Numb: A Dark Thriller (25 page)

It wasn’t one of the boys. Nor the police.

Sandra, stood in the rain, cradled a sleeping Wendy in her arms. Both were wrapped up in thick coats and there was a blanket over the child. Behind them, a taxi was pulling away.

“Hi, Riley.” Her voice was weak, like a woman broken.

“What’s wrong,” he asked and as Sandra stepped inside he noticed her bruised and swollen eye. “Did that happen this morning? I thought you weren’t hurt.”

“I need to see Dylan,” she said and Riley could tell she was close to tears.

He took Wendy from her. Rested her head gently against his shoulder. For a brief moment he thought she was going to wake up, but she soon settled on him and was back in a sound sleep as he followed Sandra into the living room.

“Sandra?” Purvis said, shocked yet ecstatic when he saw her. He got to his feet and hurried over to her. “What is it? Is everything alright.”

Suddenly, she burst into tears, releasing everything she’d held back.

“Let’s go,” she said. “Me, you and Wendy. Let’s leave, right now.”

38

Riley gently placed Wendy on the sofa as Sandra relayed to them what had gone on back at the apartment. Purvis sat on the arm of the chair, next to her, his arm around her shoulder. When she got to the part where Nash hit her, he stood up, his jaw muscles knotting, his fists clenching. Riley winked at him and nodded to the sofa, as if to say, “
Sit down and calm down. What can you do about it? Go and sort Nash out yourself? Give him a kicking and warn him that if he ever again touches the woman you love and the mother of your child you’ll kill him? Get real.
”

Purvis must have thought the same. He sat down and made do with mumbling “bastard” under his breath.

“So, I’ve left him,” Sandra said. She smiled to herself, sniffed her nose and then looked into Purvis’s eyes. “I know things aren’t ready for us to leave yet but can’t we just get out of Thirnbridge?”

“Okay,” Purvis said. The word came out so effortlessly, as if despite the circumstances that had led Sandra to this decision, he couldn’t be happier. “Yes. We’ll leave right now.”

“Are you both sure about this?” Riley asked.

“Yes.” Purvis said.

Sandra nodded and wiped her damp eyes with the sleeve of her coat. She smiled through her tears.

“Nash won’t just let you go,” Riley said, looking at Sandra. “He might say he doesn’t care about you and Wendy but he won’t let this lie. You take his daughter and he’ll come looking for you.”

“We know all of this,” Purvis said. “We’ve been planning on-”

“Exactly, you been
planning
on doing this,” Riley said. “When you go you have to make sure he
can’t find you. Neither of you have packed. You haven’t sorted out your finances or where you’ll go. Christ, Purvis, you haven’t even sold the house yet. That was going to give you the money to set up elsewhere, remember?”

“I’m not going back to him,” Sandra said. “I can’t. Not now.”

“No, you’re right, we’re going,” Purvis said, getting to his feet. He put his glass on the floor without finishing his drink. “Right now. The three of us.”

“But where are you going to go?” Riley asked. He knew he wouldn’t be able to talk them out of this. He just hoped he could make them see what lay ahead for them. “You have nowhere booked. You need those passports for you to get out of the country. What about money?”

Purvis shrugged.

“I’ve got a little money here and at my other place. You know we don’t bank all we earn. As for the passports I’ve told you I’ve already made enquiries and found the bloke who’s going to do them for me. I’ll give him a call and say I need them a.s.a.p - I’ll even offer him double the money if he can hurry things up a bit. A week or two and we’ll be abroad as planned.”

“And until then you hide?” Riley asked and shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. Sandra, you should go back to Nash, at least until things are ready for the two of you. Christ,
don’t
go back to him. Book into a hotel. Separate. Just don’t leave with Purvis until everything’s in place for you to get out the country and find somewhere safe to stay.”

“Riley, please,” Purvis said, “I know you’re just looking out for us, but we’ve made up our minds.” He looked at Sandra. “Right?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitating.

“Then give me five minutes to pack a few things.”

With that, Purvis headed up to his bedroom. Riley followed and stayed at the door as his friend pulled a duffle bag from under his bed and opened his wardrobe.

“You sure about this?” Riley asked.

“More than sure.” Purvis shoved two pairs of trousers and several shirts into the bag.

“What about this place?” Riley asked, gesturing the house.

“This place is rented.” Underwear, socks and deodorant followed the trousers and shirts inside the bag. “When me and Sandra decided we’d leave one day I needed to live in a place I could ditch at short notice. Had I owned a house Nash and the others would’ve been suspicious when it went on the market. I’ll leave a note for my landlord telling him I won’t be back and he can keep the bond I put down. My other place is up for auction in a couple of weeks. I’ll call the estate agent and tell him to lower the reserve price so that it definitely sells. I don’t care if I lose money on it.”

“But how are you going to see the deal through if you’re not here?”

Purvis looked up and winked.

“You want to make some commission?”

“You want me to oversee the sale?”

