she wasn’t still in bed. A minute or so later she came on the line.
“Sorry Mum, I was out the back with the dog.”
“She okay? You okay?”
“Relax, we’re both fine. When can we come home?”
I laughed. “That good eh? Hopefully Sunday.”
“But that’s Christmas Eve!”
I looked at the calendar that lay open on my desk and realised I’d totally lost track of Christmas. “So it is. Okay, so you definitely need to come home on Sunday then. Unless you’d prefer Christmas with your dad this year?” Stupid question.
“No way!”
It was with a none too small sense of satisfaction that I listened to Louise bemoan the perils of Christmas at their dad’s house. Tricia was a vegetarian which didn’t help matters but it was more than just the food. Gloddfa Bont was their home and they were ready to come back.
I chatted with Louise for a few more minutes then we said our goodbyes, her promising to be on her best behaviour and me promising to hurry up and finish this case so they could come home, and then I got showered and dressed and ready to face the day. As I dressed I thought about what the next couple of days entailed and butterflies started in my tummy. Whatever happened it was going to be interesting. My only hope now was that I could tidy up the few remaining pieces and do what I’d set out to do in the first place: get Toby home in time for Christmas. First stop, Abigail’s house.
Alexander opened the door to Abigail’s house but this time he didn’t call his mother. Instead he let me in and led me towards the kitchen.
“Charlie’s here,” he said to Abigail, who had her hands in the sink.
She turned and I smiled to see she was wearing pink Marigolds that went all the way up to her elbows. Surrounded by small children and with soap bubbles threatening to escape, she was the picture of domestic harmony. All she needed now was the handsome husband and the picture would be complete.
“Hi Charlie. Sorry, I didn’t expect you so soon. Have a seat.”
She took off her gloves and wiped her hands and I watched as she busied herself with the kettle. Eventually the coffee was made and we sat together at the kitchen table. I took a sip of my coffee and considered where to begin.
When I told her about Toby’s involvement in Bill’s business she looked shocked.
“But I had no idea.” Her forehead creased as she frowned. “Are you sure that’s right? We’ve never had secrets.”
I took my phone out of my bag, logged into the banking app and showed it to her.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a bank transfer, from Bill. He wants to cover the ransom, with enough left over to pay off the bailiffs.”
“That’s brilliant!” She smiled. “But why would he do that?”
“Survivor’s guilt. He feels responsible for Toby’s kidnapping. It was his idea for Toby to be so heavily involved with the company.”
I decided not to tell her about Toby’s real reasons for disappearing. That would be his story to tell and there was nothing to be gained from adding to Abigail’s shock. She’d coped quite well with the news that he had a whole business venture she knew nothing about. I wasn’t sure how she’d take to the news that he’d run away and left her a widow because he was afraid what his parents and in-laws might say. He was a coward and I didn’t have a lot of respect for cowards but if Ryan really was holding him captive somewhere, Toby had got what he deserved. My priority now was Abigail and the children.
“What do we do now? I mean, what’s literally going to happen next?”
“Well first I need to get to the bank so you can have your money. And then we need to get you to Barnstaple.”
“Don’t think I’ve ever been to Devon.”
She was taking all this far too calmly and I was worried. At some point the shock would kick in and we’d be facing a meltdown. I was keen for us to get going before that happened.
“Who’s going to look after the children for you?”
“They’re not coming with us?”
“I thought it was probably for the best if they didn’t, under the circumstances.”
She nodded absently. “Of course. Let me just phone my mum and see if she can have them then I’ll get packed.”
I watched as she wandered into the hallway to use the phone. She moved so gracefully, it was like watching a swan glide across a lake, but I wanted to kick her up the arse for not having made arrangements for the children already. I was a bag of nerves. I wanted to get the children organised and deposited wherever they were to be left so we could just get on with it. Come on Abigail, we’ve got places to be!