THE CLEARING (8 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Riley

*

I had been devastated when I’d found out Pa wasn’t my biological father.

Still was.

I really wanted to block out that particular truth, but my real father, Connor, kept forcing his way into my life, whether he wanted to or not. I’d discovered Ma had been
with Connor the night Skye was killed - the reason she now feels such crippling guilt and why she can never do enough for Pa or me.

And last night, Ma made things even more complicated by telling me that a few years back Connor had worked in The Cathedral Close in Salisbury. He’d been offered a position as soon as he’d told them he was an electrician. They’d treated him well and he’d stayed on for a few months, but the place had creeped him out and so eventually he’d left.

Ma reckoned they would probably welcome him back in. Skilled tradesmen were always in demand. She hadn’t wanted to mention Connor’s name to Pa of course, so she’d told me instead. And now I had the unenviable job of telling Pa that Connor was the key to getting into The Close.

First I needed a long hot shower.

I could have stood under that steaming jet all day, with my eyes closed and my mind blank. But I was only delaying the inevitable. Finally I turned off the water, pulled on fresh jeans and my favourite red sweatshirt and sloped down the stairs.

Pa stood in the hall slurping down a mug of coffee. We had an almost endless supply of canned green coffee beans which Pa hoped would be okay for at least another ten years. He was always on the lookout for a fresh coffee supplier, but none of his contacts had come good yet.

‘Morning, Riles. Sleep well?’

‘I s’pose.’

‘Come on, don’t give me a hard time. I’m going to need your help this morning. We’ve got a lot to do. You coming?’

‘Yeah, okay.’ I felt like I should probably be sulking or throwing a hissy fit, but I didn’t have the energy and anyway, I needed to be on good terms with Pa so I could tell him about Connor. Then maybe, he’d get distracted and let me go with them.

This time last year my life had been so simple and good. But now . . . now I was this other person with all these crazy emotions. And I wasn’t as nice as I used to be. But I guess that’s what happens. It’s easy to be nice when nothing bad has happened to you.

Pa smiled and ran a hand over my hair. ‘We’re going next door. Come on. You can grab some breakfast over there.’ He put his mug down on the console table in the hall, leaving a wet ring of coffee on the polished wood.

‘Is Ma coming?’ I asked.

‘No, she’ll only worry herself sick. It’s not good for her to worry.’

‘Okay.’ I followed Pa out of the front door and we headed over to Luc’s.

‘When are you leaving?’ I asked.

‘Today. As soon as we’re ready. Ringwood are expecting us.’

I sucked in some air.

‘We need to get this done, Riley. No time to hang around.’

I wanted to protest again and tell him that I should be going too, but we had already reached The Donovans’ house.

‘Morning, Culpepper!’ Eddie called over from his driveway. His head poked around the side of the open hood of his AV. ‘Hello, Riley. You alright?’ He smiled in my direction and then returned his gaze to the engine.

‘What’s up, Eddie?’ Pa called out. ‘Problems?’

‘Nah. Just tuning her up.’

‘That old heap needs more than a tune,’ Pa replied. ‘She wants putting out of her misery.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, Culpepper. Stick to your roses and leave the man stuff to me.’

Pa swore good-naturedly at Eddie. ‘Sorry you had to hear that.’ He grinned at me.

‘Give it a rest, children,’ Luc said, walking out of the front door. ‘Hey, Riley. You okay?’

I nodded and flashed him a quick smile.

Everyone was pretending to be happy and normal, but I could feel the tension and see through the forced smiles.

Even with everything that was going on, I still couldn’t ignore the effect Luc had on me. I looked away, sure he knew what was on my mind and it felt even more awkward to be around him with family there. I couldn’t act naturally and kept blushing which annoyed the hell out of me. Made me feel like a kid. But Luc seemed relaxed, even if he did keep a bit of distance between us while Pa was around and I couldn’t blame him for that.

‘Let’s go inside,’ Eddie said, closing the hood. ‘She’s running sweet now. You guys had breakfast yet?’

‘Riley hasn’t,’ Pa replied.

Rita walked down the stairs and gave me a hug. ‘Morning, sweetie,’ she said, kissing my cheek. ‘Morning, Johnny. Come into the kitchen, we can talk and eat. There’s tea in the pot, want some?’

‘Please.’ I nodded, following her into the large homely kitchen.

After a few minutes, Fred and Jessie were escorted into the house by Roger Brennan. They joined us at the table.

‘So,’ Pa said, stretching his hands out in front of him and cracking his knuckles. ‘It seems your information was correct.’

Fred nodded.

‘We can spare a couple of guards to help you get your children back.’

 ‘We don’t know exactly where FJ and Liss are being held,’ Jessie said. ‘It might be hard to get them back with only two guards.’

‘We need a plan,’ Fred said. ‘Not just a couple of guards. Grey’s place is locked down tight. We need to be a bit clever about this.’

‘There’s no time for elaborate plans,’ Pa said. ‘Grey’s already taken three perimeters that we know of, and he’s getting closer. You’ll just have to do the best you can.’

 ‘That wasn’t the deal,’ Fred said. ‘You agreed to rescue our kids if we gave you the information. ‘Two guards’ isn’t a rescue. I didn’t take you for a liar.’

