| Taming Sophie (Continued) Martine Hayes
Chapter 5 Sophie walked through the reception and smiled at the secretary. ‘Shall I tell him you’re here?’ ‘No, that’s okay. I have a surprise for him.’ She walked slowly to the office door, it was closed, but she could hear voices. Sophie stopped to listen, she didn’t want to interrupt if he had a client. She pushed her ear against the door. ‘I’m telling you, it will be the easiest job yet, trust me.’ ‘What about the guard?’ ‘He does a patrol around 3am. It gives us exactly 45minutes to get in and get out.’ ‘45 minutes isn’t enough, there is no way we can make that.’ ‘Of course we can, it only takes 20minutes to get the painting down. Geoff will put a delay on the alarm system tonight. Remember too, after tonight Geoff leaves for Spain, let’s make his last job a good one. If the guard wasn’t so bloody ritualistic in his patrols, we would have all night. 45 minutes is all we have and I’m sure it’s enough. No mess. No fuss. Billy will be waiting outside, if we don’t show in time, he will drive away. We cannot screw this up.’ Sophie was terrified. She couldn’t go in now, she had heard it all. She would leave, she would just go home, but the secretary had already seen her, she was sure to tell Clive. Sophie walked to the reception and handed her the bag with the tie. ‘I forgot, I have to be somewhere, and I don’t want to interrupt him when he’s busy. Can you just tell him that I popped in on my way to Lunch. Tell him I couldn’t come into the office, give my apologies.’ ‘Okay, Sophie.’ The receptionist smiled and placed the bag in her drawer. Sophie left, she ran round the back of the building and cried. Her body ached. She had to go home and pack, she had to go home. She had to be in Glasgow. James was still in the same chair when she arrived back at the house. ‘How was lunch?’ Sophie never answered, she had more important things to do. The door opened and Clive walked in. ‘Hello, my pretty, Scotch lass, you didn’t have to buy me a present. It’s lovely, thank you.’ He was acting so normal, Sophie couldn’t bare to touch him. She couldn’t go now, she had to wait, she would go in the morning, while he was at work. For the meantime, she would stay calm, she would smile and be his ‘pretty, Scotch lass.’ It was almost 7 O’clock and Sophie was glad to be tired. She made her way to the bathroom and ran the water, she would soak her stress out of her inner soul, like she did before. Then she would go to bed, fresh for the journey which lay ahead of her. Clive was standing by the bathroom door, he made her jump. ‘Sorry, I never meant to frighten you. I have to go out tonight, I have a meeting, it’s all really boring stuff, and it usually lasts into the wee small hours, but I promise not to wake you when I come in.’ ‘Sure, I’m going to have an early night anyway.’ Sophie smiled to show that everything was fine. Clive kissed her as her always did, and left. She stepped into the hot bath and lay there, she knew exactly what he was planning. He was probably off to do the job. She now hated him. Not only was he a liar, but he was a thief. A common criminal. Who was he? She didn’t know him at all. She didn’t want to know him. For the last six weeks, she had been bought by his dirty money, his lies and his lifestyle. She wanted nothing more from him. She would leave the way she had come, with nothing. She would miss the house, but it was all pretence. It meant nothing to her. She opened the wardrobe to find her jeans. She peered up towards the shelf, where the gun was, she reached for the chair, she had to look. The gun was gone. The phone rang and Sophie jumped. It was Karen. ‘Hi, honey, how are feeling?’ ‘Better, thanks, sorry about today, it must have been a bug or something.’ ‘Well as long as your better, I’m just sorting out some old photo’s and stuff. Swifty is off to a meeting, won’t be back for hours. I found some of Lisa, she looks so young. I’ll let you see them tomorrow if you want.’ ‘Yes, sure. I have to go Karen, I have something under the grill.’ ‘Oh, okay. I’ll pop round tomorrow night then.’ ‘Bye Karen.’ Karen obviously had the same problem. Sophie was lucky, she knew what was happening, Karen didn’t. She should have told her, but what would it achieve, she had her own problems to fix. In the morning she would be gone. Karen would have to figure it out for herself. Sophie woke up, to feel the cold body snuggle against her. She pretended not to notice. It was almost 5am, it was still dark, she could smell the outdoors, she could smell the rain. She would wait until he was asleep before getting up. She would go quickly, before anyone could stop her. She couldn’t rely on Clive going to work, he might have planned a day off. She lay awake for a few hours, it was nearly 7am, she had to go now. Clive had only just fell asleep, he had been tossing and turning for a while, now he was peaceful. Sophie took a long hard look at his face, he still looked like the man she loved. He still looked kind and gentle as he slept. She wished it had all been a dream. She hadn’t planned for this to happen, it wasn’t fair. She had been happy, she had it all and now it was gone. She slid out of the bed, and made her way into the kitchen. She brushed her teeth at the sink, and put the toothbrush back into her bag. She hadn’t worn her jeans since her last journey. The journey to London, maybe they would be lucky and help her on her journey home. She tip-toed through the hall, passed the bedrooms and made her way to the door. Clive crept up behind her. ‘Where are you going?’ His voice startled her. Sophie froze, she was speechless. He leaned one hand against the wall, the other on his waist. He didn’t have his kind look, or a gentle glaze anymore. He looked taller than before. He gripped Sophie’s arm. ‘I asked you a question.’ His tone had changed. She was afraid of him. She was too afraid to speak, what could she say. She was hardly going for a swift jog, or a lunch date. She had to tell him that she was leaving, but before she began to explain Sophie felt a thud on her head, everything went black. Clive knelt down beside her and brushed her hair away to reveal a frightened little girl, she lay huddled into a tight ball, she could see a blurred face staring down at her. She must have screamed, because James was running up the hall towards them. After the shouting had stopped, Sophie got to her feet. James helped her into the kitchen and sat her down Clive soon followed and sat opposite. He turned towards James and growled. ‘Leave us.’ James got up and went into the sitting room, he closed the door leaving Sophie alone with her enemy. She was so afraid. She was so confused. ‘I’m sorry.’ He pleaded. Clive reached gently for Sophie’s hand, she pulled away. She was still crying. Why had he done this? She hated him more than ever. James had been telling her to leave, she had ignored the warning. She had been stupid and too faithful for her own good. ‘It’s no good, I’m going. I know all about the gun and the robbery and your wife, the child you never had. I know it all. You’re a lying, thieving, low-life. Just one lie after another.’ ‘What are you on about?’ He asked, angrily. ‘I KNOW! Stop pretending, it doesn’t work anymore. I was at the office yesterday, I overheard everything.’ Clive stormed out of the kitchen and disappeared into the bedroom. Sophie sought the comfort of James, who had been waiting in the sitting room. She wasn’t sure if he had heard it all. She didn’t care. James had left her alone with Clive, on Clive’s command. He was obviously afraid of him too. Clive returned, he had collected the morning paper from the hall, where it had dropped from the letterbox. He folded it neatly and placed it under the pile of magazines on the table. Sophie picked it up and began to read, the tears were now almost blinding. ‘You did this?’ Her face wore a look of discust as she scanned the headlines. Clive said nothing. She held the paper in front of him. ‘Look at it, LOOK!’ She shouted. Clive stared directly at her, he should no remorse, his face was still that of the stranger in the hall, the stranger who hit her. The stranger who she used to adore. James rose to his feet, and took the paper from Sophie. He read it allowed. ‘.… Police have launched a major investigation, following the death of a security guard at the Bridlington Art Museum. Thieves made off with a picture worth over "�250,000. The alarm was raised after colleges found the body of the Security Guard on the premises. He had been shot several times....’ ‘I didn’t shoot anyone, the gun I have is fake, It all went wrong....’ ‘The gun is real, I held it, I felt it. I….’ ‘You held the gun?’ A smile appeared on Clive’s face. Sophie couldn’t understand his sudden change of emotion. ‘You stupid, pathetic, little cow. Don’t you see, you can’t leave, Yours is the only fingerprints on it. Not mine, or anyone else’s. Yours.’ Clive laughed, and walked slowly into the kitchen. ‘Anyone want some coffee?’ He sniggered. Sophie whispered to James. ‘Help me. Don’t just sit there, help me.’ James turned his head, he was too afraid, he didn’t want to be part of it. He certainly couldn’t go against Clive. He wanted to, he really wanted to help her, but he had already warned her, she should have listened. He could do nothing. Sophie grabbed her bag, ran into the hall, and made her way to the door, this time she would make it. Clive ran after her, he wouldn’t let her leave, she was a risk now, she was sure to go straight to the police. Sophie turned to see the two men running behind her, she made her exit. She could hear the sound of a gun. Sophie kept running, she had to hide. Perhaps Clive was shooting at her. Maybe James had shot Clive. She couldn’t know. She just kept running. She made her way to the nearest taxi and jumped in. She asked the driver to take her to the station. She would phone Sarah, and everything would be okay, she would know what to do. The taxi pulled up and Sophie headed for the phone. She took the phone card out of her bag and dialled the number. There was no answer, Sarah must have been at work. She dialled the work number. In the entrance to the station she saw Clive. She placed the phone on the receiver, collected her card and left. He wasn’t going to find her. She made her way to the ladies toilet. After a few minutes, Sophie left the safety of the toilets and walked slowly out towards the hustle and bustle of the commuters. Clive put his arm around her. ‘Hi there, remember me?’ Sophie struggled to free herself. ‘Struggle again, and I’ll fuckin shoot you. Walk calmly towards the cafe and we will have a quiet talk.’ Sophie walked, her body was shaking and her feet were like lead, yet she walked. They sat at the back of the fast-food restaurant, it was quieter there. ‘If you run or attempt to leave me, I will go to the police. I will tell them it was you. You killed that guard, then you killed James... GET IT!’ ‘No, you didn’t. Please tell me you never killed James, Please.’ Clive’s eyes told her that he had. Sophie was numb, she had heard that shot. ‘They won’t believe you.’ ‘Really? Whose fingerprints are on the gun? Mine? I think not!’ ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘Because, I can.’ A young woman with a pushchair appeared and sat at the table opposite. Sophie knew that time was running out. Sophie leapt from her seat and pushed the empty pushchair into his legs. She ran from the station. She would have to be fast. This time he would kill her. She headed for the crowds in the street. Then into one of the busy shops. She hid behind the curtain of a changing room, and watched as Clive ran past the shop. She had done it. She was almost home. Sophie waited for a few minutes before heading back into the street. She didn’t run, she knew he would see her. It was almost 1pm when she made it to the truck stop. She hoped she would manage to get a lift, hopefully to Scotland. She had passed this way many times on the way to meet Karen. There was always one or more wagons with a Scottish flag on the back. It was her only chance. Her only way out of this mess.
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Copyright (c) 1999 Martine
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