Watched: When Road Rage Follows You Home (7 page)

They made small talk about their days and then Charlie kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye. For a moment, she thought he was going to ask whether she was okay but he paused with his mouth half open as if he’d forgotten something, turned, and then left.

Although they had only moved in fully over the weekend, Esther and Charlie had been up and down the motorway over the past few weeks to arrange for appliances to be installed and to start clearing out the cluttered rooms. Given the state of the place when they bought it, it was the only way they’d be able to give themselves enough space to actually live there. Esther put a bundle of dirty clothes in the newly installed washing machine and then continued wallpapering the spare bedroom.

She was still getting used to having no-one to talk to during the day but the bright sunshine and relative peace was welcome. With the window open, aside from the drifting sounds of children playing somewhere nearby and a gentle, almost inaudible, hum from the main road, it was completely tranquil. No mother fussing over her, no tiring commute, no awkward conversations with Charlie over what they could do in the evening that might give them some time alone.

When she had finished papering the spare room, Esther unloaded the washing machine and carried the clothes through to the back of the house. She hoped to see Patch skulking around but he was nowhere to be seen, not even hiding underneath the overgrown bushes. She left a plate of water on the path in case he returned and then started hanging the washing on the line.

Dinnnnnnng-donnnnnnng.

At first Esther thought the sound was coming from the house next door. She stopped halfway through pegging a pair of jeans to the line, listening as a second, crisp doorbell chime echoed faintly through the humidity. Esther crept towards the house, peering through the kitchen window towards the front door, where a dark shadow was visible through the rippled glass. The shape was shuffling on the spot, pressing a hand to the side window and trying to peer inside.

Esther edged to the corner of the house, peering carefully around the side towards the front. Blocking the driveway was a large brown van, the lettering and phone number on the side making her sigh with relief: ‘CARPET DIEM’.

‘I’m around here,’ she called, hurrying around the side.

A man wearing jeans and a vest with sweat stains under the armpits emerged at the front, clipboard in hand. He was a little younger than her with well-built shoulders and dark chest hair poking out from his top. ‘Mrs Pooley?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m here to fit a carpet. I was wondering if I could reverse onto your drive.’ He arched his spine. ‘It’ll save my back.’

The carpet fitter introduced himself as Liam and then moved his van out of her way as Esther shifted her car onto the road. She waited as he moved forward and backwards trying to get enough of an angle to fit onto their drive, blocking the road in the process.

Doof-doof-doof.

As Liam crunched through the gears in frustration, Esther turned to see the blue car thundering along the road towards her. It skidded to a halt in the centre of the road, music blaring. Dougie was wearing the same cap as she’d seen him in before but didn’t turn to face her, instead punching the centre of his steering wheel.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Liam was struggling because of a car parked on the opposite side of the road. He juddered forward and then reversed back, clipping the pavement and having to try again.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Scowling through the open window, Liam waved a hand in annoyance towards the car. ‘All right, mate, give it a rest. I’m trying my best here.’

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Liam turned back to the road, creeping forwards and backwards until he was eventually lined up with the driveway. Esther peered between Dougie and the carpet van but neither of the men faced her. Eventually, the van lurched back onto the drive and the blue car roared away down the road with a final flurry of beeps.

Liam climbed out of the van shaking his head. ‘’Scuse my French – but what a prick.’ He stopped himself before elaborating, stretching out a hand towards her. ‘Sorry, are you all right? You’ve gone white.’

Esther stepped away, opening the front door. ‘I think I ate something dodgy last night. Do you want a cup of tea?’

‘That’d be magic. It’s like you read my mind.’

As Liam began working in the hallway, pulling out the ragged red carpet and fitting the new one, Esther pottered in the kitchen. She cleaned the worktops and unpacked a few more boxes, trying to distract herself from the latest incident. With Dougie living nearby, their road could easily be one he used regularly, which offered little comfort. Rather than targeting her specifically, he might just be an angry man. It was Liam he’d been beeping his horn at, after all.

