Christmas in Peppercorn Street

by Anna Jacobs

  He could only hope Eric would come up with something, was even beginning to hope they’d lock Martin away and find out what was wrong with him. And whether it was curable.

  That thought made him realise he should inform Eric about this break-in, just in case it was relevant. He’d do that first thing in the morning.

  Chapter Twenty

  Hilary said she had a headache and went up to lie down. After finishing the clearing up, Tom tried to settle to reading a book, but a few moments of fidgeting made him decide to phone Eric now and tell him about the break-in. He’d make sure the PI agreed to meet him early tomorrow.

  And he’d take Hilary with him to the meeting. She was obviously starting to realise that there was something wrong with Martin. When their son had married Claire and produced a child, they’d felt so relieved, thinking he’d found his way in life and would now settle down.

  But they’d been wrong, so wrong. As the years passed, poor Claire had started looking increasingly tense and unhappy, however hard she tried to hide her feelings when she was with them, while Martin had grown more and more aggressive, getting angry with her about anything and everything.

  Oh, why dwell on that? It was past history. What can’t be cured must be endured. The old saying was right. The important thing now, Tom felt, was to make sure the future was better for Claire and that precious child, and for himself and Hilary to get on with their own lives.

  He picked up the phone and contacted Eric. After a short conversation, during which he explained about the break-in and was very insistent about the need to have a face-to-face meeting, Eric agreed to meet him in a small town called Sexton Bassett. Only it had to be really early in the morning.

  Tom felt guilty because he didn’t tell Eric he would be bringing Hilary. He wouldn’t tell her yet that they were going, though, would just wake her tomorrow and tell her to get ready. That way she wouldn’t be able to tell Martin.

  He realised Eric had said something. ‘Sorry. I missed that. Could you please say it again?’

  ‘I can only give you half an hour. I’m doing a security job at a house on the outskirts of town, but it’s usually quiet at that time of day and I do have a colleague working with me, so I’ll meet you in the library car park. It’s in the town centre. You can’t miss it. 7 a.m. is all I can offer.’

  Tom was startled. ‘But it’ll still be dark then.’

  ‘I know but that’s truly the only time I can make and if you hadn’t been robbed like that, I’d not even be doing so much. I want to hear all the details. Take it or leave it quickly. I have to get back to work.’

  ‘I’ll see you at seven, then.’

  Tom set his alarm clock without telling Hilary and took her mobile phone out of her handbag so that she’d not be able to sneak a call to Martin. He put it on the kitchen surface and hoped she’d think she’d left it there, because he didn’t want to add to what he was sure would be a stressful outing.

  At half past five the following morning the alarm rang and the radio came on. He jerked awake, thinking, Here goes! He switched on the bedside light and waited till she was fully awake, then explained that he was going to meet his PI to discuss Martin and their break-in. ‘If you want to come with me, you have fifteen minutes to get ready.’

  ‘You’re mad. What can we do at this time of day?’

  ‘We can find out the facts about our son: ask questions, share information. You need to hear what Eric says as much as I do. And you need to meet him. He’s a nice chap. I’m sure you’ll trust him.’

  ‘Why couldn’t you have told me last night?’

  ‘I, um, didn’t want you lying awake worrying. Eric knows more than anyone else does about our son because he’s been investigating Martin for a few days now. He’s told me things I didn’t know, things that have shocked me. We both need to face facts, however hard that is.’

  ‘What things?’

  ‘I’ll tell you after we’ve spoken to Eric.’

  She didn’t look happy but got ready quickly. When she saw her phone, she snatched it up. ‘How did I come to leave it down here?’

  He wondered if she’d have phoned Martin if he hadn’t taken away her phone. There wasn’t time for her to do that now. He handed her an insulated mug of instant coffee and they went out to the car. He’d grabbed a quick drink while waiting for her. He was usually hungry in the mornings, but not today.

