There must be some way of proving himself at some time in the future.
Chapter Fourteen
The timing of the second child was much better than the first because Shu could now claim full maternity benefit from the bank as she’d worked there for more than two years. She was very lucky because the two years came up just before she started her maternity leave.
Barry was managing his firm and found it a profitable and relatively enjoyable experience. This time, he had stopped trying to generate new business using the never-ending process of phoning, writing, following-up and trying to get to the interview, as the expense and effort were never justified in his case all throughout the first year. He had gained two very small clients. One bought a design and when it didn’t work out as well as they had hoped, they never bought any more and the other just didn’t like paying his bills. They ended up owing almost £2,000 so Barry pestered him and went around to see him, was paid in cash, banked the money and closed the account. He just had to put every effort into holding onto the good clients.
At that time, milk was being delivered to their door daily. Shu liked to watch her weight so she stuck to the powdered, skimmed milk so it was mostly Barry who drank the delivered milk. He found the pasteurised milk so much nicer when he made a coffee using the milk pan on the cooker. Skimmed milk was acceptable for almost every other use but could never match up to pasteurised in coffee.
Soon after Dongmei left, Barry was sitting at the breakfast table, drinking a cup of tea after eating his cereal and toast. Last night, they had made love and Barry had noticed that he was not getting as much pleasure from it as he used to.
‘How was it for you, last night?’ Barry was trying to be as subtle as he knew how and Shu glanced up at him with a puzzled look on her face.
‘Okay,’ she said, and carried on with her breakfast.
‘Well, it wasn’t too good for me. It felt the same as when I was working at Tritons. Do you remember me telling you? Not too good.’
Shu was busy watching Sara as she ate her breakfast.
‘Shu!’ Barry guessed that he took second place when Shu was with their child.
‘Oh, what, Barry,’ said Shu, frowning at him.
‘I said that it wasn’t too good for me, last night.’
‘Go and see a doctor, then, if you’ve got something wrong with you.’ She was obviously not over-concerned about Barry’s problems, especially when there was nothing wrong with her, so Barry decided that he had to work this one out on his own.
He thought long and hard. He wondered whether Shu was playing tricks on him but dismissed that idea immediately for she had no reason to harm him and wouldn’t want to. He remembered pointing the finger at her before and getting the reaction he had expected - glowing eyes that were full of hatred; pouting lips; and deep breathing that told him she was innocent.
What else, then? All food was bought at the supermarket so it was inconceivable that that could be tampered with, just for him. The only other source was the milk. Barry recalled seeing some bottles with tops that were looser than normal and so he concluded that it was not impossible to tamper with it. Barry wanted some evidence this time, so he made plans.
The next morning, Barry set the alarm clock for six o’clock as the milk was always delivered early. Luckily, it was a radio alarm that could be set to wake you by the radio playing very softly and not waking the whole neighbourhood with a loud bell.
It went off but still woke Shu.
‘What . . . what’s the alarm for?’ she mumbled.
‘Oh, I want to see the early morning television. Go back to sleep,’ said Barry, as he got up. It wasn’t a problem because if the baby wasn’t crying, Shu was difficult to shift before seven.
Barry crept downstairs and went into the dark lounge. He took up his position by the window and waited. Five minutes - he waited. Ten minutes - he waited. Fourteen minutes and he saw the milk float draw up outside. His eyes were fixed on the milkman as he clambered out and went around to the back of the float. He collected two silver-topped bottles from the back and then dived into the middle of the load of bottles and pulled out another bottle with a silver top.
This was it! Something was different about the third bottle! The milkman walked up the front path, so Barry darted around to the front door to look out of the window. Clearly, he saw that the bottle that came from the middle of the milk float was the one that was put down on his doorstep. As the milkman delivered next door’s milk, Barry just watched to check that they were given the other two silver-topped bottles. There was no doubt that they should all have come from the same crate so now came the task of finding out what was in the milk.
It was quite fortunate that Shu was not involved in Barry’s business because that meant that he could go wherever he wanted and she would not always question him as to where he was going.
That morning, he decided that he would try the police again. He did not doubt what was in the bottle and they were public servants, so he would demand that they tested it.
He went to the police station and waited his turn to see the station officer.
‘I wonder if you could look into this for-’ he started, but was rudely interrupted by a young girl who pushed her way in front of him.
‘Look, you’ve gotta help me!’ she ranted. ‘My mother has gone out and I don’t know where she’s gone!’
‘I’m sorry, madam,’ said the officer, ‘but this gentleman was here before you. Please will you go and wait outside.’
‘No, but you don’t understand. My sister has called me and wants to speak to her. It’s urgent!’
The officer looked very bored, as though this was a routine occurrence and nothing to get worried about.
‘Yes, well I’m sure that your mother will come back home soon and then you can tell her what’s happened,’ he said.
‘But supposing she doesn’t. What am I gonna tell my sister?’
