No Safe Haven: A gripping, twisty tale of loyalty and survival, page 1
No Safe Haven
LK Chapman
Copyright © 2023 LK Chapman
Cover design by Dissect Designs
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used to help the learning/training of artificial intelligence technologies, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner – except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The characters, events and locations in No Safe Haven are fictitious and any similarity to real people, events or locations is not intended by the author.
This book is also available as a paperback.
ISBN: 9781838264451
Table of Contents
Cattleford
1
2
3
Habmouth
4
Cattleford
5
Habmouth
6
Cattleford
7
Habmouth
8
Cattleford
9
10
Habmouth
11
Cattleford
12
13
Habmouth
14
Cattleford
15
16
17
Habmouth
18
Cattleford
19
20
Cattleford
21
Habmouth
22
Cattleford
23
24
25
26
Habmouth
27
28
29
30
Habmouth
31
32
Cattleford
33
34
35
Habmouth
36
Cattleford
37
38
39
Cattleford
40
41
42
43
Habmouth
44
45
46
47
48
49
Into The Lake
The Stories She Tells
No Escape Series
Acknowledgements
About the author
Connect with LK Chapman
For my husband Ashley and son Felix, you always make me smile.
Cattleford
1
A car sped past and startled me as I hovered on the curb outside Cattleford train station. Beginning to shiver in the frosty air, I pulled my coat more tightly around my body and stared in surprise at my surroundings. The little village was so sleepy and picture perfect on this winter afternoon that it was like a Christmas model railway scene, with lights twinkling in cottage windows as the train disappeared into the distance. I should be clutching a pile of beautifully wrapped presents, not a bulging, hastily packed holdall that was fraying around the seams. But it wasn’t Christmas now, it was early January, and it wasn’t anything pleasant that had brought me here this day.
Sleet began to fall as I darted across the road, landing in icy splats on my sleeves and the strands of blonde hair that spilt over my shoulders from beneath my hood. I forced myself to slow down. Nobody knew I was coming here, I didn’t need to run. Nevertheless, it was hard to break the habit of looking over my shoulder. Taking out my phone I quickly checked the address I was travelling to, before hastily slipping it back in my pocket as though somebody might see. Eleven Tricklebank Lane. The name was impossibly idyllic. Had I had fallen into a fairytale? The gently flowing stream I was now crossing via a pretty humped bridge was certainly nothing like the vast estuary I could just about glimpse from the kitchen window in my old flat. That river had huge gantry cranes on the opposite bank standing tall and impassive against a sky that more often than not was slate grey. This river was surrounded by nothing more forbidding than front gardens where bird feeders hung from trees and bright winter berries adorned bare branches like tiny jewels.
The sleet grew heavier and the light began to fade as I reached a sign for Tricklebank Lane. This was it. I paused and took a deep breath. What the hell was I going to say? In my frenzied flight from Habmouth I hadn’t even considered how I would explain myself. Just getting away had been all I could think about.
I stopped at a sandstone cottage with ivy curling its way along the wall above the front door, beside which a ceramic sign with a picture of a hedgehog proclaimed it to be number eleven. How lucky Harriet and Jessica Dunridge were to live in a place like this. Not that Harriet would see it that way – she’d always expected the best of everything. In a way that’s what I’d liked about her all those years ago. She knew what she wanted and how to go about getting it. Jessica, on the other hand, was a dreamer like me; romantic and impulsive, darting from one thing to the next without having any idea how it would work out. Or at least that’s how I remembered her. I’d not seen the sisters for so long I couldn’t possibly know what they were like now. Even so, it was surprising that the two women – so different in temperament – were sharing a house together. How had that come about?
It was a while before anybody answered the door. Had I definitely come to the right place? There were lights on behind the curtains, and I reached towards my pocket to check the address on my phone yet again, but my hand dropped as the door finally swung open. The woman standing there with a puzzled frown on her face wasn’t instantly familiar and I stared stupidly until finally it clicked into place. Her hair was so different – no longer falling in dark, bouncy curls around her shoulders, it was now styled in a short bob, with vibrant red highlights that matched her glossy lips. She was curvier than she used to be – quite different from the girl I used to sometimes swap clothes with – and she had a real presence about her; confident and self-assured. Perhaps even a little intimidating. I blurted out her name. ‘Harriet!’
She peered at me in bewilderment. ‘Poppy?’ she said finally, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I know I should have told you I was coming,’ I said, a little breathlessly, ‘but I didn’t know how to explain. I’ve got myself in a bit of a situation–’
‘I did wonder why you asked for my address out of the blue,’ Harriet said, ‘but I didn’t think you’d turn up on the doorstep! Come inside, it’s freezing out there. I’ll make some tea and you can warm up.’
