I can’t tell you where I am, I don’t want your ex-boyfriend to come after me now, that will be your problem in a few years. However, it is warm and beautiful and I will think of you now and then.
With love
Sean
I stood silently reading and rereading the letter. This must be some sort of joke, I had the wallet thing, it was upstairs. But I realised, he had the passcode and the skills, he must have emptied the coffers and run away. “Shit! The total bastard!”
I stared at Annie, what could I say, she had lost her boyfriend, I was very much likely to lose my life. Maybe not now, but Edwin would come for his money, he would find me and… Oh, God…
Annie was snivelling, I shuddered. “I have to go…”
“What?” She gulped.
“That was Edwin’s money. I’ve lost his money.”
“He’s in prison.” She sniffed.
“Have you not seen anything in the papers about him. He kills for pleasure, people disappear. I have to go, I have to protect you and May.”
“You’re making no sense.”
“No, maybe not.” I shuddered. “Shit! One of his henchmen could appear at any moment wanting that money. If they find me, they will find you and your mum. What do I do Annie, just say ‘sorry, I’ve lost your millions of pounds, but we’re all good?’ I would not make it to the end of the sentence before he killed us. Someone like him is not going to just let this go. Oh shit, shit… Oh God, I’ve put you and May in danger.”
“Amanda please…” Annie grabbed hold of me, pleading.
20
Goodbye
The look of hatred from Annie was palpable.
She couldn’t understand me running away. I had sat down with May and explained what had happened and more importantly the risks it posed. She half-heartedly told me to stay but I told her I had to keep them safe. If I had known what that wallet thing had been I would have returned it to them.
I hoped one day Annie would understand like May clearly did. Right now, all she thought was that I was being selfish. I was hateful and stupid in her words. I should go as she hated me. She had stormed off, slamming the door to her room. It had hurt, I’d tried to keep calm and not show it but May could see it in my eyes.
“I’ll talk with her, make her understand. She’s only young.” May paused. “I know you are too… Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. I wasn’t sure what to do. Sean had placed just over one million pounds in both mine and Annie’s bank accounts. All I could think was, that as long as there was no obvious link between me and her, she would be safe. She would have money and would be protected.
I wanted to stay, this was my family and again I was being orphaned, this time by my choice, but to protect my new mother and sister. I left instructions, any contact should be made via Raj’s News on Clapham High Street, I would check in regularly with my old friend and he could be trusted to pass on a message anonymously. So there I was, my holdall in hand, it contained my life. Some photos, a couple of horseshoes, my leather riding boots, breeches and blouses and little else. Forever the nomad it was time for me to run again.
Eventually, the time came. I hugged May, telling her how sorry I was. I hated to see the tears in her eyes. Annie wouldn’t let go and I wished she didn’t have to, the smell of the horse shampoo in her hair took me right back to our first meeting.
“I love you, Annie…” I had never said it, I’d wanted to, but the time had never seemed right, it was unspoken. “I will never forget you and maybe, just maybe I can see you again.”
I didn’t look back as I walked down the drive and onto the main road. It was dark, but I was taking no chances, I would catch a bus on the Marlborough road and then… Well, then where? I would see where the wind would blow me.
21
New Ventures
A guest house in Yorkshire, a small family hotel in Glasgow, an Airbnb in Manchester. I moved about for some time, unsure where to go or what to do. I was sat now in Manchester Central library, maps surrounding me looking for a place to be free. Maybe the Highlands of Scotland, perhaps the dark moors of Dartmoor, but finally my eye was drawn.
I had always dreamed of owning my own stables, of course I had known that it was nothing more than a pipe dream. The chances of me ever getting the money together to even put a deposit down on a suitable premises. Now that had changed. With money in the bank I had the opportunity to live my dreams, albeit under uncertain circumstances.
I had tussled with the thought, I was on the run, maybe I should go far away, but I knew that it would be inevitable that I would be found eventually. Perhaps, my foolish mind told me, if I could show I had invested at least some of the money, kept it safe for when Edwin was released. No that was a stupid thought, I was selfishly doing what I had always wanted to do. From the days at school when I had drawn plans of ‘my perfect stable’ in my exercise books, now I could do this. And, I reasoned, if I found somewhere off the beaten track and was careful to keep my head down, I thought I could probably get away with it for at least a while. If they were going to come and get me, I had at least
