Deadly Act

by M A Comley

  “Too right. Mummy, can you swap with Daddy more often? We had oodles of fun today.”

  Hero straightened up in the sofa and stared at her, pleading with her not to bow to her son’s bizarre wish.

  “Well, as you guys have had so much fun, maybe Mummy can have more time off around here. So sure, why not?”

  Hero remained quiet, rendered speechless by his wife’s traitorous remark. Wishing to get off the subject of household duties, he asked, “How did things go with Nelda?”

  “We’ll discuss it later when the kids are in bed. Not good, though.”

  The hours dragged by until the kids were bathed and tucked up in bed that evening. Hero made two cups of coffee while Fay organised the kids’ bedtime. Then he waited in the lounge for his wife to join him.

  “Well? What’s going on?” he asked impatiently the minute Fay stepped back into the room.

  “Let me sit down first.” She released a breath that puffed out her cheeks. “It’s all so incredible. The poor girl doesn’t know what to make of it all.”

  “Are you going to keep going around in circles all night?”

  “Can you dig deep for some patience, buster?” she snapped.

  “Sorry. Carry on.”

  Taking a sip of coffee, Fay tucked her legs underneath her and turned to face him. “You know I told you a few months back that she was getting married?”

  Hero narrowed his eyes, searching his memory for the conversation.

  Frustrated, Fay dug him in the ribs with her fist. “You’re terrible. I distinctly remember telling you one weekend—you were putting the table together in Louie’s room.”

  “Ah, yes. I seem to recall you chuntering on about something while I was trying to suss that out. So, when is the wedding going ahead?”

  “You’re impossible. It’s a good job I’m head over heels in love with you, or you’d be sleeping rough on the streets tonight.”

  “Charming!”

  “Anyway, that’s enough about our domestic situation. It’s Nelda’s I’m more concerned about. She’s had to call off the wedding.”

  “Why?” Hero asked, twisting in his seat so their knees were touching.

  “Too much is happening, and she feels really uncomfortable about their relationship now.”

  “Such as? Shit happens in all relationships, doesn’t it? Ours didn’t have the greatest of beginnings, if I remember rightly.”

  “That was because you worked, let me correct that, you were out of the house eighteen hours a day and always ended your shifts down the pub, drinking heavily.”

  “Thanks for reminding me of that, love.”

  “They say the truth hurts. Anyway, ever since Nelda and Paul announced their engagement and started planning their wedding, Paul has been a different person. At first, Nelda put his drastic mood swings down to stress. Now she’s not so sure.”

  That piqued Hero’s interest. “Why? What’s happened to change her mind?”

  “Too much to go into real detail. Actually, my first thought was to tell her to contact the police, but she’s refusing to do that. Nelda is under the impression that things will calm down and get back to normal, to how her life used to be before she met Paul anyway. I have grave doubts about that.”

  “I can’t offer an opinion unless you tell me what’s been going on between them, Fay.”

  “I’m coming to that, if you’ll give me a chance. The thing that upset me the most was that he pinned her down and got in her face recently.”

  “For what reason?” Hero frowned and took a sip of coffee.

  “Because he wanted to, I guess. She told me that one minute they were going over the wedding plans, and the next, he just cracked. Pounced on her lap and pinned her to the sofa. Who in their right mind would do such a thing, Hero?”

  “It sounds to me like he’s a man living on the edge. Have they sat down and discussed the pressure he or both of them are under?”

  “She’s tried several times. One minute, he’s calm. The next, he’s blowing his top at her. That’s not right, surely.”

  “My take is that if he’s like that before they’ve tied the knot, he’s going to be a hundred times worse after they get wed. I’ve seen this type of thing escalate out of control so many times during my career. Some of the cases have even ended up in court because the spousal abuse intensified to murder.”

  “God! Don’t tell me that. I’m worried about her enough as it is. Thank goodness she’s seen sense and ended the relationship before they walked up the aisle and exchanged rings.”

