Trusting a Stranger (13 page)

‘There's something strange going on in the Tomasi family.'

‘What is it that you think you know?'

‘I know Primo Tomasi is not happy.'

Alvaro Tomasi sneered at the mention of his relative's name. ‘My Uncle Primo forgets who is in charge,' he said.

‘Forgets who's in charge, or has another opinion?' Ethan asked.

Alvaro Tomasi's nostrils flared. ‘Katy would be safe with Primo too,' he said. ‘She is one of us. But you don't need to worry about him. I have that matter under control. You have my word.'

***

Outside the
trattoria
, once he and Hayley had agreed that they would head south, Ethan put through a phone call.

‘I need to speak to Ryan,' he explained to Hayley. ‘Ryan gave me my first job and has been like a father. If anyone knows about this Ivan Vasilovich or can get information, it will be him.'

Hayley stood nearby as Ethan began to dial. Around them, the air was ripe with the scents of roasting tomatoes and cheese. The town bustled with tourists browsing through jewellery stores and sitting down to order pizza. For a moment, she was tempted to step away and give him some privacy, but Ethan's eyes held her firmly to the spot. He trusted her and did not mind if she heard part of his conversation.

She gazed back at him. The eye contact alone was a warming thing. It was hard to believe that just this time yesterday, Ethan MacDonald had been a stranger to her, someone whom she suspected of being involved with the people who had defrauded her father.

Now, instead, she was standing here beside him as he asked his boss about the man whom he believed to be his mortal enemy. And she was trying to work out who else might be involved, and caring about it all more than she cared about anything else, except, perhaps, her father.

Who could it be that had betrayed Ethan? Someone had known where Katy's school was. Alvaro Tomasi might have been able to arrive there because he followed this Ivan character, but that still left the fact that someone — someone who understood what value both Ethan and Tomasi put on the little girl — had told Ivan where she was.

Who might have known? Hayley knew very little about his life but already she had some guesses. Would Pearl have let on? Was she so strung out that she'd sell her niece for a secret like that? Who knew what drug addicts would be capable of?

What about that woman who had called Ethan at home, and been put out when Hayley answered the phone? Elspeth? Ethan had said she was his personal assistant. She would have known where Katy was too. Could she have had any reason for wanting to betray her boss and his daughter?

What about this man that Ethan was speaking to now? Alvaro Tomasi. How completely bizarre and unnatural that, because they both so cared for Katy, now they might need to work together. In the end, only one man could really get what he wanted. Not just the little girl's safety, but custody over her.

If they could trust Tomasi at all, Hayley realised, they could only trust him for a moment.

For longer than that, was there anyone in the world whom she and Ethan could trust at all?

‘My car's too obvious for sneaking up on Ivan Vasilovich,' Ethan said to Hayley as they stood beside it in the car park.

‘But it's fast,' said Hayley who had quite enjoyed the drive and imagined she would enjoy another one.

Ethan scowled. ‘Don't get me wrong. I like my car. But right now it's not the best way for us to travel. It's too easy to spot. And Vasilovich is a smart man. He's already outwitted the entire Tomasi family — and me.'

‘He's formidable,' Hayley agreed.

‘He's driving. We can get their faster if we fly,' Ethan said.

He turned on his mobile phone and rang the airport to ask if they had any flights to Naples available. But the only flight was already full.

‘Let me try,' said Hayley, who usually prided herself on being able to get things done.

She introduced herself to the phone ticket sales clerk and explained the situation.

‘I'm really sorry, ma' am,' said the clerk in a strong Indian accent. ‘It's true that we can make emergency seats available but only if an active police investigation is involved.'

‘So we'll involve the police!' exclaimed Hayley.

But Ethan shook his head and reached out for his telephone, snapping it shut.

‘I can't understand why you're hesitating,' said Hayley, frustrated. ‘Vasilovich has your daughter. Of course the police will want to help.'

