Page 75 of A Merry Little Christmas
‘I was worried about you, sitting out here.’ She handed the flask and the package through my open passenger window. ‘I thought the tea might warm you up a bit. The sandwiches are ham and mustard.’
‘Gosh, that’s so nice of you.’ I felt quite overwhelmed by her kindness.
‘Must admit, I was getting a bit peckish,’ smiled Caleb, opening the package. ‘Thank you so much. We were just admiring your garden. You obviously have green fingers.’
‘Thank you.’ Harriet smiled. ‘Yes, I love my garden.’
‘You really put next door to shame.’ I glanced at the overgrown lawn and weed-filled flower beds. ‘Eileen’s grandson obviously isn’t much help inhergarden.’
She nodded. ‘The back garden’s even worse, would you believe? There’s actually an old air raid shelter in there but the garden is so badly overgrown, you can no longer see the entrance to it. I think Eileen used it for storage at one point but I can’t imagine anyone’s been in it for years.’
We chuckled. Then Caleb said, ‘It’s freezing out here. You’d better get back inside. But thank you for the sustenance. Much appreciated.’
‘I’ll bring the flask back when we’ve finished,’ I added with a grateful smile. ‘Thanks so much, Harriet.’
As I watched her walk away, back to her bungalow, my mind was ticking over.
An old air raid shelter?
And then Caleb said slowly, ‘The police didn’t find anyone in the bungalow. But what if that air raid shelter...’
‘What if it’s used for more than storage?’ I finished off his sentence and we stared at each other for a moment, letting this sink in. ‘Should we call the police again?’
‘No,’ said Caleb. ‘If he’s got Will in there, I’m not waiting around for them to come back.’
‘Oh, Caleb, if Will’s locked in that air raid shelter, he’ll be so scared.’ I was recalling the melt-down Will had when he was in the bath during the power cut. ‘He’s absolutely terrified of being alone in the dark after what that horrible woman used to do to him.’
‘I know.’ Caleb was getting out of the car. ‘I need to get into that shelter. Now!’
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
I fumbled in the dark for the car door handle. ‘I’m coming with you.’
Caleb leaned back in. ‘Why don’t you wait here and lock the doors? It might be safer.’
But I shook my head. ‘We’re in this together. I’m coming with you.’
He nodded and I got out, closing the door as softly as I could. The garden gate creaked a little as Caleb pushed it open and I winced, half-expecting a light to come on in the bungalow. But the place was in darkness. It was late – after ten o’clock – and I was hopeful that Eileen might be in bed asleep.
And then into the silence, Caleb’s phone began to ring.
Cursing under his breath, he answered the call with lightning speed, and again I glanced fearfully at the house, worried Eileen might have been alerted by the sound. What if she were to call her grandson and tell him we were snooping around? Family loyalty had obviously played a part in this because it was clear Eileen had lied to the police about having driven the BMW back from the local supermarket. She must have been primed by her grandson to cover for him.
Caleb was speaking in a low voice and I knew it was Penny. The phone wasn’t on speaker but I could still hear her... sheer panic making her voice rise to a squeak. Caleb was trying to reassure her, explaining that we were at the kidnapper’s house and we were going to find Will and bring him home.
At last, he pushed the phone back in his pocket. ‘So Penny got home to find a handwritten note pushed through her door,’ he whispered. ‘Basically, saying they’ve got Will and she’ll get him back if I go to the police and change my statement.’
His expression was bleak and I knew it was killing him. He was balanced on a knife edge of indecision – torn between doing the right thing morally and speaking the truth in court, and doing the right thing for Will and Penny.
I swallowed hard, my mouth bone-dry with fear. It was horrifying to think of Will being kept a prisoner somewhere... perhaps alone in the dark.
‘You won’t need to change your statement. Because we’re going to find him,’ I murmured.
Caleb looked at me and I could see doubt clouding his eyes. Then he drew a breath, touched my arm and nodded. ‘You’re right. We will. Come on.’
We crept along the side of the house, and that’s when we encountered our first obstacle. When Caleb tried the latch, we found that the simple wooden gate leading to the back garden was locked.
My heart sank. I didn’t fancy having to scale it. But how else would we manage to get into the garden and find that old air raid shelter?
