Prologue
Southampton
A cold morning in early spring 2017
Unbeknownst to Annie, a mundane commute to London on a train â will change her life forever. A fatigue crack in one of the frontwheels of the trainâs control car had started to open up, and further up the frozen track, a set of points were waiting for the fail...
Chapter One
âOh God no ... not again!â Annie shouted, as she ran the last hundred yards. Her breath fogged, blasting into the freezing air.
The 6.59 train to London Waterloo pulled out of Southampton Central on timeâbut without her. She knew in that instant her job at Hollingsworthâs of Mayfair was at risk, sheâd already received her last warning from the owner of the gallery.
Melina, her boss, was a difficult woman at best. Although Annie had tried hard to forge a relationship with her, she seemed to turn her back on anyone who dared to get too close. And the timing error that day would most definitely have set a permanent wedge between the two of them.
Annie finally sat down on the 7.28 and in carriage number three, her lucky number. Maybe it was the good omen she needed to ease the tongue-lashing she was inevitably in for. She chose a rear-facing window seat, one of many superstitious travelling habits that had plagued her everyday life since she was a child. She placed her briefcase next to her as a deterrent to unwanted travel companions, nearly always older men and rarely good-looking.
Annie suddenly realised that missing the 6.59 also meant she would miss the âhandsome guyâ. She had exchanged smiles with the enigmatic man every morning for many months. And although they had never spoken, she was happy to leave it as it was, those briefest of encounters gave her enough fantasy ammunition to get her through her darkest days with Melina.
Annie remained optimistic about her love life, even though she was still unattached at thirty-two. Her forthright Lancastrian gran had told her more than once that she would be a barren womanânot having a man at this late stage in her life. But forgiving the old lady for her insensitivity was never a problem for Annie, Gran was the only ally she had within her strange narcissistic family. Her mother and father were different to her friendsâ parents, who showed their children love; Annieâs were cold and impatient, and more than happy to offload their daughter onto anyone who would have her. But even invitations to stay over at friends had dried up, reciprocation had never been a word in her parentsâ vocabulary.
It was around that time that loneliness had prompted young Annieâs conjuring of her imaginary friend, Ellie, who became her constant shadow and mischievous mentor. Her parentsâ acceptance of this fanciful playmate had, at the time, puzzled Annie. Years later though, sheâd realised that Ellie was, in their eyes, the perfect distraction for their strange and irksome child.
The two seats opposite her had become unoccupied, so she stretched her legs under the table and propped her feet up on the seat cushions. Not allowed, but I really donât give a damn today, she thought.
It annoyed her yet again that first-class travel was out of her reach, her meagre wage was barely enough for a small mortgage on a semi- detached in Southampton. Her ambition to live in the big city, though, was still at the forefront of her mind, and the excitement of London living, without the mindless commute, kept her going.
The carriage had its usual plethora of characters that stimulated Annieâs love of people-watching. Although she could see in her mindâs eye images of the lives they led, she was convinced it was her extraordinary imagination working overtime as usual. But fantasizing about their lives was a good distraction from all that was going on in hers, especially today.
Annieâs imaginings were suddenly interrupted by a foul smell. It canât be sweat on a freezing morning like this, she thought. The body odour was coming from a person sitting across the aisle from her.
She could see in her peripheral vision that it was a large man dressed in black. She couldnât help herself and turned her head slowly to the left, to catch a glimpse of this dark character. Simultaneously, he did the same and leered at her through protruding, veined eyes.
Annie knew all too well that he was a Catholic priest, as his clerical collar and silver cross made her stomach churn. His mouth opened as if to talk, but instead a vile grin appeared, exposing his stained yellow teeth. Droplets of sweat slowly trickled down his grey temples. Annie recoiled, bile rose up into her throat, and she whipped her head around towards the window.
Her ghost-like reflection was so different to the person she saw every morning in the mirror. Her long copper-red hair and aqua-green eyes were muted by the smoked glass, while the abstract countryside sped through her parallel image. But the imprinted vision of the priestâs silver cross overpowered her thoughts, regressing her mind to her own miserable convent days.
Her father had moved her from a happy, mixed comprehensive to a religious all-girls school, simply because one of her best friends had got herself âup the duffâ at the age of just thirteen.
