by Kay Leitch
'Right Ted you come with me, I'm going to pay Mr Frampton a call, meanwhile Mandy can you see what you can dig up on him, how long has he lived in the village, according to the head at the school he's only been working there a couple of years, find out where he was before, why he left, you know…and while you're at it Mandy could you do a bit of digging into our local landlady's background for me…find out what her maiden name was and where she came from, anything would be helpful…but be discreet ok? I don't want her to know I'm interested…Frank can you give her a hand, the rest of you I want you to go over all the statements from the walkers that were there when our body was found, see if we've missed anything, particularly when it comes to our Mr Frampton. Did they notice anything peculiar in the way he reacted…you know the sort of thing…Laura has forensics made any mention of her mobile yet? Can you chase them up please, we know she had it with her, and can you see if they've managed to access her emails yet…right, Ted you ready…let's go.'
After knocking and ringing the bell at Frampton's cottage, Carla decided to get permission to enter the house, she called back to the station and spoke to the new chief, 'It just seems too coincidental that this man disappears without a word to anyone right after finding the body,' she said, 'especially as he has been asked several times to come into the station so that we could take his statement, but he hasn't shown up, and now it seems he has legged it. No one has any idea where he has gone, I have a gut feeling that there is more to this ma’am, I think it could be crucial to our investigation that we have access to his house.'
Carla and Ted waited around for about twenty minutes while the Chief Inspector tried to track down the local magistrate to get a warrant to enter the property.
'I've stuck my neck out Carla, so I hope you're right about this,' she said when she phoned with the go ahead.
'Talk about pressure,' mumbled Carla, 'Ok Ted do your thing,' she said with a smile and stood back as Ted gave the door a very macho shove with his shoulder, it gave way without much of a struggle, and Ted stood back looking so triumphant that Carla had to suppress another smile.
The house smelt musty as if it had not been lived in for a while and it was extremely cold. Carla pulled open the thick curtains that were covering the tiny bay window at the front and let in some light. The living room was immaculately clean, as was the rest of the house, not a thing was out of place. Over the mantel was a large square mirror that made the room feel slightly bigger than it actually was. The only ornaments were some old toy cars and a very impressive toy steam tractor that had been put in pride of place next to the fireplace. There were no photographs on show; it was a very sterile room, in fact the whole house was devoid of personality.
The tiny kitchen and bathroom that it led on to were both just as pristine, although it looked like Frampton had left in a hurry, the fridge hadn't been emptied, there was some very nasty looking milk and a hard lump of cheese in there and a loaf of bread was turning green with mould in the bread bin. It seemed out of character that someone as neat and tidy as Frampton would have overlooked those things if this was a planned trip away. Upstairs one of the two bedrooms was obviously used as an office, there was a computer set up on a desk with a printer next to it, and a couple of filing cabinets on the other side of the room. Ted started searching through the drawers, they seemed to contain household bills and various other personal documents, nothing of any interest, no camera equipment or photographs of any sort, Frampton seemed to be a very orderly person, but the bottom drawer was locked and Ted had to use all his resources to open it.
Carla meanwhile was hunting through the back bedroom, which was obviously Frampton's own. His cupboards seemed almost obsessively tidy, mostly colour co-ordinated even his pants and socks. There wasn't a crease on his pillows and not a speck of dust on his bedside cabinets, 'Boy o boy this man could give me a serious complex,' thought Carla as she thought of her own messy bedroom. 'James is lucky to find two clean socks let alone matching,' just then something caught her eye, a little corner of what looked to be a piece of paper was sticking out from under the edge of the rug next to the bed, Carla pulled on her gloves and pulled it gently out. It wasn't a piece of paper it was a photo… of a girl, a small girl about 9 or maybe 10 standing in her white knickers and vest, she had her hands behind her head while a large male hand had pulled up her vest and was stroking her small breasts…the child's face was blotchy from crying… 'Ted come in here a mo will you…'
Ted walked in carrying a sheath of similar photos, 'Snap! I think we've got him Carla,' he said with a grim smile.
CHAPTER 28 - MAGGIE
Maggie heard the phone ringing as she got the bags out of her car. She fumbled with the key in her desperation to unlock the front door and of course by the time she had found the phone they, whoever it was, had rung off, 'bloody hell,' she thought irritably, it was probably cold callers anyway, anyone who knew her would have used her mobile number…and by anyone she was referring to Charles.
Unbelievably Charles had not yet been in touch, and Maggie was beginning to think that she might have to do the inconceivable… get in touch with him. This was something that Maggie had vowed to herself never to do again; she wanted…needed to be the one in control, she could still remember the searing pain that she had felt when Greg had betrayed her, it had made her needy and vulnerable and she would not allow herself to become that pathetic woman again.
She went back out to the car to get the rest of the shopping, hooking bag handles over practically every finger so that she could bring them all in at once, she all but dragged the shopping into the house and dropped it on the kitchen floor, 'Surely nobody needs this much food,' she thought as she packed it all into the enormous oversized American style fridge freezer but she knew that unbelievably she would be loading up the car with another load of groceries the same time next week, and this lot would have disappeared.
