I hear the slam of a car door and the screech of tyres and I assume that they’ve gone.
Moments later, Crystal comes back and she’s shaking with rage.
‘I didn’t even get their bloody registration number,’ she spits. ‘They sped off in a big black van. It was too fast for me.’
‘I know who did this,’ I tell her. ‘The details make no difference.’ The only surprise is that Suresh didn’t come himself. But then it’s perhaps more like him to send other men to do his dirty work.
My legs feel wobbly as I kneel down in front of my daughter and wipe her wet cheeks with my cuff. ‘They’ve gone now. All gone. We’re safe again,’ I coo as I stroke her face and her hair soothingly. ‘Are you all right, my child?’
‘Yes, Mama,’ she says in a voice that’s strong and clear.
Then it’s my turn to break down and cry. I sob against her tiny shoulder. When I look up, Joy and Crystal are crying too. They come to join us in a huddle and we all hold on tightly to each other.
This has been a most terrible and terrifying experience, but they say that every cloud has a silver lining, and this one has brought my daughter’s sweet voice back to me.
Her trembling body clings to mine and I thank whatever gods are listening that she’s safe and can speak again.
Chapter Seventy-four
We all help Joy into the kitchen. She’s bleeding steadily from the wound on her head. Her hands are dirty and cut too.
‘You were so brave.’ As I sit her down, I can feel her shaking. Perhaps I’ve underestimated how much she’s been injured. ‘What would we have done without you?’
‘I couldn’t let them take our little Sabina, could I?’ She chucks my daughter under the chin.
Sabina throws her arms round Joy’s neck and kisses her. ‘Thank you, Auntie Joy,’ she says softly. ‘You got the bad man.’
And that’s enough to bring on all our tears again.
‘The surprise plant-pot move was sublime, Joy,’ Crystal says as she cuffs away a tear. ‘I think we’re going to call you Rambo from now on.’
‘You’ll do no such thing, young lady,’ Joy warns.
I smile to myself, as it’s nice to see that she’s still feeling feisty despite her injuries.
‘It’s a shame they all got away,’ Crystal says. ‘Bastards. Oh, sorry. Better mind my language now that Beanie can speak again.’
‘She’s always been able to hear you,’ I remind her.
‘Oh, yeah.’ Crystal wags a finger at my child. ‘Never, ever repeat what I say.’
Sabina risks a smile. She unpeels herself from Joy and goes to hug Crystal too.
‘Were you very frightened?’ Crystal says.
‘Yes,’ she whispers in reply. ‘I thought they’d take me away from you.’
‘Well, you’re safe now.’ Crystal looks over Sabina’s shoulder to where I’m tending Joy. Her eyes say that she’s worried for our safety, and I am too.
Now that Suresh knows where we are, we’ll never be safe. I’d hoped that he’d forget us, leave us to quietly live our new life. Now I know for sure that he will not. I’m also certain that he didn’t simply intend to take Sabina. It horrifies me to think what our fate might be if we’re returned to him, and terror grips me inside.
‘You should phone Hayden,’ Crystal says. ‘He’ll be out of his mind with worry. Here.’ She presses his number on her phone and passes it to me.
My fingers tremble as I hold it.
He answers immediately. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes,’ I say, my voice shaky. ‘Yes, we are.’
‘What happened?’
‘Some men came and tried to take Sabina.’
‘They didn’t succeed?’
‘No. No. They didn’t. She’s safe.’
‘Thank God for that.’ He lets out a relieved breath. ‘I knew it had to be something awful, so I called 999 straight away and asked the police to attend.’
‘No one came,’ I tell him. ‘But we managed to scare them off.’
‘I’m on my way back right now,’ he says. ‘I jumped straight in the car. It won’t be long before I’m there.’
‘Thank you,’ I say, feeling as if I could weep. ‘Hurry home.’
‘I will.’ Then there’s a catch in his voice. ‘I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you. I love you, Ayesha.’
‘And I love you too,’ I tell him.
This is the declaration that I’ve longed to hear, the one that I’ve longed to speak. Today, it feels almost overwhelming. Emotionally exhausted, I hang up and give the phone back to Crystal.
‘Is he OK?’ she asks.
