The Stranger Next Door (4 page)

Chapter Seven

Thinking about it afterwards, she realised there was a lot she didn't know about the man next door. Nearly everything, in fact.

She sat in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea and reflecting on the events of an extraordinary night. The clock on the wall said it was nearly three but she didn't feel like even attempting to go back to sleep. There was too much on her mind.

She had caught only the briefest of glimpses of his ruined face but she had been shocked by what she had seen. No wonder he had tried to keep his face turned away from her. The fact that he had done just that suggested, too, that it wasn't a long-standing disfigurement. He was self-conscious about it, and he wouldn't have been if he was used to it.

He wasn't a youngster. Probably forty-ish. By his age, he wouldn't even think about it any more if his face had always been like that. Her guess was that something had happened, and probably not such a long time ago either.

Something must have happened. An accident of some sort? A car crash? Fire? Probably. It looked as if he'd been burned. She winced. How horrible! Poor man.

But her discovery went some way towards explaining his strange behaviour. And there was no getting away from it : his behaviour was strange. Odd. Eccentric even. Unsociable, as well.

Reluctantly, she smiled. Whoever heard of anyone felling trees – pruning, as he'd put it! - during the night? With or without a chainsaw?

Eccentric, then. Certainly. And self-indulgent? Eccentricity alone couldn't excuse his using a chainsaw at night without a care – or, worse, a thought – for the people who lived around him.

But perhaps she'd discovered a reason, an excuse rather. That made it seem better somehow. Less objectionable. More understandable. There's always a reason, she told herself ruefully.

So she wasn't sure what to do now. Think about it, probably. Not rush in with her programme of blanket exposure and condemnation just yet. Losing a bit more sleep wouldn't matter that much. Besides, you never knew. He might be different from now on, now they'd met. You just couldn't tell.

One thing she did know, though, was that she felt a bit better about her neighbour. Setting eyes on him at last had pricked the bubble of frustration and anger that had been building inside her these past few weeks. She knew now for sure that it was a human being living next door to her. Anything else she could cope with.

A couple of days later she took the children down to the village, and while there they dropped in on Pippa. As luck would have it, Derek was at home, too.

'Just the man I wanted to see!'

'If you knew him like I know him, you wouldn't say that,' Pippa said tartly. 'Under my feet all the time, interfering, arrogant, opinionated ….'

'Lazy, conceited ….' Derek contributed. 'And they're not my worst points!'

Anna laughed.

'Problems?' Derek added, looking at her with a smile. 'What is it? The bloke next door again?'

'Well ….' She hesitated. She didn't really want to say much more on that subject. She needed more time to think things through first. 'Not really.'

'Special P.C. Plod in the village couldn't tell me anything,' Derek continued. 'He hadn't heard a thing about him. And I've not been able to catch the head man at the estate agent's either. So I'm no further forward yet.'

'It doesn't matter. It's not about him, actually, Derek. What I wondered was if you would come and check out Bob's car for me sometime. I'm thinking of learning to drive at last, and I wondered what the car's like after all this time.'

'The Mondeo?'

She nodded. 'It's not been out of the garage since …. since Bob last took it out.'

'There shouldn't be much wrong with it,' Derek said slowly. 'The battery will be knackered. And the brakes have probably seized. It'll want new plugs and points, of course. And an oil change.'

'Not much wrong with it?' Anna said with a grimace.

'No. That's all fixable. I'll come up and have a look. How about this afternoon?'

'Would you? Oh, thanks, Derek! That's very good of you.'

'If you want driving lessons,' Pippa said, 'I can recommend Kenny Armstrong in the village. He's good. Very patient. He taught me to drive – a few years' ago now, mind.'

'Deserved a medal for it,' Derek muttered.

'Oh, be quiet, you!' Anna warned. 'Pippa's a very good driver.'

'Take no notice of him,' Pippa said, ushering Anna towards the door. 'Well done, by the way,' she added. 'I think you're doing the right thing, thinking about learning to drive.'

