An Impossible Dilemma: A Psychological Thriller Novel (25 page)

“Ordering pizza is a doddle,” I laughed.

“You don’t seem yourself, Vic.” She looked at me through squinted eyes.

“I’m fine, just tired. It’s been a bitch of a weekend.”

“I know.” She glanced at Frank and smiled.

“Aw—Mummy said the b-word.”

“Sorry, Em.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

Steph laughed.

The doorbell rang and Steph began to stand up.

“I’ll get it. I’ve finished anyway,” I said.

My stomach threatened to chuck up the little bit of food I’d eaten as I imagined a group of police officers standing at the door. Bracing myself, I held my breath as I opened it.

A short butch-looking blond girl stood directly in front of me, beside a lanky guy wearing a black leather jacket and red cap.

“Hello?” I said, glancing from one to the other.

“Sorry to bother you, Mrs Lyons, but do you know where Alex is?”

My stomach flipped. It was as though time had stopped and I became aware of the most minute details—the large diamante earring in her left ear, the scuffed red plimsolls, the way she shifted from foot to foot. I didn’t think these two were a couple—she looked more like a dyke, and him a nerdy geek.

The wind had picked up and blasted through the door, causing me to step backwards into the hallway. A loud sound in my ears puzzled me until I realised it was the pumping of my heart.

“Mrs Lyons?” she asked again, glancing nervously at her mate.

“I—erm—no. He’s not here. He—he left.”

“Left! Where to?”

“I don’t know—he got drunk on Friday night and attacked my father-in-law. Put him in hospital in fact. He’d gone by the time I returned home on Saturday.”

“Oh my God!” she almost screamed. Her reaction made me shudder.

“Man,” the guy said.

“Do you know where he could be? He’s not answering his phone,” the girl said.

“I have no idea, I’m sorry.” I made to close the door.

“If he gets in touch, could you ask him to call Alecia?”

“Alecia, no problem.” I smiled and nodded then closed the door.

“Who was that?” Steph asked, back in the snug.

“Someone looking for Alex.”

“Oh yeah, a guy called for him earlier. Said he’s been trying to get hold of him since yesterday.”

I cocked my head sideways at her, towards the kitchen. “Anyone for a cuppa?”

Steph took the hint and followed me to the kitchen. “What is it?”

“It’s Alex. He had a funny turn on Friday night after you’d gone to bed. He was the reason Frank ended up in hospital.”

“You’re joking!”

“It’s true, I’m afraid. After you went to bed he woke up, drunk, and attacked Frank.”

“Where is he now? Did you tell the police?”

“No. I don’t think he meant to do it. When I got back yesterday, he’d already packed up and gone.”

“Oh my God! I’m shocked—he’s normally such a gentle guy.”

“I know, but that’s booze for you. Now we’re in a pickle with the farm. I don’t know what we’ll do.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry—I’m still trying to process it. He attacked Frank?”

I nodded. “I really don’t think he meant to—we shouldn’t tell everyone. It’s not fair.”

“I won’t say a word. Maybe he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Maybe, at least I hope so.” I felt terrible lying to her like this. I was getting worryingly good at it—I didn’t even flinch anymore.

Frank got up from the table and joined us in the kitchen.

“I just heard what Alex did to you,” Steph said.

Frank nodded.

“I think it was an accident though,” Frank nodded again. “So do I.”

“Then why would he leave, if it was an accident?”

“He probably just panicked. I’d rather give him the benefit of the doubt,” I said.

“Me too,” Frank said.

“Well let’s hope he does the right thing and comes back to face the music tomorrow,” Steph muttered.

“Yeah—let’s hope,” I said, glancing at Frank.

Chapter 34

By the next afternoon, there was nothing left of Alex’s body. The pigs squealed at me again as though they hadn’t been fed for a week. I decided at that point that I hated pigs and knew I would never touch anything porky ever again.

 I knew there had been experiments into using pigs as potential organ donors for human transplant. For decades, people have been fitted with heart valves from pigs, and diabetics injected themselves with pig insulin before they learned how to synthesise the human version of the hormone. I wondered if anybody had ever tested pig Proteum to see if it was a potential solution. But there again, knowing what I did about Proteum transplants, it would probably turn Emily into a trough feeder.

I had another look around. Everything seemed in order. It would be a day or two before the first of the teeth and hair would reappear.

We’d arranged to show Michael around the farm tomorrow. I hoped and prayed that he would decide to take it off our hands, and the sooner, the better.

Sally-Ann planned to come into the clinic first thing in the morning for a chat.

On the surface, life seemed normal. The farm and the extra workload wouldn’t begin to affect us until next week, but as long as the animals were fed, we could get away without doing the rest.

I couldn’t believe how easily I’d managed to take everything in my stride. I felt immense guilt when I thought about poor Alex, but my family’s future had hung in the balance, and my priority had got to be Emily.

I wasn’t sure if my behaviour was normal or if I was completely mad.

