Very good comments received, much grateful for all the support and interest. Kate's confusion as to Samuel's running out is part of the suspense which will be unravelled in later chapters. Sorry about the NI and NHS issues. In event of a case like Samuel's where the NHS details are not available wouldn't there be charges to be paid? Just trying to understand the system.
A LONG DROP DOWN (3)
Sarah finally made it to Broadsmead some forty-five minutes after having answered Mark's call. She couldn't understand what it was that made her drop everything and rush over and try as she might to convince herself that she just wanted to square their account, deep down she just knew that there was more to it than that. She had seen fresh pain in his eyes and it reminded her of her own vulnerability and suffering for the past two years. Her husband of three years had suddenly left one night without cause or reason and it wasn't until a week later when someone came pounding on the door asking for his money that she realised the extent of trouble her husband had been in. Apparently he had been a victim of an elaborate con which had seen him put all their savings into a get rich quick scheme. He had neither discussed his 'investment' with her nor had he turned to her later when he realised he had been swindled. Their youngest was only a year old and to cover for their needs, Marcus had taken money from a loan shark hoping to bridge the gap by payday. A workplace incident had got him suspended which put a strain on his plan and instead of turning to Sarah he once again went to a different loan shark to satisfy the first.
By the time matters at work were resolved he had already dug himself in deep with the loan sharks and they had started harassing him by phone at all hours of the day and night. Keeping Sarah in the dark, he tried to solve matters but his lack of attention at work led to another incident and this time he was found with cause and his contract terminated. What little he had was squandered with 'friends' at a pub trying to solve an unsolvable problem that just escalated out of control. Deciding his disappearance would end the issue, Marcus walked out of their marital home leaving Sarah clueless and totally at a loss as to how to bring up two children on her own. At the time, Sarah had been working as a part time clerk at the Tesco Café at Eastgate Road across the M32 a twenty minute walk from home on Boswell Street. The threats by the loan sharks and their constant harassment at work forced Sarah to seek her sister's help and fortunately, she had loaned her the five thousand pounds to clear the debt. But their repeated appearance at her place of work and her meagre wages had put a dent that Sarah could not clear until someone told her of an asian who was renting out cars to those who wanted to try the Braxi or uber routes since his cab company had gone down with the advent of mobile apps.
Sarah had taken to the cab business like a fish to water. Making some contacts of people who wanted a regular cab ride as well as learning to weed out the creeps from the honest working class who wanted to avoid the usual stress of driving to and from work. She had also made contacts with some bar staff at night clubs and other late night workers who wanted the safety of a reliable person and all these were more than willing to pay her without going through the app ensuring that even the app commissions would come to her. This was her reason for using her own number which was at times also cause for stress from other users who came through on the app during down times.
Her flat was another matter. They had been renting the place from Jack who seemed at the time on the up and up never bothering them as long as Marcus was a part of her life. However, as rents fell due and she failed to clear on time Jack Peaboy started showing his true colours by asking for favours against interest accrued. Sarah had persevered and managed to keep him at bay but recently she had started suspecting that Jack had access to her home and had been snooping around behind her back. With a child at Bristol Children's playhouse and another at the nearby May Park Nursery, the flat was empty most mornings. There were signs of things having been moved and especially her under clothes having been rearranged which had left her feeling defiled or violated yet there was no proof nor did she have the time to deal with the matter. But it scared her none the less.
Sarah found Mark walking out of Mark's and Spenser's with a couple of bags but he looked to be lost in some faraway place. He didn't even acknowledge her presence until she was right in his face. Mark's face lit up on seeing Sarah and he grabbed her hand whilst leading her in the direction of the Starbucks. Sarah didn't know what to make of the sudden change in his demeanour nor did she want to raise the issue but she knew that there was something deep down that was eating up Mark and for some unexplainable reason, Marcus came to mind and she made an intention to try and help Mark deal better with whatever was troubling him.
