a glimpse of her on the doorstep, between the broad backs of two men who seemed to be crowding close in on her. What he could see of her stiff, upright frame, screamed that there was something wrong.
Edward accelerated into a free space. ‘Don’t move, Stinky. I’ll be back in a minute.’ He lunged out of the car, and down the road, to where her front gate stood open.
‘Charlotte!’ Now that he was closer he was sure that he was right. She was dressed in sweat pants and a tee shirt, bare feet on the doorstep, but she stood as tall as she could, the door almost closed behind her, her face fierce and determined. ‘What’s going on?’
She stared at him as if he’d just landed from another planet. One of the men swung round to face Edward, his pudgy face harsh. ‘Nothing to concern you, sir. Just a bit of business with the lady.’
Her face had flushed bright red. Tears rimmed her eyes, before she quickly brushed them away. These guys were bad news. They stank of the kind of aggression which dressed itself up in cheap suits and a nasty attitude.
‘Then you have business with me.’ Edward pushed in between them and stood next to her on the step. He wanted to put his arm around her, ask her if she was all right, but this wasn’t the time. ‘Step back. Now.’
They stepped back. The anger that was raging in his chest must have been showing in his face, because the expression on the face of the larger of the two became slightly less belligerent. Edward pressed his advantage. ‘Now, what’s all this about?’
‘Are you this lady’s husband, sir?’
‘I’m her legal advisor.’ Suddenly Edward was mightily glad that he’d left Stinky in the car. This was rapidly beginning to look like a confrontation of some sort, and holding a battered blue rabbit in his hand wouldn’t have helped.
He felt Charlotte’s fingers on his arm. ‘No, Edward. Please.’ Her voice was almost a whisper.
If she wanted him to go, she had another think coming. Edward didn’t shift his gaze from the two men. ‘Who are you? Do you have some identification?’
One of the men reached slowly into the inside pocket of his jacket and drew out a wallet. Opening it, he held it out for Edward to see.
Debt collectors. What had Charlotte got herself into? No time for that now. A child’s whimper sounded from the other side of the door and he felt Charlotte’s small, convulsive movement against his arm. ‘Go inside, please, Charlotte. Close the door.’
She looked up at him. Cheeks pink, her lovely eyes still brimming with tears. She hesitated, obviously torn between going to comfort her son and dealing with the men on her doorstep.
‘Go and make sure Isaac’s okay.’ He spoke gently to her and she nodded quickly, disappearing inside the house.
One down, two to go.
He turned to the two men. ‘I assume you’re not in possession of a court order with regards to this property?’
‘No, sir.’ Somehow the man made that sound like a threat.
‘In that case I’m asking you to leave now. I’ll speak to you when you’re standing on the pavement.’
The men exchanged a look. Obviously they considered that browbeating him was a different matter from a lone woman and a child, and Edward didn’t bother to conceal his disgust as they turned and took their time in walking down the path.
‘There is the matter of an unpaid debt, ma’am.’
Edward looked round and saw Charlotte back in the doorway, pulling a pair of sneakers on. She must have settled Isaac and come back out again.
‘You don’t speak to her. If you’ve something to say, then say it to me.’ Edward had just appointed himself, unasked, into the role of protector, but he didn’t care. No one else was around to do it.
‘I need to speak to the lady.’ The man’s voice suddenly became gentle. He’d seen a way in and was trying for it. Be nice to her, then divide and conquer.
Edward looked round at Charlotte. It was one thing to expect her to go along with his instructions at the clinic, but here … Here she had Isaac to think of, and she wasn’t going to give that responsibility away too easily.
‘You can speak to my …’ She walked down the path and stood next to him. ‘My legal advisor.’
The man pressed his lips together. ‘In that case …’ He turned to Edward. ‘We’re looking for this lady’s husband. We have reason to believe he’s here—’
‘He isn’t,’ Charlotte broke in vehemently. ‘I haven’t seen him for over a year.’
‘We’d like to check, madam.’ Deftly the man had turned back on Charlotte.
‘You have no right of entry to this property. The lady’s already told you that the person you’re looking for isn’t here, and that she doesn’t want you in her home.’ Edward folded his arms to indicate that this was now an end to the matter.
‘Fair enough. But do you know where he is?’ The question was aimed at Charlotte again.
This time she gave her answer to Edward. ‘I don’t …’
He nodded, laying his hand on her arm with as much tenderness as he could muster. ‘They’re allowed to ask you whether you know where the person they’re looking for is. It’s entirely up to you whether you answer or not.’
‘We haven’t lived together for eighteen months. I have the name of his solicitor.’ Her voice was almost a whisper, her eyes pleading. Not just for him to help her get rid of these men. For him to understand.
‘Can we have that at least … please?’ The word please seemed to stick in the man’s throat and he took another step forward, as if this was an invitation into the house.
‘Wait there.’ Edward turned to Charlotte and she nodded. She knew as well as he did that if she could give these men something it might get them off her back. ‘Go and get it, then.’
She hurried inside and Edward indulged in a staring contest with the men, open hostility buzzing between them. She returned, clutching a piece of paper with a hastily scribbled address on it, and gave it to Edward. ‘Here it is.’
Edward turned back to the men on the pavement. ‘Right. The lady hasn’t seen her husband in months, and she doesn’t know where he is. She’s given you every assistance she can in locating him, and this ends her involvement in the matter.’
‘All right.’ The man snatched the paper that Edward proffered. ‘And you’re sure you don’t know where he is?’
‘Doesn’t sound very likely to me,’ his companion sneered, forcing home the point. ‘Doesn’t he want to see his own kid?’
Edward heard Charlotte’s sudden intake of breath and fought to stay in control of the fury that swept over him in a red-and-black wave. Much as he’d like to, getting into a fight with these guys wasn’t going to help. ‘You’ve asked your question and you’ve got your answer. You know full well that the law prevents you from harassing this lady any further or from speaking to a minor.’ He pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘You’ve got ten seconds to get going before I call the police.’
The two looked at each other, grins on their faces. Edward wondered how many people actually followed through with that threat. He started to thumb the numbers on the screen.
‘All right, mate.’ The larger of the two, who was obviously the lead man, held up his hands in surrender. ‘We’re going.’
‘Tell your head office to expect a letter, confirming the information that this lady’s given you. She knows nothing more which will assist you, and she wants no further contact with you.’ Edward pressed his advantage home.
The two turned without a word and Edward watched them lumber