  They hardly said a word on the hour-long drive to Sexton Bassett, but when they saw the sign with the town’s name on it she said suddenly, ‘You won’t convince me that Martin’s done anything really bad. Whatever this PI person says, our son’s not wicked, just sometimes a bit impulsive and quick-tempered. He loves his daughter very much and misses her dreadfully. That’s hardly a fault. Claire took Gabby away from him. She shouldn’t have done that.’

  He didn’t answer. Hilary had been saying that to him for months, repeating it like a church litany. Who was she trying to persuade? Herself as much as him, he reckoned. He’d given up arguing about it, was hoping desperately that a few facts from someone else would help open her mind to the truth, that there was something wrong with their son and the way he was behaving.

  He was quite sure Martin had been the one to rob them of the silver and that added a further dimension of pain to what was happening.

  They found the library car park quite easily, but there was no car waiting for them.

  As they pulled up, she folded her arms, scowling. ‘What if this PI fellow doesn’t turn up at all?’

  ‘He will. And you’ll like him. There’s something innately decent about him. He’s the sort of person you’d trust instinctively.’

  ‘Ha! He’s probably just acting, trying to take money off you. This must be costing us a fortune.’

  ‘Worth every penny to get the truth, don’t you think?’

  ‘No, I don’t.’

  At three minutes after seven a car turned off the road and parked next to theirs. A man got out.

  Tom did the same. ‘Aren’t you coming with me, Hilary?’

  She let out a heavy sigh and opened her car door but still didn’t get out, so he joined the PI, shivering at the chill, damp air.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Eric asked.

  ‘My wife. I’ve brought her with me because I’m having trouble convincing her that Martin’s at fault. I’m hoping you’ve found out more about him. She needs to face the truth and then we can both move on.’ He hoped.

  Eric looked at him in dismay. ‘Are you sure that’s wise?’

  ‘I’m not sure of anything at the moment. Our house being burgled has upset me big time.’

  ‘She’ll be reluctant to believe some of what I tell you. Mothers seem to be hard-wired to love and protect their children and they believe the lies told to them more easily than strangers might. Your daughter-in-law and granddaughter are already at risk. We don’t want him to trace them here.’

  ‘He wouldn’t hurt them.’

  ‘Wouldn’t he? I’m not so sure. From what I’ve found out, I think he’s on a serious downward spiral and needs medical help.’

  Tom sucked in his breath at that, then turned round as he heard the car door shut.

  Hilary came to join them at last, merely nodding when introduced to Eric, with that scowl still on her face.

  Eric shivered. ‘Let’s sit in my car to talk. That’s a damned cold breeze.’

  Tom gestured to his wife to sit in the front and sat in the middle of the back seat, leaning forward between the other two.

  Eric switched on the car’s interior light and the small island of brightness in the wind-blown darkness of the car park felt intimate, as if it was encouraging the sharing of information.

  The sky was starting to turn grey in the east now. He wished dawn would hurry up, was tired of short days and darkness by teatime, even more tired of worrying about their son.

  He switched his attention to Eric, who started to explain about Martin’s ongoing pursuit of his ex-wife and daughter, giving
details Tom hadn’t heard before.

  Neither of them had known about Martin leaving his job. How was he making a living now?

  When Tom laid one hand on Hilary’s shoulder, she half turned her head to stare at him coldly, as if to tell him to get off, but he didn’t remove his hand, and with a sigh she turned back to Eric, letting the hand stay there.

  When the PI told them about Martin finding Claire’s latest hiding place and coming to spy on her, Hilary only shrugged.

  ‘He wants his daughter back. What did you expect? Any father would do that.’

  ‘Other men don’t thump their wives.’

  ‘He’d been beating her?’ Tom hated the thought of that, absolutely hated it. How could a son of his even think of doing that?

  ‘That was apparently the final straw that made her leave him. She told me herself, and I believed her.’

  Hilary let out a whimper of protest.

