A Death in the Family (6 page)

Janet looked at me with something like panic. ‘Don’t leave me,’ she said, ‘please don’t leave me.’

‘I won’t be a minute,’ I said soothingly. ‘You stay here and don’t touch anything.’

She shuddered. ‘No,’ she said, ‘I won’t touch anything.’

I went back through the hall and out of the front door. The wind had dropped and the rain was now only a slight drizzle. I had to go up the path as far as the road before I got a signal.

When I’d made the call I went back into the house. Janet was sitting at the kitchen table just as I’d left her. She was obviously still in shock.

‘They said there’s a police car in the area,’ I said reassuringly, ‘they won’t be long.’

She nodded but didn’t say anything.

‘I’m so very sorry, Janet,’ I said. ‘It’s a terrible thing to have happened and it’s been an awful shock for you, I know. You’ve been very brave.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I just can’t believe…’

‘Look,’ I said, ‘I know about not touching anything, but I’m going to make you a cup of tea – you really need something stronger than water!’

There was water in the electric kettle and I found a packet of camomile tea bags and we sat in silence listening to the sound of the kettle boiling and waiting for the police to arrive.

After what seemed like a very long time we heard the sound of a car drawing up outside and a loud knock on the front door. I looked at Janet, but she shook her head so I went to open it. Two policemen stood on the doorstep.

‘Sergeant Harris and Police Constable Fraser,’ one of them said, holding up his warrant card.

To my relief I knew one of the policemen.

‘Hello, Bob,’ I said, ‘thank goodness you’re here.’

We stood crowded in the hall, but I didn’t feel like going back into the sitting room. I opened the door and said, ‘He’s in there. His wife and I came in and found him like that. She’s in the kitchen – as you can imagine she’s very upset.’ I pushed the door a little further open. ‘We didn’t touch anything.’

I moved aside to let them into the room and went back into the kitchen. Janet was still sitting motionless at the table but I was glad to see that she wasn’t looking so ill.

‘The police are here,’ I said, ‘and fortunately I know one of them – Bob Harris, I’ve known him
since he was a child. His father used to do some gardening for me when he retired from the police force.’

She nodded briefly, but didn’t say anything, and, since there didn’t seem anything that I could usefully say, we sat in silence until there was a knock on the kitchen door and the two of them came in.

Bob Harris addressed Janet. ‘Well now, Mrs…?’

‘This is Mrs Prior,’ I said since Janet appeared unable to answer, ‘the wife of… He is – was – a sort of cousin of mine.’

‘And what time did you arrive back here Mrs Prior?’ Bob asked.

Janet shook her head and looked appealingly at me. ‘I don’t know – after half past nine, wasn’t it, Sheila? You said it was half past when we left, didn’t you? I’m sorry…’ her voice trailed away.

Bob Harris, obviously deciding that he wasn’t going to get anything coherent from her at the moment, turned to me.

‘You got here, when?’

‘About a quarter to ten. Mrs Prior had been spending the evening with me so I gave her a lift home. The front door was open when we got here and, as you see, the back door had been broken into.’

Bob Harris went over and examined the door. ‘Glass panel broken and key turned from the inside.’ The police constable noted down the details
in his notebook. ‘You didn’t see or hear anybody in the house?’

‘Well, no. I suppose we should have looked – there might have been someone upstairs, but, quite honestly, we were both too shocked and too frightened to go and look. Besides, when I saw the back door like this and finding the front door open, I assumed that whoever it was – a burglar I suppose – had got away.’

‘Was anything missing?’

‘I don’t know. We neither of us felt much like staying in that room…’

‘Very understandable. We’ll have to go into all that later, when Mrs Prior feels up to it. Meanwhile, madam,’ he continued, turning to Janet, ‘perhaps you could tell me what time you left here.’

She seemed to have collected herself a little and though her voice was still a little shaky she answered quite calmly. ‘It was about seven o’clock. I was due at Mrs Malory’s at eight, but Bernard asked me to get him some indigestion tablets – he’d had indigestion this afternoon. I said the chemist’s would be shut but he said I could get some from the supermarket. I rang for a taxi and went to the supermarket first – the taxi driver waited while I went in and got the tablets. Then I went on to Mrs Malory. I didn’t mean to stay so long, but we were having such a nice chat that I didn’t notice the time. It was about half past nine when we left. I was a bit concerned that my husband would be worried
because I was late coming back, but…’ her voice broke.

‘That’s very helpful,’ Bob was saying when there was another knocking at the front door. The constable went to answer it and then, coming back, put his head round the door and said, ‘It’s SOCO, Bob. They’re getting on with things.’

