Page 66 of A Merry Little Christmas
‘Garner ordered a hit man? And that’s what you were caught up in?’
‘Yup.’
‘Wow. That’s crazy. It’s the sort of thing that happens in movies, not in real life.’
Caleb nodded. ‘The silent phone calls started almost immediately I’d identified the killer and I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence. I’d given evidence that would put Garner away for murder if the police could prove he’d ordered the hit. It was obvious Garner was going to try and intimidate me into changing my statement.’
‘But you wouldn’t do that?’
‘God, no. Justice had to be done.’
‘Even though you knew that what happened to that other poor witness? That he’d likely been murdered?’
He shrugged. ‘It was very clear in my mind to start with. I was never going to be frightened into changing my statement and say I couldn’t be sure it was him. I decided I could handle any threats to myself and I would go to the police and tell them what was happening. But knowing Amanda had been a police officer for many years, I called her and explained everything, and she suggested we should meet to talk it over properly. She was inSunnybrook, visiting her sister that night, so I drove over and she met me and we had a long chat in my car.’
‘I saw you!’ I burst out. ‘I thought it was you and then I saw Amanda get out of the car and I knew for certain.’
Caleb gave an apologetic grunt. ‘Yeah. I lied to you about that. Sorry. I remember running into you on the green and you suggested we go out for dinner that night. But I’d already decided to call Amanda to get her advice on what to do about the silent calls. So I said the first thing that came into my head – something about an urgent meeting in Guildford?’
I nodded. ‘IthoughtAmanda was a bit cagey when I asked her about that meeting. I guess she knew you were trying to protect me by keeping me in the dark, so she went along with your story.’
‘Yes. She felt bad the whole time we were operating behind your back. She’s a good person.’
‘I know.’ I smiled ruefully. ‘At least, I know that now. But at the time, I was really worried you might be... well, having an affair.’
‘Never. I’m not that kind of guy,’ he said immediately.
‘I know. But I was so confused by the sudden distance between us that my head was all over the place. I really didn’t know what to believe.’
He nodded. ‘Sorry. But you have to believe me that the only reason I was trying to pull away was because I was so scared they might hurt you. I suppose my reasoning was that if we weren’t seen together, in a romantic relationship, they would no longer consider you a good target?’
‘So when did you change your mind about going to the police?’
‘Well, I was all set to report what had been happening, after talking to Amanda, but then the site office was ransacked and the threatening note left on top of the photograph of you on my desk.’ He sighed. ‘That was when everything changed. And I meaneverything. The fear of what might happen to you tookover and I just froze. I couldn’t think straight after that. I mean, I knew I needed to give evidence that would get this murdering bastard locked up for life – but at what price? The life of the woman I loved?’
He glanced over at me then. Our eyes met and a lump rose in my throat.
I’d been so wrong when I’d thought he no longer cared about me the way he used to...
Caleb was shaking his head. ‘The freeze was real. It was like I was paralysed with indecision. Thank God for Amanda. She kept me sane, listening to my endless theories about what would happen if I went to the police – or what would happen if I just stayed silent, hoping the whole damn mess would just go away!’
Feeling his pain, I reached out and covered his hand briefly with mine. ‘I just wish you could have shared it with me. I might have been able to help.’
I’d witnessed Caleb’s inner struggle for myself, I was now realising – on the occasions I’d been with him, physically, but feeling that I’d lost him and he was far away, thinking about something else altogether. I understood now, all too clearly, why he’d seemed distracted and distant. He’d been wrestling with this hellish, impossible dilemma the whole time – frozen with fear that if he made just one false move, the consequences for me could be deadly.
Telling me he wanted to cool things between us had been the act of a desperate man – wanting to protect me from all the horror that was going on in his life.
The relief I was now feeling, knowing he’d told me everything, was huge. There were no secrets between us now. I just had to trust we were doing the right thing, going into hiding. But at least we were together now. And if we stayed together until the trial on Monday, maybe everything would be all right.
Just then, when he’d described me as ‘the woman I loved’, my heart had given a joyful leap of hope.
If Caleb loved me then, maybe hestillloved me...
*****
A while later, we arrived at a small hotel in the village of Primrose Wood.
As the village was one of the stops on my weekly cake run, I’d passed the hotel on many occasions and thought how cute it looked.
