Simi gave a little gasp, loosed her grip on her mother, then clamped her hand over her mouth. Monifa could see she was stifling a smile. She couldn’t, however, quite stifle her giggle.
“Oh yes!” she cried. “Sh’ll I . . . now?”
“Please,” Deborah said. “We’ll wait right here.”
Simi trotted off in the direction of the stairs. She hopped down them and the basement’s door banged shut behind her as she entered. Deborah said to Monifa, “I’ve made something for—”
Which was when it happened. The gate swung open with a bang against the garden wall. An inarticulate cry cut into the neighbourhood’s stillness. It came from the man who charged across the lawn in their direction. Abeo had found them.
“Where is she?” he roared. He grabbed Monifa. He punched her fiercely in the temple. He dragged her in the direction of the gate. “Where’s Simisola?” he shouted. “Where’ve you taken Simisola?”
All of it happened in a matter of seconds. DS Nkata sprang into action. Three steps and he’d overtaken Abeo. He said quite clearly, “We’re not havin’ that, man,” and Monifa felt Abeo release his hold on her. Deborah and Sophie raced to her side. Tani was advancing on his father. But Nkata still had Abeo in a grip round the neck and he kept it there till Abeo sank to the ground.
Nkata fished in his pocket and brought out keys, which he passed to Tani, saying, “Red Fiesta. Jus’ up by the church. Glove box’ll have plastic cuffs inside.”
As Tani dashed out of the garden, DS Nkata brought out his mobile and punched in three numbers. Nine-nine-nine, Monifa thought. But he was the police, so—
“Mummy? Mummy!”
Simisola was back, a manila envelope dangling from her fingers. Abeo could not be allowed to see her, but Simisola saw him and she stopped in her tracks. Sophie was the one to take quick action. She raced to Simisola, scooped her up, and carried her down the stairs and into the house as DS Nkata identified himself into his phone and said, “Got a bloke with me just assaulted a woman . . . Can you . . . Yeah. Got it,” and he recited the address of the house.
Abeo stirred. He opened his eyes. He began to rise. The detective was too quick for him, though. He grabbed both of Abeo’s arms and had them behind him before Abeo had got to his knees.
“Inside the house,” the detective said to Monifa. He began to haul Abeo towards the garden gate. By the time he’d reached it, Tani was back. The last Monifa saw of them, Tani was helping put the plastic handcuffs round his father’s wrists.
CHELSEA
SOUTH-WEST LONDON
Deborah found Sophie and Simisola huddled next to the basement door when she and Monifa went inside. They’d not made it even into the kitchen. Simi was weeping as she clung to Sophie’s arm and Sophie herself looked like someone who’d managed to walk away unscathed from an accident fatal to everyone else.
Monifa grabbed her daughter, saying, “It’s over, Simi. He will not hurt you. He will not take you.”
Sophie covered her mouth with her hand. Deborah saw the girl’s gaze move towards the door to the garden and said to Monifa, “Is Tani all right?”
“He did not touch Tani. Tani helped Sergeant Nkata. The police are coming. We are . . . all of us. We are safe.”
Sophie’s voice broke as she said. “I was so careful . . . How could he have . . . He must have followed me. But I never saw him. I didn’t think. I’m so sorry, so sorry. He wanted the passports, didn’t he. He must have known. Why didn’t he just snatch them from me?”
“He wanted Simisola,” Monifa said. “The passports, of course. But they are useless to him without Simisola.”
The door opened and Tani entered. He said, “He’s in the front. The detective . . . Sergeant Nkata’s got him. They’re waiting for the police.”
Monifa said, “But he is the police. Why can he not . . . ?”
“He said it’s safer for a patrol cop to do it,” Tani said. “But I think he doesn’t want to leave us.”
They were indeed alone in the house, or at least as alone as five people could be, Deborah thought. Simon wasn’t there and neither was her father. And although there were five of them should something more happen at this point, they’d all just had their nerves shattered by Abeo’s sudden appearance in the garden and by his attack upon Monifa. She was grateful that Winston had taken the decision to stay with them.
Still, she excused herself for a moment and rang Simon, merely to have the comfort of his voice. He’d left them that morning for a meeting to do with the family’s business in Southampton. His intention had been to spend two nights in order to see his brothers and their families as well as his mother.