He felt her muscles tense as he nipped at her neck. “I know.”
She pulled back and put her hands on his cheeks, turning his head.
“No, something’s really burning.”
An acrid smell hit his nose.
“Shit!” Liam spun around and grabbed the steaming saucepan.
Plumes of dark smoke spiralled up from the brown mess of eggs in the pan.
“Oops,” he said as he showed her its contents.
She giggled. “I wasn’t that hungry anyway...for food,” she added with a smirk.
“Good,” Liam’s voice rumbled from deep in his chest.
Just as Liam dropped the steaming pan in the sink, Let’s Dance blasted through the kitchen area making him jump.
“Sorry, I put the volume up yesterday—my headphones are crap,” Beccy said and grabbed her phone. “Oh, that’s strange. It’s my aunt. I’d better take this.” She pressed her finger against his lips. “Hold that thought.”
Liam winked.
“Hi, Aunty Di.” Beccy grinned then turned her back and wandered into the dining area. “Everything—”
Liam tried not to listen in as he attempted to separate the burnt remains of the scrambled eggs from the pan, but his ears pricked up as Beccy’s voice got louder.
“What?...I don’t understand...Aunty Di? Aunty Di? Aunty Di?”
Liam rushed into the dining area and was greeted with a pale faced Beccy looking at her phone in confusion.
“Something’s wrong. I heard her cry out and then the phone cut off.” Beccy tapped her screen and held it back to her ear. “Straight to voice mail. I’ll try the house number.”
“Can I help?”
“You can try my home phone. Just in case she’s there feeding Shadow.”
Liam nodded and grabbed his phone. He dialled the number as she recited it to him. After five rings a voice answered. “No one is available to answer your call, please leave a name—.” Liam hung up.
“Answer phone,” he said.
Beccy’s eyes grew wide. “It’s just ringing at her house. I’ll try her mobile again.”
“Do you think she’s alright. Did she sound like she’s in trouble?”
Beccy hung up. “Voicemail again. I don’t know. She was whispering something about manners and a box.”
“What exactly did she say?”
“‘The manners tick. Unlock the box.’ Then there was a cry, and the phone went dead.”
Liam took her trembling hand and guided her to a chair.
“Is she, er...all there? I mean does she suffer from anything that could affect her...”
“She’s eccentric as hell and has some weird ideas, and she may have lost a couple of marbles along the way, but she still has plenty enough rattling around in her head.” She looked at Liam with shimmering eyes. “I’m worried.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Liam squeezed her hand. “Do you think she was at her house? Is there a neighbour you can call to check on her?”
“Good idea. I’ll call Kathy. I did some proof reading for her a few months ago. She lives a few doors down.” She started searching through her phone. “I don’t think I heard outside noises like birds or cars or the wind. But there was something, maybe something wooden, like a chair, banging on a floor...I’m not sure. It happened so quickly. Got it.” She held the phone up to her ear.
Liam went into the kitchen to fetch their coffees and when he returned she was pacing the room. Lines creased her forehead as she talked.
“So, if you could just check on her. See if her car’s there, look in through the window...you do? That’s great...yes, please, as soon as you can.”
Liam put her coffee on the table as she hung up. She slumped back down into the chair and stared at her phone.
“Kathy’s going to check right now. She has a spare key too.”
“That’s good. Come on, take deep breaths. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What if she’s fallen? What if she’s ill. What if—”
Liam took her hands and squeezed them tightly. “Wait ‘til you hear from Kathy.”
“I’m so sorry for spoiling everything,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Nothing’s spoiled, just delayed.”
Her phone rang. She snatched it up and looked at Liam as she listened.
“Yup. Yup. What about her car? Yup. Can you check the phone?” Beccy put her hand over her phone. “Kathy’s inside the house,” she whispered to Liam. “Car’s still there. Nothing out of place but no sign of Aunty Di.”
Liam nodded, gave her hand a squeeze and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
Five minutes later he returned carrying a small grey case and rested it by the wall. Beccy sat at the table staring into her coffee.
“Well?” Liam asked.
“No sign of her or her mobile, but no sign of a disturbance. The phone was turned off—the land line, and the back door was unlocked but that’s not unusual. Kathy’s going to phone around and ask if anyone has seen her. She mentioned about calling the police, but I said to wait until she’s phoned everyone. Was that right? I don’t know what to do. Am I overreacting?”
Liam took a deep breath. “Do you want to go home?”
Beccy stared at her Liam for a moment and then nodded. “I’m so sorry. I just know something’s wrong.” She wiped her eyes and picked up her phone. “I’ll check the train times.”
Liam put his hand over hers. “Don’t be daft. I’ll drive you. It’ll be quicker.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. What about your work?”
“I’m already packed,” he pointed to the case. “If I can’t get back for Monday then I’ll pull a sickie. I haven’t had a day off sick for at least three years. You’d better get dressed.”
She stood up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”
Less than fifteen minutes later, Liam and Beccy sat in his Jaguar, cases on the back seat and slices of still warm bread wrapped neatly in a cloth, heading towards the M40.
Chapter Seven
“It depends on the traffic, but it’s roughly four-and-a-half hours to get to Sandborn. We should be there about three.” Liam flicked on the cruise control and stuck to the middle lane as they sped past lumbering lorries. At least the Friday motorway madness hadn’t started yet. They should be near Birmingham before the roads got too busy.
“Thank you, I really appreciate this. I’m probably being stupid and worrying about nothing.”
Beccy plucked at the threads in one of the rips in her jeans. Liam figured if she continued, there wouldn’t be much left of her jeans by the time they’d reached her house. He wasn’t complaining. He was disappointed though. The prospect of a sexually charged weekend had evaporated, but if he was being honest with himself, he kind of liked playing the hero for once, even if it was only by being a driver.
“It’s no problem. I’m sure everything will be fine. She probably dropped her phone, and it’s broken.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I hope you’re right.” She sighed. “But I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. It’s like a persistent itch under my skin.”