I nod. ‘He’s on his way back now.’
‘Good.’
‘Before we do anything else, I must tend to your face, Joy.’ It’s stained with dried and fresh blood. There’s more blood and dirt caked in her hair.
‘I do feel a bit of a mess,’ she says with typical British understatement.
So while Crystal cuddles Sabina, I get a clean face cloth and a bowl of warm water to bathe Joy’s head. There’s a nasty cut along her hairline which is starting to swell into a bump. ‘I’d like to take you to the hospital. Only to make sure that you’re all right. That cut may need a stitch or two.’
‘No, no.’ She bats my hand away. ‘I’m fine.’
At the very least, she needs to relax in a warm bath or she’ll be stiff tomorrow, but I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
‘Will you let me bathe you, Joy? And then go for a sleep?’
‘I’m not a baby,’ she says crisply, but I can see that she’s wavering. ‘All I need is a cup of tea.’
‘I’ll get the kettle on,’ Crystal says. ‘I don’t know about you, but I need a tot of brandy too. I’m all of a quiver inside.’
‘That might be a good idea,’ Joy says. ‘Make mine a double.’
Crystal disappears into the living room and reappears with a dusty bottle of brandy and three small glasses. ‘Must have been a long time since we had an emergency.’ She sets the glasses on the table and fills them. Not forgetting Sabina, she pours her out a glass of juice.
Crystal hands Joy a tot of brandy and then offers one to me. I’m about to remind her that I don’t usually drink alcohol, but I believe there’s a time and a place. So I take it without protest.
She raises her glass and Joy and I do likewise. We touch them together.
‘To us,’ Crystal says. ‘We are fabulous and fearless.’
‘I was very afraid,’ I admit.
‘We all were. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Then she laughs. ‘But where on earth did you find that language, lady? “Knee him in the bollocks”?’
‘Bridget Jones,’ I tell her, and we all chuckle together.
‘And Joy,’ Crystal enthuses. ‘You were a star, striking the killer blow.’
Joy raises her glass and accepts the praise.
‘We might have been terrified. We might be the fairer sex. But today we were all-conquering,’ Crystal continues. ‘We were borderline ninja. Despite our knocking knees, we saw off three mahoosive blokes. They ran away with their tails between their legs and that deserves a toast.’
‘To us,’ we all agree and clink our glasses. ‘Fabulous and fearless!’
‘They’ve gone,’ Crystal says triumphantly. ‘Let’s hope they never darken our door again.’
But as the brandy burns a pleasant track down my throat, I think we both know that they will.
Chapter Seventy-five
Before we can do anything else, there’s a sharp knock at the door and we all gasp.
‘I’ll go,’ Crystal says, glancing anxiously at me. ‘You stay here.’
I think about grabbing a knife from the block, but Sabina comes to sit on my lap, burying her face in my shoulder. I wrap her tightly in my arms. They’ll have to cut me away from her to take her. Joy moves to stand in front of us.
Moments later, Crystal comes back with two uniformed police officers. They expl
ain that they’ve had a call from a Mr Daniels.
‘You’re a bit bloody late,’ Crystal says to them as they come into the kitchen. ‘The blokes are long gone.’ So she tells them what’s happened while they make notes and sympathetic noises.
I explain my situation and tell them that I believe the men have been sent to take my daughter, and possibly myself, by my husband. They say that they’ll speak to Suresh and take his details, but I wish they wouldn’t as it will only inflame him more. They say that we’ll be protected by the weight of the law. Yet I know that these things so often go wrong.
The policemen look at Joy and are concerned about her injuries. They also try, without success, to get her to go to the hospital. She’s shaking now and her face is pale and I think that shock is starting to take hold. I help her into a chair again as she’s swaying on her feet. She was so tenacious and bold, but I’m sure that the effort must have taken it out of her.
The policemen look in the garden and at the broken gate. The CCTV cameras at the front of the house have been smashed or shot out with air rifles, they say, and it seems that the men managed to scale the tall gates to gain entry. Whatever Hayden thinks he can do, it will never be enough to stop a man determined to do harm.
