A Chance Encounter by Rae Shaw (e manga reader TXT) 📗

his voice. ‘I told her what I thought. Dad’s not evil. And she knows that, or why else did she keep quiet when she could have made things worse for him? He’s a broken man, holding back from telling everything because he fears for himself, for us. If we can get him to turn evidence, he’ll be free. But I told her we’d not see him again, because he’d be in a witness protection program.’

‘What about Deidre?’

‘Both of us agree. Mum doesn’t care enough for Dad to follow him there. I don’t think she knows how to.’

An honest appraisal. Even though she hadn’t met Deidre, Julianna thought it accurate.

‘Still. She wanted to know if she was wrong to keep that secret.’ Mark met Julianna’s gaze. Ellen wanted to be free of the guilt she had burdened herself with for years. Mark had accused her of making things worse, but now he knew that had never been her intention. She simply wanted to be a good daughter to at least one of her parents.

‘By keeping it from the police, perhaps,’ Julianna said diplomatically. ‘But you can understand why she did it.’

‘I just wish she could have trusted me more back then.’ He shrugged. ‘She cried when I told her that. It’s hardly her fault we weren’t talking. She misses London. Especially Nicky. But she insisted she has no regrets about the move north. She’s working with geologists surveying the east coast. Plenty to do in those mud flats and rocky outcrops. She likes being outside.’ Mark smiled. ‘Even in the summer rain.’

Julianna laughed, then remembered. ‘Not quite urban archaeology is it?’

‘She says she’s warming to the seaside, and I think I know why. She’s met a man, Brett. Malcolm is okay with him, and I told her people have to trust, or we’re always stabbing at each other’s backs. It’s a good place for her to start afresh, and she’s told Brett everything. Had to get drunk to do it, she said. Can’t blame her for that. Brett seems a decent bloke; didn’t judge her. Easy going, by the sounds of it. I suspect she’ll move out of Malcolm’s place and find somewhere to live. She thrives in that calm space. Not like me… I’d go nuts.’

‘Jackson has put his faith in these people. Let’s hope that Ellen’s location remains a secret.’ She poured Mark another drink, then topped up hers with a generous amount.

The visit had been short-lived yet fruitful. Mark was simply reassured to find Ellen was happy. However, nobody knew Freddie’s whereabouts. Things weren’t safe.

‘She still doesn’t understand what I do for a living,’ said Mark. ‘Although it’s brought danger to our lives, because of Haydocks and Henderson, she accepts it’s my crusade, not hers.’ He blushed, spinning the glass in his fingers. ‘I kissed her goodbye.’

Julianna’s eyebrows perched higher. ‘And?’

‘You really need to know?’ Mark laughed, and it was genuine. ‘A hug, too. One that lasted more than a second.’

He was pleased with himself. So was Julianna.

Her phone rang. She considered not answering it. Mark was in an optimistic mood.

‘Hi, Graham.’ She covered the mouthpiece. ‘It’s Graham Saddler, the useful ex-copper who helps out at Opportunitas.’

Mark acknowledged the name with a nod, and a frown. Graham’s timing was bad.

‘Julianna, just to let you now that lass I was supposed to meet, the one who was going to spill the beans on her pimp, didn’t show. No sign of her anywhere.’

‘Damn.’

‘Yeah, sorry. I know you put some effort into getting her to talk. My contacts in the police have drawn a blank.’

‘We can’t force her. Thanks for trying, Graham.’

‘My pleasure. Anything to help Jackson out.’

She ended the call. ‘We’re done. Just a little project I’ve been given is going nowhere. I’ll switch the phone off.’

He rose. ‘Well, I went somewhere and I brought the car back in one piece, just as I promised.’ He held out his hand. ‘Ellen thinks I’ve changed. Have I?’

She clasped his warm palm against hers and followed him out of the room. ‘She should know. Both of you have.’

~ * ~

Gathered around a table, holding a glass of wine, eating a few nibbles and making small talk wasn’t on Julianna’s bucket list. Worse, the evening would probably be padded out by the trivia of relationship issues. However, because she remained curious about the Haynes, she’d accepted an invitation to play cards with Hettie, the woman whose life she was supposed to be protecting.

The threats had dried up since Ellen’s crisis. Chris agreed with Julianna when she called it the calm before the storm; girls continued to disappear off the streets and out of the hostels at an alarming rate. Jackson’s foundation was finite in its activities and constrained by the legality of its role in society. Julianna wanted to do more; playing friends with Hettie’s inner circle wasn’t part of her big plan.

Julianna’s driving duties had recently increased. Chris still vetoed her other work, including helping Opportunitas, especially since Tess had been waylaid by personal issues, which meant Julianna had barely got her teeth into anything substantial since Jackson had invited her to help out.

The boredom of chauffeuring caused her to forget her primary purpose. When not listening to Hettie’s entertaining tales in the back of the car, Julianna occasionally, when ordered, occupied a seat at the entrance of the gallery. Due to her prominent location, the visitors assumed she was an art aficionado. Rather than sitting on her assigned chair, she walked through the exhibitions, showing them the pictures, and handed out catalogues. It passed the time until Jackson turned up at the gallery in a surprise visit to view his wife’s new paintings.

Chris witnessed Julianna with a small group of Japanese visitors doing her little impersonation of a tour guide. A disapproving stare was dispatched over their heads and she