‘I’m sure that you can think of something. Now, why don’t you run along and come back if there’s real trouble.’
Barry was wishing that she’d shut up and go away. All her stupid mutterings were not going to make his case look very good. Grumbling, she finally left and slammed the door behind her.
‘Sorry about that, Sir, but we do get some strange people coming in here,’ said the policeman in a matter of fact sort of way. ‘Now, how can I help you?’
Barry’s heart sank.
‘Ah, y... yes, w... well,’ he stammered. ‘It’s about a milk bottle. You see, I have a young family and I am seriously worried about how I have been feeling recently.’
‘The bored expression was spreading over the policeman’s face once more.
‘And just how have you been feeling, Sir?’
‘Well, not the same as before. You see, I’m getting pains where I shouldn’t and my life is definitely changing.’ Barry was putting on his serious look but the officer was not impressed.
‘We all change, Sir,’ he said, seeming to think that Barry was a little naive.
‘Officer, I work from home and food comes from the supermarket so the only thing that can be tampered with is the milk. I saw the milkman take this bottle from a different place to where he kept others with the same top. I demand that you test this and find out what’s inside!’ Barry hoped that this would force the officer to act.
‘Very well, Sir. We’ll look into it for you.’ He had the tone of disgust in his voice but was duty-bound to take some action even if just to get Barry out of the police station. ‘Thank you, Sir, we’ll be in touch,’ he said and put the bottle down at the back of the room.
Barry walked out of the police station with a smile on his face. At least they had agreed to look at the milk and he was hoping upon hope that they would find something.
Barry still didn’t mention a word o
f this to Shu for he had learned to keep his mouth shut until he had concrete proof.
Two days later, the phone rang.
‘Mr Connors? This is the environmental health department of the council. We have been contacted by the police who gave us a bottle of milk which they tell us you are claiming is poisoned. Am I right in thinking that it was delivered to your house?’
‘Why did the police give it to you? I thought they upheld the law,’ said Barry, angry that the police had ducked out of their duty.
‘It is our responsibility to control the services in our borough. If a person has a complaint, then we look into it.’
‘Even when the law is being broken?’
‘We must establish that, first, then hand it to the police.’
‘In answer to your question, yes, it was delivered to my house,’ said Barry, rather peeved with the lady’s conviction that she was right, no matter what.
‘So it could have been someone in your house who tampered with it.’
‘Hang on a minute! What do you mean? Listen, I would not waste my time or yours with a complaint of this nature if I was not sure of myself! I did not open the bottle and I can assure you that no one else in my household has touched it.’ Barry was seething! This damned woman was trying to get out of the work.
‘We could see no evidence that the milk bottle had been touched and, as we put the milk in the freezer, it expanded, and the bottle broke and all but a drop of the milk was lost. I don’t think that we can do much more.’
‘Oh, yes you can. Test the remaining milk - then you’ll find the evidence.’ Barry was now almost shouting down the phone.
‘Oh, all right, but it will only be a preliminary test to see if there are any other substances in there. I shall call you when I have a result,’
‘Thank you.’
Barry put the phone down, feeling that he had scored a minor victory - at last the milk would be analysed!
He shouldn’t have counted his chickens before they were hatched. The next day, he received another phone call from the same lady at the council.
‘I’m sorry but I have been instructed not to carry on with this investigation. There is not enough left for us to test. Please will you come and take the remaining milk away.’
Barry was not going to be defeated. He went to the council and collected the milk and then took it up to the same laboratory that had tested the first sample that he had taken there. This time, he was seen by a senior chemist.
‘Yes, we will test anything that you are willing to pay for but I must warn you of the vast expense that you could incur. There are so many different drugs that could be used and we would have to make forensic tests to find out. Are you sure that there is something in there?’ The chemist touched on a weak spot in Barry’s argument for he was not certain that there was a drug in there, being just suspicious. He pondered. Even if he did spend a lot of money and found something, what would he achieve. Would people say that he had put the drug in there or that it was a rare fault in that particular bottle? Was it worth all that money? Would the police have to go through the process of seeing the milk delivered and testing the new bottle?
The chemist spoke, again.
‘You could take it back to the manufacturer. If there is anything in there, they will find it and for no charge.’
These were reassuring words and it was something that Barry had not thought of.
‘You think so? Would they really tell me?’ Barry was suspicious that if anything was found, they might cover it up to avoid a public outcry.
‘Yes. They have every reason to protect their customers from any such trouble.’
‘Thank you. I’ll try them,’ and with that, Barry set off to continue his research.
The next stage was to go down to the depot. He had spoken to the head office of the milk company and they had advised him to give the milk to the manager who would have it tested at a local laboratory.
He arrived at the depot early the next day and heard the rough voice of a man, shouting at someone. He walked towards the noise and went into a small, dark, dirty room where the manager was berating an employee but when he noticed Barry, he became much more affable.
‘Ah, hello, Sir. You’re the man who rang me, yesterday, aren’t you? What seems to be the problem?’