Pa’s face turned a deep red and he stood up looking ready to punch Fred. I couldn’t believe Fred had called him a liar. That wouldn’t go down well. Not at all.

‘Easy, Johnny,’ Eddie said.

All pretence of normality had disappeared. Pa’s expression was thunderous.

‘The only option is to take Grey down,’ Pa said through gritted teeth. ‘Then we can find your children and free anyone else who’s being held. That’s our best chance of success. But if Grey takes this perimeter then nobody will be rescuing anybody.’

‘You could ask to speak to Grey,’ Fred said. ‘Try to negotiate a peace with him and in return he could give you our kids.’

I had to hand it to Fred – he didn’t seem at all intimidated by Pa or Eddie.

‘There’s no negotiating with Grey. He’s not an honourable man,’ Eddie said. ‘We’re way past the negotiating stage. That man has crossed the line, literally.’

‘We could pretend to negotiate,’ Jessie said. ‘Agree to his terms until we find out where Freddie Junior and Liss are. Once we have them, we can deal with Grey.’

‘Do you really think we can walk into his territory and take what we want?’ said Pa. ‘He’d try to kill before we’re through the gates. Our first priority is to save the lives of everyone in our perimeters and to stop Grey getting his hands on our oil. I know I gave you my word and I intend to keep it. But we have to be practical.’

As I listened to the conversation, I chewed on a piece of toast and all I could think of is what Ma told me. I knew I should’ve spoken to Pa about Connor earlier, but I hadn’t had the opportunity. My mind worked double time trying to think of another plan enabling the couple to get their children back. But the only way I could see it happening, was if Luc and I did it, which Pa wouldn’t condone, or if Connor helped. But I couldn’t mention his name here. Not in front of everyone else.

‘Maybe FJ or Liss will have some information we can use against Grey,’ I said.

‘I’m sure they will,’ Jessie said. ‘You’ll need inside information.’

I inadvertently caught Luc’s eye and he gave me a brief lopsided grin. It made me catch my breath and for a second I forgot about Grey and wars and kidnapped children. All I felt was the sharp pleasure of Luc’s smile.

Reality dragged me away from thoughts of Luc and, once again, he was just another voice around the table trying to get this thing contained. But his smile had given me courage.

‘If you’re going to rescue FJ and Liss, you’ll need me and Luc to act as bait. Like last time,’ I said.

‘Riley,’ Pa’s voice grew menacingly low. ‘We’ve had this discussion already.’

‘But it’s the only . . .’

‘Your father’s right,’ Eddie said. ‘The idea is good, but it’s far too dangerous and we’re not risking your life.’

‘It isn’t your life to risk,’ I said. ‘It’s my life and I want to do this.’

‘The only thing is, they might recognise you,’ Luc said. ‘They’ll remember you from last time. My face is more forgettable than yours.’

There’s nothing forgettable about Luc, I thought to myself, gazing at the contours of his face. I shook myself out of it. Now was not the time to be drooling over a boy. Rita raised her eyebrows and gave me a sly smile. I smiled back, awkwardly. Embarrassed to be caught staring.

‘We’re not using anyone as bait,’ Eddie said. ‘And that’s final.’

‘But Riley and I can do it,’ Luc said. ‘We would’ve done it before if we hadn’t been tricked.’ He looked pointedly at Fred and Jessie. Jessie had the grace to blush.

‘I already said no.’ Pa’s voice boomed around the kitchen. ‘We should be discussing Grey’s army, not this wild goose chase of a rescue mission.’

‘There is another way,’ I said. The words came out before I could stop them. My heart sped up. I didn’t want to hurt Pa but I knew I should tell him. Anything that helped us to beat Grey was a good thing.

I realised everyone was staring at me.

‘Umm,’ I said. ‘I know someone who can help us get inside The Cathedral Close.’

‘Who?’ Eddie said.

‘If we have someone’s help to get in, we won’t be in so much danger,’ I said, avoiding the question. ‘We can slip in and out without being detected.’

‘Who are you talking about?’ Luc asked.

‘Connor,’ I said in a small voice.

‘Connor?’ Rita said, frowning. ‘Isn’t that the man who . . .’ Her voice trailed off and she turned to look at Pa. We were all staring at Pa now.

To his credit, Pa didn’t even blanch. ‘What’s Connor got to do with it?’ he asked me.

‘Um, er. He used to work in The Close as an electrician. They know him and trust him. He could let us in and we could find FJ and Liss without any fuss.’

‘Ri-ight. And how do you propose to find them? Two brainwashed kids in a million.’

‘Liss’ll be relatively easy to find,’ Jessie said. ‘She’s got a large birthmark on her neck. Shaped like a half-moon.’

‘Well that’s a start,’ Pa said, ‘but it still doesn’t . . .’

‘. . . and I’m pretty sure they’re not in the main part of Salisbury,’ Jessie continued. ‘That Mr Sadler gave me the impression they were living inside The Cathedral Close. Right in the heart of the place.’

‘You’re ‘pretty sure’?’ Pa said. ‘Pretty sure isn’t enough to go on.’

‘I think it’s a good idea,’ Rita interrupted.

Pa scowled at her. ‘Well I don’t.’