FRY

Chapter Twenty-Five

“On the count of the abduction and attempted murder of Holly Handsworth, we find the defendant, Isabel Anderson, not guilty.”

I jerk my head up. Have I heard right?

“On multiple counts of arson, we find the defendant not guilty.”

Somebody gasps. I think it might be me.

Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty.

“I’m… free to leave?”

I can’t believe it.

Judge Bagshott is still talking but I don’t hear a single word. It’s over. It’s all over. I just want to get out. I try to step out of the dock, but the ground below me tilts 90 degrees. I half-walk, half-stumble towards the door.

“Isabel?”

Strong arms reach out to steady me.

“I’m free. I’m finally free!” I bury myself in Deacon’s chest.

He looks as shocked as I feel.

“You really didn’t think this was going to happen, did you?” I whisper.

“No. I was all set to appeal.”

But for once, God is smiling on me.

For no reason at all, I laugh. People turn to stare, probably wonder if I’m crazy after all, but I can’t help it. This is the first time I’ve laughed in months. The first time I’ve had something to laugh about.

“What’s so funny?” Deacon asks, as I catch my breath.

“I think it’s just the immense relief,” I gasp.

“You OK now?”

I nod. “Get me out of here!”

The need to get out is suddenly overwhelming. I am terrified that if I don’t get out immediately, the decision will somehow be reversed and I’ll be thrown back into prison. Deacon understands my urgency. Taking me by the arm, he leads me through the open doorway.

Not a second too soon. A line of fire soars through the air and a loud bang echoes around the chamber. Order descends into chaos as people scream and panic to get out.

“Keep going,” Deacon hisses.

“What’s happening?”

“Someone’s let off a load of fireworks.”

I look back, alarmed to see a rocket erupt from under the very seat where I was just sitting. It explodes in a hissing shower of sparks that would be very pretty in the cool, night sky, but here, in this enclosed space, is downright dangerous.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. Let the police handle it.”

He pulls me towards the exit and we both shake the sparks from our hair and clothes.

“You alright?”

“I think so.”

I can’t help but take one more look back into the chamber. Amidst all the chaos, someone is being handcuffed, I can’t make out who. Alicia wouldn’t be stupid enough to do it herself, would she? No, she’d have a lackey. She always has a lackey.

Cameras flash in my face as Deacon guides me past the waiting press. I shield my face, not wanting to look at them, let alone talk to them. Moments later, Brian appears and jubilantly announces that he’ll be making a short statement on my behalf. I smile slightly as the crowd diverts its gaze to him. Let him enjoy his moment in the spotlight. He deserves it.

Deacon’s car is parked round the corner. I heave a huge sigh as I climb in and shut the door behind me.

“Congratulations!” Rhett and Kate yell, as they clamber into the backseat. I know I should be pleased to see them, but I haven’t got the energy to respond. I smile weakly.

Deacon starts the car. “You OK?”

I nod, but I’m not really. Now that the initial burst of elation has died down, I feel deflated. My life as I knew it is over. It can never be the same – not after so many months in prison. I have lost so much time – an entire spring and summer that I will never get back. More than that, I’ve lost a part of me.

Deacon wakes me as we approach the lights of Queensbeach.

“Where to? You want to go home?”

“Can we go back to yours?” I ask, sleepily.

“I’ll cook something special to celebrate,” Rhett offers from the back. “What do you fancy? Toad-in-the-hole? Lancashire hotpot?”

“Anything,” I smile sleepily. “Just as long as you make it.”

Another person in my situation might have indulged in elaborate fantasies of what they’d do when they got out. Where they would go, what they would do, who they would spend that first special evening with. But not me. When I was in jail, I couldn’t allow my mind to wander that far – to believe I could actually be set free. And there is still Alicia to think about. Where is she now? And what is she planning next?

As we drive past Robertson’s, I can’t help noticing that the place has been completely repainted. And in place of the giant ‘R’ on the roof, there is now a happy squirrel.

“Robertson’s changed hands?” I say, in disbelief. “Sonya never said a thing!”

“Yeah, Filbert’s bought it after the fire. Apparently Robertson’s wasn’t properly covered by their insurance.”

So someone did benefit from the fire! Does that mean someone paid Alicia to start it? Was it Bernie? A slight prickle runs down my spine. Did he also pay her to set fire to his car? Bile builds in my mouth, and I turn my head in the other direction, just in time to see the sea, glimmering and green.

I watch as the last fishing boat of the day chugs in. The sea tosses it this way and that before allowing it into the safety of the harbour. But it could just as easily have dashed it against the rocks. The sea is unpredictable like that.

Rhett is as good as his word and cooks up a storm. I sit round the table with my friends, eating chicken and potatoes and glugging wine, just like the old days. We talk about all the things I’ve missed while I’ve been away. Apparently, the police swarmed on Mustafa a few weeks ago and tried to deport him, but he was back at work a couple of days later.

