The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 281
My solicitor, a bored-looking man in his late-thirtiescalled Colin, advised me to say nothing in response to their questions. Hedidn’t seem to want to be there any more than I did, looking every inch a manwho would rather be at home watching the telly.
In the end, the two police officers interviewing me becamefrustrated at my lack of responses and sent me down to the cells for the night.As they did so, they warned me that if I didn’t start talking by the morning,I’d be charged with murder.
That’s what they thought. It was the first, and hopefullythe last, night I would ever spend in a police station in my life. The cell waspretty basic, just a small, square room with a single bunk next to the wall.Unlike cells I had seen on TV, the toilet was in a separate en suite area andeven had a seat! I had stayed in worse youth hostels when I had been trekkingaround Australia during my gap year.
The room service was efficient, if the quality of the foodleft a little to be desired. It consisted of a couple of greasy sausages andsome mash in a plastic tray. The whole thing reminded me of an airline meal,right down to the plastic cutlery which was presumably to stop me self-harming.Sadly there was no wine on offer, as I could have really done with some afterthe two days I had just had.
Perhaps being arrested had been a blessing. At least I hadsomewhere warm and dry to spend the night – well, the first half of the night,anyway. The small, basic mattress was surprisingly comfortable and I sooncurled up and went to sleep.
The next thing I knew, I was in the nurses’ office back atthe hospital, sitting with Tessa, my nursing friend with a weakness for food. Trueto form, she was busy munching her way through a box of mince pies.
“Do you want one, Amy?” she asked. “I don’t think I canmanage all six.”
“Just the one, then,” I replied, relieved to be back in suchfamiliar and safe surroundings. I took one and pecked at it daintily while shewolfed them down like there was no tomorrow. She wasn’t looking as big as I wasused to seeing her, having gained weight as the years had gone by. It wasn’tdifficult to see why when she was carrying on like this.
“You want to take it easy on those,” I admonished gently.“Do you know how many calories they have? It’s a moment on the lips, but alifetime on the hips.”
That had been one of my mother’s favourite sayings.
“I know. I’m going on a diet for New Year,” she pronounced.
I knew she wouldn’t stick to it, she never did. There was nopoint in me saying any more. I needed to get moving if I was going to make themost of my travel plans.
I reached into my bag and took out my latest mobile phone, aSamsung Galaxy S8. It was December 2018 and the S9 had been out nearly a yearby now, but I remember being stuck on a two-year contract so couldn’t upgradeyet.
I could almost chart my trip back through time by my mobilephones, which were downgrading year by year. How much longer would I have asmartphone? It was 2018 now, so a few more years, I guessed. The further I wentback in time, the fewer things I would be able to do using my phone – this wassomething I needed to prepare for.
What I needed to do now was come up with a convincing reasonwhy I was about to duck out of work in the middle of a shift.
“Oh, what’s this?” I said as I unlocked my phone, doing mybest to act all surprised. “I’ve got several missed calls and texts.”
Putting on an overly dramatic voice, I reacted, “Oh my God!It’s my grandma. She’s had a heart attack at her home and been taken intohospital.”
“Here?” asked Tessa.
“No,” I replied, thinking on my feet, “in Banbury, at theHorton. I must go to her. Can you cover for me?”
“Of course,” said Tessa. “You must go. Don’t worry, I’llhandle things here.”
Not for the first time I wondered if I might have succeededat an acting career, as Tessa had swallowed this latest pile of bullshit almostas effectively as her box of mince pies. The truth was, all of my grandparentshad died over a decade before, but she wasn’t to know that. The lie got meneatly out of the hospital without the need for any further explanations.
I went straight home, sneaking in quietly in the hope that Iwouldn’t wake Rob. The thought had crossed my mind that, with me on nights,Emma might be there and I really didn’t want to go through all that again.
There was an empty wine bottle in the kitchen with just theone glass next to it so it looked like he hadn’t had company. If he had drunkthe whole bottle on his own, then he would also hopefully be dead to the world.
He certainly was, and I could hear his snoring from halfwayup the stairs, even though the bedroom door was shut. His snoring was alwaysworse when he was drinking and as I tiptoed into our room to get my passport, Icould see he was dead to the world.
Clearly, he wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon, so I tookthe chance to grab an overnight bag, stuff in some summer clothes, basictoiletries and a swimming costume, and off I went, not forgetting the mostimportant item of all, my passport.
I knew buses ran to Heathrow and Gatwick from Oxford prettymuch 24/7, conveniently passing right through St Clement’s. By 5.00am I wasalready on the M40 and heading for the airport. I had decided to go