The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (31 page)

At least the Mainwaring clan
would take care of him, although as she understood it, they were unaware of his
mental instability. Vicky pulled open the top drawer of his dressing table and
glanced inside. No pill bottle. That was a good sign. He could pass for almost
normal so long as he kept up his dosage. A receipt, lying on top of the muddle
of things in the drawer, caught her eye. It was dated yesterday, for a lengthy
number of items, and the store was a local baby-wear retailer, Jumping Jacks.

Vicky quickly scanned the list of
goods. Nightdresses; vests; bibs; dresses; terry napkins; woollen blankets; 1
carry cot and a set of wheels. What business did Mark have buying all these
baby items?

She sat down heavily on the bed
as a terrible thought hit her. Could he have made up his differences with Beth?
Maybe he was seeing her again and they’d had a child. That was it; the reason
why he was so horrible all the time was because he’d hooked up again with
bloody Beth. He was forever disappearing for hours at a time, probably taking
the train to Chester to meet up
with her. The bastard had got her pregnant again and this time they’d decided
to keep the baby.

She sucked in her breath and her
stomach rolled. Mark didn’t know how to tell her it was over as she’d stood by
him through thick and thin. Being horrible to her was his defence mechanism, a
way of driving a further wedge between them to make
her
leave
him.

She’d bet her life that he’d
taken Beth and their baby to meet his family and would probably be bringing
them home with him. So that’s what he’d meant when she’d taunted him about not
having a family. “Yet!” he’d replied, when all the time he knew full well that
he and Beth have a bloody kid.

She retched and shot to the
bathroom where she was violently sick in the toilet. Wiping her sweaty face
with a damp flannel, she sank to the floor and hugged her legs to her chest.
Head resting on her knees she cried heartbrokenly. Well, that was that; it was
over. Mark wouldn’t want her now that he had Beth and their baby. When Tony had
told her about Beth’s abortion and how the trauma had helped push Mark to the
limit, she’d been appalled. It had, however, given her some insight as to why
he was so upset on discovering that Jane was pregnant.

She’d been hoping that since his
discharge from hospital, Mark would suggest they start a family of their own.
She believed that a child would bring them close enough to want to spend the
rest of their lives together. But all the time he’d been secretly seeing Beth.

‘You lousy bastard!’ she
muttered, pulling herself up from the floor.

She made her way shakily
downstairs to call in sick. She couldn’t face the pitying looks of her
colleagues, who were all aware of the rough time she was having with Mark.

She stared at the telephone and
chastised herself. ‘Come on, Vicky. Shape your bloody self or Miss Gillings
won’t send your wages home. Tomorrow’s shopping trip with Sarah will be off and
Lord knows you need
some
cheering
up.’

***

‘I’ve run you a bath and put some
fancy oil in it,’ Eddie said to Jane after another sleepless night. ‘Why don’t
you hop in and then come downstairs for some tea and toast?’

She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
‘Is there any news?’

‘Not yet, but PC Swindells has
been replaced by PC Stanley in plain clothes. He’s doing something to our phone
in case the kidnapper tries to make contact. The police will be able to listen
in to the call. The new officer said they’ve been making house to house
enquiries on your parents’ estate and they’ve had several reported sightings of
a guy around my age, wearing a full length, brown leather coat, pushing a pram.
Each time the description of him is the same and the pram is definitely ours,
because everyone remembers the knitted teddy dangling from the hood. They’ve
asked if the guy’s description means anything to me, but without seeing a
picture, it could be anybody.’

Jane sighed. ‘I suppose they’re
doing everything they can, but I wish there was more we could do ourselves. I
feel so useless waiting around here.’

‘Well let’s see what today
brings. If there’s no news in the next few hours I’m going to suggest we offer
a reward. See if that brings the bastard out of the woodwork. Jump in your bath
and then come downstairs. Mum’s calling. I’ll see what she wants. The phone was
ringing, too. I’ll come straight back up if it’s anything to do with Jess.’

Eddie ran downstairs into the
warm kitchen where his mother stood clutching the telephone receiver. ‘It’s Roy,
he’s anxious to know if there’s any news.’

