The Door That Led to Where

by Sally Gardner

  The hospital had returned all his possessions to him in a plastic bag. The key wasn’t in it. He searched the pockets of the clothes he had been wearing that day. Nothing. Nada. Nilch. And every other word that meant it was lost, gone, never to come back.

  AJ sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. That key gave him power that was his and his alone. Only he could lock the door and stop time leaking from one century to another. Without it, what then? He was surprised to find how unsafe the loss of the key made him feel.

  Elsie found AJ on all fours, looking under his bed. She had just stuffed the turkey and was wearing an apron and yellow rubber gloves.

  ‘What’re you doing?’ she asked.

  ‘Looking for something and it’s not here,’ said AJ.

  ‘Looking for what?’

  ‘A key.’

  ‘I hung your house keys on the hook in the kitchen,’ said Elsie.

  AJ hauled himself up into a standing position, which involved the use of his walking stick.

  ‘No, no. Not that kind of key.’

  Elsie went back into the kitchen, saying she was sure it would turn up.

  Oh shit, shit. What about Slim? He couldn’t remember if he’d told him about the door not being locked. What if Slim believed himself stuck in the wrong century and was desperate to come back? It would be like … like … AJ struggled for the right word through stinging-nettle fields of likes. Would Slim think to go to Ingleby’s? Had he told him that was what he needed to do? It wasn’t as if he could text him to explain he was in no fit state to time travel.

  ‘Do you want a mince pie?’ called Elsie from the kitchen.

  AJ found himself on the brink of tears. Everything was his fault. Slim was in the wrong century, and Leon was in deep shit over the snuffbox he’d given him. Somehow he had to sort it all out before he started work at Raymond Buildings again.

  ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ crackled out of the radio. AJ lay down, his head throbbing. He stared at a patch of mould on the wall in the corner and fell fast asleep.

  Elsie had invited Jan and Roxy to join them for Christmas dinner. AJ did his best not to go into a black hole of depression over the loss of the key. His mum had made an effort, brought the wine and a Christmas pudding. Roxy came dressed in a sparkly top and skirt. Elsie had on her party frock.

  ‘Merry Christmas,’ she said, opening a large bottle of Babycham and pouring glasses for Jan and AJ.

  She had laid the table with paper plates and napkins and plastic wine glasses. And crackers – lots of crackers. The Christmas tree that she had bought from Woolworths years ago, had been taken out, dusted down and decorated with tinsel. AJ had covered it in fairy lights.

  ‘Lovely,’ said Jan. ‘Isn’t it, Roxy? Though it looks like we’re having a picnic rather than Christmas dinner.’

  Elsie laughed. ‘Humbug,’ she said.

  AJ had vivid memories of grim Christmas family fights, of Mum screaming at the top of her voice at Roxy’s dad. The worst one was when Roxy’s dad had pulled the tablecloth from the table just as Mum had started to carve the turkey. It was a right mess. Every year the same. Why anyone bothered, AJ had never known.

  Elsie came out of the kitchen with a bird big enough to feed twenty. This was the first Christmas he could remember when there hadn’t been a row before the food reached the table. Even when Roxy insisted that the TV was on while they ate and Elsie had firmly said no, to AJ’s amazement Roxy didn’t start whining. Elsie put her in charge of the old record player and they ate to ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’, not with lumps of anger in their throats but laughing and telling stories.

  ‘Did I tell you about the time I went to Pontin’s Holiday Camp?’ said Elsie as she set light to the pudding.

  ‘No,’ said Roxy.

  ‘There was this fancy-dress ball and I hadn’t brought anything like that with me. My Jim went as a teddy boy.’

  ‘So what did you go as?’ asked Roxy.

  Elsie was now slightly tipsy.

  ‘I took the sheet of the bed and went as a nun. Nun of this, nun of that.’

  It was the way Elsie told them that had them all laughing. She raised her glass.

  ‘I would like to drink a toast to absent loved ones,’ she said. ‘To my daughter, Debbie, and to my son, Norris, wherever he may be.’

  Jan put her hand on Elsie’s arm.

  ‘I would like to add to that. To Lucas, wherever he is.’

