A House Without Windows (10 page)

The sound of knocking seemed to be coming from afar.  As Liam came back to consciousness he was aware that somebody was rapping on the door of his room.  Covering the short distance from bed to door with legs that Beth had often likened to two long sticks of celery, Liam came face to face to face with the grim reality that was Iain Treacher after a night out on the piss.

“Paul’s ready for lunch now.  I’ll have a shower and join you later.  It’s nice to meet you by the way.  I’m Iain.”  He held out a clammy hand.

“Good to meet you.  I’m ready to eat too.”  Liam shook the proffered hand and acknowledged the photographer standing behind in the passageway.  As he withdrew his hand and looked at the dishevelled state of the journalist, he wondered whether he should wash it again before he ate anything.

There was a buffet laid out temptingly in the restaurant.  Liam found he was quite hungry and tucked in to a full roast turkey lunch with all the trimmings. 

“As soon as Iain’s down we’ll go over to the Nichols’ place.  We’ll drop you off there; the grandparents are going to take the kids out, and then we’ll come back again when you two have had a chance to meet up.”

“Thanks.  You’ve definitely got the exclusive, but Beth and I need to talk first.”

“Absolutely.  We wouldn’t want to intrude straight away.  Iain’ll find a pub somewhere I expect, but I’ll try and keep him on the orange juices.”

Liam laughed and sat back in his chair, replete.

“Ok.  I take it that Beth knows I’m coming?”

“Sure.  We’ve been in contact with her parents.  She’s looking forward to seeing you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.  I’m getting quite nervous now; I wrote a letter to her on the plane.”

“You’ll be fine. I sent off your other one. We look forward to a good story when she’s read the letters.”

Iain appeared as Liam and Paul were finishing their coffees:

“All ready to go then?”  Liam could see Iain had managed a wash and shave, and had combed his hair. He looked altogether much cleaner and more presentable.

“Yep.  Let’s do it.”  Liam’s heart began to turn somersaults in his chest, and he checked inside his jacket pocket to make sure the letter was still there.

It was just a short drive to the Nichols’ bungalow situated on a quiet tree-lined cul-de-sac.  Liam stepped out of the Range Rover and waved goodbye to his acquaintances.

“Give us a couple of hours.  See you soon.”

“No probs.  Have a ball, mate.”  Paul drove off as Liam walked up the garden path and rang the bell.

The woman who opened the door was Beth, and yet she wasn’t the Beth that Liam had waved goodnight to ten years before. His first glance took in the extra few lines on her thin, pale face and her ultra-short elfin haircut.  He quelled an impulse to take her into his arms. When he looked in her eyes they were wary and guarded, and not the ones that had tenderly gazed back at him from their bed that last morning after lovemaking. He stood on the doorstep, mute and overawed.  She smiled at his awkwardness:

“Hello Liam.  Come in.  I’ve been expecting you.”  Beth stepped aside to allow him to enter the hallway, and then closed the door to the outside world.

“It’s so good to see you.”  Liam’s voice sounded unnaturally husky.

“Come in and sit down.  I’m a bit slow I’m afraid.  I’ve not long had a caesarean and I’m still in a bit of pain.”  She moved like a person forty years older down the hallway and into the lounge, and sank down gratefully into a cream leather settee.  Liam thought it best to give Beth her own space, and perched on the edge of another matching two-seater settee.

“What can I do to help you?”  He was at a total loss for what to say to this stranger who sat stiffly opposite.

“Nothing really.  Just seeing you again makes me feel better already.”  She smiled again and shifted in her seat to get more comfortable.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her.  The new haircut made her look even more fragile and ethereal.

“Are you well otherwise?” 
What has that bastard done to you?

“I’m ok.  I’m still getting used to being free again and seeing other people.  I don’t think I’m quite up to shopping along the High Street yet though.” She gave a rueful laugh.

