Secrets to a Happy Ending

Chapter 21

Lydia got in her car, started the engine and drove away from the hotel. As she drove she looked in the rear view mirror, she saw Gladys standing at the door looking out at her. She continued to the top of the road out of the outskirts and parked on a small lay-by. The car felt hot, she turned the air conditioning up full and caught her breath for a moment, before getting ready to call Julie back.

She reached for her bag and pulled out the piece of paper she had written the number on, not realising when she wrote it down that it was the note that had been left at reception for her about digging deeper.

"Dig where?"She thought to herself.

She turned it back to the number and called Julie back.

"Julie, let's meet, I didn't want to talk to you on the hotel line in case someone was listening."

"Ok where shall we meet?"

"You tell me, you know Happy Endings better than I do?"

"Ok go towards the saw mill, go past there about half a mile, there are some abandoned factories, and I will meet you there in ten minutes."

Lydia ended the call, put the phone down and turned the car around, narrowly avoiding a passing car that was approaching, she looked closer and it appeared to be Mark Ross, driving down the.street at high speed, he turned left towards the square. Lydia decided to drive in the direction to see where he was going, she turned to the square and saw Mark running towards the direction of the Town Hall, he opened the door. Lydia parked the car further back so as not to attract attention and waited. About five minutes later, Mark came out carrying a file of some sort. He walked back to the car and then drove off again. Knowing she did not have the time to look into it further, Lydia turned the car around and headed towards the factories to meet up with Julie.

She approached the factories and saw Julie standing there by her bicycle, she looked withdrawn, her hair was a mess, she wore a faded red shirt, some jean shorts and sandals, her hair was uncombed. She was clearly distressed, Lydia got out of the car and hurried over to where she was standing.

"Julie, are you ok?"

Julie broke down suddenly and put her head on Lydia's shoulder sobbing loudly.

"I'm sorry I had to call you, I just don't know who I can trust any more?"

"Hey, it's ok, let it out, I am here."

Lydia gave Julie a few minutes to let it out and compose herself, before she was able to explain the situation.

"I know we hardly know each other, but sometimes it's better to tell a stranger than someone you may know?"

"Go on, I'm listening."

"Lydia I am not who you think I am."

"I know that already yes, really you are Marilyn Smythe. But that's ok."

Julie frowned at Lydia, confused about what she had just heard.

"Wait what you know that already, how on earth could you know, that's impossible. No one is supposed to know, that's the point of this?"

"The point of what?"

"The point of me being here in the first place? How did you find out?"

"Well if you must know, I had someone push an article under my door, about you, I recognised it from the picture?"

"Someone gave you an article about me you say, why would they do that?"

"I don't know Julie, you tell me?"

Julie paused for a moment and thought to herself.

"They're in the village?"

"Who is in the village Julie, tell me what is going on please?"

"Six months ago I started getting calls from someone anonymously, blackmailing me about my real identity, they sent me emails of articles they had of me, threatened they would go to the press to reveal where I was and who I was if I didn't pay them money."

"Was it a man or a woman?" Lydia asked.

"It's a robotic voice of some sort so I cannot tell, they have had me transfer hundreds to them for the past few months, and now I have hardly anything left. I put everything I had into living here, after my divorce.I had to flee from my husband, he is a criminal lawyer for some nasty people, and he had a bounty on my head, for my return, he wants to kill me. I thought it might be him, or one of his clients, so I was so scared I just kept paying them and keeping quiet about it. But now you said you have this article, it means who ever it is has found me and they are in the village?"

Julie began to cry again, Lydia hugged her tight trying to reassure her that everything would be ok.

"Julie, were you at the town hall meeting the other evening?"

"'No, I haven't been for weeks because I was too scared to go out at night, they sent a newsletter afterwards but I have not had one about it yet. Usually if its something confidential they won't send one out. How do you know about those, they are for villagers only?"

"That's not important right now, just something I was checking up on. Look Julie here I want you to do, I want you to go home, run yourself a shower and try to get some sleep. I have something I need to do, but it's going to take me a little bit of time. But I promise together we will sort this out ok,? You have to trust me."

Julie nodded, in agreement. Lydia offered to take her back to the house, but they agreed it was best to leave individually, so as not to be seen together, it was clearly more and more that anyone in the village could be making those calls to her. Lydia got in the car and remembered back to when Ronnie was about to go in the ambulance, reminded that he was saying something about there being no money. She turned on her GPS and looked up the address to the hospital he was staying in, once programmed in she put her foot down to get there before the afternoon wore on.