Peppercorn Street (20 page)

‘She must be making a loss.’

He shrugged. ‘She gets things wholesale and sometimes people give her stuff.’ He looked round at the groups of people, chatting and smiling. ‘Bit different from the parish church, eh?’

It was half an hour before Janey left and she really enjoyed chatting to Al and his mother, who introduced her to a few other people. Afterwards they offered to walk her to the end of her street.

It was his mother who noticed her relief and asked, ‘Is there a problem? Are you afraid to walk the streets?’

She hesitated, then said, ‘When they’re quiet like this, I am a bit. I’m being stalked, you see.’

‘Who by?’

‘I … daren’t name him.’

Al frowned at that. ‘It’s the only way to stop him.’

She shook her head, not daring to let any more information out.

His mother shushed him when he would have said something else and took Janey’s arm. ‘We’ll walk you right to your house, then. It’s not much out of our way.’

‘Thank you. I was going to ring my landlord before I turned off High Street. He offered to watch me up the street.’

But Al wouldn’t be stopped. ‘Can’t the police do
anything
?’

‘I have no proof, so I daren’t complain. He’s … um, quite well known in the town.’

His eyes went to Millie and then back to her. Had he guessed it was her baby’s father she was talking about?

When they got back, she thanked them, but they refused to come in for a cup of tea as they were going on to some friends. She went to knock on Kieran’s door to let him know she was back.

It had spoilt the pleasure of the morning to feel so scared of walking back. And how long could she keep Gary at bay, anyway?

In an hour or so, she had to walk up the street to Miss Parfitt’s for her cookery lesson. Another risk. Was it worth it?

She stiffened. Yes, it was. If she let fear take over, she’d never do anything and he’d have won. But she would be very careful. Very careful indeed.

Dan crouched on the floor underneath his little table so that anyone looking into the hut through the small window wouldn’t easily see him. It hurt his knees to get down and it hurt his back to crouch for long, but he’d seen that fellow going wild, destroying things for no reason, and being a witness could put him in serious danger.

He heard trampling sounds outside, coming closer, and pressed one hand against his chest, where his heart was alternately pounding and stuttering. Was he going to have a heart attack? He didn’t want to die, especially not like this.

Where were the police?

The sound of footsteps on the gravel path grew louder and then he heard glass smashing on the other side of the thin wooden wall. His little greenhouse was being smashed!
Why?
His heart hiccupped again.

There was muttering as someone tried the door of his hut. It was flung open and the young fellow came inside. He laughed when he saw Dan hiding under the table and hauled him out without a word, jerking him upright and slamming him against the wall with enough force to rattle all the bottles, jars and seed trays on the shelves.

But just as Dan had given up hope of avoiding violence, was waiting for that huge bunched fist to smash him into oblivion, there was the sound of a police siren in the distance coming closer. Realising he had a faint chance of escape, Dan seized it. ‘
I
called the police. That’s why
they’re here. They know me and they know which hut I’m in.’

For a few seconds the young fellow stared him straight in the eyes. ‘Are you scared of me, old man?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. They should all be scared of me.’ Then he threw Dan aside and took off running.

Dan steadied himself against the wall, then tottered to the door, feeling as if his legs would hardly hold him. He watched his attacker trample across the plots and scramble over the fence at the far side. Once Dan wouldn’t have been vanquished so easily. Once he’d have chased after that fellow, yelling for help. And other people would have come running, because there was always someone nearby when he was younger.

These days, even when they saw something bad happening, people didn’t always pitch in and help. Some folk just stood by, letting thugs take over the world.

The car with its flashing blue light drew up. Clinging to the doorpost, Dan waved and two figures in blue came pounding across the bare earth towards him. Like the vandal, they ignored the paths and took the most direct route. He pointed in the direction his attacker had taken. ‘He went over the fence.’ Then he sank down on the outside bench, shaking from head to toe.

The police ran to the far edge of the allotments, going a good deal more nimbly than the heavy-footed young fellow. One officer boosted himself up to peer over the wall but shook his head. The other called in the information. Then they came back to Dan. He knew them by sight. He knew all the local police and they knew him.

