Random Acts of Unkindness

by Jacqueline Ward

  John stares at me.

  ‘Is that it?’

  I nod.

  ‘Yes.’

  He sighs.

  ‘Well, with all the goings on around here, you’d think the police had better things to do.’

  I nod again.

  ‘Yes, we have. I’ll get on now then.’

  They stand and stare at me until I back out of the room. Pauline smiles and shuts the door behind me. I get in the car and drive round the back. I count the houses in the back alleyway until I get the right one, and put the gate open.

  I take the shoulder bag with Bessy’s money in it and leave it on the back doorstep. I stand there for a second with Bessy’s notebook in my hand, almost unable to part with it, but it’s not mine, it never was. So I push it into the side pocket of the bag and half hope it’s overlooked in favour of the money.

  Maybe Pauline will get it and know that she is the abandoned twin. I leave the yard and pull the gate to. Then I bang it and I hear the door open.

  ‘Ey, John love, come here. Someone’s left a bag on the back step.’ The door shuts again. I hurry down the alleyway and get back into the car. I sit for a moment, finding myself wondering if I could ever have what Pauline has, if could dare to hope for it?

  One thing’s for sure, I can’t do anything about the random acts of unkindness, the lack of care some people show for the lives of others. Not directly. But I can turn it around a little by doing this. Be kind. Be good. Be on my best behaviour. And, if I do enough, one day I might get to see my son again.

  I drive back home and change into my night work clothes. Black pumps, black jeans, and a black T-shirt. I turn off all the lights and wonder if Pauline will hand the money in. I wonder if she will hand in the notebook. Probably not. The sofa is slightly out of its usual position and I stumble over it.

  I’ve moved it to fit in a tiny cat bed and some milk and cat food. A little grey-barred kitten stretches and yawns and sparks a little hope that I won’t be completely alone; a little joy. Percy Number Two. I backtrack and go back through the house in darkness, into the kitchen and turn the key in the back door.

  I open it and throw out a handful of grain. I hear the flapping of wings, then silence. I close the door. Best leave it unlocked. Just in case. Because it’s not over.

  THE END

  Jacqueline Ward lives in Manchester in the North of England and is the author of several short stories and a speculative fiction novel, SmartYellow, in the pen name of J.A. Christy. She holds a PhD in narrative psychology and storytelling and is also a screenwriter. Random Acts Of Unkindness is her first crime novel.

  You can find SmartYellow here

  More about Jacqueline and the DS Jan Pearce series, and to sign up for her mailing list http://www.jacquelineward.co.uk

  Follow Jacqueline on Twitter @jacquiannc

  Cover design: Mark Laxton http://marklaxton.com

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The idea for this novel was formed many years ago when my life was very different. I’d just read Beyond Belief: The Moors Murderers and it affected me deeply. Since then I have spoken to hundreds of people about how it affected them, and this novel is my fictionalised attempt to convey the depth of feeling around these terrible crimes and how the experiences of families of missing people in general.

  It took a long time for Bessy’s and Jan’s voices to get onto the page, but they finally made it. I’d like to thank everyone I’ve ever spoken to about a missing loved one, including Missing People and Greater Manchester Police. Thank you to the families of missing people I met along the way, I hope every single one of you finds an answer.

  Thank you to everyone who has had editorial input into this novel. Many of my writing friends have helped me to get this far with it, I want to name you all but the list would be enormous. I want to thank all the members and former members of WriteWords for cheering me on and my various writing groups for allowing me a forum. I’m also grateful to those in the publishing industry who believed in this novel – I may have gone the ‘scenic route’, but I got there in the end.

  Thanks to Anstey Spraggan for her constant encouragement and to listening almost daily to my Bessy and Jan dilemmas. Thanks to Clodagh Murphy, Michele Brouder, Paula Daly, Fionualla Kearney, Keris Stainton, Sarah Painter, Belinda Whitehead, Zoe Lea, Claire Allan, Luisa Plaja and Trina Rea for their encouragement and for reading my work.

  Thanks also to Lindsey Bowes for her constant support. To Bridget Davison, Deb Kevens, Amanda Saint, Louise Cole, Phil Murphy, Kathy Calderwood, Neil Tonepohl, Elinor Davies, Jill Playfair, Beth McCann, Lisa Roberts and anyone else who helped with the Kindle Scout campaign, thank you. If I’ve missed anyone, thank you too, I’ve met some incredibly generous people on this journey.

  I’m grateful to Kindle Press for the opportunity they have given me in the Kindle Scout process, it was an exciting and sometimes difficult thirty days but I’m glad I did it. Mark Laxton created a brilliant cover design and everyone who read an excerpt of this book and nominated it – this victory is shared by you all.

  Big love to my children Michelle, Victoria and Toby, who are so precious to me and have been patient when I’ve launched into book talk and spread the word about my writing, and to my grandchildren Evan, Leah, Phi and Lincoln who I love very much. My parents raised me in the area the book is set in and I’m grateful to my mother for her reminiscence of the Moors Murders. Also, my brothers Stuart and Gary for believing in me and helping me to finally be who I really am. I wish my grandparents were here to read this book as they would have recognised Bessy’s world.

  Finally, I’m eternally grateful to Eric Bourdiec for his patience and love and cups of tea and for encouraging me to never give up.