by M A Comley
“Not so good. I miss you like crazy. Can we meet up?”
“I’m sorry, I just don’t think that would be a good idea. We agreed to give each other some space to work through our feelings.”
“I know what we agreed, Nelda. I’m not a child,” he bit back.
Nelda closed her eyes, conjuring up the image of him pinning her to the sofa, his angry face inches from hers. “I realise that, Paul. I repeat, I just don’t think it would be a good idea. Leave it a few more weeks, eh?”
“I can’t bear it without you. I’m lost. I need you in my life, Nelda. We’re good together, the best.”
Nelda shook her head out of frustration. She was amazed he could disregard what had occurred between them so easily. A red flag began waving in her mind’s eye. Steer clear! Make your excuses and get off the phone. “I’m sorry, Paul. What more can I say? I think we both need to get on with our lives. I have to hang up now. I’ve got a date coming for dinner.” What the hell did you tell him that for?
The line went silent. He hung up without saying another word.
Nelda threw her dinner together and spent the rest of the evening restlessly checking every door and window to her terraced house. The thought even crossed her mind that Paul could have been the person behind the weird problems that had occurred that day. She reprimanded herself for casting such aspersions. Nonetheless, that didn’t prevent the idea from festering in her mind throughout the sleepless night she spent with her ear cocked, listening for sounds of an intruder.
Exhausted, she left the house at eight thirty the next morning, thankfully without any further incidents causing her to be late for work.
CHAPTER FOUR
In spite of further restless nights, the week flew past, and finally, Friday evening descended. Without hesitation, the girls at work had agreed to let Fay tag along for the evening. Everyone was looking forward to the night out on the town. They planned to meet at Nelda’s house then arrange for a taxi to pick up the four of them and to head into town.
Nelda had just showered and was in the process of applying her makeup when the first of the girls arrived.
Fay kissed her on both cheeks. “Wow, Fay, you look stunning. I love the red dress.”
“Thanks. It’s been years since I’ve worn it. Quite surprised it still fits after having the twins.”
“That was months ago. You’ve regained your figure well. Not sure I’ll do the same when I eventually get around to having kids, if I ever find a bloke nice enough to take me on.”
“You will. Admittedly, I think every man—come to think of it, every woman, too—has faults. It’s just a matter of finding that happy medium. I know Hero had numerous faults when we first got together. It’s surprising how much a person changes once they settle down to married life, and no, I’m not responsible for changing him. Having the responsibility of kids did that.”
“He’s wonderful. You’re very lucky to have him.”
“Hey, what’s all this doom and gloom? We’re supposed to be going out to have fun tonight. All this maudlin talk stops right here, agreed?”
“I suppose you’re right. Hey, who knows? Someone might walk into my life tonight and be the one.”
“I’m a firm believer in fate, Nelda. Most women spend wasted years searching for the right man to come along. Please don’t do that. Just relax and go with the flow. I wasn’t on the lookout for Hero when we hooked up, and I don’t mind admitting that once he told me he was a copper, I almost ran for the hills.”
“What changed your mind?”
Fay shrugged. “The more we saw of each other, the more I fell in love with him. It was a bonus that he and Louie idolised each other from the first time they met.”
The doorbell interrupted their conversation.
“That’ll be Katherine and Trisha. You’re going to love these two.”
After she’d made the introductions and her three friends were laughing and joking with each other as if they’d been acquaintances for years, Nelda left the group and went upstairs to finish getting ready. She rejoined the group half an hour later, dressed in a sparkly, long, off-the-shoulder jade-green dress that drew whistles and cheers from the girls the instant they saw her.
“You look stunning, Nelda. Paul was a fool for ever letting you go and treating you that way,” Katherine announced. Trisha and Fay nodded.
Nelda held up her hands. “Okay, I’m declaring tonight a Paul-free zone from now on, okay?”
Her three friends raised their glasses of wine and cheered. “Agreed!” Fay said, winking at Nelda.
The taxi arrived five minutes later and whisked them into the heart of Manchester, which was heaving. They settled down at the table in the gastro pub under the amused gazes of the other diners.
“Umm…something tells me we’re a tad overdressed for this particular establishment,” Nelda whispered. She looked up at the waiter, who handed her a menu.
“Ladies, you look beautiful. Thank you for gracing us with your presence this evening. I’ll just take your drink orders for now. What would you like?”
“Thank you. What will it be, ladies? Champagne?”
“Why not?” Fay looked over at Katherine and Trisha. Both nodded.
“I’ll be back in a moment. Enjoy your evening, ladies,” the young waiter said then departed.
They shared a wonderful meal of steak in pepper sauce with all the trimmings, left the restaurant, and headed for the nightclub. Nelda was already feeling the effects of the drink, and the others showed signs of the same.
Giggling, they played up the nightclub bouncer, who gave them a discount on the door.
“I wonder if he’s single?” Nelda asked once the bouncer was out of earshot, slurring her words.
“Down, girl. Never go after a man when you have a bottle of champers inside of you,” Fay reminded her.
“That’s a very good point. I’ll surrrre try to remmmember that.” Nelda led the way through to the bar area and ordered yet another bottle of champagne from the female bartender. “It doesn’t do to mix our drinks, ladies.”
