Faith - Lesley Pearse [231]
‘A couple of hundred isn’t enough for me,’ he raged, ‘I need ten thousand.’ He turned towards Andy. ‘Shut that bloody dog up,’ he yelled at him.
It was the word ‘need’ that alerted her to the real reason behind his surprise visit. He was on the run! The police in Edinburgh must have put out a warrant for his arrest. No doubt whoever tipped him off about that would also have had access to court records, to find out her bail address.
But knowing he was wanted by the police put her in an even more vulnerable position. A desperate man didn’t think logically. He wouldn’t stop to consider that hurting her or Meggie would just get him a longer prison sentence, he’d do what any cornered savage animal would do – attack.
‘No one, Robbie, has ten thousand pounds lying around,’ she said, hardly able to get the words out for the pain in her ribs. Andy was just about to go into the sitting room and she was afraid he’d hurt Lucy. ‘I don’t want to see the police catch you. I’ve had a basinful of them myself, so get out of here while you still can. I’ll give you everything I’ve got,’ she said frantically.
Lucy came bounding out of the sitting room wagging her tail and jumping up at Laura’s legs in greeting. ‘Basket, Lucy,’ she said weakly, hoping that for once she would obey. But she didn’t, she turned to Robbie and began jumping up at him. He lifted his foot and kicked her, and squealing with fright she ran for the stairs.
Laura seized Robbie’s moment of distraction to sidle towards the front door and make her escape. She got it open, then screamed as a hand on her shoulder hauled her back in. It was Andy. He grabbed her arm, twisting it up behind her back, making her scream even louder with the pain.
‘Shut it,’ he said in a growl as he frogmarched her back along the hall into the kitchen. Robbie came in too. He picked up her handbag, which she’d left sitting on the vegetable basket, and rifled through it. He found a £10 note in her purse and looked at it contemptuously.
‘Watch her!’ he ordered Andy and began to rummage through the kitchen drawers and cupboards.
Lucy was still barking. Laura thought she was at the top of the stairs, too frightened to come down, and she sincerely hoped she’d stay there because she wouldn’t put it past Robbie to kick her again.
‘There isn’t any more money in the house,’ Laura said, directing her plea at Andy because she felt he was dumber than Robbie. ‘If there was any I’d give it to you. Come with me to the cashpoint – I’ll get you some there.’
Andy’s face brightened. Clearly it didn’t occur to him that he couldn’t stop her darting away from him once they were on a busy main road.
‘Shall I go with her, boss?’ he asked Robbie.
‘Don’t be fuckin’ thick,’ Robbie snarled.
‘I could give you the card and you could go yourself,’ Laura volunteered.
‘Yeah, right!’ Robbie said. ‘As if you could be trusted to give him the right number! I didn’t come down the Clyde on an orange box, you know.’
‘I want you out of here, you want to go, that’s all I see,’ she said. ‘You can’t get more out than two hundred in one day anyway, and I’d gladly give you that for old times’ sake.’
‘Don’t come all the old acid with me,’ he scowled. You always did have more tricks than a sodding magician.’
‘I’m not playing any tricks,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t you think I’ve been through enough? I was your friend when you needed one most after your wife left you. Have you forgotten that? I could have told the police you knew Jackie and you’d have been pulled in for questioning, but I didn’t. I don’t care what you did with Belle and Charles, or that solicitor. Go now and I won’t tell anyone you’ve been here.’
‘Liar!’ he shouted back at her. ‘You’ve always lied to me and you’re still doing it.’ He came at her like a bulldozer, knocking her back against the kitchen units, and grabbed hold of her neck with both hands and squeezed it. ‘You sent Macgregor round to check me out, you told him that I helped Jackie. He got stuff out of Calder, and now I