‘They'll be willing to help,' Ethan agreed. ‘The question is: will they be able to? I don't know that anyone can help with people like this. I know them, Hayley. You'll have to trust me on this.'

Of course she would. After all, they were looking for his daughter.

‘We'll take the train down,' he said. ‘It will give us the chance to sleep too.'

Hayley could only agree that sleep would be a very good idea. She had been running on excitement for too long now and was starting to feel wilted with exhaustion.

‘Hopefully we can get something to eat as well,' she said, yawning. ‘I could do with a meal.'

‘We'll leave the car here and take a taxi to the station,' Ethan said, once again flipping his telephone open. ‘I should check on the time of the next train.'

Hayley waited beside him. It was actually very pleasant in the sunshine. Many of the Italian women who passed looked so stylish, in well-fitting jeans and boots, with glossy, glossy hair. Hayley was increasingly aware that she had been wearing the same clothes for quite some time now.

‘Can I purchase those tickets over the phone?' Ethan was asking. Then he looked up at Hayley. ‘We'll share a compartment,' he said.

Hayley folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at him in a way that she hoped looked meaningful.

Ethan pressed the mute button on his phone. ‘They insist on two people per compartment,' he explained. ‘If we don't share with each other, we'll each end up sharing with someone else.'

Hayley shrugged. ‘Oh, well, if we have no choice then sharing's fine,' she agreed, hoping that this sounded as though it wasn't a big deal.

While Ethan provided his credit card details, Hayley looked back over the town. It was a beautiful place with high towers of stone that seemed the colour of honey in the bright sunshine. It had rained earlier and the land around them seemed even more brilliantly green as a result.

It was a beautiful place but what struck her most was that there would be shops in the town. Those stylish Italian women must buy their things somewhere. At the very least, she would find a place where she could buy something clean to wear.

Ethan slammed his phone shut, looking slightly frustrated.

‘Is something wrong?' asked Hayley.

‘I'd hoped the next train would be sooner. It's an hour or two before we need to get to the station,' Ethan said.

How Hayley felt for him, as he stood there, running his fingers back through his hair and his forehead creased with worry. Of course, he wanted to get down to Vasilovich and, possibly, to Katy, as quickly as possible.

But as long as they had this hour…

‘I want to go shopping,' Hayley said.

Ethan looked startled. ‘Shopping?' he repeated.

‘Clothes shopping,' Hayley clarified. ‘It's not just frivolous. I need something clean to wear. I haven't anything to change into.'

Ethan tipped his head to one side and shrugged. ‘I suppose we might as well.'

***

An hour later on the train platform, Hayley was still in yesterday's clothes, but there was a big, soft leather bag at her feet. It was comfortingly filled with a new pair of jeans, a knee-length green dress and a couple of shirts, pairs of underwear and fitted thinly knit woollen cardigans. And toothpaste and soap, of course. She had never before taken such pleasure in such simple things. And there was the promise of a place to shower on the train.

‘I want that even more than I want to eat,' Hayley confessed.

Ethan was wearing a new leather jacket. Hayley had chosen it for him in the leather-goods store where he had purchased the beautiful bag for her. The soft folds of his jacket were dark brown like his hair, and looked just as touchable.

Their train pulled in soon after they got there and they sipped coffee from Styrofoam cups while waiting for the compartments to be cleaned of the detritus from its previous passengers.

‘I might grab another one before we board,' Hayley said, draining the bottom of her cup.

‘You sure it won't keep you awake?' Ethan asked.

‘Nothing is going to keep me awake,' she assured him.

By the time she returned to the platform, passengers were boarding and Ethan was waiting beside the door.

He looked impatient. She tapped him lightly on the side of the arm with her Styrofoam cup. ‘The train wouldn't leave any quicker because I didn't get this,' she reminded him.

‘I know.' Ethan gritted his teeth together. ‘I want it to go now. I want it to have gone yesterday.'

‘It's a daily train,' Hayley reminded him. ‘It probably did leave yesterday.'