“Were you angry that I’d contacted the Press?  I saw your photo in the newspaper, but didn’t know how to go about finding you other than emailing the person that had written the article.  I sent off a letter to you via the newspaper. Did you receive it?  I also assumed your parents wouldn’t still be living in their old place.  I couldn’t remember their address.”

“No
I never got the letter, but that’s not to say it won’t arrive. My parents moved several years ago into this retirement bungalow.  Luckily for me there’s three bedrooms.  Amy still wants to sleep with me at the moment, but hopefully with time she’ll be happy in her own room.”

The question he had been burning to ask could not be held back any more.  He took a deep breath and hoped for the best:

“Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but is Evans Amy’s father as well?”  He held his breath as he waited for the response.

“No, Liam.  You are.  I had suspected I was pregnant, but I hadn’t had a pregnancy test.  After I was abducted it was obvious, but to keep Evans happy I let him think Amy was his. However, she’s the image of you.  You’ll meet her later when Mum and Dad bring her back.” She stated it matter-of-factly, unaware of the effect of her words.

Liam put his head in his hands and a huge gulping sob escaped from his body.  To be the father of a ten-year-old child who was unaware of his existence was more than he could bear:

“Some fucking paediatrician I am.  I couldn’t even take care of my own daughter!”  He wiped the tears from his eyes and put his arms around the woman he loved as she moved across to sit beside him.

“Forgive me darling, that I wasn’t there for you.”  He tried unsuccessfully to stem a fresh river of tears.

“Nothing was ever your fault Liam.  He knew I was working late shifts that
week, and he was waiting.  He stalked me and I was a sitting target.  I thought he was a bit weird when I treated him in A&E, but hey, what’s done is done.  I’m free now.”  She sighed and sank her head into his shoulder.

“I live in Toronto and have an 18 month old son.  His name is Toby.  He has red hair the colour of leaves in the fall.”  He sniffed and closed his eyes as he held Beth tighter in his arms.

“I’m glad you found happiness with somebody else.  You deserve it.”

“It took me eight years to even start to forget what we had, but if I thought you had still been alive I’d have waited forever.”

“You weren’t to know.  Mum said the police did what they could at the time.  They searched for years, but everyone eventually assumed I’d been murdered.”

“I want to kill that bastard; bollocks to the Hippocratic
Oath.”

“Then you’d be a prisoner and he would have ruined both of us.  No; let him rot in his cell and think about what he’s done.”

They sat in silence with their arms around each other, wanting nothing more.  The chiming of the grandfather clock in the hallway told Liam that almost two hours had passed in the blink of an eye.

“Mum and Dad will be back soon, and then the journalists.  We need to make ourselves pretty.”

“You are pretty, darling.  I even like your new haircut.”

“It’s the new me; older, wiser, and a sensible mother of two.”

“How’s the little fella?”

“He’s beautiful.  I’ve named him Jocelyn; Joss for short.”

“Unusual name.”

“He’s an unusual baby.  Amy gave me the idea for his name. He freed me from my prison.  I looked his name up and it says people called Jocelyn have a desire to inspire others to a higher cause.”

“I wish I was his father.”

“Every time you visit Amy you’ll get to know Joss.  In time he’ll come to think of you as a surrogate father, I’m sure.”  Beth stood up with a slight grimace of pain. “I’m going upstairs to have a quick wash.  Make yourself some coffee.  Mine’s milk and two sugars please.  I’m not breastfeeding, so can eat and drink what I like.”

“You didn’t want to breastfeed?”

“No.  I couldn’t do it.  I have to have some control over my body again.  It’s a psychological thing I suppose.”

“I can understand that.”  His jaw clenched in anger at what she must have gone through.

“I’ve been offered counselling, but want to deal with it in my own way.”

“Of course.   You were always mentally stronger than I could ever be.  God knows how you’ve got through the last ten years.”

“I thought of you often, and I had to be strong for Amy.” She smiled at him as she made for the stairs. “Back in a minute.  It’s so lovely to see you again Liam.”