She started preparing the evening's meal, she loved to cook, having learnt how at her mother's knee. It was one of Maggie's idiosyncrasies that she was on the one hand a successful business woman, hard as nails when it came to negotiating a good deal for her clients, with a reputation as a ball breaker in the board room, but on the other she was a nurturer who needed to take care of those around her that she loved, and into this category came her love of cooking a good nourishing meal for the two men in her life.
She was making a chicken and bacon pasta dish, heavy with garlic and white wine, the smell of it filled the kitchen, she tossed a green salad in olive oil laced with red wine vinegar and started to set the huge antique pine table, she had always insisted that when they were all at home they ate together as she had done in her youth. It was a time when they could all touch base and swop bits of news, these evenings were becoming far and few between so they were all the more precious.
She sat and thought about her two sons, Dom, so tall and handsome who looked like his dad more and more each day but was the antithesis of him in reality. He was the quiet one, the dependable one, the one that had stayed on at school and got his grades and was now working for a small firm of solicitors and studying in his spare time and her lovely Jed who, unfortunately, had inherited all her own wayward qualities. He had dropped out of school and had run wild for a couple of years when she and Greg had first separated, hanging out with a group of friends who had encouraged him in his excesses. Maggie had been so worried about him for a while, he had been so hurt by it all that he had even rejected her when she had tried to comfort him, and he didn't speak to his father for about a year, things had calmed down now and she could see signs of the old jokey carefree Jed coming back. He still had a rather stilted relationship with Greg, but at least they were speaking. A lot of his return to normal was down to Jools his girlfriend; he'd met her when he'd started working for a small employment agency that provided staff for retirement homes. Jools had applied for a job at the Happy Valley and he had interviewed her, they had hit it off straight away and the rest was history. Maggie thor
oughly approved of Jools, she was a sweet girl who came from a large noisy family, a family Maggie thought sadly, that Jed seemed to want to be with most of the time, and who, she thought, he rather wished was his rather than this broken excuse of a family. 'Oh snap out of it woman,' she chided herself she'd learnt from experience that it was all too easy to slip into wallowing in self pity, what's done was done and every day was getting better and better.
She headed upstairs to freshen up her makeup when the phone began to ring downstairs, 'Would you f'ing believe it,' she said to herself as she rushed back down to answer it, of course she missed it but at least this time they'd left a message.
'Hi Mum turn your bloody mobile on you silly cow, I've been trying to phone you all day! Er...just to say I'm having dinner at Jools' house her mum ordered pizza and Dom is coming too, going to try his luck with Emily I reckon…ha ha no chance she thinks he's a right dork…oh and someone called Charles called, said he may try again later…luv ya… see you later.'
CHAPTER 29 - HELEN
Helen pulled off the purple jumper in disgust. It was the latest in a long line of outfits that were now covering her bedroom floor. She was due to meet Mike in about two and a half hours and was having a serious panic attack…she found her mobile under all the discarded outfits and dialled Maggie's number…it went to voice mail… in a frenzy now she dialled her home number, the phone was answered almost immediately by Maggie who said. 'It's about time you called I was beginning to think you'd left the country for good…'
'Maggie?'
'Helen? Is that you, oh sorry love I was waiting for another call…are you ok, big date tonight isn't it?'
'No I'm not ok,' said Helen and burst into noisy tears followed by some unintelligible language which sounded like a mixture of wailing and a few words that Maggie could understand… 'nothing to wear sob sob sob… such a fat cow sob sob sob…stupid fucking bastard Wills…sob gurgle snort…not bloody going now…snort sniff gulp…making a fool of myself…'
'Er just let me stop you there you silly cow, you are definitely going out, we will find you something to wear and you are going to knock this blokes socks off, and what's more I'm on my way over so just sit tight,' she rang off before Helen had time to speak.
Maggie arrived at Helen's house in record time, it had occurred to her on the short journey over that she might run into Wills and as she didn't know what tale Helen had given him for her night out, she was busy concocting an excuse for her being here when Helen opened the door.
'Oh thank goodness it's you,' said Maggie relieved, 'I wasn't sure if Wills would be here, I was going to say that I had had a kitchen disaster of some sort and needed to borrow something…' she stopped waffling when she saw the blind panic in Helen's face. 'Right come on you, let's get a strong drink down you and have a look in your wardrobe.'
'No no I can't drink I have to drive, I'm meant to be meeting him in Godstone, you know at the Bell.'
'Stop arguing love, I will drive you…it's safer that way anyway then I can secretly check him out for you while you meet him,' at this act of generosity Helen broke down again, '…sob sob..so kind…snort gurgle…can't let you do this …burp… must have your own plans.'
'Oh will you shut up and get yourself a brandy, thanks to my two neglectful sons, I've got nothing planned for tonight now apart from trying to eat a whole chicken and bacon pasta by myself and watching my recorded episodes of corrie, now stop blubbing, time is moving on and we haven't even worked out what you're going to wear…and your make-up is going to need a serious re-do sweetie…where is the slimy Wills tonight anyway?'
'Where he always is these days 'at work' or loosely translated shagging secretary.' Helen took a deep breath and looked at Maggie. 'Thank you my wonderful friend…now help me get gorgeous…it may take some time!'
