51

Only when the lights of the police car had at last disappeared round the bend in the lane and the sound of its engine had faded away did Ifan stand up and make his way stiffly back the way he had come and haul himself over the gate. He was soaked to the skin, bleeding from the clinging brambles, and shivering. He stood for a while, listening. There was silence now. The rain had stopped and the moon had appeared between the -streaming black clouds. There was no sign of any traffic. As hemoved away from the gate and began to limp back towards the -village he groped in his pockets to check Madelaine's keys were still there. They had gone. He swore under his breath. He had thrown away the keys to her garden doors but he had been so sure his own set was tucked safely in his pocket. He must have lost them while he was crouching in the woods. Where was he going to go now?

He paused outside Cadi's cottage. He had so many scores to settle with that woman, but they could keep. The windows were dark, as were his father's; pathetic little man. A car's headlights appeared in the distance, coming from the direction of the mill. He was almost opposite the shadowy turning into Church Lane and, keeping close to the hedge, he crept into it, huddling there as the car drove past the end of the road.

It was then he spotted a faint light in the distance. As he staggered up the lane he realised it came from the church, not a place he had ever chosen to frequent. Limping up the path towards it, he stood outside the great oak door, listening. The porch light wasn't on. All was dark in the churchyard and there were no cars parked nearby that he could see. There was no sound from inside the church. Cautiously he turned the heavy iron handle and pushed the door open. The light he had seen through the high window came from a single lamp near the altar, and a stand of votive candles nearby, of which three were lit. He could smell the melting beeswax and a slight hint of smoke. Closing the heavy door behind him, he stood and listened, shivering. The church was silent. There was no one there. Slowly his eyes grew used to the candlelight; he could make out the altar at the far end of the nave, the pulpit, the rows of shadowy pews, and nearby, along the back wall, a table. It was being used as some sort of second-hand book stall, presumably to raise cash for the church, and there at the far end he spotted a kettle and some mugs. A closer examination disclosed a bowl containing teabags, little plastic tubs of milk, sachets of sugar and an unopened packet of biscuits. A notice bade him welcome, invited him to make himself a hot drink and after that to sit quietly and perhaps say a prayer. He gave a snort as he switched on the kettle. ‘Thank you, God!' he said out loud. His voice was heavy with sarcasm. He scrabbled in his pockets for his pills, terrified they too might have fallen out somewhere on the hillside. They were still there. With a sigh of relief he pulled them out. Perhaps they would help the pain in his head to go away.

The candles were burning down when he discovered the side room up near the altar. It led to a loo, and seemed to contain a lot of junk, beside a small safe, which was locked. There were some choir robes and various dusty old cloaks hanging on a line of ornate hooks. He grabbed them thankfully. They might at least serve to keep him warm and, shivering fitfully, he had already decided to spend the night in here out of the rain. Here he was near his father's house, and Cadi's. Tomorrow at dawn he was going to pay them both a visit they would never forget.

It took him a long time to fall asleep on his improvised bed on the floor, but when he was awakened by the sound of the main door opening at the far end of the church, the early sunlight was pouring in through the windows. He heard the door close and footsteps headed towards his hiding place in the vestry. Flinging his make-do coverings aside he staggered to his feet and tiptoed towards the vestry door just as it opened. A woman was standing there. She let out an exclamation of surprise at the sight of him.

‘Oh my goodness, you gave me a fright.' She was middle-aged, pretty in a faded understated way, and wearing a raincoat. It was a moment before he spotted the dog collar.

‘Sorry. I came in out of the rain.' He was flooded with resentment at the sight of this complete stranger invading the space he had thought of as safe.

‘No problem.' He saw her glance at him more closely and wondered if she'd guessed who he was. After all, the police in about four counties were probably after him, so why not the clergy as well. He felt his chest tightening and he clenched his fists.

‘Why don't we have a hot drink?' she said quietly. ‘We have a kettle on the table at the back of the church there, and tea bags and coffee. And biscuits, unless the local children have scoffed them.' She had obviously not noticed his depredations of the night before.

‘You know who I am, don't you,' he murmured.

‘I don't care who you are,' she replied. ‘I know it's a bit of a cliché, but this is the house of God. All are welcome here. And safe.'

He stared at her incredulously. He felt himself sneer. ‘That's a cliché. And no doubt you have your phone on speed-dial to the police as we speak.'

