The Stranger Next Door (5 page)

Chapter Nine

'How did it go?' Pippa asked.

'Great! Really well. Terrifying – but exciting, as well.'

'Exciting? Wait till you get on a motorway. Then you'll be able to say that.'

Anna was on a high. She'd only just had her first driving lesson, and she hadn't felt so excited for a long time.

'Kenny said I was doing really well, taking to it easily.' She stopped and peered suspiciously at Pippa. 'What? Do you think he says that to everybody? You do, don't you?'

'Not at all!' Pippa said, trying unsuccessfully to hide a grin. 'If Kenny said that, he meant it. He'll get you through the test in no time.'

'I don't care anyway,' Anna said with a scowl. 'I enjoyed it.'

'Come on – sit down! I'll make you a cup of tea. You must be worn out.'

'No.' Anna held out her quivering hands for inspection. 'Just emotionally, nervously, drained.'

Anna watched gratefully as Pippa put the kettle on and rummaged for tea bags. It was nice to be a guest in her own home. 'How have the kids been?' she asked.

'Better behaved than mine ever are. Very good, in fact. You're doing a wonderful job with them.'

Anna was pleased by the comment. Compliments didn't come her way very often these days. There was no-one to deliver them.

'Thanks for looking after them, Pippa. I'm really very grateful to you and Derek, you know – for everything.'

'Nonsense!'

'Well, I am. Even if it embarrasses you, I want you to know that. You've been wonderful friends to me.'

'Drink your tea and shut up, for goodness' sake!'

'Happily!'

'Oh, I forgot!' Pippa winced and gave an apologetic shrug. 'Derek says the garage told him they'll have the car ready for the weekend. There's not a lot wrong with it, apparently, but it's in a queue, and some of the other jobs are very urgent.'

'That's all right. It's going to be a while before I can use it anyway. I have to learn to drive and get my licence first.'

'Oh, that won't take you long. You're a very capable person, Anna. I have every confidence in you.'

'Have you really? I can't think why.'

'Well, you get on with things. You get them done. I admire you for it.'

Anna hoped some of that was true. She hoped it wasn't just flattery.

'It will make a big difference to our lives,' she said slowly, thoughtfully. 'We'll be able to get out and about more. Even just doing the shopping will be easier. I hate having to drag the children up and down the hill every time we need a loaf of bread.'

'You'll be able to buy in bulk, as well,' Pippa pointed out. 'And save some money. That's what we do. Mind you, it must be good exercise, walking up and down the hill. My two need more of that. So do I, for that matter.'

'Not Derek?'

'Oh, he stays wonderfully slim, whatever he does or doesn't do. Whatever he eats, as well. It's not fair.'

Conversation halted while they listened to a burst of laughter from the children in the other room. Anna made as if to get up, and then relaxed back into her chair again. 'I'll leave them to it a bit longer,' she decided.

Pippa smiled. 'Tell me, Anna. Are you still thinking of job hunting when you get your driving licence?'

'I am, yes. Now Tom's settled in at school, I could do something part-time.'

'What will you do? Any ideas?'

'Not really. It would have to be something local, though. I can't be driving twenty miles there and another twenty back, not for a part-time job.'

'Is it for the money or because you want to get out of the house more?'

'Both, actually. I manage fairly well financially. The insurance paid off the mortgage, which was the main thing. But there isn't much for extras – like running a car. And, yes, I would like to get out and about a bit more, and spend part of my day doing things with other adults.'

'What was it you used to do, Anna?'

'Before the children were born? I worked in a bank. It was a good job, as well. I liked it.'

'Why not see if you can go back? There's lots of part-timers now in jobs like that.'

Anna frowned. 'Yes? I suppose I could contact my old boss. See what he says. Probably not much hope, though.'

'Something will turn up,' Pippa said encouragingly.

'Do you think so?'

Pippa nodded. 'It always does.'

Anna smiled gratefully. She admired her friend's confidence. She wouldn't have minded some of it herself.

She hadn't seen or heard much of Daniel Ferguson since their conversation in the garden. Just the occasional glimpse and sounds suggesting work was being done somewhere next door. At least, though, she knew he was out and about in daylight now, not shut away inside the house. That seemed a good thing for them all. Far better for him, and far better than the nocturnal activities that had been so disturbing for her and the children.

