Peppercorn Street

by Anna Jacobs

‘Bound to. She loved him.’

  ‘How are you going to introduce her to the rellies?’

  Nicole shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I’m not even sure how many of your father’s relatives will be coming. A couple of cousins and that old aunt, maybe. I didn’t ask my family. They didn’t like him, anyway.’

  He looked at her sideways. ‘Not even when you first married?’

  ‘No. And he didn’t like them, either.’

  ‘Didn’t that worry you?’

  ‘It should have, but I was madly in love with him then.’ Disillusionment had come later.

  She was relieved when the luxury car drew up outside the house and they could leave. ‘Let’s do it!’ Taking a deep breath, she led the way towards the door the driver was holding open for them.

  ‘We’ll need to stop just down the street to pick up someone else,’ she told him.

  Kieran was waiting for them on the pavement outside his building. As he got into the car, Paul moved to sit on one of the fold-down facing seats and Kieran sat beside her. When he took hold of her hand quite openly, she didn’t protest. She shot a quick glance at Paul, who gave her a nod and half-smile, as if to say Go for it!

  Kieran’s hand was warm in hers. A visible sign of support. She needed all the comfort she could get today. She saw Paul watching them, still with that half-smile and could feel herself blushing. When she looked to the side, Kieran gave her hand a little squeeze and she returned the gesture.

  Heaven help her, she was going to her husband’s funeral and thinking about another man. Fate seemed to be giving her a gift, for once, a man who cared about her, was there for her in her time of need, and who got on well with her son.

  As the driver opened the door, she moved out into a grey, overcast world, which was in tune with her spirits, just right for the closing scene of a major part of her life.

  Kieran wasn’t holding her hand now, but it felt as if he’d left a warm, loving touch behind.

  At the crematorium she and Paul greeted the other mourners, not many, just Aunt Megan, two cousins and a man from Sam’s former workplace. Nicole spoke to them briefly, accepting their condolences and introducing Kieran as ‘a friend of the family’. Then there was nothing to do but stand with Paul by her side, waiting for the hearse to arrive.

  Then a taxi drew up, from which Tracey descended, covered in black from head to toe, with a veil hanging from a small hat and covering her face to her chin. Kieran moved forward to stand beside Nicole, his expression grimly determined.

  The other mourners stared at her, and turned puzzled faces towards Nicole.

  ‘This is – um, a close friend of Sam’s.’ She stared at them defiantly, daring them to probe further as she saw comprehension dawn in everyone’s eyes, except for Aunt Megan’s.

  ‘You’d think she was the wife, parading in black like that,’ Paul muttered. ‘She’s pushing her luck. Mum, if you want me to get rid of her—’

  ‘If I’m all right about her attending, no one else should care.’

  ‘But are you all right?’ Kieran asked quietly from her other side.

  Nicole couldn’t lie to him. ‘No. Not really. But I do see that she needs to be here, to say her final farewell. I just wish she was less – ostentatious about her grief.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Why don’t they get on with it? I hate all this hanging around.’

  ‘There aren’t many people, are there?’ Paul murmured.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Dad didn’t have a lot of friends. It was you who made friends easily.’

  What did you reply to that? He was right. Sam had said he didn’t invite people back because he didn’t dare let his guard down with his business colleagues and she’d accepted that. But she wondered now if it had been true. He’d not kept up with his old university friends who weren’t business colleagues either, and if she hadn’t invited his cousins round occasionally, he’d never have made the effort to see them. Unlike her, he hadn’t come from a close, loving family.

  She vowed suddenly to get in touch with her own cousins. Strangely, she hadn’t even thought of inviting them today. She’d spent a lot of time with them when she was young, because they all lived near one another, but contacts had dwindled in the last few years. Well, she’d been juggling a full-time job, raising a family and doing the lion’s share of the housework.

  More fool her. She’d let Sam get away with murder.

  The hearse arrived and the men wheeled the coffin inside. She and Paul followed it, with the relatives behind them. Tracey, thank goodness, didn’t push forward but walked behind the relatives, weeping noisily into a lace-edged handkerchief.