  “And he was okay with that?” Hero asked, his own concern mounting after what Fay had just revealed about this character.

  “As far as Nelda knows, yes. This all kicked off a few days ago, so only time will tell, I suppose.”

  “You know I don’t usually get involved in cases of this ilk, but as she’s a good friend of yours, make sure Nelda has my number. Tell her to ring me if he starts badgering her, and I’ll have a friendly word in his ear, all right?”

  Fay beamed at him and kissed his cheek. “I knew I could count on you. I told her the exact same thing before I left her house.”

  “Cheeky mare! You know me so well, that’s kind of disturbing to hear.”

  “I wasn’t taking you for granted, love. I just know what a kind and compassionate man you are and how much you despise any man ill-treating a woman.”

  Hmm…‌there you go. Like I said earlier, you have an answer for everything. “Yes, dear.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Nelda set off for work feeling happier than she had in the past few weeks. Talking through her awful predicament with Fay the previous day had lifted the weight from her shoulders. She wasn’t normally one to share her problems with her friends, but her current dilemma was different. Fay had backed up Nelda’s idea of what was going wrong in her relationship with Paul, reinforcing that she had been prudent to dump him. However, it didn’t stop her feeling guilty for not being prepared to give him a second chance when he’d knocked at her door and pleaded for one. She wondered if the guilt would linger for years, spoiling her chance of finding another man to share her life with, or if she would be able to surmount that guilt, now that Fay had agreed with her decision.

  She inserted the key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing. The car was dead. She looked at the clock on the dashboard and hit her hand on the steering wheel. “Damn, I’m going to be late now.”

  She pulled the catch on the bonnet then got out of the car and opened it. Perplexed, she couldn’t see anything wrong, not that she knew what to look for in the first place. She noted the time on her watch and her shoulders slumped. She was going to be very late.

  “Hey, Nelda, how’s it going? Is something wrong? I hope you haven’t run out of petrol again!”

  Nelda released a relieved sigh when her neighbour joined her. “George, boy, am I glad to see you. No, I haven’t run out of petrol. At least I don’t think I have. I turned the key in the ignition, and it was just dead, nothing. Not even a spark.”

  George, who was in his late forties, often went out of his way to make sure the single women in the neighbourhood were safe and always offered to be their first port of call if any handyman jobs needed to be carried out. “Step aside, Nelda. We don’t want your smart suit getting all messed up.”

  Nelda stepped back and watched with a mixture of interest and anxiety as he inspected the vehicle.

  “Ah, here we are. See this lead? It should be connected to the engine. It must have slipped off after you arrived home from work last night.”

  Nelda wrinkled her nose. “Can it do that? Just work loose all by itself?”

  “It’s not unheard of for it to happen, love. Hop in and start her up.”

  Nelda trotted around the car and jumped in. When she turned the key, the car fired into life immediately. “Oh, George, how can I ever thank you?”

  “Nonsense. It was nothing. Drive carefully now.”

  She waved and blew the man a ki
ss as she pulled away from the curb. Thankfully, if she put her foot down, she would be only five minutes late. Lord knows how long the delay would have been if George hadn’t come along.

  During the drive, she kept revisiting her conversation with Fay. She’d felt nothing but relief after discharging some of the pent-up tension surrounding her soured relationship with Paul. She’d even slept through the night without guilt pricking at her conscious. Since the break-up, the sleep deprivation had affected her work and almost driven her to seek help from her doctor. She’d spent countless hours admonishing herself for dumping Paul, then balanced that by congratulating herself for calling a halt to the relationship before the situation deteriorated further.

  Nelda was surprised she needed Fay’s assurance, though. Paul seemed to have damaged her confidence more than she’d realised. Well, today is another day. Apart from the minor mishap she’d encountered first thing that morning, she felt ready to do battle in the world again. She hadn’t felt so good in months. Freedom! She felt like shouting it from the rooftops. Still, she was uncertain she could ever trust her instincts again to help find a decent man who would treat her right.

