The Red Dress chapter forty-seven

  
    








     Alan walked slowly up the steps of the police station and into the reception area. When he’d spoken to Eve earlier, she had agreed to meet him to discuss what had happened in the courtroom the previous day. The fact that Nick had gotten away with causing Mike's death had been bad enough to accept, but the fact that he had also gotten away with raping Lisa and trying to kill her as well, was almost too much to bear.
 
     He had lain awake all night thinking about her and how he’d felt when he saw her at the courthouse. When Karen got back from her night out, she had tapped on his bedroom door when she saw that his light was still on. She’d told him that she’d bumped into Lisa at Cosmos, and how she had reacted when she’d found out he had split from Carla the year before.
 
     “I think she’s still in love with you, Alan,” Karen had said, which confused him even more.
 
     “What makes you say that? I saw them at the courthouse, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re a couple. Richard obviously adores her.” Alan had replied dejectedly.
 
     Karen playfully tousled his hair and laughed sarcastically.
 
     “You men are all the same,” she mocked. “You see two people together and assume far too much. I know when one of my friends is in love, and I know Lisa well enough to know that she’s not in love with Richard. She genuinely seemed to believe you were still with Carla. When she found out that you weren’t, she looked devastated. It was as though her world had just fallen apart.”
 
     Karen got up from the edge of his bed where she’d plonked herself down just a few minutes before.
 
     “Anyway, big brother - this party girl needs her beauty sleep, so I’ll leave you to think about it.” She then affectionately gave Alan a peck on the cheek before making for the door.
 
     After Karen had gone, Alan had lain on his bed staring at the ceiling above him for hours. What Karen had said all made sense. Of course Lisa would assume he was still with Carla. He was the one who had not only told her that he was marrying Carla, but also how much he loved her. He had as good as forced Lisa into Nick’s arms when he had. If Karen was right, he just hoped there was something he could say or do to explain to Lisa just how much he loved her. He just prayed that he would get the chance to do it before she left Chelmsford.
 
 
 
 
     Eve was told that Alan had arrived, and she met him in the reception and escorted him through to one of the all too familiar interview rooms. She and Dave were just as frustrated about the outcome in court the day before as Alan was, having spent months putting together the case. But there was nothing else that she, or anybody else for that matter, could do.
 
      “I know how disappointed you must be, Alan. We all are. People like Nick Corday can afford the best when it comes to lawyers, and it proves yet again that sometimes we're wasting our time even trying to prosecute men like him.”
 
     Alan shook his head as he remembered the look on Lisa's face after Nick's slimy barrister had humiliated her. He could have quite happily shot across the court room and murdered Nick with his bare hands.
 
     “So there's absolutely nothing that can be done to reopen the case, Eve?”
 
    She wished there was, but there was nothing more the police could do. Realising that he was wasting both their time, Alan stood up and thanked Eve for seeing him just as his mobile phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket and was about to turn it to message mode, when he noticed it wasn't a number he knew. He excused himself and answered it...
 
 
 
 
     While Nick climbed into the front seat beside her, Lisa pressed the call button on her mobile and just thanked God she had tapped in Alan’s number before Nick had appeared in the back seat of the car. Knowing what he was capable of doing, and that unlike before, nobody would know she was in danger, Lisa hoped and prayed Alan would answer his phone and realise what was going on. As soon as she pressed the button she dropped the phone onto the floor just before Nick turned to her, his face threatening, a gun in his hand.
 
     “You haven't answered me, Lisa,” he shouted at her, his eyes scrutinizing the side of her face.
 
     “If you say that you never stopped loving Alan Turner, does that mean you never loved me?”
 
Lisa's body shook uncontrollably as she tried to keep the car on the road. There was no way she could answer him.
 
     “I need to know, Lisa!” he shouted insanely.
 
     “I don't know!” she cried, trying desperately to concentrate on the road ahead.  “I thought that I did, but I was confused. Everything happened so fast when I met you. Believe me, I never meant to hurt you, Nick.”
 
Lisa saw the signs for the M1 up ahead and turned to Nick, the desperation showing on her face.
 
     “Let me pull over, Nick, we’re coming up to the motorway and there's no way I can drive… “
 
     “You’re not stopping, Lisa, so you better get used to the idea. Nearly three hours of being stuck in the back of your car covered in plastic bags waiting for you to leave lover boy has really pissed me off - so just do as I tell you.”
 
     Lisa tried to stay calm as they came onto the motorway, grateful again for the extra lessons she had taken before she left the school. Nick watched her in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.
 
     “Your driving instructor told me you were a natural. He's done a good job.”
 