Maggie drove the trembling Helen to the pretty village of Godstone, where, just past the green stood The Bell. A lovely mellow brick building set in pretty gardens; it could rival The Bull with its excellent cuisine and gorgeous outlook. It was a good choice of meeting place from Helen's point of view, Godstone was far enough away from Kenley for her to be anonymous, and the pub itself was big enough for anyone to blend into the background. Which is exactly what Maggie did, as soon as she had parked the car and given Helen a good luck hug, she wandered into the bar and sat in a little corner where she had a reasonable view of the bar area and the door. Helen walked in a couple of minutes later and Maggie felt a wave of pride, she looked so poised and elegant. They had finally settled on a knee length black skirt twinned with a very pretty red jersey top which despite showing only a hint of cleavage, was sexy as hell in the way it hugged her figure…she looked good and by the way she was holding her head high she knew it, Maggie watched with a smile as a couple of men at the bar swivelled round to get a better look.
Helen spotted Mike almost as soon as she entered the crowded bar, he was standing in the far corner and obviously watching the door, as soon as she saw him he noticed her, and walked over. He was much taller than she had been expecting, even though his profile had stated 6'3, and he was as handsome as his photo, more so when he smiled, which he was doing now as he approached her.
'Hi, you must be Helen…you look just like your photo, he said in a pleasantly deep voice. 'I'm Mike, can I get you a drink?'
'Hello, yes a Pimms would be lovely thank you,' said Helen nervously, seriously this was more nerve wracking than her driving test and she had thrown up before that! 'Calm down…calm down,' she said to herself, she couldn't resist a look over in Maggie's direction, and, as she knew she would Maggie smiled and gave her a very discreet thumbs up. Mike came back with the drinks and they sat at a little table near the big fireplace.
'How weird is this?' said Mike after a couple of awkward minutes, 'I feel as if we've met before although I know we haven't, I suppose it's because we've talked online. How are you finding it? The website I mean…much luck so far?'
'Well actually you're my first date,' admitted Helen. 'But you're right it does make it easier to talk to you after having chatted online, how about you…I expect you've had them beating a path to your door.'
'Er not exactly. Actually you're my first too, oh I've talked to loads of people online but you are the only one so far that I have wanted to meet in person.'
Helen glowed with pleasure.
'Thank you for the compliment, if it was one, or maybe you were just curious to see what a desperate middle aged woman looked like.'
Mike gave her a smile of reassurance. 'Well they don't look like you Helen let me tell you, no it was a compliment of course…truth be told I liked the look of you and you seemed a nice genuine person when we chatted…so I'm hoping that maybe this might be the first of many dates.'
Helen gave him a non-committal smile and for the first time that evening began to relax and enjoy herself. Mike was lovely, funny, and a real chatter box and soon they were talking ten to the dozen, they seemed to have so much in common and the evening flew by in a daze. A few times Helen glanced over at Maggie to make sure she was ok but she needn't have worried, Maggie had been joined by a couple of guys and seemed to be having the time of her life. All too soon the evening came to an end, Mike looked at his watch.
'Chriiist!' he said, 'I didn't realise how late it was I have to be in Birmingham tomorrow for a presentation' (Mike was in advertising Helen had found out earlier), 'I have been having such a good time the evening has just flown, but I am going to have to rush off now I'm afraid…er I do hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have Helen…I would love to see you again.'
'I've had a wonderful time Mike, and I would love to do it again, so any time you fancy it…er you know how to get in touch with me,' said Helen desperately trying to be cool.
They exchanged an awkward peck on the cheek goodnight and Mike walked out with a wave. Maggie came straight over gagging for all the details.
'How did it go…it certainly looked as if you were enjoying yourself…he's lovely
looking Helen I'm surprised you could keep your hands off him…so come on spill!'
Helen just gave Maggie a smile of complete satisfaction, 'Oh Maggs I think I'm in big trouble.'
CHAPTER 30 - March 15th 1996
Living with Julie's sister is horrible.
I sleep in a tiny room that smells of cats and has great gaps round the window that lets the wind whistle in, making the room even colder than ever.
Sandra (that's her name) lives with her boyfriend Frank, though why he stays with her I don't know, she is so horrible to him, shouting at him all the time about getting a job…she's always moody, she hardly speaks to me, except to tell me what to do.
The kids are nice though, Sean, age seven, he's the eldest and Karen she's five and just started school. I have to take the kids to school and pick them up later, in the meantime I do some housework, washing and stuff, as soon as Sandra comes in though she wants me to stay in my room…out of her way.
The floor in my room is only covered with a tatty old rug so I can hear every word that is said in the kitchen below and since I have nothing else to do I listen…it's mostly rows though…sometimes even about me…Sandra keeps telling Frank to stay away from me, 'Don't you get up to any of your tricks you randy fucker, I've got my eye on you.'
At least no one has noticed 'it' yet, though it helps that my clothes are hanging off me, I have lost so much weight that I don't look anything like seven months gone.
I wrote home to let Mum know I was alright.
I hate it here…I miss my Mum and Faye.