They found a small table, and in between dances, they knocked back several more glasses of the bubbly stuff. Finally, around one in the morning, they decided to call it a night and go home. During the taxi ride back to Nelda’s house, the driver flirted outrageously with the girls. Once the taxi hit the outskirts of Manchester, a car rear-ended the taxi. The taxi driver tried his hardest to save the car from veering off the road, but the other driver charged the vehicle a second time. The impact force was so hard that the taxi ended up in a ditch. All four girls screamed, sobering up almost instantly.
The taxi driver checked to see if his passengers were hurt then radioed his office for help. “Yes, we’re off the road. Send an ambulance right away.”
“Stop, wait a minute,” Fay ordered. “Girls, are you all right? Is anyone hurt? Do any of you need an ambulance?”
One by one they all checked themselves and confirmed there was no need.
“Okay, cancel the ambulance. Send another car to the scene to get my customers home,” the driver told the woman on control. He got out of the vehicle and pulled the girls out. “Jesus, did anyone get his number plate? The guy never even stopped to see if we were hurt.”
Fay looked at Nelda. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“No! Paul wouldn’t pull off a stupid stunt like this!”
Fay held her arms out to the side. “Did you recognise the car?”
“No. I was too busy hanging on for dear life. He wouldn’t, Fay.”
“Maybe I’m just thinking like my copper husband. He’d definitely be high up on my suspect list, given what’s happened to you over the last week. Don’t forget the phone call he made this week, begging you to go back to him. What if he was out there tonight, watching us at the pub and the nightclub?”
“Don’t say that, Fay. He’s scared me enough as it is lately.”
Katherine’s and Trisha’s heads swivelled be
tween them as the conversation went back and forth.
“I’m going to ask Hero to pay him a visit tomorrow, see what he has to say for himself. It’s just too much of a coincidence not to be Paul, Nelda. Leave it to Hero to sort him out.”
“I still can’t believe he’d be involved in this, Fay. I’d sure appreciate Hero dropping in on him to have a word. If nothing else, it’ll help put my mind at rest knowing that he’s been warned about his behaviour.”
Another taxi arrived and took them to Nelda’s house. Fay insisted on doing a thorough search of the property before she went home. Finding nothing untoward at the house, Nelda’s friends went their separate ways.
• • •
Hero was waiting up for Fay when she switched on the light in the hallway. Walking into the lounge, on her way to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen, she found Hero dozing on the sofa with Sammy curled up in his arms. She touched her husband’s cheek lightly and petted the dog on the head.
Hero groaned and stretched. “Hey you. Have you had a good evening?”
“Could have been a little better.”
Hero sat up and pushed an objecting Sammy off the sofa onto the floor. He pulled Fay down beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“The taxi had an accident on the way home.”
“What? Was anyone hurt?”
Fay shook her head and looked him in the eye. “Hero, it was deliberate.”
“You’re kidding. How do you know that?”
“I just have a feeling about this. The car rammed us, not once, but twice. We ended up in a ditch. If it were an accident, why did the driver hit us a second time? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Shit. Did the hospital check you over?”
“No. I took charge of the situation, and all the girls said they were fine. None of us went to the hospital.”
He let out a relieved breath and hugged her. “My God, I’m so glad you weren’t hurt. I don’t suppose you managed to get the car’s plate number?”
“No! We were too busy being tossed around in the back of the car.”
“I know that look, Fay. What aren’t you telling me?”
“I think I know who was behind the accident.”
“Who?”
Fay inhaled then let the breath seep slowly through her lips. “I have a burning inclination that it’s Paul Fox, Nelda’s ex-boyfriend. After what has been going on between them lately, I believe he might have a screw loose.”
“You better tell me all the facts. I’ll see what I can find out about him at work tomorrow.”
“Umm…I wondered if you’d pay him a visit.”
“That’s doable.”
Fay kissed him. “I knew I could count on you. Do you want me to get his address from Nelda?”
“No need. I’ll look it up when I get into work in the morning. It couldn’t have come at a more timely moment, to be honest. We’ve just finished that big murder case I’ve been tied up with for weeks. Until another big case lands on my desk, I can take on this one.”
“That’ll be a relief to Nelda I’m sure, and to me. She’s such a sweet person, she doesn’t deserve to be treated the way he’s treated her. Nobody does, come to that. Why can’t people just accept when things are over?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll point out the error of his ways when I pay him a visit tomorrow. Now, we should get to bed.” Fay fluttered her eyelashes at him. She always felt a little horny when she was tipsy. “To sleep!” he added, laughing. “Some of us have work in the morning. Remind me why I volunteered to do an extra shift this weekend?”
“Spoilsport! I can’t remember why, but I know Nelda will be grateful.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Hero stretched his weary body as soon as he stepped out of the car at the station. He didn’t often work at weekends, thank goodness, but after recent cost-cutting had hit his department, every member of the team was expected to do their share. So, there he was, about to enter the Major Incident Team’s office for the sixth day that week. The rest of the skeleton staff was already at his desk.
“Good morning, boss,” the youngest member of the team, Detective Constable Jason Coltman, said.