‘Are you all right, Mr S?’

‘Shaken up a bit,’ he admitted.

‘We’d better get you to hospital.’

‘No need.’

‘Just a quick check-up, eh, to be sure?’

He glanced down at his watch and pulled himself together. ‘No. I’ve arranged to visit someone and I don’t want to let her down.’

‘She’ll understand.’

‘I
want
to go and see her. I don’t
need
to go to hospital.’

They exchanged glances and one rolled his eyes. Did they think he wouldn’t notice?

‘Can’t see your car here today, Mr S, and you’re in no fit state to walk anywhere.’

‘Take me to her house in the police car, then. You can do that, get me to a place of safety, can’t you? My friend lives at the top of Peppercorn Street. It’s not far. I can catch a taxi home afterwards.’ He held his breath, wondering if he’d gone too far by asking this.

‘OK, Mr S. If you’re sure you’re all right. Do you want to lock up here first? Shame about your greenhouse.’

He looked sadly at his smashed lean-to. He’d been so pleased to build that for practically nothing, making it out of recycled bits and pieces that he’d picked up here and there. You had to be ingenious when you were on an old age pension. Now he’d have it all to do again, just when he needed to use it. ‘I’ll have to put the trays of seedlings inside the hut first, to stop the frost getting them. They’re not ready to face the world yet.’

‘We’ll pass them in to you.’

It didn’t take long and it cheered him up a bit, because
most of the seedlings were still intact, only a few having been damaged by shards of glass.

Dan glanced at his watch again. They’d arrive a bit early, but he didn’t think Winifred would mind. She’d understand that he needed to be with people his own age, people who understood his frustration at not being able to fight back – though even in his younger days he’d not have been able to hold his own against such a large opponent.

He picked up his backpack. Tomorrow he’d go and buy a couple of bolts for the inside of the door, top and bottom. It was a good solid door, another recycled piece, built to last. It’d hold an intruder for a while and he’d keep bringing his mobile phone.

Thank goodness Simon had insisted on getting him one. Dan would never criticise those things again, even though he still didn’t want to leave his switched on all the time.

Winifred went to peer through the front room window and saw Dan standing there, flanked by two policemen.

She hurried to the front door. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just checking who you were.’ Then she noticed how white and shaken Dan was. ‘What’s happened?’

‘There was an intruder at the allotments, he was smashing things up and if the police hadn’t answered my call quickly, he’d have smashed me up, too.’

‘Have you been to the doctor’s?’

‘No. I’m not hurt, just upset. I wanted to come here and have a quiet sit down. I’m a bit early, I know.’ He looked at her pleadingly. ‘Do you mind?’

‘Of course I don’t. Go and sit in the kitchen. You know the way. I’ll see these officers out.’

When Dan had gone, one of the men said quietly, ‘If he shows any signs of being affected, call an ambulance. But he’s a tough old bug— er, devil. I think he’ll be all right with a little TLC.’

Winifred nodded. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him.’

She went back into the kitchen and saw Dan sagging in a chair by the table. She remembered how she’d felt when her nephew threatened to break in. Helpless and upset. She moved the kettle on to the Aga. ‘Hot, sweet tea – or would you rather have drinking chocolate?’

He brightened a little. ‘Drinking chocolate. Peggy used to love it. I haven’t had it for ages.’

She soon had a mug of it steaming gently in front of him.

He put his hands round the mug and relaxed a little more as if the warmth comforted him. ‘It smells wonderful.’

‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’

He had a think, head on one side. ‘Just the short version.’ He explained quickly then looked at her. ‘What upset me most was how helpless I was, how I had to hide. If I hadn’t had that mobile phone, I’d probably be lying on the ground bleeding now. Or dead even. My son had to persuade me to have one, but by hell, he was right. Do you have one?’

‘No. I don’t go out much.’ She pointed to the pendant hanging on the wall. ‘The social care people gave me that, though, in case I need to call for help. I hate having it. I hate being so old and feeble. I’m supposed to wear it all the time, but it drives me mad.’

