TICK TOCK RUN (Romantic Mystery Suspense) (25 page)

The mobile slammed into the metal hook screwed into the wall.  I shielded my face and jumped back. 

The plastic casing smashed apart and the inner workings blasted out in a starburst fashion, before dancing in the wind and descending to the road below.  I leaned over the bridge once again, watching tiny fragments blowing around during the fall.  Most pieces landed on the road, some on the roof of cars, before getting crushed under tyres.

“God damn it!” We yelled in unison.

I kicked the wall in rage, then stumbled back and landed on my ass on cold, wet stone.

“Well, at least they kept their promise,” Laura said.

“What do you mean?”

“To destroy the footage if I paid.”

Getting to my feet, I screamed, “Come on.  We’ve made a total cock up of this.  I’m going down there.”  I ran left towards the steps.

Laura didn’t follow.  “We’ll not make it in time.  Let’s see who drives off from up here.”  She leaned over the opposing side of the bridge to watch the traffic as it emerged from underneath.

“Do what you want.  But I’m going.”  I darted across to the steps and descended two at a time.  Catching a glimpse of this person lay within reach.  I had to try.

Laura shouted, “Be careful.”

Breathing heavily and picking up speed, I made the bottom in good time.  Rain and unshed tears blurred my vision.  Adrenaline and determination gave me a false sense of bravery.  I didn’t want the person to have left, but I also didn’t want to come face to face with this monster.  I ran flat out round the country lane anyway.  I’d just have to deal with what confronted me, if I made it in time.

Loose stone and soggy leaves threatened to floor me.  The cold wind and rain was biting at my face, trying to slow me down as though in warning.  I weaved between a thick patch of trees and spiky shrubs which clawed at my clothing.  I struggled to climb over a sloping, chain-link fence, then slowed my pace on the slippery grass slope that led down to the main road.  It would have been faster to slide, but I didn’t much like the idea of skidding under a moving car at the bottom. 

I felt along the outer wall of the bridge, and finally reached the path that ran alongside the busy road.  I took a much-needed breath, and then poked my head round the corner.  My heart practically jumped up my throat with fear.  Hugging the stone wall, I searched for the blackmailer; a person on foot, a vehicle trying to join the continuous ribbon of traffic. 

I saw no one.

Whoever took the money had gone.  Laura was right.  They’d timed it perfectly so we couldn’t catch them in the act. 

I stepped onto the path and stared at the traffic ahead, but didn’t recognise any of the vehicles.  Besides, they were moving too fast.

I dashed along the path and stopped when rain pelted down on me as I ran from under the bridge at the other side.  I skidded on wet concrete, almost fell over.  Scanning the road, I looked for scraps of the mobile phone - most of which were strewn the width of both lanes and getting squashed by passing traffic as I stood here.  Without jumping into the road to get a closer look, I had no idea which pieces were the memory or sim cards, let alone expect to find them intact.  A few sandbags lay on the opposite path.

Disheartened, I leaned forward setting my hands on my knees.  Calm down.  Catch my breath.

We should have been smart enough to realise we were never in control.  How on earth would we know if we’d been conned now?  With the sim and memory card destroyed, we’d never know if the footage was ever on that phone.

Some minutes later, Laura joined me under the bridge.  Her jeans had torn at the knee and were caked in mud.  Her expression looked blank, almost brainwashed.

Stunned by what just happened, shocked that the decision to pay had been taken out of our hands at the last second, I remained on the path, motionless.  The stream of passing vehicles squirted rainwater up our legs, but I didn’t care.  By now, I was drenched anyway.

“Well, that’s that then,” Laura rubbed her hands together and faced me.  “Thanks so much, Chelsea.  You truly are the best friend ever.  One in a million.”

I pointed at the road.  “Can’t see the sim or memory card anywhere, but I doubt they’ll work now that half of England has driven over them.”

As I looked back at Laura, her thoughts seemed to land in my head.  In her eyes, I now saw optimism.  Even the way she held herself had changed, like she no longer felt heavy and drained.  Despite the way it went down, I realised she thought it was over. 

“The footage is destroyed and the blackmailer got what he, or she, wanted,” she said. 

“Congratulations,” I said, not really meaning it.  “You’ve bought your wedding back.” 

Now she’d had a few moments to get over the shock, she punched the air.  “It’s finished.  Hurray!  My God.  I can’t believe it.”

I didn’t feel so elated.  How could Laura be so naive?  What if they made a copy of the footage?  Or that wasn’t even the right phone?

CHAPTER 21

M
y heart squeezed.  “I’m phoning Lee,” I blurted out in the back of the taxi.  I had barely minutes to confirm he wasn’t the blackmailer.

She shocked me with the most scathing wide eyes.

“I have to know.  It takes more than ten minutes to drive from the bridge to Lee’s house,” I said, trying to convince her, or perhaps myself.  “If he’s at home right now, he isn’t the blackmailer.”

“Please, Chelsea.  Don’t call Lee.”  She said his name as if it was a swear word.

“If it is him, I’ll do my damndest to get your money back.  But if it isn’t…”  I pulled my phone from my bag and found his name in the contacts.  Damn it!  I didn’t have his landline number, just his mobile. 

