The Optician's Wife (7 page)

A massive police investigation was launched after the body of the woman was found at the site to the east of the city.

The dead woman’s identity has not been released, but our sources say she worked in a shop in the city centre.

Detectives set up a major crime scene and scoured woods in the area.

It is believed they were looking for a weapon after finding several wounds on the body.

The site was cordoned off during the investigation, with walkers and cyclists arriving at the site to use the paths being turned away.

Police spent hours at the site and it remains un-opened after officers declared the death was suspicious.

The Cambridgeshire force has contacted the victim’s next of kin.

A police spokesman said: ‘The body of a woman was found by a man who was walking his dogs at the time. The death is being treated as suspicious and we are advising the public to remain vigilant.’ The force spokesman added that detectives would conduct a thorough investigation and were asking anyone with information to come forward.

I folded the newspaper and sat back stunned, thinking of the people I’d seen working in Freeman’s.

By the time Lucy had finished with me I didn’t recognise myself. For the first time ever I looked my age. I stared at the girl with the peroxide hair staring back at me.

‘Do you like it?’ Lucy asked holding a mirror up to show me the back of my head.

‘Yes.’ I really wasn’t sure.

‘We’ve got some really nice products that will help to keep it lovely and soft. Helps with the frizz. We sell make-up too, if you’re interested.’ I got the hint.

She removed the cape from my shoulders and blew the last remaining hairs from my neck.

‘Just go over to reception to pay.’ It was the most she had said to me since Larry left. I’d sat static in the chair pretending to read a gossip magazine so I could avoid eye contact and didn’t have to watch the chunks of my hair falling to the floor.

‘Thank you.’ I picked up my rucksack and went over to reception, avoiding looking in any of the numerous mirrors.

Larry was already there, leaning on the desk talking to the receptionist.

‘WOW!’ He stopped and let his mouth hang open. ‘You look incredible.’

‘You like it?’ I touched my hair self-consciously and shuffled on the spot.

‘Love it.’ He held his arms out and beckoned me. I did as I was told but felt uncomfortable with the public display of affection. ‘Right, what’s the damage?’ he asked turning back towards the till and removing his battered leather wallet from his back pocket.

Embarrassed that Larry was paying for me again, I moved towards the door to wait for him. I didn’t want to know how much it cost.

‘Come on you,’ he slipped his arm around my waist, ‘let’s go before it starts to bucket down.’

Once outside we headed for shelter. The rain had just started to fall and the black clouds looked angrier than ever.

‘Bloody miserable. Thought it was meant to be the summer.’ He chuckled pulling me down so that I was half sitting on his lap in the bus stop.

‘Thank you for today.’

‘You’re very welcome. I can’t wait to see you in your new outfit.’ I felt something hard digging into the back of my leg and froze. Larry felt me stiffen and adjusted his erection.

‘What time shall I come to lunch on Sunday?’ The words fell out of my mouth fast as I tried desperately to lighten the awkwardness I felt.

‘About one will do. But I’ll check with Ma.’

‘Will your dad be there?’ I thought it strange he rarely spoke about his father.

‘Should be.’

We stayed in the bus shelter for a while until the worst of the rain subsided. I kept looking around nervously, terrified that someone from work might see me and tell Stuart that I was bunking off. I’d forgotten how different I looked. No one would have recognised me.

Above us the clouds crashed together and thunder echoed across the sky.

‘Let’s get out of here.’ Larry stood up. He was at least half a foot taller than me.

‘Where do you want to go?’

‘I’ve got a great idea. Come on.’ He led me through the rain and into the park. Water dripped down my neck and made me feel naked suddenly. ‘Over there,’ he indicated to the public toilets near the river, ‘you can try on your new clothes for me.’

By then I was tired and hungry. I hadn’t had any lunch and felt exhausted.

‘I’d rather try them on at home. You’ll see me in them on Sunday.’

‘Don’t be shy.’ He pulled me along the path eagerly towards the small public building.

‘I’m not sure.’

When we reached the toilets Larry pushed me up against the wall and started to kiss me. He put his tongue into my mouth and pressed his hand against my crotch. The feeling that ran through my body was something I had not experienced before. It felt good.

