Installment 17

We drove on, pretty much in silence until the signs stopped just saying "London" and started being more specific. Turn-offs for Heathrow looked appealing to me, but Elena kept driving toward central London. She pulled into a hotel near Acton Town. It was about 6pm. We'd been going slowly the whole way, almost as if she wanted to put this off as much as I did.

"Do you want to eat out, or shall I just go and get some food to have here?"
"Here, I think," I answered, "I'm really tired."
"Ok, I'll grab some pizza and a bottle of wine."
"Sounds good."
She left the room and I flopped onto the bed. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I got up and walked over to it.

"Did you forget your key?" I called as I opened the door. Tim and Errol stood in front of me.
"Hi, Fi," Tim said.
"You didn't come and see us before you left," Errol continued.
"I... I couldn't."
"You should have."
"Why? You lied to me. It was all some sick joke."
"Why the hell would we lie?"
"I don't know, but Elena showed me the paper. How would Kelly know I was in Ogmore on Sea? Why would she put an ad in that local paper?"
They looked surprised. Neither of them said anything for a short while then Tim spoke slowly.
"It wasn't in some local paper, Fi. It was in pretty much every local paper."
"What? How do you know?"
Errol looked behind him and tapped Tim on the shoulder.
"Look," said Tim, "We've got to go. Can you meet us tomorrow before you go? We'll show you."
"I dunno, guys."
"Seriously, like 6 o'clock before Elena wakes up. We'll meet you in the car park. You need to see this stuff, Fiona."
I figured that it couldn't make matters any worse, "Okay, then. Why not?"

I shut the door behind them. I didn't think that they had anything that was worth showing me, but it wouldn't hurt to see.

I collapsed back on the bed and was half asleep when Elena returned with 2 pizza boxes and a cold bottle of soave.

"Hey you."
"Hey."
"You ok?"
"Yeah, it's just been a really long day."
"Yeah," she handed me a pizza box and opened the wine, pouring it into two hotel mugs, "Classy, hey?"
I smiled, "Only the best."
We clinked our mugs, then sipped the wine and wolfed down the pizza.

***

I worried I would oversleep. I didn't want to set an alarm. If I'd had my mobile phone still, I'd have set a reminder and then pretended it was a text message telling me to top up my credit, but it wouldn't turn on with no sim card, and I hadn't gotten round to picking up a new one. I woke up pretty much every half hour. Sometimes Kelly drifted into my dreams, but she didn't speak and was gone as quickly as she arrived. At 5:45, I decided it would be foolish to let myself go back to sleep, so I concentrated on staying awake, while listening to Elena's soft, slow breaths. A few times, I had to shake myself out of a slight daze, as if the rhythmic breathing were hypnotising me.

At 6:20, I crept out of bed, grabbed my jeans and jumper and took them out of the room. Once I was in the corridor, I put them on over my pyjamas and set off, barefoot, down to the car park. It was only just light and I shivered as I walked across to Errol's car. Someone did an unconvincing owl impression and I turned around to see Errol and Tim standing close to the wall of the hotel. I nodded to acknowledge them and walked over.

"What are you doing here?"
"You're being lied to."
"You told me this. I'm sorry. I don't believe you."
"I swear, we have the proof. It's in the car."
"You showed me your proof. I don't believe you. I don't know why you're toying with me, but it's not fair."
"Just hear us out. That's why you came out here, right?" Tim looked at me hopefully.
I sighed, "Ok, show me."

We walked toward the car and got within 10 metres of it before being thrown back by the blast. I lay on the floor, unsure of what to do and what had happened. A car stopped beside me.

"Get in," Elena called.
"Wh... what?"
"Just get in!"

I rolled onto my front and crawled to the car door, pulling myself into the passenger seat. The car sped off out of the car park.

"What happened?"
"I'm not sure, but it's not safe here."
I collapsed against the seat and fell fast asleep.

***

When I woke, we were on the motorway.

