The Hornbeam Tree Page 12

  As she got up, Kylie and several other girls from the chemistry class were coming towards her. ‘Molly Kiernan, you are such a slapper, carrying pictures like that around in your bag,’ one of them sneered.

  ‘You are so in trouble now,’ another one loftily informed her.

  ‘Do you think I care? Just because you’re too stupid to know what any of it’s about … None of you can even get a boyfriend …’

  ‘Look who’s talking, hanging out with Rank Rusty Phillips,’ Kylie spat.

  ‘He’s helping me with my homework. My boyfriend’s someone you don’t even know. His name’s Brad and he’s eighteen.’

  ‘You are such a liar.’

  ‘Believe what you like, but you’ll feel pretty stupid when he comes to pick me up from school on his motorbike,’ and hiking her bag higher on her shoulder, she pushed past them to go and sit somewhere on her own. She composed a text to her mum saying she was sorry again and that she loved her, which would hopefully soften her up a bit before she found out about the email Glover had snatched. She even considered saying she’d go shopping with Michelle, but no, she definitely didn’t want to do that. Leaving it out, she sent the message and stuffed the phone back in her bag, free now to imagine how being Brad’s girlfriend would be like the coolest, most amazing thing ever.

  It was a little after one as Michelle hurried up through the village of Castle Combe, barely registering the picturesque cottages either side of the narrow street, or the old market cross at the top just outside the inn she was heading for.

  Pushing the door open she looked around, trying to spot someone who could be Elliot Russell amongst the locals and tourists who were crowding the stone-walled bar with its two open fireplaces, deep casement windows, and collection of photographs from films that had been shot in the village.

  Spotting her first, Elliot got to his feet and came across to meet her. ‘Michelle? Elliot Russell,’ he said, holding out a hand to shake. ‘We’re over here, by the window.’

  Following him to a table set against the curved stone wall with views down over the village, she watched an extremely attractive blonde woman rise to meet her.

  ‘Laurie Forbes,’ Laurie said, shaking Michelle’s hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’

  Michelle smiled, liking the warmth in Laurie’s eyes. ‘Thanks for coming,’ she said, ‘and for meeting me here.’

  ‘Isn’t Katie joining us?’ Laurie asked, as they sat down.

  Michelle’s eyes showed a wry humour as she recalled Katie’s voluble disgust at being forced to stay at home. ‘I’m afraid not,’ she said. ‘She wanted to, but the Macmillan nurse is coming today. She sends her love though, and says she’d love to see you if you’ve time to drop in before you return to London.’

  Beneath the tan Laurie’s face had paled. ‘Macmillan nurse?’ she echoed, understanding very well what that meant.

  Knowing that she’d be dropping something of a bombshell with that, Michelle spoke softly as she said, ‘Yes, I’m sorry. Her care changed from curative to palliative about three weeks ago.’

  Laurie looked at Elliot, who appeared equally as shocked. ‘We’d kind of presumed, after her call, that she was on the mend,’ he said.

  Michelle shook her head. ‘It’s why I’ve come back to England,’ she explained. ‘She hasn’t told many people, so if you wouldn’t mind keeping it to yourselves for now … She knows I’m telling you, but she hasn’t actually broken it to her daughter yet.’

  ‘Oh no, this is so awful,’ Laurie responded, clearly very upset. ‘How old is Molly now?’

  ‘Fourteen.’

  Michelle watched their faces as they looked at each other, and tried to assimilate this unexpected news. It was plain to see how fond they were of Katie, which touched her deeply, but feeling the need to lighten things a little now she said, ‘If you happen to have any tips on how to bond with a teenager, I’d love to hear them, because I’m clean out of ideas myself, and I haven’t even got started yet.’

  Laurie turned to Elliot. ‘Drinks,’ he declared, taking the only way out. ‘What are you going to have?’

  ‘Lemonade for me,’ Michelle answered. ‘Katie and I rather overindulged last night, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Same for me,’ Laurie said. Then, turning back to Michelle, ‘You know, if there’s anything we can do …’

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ Michelle responded. ‘I think we’re managing for the moment, in fact, once you get over the shock of how she looks, you could almost forget there’s anything wrong with her, she’s so like her normal self.’

