“Other agencies, what’s that supposed to mean?” asked Suzanne.
“All in good time Mrs Ashworth. We haven’t heard your husband’s reasoning for the situation yet, have we?” said Nicole as she stood. “Are you ready Dan?” she asked of her colleague.
“Yes, sure.” Dan got to his feet and the three of them stood in a triangle. Suzanne broke the shape up as she headed out of the lounge and into the reception, heading straight for the door and opening it, before Dan and Nicole had caught up with her.
“I’m sorry if you think I’m being objectionable, but when you meet my husband, you’ll have a better understanding of the predicament.” Said Suzanne as her uninvited guests left.
*****
“Fuck in hell,” mumbled Dan as he reached his car.
“Fuck a doodle do,” said Nicole as she opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. Dan slammed his door as he jumped in.
“He won’t come and talk to us about it, he leaves his wife, who quite clearly couldn’t care less, to try and explain his situation. I’m convinced that stuck up folk live on another planet to the rest of us. No wonder they are so despised by most of the population!” Dan was fuming, he loosened his tie and grabbed a cigarette from his pack, offering one to Nicole. She took it and they both sat and quietly smoked as Dan drove the car back through the development towards the main road.
After a few minutes, Dan broke the silence.
“She knows that her husband’s being a twat. What did she mean by “you’ll understand once you’ve met my husband?” Dan asked, not really expecting a reply. Nicole was lost in thought. After a good long puff on her cigarette, she blew the smoke out of the window and replied. “I don’t know. She was being really cagey about revealing his name as well, wasn’t she?”
“Oh, shit, yeah, I’d forgot about that. What did she say, just call him Mr Ashworth?”
“Something like that. Rachel did say that they were weird though, so we’ll have to give them the benefit of the doubt, and talk to the developers.” Nicole looked uneasy.
“Well, I’m not getting involved in that,” said Dan. “Fuck that.”
“Come on, I thought you were my wing man?” Nicole chucked her cigarette dimp out of the window.
“Bollocks. I’m not listening to that bell end Bill Heston kicking off. He’s the scum of the earth and I can’t believe the council have done this deal with him. It stinks.”
“Please?”
“No, bollocks Nic, not happening. I hate the man. He looks at you like you just shat on his i-phone.” Dan was shaking his head.
“Pleeeeease?”
“Forget it Nic. He’ll just tell us to move Rachel and her family out. He’s a wanker.”
“Pleeeeeease?” Nicole’s voice was now at its squeakiest. Dan laughed. “I’ll do all the talking, please Dan. I want to phone Rachel up and tell her it’s all been sorted. She’s a bloody star and she doesn’t need any of this stress. I really want to help her. But you’re stopping me. Because you’re nasty. You’re doing it deliberately to upset me. You’re a very nasty, selfish, mean, horrible man, with terrible personal hygiene issues!” Nicole was grinning and it did the trick. Dan cracked and burst into laughter.
“Good lad Dan! I knew you’d come.” Nicole winked at him.
“I’ve not agreed yet!” said Dan. “I was just laughing at you going on with yourself.”
“Yet! See, you said yet – so you’ve pretty much said that you are going to agree. So that means you’ve agreed really. Come on.” Nicole was excellent at getting her own way, especially with Dan.
“Go on then. But you’re buying the pies at dinner.” Dan exhaled loudly. He hated Bill Heston with a passion.
“I’ll buy you a pie, and I’ll chuck in a can of dandelion and burdock.”
“You’re a right spoilt little cow you, always getting your own way. Your Dad has a lot to answer for.”
*****
Dan parked his modest little car amongst the flashy Mercedes, Audi’s and BMW’s that filled the car park of Bright New Homes office HQ in Didsbury. The building was equally as extravagant as the developer’s homes. Dan and Nicole had been here several times in the past few weeks, whilst organising the contracts and tenancy agreements, discussing details and all of the coal-face aspects of the deal. They hadn’t had too many direct dealings with the managing director Bill Heston. The money matters were dealt with by officers slightly further up the food chain than Dan and Nicole – they were tasked with general housing officer matters.