  AJ had never, ever heard his mum mention his father’s name.

  ‘My dad,’ he said.

  ‘Don’t sound so surprised,’ said Jan in her old, hard voice.

  Roxy stood up.

  ‘You forgot my dad.’

  But Jan couldn’t quite bring herself to drink to him.

  ‘Merry Christmas to one and all,’ said Elsie quickly.

  After dinner, feeling more stuffed than the turkey, the four of them sat round the table pulling crackers and wearing paper hats.

  ‘Have you heard about Leon?’ said Jan.

  AJ was lost in thought, wondering if it would be unwise to go to the police and ask if anyone had handed in an antique key. The mention of his friend’s name brought him suddenly back into the room.

  ‘Have you seen him?’ he asked.

  ‘No, but I hear he’s in a lot of trouble,’ said Jan.

  ‘He hasn’t had the best of luck, that young man. And such a bright boy,’ said Elsie.

  ‘There’s a warrant out for his arrest.’

  ‘A warrant? How do you know?’ said AJ.

  ‘I read it in the local paper,’ said Jan. ‘Well, perhaps it’s not a warrant, but the police want to question him about some stolen goods.’ She dropped her voice. ‘Between you, me and the bedpost, I heard he’s upset some local gang leaders – stole their drug money.’

  ‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ said Elsie. ‘I’d rather hoped he might turn up for Christmas dinner. His mum’s here, waiting for him.’ Elsie glanced at the window. It was wet and windy outside. ‘Most probably Leon’s with Slim.’

  I wish, thought AJ.

  Jan and Roxy left around eight.

  ‘That went well, don’t you think?’ said Elsie.

  AJ helped her clean up. There wasn’t much to do on account of the paper plates and plastic glasses.

  Elsie sat down in the armchair with a box of chocolates and a port.

  ‘I think,’ said AJ, ‘this has been the best Christmas ever.’

  They had settled down to watch TV when the flat’s buzzer went.

  ‘Who can that be?’ said Elsie.

  ‘I’ll see.’ AJ got to his feet and limped to the intercom. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘It’s Leon. Let me in, man.’

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Leon was soaked through and looked exhausted. The second Elsie saw him she turned on the taps in the bath.

  ‘Get those clothes off this minute. You’ll catch your death.’

  Leon didn’t look as if he had many objections left in him.

  AJ took Leon’s clothes to put in the washing machine. It was as he was going through the pockets of his trousers that he found it. He sat on the kitchen floor staring at it for a long, long time. Leon had the key.

  Leon came out of the bathroom wearing Elsie’s candlewick dressing gown. AJ was sitting on his bed holding the key.

  ‘It is yours then. I thought so,’ said Leon. He sat down next to AJ. ‘I hate being dirty – it makes you feel you’re part of the pavement. No name, no business, no right to be there. Only good for walking over.’

  ‘What made you pick up it up?’ asked AJ.

  ‘I saw you coming out of Dr Jinx’s. Do you know what I was about to do?’

  ‘No,’ said AJ.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

  ‘Kill him. And I didn’t care what happened to me. I just wanted the bastard dead.’

  ‘Then why did you work for him?’ asked AJ.

  ‘’Cause I’m a muppet. I thought I could play him at
his own game, give him a taste of his own medicine. Then I realised it was hopeless. He was just one little cog in a huge machine, an endless circle ruled by money. I stood no chance of breaking it. I felt so useless … I flipped out. I thought if I killed him at least he couldn’t fuck up anyone else’s life. Stupid, I know that. It wouldn’t stop anything if there was no Dr Jinx, there’d just be someone else. I bought a gun with the last of the snuffbox money. And three bullets – two for him, one for me. That’s when I saw you and heard him tell you not to come back. I knew you were there looking for me so I thought I’d follow you to explain, to tell you and Slim not to worry.’

  ‘That snuffbox,’ said AJ. ‘I’m really sorry, bro. I didn’t know it would cause so much trouble.’

  ‘That snuffbox,’ said Leon. ‘Do you know how much I got for it?’

  ‘I hope a lot,’ said AJ.