‘I’m not so fond of being old, either. But look on the bright side. We’re both still on the right side of the grass
and
we have all our marbles.’

She smiled reluctantly. ‘That’s one way to put it. Janey will be here in a few minutes. Should I put her off?’

‘No. We both want to learn to cook cakes. And I want – no I
need
, to do something normal.’

Winifred could understand that, so stopped talking about the attack. ‘That girl’s mother doesn’t seem to have taught her about cooking, does she?’

‘No. And she didn’t sound to have stuck up for her against the father, either. What a bully he is! But
we
could keep an eye on that lass, couldn’t we? Hazel could do that as well, if she wants. You can’t have too many fairy godmothers.’

Winifred looked at him, a scrawny old man with sparse silver hair and rather big ears, then glanced at herself in the mirror, an equally scrawny old woman, with iron-grey hair, though she still had plenty of it, thank goodness. ‘Fairy godmothers! Look at us!’

They both laughed and suddenly Dan’s smile was back to normal. ‘You’re doing me good, Winifred. Better than a doctor.’

‘Oh. Well, I’m glad about that.’

She felt flustered by this compliment, hadn’t had enough of them in her life to get used to them. Her mother had always found fault. Nothing had ever been good enough.

She wished things had been different. Her life might have been – more enjoyable. She’d done her duty, always, but that was cold comfort now.

As the police car drove off down Peppercorn Street, one officer said to the other, ‘There’s old Yarford again and outside the same house. That’s in our area. If he suspects
someone there, he should have passed the information on to us.’

‘He always goes his own sweet way. It’s probably someone he’s got a grudge against.’

‘Hmm. I’m taking down the number and address. I’ll see if anyone in our office knows about that house.’

His companion grinned. ‘Tell Sergeant McNaught. She’s got issues with Yarford from way back, though no one knows exactly what. She’d love to be able to complain about him. Fearsome woman, that. I’d not like to get on the wrong side of her.’

‘I hope he puts a foot wrong.’

They both grinned.

Janey saw to Millie’s needs and grabbed a quick sandwich for herself before getting ready to walk up the street to Miss Parfitt’s. It wasn’t far, just a couple of hundred yards. Surely she’d be safe for that short distance? There was no sign of Kieran, so she waited till someone else was walking up the street and set off, staying behind them, even though they were walking slowly, lost in conversation.

Was
he
watching her from somewhere? How would she ever know? She might be imagining she saw him so often. But if she wasn’t … There was too much at stake. She wasn’t going to let him do that – no, she said the word to herself –
rape
, that was what he’d done, raped her. And if she made him aware how determined she was, well, surely he’d lose interest after a while?

If he didn’t, if he continued to pursue her – she swallowed hard, upset at the mere thought – then she’d have to ask to go into a women’s refuge. She’d been thinking about that
during the night. It would be the very last resort, though, because if she had to move to another town, she wouldn’t be able to take her exams this year and she’d lose her lovely new friends.

It wasn’t fair!

She blinked away the tears. She didn’t want to arrive crying.

The people she’d been following turned into one of the houses, but there wasn’t far to go then to Miss Parfitt’s house, so she walked along briskly, shivering with relief not cold as she went through the gate.

She was safe here, surely?

Nicole felt tired and the cut on her head was still painful. She watched Paul pick at his lunch and thought he looked as washed out as her mirror said she did. They’d both spent half the morning lying in bed, reading. ‘You all right?’

He shrugged. ‘How can any of us be all right when Dad’s lying there unconscious?’

‘It’s horrible, isn’t it? Are you coming to the hospital with me this afternoon?’

‘I suppose.’

‘Don’t come if you don’t feel up to it. He won’t know.’

‘I have to come, don’t I? In case …’ His voice wobbled for a moment, then he finished his sentence. ‘In case Dad dies. You’re going there every day for the same reason.’

‘Yes. It’s … well, what you do.’

‘So I’m coming.’

The phone rang and she let Paul pick it up because he was nearest.