“If I park my car at Tesco, it doesn’t look that bad, but when I park it here, I get a full on, proper car inferiority complex. It’s bonkers.”
“It’s alright your car, leave it alone. If you had enough money for one of these cars, you wouldn’t buy one!” Nicole knew all too well that Dan’s interests were travel and life experiences rather than material items, or “marques of distinction” as Auto-Trader labelled such vehicles.
“I know, still makes me feel a bit shite though.” Dan held open the door and Nicole walked through.
“Hi Charlotte,” said Nicole to the young lady on reception.
“Hi Nicole, Hi Dan, how are you both?”
“Not bad, well, stressed actually! We’ve got a bit of trouble up at Haughton Park, and we could really do with talking to someone, preferably Bill if he’s in?” said Nicole. Dan just stood at the counter, admiring the pretty young receptionist.
“He is, just a sec, I’ll give him a call.”
“Thanks,” said Nicole, as Dan continued to gaze at Charlotte.
“Bill, hi, it’s Charlotte. I have Nicole and Dan from Bury Council in reception, they’re wondering if you’ve got a few minutes? Okay, thanks.” Charlotte put the phone down. “Just go up, do you want a coffee?” she asked. Dan nodded enthusiastically.
“Oh lovely, thanks Charlotte.” Said Nicole as she and Dan started walking up the spiral staircase up to the first floor where the managing director’s office was situated.
“You need to push your eyes back in!” whispered Nicole as they reached the top.
“I’m in love! Proper true love.” Dan was grinning from ear to ear.
“Well, you’ll need to park around the corner from now on!” said Nicole, laughing at her colleague’s blatant infatuation.
“What are you two giggling about?” asked Bill Heston as they rounded the corner and reached his door.
“Oh. Hello Bill. How are you?” Nicole blushed slightly.
“Hi,” said Dan.
“Hello, it’s nice to see you, an unexpected pleasure!” said Bill, the comment clearly aimed exclusively to Nicole. He took her hand and kissed it very gently, very slowly. Nicole never meant to, but she made a flirty giggling sound. It made Dan blush with anger.
“Come on in, tell me what your tenants are saying, I bet they think they’ve won the lottery living at Haughton Park!” Bill laughed loudly as he gestured his visitors through into his office.
“Well actually,” said Dan, “We’ve had an unexpected turn of events.”
“Really?” said Bill, still looking up and down at Nicole, paying particular attention to her behind as he closed the door behind his guests.
“Yes. We’d not anticipated this, but the first problem of an anti-social nature that we’ve encountered has actually come from one of the home-owners.”
Bill Heston sat down at his desk, and gestured for Nicole and Dan to sit on the chairs before his large modern smoked glass desk. “Go on,” he said. Nicole spent the next few minutes describing the issues, and then told Bill about the reception that they had received at the house. Bill looked quite bemused. He wasn’t annoyed, and he didn’t appear very concerned.
Dan felt that Nicole had made a good job of explaining the situation, but he was frustrated that the multi-millionaire boss of Bright New Homes didn’t appear to be taking the matter seriously enough. Charlotte came in and left a tray with three cups of coffee and some cookies, along with sugar and m
ilk.
“Thanks pet.” Said Bill Heston as the receptionist turned to leave.
“So, naturally, we’re taking it very seriously.” Said Dan, in a bid to get the problem of the weird home-owner back into discussion. “I mean, our tenants are on good behaviour bonds that read like they’ve just been let out of a mental hospital. But the home-owners themselves need to play fair if this is going to work.” Dan didn’t care much for the MD that he was talking to, and had little problem with speaking down to him. The way that he had delivered that line was a little too condescending for the businessman. Bill Heston suddenly looked enraged. His face turned a shocking shade of red as he sat up in his executive leather chair. The relaxed, happy-go-lucky style that he normally seemed to exude was gone. Bill looked like Dan had just called his mum an ugly slag.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa there young man!” he snapped. “Is it April the bloody first? Is this a joke?”
“I can assure you that it isn’t a joke, Mr Heston,” Nicole leapt in before Dan had the chance to make matters any worse with his typically tetchy style.
