Masters And Lovers 1-4
Chapter 29
James
In the back seat of the 4x4, beside me, Klempner sits with his own phone balanced on one knee, mine on the other. In the front, Kirch sits by the driver who I assume is ‘Baxter’.
Is this where I disappear?
“Where are you taking me?”
“Nowhere for you to worry about. Just somewhere the police aren’t likely to turn up.” Klempner sounds frustrated. “James, I ask you to believe me. I intend you no harm. I intend them no harm. All I want is to talk to Mitch.”
“Oh, that’s all you want is it?”
“Yes. That’s all.”
“And to achieve that you broke out of prison, murdering two guards in the process. So far as I could hear on my way out, you damn near ram-raided the house front to get in the door. You’ve taken me prisoner and sent men looking for Charlotte and her mother. You spent twenty years hating Charlotte for something in which she was a complete innocent. You abused her and damn near raped her at one point. And I’m supposed to believe…”
“It was different then. I didn’t know.”
“What makes you think Mitch wants to talk to you? She’s hidden herself from you for over twenty years. She’s terrified of you. And I don’t blame her.”
“I don’t want to hurt her. I just want to talk.”
“So you keep saying. But you’ve lain in wait in prison at your convenience, using the girl who turned out to be your daughter as a cat’s-paw to track her down. Oh, and not forgetting, you’ve kidnapped me. You don’t think all this might worry Mitch at all?”
Klempner’s forehead knits, as though it were a new idea.
I’m having trouble believing what I’m seeing. “You hadn’t thought of that had you? You seriously hadn’t thought of it. Klempner, you’re such a mixed-up bag of crazy that no-one knows what the fuck to make of you, least of all me.”
He simply looks confused.
*****
Michael
Whatever they’re queuing for, it looks like the movie’s a hit. I make my way along the line of people, but it seems an unlikely place to find Charlotte. Teenage boys, some wearing geek costumes, chatter excitedly about the latest superhero. Plunging through the crowd, I ignore the shouts and insults of the offended.
In the foyer, crowds heave. It’s Friday night and, just like the previous two cinemas, it’s packed.
I push to the front, ignoring outraged catcalls and insults. “Have you seen a group of three women? Two red-heads, one brunette.”
A pair of thick-rimmed spectacles backed by a blue-rinse fixes on me and a long finger points behind me. “Get to the back of the queue, Bud,” she growls.
“I’m serious. It’s important. An emergency.”
My tone penetrates. The spectacles come off to reveal watery blue eyes and a frown. “No, I’m sorry, sir. I haven’t. One moment.” She leans to one side, “Hey, Sheila, Gale; you seen three women together? Two brunettes and a red-head.”
“No. Two red-heads and a brunette.”
rattles across the counter. “No, not seen
“Me neither.”
my way past the ticket points I scan the movies, looking for something likely to have caught
blood-gore-axe-wielding horror flick. Not Charlotte’s cup of tea. There’s a French noir offering which she might watch if she were alone, but it’s not a likely choice for a girls’ outing. A Rom-Com looks promising, so I work through the short queue then squeeze
No joy.
scowls at me as I exit again.
Anything else?
my way through the
End-of-the-world-apocalyptic-dystopia… Nope.
Spy-action movie… Nope.
Sci-fi thriller…
there that seems likely to draw them in. I march out and, once
*****
eyes I exit my fifth, and final,
Ben?
Not heard from him…
I check my mobile…
No call. No message.
in…. Wait… Listen to the ring
No reply either.
send
U found anything?
Still nothing…
What to do?
I make my way back
*****
in green and gold, the windows full of designer fashions where if you have to
Fuck!
try Ben once more: still no reply. Nothing from James either, and under the circumstances, I’m not about to call
the side, looking for perhaps a back-door or a
parking lot, with only a bar across the ramp to
I
towards the door, following signs… This
am I looking
Charlotte have come
She might…
If she scented trouble…
car of her own, having written off the last one in a previous adventure. And neither James nor I was inclined to replace it for her. With two vehicles already in the
with room for dogs, camping out and trekking to the wilder places I know she likes to go. Certainly,
But it’s here…
What does that mean?
day out. Shopping and high tea. So, they met here? Or met somewhere else
Charlotte get warning of
Richard? He’d keep trying…
What would she do?