She had put her hands in her pockets. She shook her head and pulled them out to show him they were empty. ‘My phone is in my car.' She nodded behind her. ‘I came in to pray and see to the candles.' She hesitated. ‘One of my prayers was for you and your family, Ifan. It is Ifan, isn't it. I'm Kate. I know your father. He's desperately worried about you.'

He laughed derisively. ‘I doubt it! Not after I thumped him yesterday. Besides, he's never cared about anyone apart from himself in his whole life.'

She gave a sigh. ‘So, what are you planning to do next?'

‘Get away from here.' He was hardly likely to tell her. ‘Car keys.' He held out his hand. ‘Give me your car keys.'

She shook her head. ‘I left my car the other end of the village. I'm going to visit some of my parishioners later, so I parked outside the almshouses. There's a huge amount of unrest and distress around here at the moment.'

‘My fault, no doubt.'

She nodded slowly. ‘You haven't helped, with your plans for our lovely meadow, but mainly it's not you, it's to do with the man they found in the field. He was killed before the war but this is a village. Local families were involved. People are still upset.'

‘But they all hate me as well, because of the housing development.' Ifan could feel himself beginning to shiver again. His clothes were clammy with damp.

‘Some of them do, of course. It's probably fifty-fifty.' She smiled. She had a gentle voice. He could imagine her coaxing people into confession.

He scowled. ‘Well, Cadi has always hated me. Do you know her? Probably not, she was never a God-botherer. I used to love her, you know. But oh, no, she was so wrapped up in her own world. So snug in her little cottage. So smug. She was scared of me though. That always gave me a buzz. I suppose that's what originally gave me the idea for my plan. I needed a new place to invest and out of the blue it occurred to me to buy Cadi's field. That would really upset her.' He gave a malicious grin. ‘I wanted to give her a reason to remember me!' He paused for a fraction of a second, aware that he was ranting. ‘She was like my wife. Bitches, both of them. Why was I attracted to bitches? You should know, you're probably one yourself.' His smile was very cold. ‘Though I can't say I'm attracted to you.'

‘I do know Cadi, and she doesn't hate you, Ifan.' Kate refused to rise to his taunts. ‘I can't think why not, though, after all you've done. You terrified her yesterday.'

‘Good! And it's going to upset her a whole lot more when my builders arrive.' He sighed. ‘I've had enough of all this. I didn't mean to hit my father, you know. But no one's going to believe me, are they.'

He felt her eyes on his face, her gaze very steady. ‘Funnily enough, I do believe you,' she said at last. ‘Why don't we go up to see him now, together, see if he'll talk to you. See if we can't sort all this out.'

Cadi and Charles had both awakened early. She had tiptoed downstairs, hoping not to wake him, but he had already made himself a cup of tea and was folding up his blankets when she appeared.

‘Why don't I nip up to the mill and collect some breakfast,' he said. ‘I need to put Chris in the picture about the meadow. I still can't get my head round the fact that Ifan put it in her name.' He grinned. ‘I bet he's regretting that now.'

Unlocking the front door, he stepped outside. It promised to be a lovely day. He turned back to her. ‘I won't be long. Be careful, and for God's sake don't open the door to anyone else.'

Cadi stood on the doorstep watching as he set off up the road before she retreated inside and closed the door. The living room was dark. It felt depressingly gloomy and claustrophobic with boards nailed across the broken French windows and, picking up the mug of tea Charles had made her, she made her way through into the pantry to unlock the side door. Surely there was no danger in broad daylight. Opening the door a crack and looking carefully left and right up and down the side passage to make sure all was quiet, she stepped outside.

The rain had cleared away in the night but the garden was still dripping wet, the raindrops sparkling in the sunlight. The mist had dispersed. She stood for a while on the terrace, sipping her tea, slowly feeling herself relax. She could see her robin hopping round the rose bush near the boarded-up windows. If there was anyone out there he would have let her know. She took a deep breath, smelling grass and roses and the lavender bush in the corner near the fence. In a moment she would go back inside. Charles would be home soon with some warm croissants and the builder would be arriving to mend the doors.

Behind her the robin let out a cry of alarm.

‘It's cold out here, isn't it.' The voice almost gave her a heart attack. She dropped her mug of tea. Broken china scattered across the flagstones. Ifan was standing in the passage between her and the side door watching her. He must have vaulted over the gate. ‘There's no need to call the police.' He saw her groping in her pocket for her phone. ‘Let me say my piece and I'll get out of your hair.'