“The man must have a really good lawyer,” Deacon says, serving me another helping of potatoes.

I don’t bring up my own strange history with Mustafa. I haven’t got the strength. And we don’t discuss where I’ve been, either. I’m not ready to, not yet. You could be forgiven for thinking I’d been on an extended holiday as we all adjourn to the lounge to watch Eastenders.

Or you would, if it weren’t for that damn knock at the door.

Rhett answers it.

“Isabel, it’s for you.”

I sit up in alarm.

Who knows I’m here?

“Relax, it’s just Julio.”

“Oh.”

Reluctantly, I make my way to the door.

“I thought I’d find you here. I wanted to tell you… I wanted to apologise…”

I fold my arms. “I’m not interested.”

“But if you’d just give me a moment to explain…”

“I don’t have a moment,” I spit. “I have just spent 8 months in prison. I can’t stand here and listen to your bullshit. I don’t have time.”

I try to shut the door, but he sticks his foot in the way.

“Alicia threatened to kill you,” he blurts out. “That’s why I… we said what we said. You’ve seen what they did to Holly. I couldn’t let them do that to you too.”

I bite my lip. My anger is a rabid dog. I am in no mood for reconciliation.

“I think you’d better come in,” says a voice from behind me.

I look round in astonishment. Deacon, who has never liked my brother and never tried to hide it, ushers him inside.

Julio sticks his hands in his pockets as he follows him down the hall. We go into the lounge and sit down. I am too numb to think straight. It is not the time for explanations and forgiveness, not on the night of my release. And yet, here is Julio, desperate to get this off his chest.

Just when I think things couldn’t get more uncomfortable, Kate appears.

“Hi Julio.”

“Er… hi…”

I look from one to the other and realise that this is the first time they’ve met since the divorce.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Kate offers. “Rhett’s just made some.”

“Um… OK. Thanks.”

“You still take it with two sugars?”

“Yeah.”

Julio’s hand shakes slightly as he holds his coffee, causing it to drip down his arm and onto his jeans. There is a box of tissues on the table but I say nothing.

I’ve heard that his wedding has been postponed. The official story is that Holly needs more time to recover, but I can’t help wondering if she’s having second thoughts. I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to put as much distance between herself and our family as possible.

Julio is here to unburden himself. He tells of his panic when Holly failed to come home that night and his horror, when the police called to say they had found her.

“How is Holly now?”

“Physically, she’s on the mend, but it will take her a while to get over the trauma. Especially after Alicia paid us a visit and told us what to say in court. Holly thought we should go to the police, but I wouldn’t let her risk it. We both knew she meant business.”

I know he’s expecting my sympathy, but I’m not sure I can give it. It’s not that I don’t care about what happened to Holly – of course, I do but I wouldn’t have got through the last 8 months if I hadn’t hardened my heart just a bit and it’s not that easy to undo. Not overnight, anyway.

Deacon excuses himself to take a phone call, and Rhett and Kate busy themselves, clearing the table, leaving Julio to my mercy.

“Why didn’t you warn me, tell me what was going on?”

“I was scared of what she might do.”

“Don’t you think I was scared, locked up in a cell all that time, not knowing if I was ever going to get out?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Well, sorry isn’t good enough. Not by a long way.”

“Isabel…”

“You’re not going to believe this!” Deacon bursts in, before I can release the full torrent of my anger.

“What?”

“That was Brian on the phone. He reckons she’s been arrested.”

“Who?”

“Alicia.”

All time stands still.

“What? What happened? Tell me! Quick!”

“They got her on that firework stunt.”

“That was her?”

“No, she got some poor exchange student to do it, but a witness saw her giving the kid the fireworks.”

I can’t believe this. Alicia arrested, on the very day I’ve gained my freedom. How is this possible?

It can’t be this easy.

I let out a strange, strangled whistle. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“They’ve got her!”

Julio reaches over and squeezes my hand, but even in my elation, I can’t return the gesture.

“Knowing Alicia, she’ll probably wriggle out of it. They won’t be able to hold her for long.”

I’m not that lucky.

“Maybe, but if they start digging around, they might just find a few skeletons.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“Anyway, I think it’s about time we opened this, don’t you?”

He holds up a bottle of my favourite champagne.

“Oh Deacon, you’ve already spent so much. I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you.”

“Well, then – one glass of champagne is hardly going to make any difference, is it?”

I laugh at his logic. “Go on then.”

“Julio, would you like a glass?”

“No thanks – I really should get home to Holly.” He turns to me. “I’m so glad you’re out, Isabel and I really am sorry.”

“Thanks.”

I let him show himself out.

I try not to think about him as I enjoy the first champagne I’ve had in a very long time.

“You OK?” I ask Kate, who is unnaturally quiet.

“Yeah, why?”