‘Okay. Thanks, Mum.’ Eddie
grabbed the phone. ‘Roy. Hi, mate.
No, no news yet. Not a fucking thing. They’ve a description of the guy who’s
taken her, but beyond that they’ve drawn a blank. How did the gig go? Did Frank
manage to find a stand in for me in time?’ Eddie listened as Roy
confirmed that Frank did. ‘We’ll see you back here on Monday, then,’ he
continued. ‘Yeah, it
is
a nightmare, Roy.
We can’t believe it’s happened. Jane’s in a right state. Okay, mate, I’ll be in
touch if we hear anything. Thanks for calling.’

He hung up and sighed. The last
couple of shows could still go ahead and he could now quit worrying about the
group and concentrate fully on his family. He heard Jonny shouting and turned
to his mother.

‘I’ll get him up and pop him in
the bath as soon as Jane’s finished,’ she said. ‘You see to her breakfast.
We’ll take Jonny home with us again and then you can wait quietly here with
Jane for news.’

‘Thanks, Mum; it’s not that I
don’t want him here, but he keeps asking for Jessie, and Jane’s upset enough as
it is.’ As his mother went upstairs, Eddie glanced through the kitchen window.
The sound of crunching gravel heralded the arrival of a vehicle.

He opened the door to Tom and
Molly. ‘Come on in, there’s tea in the pot. Sit yourselves down. I’m just going
upstairs to see Jane.’

‘We couldn’t sleep for worrying,’
Molly said. ‘So we thought we’d come here first thing to see if there’s
anything we can do to help. How’s Jane?’ She rubbed Eddie’s arm gently.

‘Weary, upset and angry,’ Eddie
replied, his eyes filling with tears.

‘Who can blame her?’ Tom shook
his head. ‘What a terrible business, and that it could happen outside our own
front door. What’s the bloody world coming to when you can’t leave a child
sleeping in her pram in your own garden?’

Eddie dashed his tears away with
the back of his hand. ‘I won’t be a minute.’ He excused himself and ran
upstairs. Jane was sitting on the edge of the bed wrapped in a large towel, her
lips trembling as she listened to Jonny shrieking with laughter in the bathroom
down the landing.

‘I might never hear Jessie laugh
in the bath again,’ she began, the tears sliding down her cheeks.

Eddie took her in his arms.
‘Jane, stop it! You will, of course you will. We’ll get her back. The police
reckon the kidnapper will make demands soon and will probably be in contact
today.’

‘And what if they’re wrong and
it’s like you said? That they’re barking up the wrong tree and she’s been
stolen to order?’

‘I shouldn’t have said that, I’m
sorry. It was just my imagination running away with me. Come on, let me help
you get dry and then you can come down for a cup of tea.’ He rubbed her back
gently as she slumped against him, sobbing.

***

Vicky slunk along Pickford High
Street, hoping that no one from work would see her. It was only just after
eight-thirty, far too early for people taking a break, but you never knew who
might be nipping out for five minutes to do a spot of shopping, especially as
it was payday.

In her coat pocket, her hand
closed around the receipt from Jumping Jacks. While getting dressed, she’d
recalled that an old friend, Elaine had started working there after leaving
school. Vicky hadn’t seen or heard from her for a couple of years, but was
hoping she was still working at the store.

‘Elaine’s on holiday this week,’
the pleasant faced assistant said to her enquiry.

‘Well maybe
you
could help
me then? I want some baby nightdresses. I’d like two, for a gift. They’re for
my niece,’ Vicky fibbed. ‘A friend of mine purchased some from you yesterday.
Can I have the same design, please?’ She showed the girl the receipt with the
stock number.

The girl smiled. ‘Ah yes, Mr
Fisher. He was so excited about his baby. Said he was taking her to visit
relatives on The Isle of Wight and wanted to kit her out. He told me that he
and his wife had been waiting quite some time for a family.’

Vicky stared at the girl who was
taking two nightdresses from a drawer behind the counter. ‘Excuse me, did you
say, his wife?’

The girl’s brow wrinkled as she
wrapped the garments in tissue paper and she nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right, his
wife, Jane. I remember because it’s my name, too, you see. Now, can I get you
anything else, Madam?’

Vicky’s head was reeling with
dreadful realisation as she replied, ‘Err, not at the moment, thank you. I
don’t suppose you can remember what Mr Fisher was wearing yesterday morning. I
know it’s a long shot, but it’s quite important.’

