Chapter 6
Helen followed the directions Nikki had given her and
five minutes later found herself turning into the long winding drive which lead
to Nikki’s house. She looked in amazement as the house came into view. She knew
Nikki had been at the top of her profession before she had been imprisoned but
the press pictures she had seen of her house hadn’t done it justice. She hadn’t
realised she lived in a mansion.
She drew up in front of the house, climbed out of the
car and looked around her.
“Can I help you?”
She whirled around at the sound of a woman’s voice to
find herself confronted by a middle-aged woman dressed in a twin-set and tweed
skirt, peering at her through the half-open front door.
“Monica?” she asked.
“Yes.” The woman look at her curiously for a few
moments then she smiled in recognition. “You must be Helen Stewart, Nikki’s
friend.”
Helen returned her smile. “Yes, I am.”
Monica opened the door wide. “Please, come in, Miss
Stewart.”
“Thank you. I’ll just get my bags out of the car.” She
retrieved her bags then followed Monica into the house. She was led upstairs
and down a long corridor.
“Nikki said to give you this room,” Monica told her as
she opened a door at the end of the corridor.
Helen followed her into a room that was twice the size
of her bedroom at home and the furniture in it probably cost more than all of
the furniture in her flat had.
“That’s the en suite bathroom,” Monica pointed to another
door. “There are plenty of clean towels, so help yourself.” She looked at Helen
hesitantly. “I can’t believe Nikki has done such a stupid thing!” she
exclaimed. “Can’t you talk to her and convince her to go back? Surely she’ll
listen to you.”
Helen blushed as she remembered the part she was
supposed to be playing in Nikki’s life. “I wish I could, Monica, but I don’t
know where she is now. Has she been here?”
Monica shook her head. “She thought the police might
be watching the place. I met up with her in a car park in town and took her
some food.”
“Have the police been to see you?”
“They came the day she escaped and searched the place.
I told them she wasn’t here but they didn’t believe me,” Monica replied
distastefully. “I’m so worried about what the police will do when they catch up
with her even though she did save that man’s life.”
Helen looked at her curiously. “She saved a man’s
life?”
“The prison van Nikki was travelling in crashed and
the driver was injured,” Monica told her. “Apparently, he had stopped breathing
and Nikki managed to resuscitate him.”
“Do you know why she escaped?”
Monica looked at her in surprise. “She said she wanted
to be with you.”
“Oh…I…er…I meant why she was being transferred?” Helen
stammered, suddenly realising her slip-up.
“She didn’t say but she’s going to be in even more
trouble when she’s caught.”
Helen felt sorry for the older woman. Nikki had put
her in an awkward situation but she was obviously loyal or she would have
turned her in instead of helping her. “I’m sure she’ll be in touch then I’ll do
what I can to get her to give herself up,” she promised.
Monica gave a relieved smile. “Thank you, Miss
Stewart.”
“Please, call me ‘Helen’,” she told her kindly.
“Alright…Helen. Now, can I get you something to eat?”
“No, I’m fine, Monica, thanks but I would like to take
a bath.”
“Help yourself. If you put your dirty clothes in the
laundry basket, I’ll make sure they’re washed and ironed.” She took a last look
around the room then turned to Helen. “Come down when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Monica,” Helen replied gratefully. “And don’t
worry about Nikki. I’m sure she’ll be alright.”
Monica nodded then went out of the room leaving Helen
alone with her thoughts.
Nikki Wade was a total contradiction. She had been
imprisoned for murdering her girlfriend and now it appeared she had saved a
man’s life but why was she being transferred from Larkhall in the first place?
That, Helen decided, was the first question she would ask Nikki the next time
she saw her. Whenever that was likely to be!
In the nearby small town of Polgerra, Nikka sat
looking across at Trik’s, the nightclub where she and Trisha had first met.
Trisha had been the bar manager and she had been on holiday with a group of
friends. There had been an instant attraction between them and, within weeks of
that first meeting, they were living together.
Her writing career had taken off and when the
nightclub had come onto the market, she had bought it for Trisha. After a
refurbishment and name change – Trik’s was a combination of Trisha and Nikki –
they had opened for business but when her career had meant they had to travel
more and more, Trisha had taken on a partner, Eddie Barton, who was still
running the place.
