Cinnamon Gardens

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘I disagree with that. The letter was planted to be waiting for you when you returned from that meeting, so it’s my guess someone must have known you were going out, and even where. Can you think of anyone?’

  ‘Well …’ She explained about the man at the meeting.

  ‘Pity you couldn’t take a photo of him.’

  ‘I’m going to buy one of those modern mobile phones that take photos as well as make calls. I’ve seen them on the TV and wished I had one.’

  ‘Excuse me, but can you afford it? There are monthly costs to pay as well as the cost of the phone itself.’

  Once again she told someone about her inheritance. It felt so good not to have to depend on the kindness of others for everything. ‘I’ll ask Janey to help me choose one.’

  ‘Let me do that instead. I probably know more about them and can get you a better price. In fact, why didn’t I think about it before? I’ll give you one if you’ll help me test my new apps.’

  She looked at him doubtfully. ‘I’ve never even used an app, though I’ve guessed what they are from TV programmes.’

  ‘That’s exactly why you’d be so useful to me. I bought several cheap mobile phones to give to people who would test some computer programs for me – the sort we call apps, which help people to do small tasks. I’ve designed a whole suite of them especially for oldies and others who don’t know much about modern media. They’ll help people understand what to do and will extend their skills. I’m nearly ready to go public, but I need to do some testing first.’

  He beamed at her. ‘If I bring you one of my phones, will you work through the apps for me and make a report?’

  ‘I’d love to, Angus. Life has become so interesting lately! If I can only stop these people from pestering me, I can try all sorts of new things before I die. I’m going to buy a computer too. And as soon as I can.’

  He had to give her another hug. ‘I’ll help you buy one. You’ll soon learn how to use it.’

  His smile faded as he added, ‘But I’ll definitely come here later to take a good look at this Smythe fellow. I don’t like the sounds of him.’

  ‘You won’t like the looks of him, either. Dan didn’t, and he’s a good judge of people.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Two detectives turned up at number 5 just as Angus was about to go down the road to Nell’s. They introduced themselves as Mike and Tony, and though they seemed pleasant enough, he decided to stay on and make sure they took Miss Parfitt’s worries seriously.

  He was relieved to see them examine the note with great care and discuss it in relation to the other note.

  ‘I put it in a polythene bag to stop it getting touched by anyone here,’ she told them, sounding anxious. ‘Was that the right thing to do?’

  ‘Definitely,’ Tony said. ‘We’ll take this new note to be analysed, Miss Parfitt, though unfortunately these days most crims are careful about leaving fingerprints. Have you any idea at all who might be doing this?’

  As she hesitated, Angus stepped in. ‘It has to be someone who wants her to sell her house, don’t you think? They could fit three modern houses on to this piece of land.’

  ‘That had occurred to us,’ Mike said. ‘But we’d rather the lady answered our questions, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘Sorry. I just worry about what’s happening to her.’

  ‘Angus only said what I should have told you.’ Winifred sighed. ‘I hesitated because I can’t point the finger at anyone specific. No, wait a minute. What about this man who’s coming tonight?’ She explained about Mr Smythe.

  ‘It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at him,’ Mike said thoughtfully. ‘Preferably without him seeing us. There’s a push on at the moment to find better ways to protect seniors and I, for one, am right behind it. If anyone tried to hurt my grandma, I might find it hard to keep to the letter of the law.’

  Angus nodded in approval.

  ‘Would you object to us hiding inside the house tonight and taking a quick look at this fellow?’ Tony asked. ‘We can’t stay for the whole meeting, but we can come and see if we recognise him.’

  ‘I wouldn’t mind at all.’

  ‘You could park your car on my land, out of sight,’ Angus offered. ‘And there’s a way into the back garden from my grounds that I can show you, so if anyone’s checking the house beforehand, they won’t see you coming in.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. Good idea. Now, you’d better keep all your doors locked and your downstairs windows closed whenever you’re here on your own, Miss Parfitt.’

