Weeping on Wednesday

to. A gesture of affection. Another change of mood. In spite of the prospect of more fear and discomfort, Enid felt a glimmer of hope.

Then, from the rustling and alarm calls from woodland birds, she knew he had gone.

¦

Alibone Woods had other visitors. Lois, accompanied by Bill, was walking systematically through the trees. They were not speaking, but listening and looking. It had been a sudden impulse to search the woods. Conversations with Enid had been running through Lois’s head, and mention of a secret place known only to Edward, and regular picnics in Alibone Woods had rung bells. Wouldn’t such a hiding place be as good a place as any to start looking for Enid? She knew the police had searched, but had good reason to question their thoroughness.

“But Mrs M,” Bill had said, when she’d phoned him at lunchtime, “you said the old man told you she’d gone away and didn’t want to be followed?”

“Yes, but he was lying,” said Lois shortly. “Don’t bother, Bill. I’ll go on my own.”

Before she could put down the phone, he’d said that of course he would come with her. He would meet her by the lay-by bordering the woods, when he’d finished with his afternoon client.

“It’s a bit of a long shot, isn’t it?” he’d said as she got out of her car.

“Not as long as all that,” she’d said, and explained. “If Edward has taken her off, he could’ve hidden her for a bit. After all, Jamie goin’ down to the mill was a surprise. If Edward was around, it could have made him do something daft, bein’ caught on the hop.”

“Do you reckon he’s dangerous?” Bill had asked.

Lois had nodded. “Blokes on the run, like he is, must get desperate. God knows if he’s a threat to Enid. They’re supposed to’ve been close. Still, that don’t always mean anything.”

Now, trudging slowly up and down, working from one side of the wood to the other, they said nothing more. After a while, Bill broke the silence. “They’re big, these woods, Mrs M. We shan’t do it all in one go,” he whispered. “I’ll have to get back in a hour or so. Me and Rebecca are goin’ over to Tresham.”

“That’s OK,” said Lois. “We’ll do as much as we can, and if we haven’t found anything, we’ll do the rest tomorrow.” Her spirits were sinking. She had started off with high hopes, pleased that Bill was with her. He was such a solid chap, and a reassuring one, too. She was sure nothing would happen to her with Bill there.

They had found nothing, no traces of undergrowth beaten down or footprints in soggy ground, and although she was tired and fed-up, and very much aware of Bill’s growing scepticism, she had a strong feeling that somewhere in this paradise of trees in fresh leaf and buds of bursting bluebells was Enid Abraham, hidden from sight and contact with people who could upset her brother’s plans.

Another hour had enabled them to cover about half the acreage of the woods, and they walked back to the car. “Well, nothing there,” said Bill cheerfully, seeing Lois’s long face. “I’ll come back with you tomorrow.”

“You’ve got a full day’s work,” said Lois. “Don’t bother, Bill, I can manage.”

She had it in mind to alert Cowgill. Perhaps he would be interested. If she could stop him filling the woods with boys in blue, and persuade him to search quietly with her, then if they did find Enid, with or without her brother, it would be a lot easier to do something about it.

“Righto,” Bill said. “But take your mobile, and give me a bell if you need help.”

¦

Cowgill was interested in what Lois had to say. “Trouble is,” he said, “there’s a high-level meeting tomorrow. All day. I’ve got to be there.”

“What? You mean even you have to obey orders?” Lois was irritated, and more so when Cowgill suggested local bobby Keith Simpson should come and help her instead.

“For God’s sake!” she said. “This is a woman disappeared! Probably abducted by a murderin’ lunatic…”

“Only murderous with dogs,” replied Cowgill mildly.

“So far!” said Lois sharply. “I wouldn’t give much for Enid’s chances if she crosses that madman. And,” she added angrily, “dogs are just as important as humans, I reckon. More so than some I could mention,” she ended up, and put down the phone.

