A Place Of Safety (19 page)

‘Anna,’ Lilly shouted above the cacophony. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

But Anna was mesmerised by the sight of ugly and angry men spitting abuse. All directed at her.

The alarm sounded. The noise was ear-splitting.

Lilly ran across the courtroom to the dock. Milo followed closely. He stood on her robe, which was now dragging behind her, and they both tripped. Another roar came from the balcony.

Lilly shrugged off the gown and stumbled towards Anna. ‘Quickly,’ she said.

Anna didn’t or couldn’t move but continued to stare at the men.

Lilly pulled her client by the hand but she fell to the floor like a stone. Milo leapt into the dock and carried Anna in his arms towards the back of the court.

They hobbled towards the door. The men in the gallery dug into their pockets and began hurling the contents. Lilly felt something hit her back. Then her head. Then her cheek.

When they passed into the chamber they stood panting. Anna was still in Milo’s arms.

Only then did Lilly realise that all three of them were covered in dog shit.

Steve Berry looked at the image of the skinheads being bundled into a police van and let out a hard rasp of a chuckle.

‘Posh,’ he said, ‘this picture is genius.’

Alexia shrugged as if it were nothing.

‘I still don’t know how you got this.’

Alexia tapped the side of her nose. ‘Instinct.’

She wasn’t about to admit she’d received an anonymous tip-off. That morning, a woman had called. She said she’d just seen Valentine and the kid heading into London. ‘Are you sure it was them?’ Alexia had asked.

The woman tutted. ‘Of course I’m sure, and I should say by the way they were dressed that something is interesting is going on.’

It could have been a crank, but something in the way the woman spoke told Alexia to investigate. The woman wouldn’t give her name but there was something about her voice—she couldn’t place it but she’d definitely heard it before.

Alexia called Luton Youth Court and was told the case had been transferred. She called the Crown Court who confirmed the same.

Then she got a call from the Bailey telling her in no uncertain terms that if she impeded the defence case again she would be arrested. Bingo. She knew exactly where the case had been transferred.

Alexia had grabbed her coat and jumped on the next train. She knew the hearing would be closed but she might get something. She’d need to be careful—she didn’t want to end up in court herself. However, once she arrived and saw the racists filing in, she knew that it was going to be another bonanza news day. The top judge himself could try to arrest her but Alexia Dee was going to get this story.

*  *  *

Lilly had cried, thrown up and cried some more. Finally she ran a bath. It was time to wash the crap out of her hair.

She’d shaken the biggest lumps out and washed it as best she could at a sink in the ladies’, but she could still smell it.

The police, to be fair, had been lovely. They’d driven Milo, Anna and Lilly all the way home and promised that the thugs would be charged. But it didn’t stop Lilly feeling humiliated.

She held her nose and dunked her head under the surface. Had this been what it was like for Anna in Kosovo: had she been made to feel less than human? She hadn’t spoken since they’d got back and had locked herself in the main bathroom. God knows what memories this had brought back.

A tap came on the bathroom door. ‘Is anyone alive in there?’ said Jack.

He opened the door, padded across to the bath and put his arms around her. She relaxed into his embrace, her hair dripping down his leather jacket.

‘Are you still mad at me about the picture of you in the paper?’ she said.

He didn’t let her go. ‘Yep.’

‘Are you in trouble about being here with Anna?’

He buried his nose in her neck. ‘Yep.’

‘Oh, Jack, I’m sorry.’

‘Yep.’

They stayed like that, clinging on to one another until the water grew cold.

At last Jack let her go.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

‘I’ll survive.’

‘It’s been a rough day.’

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Pretty shitty.’

They both laughed, and Lilly pulled herself out of the bath.

‘Here,’ said Jack, and patted her shoulders with a towel. ‘Let me.’

‘Do you do this for all your women?’ asked Lilly.

‘Only those attacked by marauding mobs.’

He put a squirt of lotion onto his hand and began massaging it into her back.

‘I could get used to this on a daily basis,’ said Lilly.

‘So, why don’t you?’ he asked.

She turned to him. ‘What are you saying, Jack?’