Liam didn’t take long to finish, calling Esther into the transformed hallway. Instead of the depressing hole-ridden crimson mat that was likely as old as she was, the space was now bright and welcoming, covered by a fluffy cream carpet. In an instant, the entire house felt better.

Esther thanked and paid him, before spotting Liz hauling her bins around on the other side of the fence.

‘You all right?’ Esther called across, stepping towards the boundary.

Liz smiled wearily, squinting into the sun and stifling a yawn. ‘Just tired.’

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘If it’s about having boys, then don’t bother – they drive you crazy.’

Esther returned her smile. ‘When we spoke the other day, you mentioned something about a “Dougie” who runs the neighbourhood watch scheme…’

‘Did you go to ask him about it? I don’t know how much good it all is but he runs these meetings a couple of times a year.’

‘What does he look like?’

Liz shrugged, pulling her hair away from her face. ‘Bald, kind-of short, I suppose.’

‘Does he drive a blue car?’

Liz’s face slipped into a frown as Esther realised what a strange question it was. ‘I have no idea – I don’t know him that well. If you want to talk to him, he only lives over the back. He runs these kids’ clubs. I went over one time to see if I could get Gary into one last summer. He won some community award thing and they’re oversubscribed. I remember his house being a bit run down but that’s all. If you can’t find him, I’m sure the community centre will have his details. He’s a nice guy – his brother’s a police officer.’

It took Esther a few moments to take in what she was being told. Was this the same person who’d driven in circles around her, sworn, beeped his horn, flashed his lights and vandalised their property?

She stumbled over a reply, trying to stop her mouth from bobbing open. ‘…his brother’s a police officer?’

Liz half-turned towards the house at the sound of something slamming inside. ‘He’s something high up, like a chief inspector. Seriously, if you’ve got any issues, go round and talk to him. He’s a nice guy – he managed to give Gary a few days in the summer club even though they were full.’

She said goodbye, muttered something about coming over for a coffee sometime, and then hurried away into the house.

Esther turned in a full circle, wondering if she was the subject of some sort of practical joke, before returning upstairs. If she could get the painting out of the way, she could finally get into the garden.

She started on the first wall, using a pale yellow, working steadily to keep the paint even. If this room was to end up being a nursery then that would suit a boy or a girl.

After a couple of hours, she was interrupted by the home phone ringing. At first Esther was wary of answering but the number was visible – Charlie on his lunchbreak. She strolled around the house with the cordless phone, listening to him talk about his morning and feeling a little silly for refusing to talk to him the previous evening. He sounded tired and it was clear he had quite a job on his hands, with the usual mix of incompetent staff and a decreasing budget. She listened, ‘uh-huh’-ing in all the right places, knowing that it was only a matter of time before he asked how her day had gone, no matter how much she tried to steer the conversation back towards him.

Eventually, Charlie asked if she’d had a quiet morning, which was as subtle as he was going to get. Esther told him the new carpets were in and that the spare room was coming along, before there was a pause.

‘Anything else?’ he said.

‘…Dougie drove past again today with his music going. I was outside with the carpet van.’

‘Did he say anything to you?’

‘No. He didn’t even look at me.’

Another pause.

‘…Good.’

‘I asked Liz about him. She says his brother’s a high up police officer. She reckons Dougie runs community groups and has won awards. She says he’s a really nice guy.’

Esther heard her husband swallowing. ‘Was she talking about the same guy?’

‘How many other people are called Dougie? She said his last name was Jamieson.’

‘Hang on a minute.’ Esther waited as she heard the tapping of computer keys and then a sigh before Charlie replied. ‘There’s a Chief Inspector Keith Jamieson on the force’s website.’

Esther was in the living room, pacing from one end to the other. She was about to reply when a large dark shape stopped at the front, its shadow blocking the bright sun. She peered between the slats of the blinds to see Liam climbing out of the van and heading along the driveway. Esther told Charlie she’d see him later and then hung up, opening the front door, just as Liam was about to knock.