She’d had time to think whilst she was in Larkhall.
Too much time! There hadn’t been a day when she hadn’t thought about Trisha and
the man she had been unfaithful with. Was it one of their so-called friends or
maybe someone she had met at the club?
She shrank down in her seat as she saw Eddie Barton
come out of the club. Eddie was a thickset man in his early forties and
definitely one for the ladies but she’d never seen anything untoward between
him and Trisha. She watched him walk down the street before starting up the
Range Rover and driving off towards home.
Refreshed after a long bubble bath, Helen went
downstairs but grimaced in dismay when she saw the half dozen closed doors in
front of her.
“You must be Helen. Monica asked me to come and see if
you were ready.”
She jumped as a man spoke behind her. She turned with
a smile on her lips. “Must I?” There was a tall dark haired man walking down
the corridor towards her. Late twenties, she guessed and quite good-looking in
a boyish way. “Don’t tell me…Dominic?”
“Yeah,” he grinned. “Guess Nikki told you about me
when you were in Larkhall together.”
When they were in Larkhall together? “Of…of course,”
she gabbled, almost forgetting she was supposed to be an ex-con.
“Monica’s made some sandwiches for you,” he informed
her. “Do you want them bringing through to the lounge or I’ll take you into the
kitchen?”
“The kitchen is fine, thanks, Dominic. I don’t want to
put Monica to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” he said agreeably. “We don’t have
much company around here, not since…well, since Nikki…you know? I hope you’ll
stay a while.”
“I hope so too, Dominic.” She smiled at him and
decided Nikki was being unkind when she said he was wet. “Do you live here?”
she asked chattily as she followed him down the corridors.
“No, I live in the village with my mum and dad.” He
opened a door and allowed her to precede him in to the kitchen, where they
found Monica making a pot of tea. “I just look after the place for Nikki.”
“Don’t let him sell himself short, Helen,” Monica told
her when she heard what the young man said. “I don’t know what we’d do without
him. He’s totally indispensable.”
Helen looked at Dominic and saw he was blushing. She
caught his eye and he smiled shyly. “I’m sure Nikki appreciates all that you
do, both of you.”
“Come on, you two, tuck in,” Monica told them. “You’re
not usually so slow off the mark where food is concerned, Dominic”
Dominic drew out a chair for Helen and she sat down,
smiling her thanks. She looked at the spread on the kitchen table, sandwiches
and freshly baked scones and cakes, and wondered what Nikki would be eating
tonight. Maybe she could sneak out with something later and take them to the
cabin. Not that she fancied roaming around in the woods after dark but she
needed to know Nikki was safe. As it was, she didn’t know Nikki’s whereabouts
or what she was doing.
“Helen?” Monica was looking at her questioningly.
“Sorry, did you say something?” she apologised. “I was
miles away.”
“Do you take sugar?” Monica smiled at her.
“No, just milk, thanks.” She gave a deep sigh. “I was
just thinking about Nikki.”
“Well, if you want my opinion,” Dominic put in boldly.
“I think Nikki was bloody stupid to escape! Doesn’t she realise they might send
armed police after her?”
“Dominic!” Monica exclaimed.
“Dominic’s right,” Helen said softly. “To the police
she’s just an escaped convict…a murderer. They don’t know her like you do…like
we do,” she corrected herself.
Monica’s face crumpled and tears started rolling down
her cheeks. Helen jumped to her feet and put her arms around the older woman,
comforting her. “Dominic, will you get her a drink, please?” She helped Monica
to a chair whilst Dominic poured her a cup of tea. He placed the cup in front
of Monica then crouched down and took her hand.
“I’m sorry, Monica,” he said gently. “I didn’t mean to
upset you. Nikki’ll be OK. She can look after herself.”
Monica pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of her
cardigan and wiped her eyes. “I hope so, Dominic. She doesn’t deserve what’s
happened. She’s not a murderer. Trisha was the one who did wrong and Nikki is
having to pay for it.”
