“Where is he? Tell me. Where’s Max. He’s a mechanic. That’s why they took him.”
“I don’t know,” he screamed, eyes closed and face contorted in a look of horror she knew she’d never forget. “I don’t know! Zane told me to come. Harry wasn’t happy with—”
“Who’s Zane? Who’s Harry?”
He shook his head. “Over there. Zane’s over…”
“Well then who’s Harry?” she dug her fingers in even deeper, wincing at the thought of what she was doing but driven by a loyalty deeper than any sense of revulsion. “Who? Tell me.”
“I don’t… I’m just… Harry Harman. He’s…”
“He’s what?”
Before he could finish, he jerked and froze, like he was possessed. Si gagged and pulled her hand away. She jumped to her feet and shrugged out of her jacket, wanting it off her despite the chill in the air.
He was dead, she knew. She didn’t have to feel for a pulse.
Harry Harman.
She moved over to the last guy, intending to find out where this Harry Harman was based, but he was dead too.
Dead end.
She moved over to the others feeling suddenly numb. At some point, Clive or Annie must have run back to the car to get the bag of medical supplies, because there were swabs and wipes lying on the tarmac beside them.
“How is he?” she asked. She felt woozy from the adrenaline leaving her system.
“Not good,” Annie said, without looking up.
Si looked around. There was still no sign of Olivia. She bit the inside of her cheek. Her eyes landed on the shop. All the glass in the door was broken and she could see even from outside that the place had been torn apart. There was junk everywhere. Various bits of newspapers and magazines were blowing around outside.
She pictured Graham. Alcohol wasn’t his only vice; not by far. But it was the worst. He was into prescription drugs too, and the rest. She liked it best when he took Xanax, because it gave him that dreamy, faraway look that meant he was at peace with the world for once.
Except for that time he’d taken a few pills and forgotten about his jobcentre appointment a few hours later. It had been Si who’d made cup after cup of coffee and made him drink it. Not because she cared about him, but because she knew he’d be unbearable if he lost his dole.
She started to run towards the shop, praying there was something in there that might cut through Olivia’s haze.
39. Clive
Clive gripped the wheel and tried not to look in the rearview mirror. They’d done all they could. He thought about asking Olivia how she was doing, but decided against it.
She’d gagged as she drank the stale coffee, but it was doing the trick. He didn’t expect she would have been allowed to work in a hospital or drive a car in the state she was in, but she was better than she had been before.
Even in this state, Olivia was a better prospect for Terry than him and Annie together.
He shook his head. Thank goodness they’d stopped at the pharmacy. If they hadn’t…
He blinked and reminded himself to keep his eyes on the road. Anne and Si were in the old Renault up ahead. He had insisted on taking the Jaguar even though he saw the haunted look in Si’s eyes when he said it. It was essential. They couldn’t all crowd into the same car with Terry in this state. At least now, Olivia had some space to work on him.
Of course, it had been a risk to move him and it would have been better for her to work on him where he lay, but it was getting dark. They had had to move.
Clive wasn’t a religious man, but he said a quiet prayer in his head now. Terry had to pull through. He must have known the risks going into this. That made it even worse.
He sighed. What else were they going to run into that night? Would they ever make it to the farmhouse?
He looked in the mirror again. He couldn’t stop himself, even though he knew his attention was best kept on the road. They must have been getting closer to a big town because there were a lot more obstacles to avoid now. Olivia was so focused on tending to Terry that she didn’t notice he was watching.
He looked back at the road. The sky was beginning to glow orange with that intense late afternoon light one only saw in winter. It was a beautiful evening, he realised.
He sped up. The Renault was beginning to move away. Annie had given him the address of the farm and directions, but he’d prefer to keep them in his sights since he had no map to rely on. In all the panic over Terry, none of them had thought to check the shop for maps.
He glanced in the mirror. Terry’s face was a bluish shade of pale and he didn’t look like he’d moved since they all worked together to lift him into the back of the Jaguar as gently as possible.
“Is he alive?” he whispered.
“Yes, of course he is,” his wife muttered. “Though he’s in a bad way. How long until we get to the house?”
Clive shook his head. He wasn’t familiar with this part of the country. “I don’t know. Not long, I hope.”
That all depended on the road, of course. At this rate, they might make it in an hour. That was the best case scenario. The worst? Well, it didn’t bear thinking about now. They were all spent and exhausted.
“It’s okay, love,” Olivia murmured, patting Terry’s cheek. “We’ll get you to safety. You’re very brave.”
Clive glanced at Terry’s still form in the mirror. “He is. Very brave.” All his frustrations at the man had disappeared. He’d done exactly what he’d said he would. It had been a dangerous task.
I’m off my game, he thought. That thought had been plaguing him ever since the standoff. What if he’d been quicker off the mark? Then those men wouldn’t have had a chance to get a shot off and Terry might not be in this state.
The guy needed a hospital, not the back of a filthy car. But there wouldn’t be any hospitals. A doctor, perhaps, but how would they find one? He glanced at Olivia before returning his attention to the road.
She had been the best there was; two years ago, he wouldn’t have even hesitated to leave Terry in her hands. Now? His heart sank. It felt like a betrayal to even think that way. Could she be as good with a load of diazepam and caffeine rushing around in her system? Was it simply a case of the two cancelling each other out, like Si had been so adamant they would? Well, to look at her work, it certainly seemed like it.
He smiled. As worried as he was, it felt good to see another glimpse of the woman she once was.
Focus on driving, he told himself. We’re not out of danger yet.
His heart accelerated at the sight of two articulated trucks up ahead. There were only two lanes on the road now, and from this vantage point, it looked like they were side-by-side. Si’s car didn’t slow down. His stomach clenched as she moved between the trucks at speed. He tried to judge the gap. The big Jaguar was wider than the Renault. And he was trying to drive as smoothly as possible for Terry’s sake. He kept his foot on the accelerator: he trusted his depth perception, even though his gut instinct was to slam on the brakes. He powered right through the gap.
Olivia hadn’t even noticed the daunting sight, she was so focused on Terry.
He should have been relieved, but he wasn’t. It had been a close call. What if they happened upon a crash that had blocked the whole road? What then? They’d have to carry on on foot. He hadn’t even thought about that possibility, but now it began to worry him. He swallowed. They needed options. And now, before it was too dark.
But they didn’t have options, that was the frustrating thing. They had to go with the hand they’d been dealt and deal with whatever lay around the corner.