  Laurie’s eyes were imbued with affection as she said, ‘It must be very hard for you.’

  Michelle took a deep breath. Actually, it was, but she didn’t really want to discuss her own feelings when Katie’s mattered much more. ‘We’ll get through it,’ she said, with a smile to show her appreciation for the thought. Then, glancing over at Elliot as he stood at the bar ordering drinks, she said, ‘You have a lovely tan, both of you. Have you been away somewhere?’

  ‘Bali,’ Laurie answered, with a wry expression. ‘It was our honeymoon, but Elliot met someone else just before the wedding, so we didn’t actually get married.’

  Though Katie had already told her that, Michelle felt it polite to feign surprise.

  ‘He claims he’s over the other woman now,’ Laurie continued, ‘but I guess time will have to be the proof of that.’ Looking up as Elliot rejoined them, she said, ‘Now let’s get down to why we’re here. We got your email, but we should probably go over it, make sure we’re understanding everything correctly.’

  Michelle took one of the menus a waiter was passing out, but neither of them studied it as she began expanding on her email, filling them in on the details of what had happened since she’d arrived in England. She began with her detention at Heathrow, her missing bag and mobile, then related what Tom had told her during their phone conversation. She went on to the visit from the police, and most recently the email to Sajid.

  ‘Yes, we got that,’ Elliot told her. ‘I’m assuming his accounts have been frozen, preventing him from accessing his own funds, or he’s gone into hiding and doesn’t want to risk tipping anyone off to where he is. When we put that together with the little else we’ve got, there doesn’t seem much doubt that he’s trying to avoid the intelligence services – US, Pakistani, and possibly British, because they’re obviously operating out there too. So, someone wants their classified documents back, which leads us to the big question, what’s in them? For the moment we don’t know, so let’s start with Joshua Shine. Is there anything else you can tell us about him?’

  Michelle shook her head. ‘Everything’s in the email,’ she answered. ‘He was Political Officer at the US Consulate in Lahore for at least ten years, until they were all recalled to Islamabad at the start of hostilities. Tom’s long suspected him of being a CIA case officer for the region, but we don’t have any proof.’

  ‘I spoke to someone at the embassy in Islamabad this morning,’ Elliot informed her. ‘Apparently Mr Shine is no longer in Pakistan, so I’ve asked my partner in Washington, Max Erwin …?’

  Michelle nodded. ‘I know the name,’ she confirmed.

  ‘He’s making enquiries that end,’ Elliot continued. ‘Now, do you know a Pakistani journalist by the name of Farukh Hassan?’

  Michelle looked surprised. ‘Yes, very well. He’s a good friend of Tom’s. They’ve worked together a lot in recent years. In fact, he was one of the first people I tried to get hold of.’

  ‘Me too,’ Elliot said, ‘and I had a call about an hour ago telling me that Farukh was at the hotel in Karachi with Tom and another man – possibly Josh Shine – before they took off in a hurry. My contact also informed me that the hotel was then closed down for several hours while it was searched by the police and ISI.’

  ‘ISI?’ Laurie queried.

  ‘Pakistan’s Intelligence service,’ he elaborated.

  Michelle’s face was showing her concern.
‘That was three days ago,’ she said.

  ‘So they’re obviously in hiding somewhere, and my guess is, Tom needs that money to get himself out of the country. It would be the only sensible thing to do under the circumstances, because no-one in their right mind would hang around to be arrested by the Pakistanis. Bad things happen behind their closed doors, which you probably know even more about than I do, so we won’t go there.’

  ‘What do you think of the possibility that they have managed to find him and that he needs the money to bribe his way out of jail?’ Michelle said, voicing one of her worst fears.

  ‘We can’t dismiss it,’ Elliot responded, ‘but my gut’s telling me that’s not the case. Nor do I think he’s fallen – or been pushed – into the hands of a terrorist group,’ he continued, addressing her other worst fear, ‘because it’s unlikely he’d have got an email out, and the amount isn’t big enough for a ransom.’