‘Yes, actually, I can. He had on
a brand new, full-length brown leather coat. I know it was new, because he
asked me to dispose of the bag he’d been given in Jerome’s. He said he’d bought
it for his trip but he was cold and decided to wear the coat over his jacket.’
The girl’s friendly smile began to disappear as Vicky nodded her head, things
suddenly clear as daylight.

‘Look, what is this? Why are you
asking me about Mr Fisher? Has he done something wrong?’

‘I’m not sure. I must go.’ Vicky
grabbed the receipt for Mark’s purchases and ran out of the shop, feeling as
though she’d been punched in the stomach. She made her way to Lloyds bank and
asked to speak to Tony urgently on a private matter. She was ushered into a
small office. Tony appeared within seconds and Vicky burst into tears.

‘Vicky, what’s wrong? Have you
heard from Mark? Has something happened to him?’ He helped her onto a chair and
knelt beside her.

‘Oh, Tony, I think, well no, I’m
certain, that Mark has taken Jane and Eddie’s baby.’

‘What?’ Tony stared at her as
though she’d gone mad. ‘Don’t be daft. Why the bloody hell would he do that?’

‘Look at the receipt I found in
his drawer earlier.’ She flung it on the desk. ‘I’ve been to the shop and the
assistant told me that when Mark bought the goods he said he and his wife Jane
had a baby girl. A man wearing a long brown leather coat took Jessica yesterday
afternoon.’

‘Mark doesn’t possess a long
brown leather coat, or a short one for that matter, so that rules
him
out,’ Tony said, frowning.

‘He does now. He bought it
yesterday and wore it when he made his purchases in Jumping Jacks.’ Vicky’s
hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh my God, I’ve just remembered something else, too.
When I looked through the garage window last night to see if Mark had put the
new car in there, I thought I saw something down at the bottom. It was too dark
to see properly, but you know he’s been clearing the garage out this last week
and I thought maybe he’d unearthed a pram that Maude had held on to. Jessica’s
pram is a navy Silver Cross.’

Tony looked at her for a long
moment. ‘Right, wait there. I need to see my manager, tell him I’ve got a
family emergency. Won’t be a minute.’ He shot out of the room.

Vicky took a long, shuddering
breath. This was a nightmare. What if she was right and Mark had really taken
Jessica? Vicky was sure he wouldn’t hurt the child, because she was part of his
beloved Jane. On the other hand, she was also Eddie’s daughter, and Mark hated
Eddie Mellor with a vengeance.

Tony was back within seconds.
‘I’ve got the rest of the day off and I’ve called a taxi. We’ll go and wait by
the staff entrance. Christ almighty, if your theory
is
right, Mark’s in really deep shit. Kidnapping a child, for
whatever reason, is a terrible offence. They’ll throw the book at him and I
wouldn’t like to be in
his
shoes when Eddie Mellor catches up with him.’

***

Tony rummaged in the kitchen
drawer for the garage keys and held them aloft.

‘Right, come on, Vicky, the
moment of truth waits.’

Vicky followed him outside and
held her breath. He unlocked the door and it creaked back on its rusty hinges.
She walked slowly to the bottom of the musty smelling garage and stood silently
beside the navy blue pram; the chrome wheels glinting in the faint light
filtering through the grimy windows. The pink knitted teddy bear was still
pinned to the hood, exactly as described by last night’s TV newsreader.

She turned to Tony who was
shaking his head in disbelief.

‘I told you he’d taken her,’ she
said simply, tears running down her cheeks.

‘You did, and you were right,’
Tony said, putting his arm around her shoulders. ‘But where’s he gone? Come on,
Vicky, we need to call the police.’

‘He’s taken her to The Isle of
Wight,’ she choked. ‘The ferry details were on the bedroom floor. The girl in
Jumping Jack’s said so, too. Oh God, Mark, what
have
you done?’

***

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Eddie answered the phone and
passed it to PC Stanley who was seated at the kitchen table, dunking a ginger
snap into his mug of tea. ‘It’s the station - for you.’

Jane, sitting opposite PC
Stanley, clutched Eddie’s hand. ‘Maybe they’ve got some news.’

‘Hope so,’ he said, squeezing her
hand gently.

