Page 105 of The Stolen Child

‘That little fella is lucky to have you both. Best parents a child could wish for. Can you remind Sally that she’s got an appointment here on Wednesday?’

‘Oh, I didn’t know that. She never mentioned it,’ Ian replied.

‘That wife of yours would forget her head if it weren’t stitched on,’ Nicola joked, and Ian laughed in response. Then her voice became serious and she said, ‘If Sally doesn’t turn up on Wednesday, I’ll think there’s something up with her. That you’re hiding her from me, Ian.’

Ian whistled softly, then responded, ‘Nobody is hiding anyone. Sally will be there. What time?’

Elsie whispered, ‘Eleven o’clock,’ and Nicola repeated that to Ian. ‘Ta-ra, love,’ she said, then hung up.

Since then, Elsie had kept herself busy, packing up her things from the flat. Most of her belongings went to a charity shop, where she’d bought them in the first place. Then she gave two suitcases to Reggie, who assured her they would be in the car waiting for them on Wednesday.

‘I’ve cancelled all my appointments. Given Andrea the day off,’ Nicola said when Elsie arrived on Wednesday morning, a little before eleven. ‘Oh my days, I’ll be in an early grave with all this worry. I hope you know what you’re doing, Elsie.’

‘I trust Reggie. He’ll be here at quarter past. I’m going to wait in the storeroom, in case Baldwin walks in with Sally.’

‘What do we do then?’ Nicola asked, biting her lip.

‘I’ve no idea,’ Elsie said.

A few moments later, the door opened. Despite it being the summer, the heavens had opened up with a heavy downpour of rain. Sally pushed the pram into the salon, and Elsie could have whooped with relief when she saw that she was alone. Until she took in her friend’s complexion. Sally was pale, had dark circles under her eyes and looked as if she had aged over the previous couple of weeks.

Nicola took the pram from Sally, wheeling it beside the front reception. Then she locked the door to the salon. Elsie ran over to the pram and pulled back the blanket to double-check that Zach was okay. He smiled up at her, a big goofy grin, and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. It still caught her off guard how alike he was to her little Bertie. She cursed herself for allowing him to jump into her mind, and pushed his face away from her again.

Elsie touched Zach’s cheek gently, amazed at her love for this little boy. She turned to Sally and said, ‘It’s going to be okay. I’ve got a plan. We’re going to run today, in a few minutes.’

Sally’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. ‘We can’t go today. I told you, he’s always one step ahead of me.’

‘What do you mean? What’s happened now?’ Elsie asked.

‘This morning, before he left for work, Ian told me that he has eyes all over the city. He said that if I was ever stupid enough to try and escape, he’d find me. Then, when he did, he’d have me arrested for abduction.’

‘The bastard,’ Nicola said. ‘He can’t get away with this. We need to call the Old Bill. Report him.’

Elsie looked at Nicola with disdain. ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Baldwin is the Old Bill. We can’t call them. They all look after each other. Did he drive you here?’ Elsie’s eyes darted to the window of the salon.

‘No, I got a taxi.’ Sally ran a hand through her blonde hair, and the sleeve of her blouse fell down, revealing a purple bruise on her forearm.

Elsie caught Nicola’s eye. She’d seen the bruise too.

‘That’s a new one,’ Elsie said.

‘Ian didn’t like my tone when I asked him to increase my housekeeping. I thought if I could get extra cash, it would help when I run.’

‘Don’t worry about money; I’ve got that sorted. Everything is in place. I told you, we have to leave. Today,’ Elsie said firmly.

Sally’s face turned ashen. Her voice trembled as she said, ‘Not today, Elsie. I told you that Ian is watching me. He suspects I might try something while I’m here, so he has a squad car parked down the road. I clocked it when I got out of the taxi.’

‘Reggie will be able to lose the Old Bill. Won’t be the first time he’s had to shake them off,’ Elsie said, unwilling to admit defeat. She’d put too much into this to let it go without a fight.

‘We wouldn’t get further than the end of Battersea Park Road.’

‘Let me see if the car is still there,’ Elsie said. She pulled a poncho-style rain mac from a peg behind the desk and put it on. Her face disappeared into the voluminous hood when she pulled it over her head. She picked up Nicola’s cigarettes, lit one, walked to the salon door, unlocked it, and walked outside. She stood for a moment, puffing her cigarette, then stubbed it out on the path, returning inside, shaking the wet mac off, and placing it back on the peg.

‘It’s still there. Parked outside the corner shop,’ Elsie said.

‘I told you. He’ll never let me get away, will he?’ Sally said, her hands trembling as she wiped tears from her face.

‘He can’t watch you twenty-four seven,’ Nicola replied. ‘You’ll find a way.’