She wondered if he was sleeping any better now. She hoped so. She knew from her own experience during Bob's illness how draining insomnia could be. Persistent lack of sleep could leave you in tatters. She had begun to feel as if she was hallucinating. Nothing had seemed real after a time. Perhaps that was how it had been with Daniel. She shouldn't have been so quick to rush to judge and condemn.

As Pippa and Derek were leaving late one afternoon, Daniel's sister turned into the drive of "Moorside". Anna waved her visitors off and then hesitated, uncertain whether to acknowledge the arrival of Elizabeth.

'Good evening!' the other woman called.

'Hello!'

Anna stood by the gate, waiting awkwardly.

'Daniel's groceries,' Elizabeth said, as she pulled supermarket bags out of her car. 'I shall be glad when he can fend for himself again.'

'Oh?'

'Head injuries. He's not allowed to drive for a year – maybe longer.'

'What a nuisance for you both,' Anna said, now it was clear she wouldn't be rebuffed. 'I can't drive either. But I've decided to learn.'

'A missed blessing,' Elizabeth Ferguson announced, closing the rear door with an emphatic thump. 'Certainly in financial terms. You learn to drive, and then you have to buy a car. And then you have to pay to keep it on the road – not to mention the exorbitant price of petrol these days, thanks to a government that isn't in the slightest interested in rural areas.'

'Yes?' Anna said uneasily, thinking this was like listening to her father all over again. 'Actually,' she added, 'I do have a car. My late husband's. It's just sitting in the garage, doing nothing.'

'Depreciating by the minute! That's another cost.'

Elizabeth nodded and with a grim expression set off towards her brother's front door. How Daniel must look forward to his big sister's visits! Anna thought with a wry smile as she turned towards her own door.

Still, a little more of the jigsaw puzzle was in place now. Head injuries, though? That didn't sound good. Perhaps she could offer the Fergusons a bit of help once she'd learned to drive. She'd be able to collect groceries for them, if nothing else. Even she ought to be able to do that.

Now, stop it! she told herself sternly. That's enough negativity. Remember what Pippa said : I am a very capable person! Well, maybe. But she needed to learn to drive and get a job to prove it.

Chapter Ten

It was just after tea. Anna was sitting with the children, watching a TV programme about whales singing to each other and generally having a good time in the ocean. Well, Lisa, and to some extent Tom, was watching. But it had been a long, hard day, and Anna had given up really watching and listening. She was quite content just to be with the children, and to doze along in that not-really-quite-awake state that can be so pleasant when you're thoroughly tired out.

She heard Tom laugh out loud, and thought she heard Lisa chuckle. She smiled to herself, her eyes still closed.

Then it happened. There was a loud crash. A man was shouting. Smoke filled the air. Someone screamed. Voices all round her. The noise was overwhelming. She fell off the sofa. Someone grabbed her arm and, shouting, hauled her to her feet.

'Out! Outside – quick!'

'No!' she screamed.

Then she was coughing. She couldn't see. She was half-dragged, half-carried. She felt her legs trailing. Smoke. Terrible smoke. Coughing, coughing, coughing!

She was outside. She felt cold air rush into her throat and lungs. She was still coughing. Her eyes were streaming with tears.

The children! She screamed again. She struggled to her knees and then to her feet, in time to see Daniel Ferguson emerge from the front door with Lisa tucked under his arm. Tom was sprawled on the grass beside her. They were on the lawn at the front of the house.

Daniel lowered Lisa to the ground. 'Fire!' he gasped at her. 'In the kitchen!'

Fire? Anna stared, in a daze. Fire? Oh, no!

He threw a mobile to her and gasped, 'Call emergency!' Then he turned and dashed back into the house, slamming the door shut after himself.

She gaped for a moment, still coughing. Then her senses returned. She scrambled over to Tom and Lisa. They were both sprawled on the ground, crying. She gave them a quick hug and grabbed the phone.

Unable to think properly, she called Pippa's number and tried to explain. She broke off, coughing. She heard Pippa shouting questions at her.

'Emergency!' she croaked. 'Fire!'

Then the coughing started again, and she couldn't stop. She dropped the mobile and reached for the children.

'Stay here - together!' she gasped, her voice hoarse, her throat sore. 'I must … must help him.'

She staggered to her feet and stumbled towards the front door. A car screamed up the hill and screeched to a halt at the gate. She turned to look, still dazed. Derek leapt out.

'Wait!' he shouted. 'Anna, wait!'

She waited. He grabbed a rug out of the car and rushed towards her.