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed, Jason. Can I just say you’re far too bright for a Saturday morning shift?”
“Maybe, sir. But I’m raring to go. What’s on the agenda for today? Any idea yet?”
“As it happens, yes. Something cropped up last night connected to a friend of mine. You can search out a man’s address for me, if you will? Then you and I can pay this gentleman a visit once I’ve been through the post.”
“Of course.” Jason flipped his notebook open and glanced up at Hero. “His name, sir?”
“Paul Fox. Do me a favour and check to see if he has been on our radar for anything in the past while you’re at it.”
Jason nodded and switched on his computer screen. Hero bought a coffee at the vending machine and headed into his office. He groaned when he saw how much post needed his attention. “Yeah right. If they think I’m going to tackle that lot this morning, they’ve got another think coming.” He removed his jacket, placed it on the back of his chair, and settled down behind his desk. He sorted the post into urgent and non-urgent piles then leapt into tackling the urgent stack.
Twenty minutes went by before Jason knocked on his door and entered the office.
“What have you found out? Anything?”
“Nothing much really, boss. Paul Fox lives over in Middleton. He’s been slapped on the wrist by us a couple of times, nothing major. There was an incident in the city centre last year. A punch-up in one of the pubs at kicking-out time. He beat up one of the bar staff and got off with a caution.”
“Okay, so he has a record for violent behaviour. That fits. You mentioned a couple of incidents?”
“Yep, the other one occurred a few years ago, five to be precise. One of his ex-girlfriends complained that he was harassing her.”
“Anything come of the complaint?”
Jason shook his head. “The girl dropped the charges after a day or so.”
“Interesting. Okay, grab yourself a drink. I’ll be another ten minutes or so here, and then we’ll shoot off to see him while it’s still quite early. Hopefully, he won’t be foolish enough to work Saturdays, like us.”
• • •
The terraced houses looked appealing enough, unlike the ones in the previous road they had cut through to get there. “Here we go. Let’s first see if Mr. Fox is at home, and secondly, see what he has to say regarding his whereabouts last night.”
When the door opened, a dishevelled man in his thirties glared at them. “If you’re Jehovah bloody Witnesses, I’d turn around and do one quickly if I were you.”
“Or else what, Mr. Fox?” Hero withdrew his warrant card and flashed it in the man’s face.
Fox gulped noisily. “Sorry, it was a rough night, and you guys just woke me up on my day off. What can I do for you, gents?”
“Mind if we come in for a chat?” Hero asked, always keen to take in a person’s surroundings, finding it to be a good indication of character.
“The place is a bloody mess. The cleaner ain’t been here for months. If you’re willing to risk it, then so am I.”
Fox pushed open the door, and the three of them went through to the lounge. Hero turned his nose up at the smell of the mouldy takeaway food lying in every corner of the room. “Have you any idea how unhealthy this is?”
“Yeah, I don’t need telling. There’s only so many hours in a day to fit everything in. As it happens, cleaning this house is quite low on my list of priorities.” He laughed, but Hero could not fathom out his sense of humour. “Maybe I should be on the lookout for a girl to clean up after me.”
“Not sure you’re going about it the right way, Mr. Fox, if you’re trying to hook a new girlfriend.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve tried it the other way, and that never proved to be very successful, either.”
“I’m glad you
raised the subject about girlfriends. That’s kind of why we’re here, actually.”
Paul frowned and lowered himself onto the arm of the worn-out velour sofa. “Go on.”
Hero took another glance around the room, trying to locate somewhere to sit himself then thought better of it. He really couldn’t be bothered to remove all the clothes and papers strewn across the sofa. No telling what he would find buried beneath. “When was the last time you contacted Nelda Brook, your former girlfriend?”
“Former girlfriend? Is that what she told you?” he asked, his frown deepening.
“Not directly. I’ve heard the news second-hand, if you like. Are you telling me that you two are still an item?”
“Yes, kind of.”
“Either you are, or you’re not. Which is it, Mr. Fox? Going by what you’ve already told us—that you’re on the lookout for a girlfriend—you’ll forgive my confusion, won’t you?”
Paul’s feet fidgeted nervously as he contemplated the question. “Slip of the tongue. To be fair, Nelda and I are taking a break from each other at the moment.”
“That’s more like the truth I’ve heard. Why is that, Mr. Fox?”
“I don’t really know. One minute, we were planning a wedding together. The next, she was calling the whole thing off and said she wanted a break. Who knows what goes on in women’s tiny brains?”
Hero wasn’t really warming to the man at all. However, with very little evidence that the offensive man had actually done anything wrong, Hero was aware he would have to tread carefully around him. He seemed the type to cry wolf and cause bother in an instant.
“Can you tell me where you were last night? By the look of things, you had a late night.”
“That’s right. Me and a few mates went out on the piss…sorry, out drinking last night in the city centre.”
“And your friends could back up your alibi, can they?”
“Alibi? Why the hell do I need an alibi?” Incensed, Fox leapt off the sofa and began pacing.
“There’s no need to be so agitated, Mr. Fox. Either your friends can vouch that you were with them all evening, or they can’t.”