'It would make my life a lot easier, wouldn't it?'

'Of course it would.'

'You never know. I might even be able to think about a part-time job if I'm more mobile.'

'Good for you!'

Another positive step, Anna told herself, as she collected the children and headed for the village shop. Something to look forward to, and to feel good about. She needed things like that. As many as she could get, in fact.

'No, Tom! You can't have an ice-cream this morning.'

'But I want one!' he wailed.

'You want one every day.'

Tom wasn't happy. Nor was Lisa, who was aggrieved that she'd missed out on an ice-cream when she was at Katy's.

'Tom always has his way!' Lisa complained bitterly.

'He's not getting it today,' Anna told her firmly.

Tom was about to give further voice to his disappointment when he spotted his friend, Jack, who had just entered the shop with his mother.

'Jack!' he shrieked with great joy, rushing to grapple with the other boy.

'I owe you an ice-cream,' Anna said quickly to Lisa. 'I know Tom got one the other day, and you didn't.'

'That's all right, Mum.'

'No, it isn't. Fair's fair. You missed out the other day. But I can't buy you one today without getting one for Tom, as well, and I don't want him to think he's getting one every time we come into the shop.'

'It's all right,' Lisa repeated, giving a little yawn to demonstrate how profoundly uninterested she was now in the whole subject.

Anna gave her a little hug and took her place in the queue at the check-out. Sometimes, she thought ruefully, being a mum is like it must be chairing a meeting of the UN Security Council.

'Oh, hello!' she said, realising who the woman in front of her was.

The woman turned and stared, unsmiling, before returning her greeting.

'I live in the house next door to "Moorside",' Anna explained, thinking she might not have been recognised.

'Yes, I know,' the woman responded, before turning to face forwards again.

Stung by her indifference, Anna said, 'How is your friend?'

'What?'

'The man who lives next door to me,' Anna said with quiet determination. 'I've seen you visiting. I don't want to be intrusive but I wondered how he is – after the accident.'

'He's very well, thank you.'

Anna gave up at that point. The woman's coldness was beginning to seem so rude as to be almost comic.

After paying at the till, Anna collected Tom and Lisa and turned to leave the shop. Through the glass door, she saw the woman from the queue standing next to her car, using a mobile. Then, as she and the children left the shop, the woman called to her.

'Excuse me! Could I have a word?'

Anna turned and waited politely.

'I gather that you helped my brother last night?'

'Your brother?'

'He has the house next to you.'

'Oh?' Brother? So that was the nature of the relationship. 'He had an accident,' she added. 'Luckily, I was able to help.'

'So he said. I've just been speaking to him.' The woman waved her mobile. 'When you mentioned "the accident" in the shop I assumed you were referring to another episode in my brother's life. I didn't know about more recent events.'

Anna waited patiently.

'He wanted me to thank you, and to assure you he's fine. No lasting damage, he says.'

'That's good.'

'Except he's not fine,' the woman added suddenly. 'Not really. He's anything but fine, in fact, as you may have gathered.'

'I don't know ….'

'He's convalescing,' the woman continued. 'He was seriously injured on active service with the Army overseas, and he was invalided out – if that's the correct phrase,' she added bitterly.

'I didn't know ….' Anna began.

'Of course you didn't! No-one here knows. That's the whole point. That's why he's here, in the first place. It's what he wanted.'

Anna kept quiet.

'He wanted seclusion and anonymity. I'm not at all sure that is what's best for him, but it's what he wanted. And my brother is a strong and independent character,' she added almost with a smile. 'He won't be told anything.'

Anna smiled back and nodded. She was beginning to feel heavily overloaded with information she hadn't expected.

'Aspects of his behaviour may seem strange to you, from time to time,' the woman continued. 'I must ask you to overlook them, if you possibly can, for the time being.'