After removing my wet boots and coat I followed her gratefully into a rustic kitchen, the cabinets painted pea green, with a brightly patterned rug on the floor. It wasn’t a huge room – though it felt big to me after the tiny kitchen in my flat – and the cosy atmosphere wrapped around me like a warm embrace. My eyes kept slipping back to Harriet. What had happened in the twenty-odd years since we’d last spent any real time together? She wore no wedding ring, but hadn’t I heard through the grapevine she’d got married? If she had, it must not have worked out – she was living with Jessica and not her husband.
‘I’m so sorry to show up out of the blue like this–’ I paused when a small boy with floppy dark hair trotted into the room, stopped in his tracks when he saw me, then turned on his heel and ran out again.
‘That’s Reef,’ Harriet said. ‘Jessica’s son.’
‘Reef?’ I repeated, unsure whether I’d heard the name correctly.
The expression on Harriet’s face left me in no doubt as to what she thought of the unusual name her sister had chosen. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘Jess was determined his name should be something to do with the ocean, since she met his dad by the sea.’
‘I didn’t know she’d had a baby.’
‘Well, you know Jessica,’ Harriet said. ‘Full of surprises. She went away with some friends for the weekend, and Reef turned up like a belated souvenir nine months later. She seems to think it was destiny, or something.’ She pulled a face.
‘So her and Reef’s dad, they’re not together?’
‘No,’ she said bluntly.
I moved out of the way as Harriet called through the doorway to Reef. ‘Tea time in three minutes!’
‘Is Jess in?’ I asked.
‘Yes, she’s upstairs somewhere.’ Harriet handed me a mug of tea with a smile. ‘Are you staying somewhere nearby then?’ she asked, as her eyes drifted to my large bag in the hall.
‘Um – no. Actually, I…’ silence hung in the air for a moment until Harriet nodded. ‘You need somewhere to stay?’
‘Yes,’ I admitted, embarrassed. ‘Do you have a spare room? I know it’s a lot to ask when I just turned up…’
A little crease appeared between Harriet’s eyebrows.
‘Forget I mentioned it,’ I said, though my stomach tightened with anxiety. ‘I’ll find somewhere else. Please, don’t worry. I know how weird it is asking to stay when you haven’t seen me since we were teenagers.’
‘It’s not that I don’t want to help, and we do have a spare room, it’s just… well, let’s sit down in the lounge and catch up for a minute. The fire’s going and it’s lovely and warm in there. You still look a bit chilled.’
‘Poppy?’ A voice on the stairs made me turn as Harriet led the way to the living room, and this fac
‘No. I should have done, I’m sorry. It was all a bit last minute.’
Jessica bundled me into a hug and as she let me go – leaving me a little startled by the enthusiasm of her greeting – she said, ‘You’ve got a dark cloud around you. But we can sort that out.’
I laughed uneasily. ‘Yes, I suppose I do. That’s how it feels.’
Now it was Jessica’s turn to take in the sight of my bag in the hall. ‘Are you staying?’ she asked.
‘I– I don’t know,’ I said.
‘She can stay, can’t she Harriet?’ she said, without a hint of reservation over my sudden arrival and lack of explanation. ‘She needs a friend right now, I can tell. And she looks half-starved.’
I folded my arms across myself self-consciously, and Harriet glared at Jessica.
‘Well, she does,’ Jessica said, before disappearing into the lounge. She emerged a few seconds later, encouraging Reef along in front of her. The small boy glanced at me shyly from dark eyes fringed with thick lashes, and I smiled at him. ‘Let’s get you your tea,’ Jessica said to him. ‘We’ve got a special friend with us tonight. Say hello to Poppy. She might need to sit down quietly for a bit though. She looks worn out. I think she must have had a long journey.’
‘Hello,’ Reef said, looking at me curiously.
‘Hello Reef. It’s lovely to meet you.’
Apparently now at peace with the unexpected arrival of a stranger in his house, Reef obediently trotted into the kitchen to get his dinner, and Harriet smiled at me. ‘Looks like you’re staying then.’
‘Honestly, I don’t know how to thank you.’
She waved my words away. ‘Jessica’s right. You do look like you’ve had it tough.’ She gestured towards the living room and I sank down into an armchair, overwhelmed with relief. I’d got to a place where nobody could follow – not easily anyway. Finally, I was safe.
…
‘So,’ Jessica said, ‘where do we even start? It’s been forever.’
I nodded, eyes heavy with tiredness. I wanted to sleep for a week. Maybe a month. But now that Reef was in bed the two sisters had their eyes fixed on me, and I fidgeted uncomfortably on my chair, trying to force my lethargic brain to wake up.
Harriet shook her head. ‘She’s exhausted,’ she said.
‘I’m okay,’ I lied.
‘No, you’re not. You should go upstairs. We can save catching up until tomorrow.’
Filled with gratitude as they dropped their questions, I followed Harriet upstairs and she showed me the spare room. I smiled faintly as I stepped inside, which was like going back in time. The single bed below the small window was covered with a floral bedspread, while the sloped ceiling made the room cute and cosy. There was a pine wardrobe and a chest of drawers on which stood a decorative china wash basin and jug.
