Page 83 of A Perfect Devon Christmas
Omar’s voice was firm. ‘I said no.’
Robby exhaled sharply. ‘Look, I’m trying to do this nicely.’
Ivy glanced at Omar, saw his eyes quiver. A crack in the armour. She knew who he was thinking about. His sister. Robby’s expression sharpened. ‘You think this lot will always have your back? People forget. People move on.’
‘Not the right ones,’ said Omar.
Robby blinked. For once, he had nothing to say.
A thrill of pride shot through Ivy. Omar was fighting. Claiming his place. Ivy clenched her fists under the table. She wanted to tell Robby to push off, but Omar was handling it, keeping his voice level, despite Robby picking at old wounds, carving them open.
‘You’re being stubborn. Eventually you will go—’
‘No.’ The Prosecco fizzed in Ivy’s blood, making her reckless.Something inside her snapped, wound too tight for too long.
‘Stop badgering him. You don’t understand. He can’t go back, even if he wanted to!’
Ivy felt Helen’s warning touch on her arm but ignored it – too late. ‘Not if he wants his sister to stay alive.’
The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to drag them back.
Robby froze. ‘His sister?’
Damn it. Damn it. How could she have been so stupid as to reveal he had a sister? Was being related to a suspected drug smuggler enough to get her hauled in for questioning by the Taliban? She decided her only route was to double down and continued her tirade.‘We know what you’re doing. What’s going on behind the protective shield of your sham charity.’ The words burst out, striking like embers on dry kindling – unexpected, hot and impossible to take back.
Ivy heard Trish’s sharp intake of breath. Sensed Omar’s silence.
Robby’s laugh was soft and controlled. ‘It’s the retired vicar, isn’t it? The amateur detective?’ Slowly, he set his tumbler down. ‘I’d be careful about making accusations without proof, especially in public.’
‘We have proof.’ But even as she said it, Ivy felt their case crumbling. They didn’t have proof. Not yet.
Robby smiled, slow and calculating. ‘Try presenting it in court. Assuming you can afford the legal fees to defend a defamation lawsuit. If you’ll excuse me.’ Robby downed his drink and walked away leaving the scent of expensive aftershave and the taste of failure in his wake. There was a horrible silence.
‘I’m sorry,’ Ivy whispered. ‘I’ve ruined everything. ‘We needed more time, more evidence. I should have waited until you’d spoken to Farid, but I couldn’t let him—’
If only she could take back those words. Omar had trusted her,and she had put his family in danger.
Twenty-seven
‘I think maybe it’s time to go home,’ suggested Helen.
Ivy didn’t move, her gaze fixed on her half-empty glass. The fizzing Prosecco, symbolic of celebrations, seemed to taunt her. She wrapped her arms around herself as if she could hold in the guilt threatening to spill over. Helen’s touch on her arm was light, and meant to be reassuring, but it only made Ivy’s throat tighten. She should have kept her mouth shut.
‘Come on,’ said Omar, rising and helping Ivy to her feet.
Outside, a wind chime clinked out a slow, uneven tune. It grated against the quiet night, jangling in time with Ivy’s rising unease. In a reassuring voice, Omar reminded Ivy she was the only person who knew he and his sister had been interpreters, and he doubted the Taliban would move against the family of someone accused of drug smuggling over a year ago who had since fled. ‘But I think, when I speak to Farid, I will ask him to warn my sister and her family, just in case.’
That made Ivy cringe with embarrassment. She couldn’t think of how to respond so she changed the topic. ‘Where were you, where did Fred take you?’
‘Didn’t Trish tell you?’
She shook her head.
‘Her cousin has a cottage near Exeter.’ Ivy didn’t hear the rest of what Omar said. It was all falling into place. That’s why Trish had been so sure Omar was safe – he’d been spirited away under Operation Ghost Refugee.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Outside her cottage, Omar nudged her with an elbow. ‘You should come in for a nightcap,’ he said.
Ivy hesitated. The thought of seeing Fred after everything she’d just done made her feel nauseous. She had embarrassed herself tonight, her actions reckless, her temper frayed.