Laura’s smile disappeared as expected.  She grabbed for my phone and wrestled.  “Please, Chelsea.  Don’t stir things up.”

It didn’t occur to me she’d fight.  “Laura, what are you doing?  Let go!” 

“Hey, hey, ladies!” the driver said.  “No fighting in my cab or I’ll kick you out.”

I turned my back on her and leaned against the window.  Not only had this evil blackmailer taken Laura’s money, but they’d stolen the parts of her personality that I liked, left me with the nasty bits.  For the next few minutes I didn’t want to think about her.

 Who had been under that bridge?  I didn’t want that person to be Lee.  I’d set myself the task of proving his innocence and if I didn’t even try, I wasn’t going to prove anything.  I hesitated, aware dialing could put an even bigger rift in my friendship with Laura.  But, phoning Lee was something I wanted to do, or rather, needed to do.  I’d supported Laura more than enough. 

I pressed call while cautioning myself about getting my hopes up.

Lee answered after what seemed like a short sleep.  “Phoning to accuse me again?” 

“Oh, at last.  Where are you?” I demanded, too on edge not to cut straight to it.

“At home.  Why?”

“Been out?”

“No.  Anyway, you’ve got some balls phoning me after what you said last night.”

“Just listen a minute.  Trust me.”

“Trust you?  That’s a tall order.”  He went silent a few heartbeats.  “You sound different.  Breathy.  Has something happened?”

Yeah,
I thought. 
Too much.

I hesitated.  Deep breath.  To accuse Lee yet again would be like a final kick in the groin.  But if I didn’t rule him out, how could I ever truly trust him with blackmail hanging over us?  If he did still want to know me, that is. 

I pushed ahead with my plan.  “Just bear with me and do what I ask.”  A sensation of relief ripened inside me at the absence of a car engine humming through the phone.  “If you are at home, then go over to the telly, turn it up loud so I can hear it.”

“What?”

“Just do it, Lee.”  The jingle of an advert grew louder, and a female voice said Lee’s name in the background.  The jingle could have been a car radio, but who was the woman with Lee?   “Go into the kitchen.  Stand by the fridge.”

“How’s this?” he said with chagrin.  “Shall I do a backflip?”

I pressed my finger into my left ear.  “I can’t hear it.  Run the kitchen tap instead.  Who’s talking to you?” 

When I heard the gush of running water, my body loosened.  Unless he owned a pre-recorded tape of house noises, in the exact order I’d asked for, there was no way he could have been outdoors.  I held my hands out to Laura, seeking acceptance. 

The taxi turned into Laura’s street.  I pointed out the window.  “Laura, is that your aunt?”

Laura dipped her head below the window.  Luckily, Carol was walking away from Laura’s house and didn’t spot us.  She was smiling wide and almost skipping.  Drunk as usual, probably.

“Enough games.”  Lee’s tone was fast and sharp.  “What’s this about?”

Ignoring him, I cupped my hand over the mouthpiece and faced Laura.  “He’s at home.”

She shrugged, unmoved by my evidence.  “So are we now, Chelsea.  Lee had a head start.  It proves nothing.”

She paid the driver, got out, and power-walked up her driveway.

“Chelsea?” Lee said.

“Just hold on a minute.”  I stepped onto the path and slammed the car door shut.  Frustrated again, I followed Laura to the front door while staring at the mobile angrily.  I wished I could reach down the line and pull Lee through the wires to somehow prove he hadn’t been anywhere near that bridge. 

Laura unlocked the front door and walked through the hall into the kitchen.

Left with no other options, I knew I needed to go to Lee’s house - unannounced.  I should have stayed in the taxi.

Laura brushed past me in the hall and disappeared upstairs.

“Are you still there, mad woman?” Lee asked. 

I walked into the kitchen.  “Yes.”

“I shouldn’t even be talking to you.  I must be crazy, a nutcase.”

“I like nutcase people.  And the whole world seems crazy to me, right now,” I muttered under my breath.  Then to Lee, “I’ve got to go.” 

“What?  Is that it?  Games but no apology?”

“Sorry.”  I hung up. 

When Laura returned to the kitchen, she looked good.  Slick, silky black hair curved into her jaw line, and a touch of makeup brightened her tired eyes.  A cloud of perfume around her, she handed me some dry clothes, which I changed into quickly. 

“It’s not him.”  I studied Laura’s face for a trace of agreement that wasn’t there. 

She pulled a carton of food from the fridge and pursed her lips.  “He could have been in a washroom at a petrol station, had the car radio on, or he could even have a partner who collected the cash for him.”

“No.  One of your messages said, ‘
I
know,’ and the text when we dropped the money off read, ‘Pay
me
.’  This suggests we’re dealing with one person.”  Maybe this was wishful thinking, it could have been a cover.

She made a huffing sound.  “Look, I paid, it’s over.  If you want a relationship with someone who’s blackmailing your best friend, go ahead.  I hope you have a great time spending my cash together.”  She sat down and batted her eyelashes at me. 

Inside I wanted to throttle her, but I refused to show I was wound up.  “For the millionth time, Laura, it’s not him.  I just know it.”