‘Hello…?’ she said, unsure why he had returned.

Liam was frowning, clearly unhappy. He started to say something, before stopping himself. Eventually he shrugged. ‘If you were unhappy, why didn’t you say something?’

‘Unhappy about what?’

‘About the carpet. I thought I did a good job. You said “thank you” and paid me. If there was a problem, you could’ve said then.’

He wasn’t angry, more confused, which matched how Esther felt.

‘I
am
happy,’ she replied, half-turning and pointing at the work he’d done.

‘So why did you phone my boss and tell him I had to come back to rip it out again?’

‘I didn’t.’

He put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. ‘Well somebody did.’

Esther sighed, the conclusion obvious. ‘Your phone number’s on the side of the van and there was that guy in the blue car from earlier. It must have been him.’

Liam shook his head. ‘It was a woman who called. Look, do you want the carpet removing or not?’

‘No – I’m really happy with it.’

He stepped towards the house, then his van, unsure of what he was doing and turning in a circle. In the end, he headed towards his van, muttering under his breath about people wasting his time and leaving Esther alone on the doorstep.

EIGHT: CHARLIE

Esther was staring at her bowl of soup, not even pretending to eat. Charlie could see the change: her cheeks were paler, her gaze unfocused and she kept wrapping an arm across herself, making her shoulder jut forward. He wondered if she’d eaten anything other than the toast he’d seen her with that morning.

‘I’ve got something I need to show you,’ he said, knowing there was never going to be a good time.

‘What?’

Charlie unfolded the print out from his pocket and laid it flat on the table. ‘I Googled “Dougie Jamieson” and found this.’

Esther pulled the page towards her. It was from eighteen months previous and had been printed off from a local newspaper’s website. Charlie had already read it over and over at work, unsure what to make of it.

A local children’s worker was last night awarded the prestigious Champion in the Community award.

Dougie Jamieson, 27, who works at the Green Tree Community Centre, was honoured at a glittering event in London. His scheme, which aims to involve disabled children in sporting activities alongside other young people, was chosen from a shortlist of a dozen by a panel including the Home Secretary.

Jamieson, who runs schemes for children through the holidays and works in local schools during term time, is the brother of Chief Inspector Keith Jamieson.

The award also included a grant of £10,000 for the community centre.

Mayor Josie Lynch said: ‘Dougie’s contribution to the children of this area is unprecedented and I’m absolutely delighted by his win. As a parent of a disabled child myself, it’s hard to put into words the good he has done.’

Mr Jamieson added: ‘It is nice to be acknowledged but the truth is that this is very much a joint effort between the council, schools and the team around me. This is an award for all of us.’

Charlie watched Esther’s lips twitching, and her eyebrows fluttering uncontrollably up and down as her eyes darted across the copy, once, then twice. Next to the headline was a photo of Dougie looking smart in a crisply pressed suit, holding an award and surrounded by children.

‘Is that him?’ Charlie asked.

Esther’s whispered reply brushed through the air, barely audible. ‘Yes.’

She continued reading for a third time as Charlie gazed at her, trying to make eye contact, wanting to ask the question. Had she somehow imagined everything from outside the hardware shop? Had Dougie really shouted and sworn at her? He was a model citizen, the brother of a police officer – surely this wasn’t the type of thing he did? He remembered his own encounter with Dougie’s apparent girlfriend, which hadn’t gone well. Was it them? Perhaps Esther really had driven erratically and Dougie had reacted badly for a moment, with her exaggerating? Maybe he had been inadvertently aggressive towards Dougie’s girlfriend? He was tall, after all, and perhaps she’d been intimidated.

As Esther continued to avoid looking at him, Charlie decided to change the subject. ‘Shall we do something?’ he asked, trying to sound cheerful as he scooped the final mouthful of soup from his bowl.

Esther didn’t look up from the dining table. ‘Like what?’

‘Something normal… we can go for a bit of a drive and then do some food shopping.’