‘Now Dee, go in there and show me what a pretty girl you are.’

Breathlessly I nodded and did what I was told.

When I went into the first cubicle I didn’t notice he was right behind me. He shoved me in and pushed the lock across the door.

The toilet was tiny and there was hardly room for the both of us.

‘Take off your dress.’ He ordered.

I was shivering all over and stood there unable to move. Then he got on to his knees and lifted my dress. He pulled my white cotton pants down and started to kiss my special place. The pleasure was so intense I thought I might faint.

When he had finished doing that he turned me round and bent me over the loo. I didn’t know what was happening but was powerless to resist.

‘Dee,’ he grunted. He ran his hand through my short hair as he thrust into me. I yelped but it only encouraged him.

Minutes later it was all over. He pulled his trousers up and left the cubicle. I sat down on the toilet in pain and in shock. Removing some tissue from its holder I wiped away the fluid that dripped down the inside of my thigh before pulling up my pants and straightening my clothes.

When I stepped out of the toilet I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The girl looking back at me wasn’t Deborah. Deborah was gone. Dee had taken her place.

Sunday came around quickly. I’d met Larry every day in between and we returned to the public toilets to practise. That’s what he called it.

After having sex we chatted like we always did. I recounted the reaction Dawn and my Dad had to my radical new haircut. Dad nearly dropped his beer. It was almost funny.

‘What on earth you done to your barnet?’ He wiped the froth from his moustache with the back of his sleeve and I was reminded of my favourite book as a child;
The Twits
.

‘Do you like it?’ I knew I would regret asking the question.

‘Like it? You look like a toilet brush.’

Dawn’s reaction wasn’t much better. ‘Why did you do it? It’s not very you,’ she said applying her lipstick in our bedroom mirror.

But I didn’t care what they thought. Larry liked it and that was all that mattered.

As I got dressed in my new clothes and did my best to make my hair look the way it had done when I left the hairdressers, Dawn was in our room also getting ready to go out. She was meeting up with some of her girlfriends and they were going to the cinema to watch
Staying Alive
. John Travolta was the main role. I hadn’t seen many of his films but I did enjoy
Grease
.

In order to avoid having to talk to me Dawn turned her old Roberts radio on.

After a song I didn’t know ended the voice of a newsreader filled the air.

‘After the shocking discovery of the body of Daphne Faulks, aged 58 from Cambridge, on Stourbridge Common, police are searching for the killer. A dog walker found Ms Faulks, who lived alone and worked at Freeman’s bookshop in the city centre, in the early hours of Monday morning. The inspector in charge of the investigation said that the brutal nature of the crime meant they were using all their resources to find the person responsible. As of yet no arrests have been made. In other news…’

I sat down on my bed and looked down at my brand new sneakers. I couldn’t believe they had found her body. It seemed so unfair.

Dawn turned and looked at me.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ She fluffed her hair with the palm of her hand.

‘It’s horrible about that woman.’

‘I guess.’ Dawn looked so uninterested.

‘Someone killed her.’

‘I know. But better her than me.’ Dawn shrugged and left the room.

I sat there for a moment thinking about my experience with Ms Faulks. She was not a nice person. Maybe Dawn had a point.

Larry met me at midday at the Drummer Street bus station and walked me to his house. The sun was shining and the streets were busy with weekend shoppers and people out enjoying the warmth.

‘Did you hear about Ms Faulks?’

‘Sure did. Pretty grim. Did you hear that the killer stabbed her eyes out?’ He seemed strangely aroused.

‘Really? That’s disgusting. I wonder why anyone would want to kill an old woman?’

‘She wasn’t that old,’ Larry laughed.

‘No, I suppose not.’

‘Probably had it coming after the way she treated you.’

As we walked along the road past Parker’s Piece he spotted a bench and suggested we sat and basked in the warmth for a moment.

The slats on the bench were warm against my pale bare legs. The shorts I’d got from Topshop were a little tight around my waist. I noticed my stomach bulge over the top of the denim and tugged on the white T-shirt to disguise it.

Larry put his arm around my shoulder and slid closer to me.