'The only thing that really bothers me,' Anna said, 'is his use of a chainsaw at night. Lately, my children and I have been desperately short of sleep because of it. It really must stop, whatever his problems. I sent him a note to that effect just the other day.'

'Yes. So I discovered.' The woman nodded. 'You don't need to worry any more on that score. There will be no more chain-sawing at night. I'll see to that. There shouldn't have been any in the first place.'

'That's good to know.'

'One problem he has is that he can't sleep at night. Another is that he doesn't like to go out in daylight. But they are no justification for disrupting your life. That will stop.'

'Thank you for that assurance, and for explaining all this to me.'

'I thought we owed you an explanation, as well as our thanks. My brother wants nothing but to be left alone. Given how well, and at what personal cost, he has served his country, I believe he deserves it.'

She glanced at her watch and added, 'Now I must go.'

'One more thing, if you don't mind,' Anna said. 'It's very awkward at times, in such a small community, not knowing who my next-door neighbour is. Can I ask you to infringe the Official Secrets Act again by at least telling me your brother's name?'

The woman frowned, as if she thought Anna's little joke was in terribly poor taste.

'Daniel Ferguson,' she said almost reluctantly. 'And I am his older sister, Miss Ferguson. Elizabeth Ferguson.'

'And I am Mrs. Anna Thompson.'

They shook hands.

'Good-day to you, Mrs. Thompson.'

'And to you, Miss Ferguson.'

Daniel, she thought. Daniel Ferguson. Well, that was something. Quite a lot, actually. A name and an explanation. It didn't make the man a good neighbour but it did make him an understandable one. Now she knew what the situation was, she was sure she would be able to cope with it a lot better.

Chapter Eight

The Shepherds came up that afternoon, as arranged. Derek disappeared into the garage for half an hour. The children disappeared into the garden. Pippa helped Anna make and enjoy a pot of tea.

And Pippa came straight to the point. 'Have you seen or heard anything more about your mysterious neighbour?' she asked.

Anna hesitated, not sure how much she could or should disclose.

'You have, haven't you?' Pippa breathed, leaning forward, eyes bright with curiosity. 'Come on! Tell Aunty.'

Anna laughed and shook her head.

'Anna!'

'Well, I do know a little more, actually. I met his sister this morning. She's the mystery woman visitor, by the way. She told me he's convalescing, after being invalided out of the Army. Daniel, he's called – Daniel Ferguson.'

'How interesting. What else?'

'Well, I have met him now, but only the once, and even then only briefly.'

'And?'

'I didn't get much of an impression. It was dark, and ….'

'Dark?'

'It was night.'

'Night?'

'We met in the garden.'

'At night. In the dark. The way you do, yes. Yours or his?'

'Oh, stop it, Pippa! Stop interrogating me.'

'Not until I know everything.'

'You know as much as me already.'

'I think not.' Pippa frowned thoughtfully. 'You're holding something back, and I shan't rest until I know what it is.'

Anna wasn't sure why she didn't just tell Pippa everything. Why not? It wasn't as if she knew very much more anyway.

Partly, she supposed, it was because she'd been impressed by what Elizabeth Ferguson had told her. If her brother, Daniel, had been badly injured in the way she had described, he deserved the peace and quiet he craved. She could respect that. And, much as she loved Pippa, she also knew that once Pippa knew what was going on, half the village would also know. Daniel, as she was beginning to think of him, wouldn't want that. So Pippa was going to have to make do with an abridged version of the story.

'What about the noise at night – the chain-sawing?' Pippa asked. 'And the rest of it?'

'It seems to have stopped, I'm happy to report.'

'Well, that's something to be thankful for. So all we have to do now is find out what else he does with his time.'

Anna laughed with her, but she was relieved when Derek returned to give Pippa something else to think about.

'How's the car?' Pippa asked.