"Where are we?"
"Just past Birmingham."
"Birmingham? Why Birmingham?"
"We're going somewhere safe."
"London is safe. We were going to the police."
"Yeah, and someone worked that out and now they want you dead."
"What? Why?"
"I'm not sure, exactly."
"How do you know, then?"
"The car exploding - wasn't the first. Well, it was, but I found something on our car last night. It was due to go the same way, but I diffused it."
"You can do that?"
"I can."
"Fuck!"
"So, we're going to a place I know just north of the Scottish boarder. We'll be safe there."
"Safe? For how long."
"This place, it's like Ogmore."
"Oh."
"It's safe."
"Why is it safe?"
"No-one can find you there."
"You found me in Ogmore."
"Yeah, I guess I did. No-one who wants to kill you can find you there."
"That's something, I guess."
"That's everything, Fi. Until we work who's doing this, that's the best we can have."

***

We pulled into a service station. I hadn't had any breakfast, but food held no appeal at this stage. I ordered a cup of coffee and grabbed a bottle of coke too. If someone was trying to kill me, I figured it was probably best to be as awake as possible.

"You should eat, Fi," Elena said as I reached the checkout.
"Not hungry."
She looked at me disapprovingly, and I sloped off to the fridge and picked up an egg and cress sandwich for later.

We sat in the cafe for a while - me sipping my coffee, Elena tucking into a bacon sandwich. The smell of bacon made me a little nauseous at the best of times and doubly so right now, but there was something comforting about the discomfort in my belly; the proof of life, I guess.

We were back on the motorway within 15 minutes of stopping. I stared out of the window at the fields of cows and sheep, mesmerised by the lamp-posts speeding by. The road ahead was empty of cars and behind us, there was just one small van.

"Can I drive?"
"What?"
"Next time we stop, can I drive for a bit? I'm bored."
"Fi, you're half asleep."
"No, I'm not."
"You were awake pretty much all night."
"What? No, I... How did you know?"
"I heard you tossing and turning. I can tell when you're asleep."
"But... hmmmph..." I felt like a little kid sulking, "So you were awake all night too."
"Yes."
"But you're allowed to drive."
"Fi, I'm not like you. Not mortal."
"You still need to sleep, though."
"No."
"No?"
"No."

Installment 16

Elena packed quickly and we walked out of the guesthouse. Tim wasn't there. It seemed like she knew he wouldn't be. We put her bags into the car, and she got into the driving seat and I got into the passenger seat, my hand always in my pocket, playing with the pendant. As we left Ogmore-by-Sea, I felt sad, remembering the day I arrived and how beautiful and peaceful it seemed. I gritted my teeth in anticipation for how hard and rough the world outside would be.


***


We drove along the coast for a while, until near Cardiff, where we stopped for lunch. We went into a small cafe and I ordered an egg and cress sandwich and was served with egg mayonnaise and a sneer.

"What's the plan then?"
"We'll take it slowly, I think. Maybe stop somewhere on the outskirts of London for the night, so you can go back to your flat and turn yourself in in the morning after a good night's sleep. It'll be a long day."
"But you'll come with me?"
"As much as I can, I'll be with you, yes."
"I'm scared, Elena."
"I know. It's natural to be scared."
"What will happen to me?"
"I don't know, Fi."
"I'm not sure I could cope with prison."
"Can you cope with the guilt?"
"I... no."
"You may not even end up in prison. You didn't mean to do it, did you?"
"No, I meant to kill someone else."
Elena raised her eyebrow."
"Okay, I'd bottled it with that."
"So, you'd thought about killing someone and decided against it. Where's the crime?"
"So, I just go and explain that to the police and they believe me? Get real, Elena."
"It will help that you're coming back of your own accord."
"Are they searching for me? Do they know I killed her?"
"They've been asking for you to come in to help with their enquiries."
"They think I murdered her?"
"I don't know."
"They think I murdered her."