I caught a glimpse of white-clad figures passing through the hall and sounds of activity in the sitting room. Bob Harris looked enquiringly at me.

‘If both you ladies are up to it, perhaps we could just go and see if anything is missing.’

‘Yes,’ I said, with a briskness I was far from feeling, ‘of course we’ll come.’

Janet got slowly to her feet and followed me to the door. We all trooped upstairs but there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen there. The two bedrooms, furnished for summer letting, were impersonal, only a very few objects – suitcases, toilet bags, a few clothes hanging behind one of the doors – indicated that the cottage was inhabited. In the bathroom a tooth-glass half full of water and a towel, fallen from the rail onto the floor, were the only signs of occupation. Automatically, I leant over and picked up the towel, putting it back onto the rail. Bob Harris turned to Janet.

‘Nothing unusual here?’ he asked.

She shook her head and we all went downstairs again. In the hall he said, ‘We really need to check the sitting room. Will you be all right?’

Janet nodded and we went in. It wasn’t so dreadful after all because there was so much activity going on, other figures moving about their several tasks, occasionally making low-voiced remarks to each other, so that our eyes were not focused on the silent, unmoving figure in the chair.

‘Can you see if anything is missing or out of place?’ Bob asked.

Janet looked round the room, bewildered and, for a while, silent. Then she said, ‘Not that I can see…’

She stood still, passive as ever, waiting, as she must have done for many years, for someone to tell her what to do next.

‘If there’s nothing else?’ I said and led her back into the kitchen.

‘I expect Bob Harris would like us both to make a proper statement,’ I said. ‘Do you feel like doing it now or would you rather wait and go down and do it at the police station tomorrow?’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t mind – it doesn’t matter – now, if you like.’

‘If you’re sure.’

I went back into the sitting room. ‘Would you like to take our statements now?’ I asked Bob. ‘I’d really like to get her out of here.’

‘Well, if you think she’s up to it.’

He and the constable followed me into the kitchen and took our proper statements. Janet was calmer now and less confused.

‘Right then,’ I said to Bob, ‘if it’s all right I’m going to take Mrs Prior back with me.’

Janet looked up. ‘Oh no, that would be an imposition – I couldn’t…’

‘Nonsense,’ I said, ‘you can’t possibly stay here. Come along, you must be absolutely exhausted. Can you manage to go up and put a few things into an overnight bag?’ Janet nodded and, escorted by the constable, went slowly upstairs. They were down quite soon, the constable carrying the bag.

‘We’ll be off then,’ I said. ‘You know where we are, Bob, if you want us.’

The rain had stopped altogether now but the wind had got up again and was making a melancholy noise in the trees. In the car neither of us spoke. I suddenly felt very cold and when I turned the heater up full blast Janet murmured, ‘Thank you.’

When we got back home we were greeted by the animals, eager to know what was causing the change in their usual routine. They followed us into the sitting room where I put Janet into a chair and went up to check the spare room. Mercifully I always keep the spare bed made up – I don’t think I’d have had the strength to look out bedding and make up the bed. I turned on the electric blanket and the heater, feeling that the least I could do was to provide physical comfort for Janet. When I went down she was sitting stroking Foss, her face quite blank.

‘Are you all right?’ I asked, picking up her bag. ‘Would you like a hot drink? I’m making one for myself.’

She shook her head. ‘No really – you’ve been so kind…’

As I was settling her in her room she suddenly said, ‘Sheila, do you think it was a burglary? I mean, nothing
was
stolen…’

‘I really don’t know,’ I said, ‘but try not to think too much about it all. You’ve had a tremendous shock – it’s been a dreadful time for you. It’s so awful about Bernard – you’ve been very brave. But what you need now is to get some rest. If you need anything in the night I’m just across the landing. Don’t hesitate. Stay in bed as long as you can in the morning. Goodnight.’

Downstairs the animals reminded me that it was way past their bedtime and they hadn’t been fed. As I spooned the food into their dishes it suddenly occurred to me that Janet hadn’t once referred directly to Bernard and hadn’t shed a single tear. As I went up to bed I glanced at the grandfather clock in the hall and saw that it was quarter past one. Strangely enough, though, I didn’t feel tired and when I finally got into bed I didn’t sleep but spent a restless night, turning over in my mind fragments of the events of the night.

The tiredness caught up with me next morning as I dragged myself around the kitchen, feeding the animals and turning them out of doors (they
weren’t too keen since the wind was quite strong) and putting on the coffee. I’d just poured myself a cup and taken one reviving sip when Janet appeared in the doorway.

