Heartbreak at Heaton Valley Written and performed by Stephanie Poppins Have you ever noticed things never seem to happen when you're waiting for them?
And yet,
When you least expect it,
The most amazing things come along to remind you just how wonderful life really is.
Episode 12 Heavy rain pelted down on Martin Gardner's windscreen,
Making it almost impossible to see.
It was an unusually dark,
Cloudy day,
And as wave after wave of water confused his way,
The wipers worked nineteen to the dozen in a vain attempt to increase visibility.
The road to the glampsite was much trickier than he anticipated,
And he was beginning to lose patience,
But he pressed on regardless.
It's already late morning,
He said to himself,
And the rain's not stopping any time soon.
One after another,
The sharp bends twisted and turned in front of him,
And his sturdy Range Rover made main work of them,
But still he was running out of time.
The water level was rising at an alarming rate,
And the river cutting through the valley was about to burst its banks.
He jabbed impatiently at the button on his interactive screen.
No answer.
Again.
Only this time,
Ava's phone hadn't even run.
She'd either had it switched off or it had been destroyed.
Whichever it was,
It wasn't looking good.
Something was very wrong,
And he,
Martin Gardner,
Was the only one who could fix it.
He pressed his foot down harder still,
His trusted sat-nav dictating his every move.
The longer Ava was kept against her will,
The worse it would be for her and Daisy.
For that's what this was.
Abduction.
It couldn't be anything else.
Paul said she'd escaped Mayliffe Cottage in order to evade scrutiny,
But she'd promised she'd still be available at all times.
Only now she wasn't.
And surprise,
Surprise,
Jack Riley was incommunicado too.
Not even his wife,
Annabelle,
Could get hold of him.
This was far too much of a coincidence.
Martin's mind travelled back to when they last spoke.
There'd been real tension in Jack's voice.
He was a ticking time bomb,
And Ava Smith was first in his line of fire.
Martin checked the screen again.
Where am I going next?
It can't be too far.
He pressed the button to reduce the magnification of the map,
Momentarily distracted as he entered a particularly tight bend,
Faster than the others he'd taken.
They're less than a mile away,
He thought.
Power on,
Gardner.
But taking his eyes off the road in such treacherous conditions was a huge mistake.
No!
His bright headlights lit up the watery blur,
Completely blinding him to the way ahead.
In one confused rush of water,
Bridge and sinewy steel,
Vehicle met vehicle,
Head on.
Crash!
Ah!
Martin screamed,
Hurling towards his windscreen.
But his airbag activated immediately,
And he recovered,
Only to see the offending van spinning 180 degrees to veer off the narrow road,
Straight through the wooden bridge,
Down into the icy depths.
Oh,
God!
Martin freed his belt and leapt out of his seat.
He was no celebrated swimmer,
He knew that,
But he was excellent at diving,
And there were but seconds in it.
He tore off his jacket and plunged headlong into the icy depths.
At the very first handle he came to,
He yanked as hard as he could,
But to no avail.
He tried again,
Kicking furiously against the ferocious pull of the water,
Which threatened to drag him down with it.
Smashing the corner of the old glass,
He reached inside.
And with a huge rush of water,
The door was open,
Only to reveal a very distressed,
Almost helpless Ava Smith,
Fighting desperately with the old seatbelt that pinned her tightly in.
Number One Market Terrace was the only shop in the centre of Market Heaton with its lights still on.
Even though the sandbags were in place and the flood precautions taken,
Poor Smart just couldn't bring himself to leave.
He'd felt like giving up,
And he wasn't about to do that.
He should be pleased with himself,
Weren't the investors satisfied and the councillors in the know?
He'd done his job well,
So why did he feel so unsettled?
Ava Smith,
That was why.
Any minute now Martin would call,
Then he could relax.
He was too old for this stress,
He was supposed to have gone straight home to wait the flood out,
But he must stay until things with Ava were resolved.
He made himself another coffee and looked round.
Paul had always been proud of what he'd done with his life,
Especially after losing his brother at such a young age.
That was one of the reasons he had so much time for the girl.
There was an understanding there,
He supposed,
An unspoken affinity.
The phone rang,
Making him jump.
That's him now,
It must be.
Martin?
Am I glad to hear from you,
He said without thinking.
Mr Smart,
It's Annabelle Riley.
Paul pictured the woman at the other end of the line.
A glamorous blonde with an unglamorous look in her eyes,
And a determined hold on her old money.
He paused for thought.
Old money,
That's what got him into this mess in the first place.
Greed for more of the same.
Serve him right.
Mrs Riley.
I can't get hold of Ava,
Snapped Annabelle.
She said to speak to you if anything happened.
Paul gasped.
Ava had been so worried Jack would find her,
She'd even set up a contingency plan in motion.
This was not good.
No I haven't.
I had hoped this call would be good news.
Well it isn't.
She promised she'd speak to them,
And they're desperate for someone to quote when the exclusive runs,
So where is she?
Annabelle's demanding tone made Paul seem red.
There was no mention of a,
Is Ava okay,
Or is there anything I can do?
Annabelle was well aware of the toxic threats her husband had made.
She knew how volatile the situation was,
But all she cared about was how this would play out for her.
The two of them were well matched,
He concluded.
But Annabelle Riley was right about one thing.
This story had to run,
No matter what.
I'll be the voice of the story,
Paul blurted out before he even knew what he was saying,
And I'll call them now.
You?
Yes,
Me.
I have all the evidence at my disposal,
And I'm well aware of just what your husband's capable of,
Annabelle.
I'm not surprised you want rid of him.
The man's a scumbag.
This comment obviously hit home,
But Paul wasn't in the mood to pull any punches.
After slamming the phone down after accepting her contact's details,
Paul phoned the express,
Making sure he told the journalist on the other end of the line.
We suspect Ava's been held against her will,
And that's all the more reason this story needs to run.
Ava Smith opened her eyes and looked up.
She was lying down in the back of a large 4x4.
She knew that much.
But where exactly was she,
And what was she doing here?
She tried in vain to get up.
I can't move my legs.
It's okay,
Ava.
I've got you.
It was Martin Gardner,
And he was stroking the hair away from the wound on Ava's face.
Martin?
Ava took a breath and gazed at him through cloudy eyes.
The man was soaking wet,
And his chest was heaving.
Wait a minute.
She was wet too.
What had just happened?
Where are we?
And why are you here?
You were in the water.
Ava burst its banks.
So were you,
By the looks of it,
She replied.
And Martin smiled faintly.
After what she'd been through,
Ava could still see the humour in such a situation.
What a girl.
There was someone else in the van with you,
He said softly.
Who was it?
He watched her closely for any signs of recognition.
Any memory of what might have happened.
Then his face dropped.
I couldn't save him,
Ava.
George?
Is that who he was?
Yes,
George Skinner.
Ava remembered now.
Everything came rushing back to her.
Having to leave Daisy in the hands of his wife,
Tracy Skinner,
And begging her to be kind when Jack arrived.
She'd left with George in the van,
To retrieve the old phone that everyone was looking for.
The one in the safe at Smart and Son's.
We've got to get back.
We've got to get back to Daisy,
She said desperately.
Then with one painful gasp,
Ava Smith fainted once more.
But this time,
She was safe in the strong arms of Martin Gardner.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
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