by S G Read
'I’ll tell you later over a glass of wine. Jenny is in the local hospital, her operation scar started bleeding but I can’t find out why.' Wendy walked inside and flopped into a chair.
David followed her in.
'Oh and I need to make them all want to go in and see Jenny tonight!' She added as she kicked of her shoes.
'I don’t think that will be a problem.' David assured her. 'Did you hear about the fire?'
'What at the car breakers? I could see the smoke from here and I could smell the smoke on the boys when they turned up! I think something happened over there and they were watching.'
Outside the boys saw a police car pull up. No one moved, they just let them walk up and tap on the back door. David leant over so he could see who it was.
'It’s the police again. If they think they are going to try and pin that fire on Stuart and his friends they have another think coming!' He said testily, it had been a hard day.
They both walked to the door, Wendy still without her shoes but ready for war!
'Good evening.' David said politely.
'Good evening sir, I have come to officially apologise to your two young men for not believing them about the goings on at the car breakers and to thank them for their part, all of them this time, in the closing down of a counterfeiting operation which could have caused the country a major embarrassment!' The police constable who had been sporting a bloody nose said politely.
'They are over there so you can tell them yourself but first can you elaborate their part in it?' David replied. 'Do come in.'
They sat and talked. Sergeant Portland the second policeman this time, telling David all knew. He told them about the two boys being inside the house when it was set alight but he explained that they had been watching from nearby and kidnapped. This was to make sure they weren’t accused of breaking their word. The four went out to where the boys were all grouped and the constable said his piece to the boys, then the sergeant took over. He explained that they would be needed to make a statement about what had gone down and as they were all material witnesses, they might be needed for the trial but he did not know how many of them would be called.
'I think we need to talk!' David said to Stuart but before anything else was said Stuart saw Pat walking up the path.
'It’s Stevey’s mum.' He said and pointed, hoping to put of the inevitable and it worked.
Everyone looked where he was pointing, including Stevey, who was on his feet in a flash and going to meet her as though he was an Olympic sprinter. Pat was looking forward to the meeting just as much and it was a while before they moved further. When they walked on, the other boys honed in on her, it was not like Pat to miss out on work and to pay money on a train fair. Another woman might have rang for a lift but not Pat she was into saving money in a big way since her husband had up and left. Leaving a heap of debts, which she saw as her duty to pay off.
'Hello Pat.' David said as she walked up to the house arm in arm with Stevey. 'You should have phoned and I would have come up and collected you.'
'It’s not even a mile.' Pat replied. 'I could do that if I only had one leg.'
'I’ll make you up a bed.' Wendy insisted. 'It is far too late to contemplate going home tonight.'
'Yes mum.' Stevey cried. 'We have great aunt what’s her names snooker table set up upstairs. I can give you a game!'
The mention of the great aunt, jolted Pat into her next statement. 'She is just why I am here.'
'Oh no, what has she been saying now?' Stevey said, showing a touch of annoyance.
Pat held out a solicitor’s letter addressed to Stevey. It was unopened.
'I had one myself so I know what is in it.' She said as Stevey opened it.
He read it then passed it to Stuart to read. Stuart read it and passed it on.
'How did she die?' Stevey asked.
'They didn’t say but I do know the police are still looking into it!' Pat replied. 'The funeral is on Friday, the day after next, so we need to catch a train tomorrow morning to get there."
Stuart took on his does that include me look but Pat chose to ignore it, much to Stuart’s annoyance.
'I can pay for my own ticket.' He said bluntly which took Pat by surprise. 'Can’t I dad. I’ve got money in my bank haven’t I dad?'
'It is not an outing.' David said quietly. 'This is a family matter and maybe they want to go alone.'
'No way! We might need some help.' Stevey cried. 'We are going to Devon, anyone who can come is welcome but they have to pay their way!'
Stuart smiled at his victory and convened a hasty meeting of the Minton cruisers committee. They moved away from the grown ups and convened on the lawn, in the gloom of night for their meeting but most of them had Saturday jobs so the vote left Stevey and Stuart going ahead, with the others coming over on the following Sunday, so they could stay for a while. They walked back to the grown ups to announce their decision. They were ready to go now and see Jenny, as there was no more excitement. They piled into Charlie’s little van and fitted in what bikes they could without permanently damaging any members of the team. Moments later, Charlie drove off with a wave. When they turned at the corner Ben waved and they were gone. Stuart was praying that David’s little chat was forgotten and he was lucky. They drove over to see Jenny for a little while and told her what was going on but Wendy was adamant that there was no way she was going down there until she was fit despite her pleas 'of what could possibly happen?'
Pat stayed the night, ready for an early start in the morning. David had to work but Wendy insisted in taking them back to London as they would have to get a train to London, to get a train to Devon. David took Stuart to one side and gave him a small bundle of notes.
'There is a hundred pounds there, to make sure you do not get stranded anywhere, but it is not for wasting.' He said quietly, to make sure Pat did not hear. 'We’ll have our little talk when you get back!'