'It's in decent enough condition.' He turned to Anna and added, 'I could change the battery for you, and the plugs and points. And do an oil change. That would get it going. But I'd recommend letting the garage in the village give it a good going-over. They're pretty good. Besides, it needs a MoT now it's more than three years' old, and it would have to go into a garage for that.'

Anna nodded.

'I could get in touch with them and sort that out for you, if you like?'

'Would you, Derek? That would be wonderful. Will it be expensive, though?' she added with a frown.

'Shouldn't be. Not unless they find something serious wrong with it, which I don't believe they will.'

'And book yourself in for some driving lessons,' Pippa added. 'Get moving!'

Anna nodded again and smiled. But suddenly she was beginning to wonder how much all this was going to cost. She really was going to have to get a job – if only to pay for the car!

*

'We've seen the man,' Lisa said, after the Armstrongs had gone.

'Hm?' Anna responded absently. She was torn between worrying about the car and wondering what they could have for tea.

'We have!' Tom insisted.

'What?'

'The man,' Lisa insisted. 'We've seen him. In the garden.'

Anna stopped and turned to look at them. 'The man next door?'

Lisa nodded. 'He didn't look very nice,' she added.

'What was he doing?'

'Don't know.'

He was in The Secret Wood,' Tom said.

Oh! She wondered if he was still there. Maybe he shouldn't be. Surely he wasn't going to do anything more with that stupid chainsaw?

'Can you two watch TV for five minutes?' she asked. 'I've just remembered something I need to do before tea.'

She hurried, almost ran, down the garden. She just hoped he wasn't foolish enough to be thinking of operating the chainsaw again, or of felling any more trees. There would be time for that when he was well again.

'Hello? Mr. Ferguson? Are you there?'

He was. She could hear him moving in the dense undergrowth.

'Hello!' she called again.

'What do you want?'

She blinked. She hadn't really expected a reply, and certainly not one like that. He'd wrong-footed her again.

'My children said you were here, Mr. Ferguson. I just wanted to ask if you were OK after the other night.'

'My sister told you I was. At least, she said she would.'

'Yes. Yes, she did. I was pleased. But I wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth.'

'Just being nosy, you mean?'

She took a deep breath and decided to ignore that comment.

'My name is Anna Thompson. We haven't met – not properly, anyway – but I wanted you to know that. I'm in the phone book, if ever you should want help or advice, or anything.'

'You mean if another tree falls on me?'

'Well, yes. Anything like that. Marauding elephants. Man-eating tigers. Anything. I'd be glad to help.'

He emerged from the bushes, the infamous chainsaw dangling from one hand. He stood some way off, turned sideways. His face didn't seem too bad. On one side, at least, the side she could see.

'If you're going to use that thing again,' she said carefully, 'we really would appreciate it if it was during the daytime. Chainsaws at night make sleeping very difficult.'

'Yes. My sister told me. The noise is nothing to what I'm used to, but I understand what you mean. I apologise for disturbing you, and I thank you again for coming to my rescue.'

'That's OK.'

'I shouldn't have needed your help but I'm not as strong yet as I thought.'

'You need to be more patient.' She shrugged. 'I hope you like it here,' she added, 'when you get settled in.'

'Perhaps I will. Thank you again.'

She gave him a little smile and turned away to head back to the house. She sensed, rather than saw, him disappearing back into the wood.

He didn't seem so bad after all, she thought, now she'd met him. Reasonably pleasant. He'd made an effort, too, appearing before her like that. Obviously he had problems but hopefully he would overcome them.

It was good, too, to know that his facial disfigurement wasn't total. Just one side. Mainly. That seemed to halve the problem.

It was also good that today he'd broken his rules and come outside in daylight, instead of confining his wanderings in the garden to the hours of darkness. Appeared before her, too. Coming out into the open like that would have taken courage.

Well, they would just have to see how they got on in future. But at least contact had been made now, and she felt reassured they didn't have a monster or a master criminal living next door to them. That was progress. Pretty good progress.