Shit. Where the hell could he be?
John splashed some cold water over his face and soaking a tea towel held it to the back of his head, while he gathered his thoughts. He needed to think clearly and recall the events of the last hour.
He looked at his phone. Sasha had used it to call Tina. Checking the time of the call against the time now, John estimated that he had been out for about five minutes. Not good. Sasha’s had made his call about twenty minutes ago. John was sure Sasha doing a runner was related to the call.
He phoned Tina. Her phone rang out to voicemail. He hung up and tried again. Voicemail a second time.
‘Tina, it’s me, John. I need to speak to you as soon as possible. Call when you get this message. It’s urgent.’
As he hung up, it crossed his mind that if Sasha’s disappearance was related to his phone call to Tina, then it was probably unlikely that Tina would return John’s call.
He could kick himself now that he hadn’t insisted on staying in the room while Sasha had phoned her. He got up and soaked the tea towel with some fresh cold water and placed it on the back of his head again. At least he wasn’t bleeding.
He thought back to Sasha’s side of the telephone conversation. What he heard amounted to nothing. Just a wobbly bridge. A day out. The cathedral.
John adjusted the tea towel on the back of his head, seeking out a colder piece of cloth.
He needed to ring Martin and let him know what had happened. As he waited for Martin to answer his phone, the thought struck him with a weight equal to the blow to the back of his head. Why the hell hadn’t he worked it out before?
Martin answered his phone. John was already grabbing his jacket and keys, heading out of the door.
‘Sasha’s done a runner. Don’t ask questions, I’ll explain later. Meet me at St Paul’s Cathedral. Now.’
He jumped in his car and started the engine.
‘I’m stuck in traffic on the other side of the river.’
‘Get there as soon as you can.’
‘What’s going on?’
John didn’t bother to answer, he cut the call, threw his phone onto the passenger seat, shoved the gear stick into first position and lead-footed the accelerator.
Chapter 38
Tina readjusted her hold on Dimitri’s hand. Her palm felt damp with sweat and the little boy’s hand was in danger of slipping through her fingers.
‘Where are we going now?’ asked Dimitri, as he broke into a small run to keep up with his mother.
Tina looked across the River Thames. ‘You see that foot bridge there?’ She pointed towards the Millennium Bridge. ‘We are going for a walk over it and then St Paul’s Cathedral on the other side.’
They ascended the metal steps up to the bridge. Tina hurried Dimitri along. ‘Now can you see that big building in front of us with the big dome, the big round roof? Yes? Well, that is St Paul’s Cathedral.’
‘Can we go to the top?’ said Dimitri.
‘I don’t see why not. We can go up to the Whispering Gallery.’
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s like a big balcony that goes all the way around the dome and if you whisper against the wall, your whisper travels round the walls and can be heard on the other side. It’s like magic.’ Tina smiled at the look of excitement on Dimitri’s face.
‘Like magic?’ he said.
‘Yes, like magic.’ Tina glanced over her shoulder as they hurried along the bridge, an action she had been performing every few minutes since they had left home that morning. She had made certain the local police had done their routine drive-by before she left the house that morning. She was sure, at any minute now, John would turn up or she would feel a hand on her shoulder and someone telling her she was under arrest for aiding and abetting.
She looked down at Dimitri. ‘Before we do that, though, mummy is going to speak to her friend. He’s going to be there.’
‘Is he coming up in the whispering place with us?’
‘I don’t know. He might do.’ Tina let go of Dimitri’s hand for a moment while she wiped the damp palm on the side of her jacket. The sound of the bells at St Paul’s rang out, marking the middle of the day. Taking his hand once more, she picked up the pace. ‘Come on, we’re late.’
As they crossed the road and hurried round to the front of St Paul’s, Tina realised that she hadn’t agreed an exact meeting spot with Sasha. She scanned the paved area at the front, her gaze travelled up the stones steps, sweeping from left to right, trying to spot Sasha amongst the sea of visitors. She manoeuvred herself and Dimitri to the steps and climbed to the top, all the time looking for Sasha.