the metallic glint the attacker was finally able to make out the lettering.
Smudge.
The cheap, glittery letters were stuck onto the front of a very smart kennel that seemed way too big for such a small dog.
Clutching the knife firmly in one hand, the dark figure clambered onto the top of the kennel, grasped the top of the fence and with a grunt managed to roll over the top, crashing painfully into the adjoining garden. But the car was still there, trapped at the end of the cul de sac, and it wouldn’t take the police long to work it out and come looking.
49
Leo had finally left Max and Tom to a serious conversation about police procedure, as Max tried to understand exactly what would be happening to Ellie. She knew she couldn’t afford the luxury of a bath now. She needed to give support to Max and be available if Ellie needed her, so she quickly washed any visible blood off her body, and pulled on the first clothes she could find.
As she made her way back downstairs, hugging some jeans and a T-shirt for Ellie to her chest, the phone was ringing in the hall. Hoping that it would be Ellie to say that she could come home, Leo picked it up.
‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Ellie?’
‘Leo - thank goodness I’ve managed to get through. What’s going on with all your phones? I haven’t been able to phone Max for days, and he hasn’t phoned me either.’ It was Patrick.
‘Sorry, Pat, I know nothing about that, but now’s not a good time to talk to Max. I’m sorry. I can’t explain right now, but I’m sure somebody will talk to you tomorrow and let you know what’s going on.’
‘Actually, I only want a phone number and you might be able to help. Do you have that policeman’s number - you know, Max’s new neighbour Tom?’
‘I can do better than that, Pat. He’s here. But it’s all a bit tricky just now. Will tomorrow do?’
‘Sorry, Leo. It won’t. I think I’ve found something important. It’s about Abbie Campbell. But I’m not sure if I’m getting excited about nothing. Maybe I’m reading too much into stuff, which is why I thought I would speak to Tom first. I don’t know how long my money will last in this bloody thing. Probably been vandalised in some way.’
There was a brief pause.
‘Are you ringing from a phone box, Pat?’
‘I can’t explain, Leo. I’ll tell Tom what I think, and see if he decides that I’m crazy. I need him to come to the house, though. Mimi’s house. Can you ask him, please? I can’t hang on now, but if he can come, it would be very helpful.’
The line went dead.
Leo tried speaking into the phone a couple of times, but got no response. She wasn’t sure she could deal with anything else tonight, but wearily she made her way to the kitchen.
Tom looked up gratefully when Leo entered, and she felt terrible for leaving him alone to deal with Max’s distress.
‘That was Pat on the phone. I was hoping it was Ellie.’
‘What did you tell him?’ Max asked. ‘I can’t even think about calling him back now, and anyway every time I’ve tried to call him, the line’s cut off straight away.’
‘He was asking for Tom’s number actually. He wants some advice. But it was odd, because he was calling from a phone box. Weird, don’t you think?’
Max looked indifferent.
‘Well, odd or not, he would like you to go round to Mimi’s, Tom.’
Tom’s lip curled up in the corner in a ‘you must be joking’ kind of expression.
‘What, now?’ he said.
‘It seems so, yes.’ Leo repeated everything that Patrick had said, and Tom looked at Max.
‘I don’t want to leave you, Max. But if it really is about Abbie I think we need to work out who’s best placed to do what.’
Max looked expectantly at Tom, and it was clear that his mind wasn’t able to compute the options, so Tom continued.
‘Somebody has to stay here with the twins, of course. I need to go to Pat’s now, unfortunately, and somebody needs to take clothes to Ellie. I think on balance that you’d be better waiting here, Max. Ellie might come back - the solicitor will bring her home as soon as he can get her out of there. You’ve had a drink, and you don’t want to roll up at the police station smelling of whisky, even if you are under the limit. Leo