‘She’s here.’ He held out the phone to her. ‘It’s the hospital.’

‘Mrs Gainsford? I have bad news for you, I’m afraid. Your husband’s condition has deteriorated suddenly and it might be wise if you came to see him today.’

‘I was coming later on.’

‘It might be wiser to come now. He seems to be failing quite rapidly.’

‘I’ll come straight away.’

‘It’s a good thing your older son came in to see him last night, isn’t it?’

‘
What?
’

‘Your son William came in just after one o’clock. He didn’t stay long.’

‘I wasn’t sure he’d make it. I’m … glad.’

She put the phone down and turned to Paul. ‘William went in to see your father last night.’

He closed his eyes, shaking his head helplessly, unable to speak.

‘You did well contacting him,’ she said softly, rubbing his arm for comfort.

He scrubbed at his eyes, then asked, ‘Are you going to ask Kieran to take us there?’

‘We can’t keep turning to him. He’s done more than anyone could have expected already.’

‘If you don’t ring him, I will. He’d want to be there with you. And anyway, you need him. You’re still wincing when you touch that cut on your head and you’re very pale. You shouldn’t be driving.’

‘Nor should I be using Kieran like this.’

‘That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? I feel as if we’ve known him for years. Look, I’ll do it. No hassle.’ He picked up the phone and dialled the number without needing to check it. ‘Kieran? Paul here. No, things aren’t all right. We’ve just had a call from the hospital. They think Dad’s … failing. I agree. Mum definitely shouldn’t drive there on her own. Thanks.’ He put the phone down. ‘He’ll be round in five minutes.’

He came across and gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, but she needed more, so she grabbed him and hugged him tightly, rocking slightly. ‘Thanks, darling.’

‘I’m coming with you. I didn’t see him yesterday. It’s, like, the last chance today, isn’t it? Something I’d always regret if I didn’t do it?’

She nodded.

‘Even William went in to see him. I’m glad about that. It means he’s not quite a total shit.’

She could only nod again. How her life had changed in the past few weeks! No, it had been changing for a while, but the rate of change had suddenly accelerated. Sometimes she couldn’t believe this was happening at all, kept thinking she’d wake up in her old bed and find it had all been a nightmare.

But it hadn’t and wishing wouldn’t change things, especially the way she’d treated him.

If only she hadn’t left him. If she’d still been at home, she might have made his last weeks easier. She’d never forgive herself for jumping to conclusions about him having an affair. Never.

By the time Kieran drew up, they were waiting in the
entrance hall. An icy wind whistled round them as they hurried out to the car. But even with the car heater on full blast, she still felt cold.

Winifred went to answer the door, feeling more secure about doing that with Dan in the house. ‘Janey, dear! I’m so glad you could come. Let me take your jacket.’ She hung it up and beamed down at Millie. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous? Bring her through to the kitchen before you take her outdoor things off.’

Mr S was already there, smiling at her but not looking his usual self.

Winifred explained briefly what had happened and Janey stared at him open-mouthed. ‘You mean, this man, a complete stranger, attacked you for nothing?’

‘He was looking for something to steal. Must be stupid if he thinks people keep anything valuable at the allotments. I don’t even take my credit card down there.’

‘You shouldn’t stay there on your own again, Mr S.’

‘I’ll be all right. He won’t come back. He’s found out now that there’s nothing to steal.’

Winifred judged enough had been said, made sure the baby was all right, then put the ingredients on the table. She’d wondered if she’d be any good as a teacher, but the words seemed to flow and since the recipe was an easy one, the cake was soon finished and in the oven.

‘I’ve written out the recipe for you.’ She gave them each a piece of paper, handwritten in a beautiful sloping script.

‘I’ll start a new file on my computer for recipes,’ Janey said. ‘I love the way you write. It’s so pretty.’

Winifred smiled. ‘We all learnt to write like that when
I was at school, and we got into trouble if we didn’t get it perfect each time.’

‘I think you were a decade or so before me,’ Mr S said. ‘Funny how such differences blur when you get older. My generation didn’t have to do copperplate handwriting, but we had to write neatly or we were forced to do it all over again.’