  Eric waited a few seconds then continued, ‘I also found out that Claire had to go to A&E three times before she got away from him. Once there were marks on her wrist showing someone had twisted it. It’d been hurt so badly, the doctors thought she’d broken a bone and X-rayed it. She denied being abused by her husband, but the doctor didn’t believe her.’

  ‘You’re jumping to conclusions. She might have had a fall,’ Hilary snapped.

  ‘You don’t get twist marks from a fall.’

  Silence.

  ‘She had her daughter with her and the child was also bruised, so Gabby was questioned by a nurse away from her mother. They believed her when she said that her daddy had hit her mummy and pushed her out of the way. She’d fallen while running away from him.’

  Hilary swallowed audibly and there was no sharp comment this time.

  Eric’s voice was quietly emphatic. ‘There is no doubt in my mind or that doctor’s, Mrs Douglas, that your daughter-in-law was being abused, mainly mentally but also physically towards the end.’

  ‘How come you were allowed to see the medical records?’

  ‘The doctor at her local medical centre was worried about Claire and Gabby. She signalled her concern to the local police under a new initiative to combat spousal abuse. And when Claire and Gabby missed an appointment, she called at their home. A neighbour, who was also worried, told her they’d not been seen for a few days, so the doctor reported that to the police as well, and they went round to question your son.’

  ‘What happened to confidentiality?’

  ‘I used to be a police inspector and was able to find out about all that informally, because I’m concerned about their safety now, as well. I hope you won’t give me away or I’ll get into trouble.’

  His wife was sitting hunched up now, hands tightly clenched in her lap, looking anguished. Tom’s heart went out to her, but she had to know the truth, for Claire and Gabby’s sake.

  While they were speaking the sky had continued to brighten and there was now a greyish light and an occasional car driving past as the town woke up.

  Eric looked sideways. ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs Douglas.’

  ‘I find it hard to believe some of it.’

  Tom spoke gently. ‘But you do believe it, don’t you, Hilary?’

  Before she could answer him, Eric’s phone rang and when he saw who it was, he exclaimed in dismay, ‘There must be trouble at the place I’m supposed to be guarding. That’s all I use this phone for. I shouldn’t have left them. Please get out of the car quickly. I have to leave.’ He ignored them and asked the caller, ‘What’s the matter, Caitlin?’

  At Number 5, Janey was woken just as dawn was breaking by her little daughter crying. She went into the bedroom next door to shush her, but Millie refused to be comforted and sobbed so broken-heartedly that her young mother lifted her out of bed. The dim nightlight that was always left on showed her that Millie was flushed so Janey decided to carry her down to the kitchen and get her a drink of warm milk.

  She didn’t bother to put any of the lights on. There was enough grey light now to see what she was doing and she could have found her way down those stairs blindfolded. Anyway, she didn’t want to wake Winifred, who slept in what had been the housekeeper’s quarters next to the kitchen and was a very light sleeper.

  However, Janey stopped abruptly on the landing because she had seen something moving in the top part of Angus’s grounds, just beyond the next-door garden’s back fence, something that resolved itself into a man-shaped silhouette. No mistaking it. What was someone doing out there?

  She blinked and took a good long look at the figure, staying where she was, hopefully out of sight, and jiggling Millie in her arms, which seemed to soothe her daughter. She didn’t like the look of this. Why was someone standing looking at the houses at this hour of the morning?

  No, looking at the next-door house.

  Luke from next door had introduced her to Eric only yesterday and explained that his companion was helping guard his visitors. He’d also warned her to be careful herself at the moment, because Claire was being stalked by her ex, who was a violent man.

  Eric had given her a business card and told her to phone him at once if she saw anything unusual, night or day. It didn’t matter if it turned out to be a mistake. Better safe than sorry.

  She gasped in shock as she suddenly realised what the man outside was holding: some sort of gun. Was it really? She strained her eyes, wishing it were lighter, but that shape couldn’t be anything else. And he was standing in an unusual way, holding the gun like a villain in a bad movie might.

