Belle - Lesley Pearse [236]
All at once an idea came to him. If those people made enough noise Kent would get up to look and see what was happening. The desk was nearer the second window, and there appeared to be less clutter there too, whereas Jimmy could see there was a pile of boxes beneath the window where he was. So Kent would take the easiest route to look out, and as he did so, Jimmy could smash his way in and hopefully knock Kent out before he could grab his gun.
It certainly wasn’t a foolproof plan; all it had in its favour was the element of surprise. And he’d have to synchronize smashing the window and jumping through, plus bashing Kent with the cudgel before he had a chance to gather his wits.
But it was the only idea Jimmy had, and while he stood on the window sill considering the virtues and dangers of it, Belle was in there, in mortal danger.
So he half turned and began flapping his arms around and pretending to slip off the sill. He knew the people below wouldn’t realize how deep the sill really was, and he willed them to start shouting at him.
‘Stand still, we’ll get help!’ someone shouted.
All at once the murmur of voices became a hubbub, growing even louder as others stopped to join in. Quickly Jimmy put his eye to his spy-hole and saw Kent getting up. To make sure the man went right to the window, Jimmy pretended to slip again, and the gasps and calls for him to stay still were so loud that he knew Kent must be looking out.
Jimmy had put the cudgel on the window sill when he first climbed up. Now he snatched it up, swung it back, and with all his strength crashed it into the glass. At the moment of impact he hurled himself forward, eyes closed. He felt shards of glass scrape his head and cheeks, but still held on to the cudgel and only opened his eyes as he hit the floor. He staggered, then spun round to see Kent was still at the window, but he’d turned round and his eyes were wide with shock.
Lifting the cudgel above his head, Jimmy leapt towards the man and brought it crashing down. The blow landed on Kent’s shoulder and he reeled back with a howl of pain. Jimmy lifted it again, and with even more force hit him again on the side of his head.
Kent slumped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Jimmy was half blinded by blood. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve to clear them, then looked around. Kent’s jacket was lying on some boxes, the gun sticking out of the pocket.
He snatched it up, tucked it into the waist of his trousers, kicked Kent to make sure he was unconscious, and when he didn’t move, went to find Belle.
She was lying on the floor right up by the staircase door, trussed up with a gag in her mouth, her eye blackening from a blow.
‘It’s all right, you’re safe now,’ Jimmy said as he removed the gag from her mouth. ‘Kent’s out cold and I have his gun. But I’ve got to go back in there to make sure he doesn’t wake up. Just wait a few more minutes, the police will soon be here.’
‘So it was you,’ she said in wonder.
Jimmy chuckled. He wanted to untie her and hug her, but he had no knife on him to cut the rope and he was afraid Kent might come round. ‘Yes, it was me, but hold on, sweetheart. I can’t untie you now.’
Belle watched as he walked back towards the light at the end of the room. He had such a light, lithe step, and it reminded her of the day he’d slid on the ice as they went down to the Embankment Gardens in the snow. That seemed a lifetime ago.
She had been in such abject terror lying here on the floor that she’d wet herself. She’d been able to see Kent sitting with his back to her right at the end of the room, but he was just a dark, unmoving shape. She didn’t know what he was doing but she was convinced he was preparing to kill her. She had no hope of rescue. No one would think of looking for her here.
After trying vainly to free herself