Chapter 21
Helen’s
head was pounding as she opened her eyes. She closed them again and groaned as
a wave of nausea hit her.
“I
thought you were never going to wake up,” a disembodied voice spoke in front of
her.
She
forced her eyes open again and focused on Trish sitting on the edge of the
coffee table. Wildly looking round the room, she tried to make some sense of
what was happening. She was in her flat, sitting on a dining chair in the
middle of the room with her hands tied behind her back. Fighting back a
hysterical desire to laugh, she turned her attention back to Trish. “Maybe you
shouldn’t have hit me so bloody hard then, should you?” she demanded
sarcastically. “What time is it?”
Trish
shrugged. “Late.”
Helen
looked at the window. It was still light out but that didn’t help. At this time
of year it was still light until the late evening. “I am the Governor of one of
Her Majesty’s Prisons, you do realise I will be missed? The woman I am staying
with will report me missing.”
Trish
shrugged. “You may be missed but no one knows where you are, except me and I’m
not going to tell anyone. By the time they find you I’ll be long gone and,
let’s just say, you won’t be able to tell anyone either.”
She’s
as nutty as a bloody fruitcake, Helen thought to herself. “Trish, if you let me
make one phone call, I guarantee no one will be looking for me.”
“You
must think I’m stupid,” she laughed crazily. “I dial the number and you scream
your head off.”
“If
you think that then you are stupid,” Helen replied, sounding braver than she
felt. “You’ll be able to hear every word I say and you can cut off the call at
any time. It will give you more time to getaway.” She could almost hear Trish’s
mind ticking over as the latter sat silent for several moments.
“Forget
it. No calls.” As if to emphasise her words she stood and walked over to the
telephone where she yanked the cable out of the socket. She disappeared into
the kitchen and Helen could hear her rummaging about in the cupboards. There
was a crash and the sound of breaking glass then she reappeared in the doorway
holding a broken bottle by its neck!
Nikki
swung her long legs off the bunk. “I’m just going to phone Helen,” she informed
Barbara as she left the cell. As she walked down the wing she heard someone
call her name.
“Hold
on, Nikki.”
She
turned and Dominic McAllister trotted up to her. McAllister was likeable enough
but she couldn’t stop herself hating him for the way he used to hang around
Helen when she was on the wing. “What can I do for you, Mr McAllister?” she
answered stiffly.
“Forgot
to tell you. Seeing you reminded me. I saw that girlfriend of yours at lunchtime.”
“Ex-girlfriend!”
she interjected.
“Right,
ex-girlfriend. She was trying to get in without a VO.”
“Yeah,
well she’s the last person I’d send a VO to. Thanks for telling me anyway.”
When she reached the telephone there were two other women in the queue so she
leant against the wall patiently until it was her turn. “Hi, Beverley. Is Helen
there?” she asked pleasantly when her call was answered.
“Nikki,
hi. Sorry, she’s not. God knows where she is. The Rehab Centre rang for her
earlier. She didn’t go back to work this afternoon.”
Nikki
frowned. “She was alright when she came to see me this morning. She was going
back to work then. Have you tried her mobile?”
“She
forgot to take it with her.”
Nikki
looked behind her. A queue of not so patient women had started to form. “I’ll
have to go, Beverley, I’m holding up the queue. I’ll ring you again in a while
in case she’s come home. Bye.” She replaced the receiver and removed her phone
card.
“You’re
really worried about Helen aren’t you?” Barbara asked as she watched Nikki
frowning and biting the inside of her cheek.
“Sorry.”
She forced a smile. “She was supposed to be going back to work. She had
meetings. I’m worried she may have had an accident. It’s so unlike her to let
people down.”
“Couldn’t
you get Miss Betts to ring the hospital?” she suggested.
Nikki
looked at her sharply. “She’ll think I’m a right bloody drama queen.”
“Maybe
she met up with someone and lost track of time.”
“Barbara,
I know you mean well but you’re not helping!” Nikki snapped then added on a
softer note, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I feel so bloody
helpless stuck in here!”
“What’s
wrong, Nikki?” Barbara asked concerned about her friend.
