Page 34 of Echoes on the Wind (Borrowed Time #2)

“Give me two minutes and I’ll be down,” I shouted as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom.

We’d stopped off at the house so I could change, and for Mair to fill Zack in on our progress, but when I reached the landing, he was coming out of their bedroom.

“I was just coming to find you,” he said, looking startled by my sudden appearance. “I dropped Iris off with Mrs Granville across the road. Any news?”

“Ellis told the police he saw Gwyn and Lee beat Graham to death,” I replied as I undid my shirt. “He also said they beat him to keep him quiet.”

I pushed past him into the bedroom, and he followed behind, sitting on the edge of the bed while I changed. “So what’s going to happen now?”

I kicked off my boots and shrugged at him as I pulled a clean shirt from the dresser. “I don’t know. They’re being shipped to Cardiff on Friday to await trial. I tried telling them that Ellis was lying, and pointed out the holes in his story, but they weren’t interested. Me and Mair are going to see Awbrey, to see if he knows a good solicitor. ”

“This is all such a mess,” he said, dropping his head into his hands. “How could we–”

Three forceful bangs at the door brought him to silence, and we both bolted out to the landing.

“Open up! We have a warrant.”

“Shit!” Zack whispered, looking suddenly pale.

He pushed me by the shoulders into his bedroom, then eased the door gently before moving to the dresser. Inside, he dug beneath a pile of shirts and pulled out a small paper bag.

“Stop banging,” I heard Mair call out from downstairs. “I’m coming.”

He thrust the bag into my hands, then brought his fist to his mouth and nervously bit on his knuckle. When I peered inside, I found Graham’s belongings.

“What have you still got this for?” I whispered, quickly scrunching it closed. “I thought you burned it all. If they find this…”

He peered over my shoulder at the sound of Mair unlatching the door, then nervously rubbed his head, panicking. “I haven’t had time.”

“We have a warrant to search this address. Please move out of the way of the door.”

“You have to hide it,” I whispered, as panic began to take over, and I thrust it back at him.

“What for?” Mair shouted. “You can’t just come barging in here. I want to see it.”

I crept onto the landing on tiptoes and leaned over the bannister as far as I could without being seen. Mair’s skirts were blocking most of the view of the door, but I could see two pairs of uniformed legs on the doorstep, trying to get past her .

I rushed back to the bedroom and looked out of the window, then turned back to Zack. “We have to be quick,” I whispered. “The yard’s empty. You’re going to have to go down the drainpipe. I can’t do it with my shoulder.”

He looked down to the ground below, then turned back, shaking his head, looking petrified, “I can’t,” he said. “I don’t like heights. I’ll break my neck.”

“Zack!” I whispered forcefully. “We don’t have a choice. If you don’t get rid of that, they’ll break all of our necks. You’ve got to go. I’ll stall them.”

I opened the window and pushed him towards it, and I could feel him shaking as he stepped out onto the sill.

“I won’t tell you again, miss. Step aside.”

“Zack, you can do this,” I whispered as he clung desperately to the frame. “You have to go. Now.”

“Where should I dump it?”

“Don’t dump it. Erm…” I could hear the officers in the hallway now, making it hard to concentrate as I thought about what to do next. “Nellie! Go to Nellie. Tell her that I said to guard it with her life and not to look at what’s inside.”

“And what if she does?”

“She won’t. Not if you tell her not to. We can trust her. Now go.”

I all but pushed him out of the window as footsteps began to climb the stairs, and I ran onto the landing as the two officers were halfway up, with Mair trailing behind them.

“What’s going on?” I said, trying to act casual, but deliberately keeping them sandwiched between us .

“Please move out of the way, sir, or I’ll arrest you for obstructing an officer in his duties.”

I stepped back, but only enough for them to take one step forward, and tried again to stall them for Zack to get away. While they were on the stairs they had no means of seeing outside, so that’s where I needed to keep them.

“What duties?” I asked. “Do you have a warrant? You can’t come in without a warrant.”