Annieâs father used the fact that a pregnant friend would be a bad influence on his daughter to persuade her generous grandfather to pay for private education. More importantly, it was also a boarding school. He found a convent that would take fee-paying non- Catholics to boost their coffers. But her father mistakenly thought it was a virtuous establishment where his daughter would be safely tucked away from randy schoolboys. And, also, where he hoped she would gain the qualifications required for a decent job, or to get into uni.
It did all thatâbut it wasnât virtuous; in fact, far from it. The nuns were spiteful and cruel, especially to Annie, who was a non-Catholic headstrong teenager. She would question the Sisters of Mercy regularly as to why they had chosen such an unnatural life. All married to one God, and seemingly living their lives without mercy or compassion.
She had spent most of her free periods at school reciting the Hail Mary prayer as punishment for her misconduct, whilst standing inFather Edwardsâs office. She remembered thinking at the time that using prayer as penance was odd. But then, everything about that school was strangeâand so, too, was Father Edwards.
He would patrol the crucifix-strewn corridors with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly feasting his eyes on the sisters and students. Annie had never before experienced God and religion until it had been forced upon her every day at that vile institution.
The trainâs Tannoy system crackled into life, with an overexuberant buffet-car attendant trying to peddle his wares. The announcement dragged Annieâs mind back to the present, and rapidly planted the seed that she needed a zap of caffeine.
Leaving her jacket spread across the seat and a magazine on the table, she picked up her briefcase. Without looking at the priest again, she got up and weaved her way to the buffet car.
This coffeeâs gonna to have to do me until later, she thought. She was on a detox and the usual array of unhealthy but tasty calorie-loaded snacks were not on her agenda until at least Friday.
On her way back from getting a drink, she gasped in surprise, nearly choking on her coffee in the process. The âhandsome guyâ wasthere, staring out of the window. He saw her reflection and immediately turned to face her. His usual sexy smile appearedâbut then he winked at her, too.
Annie felt the heat rushing to her cheeks, and knew her pale complexion would be scarlet in seconds. She returned a nod in acknowledgement and rushed back to her seat, but was thrilled that heâd been so bold. It had made her miserable start to the day morebearable and had caused a strange zing to surge through her body, something she had never experienced before.
She sat, rested her head back and held her breath for a few seconds. She was curious as to why he was on the later train, too, and her imagination immediately started to wander into a romantic realm. His Mediterranean dark-bronze eyes, olive skin and close-cut facial hair were faultless; even his tousled dark hair with its natural highlights was groomedâbut not too perfectly.
Then her senses were vulgarly smashed, the odour from the sweaty priest wafted over her again. She glared at the foul man. Thankfully, sleep had taken him, but she was still angered by his pungent intrusion into her exquisite daydream.
Annie scanned the carriage for characters to hone her people- watching skills on, and to take her mind off the unusual annoyance.
Most of the women were clearly heading for a shopping spree, their indecipherable babble an indication of their excitement for the day ahead. They were all dressed to annihilate, with coordinating handbags and boots, ready to descend on one of the best Meccas in the world for purchasing anythingâfrom the most ridiculously ex- pensive to the best bargains ever.
The men were mundane in comparison. Plainly dressed in suits and ties, and unlike the babbling ladies, quietly productive: either reading newspapers, texting on phones, or tapping on laptops. One of the gents, however, was talking way too loudly on his large mobile. He was enjoying the fact that everyone around him could hear he was purchasing a new Tesla car, for a âvast amount of dosh,â as he tawdrily put it.
Although others in the carriage were raising their eyebrows and tutting at his crassness, a wave of compassion washed over her, and for some reasonâshe knew, deep down, that he was a lonely soul with no true friends.
She shivered unexpectedly, as a grim image of his mortality flashed through her mind. She was annoyed with herself for letting her imagination become creepy and intrusive, and she shook her head to drag her thoughts back to normality.
She sipped her bitter coffee, contemplating how the day would pan out, the carriage started to get a little busier. A group of noisy students had got on at Basingstoke, but she was relieved to see them crowding around four seats further up the carriage. Annieâs attention was drawn to a pretty, slim girl whose unkempt brunette hair was knotting into early dreadlocks. Above all, her sad eyeâs revealed a despair that seemed incongruous amongst the cheerful teenagers.
Annie quickly looked out of the window, annoyed with herself for overthinkingâyet again.
The speeding scene outside was spectacular, with the frost-laden countryside glistening whilst the weak winter sun slowly emerged.