The Anita Waller Collection

by Anita Waller

  After listening to Norwood’s response, she dictated her address and disconnected.

  ‘They’ll be here in ten minutes,’ she said, fear etched onto her face. ‘It’s happening, Claud. It’s happening.’

  Chapter 9

  Heather sat in one of the loungers; Claudia stood behind her, a hand on her friend’s shoulder. DS Norwood, at Claudia’s insistence, sat on the other lounger.

  He was explaining the circumstances surrounding Owen’s death, when Heather got up and ran to the toilet. She almost knocked over the young policewoman accompanying Norwood as she exited the kitchen; she watched as Heather hurtled down the corridor to the toilet.

  ‘I’ll go to her,’ Claudia said.

  Norwood stopped her. ‘Leave her. I imagine she’s thinking he would still be alive if she hadn’t left him. Just give her a hug when she comes back.’ He looked around the room. ‘You’ve only just moved in?’

  ‘Heather last Friday afternoon. Me yesterday. We’ve had to carefully co-ordinate my move for when my husband was away. He can’t know this address, DS Norwood.’

  ‘He’s already asked for it,’ he said with a smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve said not without your permission, and you’ve withheld that. If he does find out where you are, it won’t be from us.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Heather was grey when she returned to them. PC Yaxley, the fresh-faced PC who had made drinks, handed her a mug of tea, and Heather sank back onto the lounger. She turned to Norwood.

  ‘Did Owen die immediately? I would hate to think…’

  ‘That he was in pain? The doctor at the scene said he thought it was instant, but we’ll know more after the post-mortem. The time of death will, of necessity, be a little vague. Your husband had put the heating on high, probably to get a quick boost, before he fell. The house was like an oven when we walked in.’

  ‘I arrived back home around half past three,’ Claudia said, ‘and his car wasn’t there then. I collected an inflatable bed and some bedding and other bits to bring down here to Heather, because she’d decided to stop wasting money on the hotel bill and move in as soon as we had confirmation the flat was ours. I was at home about a quarter of an hour, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice when I came away if Owen’s car was there then.’

  ‘It’s looking as though he arrived home drunk and simply lost his balance. I’m so sorry for your loss, Mrs Gower.’ He handed her a card. ‘This is my number, if you need to get in touch about anything. Please leave it a couple of days before going back to the house – and I have warned Mr Bell that he isn’t to harass you for this address. We will need you to identify your husband formally, but I’ll contact you when it’s time for that.’

  Claudia escorted them down to the car, then locked and bolted the exterior door.

  Heather was sobbing, deep, gut-churning sobs, when she walked back into the lounge. Claudia put her arms around her and held her close.

  ‘Come on, think we need more than tea, don’t you?’

  Wednesday morning was grey, with a strong hint of the rain that was promised for later in the day. Surprisingly, both women had slept well, putting it down to the relief of the discovery of Owen’s body.

  Claudia nipped down to the shop, devoid of customers temporarily, and bought bacon sandwiches for their breakfast. While she was waiting for them, Michelle asked if everything was okay.

  ‘No,’ Claudia conceded. ‘Not really. We found out last night that Heather’s husband died sometime Friday afternoon or evening. Remember we told you he had a massive drink problem? That it was why Heather left? According to the police, it seems he lost his balance at the top of the stairs and crashed back down. They’re doing a post-mortem to establish actual cause of death, but Heather’s devastated. I think they would have got back together, once he saw the sense in giving up the booze. It won’t happen now.’

  Michelle looked shocked. ‘Oh my Lord! Is there anything I can do to help?’

  ‘No, we’re fine, thanks, Michelle. I’m just praying we’re not going to end up with my husband on the doorstep because of all this.’

  The shop bell tinkled as Michelle handed over the sandwiches. ‘Look, we can’t talk here. Please, tell Heather I’m really sorry…’

  ‘Come upstairs when you close, and have a cup of tea with us, unless you’ve something else to do.’

  ‘You’re on. I’m closing at two today.’

  ‘We’ll be in unless something crops up with the police, but we’re not expecting anything. I’ll let you know if it does. Can you bring a chair?’