‘The bathroom is just next door,’ Harriet said, as she walked across the room to close the frilly curtains. ‘Do you want me to bring up a sandwich or something? Me and Jessica are about to make dinner but I think you’ll be asleep before we’re done.’
‘No,’ I said, ‘thank you. I ate on the train.’
It wasn’t true. In fact I couldn’t really remember the last time I ate, but my body was so exhausted that now I was somewhere safe – somewhere I could finally switch off – I just wanted to be left in peace. Once Harriet had gone I took off my jumper and jeans and got into bed without so much as brushing my teeth or running a comb through my hair, eyes closing before my head hit the pillow.
2
‘I have never known anyone sleep as long as you,’ Jessica said, looking up from wiping Reef’s chin as he got down from the table after his breakfast. ‘Not an adult, anyway.’
‘It’s only eight-thirty,’ I said, as my eye caught the large chicken-shaped wall clock. But she had a point. It hadn’t even been eight when I’d gone to bed the night before.
‘You must have really needed it,’ Harriet said. ‘Do you feel better now?’
I rubbed my eyes. My stomach was aching with hunger, but I couldn’t start demanding food before they offered.
‘There’s tea in the pot,’ Harriet said, as if she could hear my thoughts. ‘Help yourself to toast, or cereal.’
With a surge of relief I did as she asked, forcing myself not to stuff my breakfast down, though I was so hungry it was hard to restrain myself. Reef sat on the floor playing a game on his tablet and glancing at me occasionally.
‘When does he go back to school?’ I asked.
‘Tomorrow,’ Jessica said. ‘It’s an inset day today.’
‘How’s Dominic?’ Harriet asked me, as I finished my slice of toast and brushed crumbs from my lips. ‘How old is he now?’
‘Eighteen. He’s at university.’
‘Is he?’ Harriet said. ‘Has it really been that long?’
‘You know it has,’ Jessica chimed in. ‘You can hardly forget Dominic was born after Poppy’s waters broke in the exam hall. So you know exactly how long it’s been.’
‘Jess–’ Harriet started to chide her.
‘It’s okay,’ I said.
‘How can water break?’ Reef asked from beside my ankle.
‘What’s Dominic studying?’ Harriet asked quickly.
‘Botany,’ I said. ‘Ever since he was little he’s been obsessed with plants. His room was like a jungle.’
It was an exaggeration – Dominic’s houseplant ambitions had far exceeded my budget – but every birthday and Christmas I got him something to add to his collection.
‘Is he enjoying it?’
‘Yes, I think so. Not that I can ever find out much. He’s always so busy.’
‘That must be tough,’ Harriet said. ‘How are you finding it now he’s left home?’
A wave of emotion made my throat tighten. I didn’t trust myself to speak.
‘I’ll make you another piece of toast, if you want?’ Harriet said, trying to change the subject when she saw my distress. She gave me a searching look when I didn’t answer straight away and it hit me. She thought I had an eating disorder. I could hardly blame her for wondering, but there was no quick or simple way to explain to her how I’d ended up in such a state. I knew I looked thin, and ill. Some days I felt twice my thirty-four years.
‘It’s hard to eat when you’re scared,’ Jessica said.
‘Scared?’ Reef asked, looking up at me wide-eyed.
‘I’m okay sweetheart,’ I told him.
‘Has Reef read his reading book a single time over Christmas?’ Harriet said pointedly to Jessica. ‘You should get that out of the way before he gets too absorbed in his games.’
Taking the hint, Jessica gathered up the small boy, who protested vehemently as she carted him off to the living room. Harriet placed another slice of thick buttered toast in front of me, and I spread it with jam.
‘Jessica’s right, isn’t she? You are scared.’ Harriet said gently. ‘You’re running from something.’
I nodded as I bit into my toast. There was no point trying to hide it.
‘I know we drifted apart after you had Dominic, and I’m sorry about that. I wish I’d tried harder, but I – I guess I didn’t know what to say to you.’
‘I’m sorry too,’ I said, and after a brief silence I added, ‘it was hard for me to be around you and Jess. You were doing normal teenage stuff, and I had a newborn baby. We weren’t living in the same world any more. I found it… it was just painful. I suppose I didn’t know what to say to you, either.’
‘You had Liam though. Did he stick by you? You said things were a bit rocky when you moved in with him and his parents, but when the two of you moved to Habmouth, I really hoped it would work out.’
I threw my toast down. The lump in my throat made it impossible to swallow. Harriet reached out and touched my arm. ‘Poppy? Is this to do with Liam? Is he why you’re here?’
I shook my head. Then I nodded. Then I put my face in my hands and burst into tears.
…
Harriet put her arm around my shoulders as I cried, and she spoke to me softly. ‘Whatever it is, it can be fixed. Nothing is as bad as all this, no matter how it seems right now.’