  At lunchtime, she sat down in the store’s canteen and finally found the courage to tell her work colleagues what had taken place with Paul.

  Trisha was the first of the stunned girls to speak. “My God, why on earth didn’t you tell us about this sooner? I mean, when you were actually going through the turmoil, sweetie.”

  Nelda shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t know what to think or how to react. I was numb, totally out of my comfort zone. I suppose I blamed myself for bringing the beast out of Paul.”

  “That’s just ridiculous, Nelda. Far too many women in abusive relationships blame themselves for the disgusting actions of their partners. He’s the one with the issues, not you,” Katherine said, placing her hand over Nelda’s.

  “Thanks, girls. I regret not confiding in you sooner. I just thought it would be better to handle the situation by myself. Forgive me?”

  “Don’t be silly. There’s nothing to forgive. Why don’t we go on a girls’ night out on Friday, just the three of us?” Trisha asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  “Oh, I don’t know if I’m up to that just yet,” Nelda faltered. However, the disappointment on her friends’ faces made her reconsider her answer in a nanosecond. “All right, that’s a deal. Shall we go for a meal first?”

  “That’s a great idea. There’s a new gastro pub in the city centre I’ve been dying to try. We could go there first and then on to a nightclub,” Katherine suggested eagerly.

  Nelda nodded. “Why not? It’ll be nice to have something to look forward to for a change. I might even splurge and buy a new outfit for the occasion. Shall we really go for it, girls, and dress to impress?”

  “I don’t see why not. We need to get you out of the doldrums and back into a hot sexy relationship right away. As my old mum says, ‘There are plenty more fish in the sea to hook,’ bless her,” Trisha said, much to the amusement of the others around the table.

  The afternoon flew past—having something major like a girls’ night out to look forward to brightened Nelda’s day considerably. She clocked off and bid her colleagues farewell as they left through the back door, where the odd security light here and there punctuated the darkness in the staff car park. Scanning the area briefly, she jumped in her car. She breathed a sigh of relief when the car started at the first attempt.

  As she drove, the contents of her fridge ran through her mind. She decided to throw together an omelette for dinner when she got home. She chewed hard on her lip when she arrived home to see the front door of her house wide open.

  Oh no! I’ve been burgled. Or did I somehow leave the door open in my haste to get to work this morning? She shook her head, aware that she would never really be that careless. With her heart pounding a crazy rhythm, she approached the house cautiously. She almost jumped out of her skin when George appeared and shouted from his front door, “Everything all right, love? You look worried.”

  “Oh, George, you scared me. Have you seen this?”

  He rushed to join her. “Lordy, well, that wasn’t like that earlier on today, Nelda. You know I do the rounds several times during the day when folks are out at work. You stay here. I’ll go in first.”

  Nelda grabbed his arm. “No, George, we should call the police first.”

  “Nonsense. You don’t want to waste their time if nothing is amiss inside. You wait here.”

  She watched him enter the house and waited for him to return.

  “It’s all right, Nelda. The place is clear.”

  She ran through the front door and into the lounge. George was standing in the room, his arms held out to the side.

  “I don’t understand. I expected the place to be ripped apart,” she muttered.

  “It is strange. Can’t quite fathom it out myself, love. I’ll go upstairs, check everything is all right up there.”

  “Thank you.” She followed her neighbour out of the room and went into the kitchen. Again, nothing seemed to be out of place. Nelda shuddered. She didn’t know what to think. The incident was just too bizarre for words. The beginning of a headache started, and she washed down a couple of painkillers with a glass of water.

  “Nothing,” George said, walking into the kitchen. “See what I mean about ringing the police and wasting their time?”

  “Yeah, I can understand that now, George. What in God’s name do you think is going on?”