‘I sometimes feel I’m the last person of my generation left,’ Winifred said with a sigh. ‘All my friends have died.’

‘But you’re making new ones,’ he reminded her with a smile.

Millie chose that moment to yawn loudly and rub her eyes, so Janey pulled up her soft, checked blanket and wheeled the buggy out into the hall. She waited to see her settle down, but to her relief Millie didn’t need much persuading to go to sleep. What a happy child she was when she wasn’t teething!

When she went back inside, Janey heard Miss Parfitt say, ‘Hazel and I are going to classes to learn about computers, but I’m not at all sure how I’ll cope with that.’

‘I don’t think I’ll ever understand the damned things,’ Dan said. ‘I’d rather be out in the fresh air than sitting indoors goggling at a screen.’

‘I love my computer,’ Janey said. ‘And if you don’t mind me saying so, Mr S, you’d find a computer very helpful for keeping records for your allotment. And you could go online and find out all sorts of things about gardening, join a group and discuss gardening by email, order seeds online. There’s nothing like a computer when you’re on your own. I just wish I could afford to go on the Internet.’

They were staring at her rather disbelievingly, so
she explained a few of the things you could do with a computer, answering their questions patiently because they clearly knew nothing. ‘Look, it’s hard to explain without being able to show you. If you’d like to come round to my flat one day, I’ll show you some of what you can do on a computer.’

She watched them exchange glances, uncertain, hesitant, and realised in amazement that they were afraid of computers. ‘It’s not hard, you know, it’s just fiddly.’

It was Mr S who spoke first. ‘Well, why not? My Terry’s always nagging me to get a computer and go on email, so that it’s easier for him to keep in touch.’

‘You should go to the classes with Miss Parfitt and Dawn’s mother, then.’

‘We-ell, I might just do that if you’ll help me in between classes. I’m going to have some extra time on my hands … now.’

Janey had noticed before how he tacked on ‘now’ and it upset her because she knew he was speaking about his wife being dead. She realised he was speaking, asking her about college, so dropped the subject of computers and told them about her classes and meeting Al and his mother at church.

Before they knew it the cake was ready and Winifred was pulling it out of the oven.

‘That smells delicious!’ he said.

‘Don’t you need to test it?’ Janey asked. ‘You know, poke it with a skewer or something. My mother always did.’

‘Goodness no. I’ve baked this one so many times in this oven I know to the minute how long it takes, and anyway,
you can see that it’s coming away from the sides of the tin, plus the top is firm in the middle. I’ll just let it cool for a bit, then put the kettle on and we’ll test a piece and have a cup of tea.

Mr S was looking better now, Janey thought. She felt better here too, safe and relaxed. ‘This is almost like having grandparents again,’ she said without thinking. ‘Well, I only ever had one granddad really, but I still miss him a lot.’

‘Then perhaps you could adopt us as your honorary grandparents,’ Mr S said at once. ‘My grandchildren don’t come and see me very often, even the ones who live nearby.’

He was looking at her anxiously as if afraid of rejection, but she didn’t hesitate. ‘I’d love that!’ Then she realised Miss Parfitt hadn’t spoken and looked at her. The old lady was looking as nervous as Mr S had about computers. ‘Do I get an adopted grandmother too?’

‘That’d be very … nice. I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and no close relatives at all.’ She blew her nose firmly and added, ‘Let’s have a piece of cake to celebrate.’

It was surprising, Janey thought as she got ready to leave, how comfortable she felt with the two of them. As if they really were her grandparents.

But as she stepped out of the gate, she saw a familiar car parked down the street. In a panic, she dragged the buggy back up the steps and hammered on the front door.

When Miss Parfitt opened it, she nearly fell through it, so upset was she.

Dan put an arm round her as Winifred locked the door. ‘Calm down and tell us what’s wrong, Janey. No, take a
deep breath and don’t start speaking till you’ve got control of yourself.’

So it all came tumbling out and this time she didn’t hold back on saying his name.