  Kieran came last and Nicole glanced round to see him sitting at the rear of the chapel. He gave her a quick nod. She wished he could have sat beside her, but that would have outraged everyone.

  Then the minister began the service. It was short but it brought home to her how final this was and she found herself weeping again. She’d loved Sam so much when they first married and even though they’d been estranged for a long time, the thought of him dying so young made her feel desperately sad.

  This time it was her son who held her hand and she clutched it like a lifeline.

  William scrounged breakfast from the tins of food his mother had left in the pantry, pulling a face at the sweetness of the tinned pineapple, then slipped out of the house. He went for a walk because there was nothing else he could do at this early hour, but he kept a careful eye on his watch. He’d decided to do it at the exact time the funeral started, but he had an hour or two to go yet.

  He wound up by the lake again, because it was as good as anywhere to hang out. But it was a damp, chill sort of day and he kept shivering. And another spot had popped out on his chin. He fingered it, then forced himself to leave it alone. Spots made you look like a child and he was furious about having so many of them. He didn’t even dare go into the chemist for some stuff to put on this one, not with the police looking for him. He had some old stuff in his bedroom. He’d find it later, before he took care of his grand farewell to his father.

  He heard voices in the distance and stood up, wishing it were summer with lots of foliage to hide behind. Two people were coming towards him, so he decided it’d look better to walk along briskly, but when he got to the fence round the edge of this private park, he was back in public territory with the problem of finding somewhere else to hide.

  The allotments? Nothing to eat there, no money either, and the old guy had been pretty quick to call the police. In the end William risked going home and hiding in the roof.

  But as he was about to climb over the fence, he had to duck back again because the neighbour was working in her garden, the stupid bitch. She was always fiddling around with plants. Had she nothing better to do?

  In the end he went to the clubhouse and hammered on the door. ‘I need somewhere to hide for an hour or two.’

  ‘You’re supposed to be able to look after yourself.’ Baz stared at him then shrugged. ‘Oh, come in, then. You look frozen. Want a coffee?’

  ‘Yeah. Thanks.’ He slumped in the main room. No one was around and he’d not really seen it by daylight before. It was shabbier than he remembered. But what did a room matter? It was the men who counted, men like Baz, who was really well built. William wanted to be exactly like him one day.

  ‘Need some more stuff?’

  William shook his head. ‘Not yet. Thanks.’

  Baz looked at his watch. ‘You can stay for two hours, then we have a meeting.’

  ‘That’s cool. I’ve got something to do this afternoon, anyway.’

  ‘You’ll go out the back way when you leave?’

  ‘Yeah. I know.’

  Then he was alone. Of all things, he could hear a washing machine running. Surely Baz didn’t do women’s stuff like that? But women weren’t allowed in here, so he supposed someone had to do the washing.

  The time passed slowly and Baz didn’t come out to talk to him again till it was time to leave. />
  Why didn’t he feel more excited about what he was going to do?

  Dan and Hazel took Winifred for a short walk because they’d all decided to get a bit fitter.

  When they saw the police car parked outside, Winifred hurried forward. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘We’re just checking on the old lady who lives here,’ a female officer said. ‘Her nephew is very worried about her. We haven’t been able to get a reply to our phone calls or to the doorbell, so my colleague has gone round the back to break in.’

  ‘What?’ Winifred pressed one hand to her chest. ‘Stop him at once! This is my house.’

  ‘I’ll get him.’ The officer ran off round the side of the house.

  ‘Are you all right, Winifred?’ Dan asked.

  ‘No, I’m not all right. I’m very angry. What does my nephew think he’s doing?’

  ‘I’m phoning my daughter.’ Hazel pulled out her phone.

  The officers came to join them.

  ‘The back door was open already,’ the young man said. ‘You should be more careful about locking up, Miss Parfitt.’ He looked at Winifred, who was clutching Hazel’s arm, then at Dan.

  ‘Hello, Mr S.’ He lowered his voice, ‘Did you find her wandering and bring her home?’

