Play For Time (The Cotswolds time-slip series Book 2) by Jan Turk Petrie

Author:Jan Turk Petrie [Petrie, Jan Turk]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Pintail Press
Published: 2022-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Beth

Ambushed by the cooking smells being pumped out by the kitchen’s extractor fan, she doesn’t even make it to the outside steps before throwing up on a small patch of wasteland behind the bins. Revisited, her breakfast is not a pretty sight.

Breathless and sweating, Beth wipes her mouth with an old tissue from her pocket before she straightens up. At least she missed her dress – the first summery thing she’s worn in a long while. Despite the sunshine, she pulls her thin cotton cardigan around her.

The car park is already quite full – Tom will be pleased. Hopefully no one saw her vomit – such a sight wouldn’t do a lot for business. She kicks some decomposed leaves over the evidence. You wouldn’t know it was there.

When she turns, her son is standing right behind her. The last she’d seen of him he’d been on the village green happily ensconced on a bench chatting to old Mr Tanner. ‘Are you alright, Mummy?’

‘I’ll live.’ Then seeing his anxious expression, ‘Honestly I’m absolutely fine – it’s nothing to worry about.’ An understatement if ever there was one.

His little face is still serious. ‘Something’s just happened,’ he says. ‘Something really bad.’

‘Is Mr Tanner alright?’ Surely in so short a time the old man can’t have taken a turn for the worse.

Ollie goes to speak but, before he can spit it out, Jake emerges from the kitchen. ‘Don’t mean to bother you, Beth, but the front bar’s starting to fill up and there’s no one to serve them. I’ve been looking everywhere for Tom, but he seems to have disappeared. Lin thinks she saw him out on the green a few minutes ago, but there’s no sign of him now. I tried calling your flat but there was no answer.’

Has Tom had an accident? Is that what Ollie was about to tell her? Horrified, Beth stares at her son. ‘Do you know where Daddy is?’ His nod is solemn. Confessional. ‘What’s happened to him?’ she demands. ‘Tell me?’

Glancing at Jake, he says, ‘I can’t – it’s a secret.’

‘What d’you mean it’s a secret?’ She grabs his shoulders. ‘Ollie – what’s happened?’

‘’Spect the poor lad’s a bit confused. He’s only a little tot after all,’ Jake reminds her. Not meeting her eye, he rubs away at something on his thumb. ‘No worries. Why don’t I get Lin to cover the bar for a bit ’till Tom shows up?’ He nods at the Fiat. ‘His car’s still here so he can’t have gone very far, can he?’ Before she can respond, he heads back into the kitchen.

‘So, what’s this big secret?’ she asks again.

‘Daddy’s disappeared.’

‘Yes, I know that already. Jake told me.’ Softening her face, she bends to his level. ‘But you know where he is, don’t you?’

Ollie nods vigorously. ‘He went through the big red phone box.’ It’s unusual for him to make a mistake and say through instead of in. He grabs her hand. ‘We have to follow him.’

‘All three of us

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