PC Stanley replaced the receiver
and turned to the expectant faces.

‘The pram's been found in the
garage of a private house in Pickford,’ he said.

‘And Jessica, any sign of her?’
Eddie hardly dared to ask.

PC Stanley shook his head. ‘Not
yet, but at least it’s a breakthrough. The couple that reported finding the
pram are being interviewed as we speak. We’ll be informed of any further
details shortly.’

Jane jumped up. ‘Which couple?
What house? Is Jessica there? Is Jessie alright? Is she? Is she?’ She broke
down, sobbing.

Eddie pulled her close and
stroked her hair, crying with her. ‘She isn’t there,’ he sniffed, ‘just the
pram. But it’s something. Come on, let’s walk down the lane. We won’t go as far
as the gate because of the reporters, but I need to stretch my legs a bit. I’m
getting cabin fever stuck in here. There might be more news when we come back.’

***

‘And you say Mr Fisher had a
complete mental breakdown and was sectioned for his own safety?’

‘Yes, that’s right,’ Vicky sobbed
as the police officer addressing her made notes while two further officers
examined the pram in the garage.

‘Mark had many personal problems
that led to his breakdown,’ Tony chipped in, flopping down beside Vicky on the
sofa.

‘Perhaps you’d like to enlighten
me while our officers carry out further investigations to establish that the
pram is indeed the same one that baby Jessica Mellor was abducted in.’

‘Put it this way,’ Tony said,
speaking slowly, as though to a child. ‘It appeared out of the blue the day
Jessica disappeared, only we
didn’t
realise that until today. Vicky assumed it was an old pram that had been stored
in the garage and had been hidden under loads of old junk that Mark recently
got shut of. The baby’s mum, Jane, is Mark’s ex and he never got over her
leaving him for Eddie Mellor. It really doesn’t take Einstein to work it out.’

‘There’s no need for sarcasm, Mr
Collins. My officers have to follow procedure. I don’t doubt it’s Jessica’s
pram for one moment. But we need to examine it for fingerprints and any further
clues. Now perhaps you can give me the story to Mark’s background.’

The officer listened intently as
Vicky and Tony told the tale between them. He radioed back to the local station
that he believed he knew the identity of Jessica’s kidnapper and possibly his
and the child’s whereabouts.

‘We don’t actually have Mark’s
brother’s address or phone number,’ Vicky said. ‘But his name is Doctor Charles
Mainwaring and he has a practice in Freshwater, so it shouldn’t be too
difficult to find him.’

The officer collected his notes
together and stood up. ‘Many thanks for your co- operation. I can see how
shaken the pair of you are. Our main concern now is to find and return the baby
safely to her parents and to help Mr Fisher get the medical help he’s obviously
in need of.’

‘Mark will have taken good care
of the baby,’ Vicky said, wiping a tear from her eye. ‘He adores Jane and I’m
quite sure he wouldn’t harm her daughter in any way. He’s a very confused man,
but he’s harmless enough.’

‘Well let’s hope you’re right,
Miss. I’ll bid you good morning and we’ll keep you informed as to the outcome
of our enquiries. Could you stay near the phone, just in case we need you?’

Tony saw the officer out and
closed the door behind him. ‘Get on the phone to the operator and ask for
Charles Mainwaring’s number, Vicky. I think we should warn him that Mark’s on
his way and he’s got Jessica with him.’

‘He’ll already be there. His
family must have realised something’s not right when he turns up out of the
blue with a baby. They’ll probably have seen last night’s news about the
kidnapping and put two and two together. That’s if Mark’s ever mentioned Jane
to them.’

Tony shrugged. ‘God only knows
what sort of line he’s been spinning them. Remember when he was there before
and he phoned you, called you Jane and said take care of the baby?’

‘I’d forgotten about that. He’s
probably already told them he has a baby daughter, so they won’t realise she’s
not his.’

‘We have to warn Charles about
Mark right away and then he can at least keep his eye on Jessica until the
police arrive. We owe that much to Jane and Eddie,’ Tony said as Vicky snatched
up the receiver and asked for directory enquiries.

***

‘I don’t believe I’m hearing
this!’ Eddie roared, slamming his fist down on the kitchen table. ‘
Mark Fisher
! Mark fucking Fisher has
taken our daughter? I’ll kill the bastard when I get my hands on him. If he’s
hurt so much as a hair on her head I’ll fucking swing for him!’

