I managed to get back to the hotel in a daze, where I told Jenny what had happened. I was pretty useless for the rest of the day. She told her father, so he came and sat with me for a while. I was so frightened of getting his hotel damaged I was almost beside myself.
John was brilliant, and we kept things very quiet. The holidays ended, and we went back to school. I changed ownership of the moped to myself as Sandi Hemmings, and applied for a drivers licence in the same name, giving the hotel as my address. I even applied for insurance and so I was illegally legal. I would wait until I was legally allowed to be Alexandra Lake before I applied for anything in that name.
It was horrible waiting for a reply, as I convinced myself that they would find me out, and arrest me. But both documents were returned, and I felt a lot better.
Life was almost getting back to normal, when a big black Ford pulled up at the bus stop as I waited for a bus with Jenny.
It was Bruce.
“Get in.”
“Fuck off,” I said.
He sensed that it was not the best place to try to snatch a girl, so he got out and stood next to me.
“Go for a walk, darling,” he said to Jenny.
She looked at me, so I nodded.
“That wasn’t helpful,” he said, when Jenny was out of earshot.
“Leave me alone.”
“What’s your name?”
“I told you, Sandi.”
“Sandi what?”
“Hemmings.”
He nodded, but I could tell he was unsure of me.
“Got any ID?”
I took out my drivers licence and showed him. He read it, and looked closely at it.
“So Sandi, where do you live?”
“At the hotel, with my cousin Jenny. It’s as on my licence.”
He nodded again.
“Where are your parents?”
“They died in the States in a car crash a few years ago. I stayed with my grandparents for a while, then they became too ill, so I moved in with my aunt and uncle at the hotel.”
“Have you seen Alexander?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly.
“He hasn’t been back this term,” I said.
“Interesting that.”
“You said you had him.”
“We might at that.”
“So why ask me?”
“Have you told his old man?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Hey Sandi, are you okay, love?” came a familiar voice. It was Dave, he was standing by his car.
“Tell him you’re fine,” Bruce snarled.
“I’m fine.”
“Can I come round tonight?”
“Sure.”
“See you.”
“Bye.”
He drove off.
“Who’s that?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Hmm. Nice looking boy, I’m sure you’re a lovely couple. All right, Sandi, I want you to do something for me.”
“What?” I asked, somewhat belligerently.
He laughed. “You are a sparky girl. I need you to go to Johnnie’s house. You’ve a key, I assume?”
I nodded. “They keep it at the hotel,” I lied.
“Good, I need you to go in and bring me some pictures of the boy.”
“Who, Alex?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you had him?”
“Let’s say the little fucker is more elusive than we had anticipated.”
“Oh. Why can’t you get it yourself?”
“Well, you can never tell how Johnny boy will react, he has been known to take such things seriously.”
“If I do this, will you leave me alone?”
“Maybe,” he said, and then sighed. “Look, this isn’t your business, and you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, do this, and we’ll leave you alone. Okay?”
I nodded. I didn’t believe him, and I certainly didn’t trust him, but I went with him to his car, and Jenny looked very worried.
“I’ll see you at the hotel in a while,” I shouted.
“Sure?”
I nodded.
“Good girl, you’re bright enough, aren’t you?”
“She gets worried, she would call the police.”
I was in the back, next to Bruce, and the other two men were in the car as well. Not a word was spoken all the way there. They stopped off at the hotel, so I could collect the key. It was actually in my room, so that wasn’t pretend.
I got back in their car and they took me down to the house. They parked a little way up the road.
I walked down and opened the front door. There were some letters on the floor. None for me, so I put them on the hall table. The alarm was set, so I turned it off, and walked to dad’s bedroom. I knew there was a picture of me taken a couple of years ago, when I had very short hair. I looked at it, and realised immediately that they might see it was me. My heart sank.
I heard a noise outside, so I went to the window. One of the men was walking round the back of the house. I could see Bruce standing up the road, with the car behind him. The driver remained in the car, smoking a cigarette.
Suddenly, there was the most almighty explosion, and the car erupted in a fireball, blown to small pieces. The man was sitting there one moment, and the next was disintegrated.
The blast knocked Bruce over, so he sprawled on the road, while the other man ran towards the scene as fast as he could. I watched, amazed, as the man started to help Bruce to his feet, as a big truck came round the bend in the road, taking them both out against the centre of the front grille. Bruce was thrown to the right but the other man disappeared under the front of the truck. They looked like discarded rag dolls, the front wheel grinding Bruce into the tarmac.
I stared in horror for a second, as I recognised my father’s face, pale behind the steering wheel of the truck. The brakes came on, and one of the figures stirred on the road. I saw the white reversing lamps come on, and slowly the truck returned, reversing over the injured man.
I felt sick, so dashed to the loo and puked up into the toilet. When I came back, the truck was gone and the piles of meat and clothing, that had been men, were motionless on the road. I hurriedly reset the alarm, locked the house up, and literally ran all the way to the hotel.
I arrived, breathless; to find Jenny very worried about me.
We ran to her room, where I told her what had happened.
“Shit, what do we do now?” she asked.
I shrugged, this could be habit forming.
“Let’s take one step at a time. Did anyone know I went home?”
“No.”
“Did you tell anyone I went with those men in their car?”
“No.”
“Then you must say that I came back shortly after you.”
“What if the police come looking for you?”
“Then that’s my problem, you know nothing.”
Dave appeared later, asking me about the strange man he had seen talking to me. I told him that the man was someone who knew my Dad, and he wanted some papers. He dropped it, but I could tell he wasn’t sure. I don’t think I was very good company so he left quite early.
It was a day later when a tired looking police officer attended the hotel. He had been making enquiries as to who lived at the house, and eventually someone said that they might know something about it at the hotel.
It was inevitable, but I had to speak to him.
“Hello, Miss. Do you know who lives at the house called Seaview?”
“I do.”
“You do?” his voice registering surprise.
“I live there with my father. But he is away on business at the moment, so I am staying here with my friend.”
“When were you last at your house?”
“To stay, about a week ago. But I had to pick up some clothes, mail and stuff occasionally every now and again.”
“What’s your name?”
“Sandi Lake.”
“And your father is?”
“Jonathon Lake. Why, has something happened?”
“Were you at the house today?”
“I dropped in after school, to check the mail.”
“What time?”