  Laurie said, ‘We sent an email back to Tom this morning, with a copy to Sajid, letting them know that the money will be there as soon as they tell us where and when they need it.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Michelle said. ‘I mean, I can find the cash …’

  Elliot put up a hand. ‘It’s easier if we do it,’ he said. ‘Now let’s move on to the visit you had from the anti-terrorist squad and the FBI …’

  ‘It was definitely anti-terrorist?’ Michelle interrupted.

  Elliot nodded. ‘We established that last night. This morning we learned that the FBI agent is the Acting Legal Attaché with a fierce ambition to secure the job, always a dangerous type. What’s significant is that he came to see you himself, and didn’t send one of his deputies.’

  ‘He hardly spoke,’ Michelle told him.

  ‘He didn’t need to, his anti-terrorist chum was doing it for him, and this isn’t his jurisdiction.’

  Laurie said, ‘Did either of them say anything to give you an inkling of what might be in those documents?’

  Michelle was thinking hard. ‘Nothing at all,’ she said. ‘They hardly stayed above five minutes, and everything they said I put in the email. Katie checked it, it was how she remembered it too.’

  Elliot was looking pensive. ‘OK,’ he said, ‘now let’s go over it all again to make sure we haven’t missed anything.’

  By the end of lunch Michelle was so relieved to have Elliot in charge that she actually felt physically lighter as they wandered back down through the village and over the bridge to where they’d parked their cars.

  ‘What next?’ she asked, as they came to a stop at Elliot’s Porsche. ‘Is there anything Katie and I can do? You know how well connected she is in London, and she’s longing to do something …’

  ‘I can imagine,’ Elliot responded dryly, ‘and I can’t think of anyone I’d be happier to have on board. For the moment though we’re in Tom’s hands, so until he gets in touch again, there’s not much more any of us can do. Just keep us informed if you hear anything, or suddenly remember something you might have overlooked.’ Turning to Laurie he said, ‘I need to head back to London now. I’m guessing you’ll want to stay and see Katie.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ she confirmed.

  ‘OK. If you drop me at the station I’ll take the train and leave you the car, then I can use the phone as I go.’ To Michelle he said, ‘Send Katie my love, and tell her I’ll definitely call in on her next time. And she knows my number if she needs anything.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Michelle replied, liking the way he sounded as he spoke about Katie. ‘Thank you for everything.’

  ‘Good luck with your niece,’ he added.

  Michelle groaned and laughed. ‘I think I’m going to need it.’

  After giving Laurie directions from the station back to Katie’s, Michelle got into her hire car and pulled out behind them as they started heading towards Chippenham. Though she was as eager as Katie to help in any way they could, now that Elliot seemed to think that Tom was safe – at least for the moment – she felt able to start focusing more on Molly and how to win her over. It was going to be an extremely delicate process, she knew that, and it was already off to a bad start, though she was daring to hope that this new détente with Katie would turn out to be lasting enough to bring about a mellowing effect in Molly.

  When she pulled up outside the cottage everything appeared quite normal and quiet. No sign of the nurse’s car, though she’d have been long gone by now, and Katie’s Fiesta was in its usual place with a flyer from a local car wash trapped against the windscreen. Finding Trotty at the gate waiting to greet her, Michelle scooped her up and stopped a moment to look around at the fields beyond the garden, the trees that overhung the lane, the vast blue emptiness of the sky, the sunlight sparkling on the duck pond. It seemed, strangely, as though everything was taking a pause, inhaling a last breath of summer before finally allowing the leaves to start changing colour and the storms to gather. Suddenly struck by how it could be a metaphor for Katie’s life, she quickly refocused on Trotty and walked across the garden and in through the open back door to find Katie sitting at the table in front of her computer.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked, wondering why she thought she wasn’t.

  ‘Yes, I’m fine,’ Katie answered, looking up. ‘Just bringing myself up to date on Pakistan, and realizing that while the world’s eye is on Iraq, we’re missing where the real danger lies.’

  Michelle nodded and going with it said, ‘It’s where terrorists are most likely to get their hands on nuclear weapons.’