He opened his mouth to speak when Sam waltzed in and pulled down his trousers.

‘Sorry, Mum, but Anna’s in the other bathroom and I’m dying for a poo.’

‘Bloody hell, Sam,’ Lilly said, and covered herself with a towel. She put on her dressing gown and looked at Jack. ‘Let’s continue this conversation downstairs.’

‘Oh, Mum,’ called Sam.

‘Yes?’

‘Dad’s here.’

If Jack was prepared to put his anger aside, David was not. As soon as Lilly entered the sitting room she could sense the dark cloud above her ex-husband. The sight of him pacing reminded her of the bad old days.

‘The rug’s already threadbare,’ she said.

‘Very droll,’ he replied. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Can it not wait?’ asked Jack. ‘She’s had a terrible shock.’

David glared at Jack. ‘When it comes to children, things can’t be put on hold. You’ll understand that one day when you have a son of your own.’

Lilly saw Jack wince. He loved Sam and had a great relationship with him, but he wasn’t his father.

‘I’ll be off,’ he said to Lilly, and pecked her on the cheek. ‘Call me later.’

When she heard the door close she rounded on David.

‘There was absolutely no call for that.’

David held his back straight. Elsa would have said he had a pole up his arse.

‘I think there was every call. When I need to discuss my child with his mother, I won’t be deterred by every Tom, Dick and Harry you’ve taken a shine to.’

‘Jack’s not just anyone, he’s…he’s…’

‘What, Lilly? What is he? You’re not married, you don’t even live together, and as far as I can tell you’ve no plans for either,’ he said. ‘Not when you still want to flirt with your Bosnian friend.’

Lilly was stung by the unfairness of the comment. Yet was he so far from the mark?

She sighed and sank onto the battered old sofa. ‘Let’s not fight, David.’

‘I need to know our son is safe.’

‘He is,’ she said.

David shook his head. ‘You’re making a lot of enemies with this case, and I won’t allow Sam to get caught in the crossfire.’

‘He’s fine,’ said Lilly.

‘Fine?’ David shouted. ‘Journalists have been stalking you, Lilly, taking pictures of you outside the house. Sam’s house.’

‘The trial judge has taken care of that. Warned then to stay away,’ she said.

‘And you think they’ll listen when this story is getting hotter by the day?’

‘If they come anywhere near me or Sam I’ll call the court.’

‘Well, make sure you do.’ David dropped his voice. ‘Or I shall have to take steps.’

Lilly felt her heart begin to thud. ‘What steps?’

‘Sam will have to come and stay with me.’

‘You can’t take him away from me,’ she said.

‘I’ll do whatever I have to,’ he replied, and left.

Lilly stared after him, shaken by a mixture of fear and rage. Who did he think he was, making threats about Sam? Lilly wouldn’t let him come to any harm. He was everything to her and David knew that. Hadn’t he been so jealous of her fierce love for her son that he’d needed to seek attention from Botox Belle in the first place?

As for the stuff about Milo, well, she had been acting like a fool. There was an attraction between them, a spark at most, but nothing compared to what she shared with Jack. He was the one who had stood by her through this nightmare of a case, despite how much he had to lose. He was the one, she reminded herself, who had stood between her and a bullet. And if she wasn’t completely mistaken, he had just, in his own inimitable fashion, asked her to live with him.

Chapter Fifteen

Dear Headmaster
,

We are sure you share our concern that Charles Stanton’s murderer is being represented by the mother of Samuel Valentine, a pupil in the preparatory school. Under normal circumstances we would be of the opinion that a parent’s mode of employment should be of no interest to anyone but themselves. However, no doubt you will agree that the current circumstances are far from normal, and it would be in everyone’s best interests if Samuel Valentine were asked to leave Manor Park. We should be grateful if you would bring this matter before the governors with the urgency it deserves.

Mr Lattimer looked at the list of parents who had signed the letter. The usual gaggle of overprotective helicopter mothers.

Mr Lattimer reread it and sighed.

