Page 50 of The First Mistake

‘God no. I don’t want you turning up at some strange guy’s house with that kind of money on you.’

I gulped. ‘Me?You wantmeto go?’

‘Well, no ...’ he faltered. ‘Not if you don’t feel comfortable.’

‘Look, I know I’m asking a lot of you,’ I said, ‘especially after everything you’ve done already, but wouldyoumind going? You know Tyson – you’ll know if it’s him. I’ll give you the money and as soon as you’re happy, you can hand it over.’

It dawned on me how ridiculous it all sounded. ‘God, listen to us,’ I went on. ‘It sounds like something out of a film!’

I still felt uneasy when we met outside the bank and I surreptitiously handed Thomas a brown envelope stuffed with a hundred twenty pound notes. ‘I feel like I’m in the middle of a drugs bust,’ I said, laughing nervously. But Thomas was rubbing at his chin, deep in thought.

‘You sure you’re okay to do this?’ I asked.

‘Nothing will give me greater pleasure,’ he said.

I saw a flicker of something cross his features, a tightening of his jawline, a blackness momentarily descend over his eyes. I’d not seen that look on him before.

‘You won’t do anything silly, will you?’ I said, feeling unsettled.

‘Of course not,’ he replied, a little too quickly.

Unconvinced, I waited by the phone, eager for news. I didn’t know what I was more nervous about; it not being Tyson, or Thomas discovering that it was all a ruse and decking the guy.

When it rang, I said a quick Hail Mary on both fronts.

‘I’ve got him,’ said Thomas.

My hand flew to my mouth in relief and my chest seemed to cave in as it rid itself of the stress and anxiety I’d been holding within it.

‘Oh thank God,’ I cried. ‘Was it okay? Any problems?’

There was a long enough pause to make me think that all was not well and panic gripped me once again.

‘By the time I got there, the bloke said he wouldn’t hand him over for a penny less than three grand.’

‘Oh,’ I said, more concerned about where Thomas had got the extra thousand from than having to pay more to get Tyson back. No amount of money would have been too high a price.

‘So suffice to say, the idiot lost out. He should have stuck to his original price, because his audacity pissed me off so much that he only ended up with a thousand.’

‘Is thatallhe ended up with?’ I asked cautiously.

‘I’ll drop him back shortly,’ he said, ignoring the question.

The knock at the door came just after seven, and I raced towards it, narrowly avoiding the chewed-up ball that Tyson loved to play with. To see him there with Thomas on the doorstep, his tail wagging, made my heart feel as if it was about to burst.

I beamed as Tyson leapt up to greet me. ‘Where have you been?’

I fell to the floor as he whirled about like a dervish, not knowing whether to jump onto me, nuzzle my hair or lick my face.

‘Thank you,’ I said, looking up at Thomas. ‘Thank you so much.’

‘I’m sorry that it cost you so much to get him back,’ he said.

‘I would have paid much more,’ I said, laughing, as I ruffled Tyson behind the ears. ‘You coming in?’

‘No, I need to go and see my mum.’ He looked down at the ground and I felt as if I should say something. He’d not divulged any information about his background or his family – mind you, neither had I.

‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he said, slipping the envelope, with what looked like the surplus cash, onto the hall table before leaning in to pull me up.

---