Mary saw Abigail blush. She wanted to question her, see what the heck was going on with this woman.
Abigail reached for the wine and topped her glass to the brim.
Mary hammered her fist on the table. The three of them jumped. ‘How dare you?’
‘Mum, leave it.’
Abigail calmly composed herself, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She didn’t answer; instead, she stood and made her way out into the hall.
‘For heaven’s sake, Mary. What is wrong? Can’t you just let it be?’
She glanced to her son, who went to stand. ‘Sit back down. I can’t hold my feelings in, seeing her sat there, as if butter wouldn’t melt, after what she’s done to you.’
Nigel sat, then held his head in his hands. ‘We’re working things out. Christ knows I’m trying, can’t you just be happy for us?’
‘Happy, how can I be happy?’
‘Mum. Please. Let it go.’
Mary took a sip of her water. ‘She’s not pregnant, is she?’
Nigel paused. It looked like the entire blood content of his body had moved to his cheeks. ‘There were, complications. I’m not sure what happened. She had pains during the week. Abigail went to the doctors. She’s lost the baby. I know they say it’s early, just cells, but it doesn’t take away the pain.’
‘Good God, Nigel, I’m so sorry.’ Edward stood, moving to his son, placing his arms around him. He peered across the table at Mary. For one slight second, he thought he saw a smirk on her face. ‘I’ll check on Abigail. She’s been gone a while.’
As Edward left, Mary turned to her son. ‘You must be devastated. You have my condolences. It’s simply awful news.’
‘It’s not like we can try again. It was going to be mine. Although, well, you know the truth, but it’s a tough blow to take. I would have treated that child as if it were my own.’
‘And you were okay with that, were you? Knowing she’s slept with someone else. It wasn’t your child. How could you hide that fact? She shags someone else, and it’s all okay. Is that fair on you?’ Mary took a swig from her glass. ‘She waltzes back into your life, expecting you to pick up the pieces and father her baby. Not yours. Hers and her bloody fancy man’s.’
Out in the hall, Edward was looking for his daughter-in-law. ‘Abigail, come on. Come back into the living room.’ He opened the door leading into the utility room. Abigail was standing in the far left corner.
He walked over, pulling her close and unbuttoning her blouse, then he kissed her breasts.
‘Not here. We’ll be caught.’ Abigail threw her head back, wrapping her leg around Edward’s thigh.
Edward pushed his body against Abigail’s. She could feel his arousal. ‘It makes it all the more exciting. Oh, by the way, it was the best decision. The baby, I mean.’
8
The Coach
‘I think he’s dead. The shot we heard, I think he’s killed Andrew.’ Ben pressed the lever on the dashboard, closing the door. He’d kept it open earlier so they could hear if the caller approached. Now, they knew what this guy was capable of, and they needed to barricade inside. He glanced at the passengers, then back to Laura and Milly stood with him at the front.
‘Oh no, Ben, this is a horrible nightmare. We’re going to wake up in Barcelona any second now by the pool, me with a cocktail, you and Milly playing blind man’s bluff in the water.’ For a second in Laura’s eyes there was hope, but it disappeared just as quick. Creases appeared on her brow.
‘I think he’s planning on doing the same to the rest of them. He mentioned something on the phone, something about eight more shots before the night’s out. He’s close by. How else would he know that Andrew ran?’ Ben climbed into the driver’s seat, contemplating the caller’s next move. He leant forward, his head in his hands, then jabbed his knuckles into his forehead as if knocking his brain into motion. He wanted to drive the coach, race along the road with his family and the passengers as far from here as possible. The flat tyres instantly quashed that idea. He couldn’t move this thing more than a couple of yards.
‘What’s happening, young man?’ Edward called out from the front seats.
Ben stood and pointed the torch towards the voice. He moved along the aisle. ‘I don’t know why he’s doing this. I don’t know his name, what he looks like or what he has planned. All I know is that none of us are allowed off the coach.’ Ben thought about the gunshot. He continued. ‘He’s armed and very dangerous. That much is obvious.’ Ben had to make conversation, ease the tension. ‘Where do you both live?’
‘Surrey,’ Edward replied. ‘We live in Surrey.’
Ben remembered the coach driver saying he lived there too. He was beginning to see a connection.
Edward flashed a glance towards his wife, then back to Ben. ‘Untie me; I’ll take my chances.’
‘Edward, what are you thinking?’ Mary asked.
‘I’m sorry, sir. I can’t do that,’ Ben insisted. Edward was going to be trouble.
‘Untie me, I said. This instant. I’m not waiting in this seat to die. Do you hear me? Now,’ the elderly man shouted, commanding attention from the other passengers.
‘Please, you’ll get us all killed. Don’t be so stupid,’ Lydia shouted from her seat further back.
‘You’re not going anywhere. None of us are. We’re staying put until further instructions,’ Ben ordered. He stood, then moved to the front.
The coach became silent.
‘Can we put the heaters back on? I’m freezing,’ Mary said.
Ben sat in the driver’s seat. He feared for a moment that Andrew had run with the keys. He shone the torch and reached forward, relieved to find them in the ignition. Then he turned on the engine and the grills kicked into life, slowly warming the coach again. The passengers needed light and warmth. So far, they hadn’t been instructed to leave the engine off. Ben knew they could be seen from outside, but he also knew whoever was doing this could get on the coach whenever he wanted.
He looked outside, taking in their surroundings, wondering if there’d be another gunshot, a phone call. Ben speculated whether the guy could hear them. He doubted it. They hadn’t found any hidden devices when they’d searched earlier. Maybe he was listening now, out there, stood alone in the fields. He could see them. That much was obvious. Ben remembered the area being a mass of green when he and his family had arrived. The land was flat, barren and wild. They had pulled off the M25 and then they drove for miles through a landscape that became more secluded, empty and deserted.
The passengers were looking out of the windows on either side of the aisle. Lydia muttered a prayer under her breath from the middle of the coach, then called out, ‘Am I going to see him again? Jack, I mean?’ She turned to the side, speaking to Stephen who sat a couple of rows behind. ‘What about your friend? Is that it? We’ll never see them again.’
Milly moved along the coach and sat beside Lydia. ‘You can’t give up. I won’t let it happen, do you hear?’ She raised her voice, looking along the aisle. ‘No one is giving up. We’re getting off this coach together, all of us,’ Milly proclaimed.