They soon found their compartment. For the first part of their journey, there were comfortable seats that the uniformed attendant told them would be converted into bunks as soon as they liked. The knowing look he gave them made Hayley blush.

She had blushed more over the past couple of days than in her life to date, Hayley thought. She turned towards the window in hopes that the two men wouldn't notice.

‘Signor, Signora, your passports, please,' the conductor asked.

Ethan had done this before and had his ready, but Hayley had to rifle through her bag to get hers out. She passed it to the conductor and waited for him to check it. Perhaps he would have something to say about her name being different from Ethan's — earlier on, it had been assumed that they were married.

But instead of checking her passport, the conductor slipped it inside Ethan's, and put both of them into a pocket in the folder he was carrying.

‘Excuse me?' said Hayley. ‘What are you doing with my passport?'

She was alarmed at the expression on Ethan's face. He didn't seem to mind about this imposition at all.

‘Can I have that back, please?' she asked the conductor.

The conductor looked confused.

‘It's just what they do here,' Ethan explained. ‘Haven't you ever stayed in a hotel that did that?'

‘Actually, I haven't.' But Hayley realised she'd get nowhere with this. She slid down into her seat, reminding herself that there was no logical reason for feeling panicked about separation from her passport. After all, she had no indication that they would need it any time soon. She just had to accept that this was the way that people did things over here.

The conductor explained that there was a shower booth at the end of the corridor and tipped his hat towards her before quietly leaving the room.

This was all the information Hayley needed. As soon as the conductor had left for the next compartment, she grabbed her bag and headed towards being clean.

***

Ethan watched her go. Hayley Wolfe, he thought. He liked her name. He liked the shape of her in her dress as she turned at the door and smiled back at him.

He liked her smile.

‘See you soon,' she said.

He liked her voice.

‘You won't recognise me when I'm clean,' she added.

He wasn't sure about that at all, but he liked that she could smile and joke. He liked her.

Dear God, someone had Katy, someone who was even less likely to look after her than Alvaro Tomasi. Tomasi, at least, was her uncle. He was her blood, with reason to make sure that she stayed physically safe. The Tomasis looked out for each other — most of the time. At least Ethan could be sure that no adult member of the family would see little Katy as a rival. She was safe as long as she was with them — but she wasn't with them…

Ethan looked out the window as the train began to pull out of the station. There were quite a few hours left between now and when they would pull in to Naples. Too many hours. What if Katy had been taken to Tomasi's place instead of down south to Ivan's?

What if?

He strummed his fingers impatiently against the window frame. He knew that if Katy ended up near Tomasi, that this might be a good thing. Tomasi would find her, would save her, and then he, Ethan, could work on getting her back from him. He would not have to worry that — in the meanwhile — she was in physical danger.

Whereas while she was with Vasilovich it wasn't just physical danger Katy faced. It was mortal danger. His subconscious seemed anxious to remind Ethan of this. But he didn't want to think about that right now. He was on a train; he was getting to her as quickly as he could.

But Naples! There were few parts of Europe that were as uniquely beyond what Ethan could do for her. If he had suspected that Katy was being held in, say, London or Geneva, then there would have been people he could call to ask to look out for her, to act on his behalf. Unfortunately, although his business had connections spread right through the world, there was no one in southern Italy that he could trust.

For the next few hours there was nothing at all that he could do except wait for the train to get there.

Hayley returned twenty minutes later. She was wearing the green dress he had encouraged her to buy, and looked as amazing in it as he had suspected she would. The silky chiffon was the same colour as her eyes. Her hair was damp and hung in long pale gold strands that almost reached her shoulders. Her feet were shod in the strappy gold sandals she had chosen because they would not weigh much in her bag.

‘I thought I might dress for dinner,' she said. ‘I'm so glad to be clean!'

Ethan had packed a couple of changes of clothing in his own overnight bag. He went to wash and change himself before they headed down to the restaurant car.