‘Come and sit down,’ I said. ‘Did you manage to get any sleep?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I was very comfortable. Thank you very much.’

In fact she looked much better – certainly better than I felt.

‘That’s splendid. What would you like for breakfast? I’ll make you some herbal tea, shall I? And some toast?’

‘Toast would be lovely, thank you. But do you think I might have a cup of that coffee – it smells so good.’

‘Of course.’ I poured her a cup and she drank it eagerly.

As we ate our toast I said, ‘What do you need to do? I imagine you want to get in touch with Christine and Luke. They’ll want to come down, I’m sure, and help you with things – though, of course anything I can do…’

‘Yes, I will ring them, but I don’t know if they can manage to come down here.’

‘But surely, at a time like this!’

‘Well, you see, Luke won’t be able to leave the restaurant – there’s only him and his partner to run everything.’

‘What about Christine?’

Janet looked shocked. ‘Oh, no. I couldn’t ask her, she’s far too busy. No, I’m sure I can manage. But I will ring them both after breakfast.’

I left her in the sitting room to make the calls and was washing up in the kitchen when she came to find me.

‘They’re both coming,’ she said. ‘Luke can only manage to get down here for the day, but Christine says she’s going to stay.’ She sounded more dismayed than pleased at this prospect.

‘She’s very welcome to stay here,’ I said, ‘there’s plenty of room.’

‘Oh, that is kind of you, Sheila, but we’ll be all right at the cottage.’

‘Are you sure? It’s bound to be very distressing for you. And I don’t know if the police will have finished there. I suppose we ought to go and see sometime.’

‘Christine won’t be coming till this evening, but – I hope you don’t mind – I told Luke to come here.’

‘No, of course not. When do you expect him?’

‘He said he’d be leaving right away so it should be in a couple of hours.’

I emptied away the washing-up water and dried my hands. ‘Janet,’ I said, ‘I really am most terribly sorry about Bernard – the whole thing is so awful for you and for the children. How did they take it when you rang?’

‘They were upset of course,’ she said, ‘since it was so sudden and…’ her voice died away.

‘Were they very close?’ I asked.

She seemed to consider the question for a moment and then she said, ‘Christine was always his favourite, but since she’s been married she hasn’t seen a lot of either of us, really. Yes, she’ll be upset.’

‘And Luke?’

‘They didn’t get on.’

‘I see.’ I paused to give her an opportunity of elaborating on this, but she didn’t and I felt I couldn’t press her. I wanted to ask if
she
was upset, but that would have been an impertinence. ‘Shall we go out to lunch?’ I asked, changing the subject. ‘I’d feel a little nervous cooking for a professional chef!’

She smiled. ‘Oh goodness, Luke isn’t like that at all. A sandwich would be fine if that isn’t too much trouble.’

‘No, of course not. I’ve got a few things to do. You try and rest a bit – there’ll be a lot to do later. Would you like today’s paper?’

I left her in the sitting room, seemingly quite calm, reading the paper. I finished tidying up in the kitchen and checked the fridge to see that I had some ham for making sandwiches as well as the greater part of a Dundee cake. I let the animals in and they made straight for the sitting room, but I didn’t stop them, feeling that their presence might somehow be a comfort to Janet. When I went upstairs the door of the spare room was open and I saw that she’d stripped her bed, leaving the sheets
and pillowcases neatly folded. Her overnight bag was all packed and ready to go, so she must have decided as soon as she got up that she was going back to the cottage.

This calmness and control continued to bother me. Last night she had been stunned and nervous, passive, as I had seen her when she was with Bernard – that was only natural. What wasn’t natural, or so it seemed to me, was her total lack of emotion now. I could imagine that her married life hadn’t been particularly happy, but surely she must have felt
something
when her husband had just died a violent death. But there seemed to be no way I could talk to her about it, no way I could get her to talk to me. I just hoped that when Luke and Christine came she’d be able to let go a little.

I made some coffee and took it into the sitting room. She was sitting, apparently quite relaxed, the paper put to one side, stroking Foss with Tris sitting once more at her feet. She looked up when I came in.

‘I thought you might like some coffee,’ I said.

‘That would be lovely, thank you.’

‘So Luke and Christine both live in Bristol, then?’ I asked.

‘Yes – well Christine and Jonathan live the other side of the city from Luke. He has a flat over the restaurant.’

‘Still, I expect they manage to see each other – and you too – quite a bit.’

‘They don’t get on.’

Again that simple statement, not elaborated so I felt I couldn’t pursue the subject.