‘Jack.’
Daniel looked up as she mentioned her estranged brother’s name, a frown creasing his forehead.
‘Anna, hi.’
‘Long time no hear. How are you?’
‘Not so great to be honest. I’m at the City of London police station. I’ve been arrested.’
Anna gasped, dropping onto a chair. ‘What for?’
‘Robbery.’
‘Robbery? Jack, what on earth’s going on?’
‘It’s a long story. And I don’t have time. I need a solicitor. They’ve given me a duty solicitor but he’s useless. I know I shouldn’t expect any help from you after all I’ve done, but can you? Can you help me, Anna? Please?’
‘Jack, I don’t know any solicitors.’ She looked across to Daniel in a panic. Jack sounded desperate, not the self-assured cocky young man he’d been at home.
‘I’ll sort it,’ Daniel said.
With a wave of relief Anna told Jack, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find someone and we’ll be with you soon.’
She heard Jack exhale. ‘Thank you, Anna. You don’t know how much this means to me.’
‘You’re my brother,’ she replied. That’s all that mattered.
‘I won’t forget this,’ he said. ‘Anna, please don’t tell Dad.’
‘I won’t. Not now at least. But when this is sorted you’ll need to tell him yourself.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can and you will,’ she said sternly. ‘That’s my condition for helping you. I want you to sort things with Dad. A family needs to stick together.’
‘Okay, I’ll try.’ She heard someone in the background. ‘My time’s up. I’ve got to go. But thank you, Anna. I really mean that.’
She ended the call and sank down in her chair, suddenly deflated. Immediately Daniel was by her side, holding her closeto him as she tried to regain her equilibrium. Eventually he pulled away from her.
‘I’ll try to get hold of my solicitor before he leaves the office. He works for a big firm so I’m sure he’ll know a decent criminal lawyer.’
‘Thank you, Daniel, I really appreciate it.’
‘That’s okay, family is family.’
‘I doubt Jack can afford it, but I’ll pay whatever it costs.’
‘Don’t worry about that. We’ll sort out the finances later. The most important thing for now is helping Jack.’
* * *
Anna and Daniel had been sitting in the waiting room of the police station for what seemed like hours. True to his word, Daniel had found a lawyer, who was with Jack while he was being questioned. Anna was sick with worry, wondering how bad things really were. Eventually the solicitor appeared.
‘How bad is it?’
He shook his head. ‘Let’s go somewhere away from here.’
Anna’s stomach lurched. If he didn’t want to talk about it at the police station, it must be worse than she’d thought.