Helen stood with her hand on Monica’s shoulder, a
troubled expression on her lovely face. By the sound of it, Monica obviously
had no love for Trisha but did she hate her enough to commit murder? And what
about the man whose baby Trisha was having? She looked at Dominic, on the
surface, so open and honest. Was the baby his? Nikki had said she thought she
knew who had killed Trisha, was her loyalty to the two people in front of her
so strong she would take the blame for them? She was sure of one thing, Nikki
had told her to be careful who she trusted and she didn’t know enough about
Monica or Dominic to trust either of them. Then again, what did she know about
Nikki, except that she cared for her more than she had ever cared for anyone
but was that enough?
After despatching Monica to lie down for a couple of
hours, Helen cleared the table and started washing up. “You don’t have to do
that,” she told Dominic as he picked up a drying cloth
“Be done in half the time if I help,” he grinned.
“Have you known Nikki long, Dominic?” she asked as
they worked.
“About six years, ever since they bought this place.
Mind you, I think Nikki will sell up before long. It’s pointless keeping the
house on if she’s going to be in prison for the next few years,” he told her matter-of-factly.
“Anyway, Nikki’s never liked the house. She thought it was too big. It was
Trisha who wanted it and what Trisha wanted, Nikki got for her.”
“Didn’t you like Trisha then?” she asked.
He shook his head. “She was a cold-hearted bitch!” He
looked at her anxiously. “Sorry, I know she’s dead and all that but Nikki
deserved better than her.”
“Do you
think Nikki killed her?” she asked as she watched him putting the dishes away.
Before he could answer, a plate slipped from his grasp
and smashed onto the floor. “I’ll get a brush,” he said quickly. He opened the
cupboard under the sink and took out a dustpan and brush and proceeded to sweep
up the smashed crockery. It wasn’t until he’d put everything away and muttered
he was going back to work, that Helen realised he had conveniently forgotten to
answer her question.
Helen went to bed early, worn out after the events of
the last couple of days. She had helped Monica cook an evening meal for the two
of them – Dominic had finished for the night – and then helped her wash up.
Afterwards, they had watched the news on television, looking at each other
fearfully when a picture of Nikki appeared on the screen but the report just
said she had still not been captured.
In her bedroom, she undressed and had a quick wash
then climbed into bed. After the night in the cabin, the bed was sheer luxury
and she smiled to herself as she snuggled down. She groaned when she remembered
she hadn’t spoken to Lofty since leaving his office. Her mobile was in her
jacket pocket and her jacket was hanging in the hallway. Flinging back the
duvet, she climbed out of bed and slipped on her jeans and sweater.
She opened her door quietly, trying not to disturb
Monica whose room was further along the corridor, and padded downstairs. As she
reached into her jacket pocket, someone grabbed hold of her and a hand clamped
over her mouth. She struggled until she heard a voice in her ear.
“It’s me, Helen. I’m going to let you go, so don’t
scream.”
“For Christ’s sake, you nearly gave me a heart
attack!” she exclaimed as she turned and found herself looking into Nikki’s
smiling face. “What the hell are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the
night?”
Nikki gave a sarcastic laugh. “This is my house, don’t
I have the right to sneak around it?”
“Sorry, of course you do,” Helen apologised. “You just
scared the shit out of me, that’s all. You were the last person I was expecting
to see.”
“What are you doing sneaking around anyway?”
“I came to get my mobile. It’s in my jacket pocket.” She
reached into her pocket and held up the mobile as evidence. “I was going to
ring my editor.”
“Are you going to tell him what you’ve found out?”
Nikki asked regarding her keenly.
“Not if you don’t want me to.” Helen looked at her.
She took a step nearer, drawn by the dark brown eyes.
“Is someone down there?” Monica’s voice came from the
top of the stairs.
“Don’t let her know I’m here,” Nikki whispered, moving
back into the shadows.
“It’s Helen, Monica,” she called back and moved to the
foot of the stairs. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I just came down to get
myself a drink of water.”
“I’ll make you a cup of tea,” Monica offered and
started to descend the stairs.
“I’m fine, Monica. You go back to bed,” Helen said
hurriedly.
“Well, if you’re sure. Goodnight, Helen.”
“’Night, Monica.” She breathed a sigh as the older
woman went back to her room. “Nikki?” she said softly. There was silence. She
was alone in the hallway. Nikki had gone!