Page 62 of Forgive Not Forget
Katherine closed the book and set it aside. It was no use continuing; she was too tired. Successive nights of restless sleep were catching up with her, and she was unable to stop her brain from churning over its worries. Virginia stretched a leg out on her lap. Was she destined to become a lonely, old, cat lady?
She had only spent one night apart from Anna, and yet her body ached for her, and her mind wandered without her. A tear had even formed in her eye that morning at work when she’d placed a cup of tea on the coaster Anna had bought her with the Virginia Woolf quote: “Just in case you ever foolishly forget; I’m never not thinking of you.” Was Anna thinking of her now? If she was, what was she thinking? Probably that she could do better than this old lady who can’t get over the past and move on with her life.
Had Anna been right? Was she wallowing over Helena? She didn’t feel like she was. She had thought she was doing well; she just didn’t want to go to the prison and face the person that had killed her wife. As for children, it was perfectly normal for people to change their minds after once wanting them. If it was so important to Anna that children featured in her life, then she didn’t want to stand in her way. She’d noticed Anna and Abigail at the abbey that morning. The girl was enamoured by Anna; she had so much to teach a young person, and she would clearly make a great mum.
On that thought, Anna’s name flashed up on her phone with a photograph of the two of them at the Palladian Bridge in Bath. Katherine hesitated before answering it. She wasn’t really in the mood for the conversation they needed to have. She would tell Anna she didn’t want to talk just yet and answered it in case it was an emergency.
“Sorry to ring. I know you wanted space,” Anna said immediately.
Katherine was about to object that she didn’t want space, she just felt they could use it, but Anna continued, her tone more serious than before.
“Tom’s run off.”
Katherine sat bolt upright. Virginia shot off her legs.
“I thought he’d be back when it was time for dinner, but he’s not. I’m really worried. What if something has happened to him? What on earth would I tell Laura? I can’t leave Abi. Could you come over to watch her whilst I look for him?”
“You stay with her. I’ll find him,” Katherine replied. She was about to hang up when Anna continued.
“Katherine, wait,” Anna added in a softer tone.
“Anna, this isn’t the time.”
“No, it’s not that. There’s something you should know about Tom. The reason he ran off was because of a can of purple spray paint in the shed… and a metal detector. He ran off with the spray paint.”
“That little…!” Katherine sighed heavily. “Do you think he intends to use it now he’s been found out?”
“I would hope not. Perhaps check the abbey first, though.”
“Will do.” Katherine hung up and, grabbing her coat from the understairs cupboard, was out the front door within minutes. She retraced her steps to the abbey that she’d only locked up an hour before. There certainly hadn’t been any sign of Tom when they closed; they always carried out a security sweep before the gates were locked for the night.
The light was fading fast. Wherever Tom was, she needed to find him soon. If he had made his way over to the abbey once it had closed, she could bet where he would be. Out of breath, she finally reached the far end of the site and rounded the end of the chapel to find Tom sitting against the wall next to his bike.
“I thought I might find you here,” she said. “Anna is very worried about you. You really shouldn’t have run off like that.”
Tom didn’t answer.
Something was off about the way he was holding his hand.
“Are you hurt?”
Tom nodded.
“Let me look. I’m a doctor.” Katherine knelt beside him in a flash.
Tom held out his hand to her. “I thought you worked at the abbey.”
“I was a doctor; you never really stop being one.”
She examined his palm; it was bleeding from a cut. Thankfully it didn’t look too serious. “I need to clean this and cover it. Let’s go to Abbey House; I have a first aid kit in there. Have you hurt yourself anywhere else? Did you fall off your bike?”
Tom winced as Katherine helped him up. “Yes, I think I bruised my leg when I fell.”
“Let’s see how you do at walking. Follow me. I’ll bring your bike.”
Tom hobbled a little as he followed Katherine back across the site. As they reached Abbey House, she leaned his bike against the wall.
Inside the house was now in darkness; the light had faded completely since she left. She switched on the hall light to see Tom was already removing his shoes. Impressed that he’d remembered, Katherine slipped her boots off.
