Abigail: Chapter 59
Rob looked like he might wet his pants from laughing so much when he walked into the hotel lobby the following morning to find me sitting in the corner with my head wrapped in my scarf and a pair of sunglasses on.
“Morning Charlie. Beautiful day!” Rob’s voice was like a drill in the side of my skull.
“Shhh, not so loud. Quiet voices this morning please.”
Abigail breezed in after Rob, her eyes bright and skin glowing. I thought I might be sick and excused myself.
When I came back, Rob and Abigail were sitting together chatting. I knew from the snoring that had kept me awake half the night that Abigail had slept well and, unlike me, she hadn’t had the larger half of a bottle of wine. She’d transformed overnight into a more alive version of the Abigail we’d travelled with in the car yesterday and it suited her.
“You alright?” Rob asked me.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
I didn’t have the energy to start debating the state of my hangover. We had an appointment with the bank and I had no intention of being late. Before that though we’d agreed we’d go and visit Muriel. I thought the old lady would appreciate meeting Toby’s wife and after the shock of seeing her look so frail the other day, I wanted to reassure myself she was going to get better.
I travelled with the window down all the way to the hospital and by the time we arrived I was starting to feel a little more human. Sunglasses safety tucked out of sight in my bag, we retraced our steps back to the ward.
“I’m sorry but visiting isn’t until this afternoon,” the nurse said.
My heart sunk. I hadn’t thought to check visiting times. “But we’ve come all this way.”
“From South Wales,” Rob added, giving the nurse his most earnest look. “Is there any way we could pop in, just for a few minutes? We’d appreciate it ever so much.”
“Go on then, but only five minutes mind. And if her breakfast comes you’ll have to go.”
“Promise!”
We practically skipped down the ward to Muriel’s room. When we walked in she was sitting up in bed, both eyes open. She looked so much better than earlier in the week, I could hardly believe it had only been three days.
“Muriel! Look at you!” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Charlie!” Her voice still sounded weak but just to hear her speak felt like a miracle after last time. “Hello love.” She looked at Rob. “Who’s this?”
“This is my friend Rob. He’s a policeman Muriel. He’s helping with Ryan.”
Rob gently kissed Muriel’s cheek then stood to one side so Abigail could come forward.
“And this is Abigail, Toby’s wife. You remember Toby, from next door?”
Muriel nodded but Abigail frowned. “Next door?” she asked.
“Tell you later.” I whispered. “Come and meet Muriel. She’s been an absolute star. Helped us find your Toby.”
The two women said hello and exchanged smiles but soon our time was up and we had to leave.
“Be back soon Muriel,” I promised. “And next time I come we’ll bring you lots of news.”
We drove the short distance from the hospital to town and parked in the same car park as the night before. We walked towards the bank in silence but as we got closer Abigail came and walked next to me.
“You told that old lady that Toby lived next door to her?”
Ah yeah, that. “That’s right.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. How could he have been living next door to her? Was he there the whole time?”
“I don’t know.”
“Please don’t lie to me Charlie.”
“I’m not, I swear. All I know is that Toby was living in the flat next door to Muriel for a little while, a few weeks at most.”
“But why?”
“I’m sorry Abigail, I don’t know.”
Suddenly her cheeks flushed with colour. “Was he living there on his own?”
I shook my head. “It was …”
“Please don’t tell me he was shacked up with some woman! Is that why he disappeared? To be with another woman?” Her voice had risen several octaves and her face looked like it might crumble at any second.
“No, no, nothing like that. It’s Ryan’s flat.”
“Ryan, the kid who kidnapped him?”
“That’s right.”
“That still makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“So why would he …”
“I don’t know.” I couldn’t help but sigh. “Please Abigail, I promise you, if I knew I’d tell you. We don’t know how Toby and Ryan know each other or why they were sharing a flat together. I’ve asked around but no-one seems to know anything. But we will find out, I promise.”
We arrived outside the bank. “Let’s forget about it for now and just focus on the job in hand.”
Abigail nodded and we walked into the bank.
I’d been worried that withdrawing all that money might prove tricky but as it was we were in and out in fifteen minutes. There had been the expected security checks and questions about what I was planning on spending the money on, to which I gave a vague answer about an extension, but otherwise the transaction was smooth. The only problem we had now was what to do with all the cash. In the end it was decided that the safest thing possible would be for Rob to keep it in his hotel room and Abigail and I would go out and get food for us to share back in the room.
“Just watch you don’t scratch my car!” Rob warned.
“As if I’d do a thing like that. Relax, we’ll be fine. You just make sure you don’t open the door to any strange people and when we get back, listen for the knock.”
Rob had said it was completely ridiculous to agree a special knock but he had the good sense to humour me. He was a big bloke but I didn’t fancy his chances if someone caught him by surprise. The last thing we needed after coming all this way was him being robbed of the ransom money.