  Definitely something to tell Eric about. She ran down the stairs and picked up the phone. It didn’t ring for long.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Janey here from next door. Eric, there’s a man with a gun standing near your fence at the back.’

  ‘A gun? Are you sure of that?’

  ‘Pretty sure. That shape is unmistakable, and the way he’s holding it.’

  ‘Leave it to me. Stay inside and don’t go near any of the back windows from now on. I’m in town at the moment but I’ll be back in five minutes at most.’

  Winifred came out to see what was going on, and they decided to go into her quarters and stay away from the kitchen window.

  Shoving the phone back in his pocket, Eric started the car. ‘I have to go. There’s a problem.’

  Tom bent to close the door. ‘Anything I can do to help?’

  ‘Definitely not. Someone’s standing outside the house with a gun. Please, Tom, go home and leave this to me. If it’s your son, Mrs Douglas, I’ll see they deal as gently as possible with him.’

  ‘Come on, love.’ Tom got back into his own car and when Hilary was sitting beside him, started up the engine.

  ‘If you go home now, I’ll never speak to you again.’

  He gaped at her.

  ‘Drive out of the car park and wait out of sight of that man. When he drives away, we’re going to follow him. If it’s our son, I intend to be there.’

  ‘But Hilary, he said there was a man with a gun.’

  ‘That’s got to be a mistake. Martin doesn’t own a gun. And even if what Eric said about our son hurting Claire is true and he’s stalking her, I’m going to make sure that Martin gets the best help possible.’ She sobbed but poked him in the arm and said in a choked voice, ‘Do it! If you have any love for me at all, just do it, Tom!’

  He hesitated. ‘You’re not to get in the way if the police are dealing with this.’

  ‘Of course not.’

  Hoping she would keep her word, he did as she asked. It was easy to follow Eric’s headlights from a distance. He didn’t switch on his own car lights and prayed he’d not meet any other vehicles. He was half hoping they’d lose Eric, but the street he turned in to was a long one and he didn’t turn off it but went right up to the top, which looked to be a cul-de-sac, and stopped there.

  Tom stopped further down and waited, watching the PI run into the garden and use a key to open the front door. He still hadn’t noticed
them following him, thank goodness.

  They might wait and find out what was happening and if it involved Martin, but no way was he letting Hilary go near that house.

  Caitlin came up from the kitchen to the hall as Eric went inside the house. ‘Oh, it’s you. Everything go OK?’

  ‘No.’ He told her what Janey had said, then ran up the stairs and took a careful look out of the landing window while Caitlin went to check from the kitchen.

  As he was standing there Luke came out of his bedroom. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘Stay where you are!’

  Luke stopped dead. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘Janey next door rang to say there’s a man with a gun standing near the bottom of your garden. That was about five minutes ago. I’d just nipped out to meet someone in town. Anyway, I’ve had a look out and he’s still there. It looks like Martin to me, however carefully he’s covered his face. There’s something aggressive about the way that man stands. You can see it in all the recent photos of him that his father gave me.’

  ‘Oh, hell, no! Is he planning to shoot Claire, do you think?’

  ‘He must be planning to shoot someone or why bring a gun?’

  Helly came padding across from Claire and Gabby’s bedroom and nudged Luke. This was usually the signal for someone to let her out.

  The two men exchanged glances and stared down at her.

  ‘Or maybe he’s planning to shoot your dog, since she gave his presence away the other night,’ Eric said slowly.

  ‘Shoot Helly! Has the guy gone completely mad? Would he really come here to shoot a dog?’

  ‘He’s certainly not thinking straight. Maybe he thinks if there’s no dog around he can come back another time and kidnap Gabby.’

  ‘Over my dead body.’

  Claire came to join them. ‘I heard what you were saying and I looked out of our bedroom window and saw him too.’

  ‘I hope you didn’t let him see you.’