Cadi was speechless with terror. ‘What do you want?' she managed at last. ‘Where did you come from? Where have you been hiding?'

He grinned. ‘You won't believe it, but I spent the night in the church.' He threw himself down on one of the garden chairs and she saw him flinch as the ice-cold rain soaked into his jeans. ‘So where are your minders this morning?'

‘Back any minute.'

He gave a grim smile. ‘I need to be quick then. The vicar found me and the nosy cow insisted on going with me to see my father. I don't think she trusted me not to kill him this time.' He gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘He gave me this hideous shirt as my other one was bloody.' He was wearing a black-and-grey striped T-shirt. ‘My blood, I may say, not anyone else's. From brambles up there on that sodding hill. And for the record, I apologised for hitting him and he and the vicar have promised they won't call the police until I've had the chance to speak to you. I suppose I believe the vicar when she says that with her big sincere eyes, though I wouldn't believe him further than I could throw him. I didn't let them out of my sight even to find the horrible shirt. But the old so-and-so's coughed up all the cash he had hidden in that desk of his to get rid of me and he's given me his car keys. So, I'm off. I don't want to go to prison; you won't see me again. I've stashed enough money abroad and I've even bought a house in the sun. I hoped Sue would like it, but that didn't work out.' He paused and she saw a wave of anger cross his face. ‘I won't pester Sue. They'll be better off without me. I've already made most of my property in this country over to her.' He gritted his teeth. ‘That was a bloody mistake, but too late to change it all now.' He stood up. ‘But there are still things I need to tell you. The vicar is right behind me. She thinks I've come to apologise for having frightened you so much.' He gave a cold smile. ‘As if!'

Cadi stared at him. ‘I didn't think this sounded like you!' She clenched her fists.

‘No.' He gave a bitter laugh. ‘The God lady from the church thinks she can reform me with a little lecture, the na?ve do-gooding bitch, just like every woman in my life, even my goddam mother, who died rather than stay to look after me when I was a child!' He took a step towards her. ‘I told the vicar what I thought of all the women I know and she still thought she could sweet-talk me round. She thought it would be nice for me to say goodbye to you politely and apologise for being nasty. She thought my soul would feel better.'

Cadi could hear the anger in his voice mounting. She took a step back. Her pulse rate had rocketed.

‘You took everything from me,' he went on. ‘My home, my father, my self-esteem, my happiness. And all for this poxy little house and that stupid bloody field!' He was shouting now. ‘I'm going to say goodbye, Cadi, oh yes, I'm going to say goodbye, but in a way you'll remember for the rest of your life!' He was feeling under his T-shirt and as he raised his hand she realised to her horror that he had had a knife tucked into the belt of his jeans.

‘Stop it, Ifan!' The voice that rang out was sharp. Kate was standing in the passageway behind them. ‘I'm not that stupid, my friend. I didn't believe a word you said. You may not have given me the chance to ring them in his house but your father managed to slip me his phone and I've just called them.' She held it up. ‘Pretending it was to let you speak to Cadi gave me the chance I needed. Leave her alone. You've said your goodbyes.'

He let out a shout of laughter. ‘Stupid bitch, I haven't nearly said my goodbyes. Not yet!' He raised the knife and lunged at Cadi. She jumped back with a scream, but he managed to land a blow to her shoulder that sent her reeling to the ground. ‘Goodbye, sweetheart,' he shouted, then he turned and ran across the lawn. In seconds he had forced his way through the hedge and was running across the meadow.

‘Oh God! Cadi, Cadi, are you OK?' Kate threw herself towards her.

‘I'm all right.' Cadi managed to stagger to her feet, clutching her shoulder. There was blood welling between her fingers. She bit her lip against the pain, her eyes filling with tears.

‘The police are on their way.' Kate put her arm round her and already they could hear the distant siren. ‘Come inside. It's OK. You're safe now. He's gone.' As she helped Cadi inside, leaving the bloodstained knife lying on the terrace amid the broken china, they heard the police banging on the front door. Gently pushing Cadi down on the sofa Kate ran to open it and Cadi saw the strobing light of the police car parked outside. ‘He ran across the field. That way.' Kate gestured wildly and Cadi saw the blurred shapes of two officers turn away and vanish back towards the gate. Kate was about to close the door when Charles appeared. At the sight of the police car outside the house he had broken into a run.