  The three older people looked at one another in puzzlement.

  ‘It’s she who brought us back to lunch,’ Dan said. ‘We’ve been for a walk together.’

  Hazel put her mobile away. ‘Dawn’s coming round. She says this has to stop.’ She looked severely at the officers. ‘Someone is harassing my friend. This isn’t the first time there’s been some stupid misunderstanding.’

  Winifred pulled herself together. ‘Let’s go inside. It looks bad standing outside here with the police.’

  In the hall she stopped in shock. ‘What’s happened here? Someone’s changed all my furniture round.’

  She went into the kitchen and found it in chaos, with half-eaten food on plates and a rubbish bin overflowing. She couldn’t speak for shock.

  ‘You’re not keeping it very tidy, Miss Parfitt,’ the female officer said. ‘Are you finding it too much for you? Your nephew has apparently been very worried about you for a while now.’

  Dan moved forward to stand protectively by her side. ‘That’s rubbish. And as for this—’ he gestured to the messy kitchen, ‘I called for Miss Parfitt this morning at nine o’clock and the kitchen was in apple pie order, not a thing out of place. I saw her lock the back door myself and she’s been with me ever since. We have about twenty other witnesses to prove that, which means someone must have broken in and dumped this stuff here.’

  There was dead silence, then, ‘You sure of that, Mr S?’

  ‘I’d stake my life on it,’ he said grimly. ‘Are you accusing me of not knowing what I saw?’

  ‘No, of course not. Only … well, it was a council official who called us in.’

  Winifred reached out to the table, wanting something to lean on, but it was so dirty she didn’t like to touch it. ‘Who would have made this disgusting mess?’

  ‘Have you looked upstairs?’ the female officer said.

  She shivered. ‘I suppose I’d better.’

  ‘Wait till my daughter arrives.’ Hazel turned to the officers. ‘Miss Parfitt was right about the rooms near the front door too. I come here to visit her regularly and they aren’t normally set out like that.’

  She went to put an arm round Winifred. ‘I don’t think we should say anything more or touch a single thing till Dawn arrives. She’s bringing a friend of hers to help.’

  ‘Well, in view of what you’ve told me, no one ought to touch anything,’ the female officer said. ‘We don’t want to destroy any evidence.’

  ‘Let’s go and sit outside on the garden bench,’ Dan said.

  Winifred sat down there with a sigh ‘It’s getting me down having to fend off these – these happenings all the time.’

  ‘Well, you’re not alone today,’ Hazel said. ‘I can—’ She stopped. ‘Sounds like Dawn’s car. Let’s go round to meet her, catch her before she sees the police.’

  Dawn had a man with her, balding, wearing thick glasses and very casually dressed. They both turned as the three rounded the corner of the house.

  And Winifred shamed herself by bursting into tears.

  Dawn was by her side in an instant, but her companion wasn’t far behind her.

  He interrupted to say, ‘Look, Miss Parfitt, I know it’s embarrassing but will you please let me take a photo of you now, while you’re in tears. It’ll be brilliant evidence against those who’re harassing you.’

  ‘Why not?’ She couldn’t stop weeping anyway. She’d never, ever let go of her emotions like this, not since she was a tiny child, not even when her mother died.

  The two police officers came to stand at the front door, looking embarrassed.

  Just then a car drew up and Ms Stevenall got out. She spoke to the police as if Winifred couldn’t understand her. ‘Poor old dear. She definitely needs looking after.’

  That was all it needed for Winifred to pull herself upright and glare at her. ‘How dare you patronise me like that? I don’t know what you’re doing here, but believe me, you’re neither wanted nor needed.’

  ‘Who sent you?’ Dawn asked as her companion moved back a little to take a photo of the newcomer.

  Ms Stevenall rounded on him. ‘Don’t you dare take photos of me. Stop that this minute.’

  ‘I was photographing the whole scene, not just you.’ He looked at Winifred. ‘You did want me to make a record of this, did you not, Miss Parfitt? For the court case?’

  She hadn’t a clue what he was talking about but if he’d come with Dawn, she trusted him. ‘I certainly did.’