“We won’t ask again,” the one in front shouted as he wrapped his fist around his truncheon, ready to strike.

I let out a deep breath and prepared to take a beating. It would be worth it if it saved Zack from getting caught shimmying down the drainpipe with a bag full of evidence, but just as he pulled it from his belt and took another step towards me, I heard the back gate swing shut. I grinned, relieved, then backed myself against the wall for them to pass.

For the next thirty minutes, they turned the house upside down, looking, we presumed, for some evidence that would incriminate Gwyn. They pulled out drawers and tipped over the mattresses, went through cupboards and even peered up the chimney, but by the time they made their exit, they were empty-handed and seemed content that there was nothing to be found.

“Do I even want to know how you managed to make Zack disappear into thin air?” Mair asked as she slammed the door behind the officers. “Because he was definitely upstairs when we got home.”

“Get your coat,” I said as I put my boots back on. “I’ll tell you on the way. ”

Our walk to the mine was swift, and once we reached the bottom of the high street, we cut across the back entrance, past the sheds and through the spoil tips, to the offices on the bridge.

There was a man with a clipboard in the yard, unloading boxes marked with ‘Browning & Sons’ from a cart, and I made my way over to him, waving for his attention.

“Is Mr Awbrey here?”

“Aye,” he said, with a thick Irish accent, and I ran for the steps as he called after me. “He’s in a meeting, though. He won’t thank ye for disturbing him.”

I stopped, deciding not to annoy Awbrey before asking for a favour, and waited next to the cart instead. “Ok, thanks. I’ll wait.” I replied as the man turned and wandered off.

“What makes you think he’s going to help?” Mair asked. “He isn’t fond of you or your brother. In fact, the last time I saw him, he was smacking you in the mouth.”

“He said he wanted to make amends, and this is a good way to prove that. Plus, I’m hoping I can appeal to his fatherly nature. If I can convince him how important it will be to Tish, he might just agree.”

“And if he says no?”

“I don’t know,” I said, throwing my hands up as I leaned back against one of the boxes being unloaded. “Maybe start praying that Inspector Phillips paid some attention to me today.”

“They can’t actually believe Ellis, surely? ”

“I don’t know what they’re like around here, but where I’m from, if an answer walks into their lap, even if it’s the wrong one, they don’t go out of their way to look for more information.”

“Hey,” the Irishman shouted as he came around the side of the wagon again. “Are ye mad?” Get off there.”

I stepped away and rolled my eyes at his outburst as he gently set another box down beside the others. “No harm done,” I said. “Calm down.”

He shook his head at us and looked at me like I was an idiot. “We’ll see how calm ye are when that box of explosives goes off under yer arse, won’t we?”

Mair and I both stepped back and eyed the box I’d been leaning against like it might bite us.

“And you think it’s alright to just leave that lying around, do you?” she shouted.

“That’s supposed to be ‘ere,” he replied. “You ain’t.”

Taking his hint to move, I took Mair’s arm and walked her towards the steps on the bridge.

“I really hope he’s in a good mood today,” I said, staring up at the door.

“Best case scenario is that he agrees to help, or maybe even knows someone, who knows someone, who can get all of this thrown out.”

“And what’s the worst case?”

“He refuses to help. They hang Lee and Gwyn. They find out we were involved and hang us too. Then Zack and Tish get so overwhelmed with grief that they fall into each other’s arms and marry each other instead. ”

We paused for a second and stared at each other, then burst out laughing. “I guess we better hope he’s feeling generous today, then.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” she said, pointing up to the top of the bridge.

I looked up to see Mr Awbrey and another man shaking hands and laughing jovially. “Well, at least he looks in a good mood.”

He was already back inside the office by the time the man reached us, and I recognised him as Jones, the man Mr Awbrey had met with in Lee’s office a while back.

“Come on then,” Mair said, pulling my attention away to climb the stairs.

I reached the top and took a deep breath, then rapped my knuckles on the door. When the call came to enter, I let it all out and stepped inside.

