Masters And Lovers 1-4 novel 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.”

A voice rattles across the counter. “No, not seen anyone like that.”

“Me neither.”

“Thanks.” Working my way past the ticket points I scan the movies, looking for something likely to have caught the interest of three women on girl-time.

Most of the crowd is in line for some 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 past an incensed usherette with a brief “‘Scuse me,” before striding to the front and standing in front of the screen where they would be bound to see me.

No joy.

The usherette scowls at me as I exit again. “Sorry, wrong screen,” I say.

Anything else?

I work my way through the rest of the posters…

End-of-the-world-apocalyptic-dystopia… Nope.

Spy-action movie… Nope.

Sci-fi thriller…

There’s nothing else there that seems likely to draw them in. I march out and, once more, set off at a sprint for the next cinema.

*****

Blinking back the spots behind my eyes I exit my fifth, and final, cinema. And there’s been no sign of the women.

Ben?

Not heard from him…

I check my mobile…

No call. No message.

I tap in…. Wait… Listen to the ring tone…

No reply either.

So I send him a message.

U found anything?

Still nothing…

What to do?