I narrow my eyes. “You know – Julio.”

Because he broke your heart into a thousand tiny pieces.

“Oh, him!”

“I never thought I’d see the two of you in the same room again.”

“Yeah, well things are different now.”

“You’re over him?”

“Absolutely – have been for a while. Besides, I have more important things to worry about.”

She smiles mysteriously.

“What does that mean?”

She pulls a picture out of her wallet and hands it to me.

“What’s this?”

“What does it look like?”

“A scan picture.” I stare at her in amazement. “Are you… pregnant?”

She nods. “Thirteen weeks and counting.”

“What? I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone!”

She smiles ruefully. “Well, it wasn’t exactly planned, but I’m happy. We’re happy.”

“So who’s the mystery man? Anyone I know?”

“Well, actually…”

She looks up as Rhett walks over with a glass of orange juice in his hand. He sets it down on the table and slips his arm around her waist.

“You told her then?”

“You’re… the father?”

“Is it that hard to believe?”

“No, no, of course not. It’s just… taken me a bit by surprise, that’s all!”

I leave them to it and go and find Deacon, who’s using the computer in his study.

The desk is stacked precariously high with papers and legal books.

You really tried to get me out, didn’t you?

“Ah, I take it they’ve told you their news?”

“You knew about this? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Kate wanted to tell you herself – in person. Not in some manky visitor’s room. Aren’t you happy for them?”

“Of course I am – I just… didn’t see it coming, that’s all.”

“You didn’t?” He laughs. “Rhett’s had a thing for Kate ever since I can remember. The only thing I’m surprised about is that it’s taken them this long to get together.”

So that’s why I’ve never seen him with another girl! Poor Rhett. He must have been devastated when she married Julio.

He looks at me closely. “You thought he was on the other bus didn’t you?”

“Well, what was I supposed to think? He is rather fond of shopping. And cooking.” I pause, thoughtfully. “Perfect boyfriend material, really. But I just can’t believe he’s liked her for all these years! How could she not notice?”

“People can be a bit blind, when it comes to love.”

“Like you and Alicia?” I blush – I hadn’t meant to utter these words aloud.

“No.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Are you still in love with her? Even after everything she’s done to me?

“No, I meant – that’s not what happened,”

“What did happen?” I try to keep my tone casual, but every nerve in my body jangles.

“I wanted to make you jealous.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I know it was stupid, but you always looked at me as your friend. And I wanted to be more than that.”

I blink. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I did! Don’t you remember? At the ball, the Christmas before last.”

I look down at the ground. “I thought you were joking. We’d both had a bit too much to drink that night.”

“That’s the trouble. You never took me seriously.”

He hangs his head. “And the thing with Alicia – that was her idea. She said if you saw me with someone else, you might realise what you were missing. I know it was stupid and juvenile, but I thought it might just work. I didn’t know what she was then, or I would never have gone along with it.”

“So you were never… in love with her?”

“No, never. I only have eyes for you, Isabel.”

I melt into him.

The first kiss is soft and sweet and tender. Soon his hands are on my back and in my hair. His body presses against mine as he kisses me more deeply, more urgently. I’m tempted, oh how I’m tempted. But how can I even consider this? His cruel words, spoken so many months ago, still sting in my ears: “Fluffy’s disappearance is probably her own doing.”

“No!” I pull back sharply.

He looks at me in confusion.

“Isabel? What’s wrong?”

“I was there that night, when you were talking to Kate about me. When you told her Fluffy ran away because of me.”

“Ohhh…” Deacon’s face changes. “No, Isabel – it wasn’t like that.”

“I heard everything.”

I look at him expectantly, waiting for him to deny it, to apologise, anything.

“I know that’s what I said…”

So it’s true.

I spin on my heel.

“Isabel!”

“Leave me alone, Deacon. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but there’s really nothing more you can say.”

I do a lot of thinking on the long walk home. It’s strange, picking my way through the familiar streets. This is the first time I’ve been on my own, truly on my own, for months. As much as it hurts, I have to accept this. If Deacon doesn’t believe in me, then there’s no future for us and no point in pretending.

My wind battered car waits for me on my driveway, the windows muddied with leaves and cobwebs. I find the front door slightly dented. The police must have broken it down to get in when they were looking for Holly. It’s been fixed, but you can still tell something happened here.

Inside, the place is a lot tidier than I left it. Kate and Rhett have been round to clean. There are fresh flowers on the windowsill and not a single dish left in the sink or on the draining board. Even Fluffy’s bowl has been washed and neatly put away. I sniff the air. Rhett has put in one of those plug-in air fresheners. It smells lovely and lemony, and yet it makes me feel incredibly sad, as if the citrus smell has wiped out the last vestige of Fluffy. I take his bowl out of the cupboard, fill it with water and place it back on the ground. Then I go upstairs to pack. If I set off now, I should be in Scotland by the morning.