  ‘It’s like being in prison,’ she muttered.

  Janey arrived home just then from college, out of breath and looking worried.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Winifred asked at once.

  She ignored everyone else in the room, she was so upset. ‘I think my father is stalking me. There’s a court order that says he’s not to contact me or come near me. I don’t know what to do because I can’t prove it’s him.’

  She burst into tears and let Winifred put an arm round her. ‘I’m so worried he’ll hurt Millie. I wouldn’t put anything past him. Why does he hate me? He’s never cared about me, not even when I was little.’

  ‘I thought Paul was going to walk up the street with you.’

  ‘He isn’t always at home to do that, and I can’t hang around in case he gets back, can I? He might be out all evening. Besides, I thought I’d be safe enough in the daytime. Only … well, I didn’t feel safe at all today because the van followed me up the street, moving slowly and keeping about a hundred yards behind. If someone chased me, I couldn’t run fast with the buggy. Luckily, today someone came out of a house further up the street and stopped to talk to a neighbour, so I nipped into the path that leads to the next street and waited till the van had driven off before I came back to this house. I don’t think they know I live here now, but it’s only a matter of time till they find out where I am, isn’t it?’

  ‘This is another situation that needs dealing with,’ Winifred told the detectives. She introduced Janey and they listened as the girl talked about her father.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Mike said. ‘We’ll spread the word that Dobson is possibly contravening that order and we’ll keep an eye on the situation from now on.’

  ‘Why are you here, anyway?’ Janey asked. ‘Has something else happened?’

  Angus explained the new developments to her and she grew angry. ‘Just let anyone try to hurt Auntie Winnie while I’m here!’

  ‘We’ll look after each other,’ Winifred said. ‘And I shall keep my poker handy.’

  Mike grinned. ‘I didn’t hear that. Just make sure you only use the poker in self-defence. We’ll be back later to take a look at this other fellow. Who else is coming to the meeting this evening?’ The two men listened intently, nodding now and then.

  Angus followed them to the door. ‘I’ll see you out and show you the rear fence panel that opens on to my garden. Miss Parfitt, I’ll be back later to keep an eye on your meeting from start to finish, in case these officers get held up.’

  As they reached the back fence, he said in a low voice, ‘I hope you’re taking this seriously. Miss Parfitt isn’t the sort to exaggerate, nor is Janey.’

  Tony nodded. ‘I know about that young woman’s former problems because I used to work with the man who raped her, and he wasn’t liked in the area, I can assure you. I’m glad he’s in jail and I can assure you that he won’t be having a comfortable time there, because no one likes a cop who’s gone bad.’

  Mike frowned. ‘What I don’t understand is why Janey’s father should be stalking her. You’d think he’d want to protect her.’

  ‘I wondered about that,’ Angus admitted. ‘During the inquiries he always sided with her attacker, who is his best friend, and he even tried to give evidence that she’d led the fellow on. Fortunately her mother spoke up on her behalf.’

  ‘What is it with sods like that, attacking young women? They’re scum.’

  ‘I did hear Do
bson’s wife has run away from him. Apparently he’s been beating her for years as well.’ Tony scowled. ‘I can’t abide domestic violence. My sister married a bad ’un first time round. Took her a while to admit what was happening. I had to throw him out for her in the end.’

  All three men were silent for a moment or two, then one of the officers asked, ‘Um … while we’re chatting, we need to ask: is Miss Parfitt to be trusted about getting the details accurate, do you think?’

  Angus looked at him in surprise. ‘She has all her wits about her, if that’s what you’re getting at. I reckon she has a sharper brain than most people half her age.’

  ‘Glad to hear that. It was my impression too, but you have to check. So … we’ll come round the back way tonight through your property, then once we’ve had a good look at the fellow who’s supposed to be observing the garden-sharing meeting, we can slip away through the front door without any of them seeing us.’