  They enjoyed the bacon sandwiches, neither speaking, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Those thoughts led Claudia on to the quickly arranged visit.

  ‘We’re having a guest for afternoon tea,’ she said with a laugh. ‘This should be good – our guest is bringing her own chair. Michelle’s coming up.’

  ‘I’ll sit on the floor if she doesn’t, she might have thought it was a joke,’ Heather said. ‘And don’t go getting all heroic on me, saying you will, because you’re poorly.’

  ‘I’m not.’

  ‘You are. Haven’t you read those leaflets?’

  ‘I don’t feel poorly.’

  ‘Claudia Bell, you’re a stubborn old cow…’

  ‘Less of the old,’ Claudia hit back.

  They grinned at each other. ‘Right,’ Heather said, ‘we have phone calls to make. You need to ring Raymond and tell him you’re having an operation and won’t be in for six weeks at least, and I’m going to ring work and tell them about Owen. Michael doesn’t know I’ve left him, so I’m assuming he’ll say have whatever time you need.’

  Claudia nodded. ‘I’ll take my cuppa into the bedroom, and ring now. You ring from here. And thank you, Heather. You’re organising me. I’m a bit woolly-headed at the moment, can’t really comprehend all this.’

  ‘Anytime, best friend, anytime.’

  Heather waited until she heard Claudia’s muted tones, and then rang through to Michael, the dress shop owner. She explained succinctly what had happened, and he immediately said take all the time you need, as she had known he would.

  She breathed a sigh of relief that the phone call was out of the way and listened to see if Claudia was still talking. She was, but her tone suggested it wasn’t the same conversation she had initially gone to make.

  ‘Yes,’ Heather heard. ‘I can confirm that Heather was with me every bit of Friday. We left about 7.45am to view our new flat, and the only time she wasn’t with me till about nine in the evening was the very brief quarter of an hour I was at home getting her some bedding and a bed. She was in our flat for that time, without transport because I had the car.’

  Heather pushed open the bedroom door and tilted her head to one side in query.

  ‘No problem, DS Norwood. Happy to help.’ There was a momentary pause. ‘She’s okay. I know she didn’t sleep much. We were both awake at three this morning, having a hot chocolate. She keeps mopping up tears, asking me if he would still be alive if she hadn’t left him. In short, she’s devastated at how things have turned out. Please be gentle if you have to speak with her, she’s definitely fragile.’

  Claudia put down her phone. ‘Just checking your alibi, Heather, don’t worry. I don’t think he was seriously doing it anyway, it felt more like a tick box exercise to me. He’s going to ring you, organise getting you to identify Owen. I’ll be with you, don’t worry.’

  ‘You’ll only be with me if it happens today,’ Heather said.

  ‘I know. You think maybe you should ring him and see if it’s possible to do it today? I don’t mind if you explain why, as long as he keeps it to himself.’

  ‘And work? Was Raymond okay with the amount of time you need off?’

  ‘Very caring. I’m scared, Heather. Really scared. Mr Robson spent a long time checking out this right armpit, and although I wasn’t aware when he was doing it, you can definitely feel the lumps.’

  ‘Now you’re being negative.’ Hea
ther was firm. ‘He explained it could be your immune system fighting the invasion of the surgery you had last week.’

  ‘I know. It’s the word malignant, isn’t it? Such a massive word.’

  Claudia’s phone pealed out and she glanced at the screen.

  ‘Zoe,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Then answer it. Just don’t tell her where you are.’

  Claudia took a deep breath and connected with her daughter.

  ‘Mum…’ Zoe was obviously crying. ‘Mum, Dad’s told us about Owen. And you’ve left home.’

  ‘Hey, come on, sweetheart. Owen wouldn’t want you to cry. He had a terrible accident…’

  ‘But you,’ she wailed. ‘Why have you left home?’

  ‘I haven’t left home, I’ve left your dad.’

  ‘But why?’ Again the wail.

  ‘This isn’t the time or place to talk about it, sweetheart. We’ll meet up in a couple of weeks…’

  ‘A couple of weeks? Why not today? I’ve taken the day off work to meet you.’

