The Doll's House

by Tania Carver

  ‘Good.’ It was Maddy who had spoken. Gwilym stared at her. ‘Now you know how you made me feel.’

  ‘Well, goodbye, Hugo,’ said Marina. ‘I’m sure they do think of you as a celebrity. In the same way we think of Jimmy Savile as a celebrity.’

  They left. Outside, Maddy became tearful. Marina put her arm round her.

  ‘Was that as bad as you thought it was going to be?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she said between sobs, ‘kind of.’

  ‘The pain will go,’ said Marina. ‘Things will get easier.’

  Maddy nodded, kept crying. ‘I know…’

  ‘But that’s not much consolation at the moment. Right.’

  Maddy smiled.

  ‘What are you going to do now?’

  Maddy took out a tissue, wiped her eyes, blew her nose. ‘Go home. Back to Somerset. See my mum. She knows about what’s happened. She’s been great. I’ll spend Christmas with her. And then…’ She shrugged. ‘Dunno. See about coming back. If I can face it.’

  Marina nodded. ‘I’m here if you need me. Whatever you decide. Always.’

  Maddy hugged her, and Marina felt tears beginning in her own eyes.

  She was glad she had gone, glad she had seen Gwilym. It had put the whole episode to rest. Made her able to move on. She felt Maddy’s arms around her.

  She’s going to be all right, she thought. I’m sure of it.

  And then: I hope so.

  Marina jumped as someone spoke to her. It was Anni.

  ‘Sorry?’ she said.

  ‘I said, are you enjoying yourself?’ Anni smiled, shook her head in mock-admonishment. ‘Jesus, woman, you’re going senile.’

  ‘Sorry. Miles away. I’m having a fine time. You?’

  Anni looked over at Mickey. He was talking to Imani Oliver. ‘Just keeping my eye on him, that’s all.’

  ‘I’m sure he’s fine.’

  ‘Oh, I know he is,’ said Anni. ‘But I do love to wind him up.’ She laughed. ‘I’ll make him feel guilty for something he hasn’t done. Or, knowing him, probably not even thought of doing. Might even get a present out of it.’

  Marina joined in the laughter.

  ‘I’ve missed you,’ she said.

  ‘Missed you too.’

  Sperring had put aside his prejudices and attended. It was worth it to see the look of surprise on Phil’s face as he walked in, bottle of whisky in hand.

  ‘I was going to say I’ve brought me own, but this is for you. Happy Christmas.’

  Phil looked amazed.

  ‘Boss.’

  He looked even more amazed. Sperring laughed and walked inside.

  He knew Khan had been avoiding him all evening. He had been avoiding him for the last two weeks. And Sperring didn’t blame him. But he had to talk to him.

  He cornered him as he was coming out of the toilet.

  ‘All right, Nadish?’

  Khan nodded, tried to dodge past him.

  ‘Want a word with you.’

  Khan went pale. ‘Can’t it wait? Till —’

  ‘Work? Next week? Never? No, it can’t wait. We’ll have it now.’

  Resigned, Khan stood there.

  ‘I want to tell you a story,’ Sperring said, deliberately doing a terrible Max Bygraves impression that he knew would go completely over Khan’s head. ‘This happened in China. Years ago. In a village miles from anywhere. True story. There was this postmaster, ran the village post office. For about twenty years. It was discovered, long story short, that money had been disappearing. And it was him. He’d been doing this all the time he’d been working there. Someone would get a cheque, he’d have that. Bit of cash, he’d help himself to that too. Years this went on for. All the time he’d been there. Amassed millions, he did. Or hundreds of thousands, forget which. But a lot, anyway. And then he got caught.’

  Sperring sighed, took a swig of his beer. Khan stood like he was on the scaffold waiting for the drop.

  ‘Anyway, there was a big trial. He was found guilty because, obviously, he was. And d’you know what his punishment was?’

  Khan shook his head.

  ‘Go on, guess.’

  ‘I… I can’t.’

  ‘All right, then, I’ll tell you. They gave him his old job back.’

  Khan stared at him.

  ‘Honestly. True story, as I live and breathe. They gave him his old job back and made him pay back the money to the people he’d stolen it from, bit at a time. They said prison wouldn’t have helped. And anyway, he’d been a good postmaster, apart from that.’

  ‘Right,’ said Khan. ‘Good for him.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Sperring. ‘Good for him. That was his punishment. He had to look at all the people he’d betrayed, every day for the rest of his working life. And he knew that they knew what he’d done. And you know what? He was the best postmaster they could ever have wanted.’

  He finished, stared at Khan.

  ‘D’you understand what I’m saying?’

  Khan nodded. ‘I think so.’

  ‘Good.’ Sperring looked round the room. ‘Right, there’s this bird been giving me the glad eye. Better go and be charming.’

  ‘OK,’ said Khan. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Don’t thank me yet, Nadish.’

  And off Sperring went to track down Joy Henry.

  Marina found Phil. Smiled at him.

  ‘Having fun?’

  ‘I think so,’ he said. ‘You?’

  ‘I think so.’ She looked round the room once more. ‘It’s working, isn’t it? This. Your lot. My lot. It’s working.’

  He looked directly at her. Into her beautiful dark eyes. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘It’s working.’

  She leaned in close. ‘But I’m looking forward to everyone going home.’ She snaked an arm round his waist, squeezed his bottom.

  He looked at her. ‘D’you want me to throw them out? I’ll get the OSU in to do it.’

  They both laughed. Anni and Mickey wandered up.

  ‘Not interrupting anything, are we?’

  ‘And what if you were?’ said Marina.

  ‘I wouldn’t care,’ Anni said.

  The four of them talked. Old times. Cases. War stories. Enjoying each other’s company. Eventually Anni’s expression changed.

  ‘Look,’ she said. ‘I know I’ve asked already, but… when are you two coming home?’

  Phil and Marina looked at each other.

  And smiled.