  “I don’t know. Kids? There’s a gang of them been hanging around for a while. That’s the reason I’ve upped the number of checks I do during the day. You can’t trust the kids of today, what with most of them on drugs.”

  “I see your point, George, but if nothing was taken, would it really be the kids breaking in?”

  “Hmm…‌there is that. It’s a mystery, for sure. Do you want me to stick around for a while?”

  “That’s kind of you. There’s really no reason for you to do that. I’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Despite her external bravery, she felt the total opposite inside, but she really didn’t want to put her neighbour out more than she already had.

  “If you’re sure, little lady. You’ve got my number. Ring me if you need a hand or if something spooks you. Promise?”

  She patted the man’s forearm. “You have my word on that. Thanks, George. You’re an absolute treasure.”

  “It’s never a bother to look out for the nice people in this neighbourhood. That’s the beauty of taking early retirement.”

  “Well, I’m sure everyone appreciates your thoughtfulness. I know I do. That’s twice you’ve helped me out today already. Thank you, kind gentleman.”

  Nelda showed him out of the house and applied the chain to the front door. Her nerves jangled as she passed the telephone in the hallway and it started to ring. She debated whether she should answer, then tentatively, she picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Nelda? It’s Fay. You sound strange. Anything wrong?”

  She carried the phone into the kitchen and sat at the table. “Fay, boy am I glad it’s you.”

  “Okay, what’s happened?”

  “Well, I just came home from work to find the front door of my house wide open.”

  “What? Did you ring the police? What are you doing inside?”

  “No, I didn’t call the police. My neighbour was on hand to check the place over for me. That’s twice he’s saved my bacon today.”

  “Oh? What else has gone on?” Fay asked, sounding worried.

  “I’m fine. No need for you to be concerned. This morning my car wouldn’t start. Apparently there was a loose connection. George sorted that out for me, too.”

  “That’s weird. Was your car all right over the weekend?”

  “Yes, nothing wrong at all. George reckons wires work loose all the time.”

  “They do? Guess I’ve never heard of it happening before. Going back to the house, you should have called
the police, hon. Was there anything taken?”

  “Not as far as I can see. You rang before I had the chance to check the place over thoroughly.”

  “Do you want either Hero or me to come over?”

  “No, don’t worry. I’m sure everything is fine. If anything else occurs this evening, I’ll call the police.”

  “All right, if you’re sure. How are you feeling after our little chat yesterday?”

  “On top of the world, except for the two upsets I’ve had today. I finally broke down and admitted to my work colleagues what’s been going on. They’ve asked me to go out with them on Friday.”

  “That’s wonderful. You have so many people out there who care about you, Nelda. You should lean on them more often. No one would object in the slightest.”

  “I know that now. I don’t like to put people out, Fay. Everyone has their own lives to lead without getting drawn into my difficulties. Hey, why don’t you come out with us on Friday? You’d get on great with Katherine and Trisha.”

  Fay inhaled a breath. “Do you think your friends would mind me tagging along? It’s been years since I let my hair down on a girls’ night out.”

  “Of course they wouldn’t mind. I’ll run it past them tomorrow, just to make sure. Would Hero object to you coming out with us?”

  “I don’t see why. I can get Mum to babysit the kids just in case he has to work late. Ohh…‌I’ve gone all tingly at the thought of being let loose on the town.”

  “I’ll see what the girls say and ring you tomorrow after work. This is going to be fun. Oh, and we’re really going for it, i.e. wearing our finest frocks!”

  “Gosh, I haven’t heard that word in years. I’m certain I have something special tucked away in the back of my wardrobe somewhere. Call me tomorrow. Take care, Nelda. Ring if you need us.”

  “I will.”

  Nelda hung up. Before she could replace the phone in its docking station, it rang again. “Hello?”

  “Nelda, how are you?”

  Her eyes widened in fear, and she clutched her hand to her chest. Summoning up her calmest voice, she replied, “I’m fine, Paul. You?”