They entered the house together. Thick, black smoke billowed towards them. Engulfed them. Ahead, she saw a man emerge from the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind himself. Daniel. He had a cloth over his head. He staggered towards them, shouting. 'Out! Outside!'

They grabbed him by the arms and steered him out of the front door, all three coughing violently.

'Don't open the back door!' Daniel growled with what little voice the smoke had left him. 'The flames …. The ….'

He gave up, coughing and heaving for breath. Derek held on to him as he lowered himself to the ground.

'It's Daniel, from next door,' Anna gasped. 'What shall we do?'

'Wait!' Derek said grimly. 'It's all we can do. He's right. We can't go back in there.'

The smoke-blackened figure looked up. 'I broke the water pipes!' he wheezed. 'It might hold the fire back.'

Then he began coughing again, more seriously than ever.

Anna looked at Derek, who shrugged. 'The lads from the fire station will be here soon,' he said.

The local part-time firefighters, he meant. Anna looked at the smoke pouring from the kitchen roof, and wondered how much house would be left by the time they arrived. She began to weep.

Chapter Eleven

It could have been worse. That was what everyone said. Bill Meredith, in charge of the firefighters, said it was only the flood of water from the fractured pipes that had stopped the fire spreading to the rest of the house. Derek, even more logically, said what a good thing it was that her kitchen was a single-storey extension to the house, rather than an integral part of it.

'No amount of water would have saved the house then,' Derek said. 'The fire would have shot straight up through the ceiling before you even knew it had started.'

It was a gloomy diagnosis but Anna could see the strength of it.

'The water must have made some difference, though?' she suggested.

'Oh, yes! Given the layout of the house, that was what stopped the fire spreading, that and keeping the doors shut. That man certainly knew what he was doing.'

So Daniel had done the right thing, she thought wearily. His quick-thinking and experience had probably saved them all. How lucky they were that he had been in the garden when smoke started pouring out of the kitchen window. And how lucky he had had the wit to do something about it.

'Do you know yet how it started?' Pippa asked.

Anna shook her head. 'The firefighters said it was probably electrical, something to do with the socket for the cooker being so old. But they didn't really know.'

'Those older houses all want re-wiring,' Derek said. 'It's a wonder there aren't more house fires.'

'Lucky that man next door noticed something was wrong,' Pippa pointed out.

Anna nodded and shivered. She didn't like to think about the alternative. 'He was very brave, as well.'

'And sensible,' Derek added. 'Keeping the doors shut while he tried to do something. What a fire likes best of all is plenty of fresh air.'

'The place is a bit of a mess now, though,' Pippa said with a shudder. 'All that water everywhere.'

'It would have been worse without it,' Derek pointed out. 'A lot worse.'

Anna listened without commenting further. Somehow she couldn't think straight. She couldn't think at all, in fact. She was still dazed. All she knew was that her children were safe, here in Pippa's house. And so was she.

'He wouldn't go to the hospital,' Derek said, shaking his head. 'He should have but he refused point blank. Said he'd spent enough time in hospitals. All the same ….'

Anna came to with a jolt. 'Daniel?'

'If that's his name. He wasn't in very good shape either. But he just said he was going home. Insisted, in fact.'

Anna felt bad. She hadn't even wondered how Daniel was.

'What's the matter with him, anyway?' Derek asked. 'He looks terrible. His face ….'

'I'm not sure,' Anna said quickly. 'Some sort of injury when he was in the Army, his sister said. He got badly hurt.'

'Poor devil. Judging by his face, he's been in a fire before.'

'Of course!' Anna whispered, aghast. 'Of course he has. We should help him.'

She stood up.

'Sit down!' Pippa said firmly. 'You're going nowhere tonight. Derek can check on him.'

'My house, as well,' Anna said with growing agitation. 'I must see to my house!'

'Tomorrow,' Pippa repeated firmly. 'We'll start things moving tomorrow.'

*

The next morning Anna left the children with Pippa and went up to the house with Derek.

Jack Bradbury, one of the part-time firefighters, was sitting outside in his car. He got out when they arrived. 'We've been keeping an eye on it,' he said. 'To make sure it doesn't come back to life.'

'Thanks, Jack.' Derek nodded and stared at the house. 'Is it out now?'

'Oh, aye. Completely dead.'

They both looked cautiously at Anna, who had said nothing so far. She was just staring at the ruined kitchen, roofless now, smoke-blackened joists open to the elements. She wiped away a few tears.