  After they’d left, Angus hurried home to get his car. He was late picking Nell up and hoped she hadn’t been worrying about him.

  He’d have to get back to number 5 in time to keep an eye on the meeting. Pity. He’d been looking forward to a romantic, leisurely outing. Well, that pleasure was only postponed.

  Angus found Nell in the back garden studying the plants.

  ‘Found any rare treasures?’

  ‘I don’t even recognise half of them. Is there anything you’d like to dig up and take to Dennings? There are some plants with pretty flowers over there.’

  He did a quick tour of the rear and front gardens with her but said, ‘I’m not really an expert, either. Tell you what, I’ll ask old Mr Trouton to come and check whether there’s anything worth rescuing. He used to be the gardener at Dennings till he grew too old and he’ll love poking around here. He’ll know what’s worth saving, if anyone will.’

  He pulled her to him suddenly and kissed her soundly, then stood for a moment breathing deeply. ‘You’re a witch.’

  She chuckled. ‘I am?’

  ‘Yes. I miss you when we’re apart and I’ve been dying to kiss you ever since I got here. How did you make me fall in love so quickly?’

  ‘I’ve missed you too, Angus.’

  A couple of lads walking past the house gave loud whistles at the sight of the embracing couple and Angus let go of her, taking a hasty step backwards. ‘Let’s stop entertaining the neighbours and get some food. Would you mind if we made it a quick snack? Miss Parfitt has had another of those threatening notes, so I want to keep an eye on this meeting she’s arranged for tonight with some people who might be sharing her garden.’

  ‘Oh, poor woman! Yes, of course, you should keep an eye on her. In fact, I’ll come too.’

  ‘Good. We’ll watch from inside her house, unless you have a better idea. We won’t go outside unless we’re needed. After the meeting ends, we can go back to my place and …’

  She finished for him, ‘… make up for lost time.’

  They walked into town hand in hand, their steps matching without any effort. Neither of them said much, but he couldn’t stop smiling and he could see that she was looking equally happy.

  It felt so good to be a twosome again.

  As Paul turned into Peppercorn Street, he saw a scruffy-looking blue van further up the road and stopped dead. Was it the same one? He had to squint to make out the details of the number plate at this distance, but it confirmed his suspicions. It was the same van and the occupants must be watching this block of flats again, thinking Janey still lived here.

  She said it was her father and his cousin. All Paul knew was that it was definitely the same two men as before.

  He wondered what to do about it. Seeing a van parked regularly nearby wasn’t enough reason to call the police. He sighed. He’d better not stand out here staring at it or he’d make them suspicious.

  It was only as he turned into the car park of his block of flats that he saw the big silver car with its boot open and realised his mother and Kieran had returned from their honeymoon. He’d missed his mother more than he’d expected to, but he was glad she’d found someone new to love. His father had left them in the emotional sense long before his sudden death.

  Paul hugged his mother and found himself swept into a hug with Kieran as well, because his new stepfather was a touchy-feely sort of person. He returned the hug shyly, not yet used to this, but liking it.

  His mother linked her arm in his. ‘Come inside and tell us what you’ve been doing.’

  ‘Before we do that, could you have a look at that blue van further up the street, Kieran, and take note of its number? I think someone is stalking Janey.’

  ‘What? I thought we’d sorted her problems out when we put that sod who’d assaulted her in jail.’

  ‘She says it’s her father following her now. He keeps hanging round the flats, so I let her through to the back one day to make him think she still lives here. Go on. Take a quick look at the van.’

  Kieran’s expression was grim but he strolled to the front of the car park and pretended to look down the street, as if expecting someone.

  Paul turned to his mother. ‘Sorry to dump this on you as soon as you get back, but Janey’s really worried.’

  ‘It’s all right, darling. Just tell me quickly how you’ve been on your own, then you and Kieran can discuss what to do about Janey.’

