it would confirm what he had just heard. ‘London? Permanently?’ He tried to keep the surprise out of his voice. It never did to let Amanda think she had the upper hand on anything.
‘That’s right. Now, I expect to be able to see Isobel far more often. In fact, it’s something my solicitor will be writing to your solicitor about. I envisage joint custody, Isobel to spend equal time with both of us and in the long term, I’m looking to her living with me.’
Donovan brought the car to halt worthy of emergency-stop status. ‘What?’ He managed to grind out. Joint custody. Izzy living with Amanda. No way.
‘It’s really quite simple, Donovan,’ replied Amanda, her tone clipped and matter of fact. ‘I’m Isobel’s mother. I’m going to be back in the UK and I want her living with me. It’s how it should be. An eight-year-old girl living with her father may be nice now, but as she grows up she will need her mother for all sorts of reasons. You’re an intelligent man, Donovan, use your brains.’
‘Wait a minute. When did you decide all this? What’s wrong with France and lover boy’s chateau all of a sudden? You can’t just announce you’re coming back and Izzy is going to live with you. As I have sole custody I don’t think it’s a case of simply handing her over. She’s with me for a very good reason.’ Donovan manoeuvred his car over to the side of the road.
‘All that’s in the past now,’ snapped Amanda. ‘I’m not going to get into an argument with you, Donovan. I’ll be in touch about seeing Isobel soon.’
The line went dead.
Donovan cursed out loud. Amanda back on the scene. Great. Exactly what he could do without. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a moment. Then taking his usual pragmatic approach, Donovan decided there was little he could do about it tonight. He needed to get home. It had been a long day and he was shattered. However, Amanda’s words refused to fade from their continuous loop replaying in his mind.
Toby squeezed the remote key to his Audi TT, the clonk of the central locking reassuring him it was secure. As he approached Kate’s front door, he caught sight of his reflection in the glass panel. He looked dishevelled, his hair was ruffled and his tie dragged to one side, where he had snatched at his top button to undo it. He hated looking a mess. The front door swung open before he reached it.
‘Toby. What are you doing here?’ Kate’s voice was wary. She stepped into the doorway and pulled the door tightly to her body. Entry most definitely denied.
‘Hello, Kate. How are you?’ His voice sounded lifeless.
She gave him a quizzical look. ‘I’m fine, thanks.’
He nodded and cast a downward look, shuffling from one foot to another. ‘Good. That’s good.’
‘Are you all right?’ she asked.
Toby shrugged. ‘Yeah. Well, no. Not really.’ He looked up, raking his hand through his hair. ‘It’s Helen’s birthday next week and I … er … I wanted …’ He threw a glance down the road. ‘Oh, look, I shouldn’t have come. Sorry to bother you.’ He turned and began a slow retreat down the path, shoulders slumped.
‘Toby! Wait.’ He paused to give himself time to keep his composure. Facial muscles under control he returned to the front door. Kate had the door wide open now and was standing on the step. ‘What’s up?’
‘Helen.’ Even to his own ears, he sounded monotone. ‘I thought I’d got over her leaving but I can’t stop thinking about her. I’m worried about her, Kate. Really worried. I thought she would be in touch by now. I know the police told me she was okay and that she didn’t want to be contacted but …’ He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. ‘I miss her. I need to speak to her. I want her back, Kate. So badly.’
‘After what happened? She didn’t run away without a reason.’ He winced at the incredulous tone in her voice and took a moment before answering.
‘It wasn’t like she said. You know that.’
‘Do I?’
‘Yes, you do.’ He looked her straight in the eye and held her gaze. She broke away first. He pushed on, sensing she was faltering. He pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. ‘Can you give this to her, please?’
Kate kept her arms folded and eyed the envelope. ‘I can’t.’
‘Please … It’s a birthday card and, here, a small present too.’ He took the slim brown box from his other pocket. A solid-gold bangle with Italian Murano glass beads. Blue ones. Her favourite colour. He pushed the case into Kate’s hand.
‘I can’t give these to her because I don’t know where she is. I don’t see her and that’s the truth,’ insisted Kate.
He believed her. It was what he suspected. He also suspected that she did keep in touch, even if they didn’t actually see each other. If he could just get into Kate’s house and have a poke around, he’d be sure to find something. Drastic times called for drastic measures.
Making it seem as though he was indecisive and didn’t know whether to stay or go, Toby schooled his face into the bleakest expression he could muster, looking at Kate, then down the path and then back to her again. He went to speak, stopped and then ran his hand down his face in what he hoped looked something like desperation. Sensing Kate’s resolve weakening, with a flourish he flung his arm up against the wall of the house and buried his head in the crook of his elbow. This was followed by a loud and drawn-out exhalation of air, which morphed into a groan.
‘Why don’t you come in for a moment,’ said Kate. He felt her tug at his sleeve and allowed himself to be taken indoors. Her voice was softer. The ice maiden was thawing. ‘You can’t stand out there in that state. Mrs Howard, next door, is already twitching at her curtain to see what’s going on.’
‘Sorry, Kate. Really, I don’t want to be any trouble.’ He followed her into the lounge.
‘Sit there, I’ll make you a coffee but then you’ll have to go.’
He nodded and sat down on the sofa. The TV was on and although Toby had no interest in the soap, he feigned interest. Out of his peripheral vision he noted Kate hastily scoop up an envelope from the coffee table. He pretended not to notice. He gave it a couple of seconds before turning to look over his shoulder. His timing was perfect. Kate was just placing the envelope between two hardbacks on the bookshelf. A look of guilt swept over her face and she hurriedly pushed the novels back into place.
‘Sugar?’ she asked as she went into the kitchen.
The bookcase was by the side of the doorway to the kitchen. Toby got up and leaned against the door frame, making small talk with Kate while she made the coffee. It wasn’t going to be easy getting hold of that envelope but, with a bit of luck, he should manage it. He took out his phone, and whilst pretending to check for messages, he switched the camera on and muted the sound, all the time continuing to bemoan the loss of Helen. He placed his phone on the bookshelf and while Kate was pouring the boiling water into the cups, he reached out and gave the envelope a quick tug so it was sticking out further from the books.
Kate passed his cup to him. Right,