After half an hour the policemen leave, saying they’ll send in another team to take fingerprints and the like. In my heart, I wonder if there’s any point. I know who did this and I know that nothing will stop him.
Crystal shows the officers to the door and, as she sees them off, Hayden pulls in to the drive. ‘Hayden’s home!’ she shouts.
Sabina and I jump up and I think that we’re both equally anxious to see him. In an instant, he’s in the kitchen, his face stricken. He gathers me to him. ‘This is all my fault,’ he says.
‘It’s not,’ I assure him. ‘How could it be?’
‘I should never have left you alone.’
‘We weren’t alone. We were with Joy and Crystal. Behind a big wall with CCTV. You thought we’d be safe. We all did.’
‘Tell me exactly what happened.’
I give him the details, filling him in on how heroic Joy and Crystal have been. Without them I would have been lost. A shudder of fear goes through me again as I recount the story. ‘I knew something terrible had happened when I heard Sabina screaming.’
He looks from me to her and back again. ‘She screamed?’
‘I had to,’ my daughter pipes up. ‘I was very frightened, Hayden.’
‘Oh, God.’ He drops to his knees in front of her. His face lights up. ‘Say something else!’
She laughs and goes all coy. ‘Don’t be silly.’
‘If there’s anything good to come from this, it’s that my child has found her voice again.’
‘Amen to that,’ Joy adds. When I turn to smile at her, I see that her face is ashen. ‘You must rest, Joy,’ I tell her, placing my hand on her arm. ‘Please let me help you to have a bath and then go to bed for a little while. I really think that it would help.’
To my very great surprise, she puts down her brandy and says, ‘Come on then.’
‘Will you look after Sabina for me?’ I ask Hayden and Crystal. ‘Please don’t let her out of your sight.’
Hayden sits on a chair by the table and lifts Sabina on to his lap. ‘I don’t intend to. I’m going to find out all about this little lady,’ he says. ‘Now that she can tell me herself.’
‘I’ll be back very soon.’ But I don’t want to rush Joy. I’d like to give her the attention she so very badly needs.
Taking Joy’s arm, I lead her from the kitchen and help her to climb the stairs. She’s not too steady on her feet and I’m worried that the injury to her head was worse than we realised.
I take her into the main bathroom of the house and she lets me without protest. This is a big room, with a large, claw-footed bath in the centre. There are uplighters set into the bleached-oak floor and a squashy armchair in the corner.
When I close the door behind us, Joy sits down on the edge of the bath. Her hand goes to her forehead and she says, ‘I do feel a little bit wobbly.’
‘I don’t want to leave you on your own, Joy. Are you happy for me to stay with you?’
She nods her acquiescence. So I turn on the taps to run the bath and then I help her out of her dirty and bloody clothes.
‘My very bones feel bruised.’ She moves gingerly to unbutton her blouse, but she cannot steady her fingers enough, and instead I do it for her. My friend normally looks so strong and robust, but now her back is bent and she seems so weary.
‘You put a lot of very strenuous effort into fighting for my daughter,’ I say. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘Go on,’ Joy counters. ‘Anyone would do the same. That little girl’s worth a good fight.’
I’m frightened that my husband clearly feels the same.
Joy starts to cry, and I hold her close. ‘I thought they’d take her,’ Joy says, sobbing. ‘I didn’t think we could stop them.’
‘But we did,’ I say. ‘You did.’
‘It’s only afterwards that you think of what might have happened.’ She fishes for a handkerchief and, when she can’t find one, I give her some toilet roll instead. Joy wipes her tears. ‘Silly old woman,’ she admonishes herself.
‘It was scary for everyone. I wouldn’t like it to happen again.’ A second time we may not be so happy or so lucky with the outcome. How can I protect Sabina in the future? It’s a terrible worry.
‘Your bath’s nearly ready,’ I tell her. ‘You’ll feel better for it.’
‘I’m not sure I could feel much worse,’ she admits.
Joy steps out of her shoes and I assist her with her trousers. She fumbles with her underwear and I help her with that. I’ve never seen her look so vulnerable and it’s sad to see. My heart goes out to her. Beneath her sturdy shoes and sensible blouses, she’s a frail old lady. Quickly I wrap her in a warm towel and sit her in the armchair until the bath is filled.