‘My God, what's happened?' He threw the bag he was carrying onto the table and hurried over, falling on his knees beside Cadi as she lay back against the cushions.

‘I'm OK. I don't think it's serious.' She gave a watery smile. ‘We had a visitor.'

Kate brought the phone out of her pocket. ‘I'll call an -ambulance. Then I'm calling Gwen.'

‘No, don't, please.' Cadi managed a faint smile. ‘No -ambulance. I'll be fine. Don't fuss!' She pushed Charles away. ‘I'm OK. I was stupid. It never occurred to me he might come back. I was standing there in the garden. Happy. Drinking my tea. He just appeared round the back of the house.' The tears began to flow again. ‘Sorry. I'm being an idiot! It's the shock.'

‘Here, let me see. After her brief call to Gwen, Kate -repocketed the phone. She sat down beside Cadi. ‘Let me help you take off your blouse.'

‘It's OK. It's not deep. I dodged in time.'

Kate shook her head. ‘I'm so sorry. I was just determined to keep things calm. I needed him out of sight for just a couple of minutes so I could call the police. Have you got a first aid box?' She glanced across at Charles. He scrambled to his feet.

Cadi gave him a weak grin. ‘It's under the sink. Stop fussing. Please. I just need a plaster.'

Kate helped her peel off the blood-stained blouse to reveal a long shallow cut across the top of her arm. ‘Thank God, I don't think it's too bad.' She glanced up at Charles. ‘There's a lot of blood, but I don't think it's deep. Are there any bandages in there?'

Between them they mopped up the blood and managed to staunch the bleeding before tying a dressing across the wound.

‘We went to see Arwel,' Kate talked quietly as she tidied up after disappearing upstairs on Cadi's instructions to find her a fresh shirt. She helped her put it on. ‘We talked for quite a long time. Ifan was like unstable dynamite, terrified we'd try and call the police, but slowly things were calming down. He said he'd go quietly and Arwel seemed to believe him; he found an envelope full of cash in his desk and gave it to Ifan with his car keys. Anything to get him out of the house. Then Ifan said there was one more thing he wanted to do and that was apologise to you. I could see it might be the only chance we had to get help, and after we'd talked for such a long time—'

‘In the church, I gather.' Cadi was sitting back in the sofa, her face very pale. Charles sat down opposite her. He seemed as shaken as she was.

Kate nodded with a smile. ‘I didn't think I'd converted him. I'm not that na?ve. But he was at his wits' end. Exhausted. Miserable. I thought genuinely scared.'

‘And you believed that?' Cadi was incredulous. ‘Far more likely, if he felt anything at all, it would be sorry for himself.'

‘Well, he'd said he was sorry for Sue and for you, Cadi. He admitted it gave him a sense of power to know how frightened you both were of him, to say nothing of his poor father. Arwel burst into tears as we left. Imagine.' Kate gave a grim smile. ‘I told Ifan I was coming over here with him but I hung back. The moment he was out of sight round the corner I dialled 999. It was the first chance I'd had. He'd said all he wanted was to apologise. I'm not stupid; I knew I couldn't trust him. He knew I was right behind him. But I wasn't quick enough. I'm so sorry.'

‘Even if you had been there I doubt if you could have stopped him,' Cadi said. ‘Don't beat yourself up. He would have done it anyway. And at least you managed to call the police.'

Kate gave Cadi a gentle smile. ‘Is there anyone else I can call to be with you?'

Cadi shook her head. ‘Charles will look after me.' He had gone over to make her more tea.

Kate nodded uncomfortably. ‘OK. I'll nip back to check on Arwel. He was in an awful state. You've got his number, haven't you. Call me if you need me. I'll only be across the road. Gwen is on her way.'

Charles followed her to the door and locked it behind her then he came back to Cadi and sat down, next to her this time. He could see her hands shaking as she reached for the tea.

‘I could see the police lights flashing in the lane. There are two cars. They're parked up by the meadow. You're safe now, Cadi. Hopefully they've caught him.'

She nodded. ‘I'm fine,' she whispered. ‘Just a bit shocked. I was stupid to go outside.' She gave a shaky laugh. ‘I know you told me not to. Bossy old Charles!' Her eyes filled with tears again.

‘It's OK.' Tentatively he reached out to put his arm round her. She didn't resist.