'It's just the kitchen, Anna,' Jack said softly. 'It's a mess, right enough, but it could have been worse. The rest of the house is all right. Just a bit of smoke damage that a coat of paint will put right.'

She turned towards him with a rueful smile, the best she could manage. 'You're right,' she said. 'It is a mess.'

'It could have been worse,' Derek reminded her, 'like Jack says.'

'The next person that tells me it could have been worse,' Anna warned, 'I'm going to give him such a clout!'

The two men chuckled with relief. Then they waited. It was her move.

'Oh, it's OK,' she said with a sigh. 'I know you're right, both of you. Come on. Let's have a look inside.'

'Thank you, Jack,' she added, turning back to the firefighter. 'I do appreciate what you and the other men have done.'

'That's all right, Anna,' he said awkwardly. He looked a little embarrassed as he added, 'It's what we do.'

She nodded and followed Derek towards the rear of the house.

The kitchen was a total ruin. You couldn't say anything else. There was no floor now. And only sky for a ceiling. The plaster from the inner walls had largely gone, too, exposing the bare brickwork. And everything wood or plastic had disappeared, leaving behind a tangle of bare metal and rubble. They stood and stared through the hole where the back door had been.

'It could do with a fresh coat of paint,' Derek said, breaking the silence. 'Jack was right.'

'Oh, Derek!' Anna laughed, almost hysterically. 'You fool!'

He grinned at her. She gave him a playful push.

'There's no point going in there,' he said. 'We'd just get filthy. Let's have a look round the front.'

They walked round to the front of the house and Derek gingerly pushed the door open. Anna stepped ahead of him, and in her anxiety and impatience almost fell into the hall. People had been right, she soon realised. It could have been worse.

There was smoke discoloration and a pungent stench in the hall. And the door leading off it to the kitchen was in a sad state. Otherwise, though, apart from the terrible smell, you would never have guessed what had happened at the rear of the house.

Some of the tension left her as she sped from room to room. No other damage that she could see. She sagged against the living room wall with relief.

'You all right?' Derek asked quietly.

She nodded. 'It's not so bad, is it?'

He shook his head and gave her an encouraging smile. 'Right, let's sort out what we're going to do.'

She was grateful for Derek's presence, and for his solid, practical nature. He soon had an action plan drawn up.

'First, find your home insurance policy, Anna, and get in touch with the company. Let them know what's happened. And get their permission for us to start clearing up.'

He glanced at his watch. 'Unfortunately, I can't stay myself. I've got a meeting I must go to. But that doesn't matter. I'll get in touch with Gerry Armstrong, the builder, and have him come up to tell you what's possible here. I'll also have a plumber come up to get the water back on.'

Seeing her uncertainty, he added, 'You'll have to manage without a kitchen for a little while but the rest of the house will be liveable in, if that's what you want to do. We can get you a microwave. Put it in the dining room, or somewhere, for the time being. And you'll have water. Everything you need, in fact.'

'Meanwhile,' he added, 'stay with us as long as you like. We're happy to have you.'

'Thank you, Derek. You and Pippa have been really kind. I don't know what I would have done without you.'

'You'd have managed perfectly well. I know you, Anna.' He glanced at his watch again. 'But I really do have to go now. Do you want to come with me?'

She shook her head. 'You go. I'll stay and find the insurance policy. Start things moving.'

'Good. I'll see you later.'

It didn't take her long to do what she needed to do. The insurance documents were in the drawer where they should have been. She rang the company. They were efficient. Someone would be there during the day to make a preliminary survey. And she could organise repair work as soon as she liked.

Suddenly she was free. She had nothing more to do for the moment. She could return to Pippa's, and to the children, and wait for Derek to let her know what he had arranged with the builder.

She stood in the living room and gazed out of the window at the huge buddleia that was now developing the purple spikes that would soon attract a myriad butterflies. The lawn needed mowing. The delphiniums needed support. The path wanted sweeping. Life was going on, kitchen or no kitchen.

She would return home in the next day or two, she decided. This was where she wanted to be. Derek was right. They could manage here. As soon as the water supply was restored they would come home.

She closed the front door behind her, out of habit giving an extra tug to make sure the sneck had caught properly. Then she smiled and shook her head, realising the futility of locking the front door when the back door no longer existed.

As she made her way to the gate, her thoughts turned to "Moorside", and the man next door. I must call, she thought with guilt at how long he had been out of her thoughts. I must see how Daniel is.