“Everything all right?” Frank asked as I walked into the house.

“It all seems fine.”

He acknowledged my nod with a tilt of his head. We’d developed our own form of communication.

“The sty could do with a clean soon. It’s a mess,” I said.

“Maybe I could help you in a couple of days when I’m feeling a bit better.”

“We’ll see. Let’s get you right first before we set you to work again.” I smiled.

“I could help you, Mummy,” Emily said. “I’m better now.”

“Thanks, Em, but those pigs would eat you for breakfast.” I meant that literally, but she laughed.

“I’m feeling much better today, lass.” Frank said. “I’ll be up to starting Em’s lessons again tomorrow.”

“Yay!”

“There were another couple of phone calls for Alex while you were out, lass.”

My stomach flipped. “Oh yes?”

Frank nodded. “I told them he doesn’t work here anymore.”

“I see. What did they say?”

“Nothing. They seemed fine.”

“I’ll be glad when all this settles down,” I whispered. “Okay, I’m off to the clinic to check on Steph. Then I’ll be back to make a start on dinner. Any requests?”

“Cauliflower cheese,” Emily said.

Maybe this was a normal request in most households, but it wasn’t in ours. Emily hated cauliflower cheese. It had been, however, Alex’s favourite. A fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Frank.

“Are you sure, Em? Did you mean mac and cheese?” he asked.

“No, cauliflower cheese.”

“Very strange.” He raised his eyebrows and turned down the corners of his mouth, nodding.

“Very well, cauliflower cheese it is.” I didn’t think she’d actually eat it.

Over in the clinic, Stephanie was writing out a receipt for a client.

“Oh hi, Mrs Taylor. How’s Fifi?” I bent to make a fuss of the bulldog at her feet. She didn’t suit her name at all.

“She’s fine—she just needed her jabs.”

“That’s good. And how’s Mr Taylor?”

“Not so good—you don’t have a jab for lazyitis, do you? No? I’ll just have to put up with him.” She laughed.

“If I could find a cure for that, I’d be a multi-millionaire.” I also laughed.

“I wish somebody would. Anyway, bye girls. Have a lovely Christmas.”

We watched as Mrs Taylor left with Fifi.

Steph pointed at them as they made their way across the car park, and stifled a laugh with her hand.

I turned to see what was so amusing.

Both Mrs Taylor and Fifi walked with their legs wide apart, as though they were wearing dirty nappies. Even their steps were in sync.

Everybody says it in jest but it’s true. People do eventually start looking like their pets. I couldn’t help the eruption of laughter that followed.

“Do you remember that woman in Manchester?” I said between fits of laughter.

“Oh my God, yes. I’ll never forget her.” Steph wiped her eyes.

“I couldn’t make eye contact with any of you.” My voice came out in a high pitched squeal.

“She was the spit of her Afghan hound. The frizzy strawberry blond hair, the big nose and terrific eyelashes,” Steph said, now almost lying on the desk holding her stomach.

We stayed that way for at least five minutes, both laughing uncontrollably. It felt so good to laugh. I couldn’t remember the last time I had really laughed.

“Is that it for the day?” I asked, once we’d calmed down and caught our breath.

“Yeah, unless you can think of anything else that needs doing.”

“No—divert the phone and you may as well call it a day,” I said. “Are you out tonight?”

“Not sure yet. I’m waiting for Steve to ring.”

“Well, Emily requested cauliflower cheese for tea.”

“That’s funny. I thought she hated cauliflower?”

“She does normally. I’ll do something else too in case she changes her mind.”

“Don’t do anything for me. I had a sandwich not long ago.”

“Okay, I’ll cash up and then I’ll be over.”

“Was that Sally-Ann on the phone earlier?”

“Yeah, she’s coming in to see me in the morning—she’s looking for a job,” I said, as I looked up from the receipt book, keen to gauge Steph’s reaction.

“What job were you thinking of giving her?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Well, it depends. I need someone to help around the farm initially and then the clinic. However, if the meeting with Dave and Michael goes okay tomorrow, I won’t have to worry about the farm for much longer.”

“That would be good for you, Vic. You’ve got too much going on at the moment. If there is anything more I could do to help you would ask, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would, but I’m just grateful to you for running this place. I didn’t realise how much Jonathan actually did before.”

“You must miss him a lot.”

“It’s got easier. I was angry with him for a long time. Now I just feel sad when I think about him. The anger has gone.”

“It wasn’t his fault. He’d never have left you and Em by choice.”

“I know that, but it was easier for me to cope with the anger at the time than the all-consuming sadness.”

“Yeah, we humans are designed with amazing coping strategies built in.”

I nodded. “Anyway, get going or else I’ll be here all night.”

“Outta here, boss.” She laughed as she scurried out the door.

Emily ate the cauliflower cheese and asked for seconds. It terrified me when I thought of her getting certain traits off the Proteum donor, but on the whole, if this was as bad as it got from Alex, we couldn’t complain.

