‘He’s not takin’ my calls. Tell him he owes me for the tickets and two bags of weed. He’s bang out of order,’ the voice said before hanging up.
Ruby sighed. She turned to Archie. ‘Make sure that kid gets his money, and understands that we’re movin’ on. We won’t ever live back ’ere again.’
All she wanted was to start a new life away from this place, especially for Cathy. She wanted her daughter to live far from this house where she’d been raped. She sensed that the only way her daughter would heal from her uncle’s violation, if indeed she ever did, was away from here, away from the memories. At least, Cathy could grieve the loss of her innocence somewhere where the sun shone and she had friends.
Ruby chartered a private jet to take them and their belongings over, while Archie managed the Chigwell mansion, shutting it up and installing state-of-the-art security cameras.
Stepping out of the aircraft, feeling the winter sun on her skin, Ruby felt the first spark of hope since the tragic events. She looked at her daughter, hiding behind big, dark sunglasses, pulling a hoodie around her though it was a mild afternoon. Her once-sunny, sweet daughter was a shadow of her former self. Where she used to prattle away, chatting and giggling with her parents, she was now quiet and withdrawn. Ruby knew that only time, and possibly a good therapist, could help her, but the sight of Cathy grieved her beyond measure.
‘You all right, darlin’?’ Ruby asked.
Cathy nodded, but didn’t say a word, and yet she understood. Ruby saw that her daughter’s sense of security had been stolen from her in the attack. She hadn’t just lost her virginity – and her uncle – she’d lost her safety.
Sometimes Ruby wondered if Cathy knew in her heart that George had been killed. And sometimes she wondered if Cathy would feel safer knowing George could never hurt her again. But she knew, deep down, it would destroy her gentle daughter to know her mother had killed her uncle.
She would never tell her the truth.
Ruby worried constantly about her daughter as the months passed and she stayed as quiet as a mouse, keeping to the rooms of the villa or the pool, but rarely venturing any further unless it was to go to school. Ruby organised a top-class therapist to speak to Cathy, and every week, drove her to the woman’s office. Gradually, Cathy started to come out of her shell, even to eat dinner with the family at the dining table or outside on one of the verandas.
Ruby’s worry for her daughter’s well-being began to ease with each step she took toward healing. She had taken the last few months off from the business, leaving Archie to run it alongside his father, so she could always be on hand if Cathy needed her. Lloyd knew the truth about George, Archie told him as soon as they’d arrived, and he’d accepted it as just another underworld killing; effective and necessary to resolve a bad situation. Ruby trusted Lloyd with her life, and she knew he would never betray her secret.
Meanwhile, all the staff had been replaced – and security doubled – after the Albanian set-up that almost cost Archie his life. There were now twenty-four-hour guards with dogs and machine guns patrolling the boundaries of their estate. She hoped it helped Cathy feel safer, though the real threat had come from inside their home.
Winter bled into spring and spring into summer. Cathy had become increasingly active, and confident. Ruby saw she didn’t need to fuss around her all the time now, and with that knowledge, Ruby was back in business.
‘I want to be in on the next negotiations,’ she said to Archie and Lloyd one evening as the three of them sat round the large antique dining table eating the supper their new chef had prepared. ‘I need life to get back to normal,’ she added.
Lloyd nodded and looked at Archie.
‘Course, darlin’, whatever you want. We’ve missed your sharp mind, and timing couldn’t be better. We have the Russian coming tomorrow.’
The three of them smiled at each other and then swiftly moved the conversation on as Cathy entered the room and took her spot at the table. Both Archie and Lloyd fell straight to eating, but Ruby noticed that Cathy only seemed to be moving her salad around her plate.
‘Not hungry, love?’ Ruby said, her attention instantly drawn to her daughter.
Cathy raised her gaze from her plate and looked directly at her mum. ‘I want to know where George is.’
Ruby stopped chewing. She looked at Archie.
‘Darlin’, I thought we said it’s not up for discussion. I don’t even want that boy’s name mentioned in this ’ouse again. He’s gone, that’s all ya need to know,’ Archie said, more forcefully than he’d intended.
There was a moment’s silence.
‘Mum?’ the young girl said, this time pleadingly.
Ruby gulped. ‘Your dad’s right. It’s in the past now. We don’t even know where George is ourselves, so we couldn’t tell ya anyway.’ She put down her knife and fork, her hunger gone.
Cathy did the same, then slowly pushed back her chair, got up and walked away from the table.
‘Let her go. She’ll come round,’ Archie soothed, but Ruby wasn’t sure.
She smiled at her husband. ‘Course she will, love.’ Ruby stared after Cathy for a moment, but Lloyd interrupted her thoughts.
‘Ruby, we need your attention.’
‘Sorry, Lloyd. Yes, tell me everythin’ you know about this man, Vladimir Ivanov,’ she replied, looking between her husband and father-in-law.
‘Our contacts in the East have been tailin’ him for a while. He’s a big player, most likely ex-KGB.’
Lloyd nodded as Archie spoke.
‘If we can get him onside, it would make us the single biggest player in Spain, and