“I trust you, Riley. I’ll have the estate agent send you some paperwork to sign so you can take over everything for me. There’ll be someway of doing it. I’ll lie and say I’m working abroad and have hired you to deal with it. The money can even go into your account and I’ll contact you to arrange a transfer when I set up a new one. I’ll clean out my existing account tomorrow and just use cash until then. You know Nash will find someway to trace my cards if I don’t.”

Riley didn’t know what to say. But what else
could
he say other than, “Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I am.” Purvis patted him on the shoulder as he passed on his way to the bathroom. He reappeared a few seconds later clutching his toothbrush and a razor. Both went into the bag. Then he pulled out the bottom drawer of the dresser and retrieved several bundles of cash. He quickly counted them. “Just under eight grand. I’ve another five at the other house.”

“Those passports will be expensive,” Riley said. “Especially if you gonna ask for them at short notice. You need some more money? I can give you some.”

Suddenly Sandra appeared beside Riley.“And I’ve got some back at the mansion,” she said. “My own money that I’ve saved. I don’t want to use Mike’s money. I don’t want anything else from him.”

“No good,” Purvis said, zipping up the bag. “It’s best we don’t go back there. We’ll manage on what I’ve got. Like I said, I’ll clean out my account tomorrow. I’ve got close to twenty grand of savings in there.”

“I need to go back to the mansion for clothes-”

“Sandra, honey, I’ll buy you some more.”

“Wendy needs clean clothes too. Plus, her favourite teddies are there. She sleeps better with them.”

Riley noticed the change in Purvis’s face as soon as Wendy was mentioned. Just the sound of his daughter’s name seemed to melt his heart and make him give in.

“Right, we’ll go there quickly,” he said.

“Plus,” Sandra said, “if we’re leaving right now, then I want to do what we said we would.”

Purvis bit his bottom lip, as if he was suddenly unsure of something. Nervous, maybe. Then he nodded.

“What’s that?” Riley asked. “What had you planned?”

Purvis sighed.

“We had a paternity test done last year,” he explained. “To prove I’m the father. It was simple thing – just a swab from inside mine and Wendy’s cheek. The results were mailed to me.” He pulled open another drawer of the dresser and pulled out a white envelope. “We planned to leave this for Nash so that when we’ve gone he’s got no claim on Wendy.”

Riley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Talk about making things worse...

“Are you two mad?” he said. “That’ll give Nash even more of a reason to look for you. He’ll know you’ve taken him for a mug the last two years and made him think he was Wendy’s father. Why can’t you just let him continue to think he is? He’s going to be pissed off enough that his best friend was slipping it to his girlfriend but... Jesus, Purvis.” Riley ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

“We wanted him to know the truth,” Purvis said. “Despite what I’ve done to him, I didn’t want to leave him thinking that I stolen his child as well. Knowing Wendy isn’t his might also make him think twice about coming after us. He doesn’t love them – you know that as much as everyone.”

Riley threw out his hands. Blew out his cheeks. If it were possible, he would have a headache by now.

“If he knows Wendy isn’t his then he’ll care even less about her,” he said. “And when he finds you he’ll have no reason to show her any mercy.”

Sandra and Purvis looked at each other. Then Sandra looked at Riley.

“I need him to know,” she said. “I’ve carried the weight of this lie for almost three years, Riley. I want Nash to know the truth. Only then can I tell Wendy the truth. She deserves to know who her father really is.”

The mention of Wendy changed everything again. Riley walked back down to the living room, Purvis and Sandra following behind him silently.

He looked at Wendy asleep on the sofa. So small and fragile. So precious.

She needed Purvis and Sandra. What’s more, she needed to be far away from Nash.

Riley turned to Sandra.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?” she asked.

“I’ll drive you to the mansion,” he said. “Purvis can go to his other place to get what he needs and we’ll meet him there. Then the three of you leave.”

Sandra looked like she was about to cry again but then she stepped close and kissed Riley on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re a proper friend,” Purvis said. “I hope I can repay you one day.”

Riley walked to the passage and pulled on his coat.

“If you get away with this,” he said as he opened the front door, “it’ll be payment enough.”

39

There were two police officers at the gates of the mansion – again! It was as if every officer under the rank of sergeant had been put on guard duty these last couple of weeks.
Get out there and patrol the streets and keep people safe!
Riley felt like screaming at them.
Catch some burglars and rapists! What are you guarding an empty house for?

He stayed in the car as Sandra climbed out and approached them. Because of the howling wind throwing rain about and the noise from the heaters in the car, he couldn’t hear what she was saying but saw her gesturing up to the house with her hands before pointing back at Wendy, still asleep in the back of the car. One of the officers then said something into his radio, waited for a reply and then nodded. Sandra then punched four digits into the control panel by the sides of the gates and they began to open as she hurried back to the Merc.

“They didn’t try and stop you getting in?” Riley asked as she sat down beside him. He then noticed one of the officers climb into the nearby police car and head up the driveway to the mansion.

“No, they just had to get permission to let me inside for safety reasons. I said I needed a few things for Wendy.”

“You didn’t say you needed her inhaler did you?”

“Inhaler?”

“Nothing.” Riley saw that the police car had headed around the back of the house. “Where’s he going?”

“They said one of them had to accompany us inside,” Sandra said. “Just procedure. And we have to use the back door, obviously.”