“Well, it sounds like a joke! And not a good joke either. Now, it seems to me that you’re experiencing difficulties already, and you’re turning it around on us, trying to frame my customers for anti-social behaviour on Haughton Park?” Bill did a loud, exaggerated, humourless laugh. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Nicole tried to speak again, but Bill cut her up just as her mouth opened. “You see, my customers are the opposite end of the social spectrum to your customers. Oh, sorry I meant your service users. My customers are the strivers, the winners, and go-getters. They all earn in excess of fifty thousand pounds per year, and they have highly skilled, highly regarded, professional occupations. Your service users sponge off the welfare state and lie around, smoking roll up cigarettes and watching Jeremy Kyle all day. The men all stand around in public with their hands down their trousers, playing with their genitals while the women go off to the shops in their pyjamas! These are basic facts that I’m saying to you. Now who am I supposed to believe here? Your people, or my people?” He glared furiously across his desk at the two dumb-founded council employees.
Dan and Nicole had never seen Bill Heston in anything but an amiable mood before, he had always been perfectly charming, displaying a very affable personality. But this outburst forced them both to rethink that impression. It was almost as though the man was displaying schizophrenic tendencies, his eyes didn’t have that casual and carefree smile within them. He looked psychotic.
“You’ve taken this a bit too much to heart,” Dan was quite stern in the way that he spoke.
“No I haven’t!” snapped Bill Heston. As he said it, a tiny bit of spittle flew through the air and Dan saw that it had landed on him. Bill saw it too, but neither man acknowledged it.
“Mr Heston,” said Nicole, quietly and calmly, attracting a glance from Bill, who still looked absolutely livid. “We have visited the home-owner responsible and he has flatly refused to talk to us, and he told his wife that he would write to us about it. We’re here to ask you, for the sake of everybody at Haughton Park – not just our tenants, but your customers too, will you please try and have a chat with them? Just to relieve tensions. The police have actually arrested the man in question.” Nicole knew that this information would shake things up. Bill Heston looked perfectly astounded at the revelation.
“What, wait a… just wait a minute. Slow down, this is all getting too much. Who exactly are we talking about?” Bill’s aggression seemed to have reseeded, and the unhealthy colour in his face lessened slightly, suggesting that his blood pressure was dropping a little.
“We don’t really know. His wife said he is called Mr Ashworth.” Said Nicole. “As I say, they weren’t too helpful, either of them.”
“Well, he wouldn’t even come down the stairs to talk to us,” said Dan.
“Ashworth did you say? What was the address?” asked Bill Heston, by now looking quite intrigued by the situation, and as though he was trying to picture the Ashworth customer.
“It was… oh, er just wait, I have it here,” Nicole flicked through her paperwork. “Number nine, Fir Trees Grove.”
Bill Heston didn’t have to think for very long. He was thinking about Suzanne Ashworth within an instant.
“Ah, yes, Suzanne and, er,” Bill started to click his fingers as he tried to think of the man’s name. “You should know him, he works at your place,” said Bill. “He’s a big knob.”
“Yes, that’s why we’re here,” muttered Dan.
“Graham! That’s it, Graham Ashworth. He’s been in trouble recently for sending inappropriate e-mails to councillors about this deal. God, it’s all beginning to make sense now. No wonder he wouldn’t see you.” Bill began nodding, it was as though he wanted to start all over again with this conversation.
“I can’t think who he is,” said Nicole.
“I can,” said Dan. “Top floor. He’s in the Chief Exec’s department. Fat, walks like he’s shat himself. Total sleaze-bag. Looks at all the female staff a bit rapey.”
“Alright, bloody hell Dan!” Nicole suppressed a laugh at her colleague’s less than complimentary description.
“Right. Look. Can I apologise?” Bill stood up, as though to add greater sincerity to his apology. He had his arms spread open. “This is all beginning to make sense. The man is a thorn in our side. He has been since we suggested supporting the council with this scheme. Leave this to me, I’ll have his colleagues put him right.”
“Well, okay, this has all got very weird,” said Nicole.