…a parent’s mode of employment should be of no interest to anyone but themselves…

If he and the governors didn’t apply that strict rule across the board there would be no annual garden party, which was sponsored by a publisher of several racy magazines including
Pearl Necklace
and
Bottom Love.
Ditto the new drama studio, which had been paid for by the CEO of a cigarette company.

Mr Lattimer prided himself on his pragmatism.

He folded the letter and placed it in his top drawer. This issue wouldn’t go away but he could try to ignore it, at least until he had called Johnny Philips’s mother and asked for a donation towards the cricket pavilion. She was the author of several trashy thrillers and always good for a few hundred.

‘Tell me how you felt after the rape.’

They were back in Dr Kadir’s office for the third time in as many weeks, and once again her questions shocked Lilly. The harsh simplicity of the words, the unwavering eye contact, seemed brutal. She had to remind herself that this was not a therapy session designed to heal Anna. This was a diagnosis under the cosh of a court timetable.

‘I don’t know,’ Anna whispered.

If Dr Kadir was frustrated she didn’t show it. Instead, she poured hot water over one of her endless herbal tea bags and filled the air with a strawberry-scented cloud.

‘Did you feel dirty?’ she asked. ‘Used?’

Anna thought for a moment. ‘I felt cold.’

Lilly sipped her tea. It smelled more fruity than it tasted.

‘And Artan,’ said Dr Kadir, ‘was he cold?’

Anna shook her head. ‘He was on fire.’

Dr Kadir cocked her head and waited for Anna to elaborate.

‘Many times I have seen him angry, but not like this,’ said Anna. ‘He said it was the worst thing that could happen.’

‘And what did you think? Was it the worst thing that could have happened?’

‘Many, many things have happened, and all are bad,’ said Anna.

While Anna busied herself with
TV Quick
, Lilly turned to her expert.

‘So, what do you think?’

‘I think you are under a lot of strain.’

‘What?’

Dr Kadir smiled. ‘I read the papers, you know.’

Lilly waved away her concern. ‘What about my client?’

Dr Kadir’s smile vanished. ‘She is definitely suffering from PTSD.’

Lilly punched the air. ‘Yes.’

‘Hardly a cause for celebration,’ said Dr Kadir.

‘The way this case is going,’ said Lilly, ‘I’m almost tempted to throw a party.’

The doctor pursed her lips. ‘It almost certainly started in Kosovo, but I would say the rape was the defining incident which pushed Anna’s mind into freefall.’

‘The straw that broke the camel’s back?’

Dr Kadir nodded. ‘From that point I think she disassociated from real life.’

‘So she wouldn’t have understood what Artan was doing with the gun?’

‘Oh, no, she would have understood exactly what was happening.’

Lilly’s heart sank. ‘But I thought you said she was detached from reality.’

‘Detached—yes. Divorced—no.’

‘There’s a difference?’ asked Lilly.

‘Think of it as a house detached from next door. You are not connected but you can still see your neighbours, hear them shouting.’

Lilly’s mind was racing; she put her fingers to her temple. ‘Let me get this straight. Anna would have realised what Artan intended to do.’

‘I think so.’

‘But could she have taken part? Could she have had the necessary intent to join Artan?’ asked Lilly.

‘It’s possible.’

Lilly opened her mouth, but Dr Kadir silenced her with her left hand. Lilly noticed she still wore her wedding band.

‘It’s more likely that Anna simply went along on autopilot. That she never considered the consequences of what was going to happen.’

‘She couldn’t make the active decision to join Artan.’

Dr Kadir cocked her head in agreement.

‘Then Anna couldn’t have committed the offence,’ said Lilly.

The doctor brought the bone-china cup to her glossed lips. ‘You’re the lawyer, Miss Valentine, you tell me.’

‘So?’

Lilly gazed longingly at Rupinder’s Tupperware box of samosas. She often brought leftovers to work that looked and smelled so much more appetising than a sandwich wrapped in plastic.

Rupes sighed and pushed the box in Lilly’s direction. ‘So, are you going to tell me where we are?’

Lilly bit into the pastry and her mouth filled with cumin-scented lamb and peas. ‘These are fantastic.’