Just let him wait until he wanted her to do something urgently! Well, she’d go on her own. She had an idea. Talk of dogs had reminded her of the old collie she took for walks for the old lady. He’d still got a bit of life left in him, and she’d borrow him tomorrow morning to give her a bit of protection while she combed the rest of the woods. Perhaps have a word with Miss Clitheroe first? In her long stint at the school, she’d have heard all the local lore from the children, and might just know where the secret places were. It could save Lois a lot of time.

? Weeping on Wednesday ?

Thirty-Three

Miss Clitheroe proved useful. Yes, she’d heard the children talking about a hiding place in Alibone Woods. It had been years ago, but a young teacher she’d had in the school at that time had organized a trek with the older children, their aim being to find the cave.

“And did they?” said Lois, anxious to get going.

Fortunately Miss Clitheroe had a class waiting, and cut short reminiscences. “Yes, they did. Had a picnic there. It was over by the railway line, where the stream goes underground. I don’t think the quarry people found what they were looking for. It was soon abandoned, and lost in the undergrowth. I don’t think anyone’s been there for years.”

“Thanks a lot.” Lois was grateful and left swiftly, not wishing to be a nuisance. A cave lost in the undergrowth sounds very promising, she said to herself, and she walked quickly round to collect the collie.

“I’ll bring him back in a couple of hours,” she said to the old lady. “Not car sick, is he? I thought I’d take him to Alibone for a good walk off the lead.” Assured that the collie had ridden on more bumpy farm vehicles than Lois had had hot dinners, she set off with the dog on the back seat. He looked at her trustingly. Curiosity roused him from his usual aged apathy, and his ears were pricked, eyes roaming from side to side as they drove along.

It had begun to rain, and Lois pulled on an old hat that Derek had left in the boot. “Come on, dog,” she said, and opened the door. The collie bounded out, given a new lease of life by the smells and sounds of the wood. This time Lois knew exactly where she was going. All the times she had waited for Cowgill at their meeting place stood her in good stead. She had a feel for the geography of the wood, and made straight for the stream, turning in the direction Miss Clitheroe had described. When she came to the place where the trickle of water disappeared underground, she stopped. She could see the edge of the wood, and the railway line beyond. All around her were thick bushes and small trees, growing faster at this place where sunlight penetrated. She listened. Nothing strange. Bird calls, rustling from animals running from the scent of dog. She could see no place where a cave might be. Then the dog began nosing and scrabbling fiercely at a dense patch of couch grass. She went closer, and caught her breath. He was uncovering a narrow pathway made through the bushes. He disappeared then, and she followed, pushing her way through thorns and scratching her legs on brambles.

Suddenly she was there, at the edge of the cave. For a moment she could see nothing but blackness and was terrified at being so exposed to whatever – whoever – was in there. Then her eyes adjusted, and she saw the dog rooting around among tins and bottles. She saw a chair tipped over on its side, and lengths of rope on the ground. The back of the cave was now visible, and there was clearly nobody there. The bird had flown, if there had ever been one.

She was about to leave, calling the dog to follow her, when she saw something glinting on the ground. It was a pen, a ballpoint with a silvery clip. She picked it up, looked closely, and felt a jolt of recognition. On the side, printed in black letters, she read ‘New Brooms – We sweep cleaner!’ Well done, Josie. It was proof that Enid had been here. And was now gone. Lois did not need three guesses to identify her captor.

Poor Enid. Poor little woman. But then, as Lois walked back through the wood, Bill’s doubts about the Abraham family came back to her. Was Enid really a poor little woman? Had she been taken, or had she gone freely, laughing, hiding with her brother until it was safe for them to vanish together? And why should they choose this particular time? Had they both thought that as a result of Jamie’s incursion into the inner sanctum of the mill, the police would be hotter on the trail of Edward?

And then, that recurring question: what had he done to make his escape so vital? Killing a dog, blackmailing a