  Claudia laughed. ‘Then maybe you should have checked with me first. Honestly, Zoe, I’m fine. Devastated by Owen’s death, but I’m with Heather so I’m not alone. We only found out about Owen last night; we’re supporting each other. I promise I’ll keep in touch, but I can’t tell you where I am. Is David with you?’

  ‘No, I said I was okay, and he’d to go to work. He didn’t seem surprised that you’d disappeared. Has Dad got somebody else?’ Zoe’s question was abrupt and unexpected.

  ‘I have no idea,’ Claudia said. ‘What makes you ask that?’

  ‘Something David said.’ Zoe was calming down. ‘He said this break up won’t be your mum’s fault. Don’t go laying the blame at her feet.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry, Zoe. I’m fine, and if you have to tell Dad you’ve spoken to me, that’s okay, too. Does Harry know?’

  ‘Yes, I imagine he does. Dad rang me this morning. I can’t get my head into gear with this, Owen wasn’t old.’

  ‘Owen was drunk.’ Her tone was sharper than she wanted, and she tried to soften it. ‘They’re doing a post-mortem to rule anything else out, but the police said last night that it looks as though he climbed the stairs and lost his balance. You can imagine how Heather is feeling. She’s wracked with guilt because she keeps saying if she hadn’t left him, he’d still be alive. It’s simply not true. Heather could have been in the kitchen while he climbed those stairs. She couldn’t have done anything.’

  Zoe sighed. ‘I hate this, Mum. We were so happy last Saturday, when we came with Harry and Emma. Now it’s all falling apart. Are you going to talk to Dad?’

  ‘Maybe on the phone, but there will be no physical contact between us.’

  ‘Mum…’

  ‘Zoe, stop it. I’ll never go back.’

  ‘Then will you let me know when we have details of Owen’s funeral, please? We’ll all be going.’

  Claudia felt a chill envelop her. Owen’s funeral. James would be there.

  ‘Of course I will. Speak to you soon, sweetheart, and stop worrying, because I’m absolutely fine.’ Apart from having cancer.

  They said they loved each other and disconnected.

  Heather dropped onto the bed by Claudia’s side, and they sat there in silence.

  Finally, Heather spoke. ‘Last Wednesday evening, just a week ago, we sat in your house getting tipsy on Prosecco, making plans for the rest of our lives as free women. No violence, no alcohol, self-reliant… What the hell went wrong? I feel as though I’ve been hit by a whirlwind. Is Zoe okay?’

  ‘Not really. She was crying at the beginning, but I think I’ve calmed her.’ Claudia turned to face Heather. ‘What on earth do we do about the funeral?’

  Heather’s face lost any bit of colour it had. Funeral. She hadn’t even thought about that. Her thoughts seemed incessantly to focus on Owen’s face, as he had lain at the bottom of those damn stairs. That image filled her mind all the time, and she couldn’t contemplate that final goodbye of a funeral.

  ‘What do you mean? I’ll have to sort it when they say I can have the body, won’t I?’

  ‘I didn’t mean that. I meant James, Zoe and Harry, David and Emma will all want to be there. And me. And I may be not too good. He said it takes about three weeks before I’ll feel more myself.’

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘This is all bloody Owen’s fault.’ Heather stood and walked to the lounge window. Her mind flashed to the way she had opened her fingers as his hand had tugged on the suitcase, and she leaned her head against the windowpane.

  ‘Michelle is just locking up. And she’s carrying a small garden chair. Let’s forget our worries for an hour if we can and have a cuppa and cake.’

  Claudia nodded. ‘I’ll go down and let her in. You put the kettle on.’

  The bell rang out and Claudia headed downstairs, then kissed their guest on the cheek as she came through the door.

  Michelle handed over a box full of goodies.

  ‘Brilliant,’ Claudia said. ‘But I’m going to pay for them.’

  ‘No, you’re not. They’re just what’s left, and I wouldn’t have put them on sale tomorrow. I must say, though, I don’t normally have to take my own chair with me when I go to visit friends.’

  ‘Just be thankful we’ve got enough mugs to be able to give you a drink,’ Claudia laughed.

  She handed the box to Heather and led Michelle up the stairs and through to the lounge.