  ‘I’m only trying to look after her,’ Ms Stevenall told everyone.

  ‘Why?’ Dawn asked.

  ‘Because she’s not capable of looking after herself. Her house is in a mess, she’s forgetful and her nephew has an enduring power of attorney, so he’s worried that he might have to exercise it.’

  Winifred glared at her. ‘Bradley does not have an enduring power of attorney any longer. If that’s any business of yours, which it isn’t.’

  Ms Stevenall gaped at her. ‘But … he showed me a copy of it.’

  ‘I had it cancelled last month.’

  Stevenall pulled herself together and said scornfully, ‘A cancellation might be invalid if you’re not in a stable state of mind.’

  As Dawn began to speak, Winifred raised one hand to stop her and forced herself to speak calmly. It seemed important that she stand up for herself. ‘That’s why my lawyer suggested it might be wise to see my doctor and get a letter from him stating that I was in full possession of my faculties before I cancelled it.’

  There was silence, then Dan chuckled. ‘And yesterday, she was the star of the beginners’ computer class. There’s nothing wrong with our Winifred’s mind, young woman. It’s her nephew who needs help. He sounds like a conniving devil, out to snatch his inheritance before it’s due.’

  ‘He should know her better than strangers do,’ Ms Stevenall insisted, but less forcefully.

  ‘I’m no stranger. I’m a close friend,’ he said at once. ‘And so is Hazel.’

  Winifred could have hugged him. It made her feel warm inside to have such loyal friends.

  Dawn offered her a mobile phone. ‘Let’s ring your lawyer now and ask him—’

  ‘Her!’ Winifred said.

  ‘… her to send someone along to show Ms Stevenall the relevant documentation.’

  The social worker glared at them and turned to the journalist. ‘I hope you’ll go and look inside her house before you write up your story.’

  ‘I shall. I’ll do some very careful research into all aspects of it. Just one thing. You haven’t been inside yet. How did you know about the mess?’

  ‘Her nephew told me what it’s like all the time. But I’ll leave you to manage this, if you can, and we’ll see where
that leads you. You’ll be calling me back in to help, mark my words.’ Ms Stevenall marched back to her car.

  ‘Let’s go and photograph the mess,’ Dawn said. ‘Oh, and by the way, this is Jim. He’s a friend of Kieran Jones down the street, and he’s an investigative journalist too. It seems there are a few suspicious things happening in our town.’

  ‘Well, someone’s definitely broken into my house. I’ll have to have the locks changed again.’ Winifred sighed.

  One of the police officers said, ‘If you can just wait until someone comes to check things out before you touch anything, Miss Parfitt. We don’t want to destroy any evidence, do we?’

  And for the first time in her life, she corrected that to, ‘Ms Parfitt, if you don’t mind.’

  To one side she saw Dan clapping his hands silently and grinning; to the other, Hazel and Dawn were standing close, as if on guard.

  She’d get through this. No one was going to drive her from her home.

  Janey had been looking forward to going to college again. She went by taxi, because she’d promised Kieran. She kept a careful eye out as they drove along the streets, but there was no sign of Gary. Well, he was like her father, not a morning person. She’d often heard the two of them cursing early morning starts at work.

  When she got to the crèche she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling safe now.

  Al was waiting for her outside the classroom and as they ate lunch together, she asked him rather hesitantly if he would walk her home afterwards.

  ‘That fellow still stalking you?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Of course I will.’

  She enjoyed his company. They never seemed to run out of conversation.

  When they got back, she asked shyly, ‘Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?’

  He glanced at his watch. ‘Another time I’d love it, but I’ve got a part-time job at the supermarket, so I can’t today.’

  ‘All right.’ She waved him goodbye and pressed the combination on the new lock before using her key. That lock made her feel so much safer.

  But when she unlocked the door of her flat, it suddenly swung inwards and Gary grabbed her. He said in a very low voice, ‘If you value your daughter’s life, you won’t say a word about who I am. Now, tell your neighbour you’ve changed your mind about seeing me and send her home.’