Riley drove through the gates and headed around the back of the building, past the ruined front porch that was still cordoned off with blue and white tape. Another white tent had been erected behind the cordon. Forensics would probably be back in the morning, dusting for prints and scouring for hairs and things.

Riley parked and noticed that the police officer was already out of the car and waiting by the back door that led into the kitchen.

“I’ll stay here and watch Wendy,” he said. “How long will you be?”

“Five minutes.” She picked up her handbag. Riley knew it contained the paternity test.

A few seconds later, Sandra unlocked the door to the kitchen and was followed inside by the police officer. Riley looked back at Wendy. She had no idea she was back home, almost certainly for the last time. But Purvis and Sandra were doing what they thought was best for her, he could see that now. And, after all, isn’t that what every loving parent does? Be it right or wrong, your child always came first. They think Wendy will be safer away from Nash. They think it would be better for the truth to be known.

Hopefully, they’ll be proven right.

Riley felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. When he looked, he saw it was a message from Purvis.

EVERYTHING OKAY?

Riley sent a reply.

YES. MEET U SOON.

As he placed his phone back in his pocket, he heard the front door close. He looked up to see Sandra, a small suitcase beside her, locking the place up. She then thanked the police officer who waved her off as she headed back to the car. He even waved at Riley who returned the gesture.

I guess they’re not all bad.

“Sorted?” Riley asked her.

“Yeah. I got some clothes for us and some of Wendy’s favourite toys and DVDs. I also took a couple of her baby photos from the album. Oh, and the money. That’s everything. I don’t need anything else.”

“What about the test?”

“I had to leave it, Riley. Nash needs to know the truth. I also wrote a quick note, trying to explain everything.”

“What did Mr Plod make of that?” Riley gestured to the officer who was now back in his patrol car.

“He wasn’t looking over my shoulder,” she said. “In fact, he waited in the kitchen whilst I collected the things. I left the note and the test on our bed. Mike should find it when he decides to come back here.”

Riley nodded. Looked back at the house.

“So, that’s it?”

“That’s it,” she said. “That’s the end.”

“Let’s go meet Purvis then,” Riley said and pulled away, the police car following them back down the drive and out through the gates.

Sandra didn’t look back once and twenty minutes later (and eight miles further down the river) they were at Purvis’s second home. The building was at the end of a quiet street, a good minute’s walk from the nearest houses. Set back from a large front garden, it was square in shape, and the white-washed brickwork gleamed in the night. There were two chimneys on either end of the sloping roof that added to its overall charm. Standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the hallway light, was Purvis. When he saw the Merc pull up, the light went out, the door slammed closed and he raced down the path towards his own car.

Riley collected Wendy from the back seat and carried her over to Purvis’s car, gently placing her in the back. She didn’t wake up, not even when Riley stroked her hair and silently wished her a safe journey.

“Thanks again, Riley,” Sandra said and kissed his cheek again. “Hopefully, we’ll see you soon.”

“You just take care of yourself and Wendy,” he replied.

Sandra nodded and climbed into the car as Purvis loaded the bag and suitcase into the boot. Then he walked to Riley and shook his hand. Then he handed him two sets of keys.

“One for this place and one for the townhouse,” he said. “Just in case. The deeds for here and everything else needed for the sale is on the kitchen table inside. I’ll sort everything with the estate agent and I’ll contact you when we’re sorted. You’ll not be able to contact us. I’m going to change my phone tomorrow. Like I said, I can’t take the chance that Nash will find someway of tracing it along with my bank cards.”

“I don’t see how,” Riley said. “You were the one who did that sort of dirty work for him.”

Purvis laughed and said, “It’ll not take him long to find someone else. You know how good Nash is at finding other bad guys. Speaking of which, what are you planning to do about this McCabe business?”

Riley shook his head.

“I don’t know yet,” he replied. “Like I told you last week, I’m staying with the firm until the end – whatever way it comes. I guess I’ll just keep an eye on him in the meantime and try to avoid getting shot or blown up.”

Purvis laughed again, this time nervously. Then he said, “If things get heavy and you need a place to lie low and keep your head down you can come here. It’s furnished and everything.”

“Only for the next two weeks until it’s sold,” Riley reminded him. “Don’t worry about me. I know how to look after myself.”

“I’ll call you soon,” Purvis said.

“And what if you don’t?” Riley asked, meaning:
What if all of this goes tits up?

Purvis smiled and looked back at the house. Two years of hard work renovating the place. A dream of turning a dilapidated shell into a perfect family home. Over.

“Then the money made from this place is all yours,” Purvis said. “Anyway, why so negative? Everything’ll work out fine. This Christmas you’ll be eating your turkey in the sun with us.”

“I’m invited for Christmas?”

“When we’re settled, you’ll have an open invitation. Wendy’s gonna want to see her ‘Uncky Wiwey’.”

Riley smiled. It sounded good.

Purvis then climbed in his car and Riley climbed back in the Merc. Sandra waved and Purvis sounded the horn as he pulled away.

A few seconds later, they were gone, and Riley was all alone.

Again.