  ‘More money than I ever dreamed of, and I feel real bad because I blew it. I blew the lot. I thought to myself, I’ll go to Jamaica, go find my little brother. But then I’d have to get a passport and that was tricky. Dr Jinx was already after me when I heard that I was wanted by his boss as well. I got wasted, lost track of time, lost most of the money, bought the gun. I can’t go to prison. I know that’s where I’m heading. I am in so much trouble.’

  ‘Where’s the gun now?’ asked AJ, wondering if he had missed it when he was going through Leon’s clothes. Could a gun go off on the spin cycle?

  ‘I threw it away after what Moses and his dog did to you. I chucked it in a dog shit bin in the park.’

  Leon was a handsome young man even in pink candlewick. AJ imagined him as the hero of a book or a film. He looked tortured, just like heroes do when things haven’t gone right. AJ felt responsible. He had been completely naive to give Leon the snuffbox in the first place.

  ‘If the police question you, I’ll tell them I gave it to you.’

  ‘No, you must never do that. You are going to do so well in your fancy law firm, and I, as my gran would say, is destined for hell.’

  ‘I made you turkey sandwiches and a pot of tea,’ shouted Elsie from the kitchen.

  ‘Come on, it’s still Christmas Day,’ said AJ.

  Later, Elsie said goodnight and left AJ to sort out the sleeping arrangements. He took the sofa, Leon the bed.

  AJ lay watching the Christmas tree lights flash on and off. Outside, drunken people shouted at the stars. It was the first time he had allowed himself to think about Mr Stone and the snuffbox. The lawyer hadn’t been trying to fob him off. He had given him a souvenir of his dad, something precious. If only he’d known it.

  He had just fallen asleep when the entryphone buzzed. It buzzed again, longer and louder. AJ woke up suddenly to find Leon, in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, looking down at him.

  ‘It’s the police, man, they’ve come to arrest me, I know they have.’

  Elsie appeared, wrapping her dressing gown round her.

  ‘Get in the wardrobe. You can hide in there – it’s got a false back. Here, I’ll show you. You,’ Elsie said to AJ, ‘make sure there’s not one sign of Leon anywhere, then get into bed.’

  By now the police were knocking on the front door. Elsie opened it. There were two police officers, a man, about six years old as Elsie would have described him, and a woman, of about five.

  ‘If you’re looking for Father Christmas, loves,’ she said, ‘he left yesterday.’

  ‘Mrs Tapper?’

  ‘Elsie.’

  ‘Elsie,’ said the policewoman, ‘we’ve had reports that a suspect might be hiding in this flat.’

  ‘What? Well, I never saw him come in.’ She laughed. ‘Get away with you. You’ve been at that knock-off rum down at the station.’

  AJ hobbled into the hall, leaning on his stick.

  ‘What is it, Auntie Elsie?’ he said.

  ‘Nothing, love. These two young officers are looking for Marley’s Ghost.’ Seeing the bewildered look on the officers’ faces, she added, ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Come along then, come in and have a poke about if you must.’

  AJ and Elsie stood close together, holding hands. Elsie squeezed AJ’s a little tighter as the policewoman brought a chair to stand on so that she might look on the top of the wardrobe.

  ‘Hold on a minute, Miss Marple,’ said Elsie. ‘You are taking the piss, aren’t you? I was asleep in this room. Do you think someone could climb up to the second floor and in through the double-glazed windows then hide on the top of my wardrobe without me noticing? I might not be in the first flush of youth, dear, but neither am I senile.’ The policewoman stepped down, embarrassed by her own eagerness. ‘Perhaps,’ said Elsie, ‘this suspect of yours is decked out as my Christmas tree.’

  When they had finished, the police officers stood in the stairwell talking, the sound of their radios bouncing off the concrete.

  ‘Next time,’ said Elsie, ‘you’d better bring a warrant if you’re going to go nosing around in my knicker drawer.’

  ‘This is for your own protection, Mrs Tapper,’ said the policeman.

  She waited until they had gone down the stairs before closing the front door. Leon climbed out of the wardrobe.

  ‘That is no ordinary wardrobe, Auntie Elsie,’ said Leon.

  ‘Put it like this – my Jim occasionally had his own trouble with the Old Bill. No better place to hide than at home, that’s what he used to say. Cup of tea, boys?’

