Trust Me - T.M. Logan Page 0,65

raised as I talk, and refills both our glasses when they get low.

I’ve almost finished the story when my phone rings. I answer, expecting someone from the burglary squad.

‘I just got your message,’ Gilbourne says, sounding breathless. ‘Where are you? Are you safe?’

‘I’m all right,’ I say. ‘Just a bit shaken up.’

‘Listen, I’ve managed to get you a place in secure accommodation. It’s mostly used as a halfway house for victims of domestic violence, but it’s tucked out of the way and you’ll be safe there. I’ve talked to the manager personally and there’s a room for you tonight. Can I give you the address?’

‘That’s kind of you, Inspector, but I think I’m OK.’

His voice takes on a firmer tone. ‘This is not negotiable, Ellen. You could have been seriously injured or worse. You need alternative accommodation until we catch the guy who did this.’

‘I’m not at home.’

‘Right, well that’s good,’ he says. ‘You’re sure I can’t persuade you though?’

I wonder again if I’m putting Tara in danger just by being here. Maybe it would be better for her if I was somewhere else, away from her boys.

‘Where is it, this halfway house?’

‘Burnt Oak. Not too far from you.’

‘And they have a bed spare?’

‘I can call them back right now to secure it for tonight.’

Tara catches my eye and very firmly shakes her head. She puts one hand over mine, pointing at me with the other.

You’re staying right here, she mouths silently. With us.

She squeezes my hand gently and I feel a lump come to my throat.

‘Ellen,’ Gilbourne says. ‘Are you still there?’

‘I’m here,’ I say. ‘It’s very kind of you, but it won’t be necessary.’ His concern gives me a little glimmer of warmth. It seems he’s going above and beyond the call of duty. ‘I appreciate you taking the trouble though.’

‘As long as you’re sure,’ he says with a sigh. ‘You can call me Stuart, by the way. So I’ve had a chat with the two officers who came to your house this afternoon. You said you weren’t able to describe or identify the burglar. Is that correct?’

‘No, I said he had a balaclava on.’

‘His face was covered the whole time?’

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘But I know who it was.’

‘What? How?’

‘It was the guy from the train on Tuesday.’

‘Christ, Ellen.’ The firm tone is back. ‘Why didn’t you tell them that?’

‘I tried,’ I say. ‘He was looking for Mia. He was looking for her on the train that day, that’s why he followed me. He was in my house on Wednesday night and he came back today. He’s still after her. He claimed that he wasn’t the one who ransacked my house, that it was someone else and that they were looking for something in particular.’

There is a moment of silence at the other end of the line.

‘He said that?’ Gilbourne says slowly. ‘He said he was looking for her?’

‘He said I shouldn’t have handed Mia over to the police,’ I summon his words from memory again. ‘Because it was going to make her easier to find.’

‘I see.’

‘What does that mean, Stuart? Why would he want to find her? What’s going on here?’

He hesitates again, and I can hear the sound of a lighter sparking at the other end of the line.

‘It’s not a good idea for you to get involved in this, Ellen.’

‘I’m already involved, whether I want to be or not.’

‘You’ve seen the danger, what might happen,’ he says quietly. ‘You could have been killed today. You need to take a step back, let us do our jobs.’

‘In the last three days I’ve been followed, abducted, burgled and attacked in my own home. I don’t think taking a step back is up to me anymore. And I can’t protect myself unless I know what’s going on. So are you going to tell me, or do I have to figure it out for myself?’

I hear a deep exhalation of breath at the other end of the line as he blows smoke from his cigarette.

‘Listen,’ he says finally. ‘Can you come in? We should talk face to face.’

‘I left the car at my house, I didn’t trust myself to drive. The paramedic told me to rest.’

‘OK, all right.’ His voice goes quieter as if he’s got a hand cupped around the mobile. ‘How about I come to you?’

I give him Tara’s address in Harrow.

‘I’m on my way over,’ he says, and hangs up.

32

I go upstairs to unpack and check on Dizzy. By the time I get back downstairs, Tara