“Mr Awbrey. It’s nice to see you again,” I said, mustering up my best smile. “I was hoping I could have a word.”

“Not about that job offer, is it?” he said from behind his desk, and he let out a long belly laugh at the idea. “And who is your fine friend here?”

“This is Mrs Lloyd,” I replied, surprised by how friendly his manner was. Perhaps there was a chance he would come on-side after all. “And no, sir, it’s not about the job. It’s about Lee.”

“What is it, boy?” he asked, his smile fading somewhat. “Is Letitia ok?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “But Lee’s in a spot of trouble.”

He leaned back and gripped the arms of his chair, grinning. “What kind of trouble? ”

“He’s been arrested,” Mair jumped in.

“Arrested? Arrested for what?”

I wanted to lie and say it was something silly and trivial, but that wouldn’t get me the help I needed, so I bit the bullet and admitted the truth.

“Murder. He’s in Bryncoed Police Station. He needs a solicitor.”

“He’s been framed,” Mair added. “Him and my brother. They didn’t do it.”

Mr Awbrey stared between us for a moment, then burst out laughing and slapped his hand down on the desk.

“Well I’ll be damned,” he said between laughs, and Mair and I stared at each other as he wiped a hand under his eye. “Ain’t that just perfect?”

“You what?” Mair said. She marched towards his desk and put her hands on her hips, unimpressed. “Do you think this is funny?”

“I do,” he replied, still chuckling. “And I suppose you’ve come looking for money?”

“It would help,” I said meekly, trying to keep on his good side.

“Look, son,” he snapped, suddenly becoming serious. All hints of a smile disappeared, and he quickly returned to his usual menacing demeanour. “Even if I liked the boy, which I don’t, do you think I have money to waste on pointless endeavours?”

“Pointless endeavours?” Mair shouted. “And don’t come to me saying you haven’t got the money. You own a bloody mine.”

He leaned forward and pointed right at her face, snarling. “Watch your tongue with me, lady. ”

I stepped between Mair and his desk, concerned more for his safety than hers, and tried again to play nice.

“Mr Awbrey, we know they are innocent, but if nobody pleads their case then they’ll throw the book at them. Think what that would do to Tish?”

“Let ‘em hang,” he replied, waving me off. “He was never good enough for Letitia. I’ve wanted him gone since he got here. This just saves me a job.”

“Saves you a job?” I asked, but he shook his head, ignoring me.

“You’d let innocent men go to prison, or worse, for something they didn’t do?” Mair snapped.

As she leaned down on the desk, I stepped up to pull her back, but she wouldn’t budge. They stared, eyes locked on each other, waiting for the other to falter.

“Mair, come on,” I said, and as I pulled her arm, I glanced at some paperwork on the desk.

At the top, in big, bold letters, was written ‘Browning & Sons’, the same as on the boxes outside. Beside it, were two other forms with ‘Insurance’ written on them. What really caught my eye, though, was that all were signed and dated by Lee, with today’s date, even though I knew he hadn’t been anywhere near the mine.

“There’s never smoke without fire, lady,” Awbrey said, breaking their stare. “If they’re locked up, then it’s the best place for ‘em. I’ll tell you what I’ll do though. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll have all of Lee’s things sent over before the end of the week. You can’t say fairer than that.”

“Prick,” I said, almost involuntarily .

He was up in a flash, banging the desk. “What did you call me, boy?”

“I could call you worse,” I said. “Come on, Mair. We’re wasting our time.”

“Tish won’t forgive you for this,” Mair shouted as we reached the door. “And don’t think I won’t tell her.”

She slammed it so hard behind us I thought the glass would fall out, and with a loud yell, she gave it a firm kick for good measure.

“Well that could have gone better,” she said, as we headed back down the steps.

She complained all the way to the bottom, where we came to a stop to let the Irishman pass carrying another one of the boxes. I watched as he disappeared with it down the path between the spoil tips to Pit 5, and brought my hands to my head as the realisation set in.

