Pete was beside her now and together they ran towards the gate. He reached across and grabbed the pistol, pushing her backwards so that he was between her and the gateway. Moments later the sound of a second shot rang out. The thug at the gate ducked and dived back inside the open door of the kitchen. They pushed forward, down the path and into the car. In moments they were speeding through the narrow street as the sound of police sirens grew in the distance.
“Shit, shit! Well that’s it; we are now well and truly buggered!” Terror had stolen her voice and all Pauline could do was stare at him as he thumped a hand in fury against the steering wheel.
“Right. What the hell do I do now?” Surely he didn’t expect any answer. She was shocked and confused, her world spinning out of control. Nothing made sense, her brain was refusing to process the information it was receiving. One hand hung on to the door handle and the other braced against the seat to steady herself as Pete threw the car around the corners, heading back to the motorway.
“Is he dead?”
“What?”
“The man at the end of the garden. Did you kill him?”
“No, no. We fought and I fired at him but I didn’t hit him. Just scared him shitless.”
“I’m glad.”
“Yeah, so am I. You have no idea the bother it causes.” He gave a short laugh.
“So, where are we going?”
“Any idea would be welcome at this point.” She drew in a sharp breath and Pete glanced across the narrow space. “No, no don’t worry. I’m kidding. It’s fine. We need to go to another place I know. It’s fine, just keep calm. Hey, you did really well back there. I don’t think I would have got away if you hadn’t had the gun and kept Skip busy.”
“Skip?”
“Yeah, that big gorilla. Can you believe it? Skip.”
By this time they had reached the slip road for the motorway and joined the stream of traffic. It felt safer to be here travelling to anywhere away from that ill-fated house and as the tumultuous day wound towards its close she found herself once again swept by the tide of fate with no option but to go with the flow.
Chapter 43
They headed north. Pauline recognised names on the road signs and the scenery became more familiar. Most of the time she sat silently, her mind reeling, thoughts scuttering back and forth. When she mentally relived the past day it was hard to convince herself it had really happened. There had been gun fire, hulking thugs and a desperate escape. More drama heaped on the turmoil since her flight from the Dales. It was as if she had passed through a curtain into another reality yet here she was, real and whole, sitting in a warm car hurtling along the motorway.
Pete spent the first part of the drive flipping his gaze frequently to the rear view mirror. Now and then he would change lanes and tuck in between the many great trucks and then after a while they would speed up again. At first this all seemed random and edgy until she realised that he was watching the traffic and allowing suspect cars from behind them to pull in front and roar away. It scared her, it quietened the obvious questions that she wanted to ask. She didn’t want to draw his attention to herself and break his concentration.
Now though, nearing the Midlands, he had visibly relaxed. His shoulders drooped a little and the flick of his eyes to the mirror became more natural.
“Are we okay now?”
“Yeah. I think so. If there is anyone following us they are being very discreet and the crowd that we are dealing with don’t do discreet.”
“Do you know where we’re going? Well, what I mean is do you have a destination in mind?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you what, there’s a service area up ahead. Shall we go and have a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and I’ll bring you up to scratch. God, you must be so confused. I’m sorry if I’ve scared you. You have been amazing you know. Most people would have fallen apart or caused a fuss. I’m very impressed.”
His words wrapped her in a warm glow. She was glad of the need for him to concentrate on the road because, try as she might to quell it, a grin spread across her face. It had been so long since anyone had paid her a compliment and she had forgotten how wonderful it felt to earn approval.
“Well, I haven’t had a lot of choice have I.” She attempted to cover her pleasure with flippancy and was rewarded by a chuckle from the other side of the car.
“I guess not. Anyway, here we are, just about half a mile to go and then we can have a chat.”
The services were huge and busy. As they pushed through the rotating door they were assaulted by the smell of burgers, chips and coffee and the noise of hundreds of travellers milling and pushing about in the brightly lit space.
“I need the ladies.”
“Yeah, me too. Well, no – I mean.” They began to giggle and as they made their way through the busy crowd the shared humour bound them, made them into a unit. Pauline was reminded again of how empty and lonely her life had become while she had been with George. Unexpectedly anger welled towards her husband and his theft of so much of her life. She pushed it away for it was of no use to her now, but no matter what happened from now on she was never going to give herself away again.
They bought coffee and sandwiches and found a table in a corner near the window and with a clear view of the doors. The coffee was hot and strong and as she sipped it the last little worm of worry began to uncoil and disappear. The tall, bulky man sitting opposite to her wasn’t exactly handsome, but he was imposing, with a charisma that drew glances from passing women. Pauline basked in the silly little glow of pride that came from being with a man who other women admired. If only. The thought brought with it a sweep of sadness because of course this wasn’t real, none of it was based on truth and tears sprung into her eyes with the knowledge that it wouldn’t last. This precious experience would be swept away with the return of normality. She sighed and he leaned towards her, stretching out a hand to touch hers where it curled around the warm cup.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded and dredged up a smile. “I’m fine.” Pete nodded and looked down at the table for a moment. He collected his thoughts and then looked back at her. His eyes were serious but clear and honest and she steeled herself for what was to come.
“Well, put simply, I think we are safe at the moment. I don’t know what happened back at the house though it does prove that there is a leak somewhere in the group I’m working with. I find that hard to accept but there can’t be any doubt now. It means that we have to look out for ourselves. I am heading for a place that is just mine. It’s nothing to do with the job and nobody I work with knows about it. I’m not supposed to have it but…” he shrugged and grinned at her. “Is that okay?”
“Erm, well yes. I don’t really know what you mean… but… what choice do I have?”
“Well, you could go to the police. I could take you. I should do that really; I should hand you over and sort it all out officially, but right now I don’t know who to trust and I’m not very happy to put myself in a position where I’m not in charge.”
“But if we go to your place then what?”
“Good question. I just want to get us safe. Once I have done that I can try and find out who to trust and what the situation is regarding the gang.”
“Pete?”
“Yes.”
“Have you got the diamonds and the memory stick?”
“Yes. I have. The diamonds are not that important but the memory stick is priceless. The information on there could lead to the arrest of a huge gang of people traffickers. It’s taken me a couple of years to get it. I have to be very careful with it. Because of the problems with the unit I can’t hand it over; I have to handle it myself. It’s complicated and really, though it seems hard to say this, it doesn’t actually concern you. Not that side of it; what has happened since the road accident is another issue and we have to sort that out as well.”