‘Lilly!’

Since the débâcle at the Old Bailey Rupinder had insisted on a daily meeting to discuss the Duraku case.

‘You’re a conveyancer, you don’t know anything about criminal law,’ Lilly protested.

‘And you don’t know how much aggravation I’m getting about all this,’ said Rupes.

Lilly rolled her eyes. ‘From Sheila?’

‘And the other partners,’ said Rupes. ‘They weren’t overjoyed to have our name in the press.’

‘Consider it free publicity.’

‘And the office being vandalised?’ asked Rupinder.

‘It was just a bit of graffiti,’ said Lilly.

Rupes glared at her. ‘Do you know how much it cost to get that filth removed?’

Of course, Lilly didn’t so she changed the subject.

‘These meetings are just a waste of time,’ said Lilly. ‘Time you and I could spend earning fees.’

But Rupinder was not to be diverted. ‘Think of it as bonding.’

Lilly swallowed the last bite of samosa. ‘There’s nothing much to report.’

‘No smashed windows at home? No journalists hiding in dustbins?’

‘Everything’s been quiet.’ Lilly smiled. ‘The judge was pretty clear that anyone overstepping the mark would have him to deal with.’

‘The
Three Counties
still ran the thing about the skinheads at the Bailey.’

Lilly shrugged. ‘There’s not a fat lot he could do about that. The reporter didn’t come anywhere near me or Anna and the photo was taken outside court.’

‘Where do you think this Dee woman is getting all her exclusives?’

Lilly paused. She’d given this a lot of thought. Someone was definitely feeding her information. Luella? Or one of the other sour-faced parents up at the school?

‘Who knows?’ she said. ‘But another story is bound to break soon. The Prime Minister will be found in a gay
ménage à trois
and we’ll be yesterday’s news.’

Rupinder allowed a small smile. ‘And your defence?’

‘Looking much stronger,’ said Lilly. ‘Dr Kadir will say Anna couldn’t have taken part in the conspiracy that she was incapable at the time.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ asked Rupes.

‘It’s great,’ said Lilly. ‘But I’m still going to have to convince the jury that Anna is basically a decent person who wouldn’t ordinarily go around the countryside waving a gun.’

‘Do you think you can win?’

Lilly laughed. ‘I bloody hope so. What with me taking a shit shower and David threatening to kidnap Sam, I’d better get something out of this.’

Anna popped her head around the door. ‘I’ve finished cleaning your desk, Lilly, so I make tea, yes?’

Lilly’s eyes pricked with tears. ‘That would be lovely.’

If she was going through trauma, it was nothing compared to what Anna was going through.

Rupinder put her hand over Lilly’s, her bangles jangling like sleigh bells.

‘Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to do the right thing.’

Lilly smiled. ‘Tell that to Jack.’

‘Not a happy camper?’

‘Let’s just say he’s counting the seconds until the trial,’ said Lilly.

‘And until then you’re not allowed to see one another?’

‘The Chief Super made it very plain that the photo in the paper was the last straw and that Jack should have no contact with Anna or me until this is finished.’

Rupes pressed the lid down on her box. ‘And you’re sticking to that, are you?’

Luke has a plan.

He’s given it a lot of thought. In truth, he’s thought of little else. It’s amazing how much time he used to waste thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter: what’s on telly; will Arsenal win the double; does Lindsay Lohan give good blow jobs?

Although his current life is less comfortable, in many ways it’s easier. It’s as if he’s cut through all the crap and knows what’s important.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ he says.

Caz doesn’t look up from the phone she’s just bought from Long Tall Sally. ‘Steady on, soft lad, you’ll give yourself a nose bleed.’

‘I mean about this,’ he says. ‘Us.’

She jabs at the buttons with a blackened nail. ‘If this is your way of proposing then stop where you are. I’ve already said yes to Teardrop Tony.’

‘I don’t mean getting married,’ he sighs.

But what does he mean? He wants them to make a different life for themselves, him and Caz. Maybe to her that sounds as ridiculous as a wedding.