As he listened, Dan exchanged shocked glances with Winifred. ‘You can’t go back to that flat.’

‘She can stay here,’ Winifred said at once.

‘But all my things, all the baby’s things, are in the flat. I have to go back and he knows it.’

‘I’m going to ring Dawn.’ Winifred was picking up the phone even as she spoke. ‘She’ll know what to do.’

As she listened to a quick summary of her story being repeated by Winifred, Janey thought how far-fetched it sounded. Since Gary had turned up again, everything felt unreal, like a nightmare that never ended.

Winifred put the phone down. ‘She says to stay here, not to go back to the flat on your own under any circumstances.’

‘I don’t want to cause you any trouble, Miss Parfitt.’ And she couldn’t help crying again, feeling so helpless.

It was a while before she calmed down enough to realise she was sitting next to Miss Parfitt, who had an arm round her shoulders and was clasping her hand.

Dan had picked up Millie and was joggling her about next to the window, talking softly to her and pointing out some birds.

‘I can’t believe how kind you’re being to me!’ Janey said, blowing her nose in a futile effort to stop weeping.

The doorbell rang. ‘Ah, that’ll be Dawn.’ Miss Parfitt went to let her in.

The hospital looked huge and grey, more like a prison in the dull light of an overcast afternoon. Nicole shivered as she walked towards it, Kieran on one side of her, Paul on the other. Her steps faltered just before the entrance, and she had to force herself to go inside.

At the ward, a nurse she’d seen before greeted them, then he took them along to Sam’s room, though they knew the way by now.

‘We have screens round the foot of the bed, so that even when the door is open, no one can stare in,’ he said quietly. ‘They’ll be round with the tea trolley in a minute. I’ll get them to give you a cup.’ He hesitated, then asked, ‘Do you want a minister to come and see him?’

Nicole’s mind seemed blank and she couldn’t think what to say.

‘Dad didn’t go to church,’ Paul said. ‘Does that matter?’

‘Not many people go to church these days, but a lot of them want a clergyman at the end.’

‘We don’t know any.’

‘We have a chaplain at the hospital.’

Nicole saw Paul nodding at her. ‘Yes. All right. I do think it’d be good for him to see Sam.’ She wanted to do everything properly, to make up for the huge mistake she’d made. As if that would wipe out her guilt.

She turned towards the bed, dreading what she’d see, but there seemed no change visible at first, not until she looked more closely and saw a complete lack of colour in his face. It was a look, more than anything specific she could put her finger on. He lay so still, she wondered for a moment if he’d died already, then she saw his chest rise and fall very slightly.

She sat down beside the bed and clasped his hand for a
moment. There was no response. The fingers lay limply in hers. The flesh was warm, but Sam no longer seemed to be inhabiting it. Guilt seared through her yet again.

Suddenly noise erupted outside, raised voices, a woman shouting, sounds of a scuffle. As she looked up in shock, Kieran slipped outside so she left it to him to find out what was happening. Bending her head again, she tried to pray and ignore whoever was shouting. But the words wouldn’t come, so all she could do was sit there and wait, feeling sad and bewildered.

From time to time she looked at her son, who was sitting on the other side of the bed. When she caught his eye, she mouthed, ‘All right?’ and he nodded. She winced as someone outside let out a piercing yell.

You couldn’t help listening when someone outside was making such a fuss. Nicole stood up as the shouting became screaming, a woman’s voice, shrill and full of pain. Why hadn’t they moved the person somewhere else?

Kieran hadn’t come back. Perhaps they needed his help to control this person.

Outside Kieran found a plump, blonde-haired woman struggling with two nurses. She was putting up a hell of a fight and screeching at the top of her voice. He suddenly jerked to attention as what she was saying sank in.

‘Let me in to see him! I’m the only one who cares about Sam. The only one.’ She paused, panting, and slapped away a hand as one of the nurses tried to move her away from the door. ‘I’m
not
– going away. I’m not! And if you throw me out of the hospital, I’ll camp on the doorstep and go on screaming and shouting there.’