“I called Mase, he knows I’m here and telling you this. Conrad Mathers has been charged with additional offences and they had planned to arrest your stepfather when he reported to the police station this morning.”
“And?” I already know the answer that is going to leave his lips. I don’t know why, I just do.
“He failed to report. They went to the church, but no sign so they’ve issued a warrant for his arrest.”
“I see.” I don’t see anything.
“It wasn’t just you. There were others, although you were probably the first,” Jimmy explains leaving me confused, unsure just how that information makes me feel. What was it about me that made him become that monster? Did I unleash something within him that had always been there, or did I put it there? Jimmy is speaking again, forcing my mind to refocus on him. “He could be dangerous. More dangerous,” he corrects, clearly feeling the things Raymond did to me and others meant he had always been dangerous. “You’re safe here. Nobody knows where you are and there are measures in place, but don’t take any chances, okay?”
I nod, unsure what he means by taking chances, although I am sure that finishing Charlotte’s room early and returning home to sleep in our bed would be considered one.
“Is it because of my statement, the charges?” I feel guilty. How ridiculous is that? I feel actual guilt, and fear too, but mainly guilt.
After all these years he still makes this my fault, but how, why?
Jimmy nods. “It contributed, heavily, but there was some evidence, at the church. He is a very arrogant man and seemed to think he was above the law so couldn’t stop himself from keeping evidence. I don’t know what the evidence is yet, but it exists. The charges against him seem watertight and as such I’d be surprised if he sees the outside of a prison in his lifetime.” Jimmy speaks with such certainty that I decide the evidence really must be substantial.
I nod again and feel tears threatening to get the better of me.
“Hey, come on.” Jimmy sounds a little like Mase as he pulls me in for a warm hug that makes me feel cared for if not loved and secure if not safe, not like my boyfriend’s arms do, the arms that tell me he loves me and will protect me, that nothing and no-one will hurt me again because he won’t allow it. “You need to call Mase. He’ll want to speak to you and remember, be vigilant and safe. You’ve got the personal alarm I gave you?”
I nod. Should I be a little more animated under the circumstances? Whether I should or not is of no concern because my little nod really is all I’ve got.
“If you need to, call the police, or me, both.” Jimmy’s already standing, preparing to leave.
“Thank you.” I am already pulling my phone out to contact Mase, a text, I really can’t cope with hearing his voice yet. I will cry if I hear him. I might just cry anyway so settle for the text.
A simple reply comes back quickly.
I smile, thinking that it will be killing Mase not to call me immediately in order to lay the law down about what I should and shouldn’t do.
For the next three days I throw myself into Charlotte’s sunroom, the last day seeing me left alone which is when I add the finishing touches. The original design was good in principal; shiplap floor and ceiling, smooth plastered walls and lots of glass. The problem was with colours and coverings. When I first saw this room, it had bright orange walls, a yellow ceiling and a strange burnt orange/brown floor. The room had been filled with furniture in similar shades and brightly coloured blinds that had been more blinding than the small amount of direct sunlight the room might be affected by.
The new room is bright and airy and although Charlotte had wanted the room to give her sunshine the original design might just have given her sun stroke. My room, I think, I hope, will give her what she wanted; a feel of holidays, sun drenched beaches and a happy feeling. I kept the shiplap floor and ceiling, the former now a dove grey in a matt finish and the latter finished in brilliant white. The ceiling now benefits from a three-bulb fan light that makes me think of holidays, especially as I have the large, bare windows open, allowing the light breeze to waft around me. I open the patio doors and turn to face the rest of the room. There’s a wicker corner unit that is upholstered with thick seat pads covered in a soft white fabric and then accented with a mixture of floral patterned cushions in varying shades of yellow and orange and plain cushions in pale yellow and blue, finished with a gold cord trim. The driftwood table looks heavy and sturdy as does the bowl filled with natural looking pot pourri that sits in the middle of it. I check the down lighters all work before giving everything a final clean and polish and then I leave it and wait for Charlotte to return.
Chapter 57
Mason
Sitting in my New York hotel room I feel impotent in dealing with the recent developments in the police case against Raymond and the doctor, especially as the former is now AWOL. I am hoping he will do a runner without ever looking back, yet I have a horrible feeling he is far too arrogant and conceited to run away.
Olivia is scared, I know she is. I can hear it in her voice whenever we speak. I even think I can detect it in her text messages. Fortunately, she is staying with my mother until I go home, tomorrow, tonight, after a final meeting. My dad has told her not to take any risks and to stay put while I have made her promise to remain where she is and not to even attempt to go home without me.
There is a strange niggle at the back of my mind that Raymond will be able to trace her to our home, even if Olivia’s name, and in turn mine have been kept out of the news reports. I just can’t shake the feeling that she won’t be safe there without me despite the security and panic alarms.
My phone tells me I have an incoming message and upon opening it I smile when I see that I have received a series of photos, all of my mother’s sunroom. Some of them are just the room and others are of my girl and family in the room. It does look amazing and according to my mother, her husband, my brother and sister, my mother is beyond happy with the finished room.
Olivia has been more reserved, simply saying that she is happy with the job she’s done and that it’s turned out well even though she hasn’t really done much, just accessorised and painted. My mum is calling my girl a genius and is already thinking about further commissions which will piss Christian off, but honestly, I don’t care. I am considering selling my shares in Peterson Michaels as they are going to cause me a conflict of interest when my girl sets up her own business, which she will be doing. She just doesn’t know it yet.
I make a further call to my dad, to confirm my flight details which is just an excuse to check if there’s anything new on Raymond’s location. There’s not. He appears to have vanished which is pissing me off and scaring me to death all at once.
I’ve been doing some serious thinking since we’ve been apart and I have had plenty of time on my hands, although I’ve been using the time I’m in meetings to think too which is bad really. Bad enough that I almost cut a deal for several million less than it should have been.
The feelings I have for my girl are beginning to overwhelm me, invading every thought and dream I have, but I don’t mind that, well, not too much. The problem is that I can’t switch it off at the moment, partly because of the shit with the doctor and her stepfather, but moreover because of her refusal to discuss my proposal never mind accept it.