“Take
no notice of me. McAllister said he’d seen Trish earlier. She tried to get in
to see me. Everything is going great with Helen and I don’t want Trish to spoil
it.”
“Do
you think she would?”
“She’d
do anything to stop me being happy,” she replied bitterly then a look of horror
crossed her face. “Jesus Christ, Trish! If she was here at lunchtime then she
probably saw Helen.”
“So
what?”
“Don’t
you see? The last time I spoke to her I told her about Helen and me.”
“So
what?” Barbara repeated impatiently.
“I’ve
got to go and see the Governor.” She dashed from the cell and ran down the
stairs taking them two at a time. She spotted Dominic talking to a couple of
the women and hurried across to him. “I need to see the Governor urgently, Mr
McAllister.”
“She
may have already gone home, Nikki.”
“Then
for Christ’s sake get her back here! Helen Stewart’s life may be in danger!”
Her eyes flashed angrily. “I’m not bull-shitting or winding you up, Dominic,
this is for real!”
The
anger in her eyes turned to fear and Dominic could see she was telling the
truth. He turned and ran all the way to Karen’s office.
Karen
was just putting her coat on to go home. “What the hell is going on?” she
exclaimed as Dominic barged in without knocking, Nikki following in his wake.
“Miss
Betts, it’s Helen. She was here at lunchtime so was Trish, now I think Trish
has got her,” she said fearfully.
Karen
looked at her as if she were completely mad. “What do you mean, Trish has got
her?”
“She’s
gone missing and no one knows where she is. You’ve got to call the police.
Helen is in danger,” she persisted.
“Nikki,
don’t be stupid! I can’t call out the whole police force, just because you’re
paranoid about Helen and Trish being together,” she replied patronisingly.
Nikki
stood clenching and unclenching her fist then she came to a decision. “You
don’t understand, Miss Betts. If Trish has got Helen then her life is in
danger. Trish killed the copper! She killed Edwards!”
Karen
stood and looked at her, stunned before replying. “Is that the truth, Nikki?”
she demanded.
“It’s
the gospel truth, Miss. She killed Edwards because she thought he was trying to
kill me and take me away from her. She knows about Helen and me. If she thinks
Helen is trying to take me away from her, there’s no telling what she’ll do.”
“Christ,
Nikki, you’ve go some explaining to do!”
“Not
half!” Dominic muttered, totally bemused by the whole conversation.
“Just
do as I ask and I’ll tell you everything. If anything should happen to Helen…”
she closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear the thought.
“Have
you any idea where they might be?” Karen demanded.
“None.
I can only suggest they try my house and Helen’s flat.”
“Write
the addresses down,” she ordered as she picked up the telephone and dialled
999. “Police!” she barked.
Helen’s
head lolled against her chest. She had a splitting headache and her shoulders
were killing her. Trish was sitting on the sofa the bottle still clutched in
her hand. She hadn’t moved or spoken for ages. What was the bloody woman
waiting for? It was starting to get dark outside now. She glanced at the French
windows behind Trish’s back. The the security light in the back garden had just
come on. Something or someone had tripped the beam. Please God, don’t let it be
a cat, she prayed then she saw a shadowy figure.
“Trish,”
she said softly, hoping the other woman had not seen the light. “Do you think I
could have a drink of water, please?”
Trish
looked at her as if suddenly remembering she was there. She shook her head.
“It’s too late,” she murmured.
“Too
late for what?”
She
stood up and started to advance on Helen. “Too late for you. You shouldn’t have
tried to take Nik away from me.”
“I
didn’t take Nikki away from you, Trish. She still cares for you,” she gabbled.
“No,
she doesn’t,” she said resignedly. “But once you’re out of the way she’ll come
back to me.” She stopped in front of Helen and held the broken bottle only
inches away from her face. She smiled vacantly. “I think it’s rather poetic
that the two people who tried to take Nik away from me should die by the same
method. Don’t you?”
Without
warning Helen jerked her knees up and kicked out hitting Trish full in the
stomach then she started to scream as if her lungs would burst!