Gwen appeared fifteen minutes later. ‘Are you all right, Cadi? Are you sure you don't want an ambulance? It's lucky the man's father had already rung the police the moment he and Kate left the house and they were already on their way. There's a land line there which apparently Ifan didn't know about.' There was a long pause. ‘There is absolutely no excuse. They should have caught him.' She looked furiously angry.

‘What do you mean?' Cadi stared at her. She had gone cold all over. ‘Please tell me he hasn't escaped.'

‘They saw him on the far side of the field. He had made a run for it along the hedgerow and at the last minute he swerved into the open, sprinting towards the hill. Apparently they were that close to him!' Gwen held up her hand, her finger and thumb two inches apart. ‘And yet'– she looked from Cadi to Charles and back– ‘they maintain that he vanished in front of their eyes. I have four experienced police officers out there, about to have a nervous breakdown,' she went on. ‘So, what happened?'

Cadi and Charles looked at each other. Cadi took a deep breath. ‘He vanished?' she echoed.

‘That can happen out there.' The awkward silence was broken by Charles. ‘There's something about the lie of the land that makes it easy to misjudge distances.'

‘Really? Four experienced officers are searching that field for a man who disappeared in front of their eyes.' Gwen was incredulous. ‘That field is flat and open. They were fifty yards away from the woodland perimeter. And you say they misjudged the distance?'

‘We don't know. We weren't there.' Charles looked at her uncomfortably.

‘So, you're not claiming he went down your wormhole?'

‘How do you know about the wormhole?' Cadi stared at her.

‘Word gets round.'

‘Kate?'

Gwen shook her head in despair. She gave a tight smile. ‘I'm protecting my sources.' She folded her arms ‘So. Tell me. What do you think happened? Where could he have gone?'

‘The trouble is,' Charles went on without missing a beat, ‘we know no more than you do. Surely the chances are he ducked into the woods? They weren't really that far away. If one knows the area, which Ifan must have once as he was brought up here, there are thousands of acres of mountains and forest over there in the national park.' He waved towards the wall.

Gwen nodded. She sat down abruptly on one of the kit-chen chairs. ‘Well, assuming we have discounted a wormhole, I've told them to bring in dogs. I've had enough of chasing MrDavies round in circles. Now, Cadi, are you sure you don't want someone to look at that shoulder?'

Cadi had been cradling her elbow and Gwen caught sight of her wincing with pain. Cadi shook her head. ‘I'm OK. Is Arwel all right?'

‘I have no doubt he's still in a state of shock. I'll go over there now. I gather Kate's with him. We owe him a lot. It was courageous of him to ring the police to come and arrest his own son.'

She was walking across the road when a van pulled up outside. Phil the handyman climbed out. ‘What's happened? There are police everywhere.'

‘What's happened is that you're not a moment too soon. We're extremely glad to see you.' Charles met him at the gate.

Phil nodded. ‘Well, I got to the suppliers first thing and found some new doors for you. They're in the van. Luckily they're a standard size. Proper toughened glass this time.'

Charles and Cadi watched as he carried them in, both wordlessly reassured by his quiet presence. ‘Those old things you had, nice though they looked, would be illegal nowadays,' he muttered as he opened his toolbox. ‘And, can I make a suggestion?'

Cadi nodded. ‘Anything.'

‘Shutters. I think they would look rather nice on your downstairs windows here at the back. And although I know I said these new doors are toughened glass, it would add a layer of safety.'

It was Phil who swept up the broken china. He used a plastic bag to pick up the bloodstained knife and handed it to Charles. ‘Sabatier,' he commented. ‘Nice. Better keep it for fingerprints.'

By lunchtime there was still no sign of Ifan having been caught. Charles had strolled up the lane to the meadow and reported that a police dog unit was there, together with -reinforcements who were heading towards the hillside, each man with a long pole to help them probe the undergrowth. A little later Kate phoned to tell them Arwel's cousin had arrived to take him to stay with him in Swansea and that she would call in again that evening.

The doors were installed by mid-afternoon. Unable to concentrate while Phil was at work, Cadi went upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Charles sitting downstairs, his ears firmly clamped into an audiobook to block the sound of hammering. Her shoulder was aching unbearably, and she longed for sleep.

She took a couple of paracetamol, lay back on her bed and closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. The pain was too intense and she couldn't stop herself shivering, imagining Ifan creeping back towards the house intent on finishing off whatever fate it was he had planned for her. After a while, she gave up trying and sat up propped against her pillows. It had become almost second nature to pick up her notebook and painfully she reached for her pen.