‘Do you ever wonder about what will happen to you?’ he ventures. ‘To me?’

‘This is fucked,’ says Caz, and throws the phone to the ground. ‘She’s robbed me.’

Luke picks it up and takes a look. ‘Do you ever think about where we might all end up?’

‘I can tell you where that thieving cow will end up,’ she spits. ‘Six foot under.’

Luke opens the back of the phone and wipes the SIM card against the leg of his jeans. ‘Because we can’t just live like this for the rest of our lives, can we?’

The phone springs to life and he hands it back to Caz. ‘We can’t stay here, can we?’

‘I’ve no intention of staying here.’ She pockets the phone with a toothy grin. ‘I’m going to Peckham.’

Luke shakes his head and laughs. Caz might not be able to take it in, but he’s got a plan for them. They’re not an item, not even dating, but someone’s got to look after Caz. He’s going to get them somewhere to live.

‘Got anything for me, Posh?’

Alexia sighed.

She knew what he wanted, but he knew as well as she did that the story had run cold. No new evidence, no different angle to run.

They’d rehashed the hearing at the Old Bailey in at least ten different ways. They’d had comments from the local Chief of Police, councillors, human rights activists, and anyone prepared to give their tuppence ha’penny. Everyone had been forced to sit up and listen to the
Three Counties Observer
but now they had nothing else to say.

Alexia spent hours on
The Spear of Truth.
There was a lot of traffic, a lot of rhetoric, but nothing specific. Snow White had gone to ground.

‘How about a piece on gun crime?’ she said. ‘We could get the stats. Ask an MP for a quote.’

‘Bollocks,’ he replied.

‘Something on local gangs, then,’ she said.

‘I’m beginning to suspect you’re a one-hit wonder,’ he answered.

As she turned to flip him the finger, the phone rang.

‘This is Snow White,’ said the woman’s voice. ‘I have an invitation for you.’

In many ways the secrecy made things more exciting, and Lilly was flushed with anticipation as she dropped Anna at the hostel.

‘I don’t know what is making your cheeks pink,’ said Milo, ‘but it suits you very well.’

Lilly blushed even deeper. ‘Just in a hurry.’

‘Ah yes,’ said Milo. ‘A meeting at your office.’ He checked his watch. ‘Eight o’clock at night is a very strange time, no?’

‘A client,’ said Lilly. ‘He works in the day so I agreed to meet him out of hours.’

Milo raised a suspicious eyebrow. ‘So committed.’

Lilly waved and ran into the night to her car.

The office was in darkness, everyone having gone home hours ago. Lilly dropped her keys as she fumbled with the lock.

‘Shit.’ She felt around the step for it and then saw Jack coming out of the gloom.

‘Can I ask what you’re doing?’

‘The limbo,’ she said.

‘What?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve dropped my key.’

He fished in his pocket and pulled out a pencil torch.

‘Aren’t you a good little boy scout?’

He shone the beam around the step. ‘Dib, dib, dib.’

The key was nowhere to be seen.

‘I’ll have to find it in the morning,’ said Lilly.

‘What will we do in the meantime?’ asked Jack.

‘Have you got your skeleton key with you?’ asked Lilly.

‘I can’t use that, woman,’ said Jack. ‘I’m in enough trouble as it is.’

‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘Let’s call this off and go home. You to yours, that is, and me to mine.’ She patted her bag. ‘What a shame you’ll never find out what I have in here.’

‘A nurse’s outfit?’

‘Better than that.’ Lilly leaned close and whispered in his ear. ‘A lemon and almond cake.’

‘Sold,’ he said, and opened the door.

*  *  *

‘You’d be in heaps of bother if the Chief knew you were here,’ said Lilly.

Jack sat on her desk and chased the last crumb of cake around a plate with his finger.

‘Indeed I would.’

‘Am I worth it?’

He looked up at her, his gentle brown eyes twinkling in the dark. ‘More than you know.’

Lilly smiled at her own stupidity. Jack
was
the man for her. It was typical of her that she’d only discovered the fact once they couldn’t be together.

‘I can’t do this very often,’ she said.