Barry explained his suspicions, stating that his reasons for them were the pains he was feeling, and that maybe someone was poisoning him. The manager promised to have the milk analysed fully but, as Barry came away, in the back of his mind he couldn’t help visualising the manager, pouring the milk away down the drain.
The next day, Barry cancelled the milk not wishing to go through all that again. He told Shu to get it from the supermarket, explaining that it was quite a lot cheaper and they didn’t use that much. Fortunately, she didn’t fuss too much, and Barry thanked his lucky stars that her obedience was probably showing itself again.
Several days later, Barry received the phone call he’d been waiting for.
‘Hello, Mr Connors. We’ve had a look at the milk you give us but we couldn’t find any trace of a poison.’ The manager had a superior tone in his voice. ‘I think that you had better go and see the doctor and ask him to help you.’
Barry could feel the innuendo as to his sanity being cast. Obviously the manager was telling him that he had a screw loose so Barry stopped the conversation and slammed the phone down. Once more, his efforts to get some evidence had been thwarted and he was losing faith in the system. The police wouldn’t help, the council was not interested and the milk company weren’t any help. He was still wondering that if he did get evidence from anyone, would it help his case? Maybe not with the officials, but he longed to be believed and trusted by his family, once more. Just for someone to say ‘I trust you and believe you’ would have made him feel so much better.
Life was moving on at a hectic pace, now, for Barry was busy ferrying Sara to the nursery and back before and after work and Shu was still going up to town. The only time for socialising was at the weekends and Barry kept in touch with a school friend, Nick, and his wife, Madeline. They had settled in an area to the west of them and it took about forty minutes to get there
It was definitely Barry who kept in touch because he could never remember receiving a telephone call from them. He didn’t mind, too much, as he didn’t have many other friends due to the fact that he didn’t go out in the evenings because he was too tired, so it was worth keeping in occasional touch with them.
It was during one of these phone calls that Nick issued an invitation.
‘It’s nice to know that Shu is pregnant once more. Well done! Say, we would really like to see you again. Can you come over this weekend?’
‘Yes, that would be nice,’ said Barry. We’ll just come over after lunch for the afternoon. We have to get Sara home in time for bed.’
‘Yeah, great. See you on Sunday, then,’ said Nick happily.
It was a very pleasant day, that Sunday, and Barry made his usual punctual arrival.
‘Thought you’d never make it,’ said Nick, with his usual humour.
‘I’m one of those who can read a watch,’ said Barry, joining in the fun.
They all made their way to the garden where Nick had a slide and a shed which was full of children’s toys. These were for his two little boys, Edward and Henry, who were just getting to the difficult ages of three and one. The children played happily, whilst the parents talked about almost everything.
‘Are you ready for some tea, now?’ asked Madeline, walking towards the house.
‘Yes, please. Tea for two, times two, would be very pleasant,’ said Barry, playing with the words,
They all went inside and Madeline served tea and biscuits.
‘This one’s for you, Shu, and this is yours, Barry. Drink it all up now
, won’t you or I’ll be so sad!’
‘Ha, ha, yes Miss, we’ll drink it up. Anyone would think that she was a schoolmistress,’ said Barry. ‘Does she treat you like this, Nick?’
‘Oh yes, but she uses the whip and cane on me!’
Shu drank two full cups of tea whilst Barry only had one.
The day finished with Shu thanking them for their kind hospitality and promising to invite them around for tea in the future.
It was on the following Tuesday that Shu went up to Barry.
‘Barry, I’m bleeding.
‘Do you want a plaster?’
‘No, I’m bleeding from my womb - it could be the baby!’
They hadn’t made love for a few days, so it couldn’t be anything Barry had done.
‘Oh, no! Look, sit down. Does it hurt? You’d better go and see a doctor.’ Barry was almost in shock and he would do everything he could to save this baby.
‘No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just bleeding very heavily.’ Shu was more composed but was extremely curious is to the reason for the blood.
‘I bet it’s the baby! Please stay at home and call the doctor to get his advice,’ said Barry, issuing his instructions. Shu, immediately telephoned the doctor, but had to leave a message as he was in his surgery.
Barry was racking his brains, trying to find a reason for the blood.
‘Have you eaten anything unusual, recently?’ asked Barry.
‘No, only the same as you and you’re not ill.’
‘Of course, we did have that tea at Nick’s. I wonder what he put into it. He did have a newish second-hand car, didn’t he? I wonder...?’
‘Oh, don’t be silly, Barry. You’ve known him since you were first at school. He wouldn’t do anything. I’ll see what the doctor says’. Shu was again very blinkered, not even trying to look behind the obvious for the real reasons.
At 11.15 a.m., the doctor rang and talked to Shu. Barry listened but couldn’t overhear anything important from Shu’s conversation. She put the phone down and rushed to look at the train timetable.
Would You Believe Him? Page 20