  ‘I should be going,’ Leon said, picking up his jeans. ‘I can’t stay here.’

  ‘Wait,’ said AJ.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  It was turning dark on Boxing Day when AJ caught the bus to Mount Pleasant. He’d told Leon that he had to check something out and then he would be back to take him to a place where he wouldn’t be found.

  ‘Where is this place?’ asked Leon.

  ‘I can’t tell you, not yet. You have to trust me.’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ said AJ.

  ‘Is it the same joint where Slim is hiding out?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘It must be good then because I went looking for Slim and I couldn’t find him anywhere.’

  Elsie had taken more convincing. She wasn’t at all keen on AJ gallivanting about town.

  ‘You’re not well enough, love. And the hospital said you needed to rest.’

  AJ agreed that he wasn’t exactly in the peak of good health. He didn’t say that his leg and ribs ached.

  ‘I’m fine. Just fine,’ said AJ. ‘You’re not to worry about me.’ Then seeing Elsie’s face, added, ‘I’m not going to do anything stupid.’

  Elsie wasn’t won over.

  ‘What? You think I’m going to believe that porkie pie? You’re up to something. I just hope it isn’t going to get you into trouble – that wardrobe only has space for one.’

  AJ said, ‘I’m more worried about Leon and you. What if the police come back with a warrant to search the flat properly?’

  ‘I have that covered,’ said Elsie. ‘I’ve invited all the busy bees and the Queen of Bodman House round for a glass of bubbly and a nut or two.’

  ‘Brazil nuts?’

  ‘It’s my dentures, love,’ she said. ‘I can’t chew like I used to.’

  ‘Won’t it give the game away?’

  ‘What – about me sucking the chocolate off of nuts?’

  ‘No, about Leon being here.’

  ‘I’ve seen this old world do several cycles in the washing machine of life. If people are suspicious, the best way to deal with it is to show them there’s no reason to be. Leon won’t mind spending a couple of hours in the back of the wardrobe.’

  ‘No,’ said Leon. ‘It’ll be like being in Narnia.’

  Elsie chuckled.

  ‘But without the fur coats. After that there will be no more talk about me hiding you in my flat. I’m sure of it. No more talk, no more police.’

  AJ tried not to think about all that could go wrong. Time wasn’t on his side, neith
er were his ribs.

  At three on the dot the busy bees turned up for a drink, a nut and a natter. AJ passed them on his way down. It had been timed that he should leave as they were arriving. They all knew that he was staying there.

  AJ was on a mission to find the professor. He got off the bus at the stop near the café. A sign in the window wished all its customers a happy Christmas. Through the window he could see the professor nursing a cup of tea in the neon glow. He didn’t look up from the book he was reading as AJ ordered a coffee.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’ asked AJ. He sat down at the professor’s table.

  ‘Here and there. I was sorry to hear what happened to you. Are you recovered?’

  ‘So-so,’ said AJ.

  ‘You still have the key, then?’

  AJ nodded. ‘I’m going back. I left my friend and … ’

  The professor wasn’t listening.

  ‘What’s your game?’ asked AJ. ‘You were the one who encouraged me to go through the door in the first place and now you seem completely uninterested.’

  ‘Remind me, did Jack have a friend he could phone to ask what he should do when he found the giant and the hen that laid the golden eggs? No. He just had to figure it out by himself.’

  ‘That’s a fairy story and this is messed-up shit. I haven’t a clue who to trust.’ He stopped. ‘Sorry. That’s unfair,’ said AJ.

  The professor slowly closed his book and put it in his pocket.

  ‘Who to trust?’ said the professor, mulling over the question. ‘I would say Ingleby is a good man.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘He’s been a loyal servant to the Jobey family.’

  ‘OK. I’m asking you what I should do because this is beyond any reality I know.’

  The professor stood and put his scarf round his neck.

  He took his walking stick from the back of the chair and lifting his hat to AJ, said,

  ‘A new face at the door, my friend,

  An old key in your hand.

  Will you come once more, my friend

  To walk time’s forbidden land?’

  ‘What the hell does that mean?’