When she climbs in, I hold her steady. Joy sinks into the water with a welcome sigh. I’ve put in lots of bubbles to preserve her modesty. Taking the sponge, I gently wash her arms. She sits forward a little while I wash her back. Then I hold her head as tenderly as I can and shampoo the blood from her hair, which makes the water run pink. Her hair is fine, fragile, and her scalp white with age. No wonder the blow has torn the skin so cruelly.
Sitting in the armchair, I watch her while she closes her eyes and relaxes back, letting the water soothe her. I think she’ll be stronger after a sound slumber.
When she’s ready, I help her out again and dry her down. I towel her hair and, in the cabinet, find a plaster to put over her cut which, thankfully, seems to have stopped bleeding. Wrapping her in a clean towel like I do with Sabina, I take her up the stairs to her bedroom. She sits on the edge of her bed and gives out a tired sigh.
‘Where are your nightclothes, Joy?’
‘In there.’ She points to a drawer and I pull out a clean nightdress and help her into it. Pulling back her covers, I ease her into her bed and tuck her in. She looks so small and fragile in the bed and it tugs at my heartstrings: I’ve never seen her like this before. It’s all the worse as I know she’s like this because of her efforts on my behalf.
‘Shall I stay with you until you sleep?’
‘No,’ Joy says. ‘You’ll be worried about Sabina. She needs you more than I do.’
‘I’ll bring you some soup to eat later.’
‘That would be nice.’
I kiss her forehead and pull the covers round her shoulders. ‘Thank you, Joy.’
She grips my hand. ‘No. Thank you, Ayesha. We’re all better for having you in this house.’
My eyes fill with tears because, if I’m very honest with myself, I don’t know how long I can stay here now that this has happened.
‘Sleep tight, my friend,’ I tell her.
I tiptoe to the door and, by the time I’m softly closing it, I believe that sleep has already foun
d her.
Chapter Seventy-six
We’re all truly weary by the evening. I’m even too tired to be interested in what terrible things Mr Charles Dickens has in store for poor Pip, although Hayden and I are very nearly at the end of the tale.
Instead, we’re lying together on the sofas in the living room. Hayden, Sabina and I are on one, all squashed up in a huddle. Crystal and Edgar are on the other. She has her head on a cushion on Edgar’s lap and he’s stroking her hair lovingly. We’re all wearing pyjamas and this is the first time that I’ve ever done this. I feel it’s a small comfort that I’ve previously missed in life. Crystal has made hot chocolate for us all and we have nice biscuits. On the television there’s a film about penguins who dance, but none of us is really watching it. My mind is filled with worries, but I’m trying not to show it. I rest my head on Hayden’s shoulder and he kisses my brow, which feels hot and bothered.
Since he’s been home, he’s not wanted to let me out of his sight. We’ve talked briefly of his reconciliation with his parents and he says that it went well. I’m only sorry that he had to dash away prematurely on our behalf.
Earlier, I took Joy a small bowl of home-made chicken soup and she ate it with some enthusiasm. It was a relief to see that she looked much better but she’s decided, I think wisely, to stay in bed and doze again.
‘If Joy isn’t fully recovered tomorrow, I think we should try to persuade her to see a doctor.’
‘I’ve got a private GP,’ Hayden says. ‘I’ll ask him to call in. I’d be happier if he checked her over too.’
‘I feel that’d be wise. You can’t be too careful.’ Again my stomach lurches at the thought of what might have been. Any one of those men could have seriously harmed Joy, Sabina, Crystal or me. What if they’d come armed with knives, or even guns? What if they do so next time? Then who or what will save us?
‘She’ll be all right,’ he assures me. ‘Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure she is.’
‘Thank you.’ I pat his hand.
I too have bruises and scratches. I hoped that I’d seen the last of those on my body, but they’re superficial injuries compared to what I’ve suffered in the past. It’s only the memories that trouble me, not the physical pain. Sabina too has a darkening imprint of a hand on her arm where the man dragged her, and I’m so relieved that it’s the only harm she’s come to. In reality, it could have been so very much worse. I’m replaying the incident constantly in my brain, and not even dancing penguins can drive it away.