'Yes dad. Don’t worry I won’t waste it.' Stuart replied deeply relieved, if he had his way their little talk would never happen.
That night they played snooker and for once Pat Brown actually relaxed, if there was enough money, she could pay off her debts and maybe buy a house somewhere. Stevey was thinking the same and as Gordon Hall had been for sale a long time maybe he could get the price down low enough to buy it! He lay in bed and smiled at the thought.
Thursday morning came and it was a bit of a rush to get everyone up and ready to go. Boys were showering when David needed to be in there and he decided they needed an ensuite bathroom in their bedroom. Something to arrange while they were away! Wendy drove them to the flat and the two boys descended on the little room with the unused presents stored in it. They drove to the pawn shop with anything they thought was worth taking and drove to the station two hundred and fifty pounds better off. Wendy waited until the train moved off then waved as the train pulled away. They were on their way!
They sat looking out of the window and devised various games. I spy was a waste of time unless they chose something inside the train, as anything chosen outside the train, was long gone before the other person had a chance to guess it! But they managed to find things to keep themselves amused, until they fell asleep. They did not sleep all the way but pat had to wake them when they reached the station at Apsford. They collected their bags from the rack and stepped off the train. They were the only three people on the platform and there was no sign of any porters. No one inspected their tickets when they walked through the wide open gate, worse still there was no bus stop in sight. The sign at the end of the lane said Apsford was two miles to their left and they had no option but to start walking. The boys had rucksacks, which they put on their back but Pat had a suitcase on wheels, which she had to wheel along behind her but then they were in no hurry, as the funeral was not until tomorrow. They walked and rested, walked and rested, each time the rest time taking longer until the village sign greeted them. It was not twinned with anything it just read APSFORD, they rested a
gain by the sign then walked on looking for the office of the solicitor who had sent them the letters. By now they was all tired and when the girl informed them that the solicitor was not in the office Pat was angry. There was no place to freshen up and there was no hotel, even if they could afford one! The next stop was the police house, which doubled as the station. The sergeant was more understanding than the girl in the solicitor’s office.
'Nice to meet you.' He greeted. 'Agatha was a nice old lady and I was sad when she died but we closed the inquiry into her death today, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t stay at the house!' He produced a key. 'In fact as the taxi driver is sleeping it off in the cell behind me, I’ll drive you all out there!'
As good as his word he drove them out to Apsford house. They passed the station and drove a mile in the other direction until he turned into a narrow lane which only led to Apsford house. The sight which greeted them was of a large old house with hideous gargoyles all round the roof. There was one facing them in the middle of the front wall and they saw another in the middle of the right hand side wall as they drove up and assumed there was one on each wall. They were not on the corners where it was common for them to be fixed.
'This is it.' The sergeant announced.
'Thank you sergeant Price.' Pat replied.
'Call me Derek, Pat.'
'Thank you Derek. How do we get to the funeral tomorrow?'
'I’ll make sure Gregory sends a car for you or I’ll come out myself and get you. The phone is still working so you can phone anyone you want, to let them know you got here safely. If you need me here is my card.'
They watched as Derek drove away and used the key to let themselves in. They heard a noise and went to investigate. The back window was wide open and the place looked like it had been ransacked. They searched downstairs but there was nobody there and Pat phoned Derek to let him know what had happened. He returned two hours later and inspected.
'Well it looks like some one was looking for something.' He concluded.
'But what?' Stevey asked.
'Her money I assume.' Derek replied. 'But I could have saved them the trouble. We looked everywhere for her money and failed to find it. Rumour has it that she did not trust banks and kept all her money here, which is probably why she died in mysterious circumstances but we have no proof of foul play. She had a heart attack, which is what killed her but we found her on the roof, which is why we thought there was foul play but as I say we have no proof!'
Steven was suitably disappointed until the sergeant added. 'But some one has offered a good price for the house!'
'How good?' Pat asked.
'Your solicitor will know the ins and outs of it, best wait for him to tell you.' Derek replied. 'I have made sure it is all secure so you should be safe tonight.'
'Thank you.' Pat replied and walked him to the door.
With the sergeant gone the boys ventured upstairs for the first time, Pat had made them stay downstairs, until the upstairs had been checked out by the police. There were six rooms upstairs, all bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms had been searched and the contents of every draw was strewn over the floor. The boys chose to ignore the mess and continued their search.
'There’s no bathroom!' Stuart complained.
'We haven’t even found a toilet yet!' Stevey added.
They looked in every room for a door leading to a toilet but the only thing they found was a chamber pot under the bed, in what was obviously Stevey’s great, great aunt’s room. In the end they spotted what was likely to be the toilet; out the window!
'We’ve got to walk down there just for a pee?' Stuart asked.
'The bushes are closer,' Stevey pointed out, 'but we will have to go down there for the other one.'
'What if it’s dark?' Stuart exclaimed.
'There must be torches about here somewhere!' Stevey replied and they started to search through the drawers in his great, great aunt’s bedroom. They found two small torches in the top drawer of Stevey’s great, great aunt’s chest of drawers but that was all. They moved on to the other rooms, the ones which remained untouched but they did not find any more torches.