  Katie looked at the screen again. ‘I wonder if they already have,’ she murmured. Then seeming to detach from it, she said, ‘So how was lunch?’

  ‘What did the nurse say, first?’ Michelle asked, putting her purse down and wondering if Katie really did look worse than she had a couple of hours ago, or if it was simply that she wasn’t wearing her wig.

  ‘Oh, my supplier,’ Katie answered flippantly. ‘She’s giving me a bigger fix of morphine, and wants me to go and see Dr Simon next week. Nothing serious. Just a check-up.’

  Michelle felt a beat of unease. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she said.

  Katie laughed in surprise. ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Why are you seeing the specialist?’

  Katie was on the brink of delivering another flippant reply, until realizing that Michelle was seeing straight through her bravado, she sighed and looked away. ‘All right, the nurse thinks I need more symptom control, so she’s recommending some second-line chemo. She says it’ll ease some of the pain.’

  Michelle went towards her and wrapped her in her arms. ‘I hadn’t realized it was that bad,’ she said. ‘You’re too good at hiding it.’

  ‘It’s not, not really,’ Katie responded. ‘Just now and again.’

  Michelle drew back to look at her. ‘Don’t keep things from me,’ she said. ‘Whatever it is, I need to know.’

  Katie smiled, but as she tried to pull away she found herself holding on tighter, and then her frail, emaciated body began to shake as a dreaded wave of self-pity broke through her resolve.

  Michelle tightened her embrace and felt her own tears welling too, as the sharpness of Katie’s bones pressed up against her own, and her feathery hair brushed her cheek. She felt so helpless and angry that this should be happening, so confused by the world and all the pain it visited on the undeserving.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Katie said, pulling away to dry her eyes. ‘It just comes over me sometimes. I’m fine now.’

  ‘You don’t have to say sorry to me,’ Michelle told her gently.

  ‘But I do,’ Katie replied, looking into her eyes. ‘I’ve treated you so badly, not just recently, but over the years …’

  ‘Ssh,’ Michelle scolded. ‘Sisters are like that with each other sometimes.’

  A smile trembled on Katie’s lips. ‘I wish I’d allowed myself to get to know you better before all this,’ she said. ‘I really think we could have been friends.’

  Touching her face, Michelle said, ‘What’s im
portant is that we are now,’ and pulling her into another embrace she kissed her fuzzy hair and felt the bond that had lain dormant for too long finally starting to enfold them.

  Reaching for another tissue to blow her nose, Katie said, ‘You still haven’t told me about your lunch.’

  After checking that she really was steadier now, Michelle let her go and went to fill the kettle. ‘I can understand why Tom wants Elliot involved,’ she said. ‘He hasn’t wasted any time. Laurie’s coming to see you, by the way. She’s just dropping Elliot at the station.’

  Katie immediately brightened. ‘Then I’d better put me ’air back on,’ she quipped. ‘Can’t have her seeing me like this, or I’ll scare her off.’

  Michelle smiled. ‘From how fond she seems of you, I think that’s unlikely. I really liked her. Him too.’

  ‘So did you get the gossip? Are they back together? Or are they being all grown-up and twenty-first century by not letting personal issues get in the way of matters professional?’

  ‘No, I think they’re together.’

  Katie seemed pleased, though she was shaking her head. ‘If they are, then frankly it’s a miracle she’s taken him back after he went off with that Brazilian tart. Gorgeous and irresistible as he is, I’m not sure I’d have taken him back if he’d put me through that.’

  ‘I got the impression it’s not altogether resolved.’

  Katie’s eyebrows rose. ‘I’d be amazed if it was,’ she said. ‘It can take years for a relationship to recover from that kind of betrayal, and even then it’s never forgotten. Anyway, I’d better go upstairs and sort myself out before she gets here. The computer’s still connected if you want to check your email.’

  There turned out to be nothing from Tom or Sajid, though Michelle guessed they’d contact Elliot direct now, so she’d have to wait to hear from him. However, there was a message from another quarter that seemed to confirm at least one piece of information that Elliot had been given by the US Embassy in Islamabad.

  Spoke to Josh Shine ten minutes

  ago. He’s in Frankfurt on way back