‘I’ve been thinking Dee,’ he was looking out over the green, watching a group of young men kick a football, ‘I think we should get married.’

A first I thought he was joking and laughed but when he turned to look at me I could see he was deadly serious.

‘I could tell you were a virgin when we met. I liked that about you. Not like the other girls, all putting it about and opening their legs for anyone.’

‘Was I bad?’

‘No. We need to keep practising, but that’s not what I meant. You haven’t been spoilt, tainted by anyone else. I don’t like the idea of you ever being with another man. You and me, we are good together. I think it makes sense to get married. What do you say?’

I’d read about romantic proposals in books and always wondered what it would be like. Larry had not exactly swept me off my feet by suggesting it off the cuff, sitting on a bench. He didn’t even have a ring.

‘Well, either you want to be my wife or you don’t.’ He grinned at me and I melted.

‘OK.’ I couldn’t believe anyone wanted to marry me. Let alone someone as handsome and clever as Larry. I was in shock.

‘Is that a yes?’

‘Yes. It’s a yes.’ I wanted to cry.

‘Perfect. We’ll tell my mum and dad at lunch.’ Larry put his hand on my knee and gave it a squeeze.

His family home was halfway down Mackenzie Road, off the top of Mill Road. Hollydene was a terraced brick Victorian house with a bay window and neat, tiled front garden. A large pot with a small pruned bay tree sat next to the mid-blue front door. There were no chips on the paint.

‘There’s a path down there on the right that leads into the cemetery. I’ll take you there after lunch if you like,’ Larry signalled with his head while he slipped his key into the lock. ‘Ma, I’m back,’ he called out, ushering me in to the hallway.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of home cooking. The waft of a chicken roasting in the oven filled the house.

‘Come in, come in.’ Larry’s mother appeared, wiping her hands on a tea-towel.

She was a tall slim woman and I could see the family resemblance. Her hair was short and dark. She wore a patterned blue and green dress that swished whenever she moved.

‘Ma, this is Dee.’

‘Hello, Dee. I’m Mrs Miller, but please call me Linda. Well, it’s really lovely to meet you. Larry hasn’t stopped talking about you.’

‘Nice to meet you, Mrs Miller.’ My throat felt unnaturally dry.

‘Linda, I insist.’ She gave a wide smile, showing all her large teeth. ‘Come on through and have a seat in the dining room.’

As I followed Mrs Miller through the hallway, past the lounge and into the dining room it occurred to me that I was meeting my future mother-in-law. The idea scared me senseless. What if she didn’t approve?

‘Is Eric joining us?’

‘No. He’s not.’ Linda turned to her son and they shared a relieved look.

Lunch was long. Mr and Mrs Miller sat at either end of the table with Larry and I sandwiched between them. She was warm, the perfect hostess. Mr Miller didn’t say much. He just chewed his food.

The chicken was the size of a turkey. I’d never seen such a big one. Mrs Miller placed it proudly on the table and asked Larry to carve. She and Mr Miller could barely look at one another. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Thankfully, Mrs Miller wasn’t short of things to say and her idle chatter helped the time pass.

I kept expecting Larry to announce our engagement but he didn’t. I put it down to the atmosphere between his parents.

Linda Miller was very friendly but a bit overbearing. She talked with her mouth full, never pausing for breath. I watched the potatoes and broccoli journey around her mouth and tried to concentrate on what she was saying.

It was nice sitting round with a proper family having a civilised meal even if the grown-ups weren’t talking to each other. I couldn’t remember doing anything like that with Dad and Dawn. Not since Mum died.

When we’d all finished our food and Larry had stopped mopping up his gravy with a piece of sliced bread, I helped Mrs Miller tidy the plates away. She seemed grateful for my offer to help. Larry got up and left his father sitting there alone. He seemed unwilling to allow me to be alone with his mother.

Once in the small kitchen, at the back of the house, I piled the crockery next to the sink while Mrs Miller ran the hot tap and put on an apron.

‘You dry.’ She smiled, handing me a tea-towel.

Larry leant against one of the cupboards watching us both, nursing his beer. I didn’t know he drank. He looked so grown up holding a pint.