“Forget it, it’s sorted. I’ll have Graham Ashworth under no illusion that he had better buck his ideas up, or he’ll be looking for a new employer. I’m not mucking around here.” Bill Heston had returned to his usual, calm self. The character transition was bizarre, and it made Dan wonder if he could manage to get him to change back into a psycho again, not only for his own amusement, but for the sake of Rachel Birdsworth and her young family.
“Well, let’s cut the crap Bill. We need to give assurances to our tenants, the ones who have made this complaint, that we have spoken to you, and that you are committed to putting a stop to it.” Dan spoke with a stern-ness in his voice, but it did not cause a reaction. Bill just stayed silent for a few seconds, he stared out of the window beyond his visitors.
“Okay. You guys, get your coffee. I will type you a letter now, have a drink, have a biscuit, and I’ll give you a written confirmation in a few minutes. What’s the tenant called?”
“Rachel Birdsworth,” replied Nicole.
With that, Bill sat back down at his desk and started typing furiously into his keyboard, completely ignoring the two council employees. After a few minutes, the typing got louder, and Dan began nudging Nicole, trying to make her laugh as Bill’s typing got angrier and angrier with each new paragraph. Nicole managed to avoid eye contact with Dan, and sat looking at Bill’s tropical fish tank. A few more minutes passed until Bill stood once again, and headed out of the room.
“That should just be coming out of the printer a round about now.” He walked out of the office. When he came back, thirty seconds later, he signed the letter at the bottom and handed it across the desk to Nicole. She held it up for Dan to read.
Dear Rachel,
I have been informed by my colleagues at Bury Council of the unacceptable behaviour of one of our customers. I take this matter very seriously.
I will speak to this customer, and will endeavour to seek an immediate and definite end to the matter. I cannot apologise enough, and I am personally going to pay you the sum of £500 compensation for this unpleasantness. I believe that this figure equates to one month’s rent.
Bright New Homes are committed to ensuring that the Haughton Park development is a happy and harmonius place to live. That was always my vision, and it is a vision that I take seriously, not only for my customers, but for the tenants too.
If you have any further problems, I will endeav
our to deal with them zealously and dexterously.
Warm regards
Bill Heston
Managing Director
Bright New Homes
Nicole finished reading first and looked up at Bill.
“What do you think?” he asked, handing over the £500 cheque.
“You spelt harmonious wrong.” Said Dan.
Chapter 16
It had been a long hard shift at the wallpaper factory, but Mick was pleased that he’d got three hours overtime in. The family really needed the money now that they’d spent most of the savings. Time and a half on eight pounds fifty an hour wasn’t to be sniffed at, and Mick was pleased that next week’s pay packet would have an extra thirty quid in it, at least. It was only Tuesday – there could well be more overtime available throughout the week, it certainly seemed busy enough.
Mick was enjoying the walk home in the sunshine, feeling quite optimistic about the future for the first time in quite a while. He was tired though, and glad to be nearing home, he was thirsty and ready for a rest.
“Alright mate?” shouted Kev along the avenue as he saw Mick approaching.
Fuck’s sake, thought Mick as he looked up and saw his neighbour, stood with a can of Stella Artois in his hand. “Oh, yeah, alright.” Mick showed little enthusiasm as he walked onto his own driveway, trying to leave it at that. But it was obvious that Kev wanted a word.
“Have you got a minute mate, I need a hand moving summat.”
Mick made it pretty clear with his facial expression that he wasn’t really interested. “I’ve just finished work mate. I’m done in.” He shouted back across the lawn of the dividing house as he reached his front door.
“Aw come on. I only need an ‘and for a minute. Come on, don’t be a cunt,” said Kev. Mick started walking reluctantly towards his neighbour, determined to nip any of this unwanted friendliness in the bud. He didn’t need the aggravation of getting to know these kinds of people. The kind of people that boast that they used to be Hacienda bouncers. Manchester has many thousands of ex-Hacienda bouncers. To Mick, it seemed that more people claimed to have worked on the door of the city’s infamous nightclub, than actually went inside the place.
Neighbours From Hell : DCI Miller 2: The gripping Manchester thriller with a killer twist Page 10