Lisa took her eyes off the road for a moment and stared back at him.
 
     “How do you know my instructor?”
 
     “You forget who paid for your lessons. It's quite normal for a father to phone up and discuss his daughter’s progress - and her future travelling arrangements.” he added smugly.
 
Lisa had worked out that Nick had used the spare key which he'd kept to get into the car, but she couldn't understand how he knew she would be driving up to Scotland on her own the day after the trial finished. Now she knew. She had discussed every aspect of her journey, even the route she would take, with Ronnie Yates, her driving instructor.
 
     “Are you going to kill me, Nick? Because if you are, I might as well drive the car off the road right now, just like you did last year. I’d rather get it over with!”
 
     Nick stared back at her, surprised at her sudden bravery. He brought his hand up to the side of her face affectionately and stroked her cheek.
 
     “I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet in the long term, Lisa. Let me think about it until we get to Saffron Waldron. We'll be coming off there soon.”
 
     Lisa looked at the petrol gauge and cursed the fact that it was nearly full. She had stopped just outside Chelmsford on the way up the week before to fill up before arriving at Vikki's. She had enough petrol to keep going for at least two hundred miles - and Nick knew it.
 
     Remembering the phone, Lisa hoped that Alan was listening and he had contacted the police. Hopefully Nick would say something to incriminate himself. She decided that whatever else happened, she would keep Nick talking in the hope that he would. She tightened her grip on the wheel and looked over at him again.
 
     “Why did you try to have Alan killed, Nick? It wasn't his fault that I fell in love with him.”
 
     “Oh wasn't it,” he snapped. “Turning up in Dunoon, the night before you were coming to me in the Isle of Man. Pissing your mother off - and then being your knight in shining armour. It was only his very being there that caused the problem in the first place.”
 
Lisa stared at the traffic up ahead and tried to stay calm.
 
     “But it wasn't his fault ! it was my mother’s for attacking me. If she hadn't done that, I would have flown to the Isle of Man that day as arranged, and you and I would probably be married by now.”
 
     Lisa actually shuddered at the thought, but she tried not to show the anger and revulsion she was feeling. She had to try and keep as calm as possible.
 
     Nick sat silently for a moment and Lisa thought she had blown it. When he looked up again, Lisa noticed that his eyes were slightly glazed.
 
     “Have you any idea what I went through after you ran off with him, Lisa? Scott told me that Alan was in love with you - and the pictures Liam showed me proved to me that you felt the same way.”
 
Lisa stared straight ahead and tried to control the emotion in her voice, as she prayed that Alan was listening.
 
     “So you told Liam to tamper with Alan's brakes in the hope that he would be killed and I would forget all about him? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
 
     Nick started laughing, surprised that Lisa thought Liam had that much bottle.
 
     “I can't pretend that he didn't want to, Lisa, and I couldn’t understand why at the time, but now that I know what Alan did to him at his studio, I can see why he was all for it. No, I wanted to make sure that it was done properly. I sorted out Alan’s brakes out myself.”
 
Lisa stared straight ahead.
    
     “But why did you try to kill us both when you found out that I'd been in your safe?” she asked, trying to hide her anger.
 
Lisa noticed Nick's hand shaking, the gun he was holding reflecting the sunlight onto the dashboard with spasmodic flashes.
 
     “Because I knew you would never come back to me if you knew what I'd done - and I was right. How many times do I have to tell you, Lisa? I can't live without you.”
 
     Something snapped inside her and, seeing an exit up ahead, Lisa swerved the car into the inside lane and indicated that she was turning off.
 
     “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Nick shouted as she forced the car up onto the hard shoulder and brought it to a screeching stop. Before she could open the door to escape, Nick had the gun at her throat and his face inches away from hers.
 
     “Let me go, Nick! I don't care anymore. You’ve already destroyed everything I care about.” Lisa shouted back at him hysterically.
 
Nick pushed the gun menacingly against her throat. He was enjoying the control he felt when he saw the fear in her eyes.
 
     “No I haven't, Lisa. If you don't do as I tell you, I'll make sure that Alan's out of your life forever - and I'll do a better job this time, I can assure you.”
 
Lisa sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. The thought that Nick might try to kill Alan again, and probably succeed, was more than she could bear.
 
   When Nick let her go she leaned her head on her arms across the steering wheel and unashamedly wept. Unable to resist touching her, Nick reached out and stroked the back of her head, his fingers playing distractedly with her hair.
 
     “You really do love him don't you, Lisa?” He asked, the bitterness sounding clearly in his voice.
 
     “Yes I do,” she sobbed pitifully. She just prayed that Alan could hear her…