  ‘Put your chair wherever you want,’ Claudia said. ‘Apologies for the coffee table, but we’ve not had time to think about furniture beyond making sure we both have a bed.’

  ‘I’m impressed. It takes some sort of genius to think of upturning an old plastic box. Recycling gone mad.’ Michelle unfolded her chair and placed it between the other two.

  Heather brought in the drinks and went back for the plate of goodies.

  ‘Is Heather okay?’ Michelle kept her voice low.

  Claudia shook her head. ‘No, it’s been a rubbish few days for us. I think we’re both thinking six months ahead, when everything will look better.’

  ‘Your husband knows you’ve gone now?’

  Claudia nodded, as Heather joined them. It was Heather who answered. ‘We’ve asked the police not to disclose our address. The last thing we want is hassle from James. There wouldn’t have been any danger of him finding out where we lived, but then Owen…’

  Michelle touched her hand. ‘I know. You don’t need to talk about it. But I think you’re fooling yourselves if you’re thinking that he won’t track you down, because he will. My ex never leaves me alone, and I have to keep hiding it from Steve. If Steve knew…’

  ‘And how long have you been split up?’ Claudia looked concerned.

  ‘Five years. It was okay for about a week, but then he started. He followed me everywhere, and then one day he beat me up. Badly. He did an eighteen-month stretch in prison because of it. I almost lived a normal life for the time he was away.’ Michelle took a deep breath, unhappy with her memories.

  ‘Even the night I met Steve he knew about it. We got engaged and planned our wedding, but George found out and cancelled our venue. I only knew about it because the hotel rang me to ask if they’d done anything wrong to cause the cancellation. Of course, I knew nothing about it. I thought Steve was going to kill him. He absolutely hammered him, and things quietened down for a bit. I keep seeing him now and again, and I know he’s following me.’

  ‘You’ve told the police?’

  ‘I did, but there’s nothing they can do. He’s not attacked me or anything since Steve sorted him out, even though I know from experience that he could. He’s the reason I gave you this flat immediately. I could see strain in both of you, and I’ve been there, done that.’

  Claudia felt tears prick her eyes. She was starting to think she couldn’t take any more. She reached across to take one of the buns and tried to hide how distressed she felt.

  �
�These are delicious.’

  And then she began to cry. Michelle stood first and moved across to hug Claudia. She flinched as Michelle caught the operation site, and Michelle moved back. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘did I hurt you?’

  ‘Not really,’ Claudia responded. ‘It’s just a bit tender still. I had a minor op on it on Friday after we left you. It’s getting better. And thank you for the hug. It does help.’ She wiped her eyes and picked up the mug of tea.

  Heather watched her closely. Claudia was definitely on the edge, and she decided that tonight they would google malignant melanoma, get as many facts about it as they could, and then have a proper discussion.

  Michelle stayed a couple of hours, and then said she had to go, Steve would think she’d left him.

  Heather went downstairs with her to make sure the door was locked and bolted, and as they reached the bottom Michelle hugged her.

  ‘If either of you want anything, at any time, you have my number now. Just call me. I mean it, Heather.’

  Heather nodded and kissed Michelle’s cheek. ‘Thank you, Michelle. We will, I promise.’

  Chapter 10

  Claudia sat in the plastic-covered armchair by the side of the bed and opened her book. Heather had dropped her off at the entrance with a promise to visit later, then had rushed off to identify Owen formally, leaving Claudia to spend money in the hospital shops before making her way to the ward. It occurred to Claudia that she had had better Thursdays; her worries felt as if they were overwhelming her.

  She had been reading for around two minutes when the first nurse arrived to do blood pressure checks.

  Five minutes later, another nurse arrived to take blood samples and then the tea trolley came around. It briefly occurred to her that there was no time to be bored.

  It was during the hour’s rest period after lunch and before visitors that the anaesthetist arrived, spoke quietly and confidently with her, then left her to speak quietly and confidently to his next victim. It was when Mr Robson arrived that she began to feel a little bit scared. He explained in detail what he was going to do, that she would wake up with a drain in that would remain in situ for around four days, a bandage on her upper thigh where he would have removed the skin for the graft, and a dressing on the actual operation site.