‘Ed, calm down. You’re not doing
yourself or Jane any good shouting and swearing like this.’ Lillian forced him
onto a kitchen chair next to Jane who was crying hysterically.

‘But he’s taken Jess, Mum. He’s
taken our baby.’ He rounded on Enid,
whose face was a mask of horror at this latest news. ‘You used to think the sun
shone out of his fucking arse and that
I
was no good! Well so much for Mr Perfect now, eh, Enid?’

‘Eddie, that’s enough,’ his
father shouted. ‘Enid doesn’t need
it, none of us do. Pull yourself together, for God’s sake. You and Jane are
being flown to the Isle of Wight immediately, so stop
wasting time and get ready to go.’

Eddie took a deep shuddering
breath and looked at Enid. ‘I’m
sorry. I’m so wound up I don’t know what the fuck I’m saying.’

Enid
patted his shoulder. ‘I know that, Ed. Go on, get off and bring our Jessie back
safe and sound.’

***

Charles Mainwaring dropped the
telephone receiver back onto the cradle and turned to Penny who was standing
behind him, an enquiring expression on her face.

‘What is it, Charles? You look
worried to death.’

‘That was Mark’s friend, Vicky.
You’d better sit down, Pen. I have something very serious to tell you.’

‘No!’ Penny’s hand flew to her
mouth as Charles related the tale of kidnapping and deception. ‘That can’t be
right, surely. Elinore adores her daddy; you can tell she does. She beams at
him when he goes anywhere near her and he handles her so well, as though he’s
been doing it all her life. Are you sure that Vicky isn’t some jealous ex
trying to cause problems for Mark?’

‘No, Penny, and the police will
be here at any moment. According to Vicky, Mark’s mentally unstable. I’m afraid
he’s had us all fooled about his wife and child.’

A loud knocking, that almost took
the stout front door off its hinges, interrupted them and Charles crossed the
room to answer.

‘Doctor Mainwaring?’ The tallest
of the four policemen standing on the doorstep took command.

‘Come in,’ Charles said, ushering
the officers inside. ‘I know why you’re here. I just received an urgent call
from my brother’s friend. I believe Mark is responsible for the abduction of
the Mellor baby.’

‘That’s right, Sir,’ the officer
in charge replied. ‘We have reason to believe Mr Fisher is staying with you?’

‘He is, but at the moment he and
the baby are visiting my sister. I can ring her if you like. She can make sure
he stays put.’

‘That won’t be necessary, Sir.
Just give me your sister’s address and we’ll radio ahead for members of the
constabulary to meet us near the house. We don’t want to alarm Mr Fisher in any
way at this stage, or jeopardise the baby’s well being.’

‘Oh, Mark wouldn’t hurt the
child, he dotes on her like she’s his own,’ Penny assured the officer as she
wrote Dorothy’s address on a sheet of paper.

‘Yes, well she’s not and we won’t
be taking any chances on that score. Excuse me while I go to the car to radio
this address to HQ.’

‘The baby’s parents are being
flown to Southampton as we speak and then a naval
helicopter has been commissioned to bring them to the island,’ a second officer
told Charles and Penny.

‘They must be absolutely
frantic.’ Charles shook his head. ‘We saw the news about the abduction on TV
before Mark arrived last night. But we never dreamt for one moment…Well, you
wouldn’t, would you?’ he tailed off.

‘No, Sir, you certainly
wouldn’t,’ the officer agreed. ‘Terrible business, for the parents, and for
your family, too.’

‘My sister will be devastated.
She was so proud of Mark for making her an aunty. I find it incredible that for
months he’s been lying to us about his life in Pickford. We believed that he
was happily married to Jane in spite of her so-called fragile health. And all
the time she was married to someone else.

‘Vicky told me that Mark and Jane
were engaged,’ Charles continued. ‘But she left him for that musician fellow,
the baby’s father. Mark was unable to accept she wasn’t coming back to him and
he’d built up a fantasy life in his mind that he thinks is very real. He firmly
believes the baby is his.’

The officer nodded. ‘I know, it’s
a very sad story and your brother is obviously an extremely sick young man, all
the more reason for us to tread carefully at this stage.’