“Mair, we’ve got to go,” I said, interrupting her rambling as I grabbed her arm. “I think I’ve worked out what Awbrey is up to.”

“Ok, you’re going to have to explain that to me again,” Zack said as we sat around the dining table later that evening. “Why were you snooping at the mine?”

“I wasn’t snooping, I was just… looking through envelopes. And I only did it because I heard Awbrey talking about Lee. He said that Lee was to blame for something, and that Awbrey wanted to be kept out of it. ”

“That does sound suspicious, you’ve got to admit,” Mair said, looking at Zack to plead my case.

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “So I had a look through some papers to put my mind at rest.”

“And what did you find?” he asked.

“Well, nothing. Or at least, I thought it was nothing. But I didn’t have all the information then. Now, I think I do.”

“Tell him what you told me,” Mair said. She was sitting with a cup of water, wetting her fingers and then rolling her long red hair up into tight ringlets, but paying absolutely no attention to what she was doing, so they were all odd sizes around her head.

“There were forms for new insurance applications, which, ok, isn’t so wild. It’s a mine, after all, but they’d all been taken out fairly recently.”

“Tell him about the orders,” Mair jumped in again.

“I’m getting there. Hold on. Anyway, there were forms for an increase in orders from Browning & Sons.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, I didn’t know at the time, but today, when we were at the mine, they were taking a delivery of boxes from that company, and one of the workers there told us it was explosives.”

He leaned back, looking at us like we’d gone mad. “Well that’s not unusual. It’s a coal mine.”

“Yes, one that’s struggling. It also has a closed pit. Why would they need to double the amount of explosives?”

“I don’t know, Tom. You’re making some pretty big leaps. ”

“That’s not everything, though,” Mair piped in again, talking with a hairpin in her teeth. “Tell him the rest.”

“There was another order form there today. And new insurance documents. All signed by Lee with today’s date. But he couldn’t have. He was here and then at the police station. They’re forged. I also found another letter, supposedly from Lee, ordering the closed pit to open. But Lee told me it’s unsafe. Something to do with damp.”

Mair stuck another pin in her and screwed her face up. “Damp?”

“Firedamp, I’d imagine,” Zack added.

“So there’s forged insurance papers, a forged letter to reopen an unsafe pit, an order for extra explosives, a mine losing money, and Awbrey telling someone to blame Lee for something and to keep his own name out of it. I don’t think it takes a genius to put that jigsaw together.”

“What’s a jigsaw?” Mair asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, shaking my head. “If I’m right, then Awbrey’s setting Lee up for a big fall. His name is over everything. If that mine blows, then my brother’s going to get the blame, while Awbrey walks away scot-free, with his pockets lined from the insurance.”

“You don’t think Tish knows, do you?” Mair asked. “She wouldn’t be in on it, would she?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head firmly. “She’s not that kind of person. I’m certain of it.”

“So what do we do? How do we stop him? ”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, a little defeated. “I wish Gwyn was here.”

“Why? What can I do?”

I spun around at the sound of Gwyn’s voice with a speed that I didn’t even know was possible, and as soon as I clapped eyes on him, I launched out of my seat and threw my arms around him. I didn’t care what Zack might think. I’d never been happier to see anyone in my life.

“How are you here? Where’s Lee?”

“They let us go,” he said. “They said there wasn’t enough evidence to hold us, and that they were following another line of enquiry.”

“Ellis?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “They wouldn’t tell us anything more.”

“I reported him. I told them he attacked me, and that he was trying to frame you. They must have believed me after all. Where’s Lee?”

“He’s gone to find Tish and get cleaned up. I said we’d all catch up at Nellie’s.”

Mair nudged me aside and threw her arms around her brother’s waist, squeezing him tightly as Zack came over to shake his hand.

“It’s good to have you home,” Zack said, “But I think you better sit down. Tom’s got some news.”

And so I began to recount my theory again.