'Well they are better than nothing. The wiring in this place looks as old as my great aunt was.' Stevey said looking at the light which hung near the window. 'Did you notice that the sockets are all round pin sockets?'
Stuart shook his head. 'No, is that modern then?'
'No it’s old, older than me you and my mum put together I reckon!' Stevey replied and put the torch he had found, in his pocket.
Stuart did the same and they walked down the stairs to investigate the outside toilet.
'I think the loo is down there!' Stevey said as he passed Pat and pointed down the garden path where they were heading.
'Best make sure you both go before it gets dark then!' She replied and continued cleaning the kitchen.
The boys walked out into the garden, they did not notice how well it was kept, they just walked up the path to the little building. The first thing they saw was a hose on a reel attached to the little building, it was connected to a tap beside it. They opened the first door and found a toilet like they had never seen before, not even at school! It had an old wooden seat and a rusty cistern sat on the wall high above the pan with a chain hanging down. Stevey pulled the chain and it flushed with a vengeance.
'Wow, I’m glad I wasn’t sitting down there when it flushed!' He cried. 'I would have been washed away.'
'You can use it like a bidet as well!' Stuart exclaimed.
'It’s all right for you, being brought up with bidets, I had to learn the hard way what they were for!' Stevey replied.
'How do you mean?'
'Are you sure you want to know?' Stevey asked.
'You didn’t?'
'I did! Well it looked like a toilet, how was I to know what it was for!' Stevey replied. 'It took me ages to get rid of the evidence.'
'Yuck, I’m glad we moved now.' Stuart said and screwed up his face.
'Let’s see what’s in the other bit.' Stevey suggested and closed the toilet door.
The little building had another piece built on to it, slightly bigger than the toilet. They walked round to the door on the farthest side from the house. There was a padlock on it but it had been forced open.
'I’m sure she’s going to keep all her cash out here in the shed!' Stevey said just in case anyone was listening and opened the door.
The shed was full of all measure of things, including a vacuum cleaner which look like it belonged to Noah. It had an old brown flex attached to it but no plug. Stevey picked up the flex and looked at it.
'Only two wires, very safe I don’t think!' He said knowingly.
'Why isn’t it safe?' Stuart asked. 'It doesn’t look dangerous to me.'
'Well as the man of the house, I have to fit the plugs and change the fuses. All wires now have three wires, a live a neutral and an earth.' Stevey replied. 'And the earth is the one which stops you getting fried.'
'Dad does all that at home, I just play with whatever he gets working.' Stuart admitted.
'I used to wish dad was there to do it but actually it is quite easy and I’m glad he isn’t here!'
'If you end up rich I bet he’ll reappear!' Stuart said idly.
'If he does, I’ll tell him to bog off.'
They spent the rest of the day walking round the garden or investigating the other rooms in more depth but they found no sign of money. When it was time for bed Pat chose to sleep in Agatha’s bed and the two boys chose one room to share. They dragged a bed in from one of the ransacked bedrooms and put it next to the bed in the room they were sleeping in. They lay in bed talking for some time before they fell asleep.
Pat woke them early on Friday morning.
'There is a choice for breakfast.' She announced. 'Hot buttered toast, cold buttered toast, hot toast without butter or cold toast without butter.'
'I love hot buttered toast.' Stevey replied with a yawn and climbed out of
bed.
Stuart turned over. 'I’ll wait for the next sitting!' He declared and Pat promptly pulled the covers off him.
'Up now, we have a busy day ahead.' She exclaimed. 'We might have to walk into the village!'
They had breakfast then went outside to explore.
'We have a visitor!' Pat called from the back door.
They ran up to the house to find a man it a black suit.
'Is he the undertaker?' Stuart asked quietly.
Stevey shrugged his shoulders. 'Might be.'
'Good morning I am Gregory Laidlaw, I sent you the letter about your deceased great, great aunt. I am a solicitor. She actually never used me but as I am the only one in Apsford, I was appointed to handle her affairs.' He held out his hand and Pat shook it. The two boys just stood there watching. 'I have come to take you to the crematorium for the service, it is at eleven. When the service finishes, we will go back to my office for the will reading, if that is all right with you?'
Pat looked down at Stevey and he nodded his agreement.
'Sounds good to us Gregory.' Pat replied. 'I’ll just get my coat.'
They drove to the crematorium in silence and the silence continued through the short service. There were no hymns sung and only the basic incantations by the priest. The body was sent on its last journey into the furnace. There was two bunches of flowers when they were invited to inspect the display and the cards read " from Derek and the boys in blue to a good friend." and "Love from Archibald" There were no flowers from the solicitor or any other family. Having done all that was expected of them, they went to the solicitor’s office for the reading of the will.
The solicitor’s office was not huge but the three of them found a seat waiting for them and sat down. There was a forth seat and a man walked in, he had been at the crematorium. The solicitor sat opposite them on one of two chairs behind his desk, a desk which was strewn with paperwork. He shuffled the paperwork and picked up an envelope.
