I was surprised by her forcefulness.
‘Well, you should be thankful you’re in Harrogate then,’ I said. ‘It was hot and crowded at Ascot today, and according to the forecast, it will be even hotter tomorrow and again on Thursday, for the Gold Cup.’
‘You’re welcome to it.’
Her attitude distressed me.
I wondered if Georgina was also sensing that our marriage was beginning to crumble around our ears. Did she mind? Or might it be a relief to her too?
What was it she really wanted from her life? Was my presence a necessity or a luxury? Or both?
Or neither?
And what did I want from my life?
Could we go back to how it had been, or should we go forward into uncharted waters, either together or separately?
All I knew was that something had to change. I didn’t want to go on as we had been recently, not for the next twenty-five years or so.
Nothing was moving outside the takeaway — nothing that I was interested in anyway. A steady stream of customers came and then went again, clutching their white plastic bags of food. I reckoned the last thing anyone would want on such a hot June evening would be a vindaloo or a madras, but perhaps they were just having a korma.
By nine o’clock, there was still no sign of Amanda or Darren.
I climbed out of the car to stretch my legs, walking up and down the road a few times, before going once more to the flat front door. No one had come in or gone out since I’d arrived, but I banged on the door again, nevertheless. Again, no one answered my knock, nor did anyone open any of the windows above.
I went back to the car once more and climbed in.
Where were they?
Perhaps I should have gone straight to Tesco to see if Amanda was working. Maybe she’d only just gone in when I arrived and was working the night shift at the twenty-four-hour store. That would mean she wouldn’t be back until the morning.
What would I do then? Stay here all night?
Should I call the police?
But what would I say to them?
‘My daughter’s life has been threatened.’
‘Who by?’ they would ask. ‘And how do you know?’
Then what would I say? Would I tell them about the phone calls from Squeaky Voice and show them his texts?
‘And why didn’t you tell us about this immediately you received the first threatening phone call? Or on the days you received the other calls or the texts? And how did you make Dream Filler lose? What did you do with the weights you removed from his weight cloth?
‘You are now under arrest for race fixing.’
I shook my head to dispel the thoughts.
There was clearly no way I could ask the police for help.
Amanda and Darren arrived back at a quarter to eleven, by which time I had convinced myself they weren’t coming. Even the Raj Tandoori was getting ready to close for the night, and I was about to go home.
I saw them walking towards me along the pavement on the opposite side of the road to where I was parked. I didn’t immediately get out of the car, in case they saw me, turned around, and briskly walked away.
I let them get to within about ten to fifteen yards from their front door before I climbed out of the car.
‘Amanda,’ I called across the road. ‘Can I have a word with you please?’
‘I thought I told you to piss off,’ Darren said aggressively. ‘She doesn’t want to talk to you.’
I ignored him.
‘Amanda, it’s about your grandfather.’
I saw her hesitate, and then she walked over the road towards me. Darren started to follow, but she told him to wait.
‘What about Grandpa?’ she asked gravely. ‘Is he all right?’
‘Mum has gone up to Harrogate to be with him, and with Granny. Grandpa wasn’t at all well on Sunday, but he’s perked up a bit since then. But we have no way of contacting you if anything does happen, because you won’t give us your new telephone number. So I’ve been waiting here all evening for you to come back to tell you. Please call Mum. And will you give us both your number?’
She took her phone out of her pocket but hesitated again.
‘Darren says I’m better off without either of you.’
‘Then Darren is a fool,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you come with me now, and we’ll call Mum on the way home. I’m sure she’ll still be up.’
She half turned and looked back at Darren, who was waiting by the front door, and there was almost a look of fear on her face, rather than adoration.
‘No, Dad. I’m staying here.’
She turned to go.
‘Look,’ I said, grabbing her by the arm to stop her, ‘I’m worried about you. Someone took you away from our party, and they could do it again. You will be much safer at home, where I can look after you.’
She pulled herself free from my grasp.
‘I’m quite safe here. Darren will look after me.’
Short of picking her up and bodily throwing her into my car, there was nothing more I could do.
‘Be very careful,’ I said urgently. ‘Please don’t go out on your own, especially at night.’
‘Dad, stop it,’ she said. ‘I’m quite old enough to look after myself. Go home.’
‘Not until you have rung your mother.’
‘I’ll ring her in the morning.’
‘Then please call my phone right now, so I have your number. If Grandpa dies, I will need to call you.’
She hesitated once more and glanced back over her shoulder.
‘Is it on silent?’ she asked, almost in a whisper.
I took it out of my trouser pocket and made it so.
‘It is now.’
She touched her screen a few times, and my phone began to vibrate. I didn’t answer, and she stopped the call.
‘Thank you,’ I said quietly, adding the number to the ‘Amanda’ contact in my phone.
‘But, please, don’t call me unless you absolutely have to.’ It was almost a desperate plea. ‘Now go home.’
I waited while she walked back across the road, and the pair of them went in through the door. As a parting gesture, Darren stuck two fingers up at me just before he closed it.
Charming, I thought.
I was almost as concerned about Amanda’s safety at his hands as I was at those of Squeaky Voice.
Chapter 21
The weather forecasters were absolutely correct. Wednesday morning again dawned bright and sunny, and the mercury was predicted to climb several degrees higher than it had yesterday.
I didn’t sleep particularly well, not least because I had eaten so late.
I hadn’t picked up the last curry of the night from the Raj Tandoori. Rather, I had made myself some sourdough toast at home, liberally spread with chicken liver pâté. And I’d had a glass of red wine to help wash it down.
I should have been so happy.
Victrix’s star horse had proved again that he was a true champion, winning yet another Group 1 race. But I worried about what the consequences of that win might be for me, and for my family.
I was really pleased that I’d managed to see Amanda, but also disappointed I hadn’t convinced her to come home with me.
In the morning, I spent the usual couple of hours in my office, speaking with the trainers.
The office had obviously been built on as an afterthought, subsequent to the construction of the main house, but it had been done before we bought it.
It was a single-storey extension and one of the main reasons I had liked the house so much in the first place. It allowed me to somehow feel that I could escape from the rest of the family and concentrate on my work without disturbance.