  ‘I’ve been fine. I told you I would be. I got tons of studying done and I tried out one or two recipes from that book you gave me. And I didn’t leave things in a mess.’

  Kieran soon joined them in the flat. ‘I’ll find out who the van belongs to from a friend with connections. The passenger looks like Janey’s father to me.’

  ‘I’d forgotten that you’d met him.’

  ‘Yeah. Lovely fellow. He smashed up her printer rather than let her take it with her when she left home.’

  ‘How’s she getting on at Miss Parfitt’s?’ Nicole asked.

  ‘She loves living there and she’s going to have a share in Miss Parfitt’s garden.’ Paul sighed. ‘She texted me earlier. Even the garden sharing isn’t going smoothly, because some fellow they don’t like the look of is hanging round.’ He went over what had happened.

  ‘Looks like things haven’t settled down as well as we’d expected in Peppercorn Street,’ Kieran said. ‘Thank goodness for Angus Denning to keep an eye on Miss Parfitt. He’s a great guy – well, he is if you can get him to forget his computer for an hour or two. Talk about single-minded. I interviewed him once for a piece on how the current generation of owners of Grade I listed houses are managing to fund the ongoing maintenance, and I learnt as much about computers as about listed houses. I found it all very interesting, though.’

  ‘You said you might go back into journalism,’ Paul ventured. ‘Is that still the plan?’

  ‘Yes. With your mother’s librarian skills behind me, I can do even better in-depth articles now that I’ve more or less recovered from the accident. In the meantime, the rents from these flats will keep the wolf from the door. But I’ll not be trotting round the world at the drop of a hat, or probably at all.’ He hugged his new wife and Nicole beamed at him. ‘I’ve got too much to keep me in England now.’

  Paul smiled and nodded as he listened to their tales of the honeymoon trip. It was great to see how much they cared about one another.

  He went to bed early to give the newly-weds some time together. That sort of thing would be easier once they moved into the new house. The flat felt rather cramped with the three of them here. He’d never understood why his stupid brother had burnt down the family home.

  The psychiatrists could give it any fancy label they chose, but he reckoned the overuse of steroids had driven William crazy. He’d looked up steroid abuse online and he wasn’t at all sure his brother could ever be fully cured. He would never trust William again, anyway.

  He lay down on the bed with a mystery novel, but his mind was darting round like a demented grasshopper and he couldn’t get i
nto the story, so he put the book down and allowed his thoughts to wander.

  It felt strange to see his mother madly in love. But nice. She deserved some happiness.

  Inevitably, he thought about the car that had been lurking in the street. He’d become good friends with Janey and was worried about her safety. They had to do something to stop her father going after her.

  She was just a friend, though, not a girlfriend. Well, she was older than him in more ways than one after having a baby. They got on well, though, as if they were cousins or something.

  He wasn’t into dating yet, not in a serious way. He’d been out with one or two girls, but his crazy brother had usually managed to spoil any budding relationships, and since William had been placed in a psychiatric hospital, the girls at school had avoided Paul too.

  There was plenty of time for dating when he was older. At the moment he had his sights set on studying medicine, and for that you had to get really top results in the final exams.

  No, serious relationships could wait till he’d got over the first big hurdle to the life he wanted: entrance into a medical school.

  Dan was the first to arrive at number 5. He parked his little old car in the unused drive and got out a home-made sign saying: GO ROUND TO THE BACK FOR GARDEN-SHARING MEETING.

  Having stuck that to the front door to save Winifred answering the door, he walked round the house and stood surveying the garden. He and Winifred had already studied it and worked out roughly where they could divide it. That was before the summer house had been burnt down. Eh, that blackened patch was a real eyesore.

  Once he’d have grabbed a spade and made short work of turning over the earth. Now, he had to leave hard physical labour to younger men and husband his own energy carefully so that he could at least keep his own allotment going. If he didn’t have that to go to, he’d be stuck in the house all day and that’d drive him mad.

  ‘Hi, Uncle Dan.’