Racing For Love

Chapter Twenty Eight

My heart races as I look around the kitchen. There's complete silence other than the sound of my heart thudding in my chest and for a minute, i'm paralysed by terror at the thought of what, or who, I might find.

I slowly open the door to the wine cellar and see more smashed glass - bottles of wine appear to have been thrown down from the racking, the pattern random and inconsistent - I breathe again as I realise the red is not blood, but wine.

I grasp a wine bottle as my only defence and listen intently to see whether I am alone. The air is still filled with silence, so I resolve that whoever was here, has now gone. I'm filled with relief that I don't have to confront anyone because I don't know how I would deal with that. I miss Joe intensely - wishing I was not alone and he could be here with me to help sort out this mess.

I need to pull myself together. I remind myself that I am a strong woman and I take a deep breath - I know what I need to do. I call the police and then look through my phone to find the number of a handyman who can fix the door. He confirms he'll be here tomorrow but with the practicalities taken care of, I feel totally alone again. I messaged Lorenzo but he's in Monaco, Matt and James are travelling to the race and even Kate has dinner plans. Uni friends are too far away...there's one person I could call, but I don't know if that would just complicate matters, and I don't even know where he is at the moment.

"I'll be with you in 30 minutes." Jono's calming voice says as his call comes through, barely a minute after I sent him a message explaining what had happened and asking if he's around. Relief floods through me that I'm not going to be on my own for long and I wait for both the police and Jono to turn up - both parties arriving near simultaneously as I stand in the doorway and let them in.

Jono immediately envelops me in a hug checking i'm ok before turning to speak with the officers "Thank you for your quick response, what do we need to do?" - he takes command of the situation which i'm glad of since after the initial adrenaline, my brain is a fog. It's noticeable that they recognise him, but don't say anything as they start to run through what happened, looking at taking fingerprints and asking me about what's been damaged and if anything is missing.

"I can provide a list of the wine that's been wrecked from the inventory - I was just starting it. I don't think anything is missing except...except for my locket." My voice cracks as I struggle to keep my composure. The locket is worth quite a bit of money, but it's priceless to me - the memory of my parents and the fact that Joe gave it to me. I feel so stupid for not putting it away properly when I put Lorenzo's stupid necklace on, and the tears threaten to spill as I find a picture to show the police officer what it looks like. "I have a jewellers appraisal for it - would that be useful?" I confirm. The officers are hugely helpful, and run through details they need from me that I will take to the station tomorrow when I sit down and give an official statement.

"Are you staying here alone tonight, Miss Stephens?" The police woman asks.

"No, I'll be here" Jono replies, and puts his arm around my shoulder. I can see her face change in confusion - if they know who Jono is, they know that Charlotte is his girlfriend - she doesn't say anything explicitly, so just incase, I confirm for her benefit "Thanks Jono, you're a good friend. I'll see you tomorrow at the station, officer, with the relevant paperwork. Thank you again."

Happy that I'll not be on my own, the police officers go to leave. The policeman clears his throat before asking if it would be possible to have an autograph - they end up talking to Jono about racing whilst I hover, unsure as to what I should be doing. Jono notices and politely ushers the officers out, shutting the door before apologising to me.

"Sorry Annie - you must be so worried. And here I am, talking shit about cars. How are you?" He asks, his eyes catching mine as I try not to crumble.

"I'm ok. Walking into it was horrendous - I thought someone had died...but I feel better now you're here. Thank you for coming." I'm ashamed to admit the relief I feel now that Jono's here and i'm not alone.