He took the opportunity to rinse his face under the cold tap as he waited for the kettle to boil.  In a short while he would meet the daughter he never knew he had. What on earth was he going to say to her?

They sat in companionable silence drinking their coffee.  When the key turned in the lock Liam stood up.  He smiled at Sally and Robert Nichols as they came into the room.  Sally wheeled the baby in his stroller, and Liam tried hard to catch Amy’s eye as she hid behind her grandfather.

“Liam! Wonderful to see you!”  Sally stepped forward and gave him a hug.

“Hi Sally.  I’m still reeling from the shock!”  Liam kissed her and shook Robert’s hand.  Amy ran to sit beside her mother on the settee.

“Amy, where are your manners?  Say
hello to Liam.  He’s your real daddy.”  Beth looked down at Amy, who stood up again and smiled.  She clutched a book to her chest.

“Are you the doctor who looks after children?” 

“Yes, Amy. I’m so happy to meet you.”

“You talk funny.”

“I live in another country a long way away.  I came over here on an aeroplane to see you.”

“Do I call you Liam, or Daddy?”

“Whatever you want is fine with me.”  He saw himself in the child’s face; the eyes were his own eyes.

“Can I call you Liam then?  I think it’s better than Daddy.”

“Of course you can.  I’ll come and see you as often as I’m able to.  I’ll take you on days out and we’ll get to know each other better.”

“I’d like that.” 

Amy took hold of Liam’s hand as the baby began to cry:

“Come and see my little brother.  His name is Jocelyn, the same as Philip and Dinah’s uncle.”

“Who are Philip and Dinah?”  Liam’s heart melted as he felt Amy’s warm hand in his.  He fought to stave off a fresh well of tears threatening at the back of his eyes.

“They’re in here.”  She held up a book. “We don’t call him Jocelyn though; he’s Joss for short.  Do you want to pick him up out of his pushchair?”

Liam looked around towards Beth.

“Sure.  Give him a little cuddle.  He’ll like that.”

“He’s a fella.  Us boys all like cuddles.”  Liam smiled as he held the baby.  He saw Joss had Beth’s mouth, but was darker in colouring. The baby stopped crying and looked at him with eyes that were several shades darker than Beth’s light grey ones. 
His eyes.

“He’s recently had a bottle.  He just needed a cuddle.”  Sally took off her coat. “Liam, can I get you anything to eat?”

“No, I’m fine thanks.  I had lunch before we left the hotel.”

“Where do you work now?”  Robert looked fondly over at the man he would have liked to call his son-in-law.

“I have a clinical practice in downtown Toronto.  I’ve been building up the practice for the last few years.  I only live a short tram ride away.  We live in an area known as The Beaches; close to the stores, but also close to the shores of Lake Ontario.”

“It sounds a lovely part of the world.” 

“It is.  My mother also lives close by; she’s remarried now.”

“Will you be seeing your father while you’re over here?”  Beth remembered David; a Norfolk man born and bred, with a heart of gold that held a soft spot for her.

“Yes, but I’ve been so caught up in events that I haven’t got around to phoning him yet.”

“You can use our phone in the study and let him know you’re here.”

“Thanks.  I’ll do that when the journalists have gone.  I think they might have arrived now.”

Robert went off to answer the doorbell, and showed Treacher and Fraser into the lounge.  After introductions were made they stood about awkwardly until Sally reappeared:

“Here’s some tea and biscuits for you all.  I’ll take Amy into the kitchen as it’s getting near teatime.  Beth, do you want me to take the baby?”

“No, I’ll hold him, Mum.  I think he’s asleep again now anyway.”

“Ok.  Give me a shout if you need anything.”

Liam settled next to Beth on the two-seater settee, and Treacher and Fraser sat opposite.  The journalist switched on a small voice recorder and put it on the table between them.

“You don’t mind if I record our interview?  It saves me trying to decipher my terrible handwriting afterwards.”

Liam looked at Beth, who shrugged and snuggled the baby in the crook of her arm.

“It’s ok with us.”  He put a protective arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.