‘Right, Doctor Mainwaring.’ The
first police officer walked back indoors. ‘We’re going to drive to your
sister’s house to join our colleagues and try and gain custody of the child.’

‘We’ll follow you in our own
car,’ Charles replied. ‘Mark may need us and I don’t want him to think we don’t
care or understand what he’s going through and why he took the action he did.
While I don’t in any way condone what he’s done, it’s too dreadful for words; I
think I understand what drove him to it and he’s my flesh and blood at the end
of the day.’

‘You being a medical man will
understand the workings of a disturbed mind far better than I do, Sir,’ the
first officer said. ‘Just follow us, but keep a discreet distance until I give
you a signal that it’s safe to come closer.’

‘Fair enough,’ Charles replied.
‘Lead the way.’

***

‘She’s certainly settled well,’
Mark said, tucking the blanket around Jessica who was wedged between two pillows
on his sister’s double bed.

‘Bless her she’s sleeping like a
baby,’ Dorothy said.

Mark smiled at her excitement and
hugged her affectionately. ‘That’s because she
is
a baby, Dot; you daft
so and so.’

‘I know. I’m so thrilled to bits
to have her here that I’ve gone all soppy. Let’s go and have a cuppa and you
can tell me what you’ve been up to recently.’

Mark followed Dorothy out of the
bedroom and excused himself. He nipped into the bathroom and popped a handful
of pills in his mouth, crunched them up and washed them down with a swig of
whisky. Things were going well, his family adored Elinore, as he knew they
would. There’d been one tricky moment last night when Charles had asked why he
hadn’t sent them any photos of the baby following her birth. He frowned now as
he tried to recall what his answer had been, but he couldn’t remember. It must
have been satisfactory though. Charles didn’t pursue the subject. He joined
Dorothy in the kitchen and picked up the mug of tea she pushed across the
table.

‘So!’ She leant across and swept
his fringe out of his eyes in a motherly gesture that brought a lump to his
throat. ‘What are your future plans? Anymore thoughts on making a home on the
island with us?’

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’m going to
call Tony tomorrow and ask him to put my house up for sale.’

‘And who’s Tony, when he’s at
home?’

‘He’s my best friend. You
remember, he lives with me and Vicky.’ Mark reached for a custard cream from
the selection Dorothy had laid out on a china plate.

She frowned, mug halfway to her
mouth. ‘Who on earth is Vicky?’

‘My girlfr…, erm,’ Mark faltered.
He racked his brains to remember which life he was currently living. It was so
confusing sometimes, but, he thought, it would
be so much simpler when Jane arrived, she would be able to explain things to
his family properly. ‘Vicky is err, Tony’s girl. They live with me and Jane.’
That was it; he was back on track. ‘They help me look after Jane when she’s too
ill to do things for herself.’

‘I see, well it must be very
crowded since Ellie arrived.’

‘That’s why I want to sell up and
look for a place here for me, Jane and the baby. I’ve discussed it with her and
she agrees with me. When she feels up to it she’ll join me here. Meantime, I’ll
try and find us somewhere to live.’

‘Why don’t you all move in with
me? I’ve two spare bedrooms. We can make one of them into a nursery for Ellie.
In fact, we could make a start today. It will be a lovely surprise for Jane
when she arrives.’

‘That would be brilliant, Dot;
thank you.’ Mark gave her a hug. ‘I think I can hear Ellie stirring.’

‘I’ll go and check on her. You
stay there and finish your tea.’

‘Go on then, Aunty Dot. You have
a way with her. She seems to like you very much.’

***

Dorothy crept into the bedroom
where Jessica was turning her head from side to side, rooting for her dummy.
She settled down immediately, sucking noisily as Dorothy replaced the errant
dummy and walked across the room to close the window.

‘Dratted seagulls, they’re noisy
enough to awaken the bloody dead, never mind a baby!’ She frowned and leaned
forward, peering across the road to where a group of police officers were
congregating. One appeared to be pointing in the direction of her bungalow,
wildly gesticulating, as though giving orders to the others.

‘Something must be going on,’ she
muttered. ‘What have you been up to now, Dorothy Mainwaring?’ She crept out of
the bedroom and made her way back to the kitchen. Mark was standing by the open
back door, smoking.