The next morning I was running as soon as my feet hit the bedroom floor. I needed to check and feed the animals, check the butchery block and make sure everything was spic and span, and double-check the sty.

Michael was coming for a look around, and I worried he’d be able to tell what had gone on there at first glance. I’d already pulled the empty bin from the sty yesterday and hosed everything down.

Sally-Ann was due at the clinic at nine. Steph had been stressing about it. I wanted to scream at her that Sally-Ann was the least of my problems, but I bit my tongue.

“Toast okay, Em?” I asked as she came downstairs. Her eyes were barely open.

She nodded.

“I’ll be back to make your lunch, but if you want anything else, you’ll have to make do with cereal.”

“Okay, Mummy.”

“Frank, can I get you anything? There’s tea in the pot.”

“No thanks, lass. I can manage.”

“Sally-Ann is coming in at nine and then I’ll be back over here mid-morning in time to meet Michael and Dave.”

“That’s fine.”

“Kiss,” I said to Emily, puckering my lips.

She wiped her mouth of toast crumbs before raising her face for a kiss.

Once the farm rounds were done, I headed over to the clinic. I hadn’t seen anything incriminating but it didn’t stop me being paranoid. I would be glad when today’s inspections were done.

Stephanie jumped out of her skin as I walked in.

“Relax, it’s only me.”

“I don’t know why I feel so terrible.” Stephanie sat back down.

“Neither do I.”

“I mean it’s not as if they were married, or even in a committed relationship. It was their first date, for God’s sake.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She wouldn’t come in if not.”

The door opened and Sally-Ann popped her head in.

“Oh hi, come on in. You remember Stephanie?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. Hi, Steph.” Sally-Ann held out her hand towards Steph.

Stephanie jumped up from the chair to shake it, bumping her legs on the desk and dropping her pen on the floor, obviously flustered. I almost laughed at her.

“Can I get you a coffee? Tea?” I asked, looking at Sally-Ann.

“Coffee, please. Black.”

“I’ll get it,” Steph said. “You want one, Vic?”

“I’ll have a juice, please. I’m thirsty this morning. Come through to the back, Sally, I’ll show you around.”

She followed me as I walked around the back of the reception desk and through the door beyond. “As you can see, it’s tiny. We only have one examination room which doubles as our surgery.”

I led her through the next door, where Steph was standing at the sink filling the kettle.

“A small kitchen and bathroom.” I pointed to a further door to the left. The door to the side of the bathroom had a combination lock, and I entered the four digit pin. “This is the storeroom. And that door leads back through to reception.”

Back in reception, I perched on the edge of the desk.

“Take a seat,” I said, offering the swivel chair. “So what I’m looking for is a receptionist-admin person who might help with a few other bits and bobs around the farm.”

“I’ve never worked on a farm before. Will that matter?”

“It’s not rocket science, but it’s not glamorous either. Hopefully, the farm won’t even be an issue in the next few weeks, but I don’t want to count my chickens, pardon the pun. How are you around animals?”

“I like dogs but I’ve never really …” She shrugged. “I’m sorry, I could lie to you, but I don’t have much experience around animals either.” She looked forlorn.

“No worries. How are you at answering phone and making tea?”

“Excellent.” She smiled.

“Typing?”

“So-so.”

“There you go, then. When can you start?”

“Are you serious?” She jumped off the chair and snatched at my outstretched hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

I nodded, smiling as Stephanie walked in with the drinks.

“Steph, meet our new receptionist.”

“Congratulations and welcome aboard. You’ll love it here—we’re a friendly bunch,” Steph said.

“Thank you,” Sally-Ann smiled a warm and genuine smile that seemed to put Stephanie at ease.

The phone rang. I looked at Sally-Ann my eyebrows raised. The shock registered on her face and her jaw dropped open.

I smiled. “I’m only joking.” I answered the phone. “Farm vets, Victoria speaking.”

“Morning, Victoria speaking, Mike here. We’re at your place.” I could hear the amusement in his voice and I knew his eyes would be twinkling. My stomach did a little spin. I wasn’t prepared for the way my body seemed to betray me where this man was concerned.

“No problem, I’ll be over in a tick. Put the kettle on.” Stephanie and Sally-Ann were having a conversation about the upcoming festive season.

“Sorry to butt in ladies, but I’m gonna have to shoot off. When would you be available to start, Sally-Ann?”

“Yesterday.” she said. “And Sal’s fine.”

“Okay then, Sal. If Steph’s not busy, maybe she can fill you in on a few things around here?”

“Fine by me,” Steph said. “Will you be back by lunchtime? I have a few things I need to do.”

“Yeah, easy. I’ll be an hour, tops. See you both then.”

David, Michael and Frank were sitting at the dining table. “Where’s Em?” I asked.

“I’m here,” she said, as she jumped out from behind the sofa.

“Gosh, Em, you frightened me.”

“She’s got the devil in her today,” Frank said. “I’ve spent more time searching for her than anything else.”