The Anita Waller Collection

by Anita Waller

  Claudia couldn’t speak.

  ‘And I stayed the night. Steve went out, so I told Michelle everything, including what’s happening to you now. She’s brilliant, so supportive. This morning, Steve drove to James’s house, checked his car was there, and then I drove to the flat. We now park in our garage. No more doing the convenient thing and leaving it on the road.’

  Claudia’s eyes reflected unshed tears. ‘I’m sorry, Heather. You shouldn’t have to be going through this, you’ve enough on your plate.’

  ‘Oh, and that’s another thing,’ Heather interrupted, ‘I told him he couldn’t come to Owen’s funeral.’

  ‘You didn’t hold back, then,’ Claudia said drily, then grinned. ‘Would you really have stabbed him?’

  ‘I suspect I would, but it didn’t come to that. He buggered off when I mentioned Marilyn. I’m going to have a closer look at this Leeds City Council website tonight, see if I can’t track this Marilyn down. If I can’t find her there, I’ll look on the Labour party one.’

  ‘You know what, Heather, I don’t really care what he’s doing…’

  ‘Neither do I, Claud, but sooner or later he’s going to have to hand over half of the value of the house and you might need bargaining chips. Marilyn could be a chip. Let’s just get the information and file it in our new office. Then you can use it if it becomes necessary.’

  Claudia nodded. ‘You’re right, I know you are. It’s just… this bloody cancer feels as though it’s living in my brain. Heather, what if it’s spread?’

  Heather took hold of Claudia’s hand. ‘Then we’ll deal with it. I won’t leave you, not for a minute.’

  By four o’clock, Claudia was clearly exhausted, and Heather left her, feeling equally drained. She was trying to be cheerful, upbeat, and yet in two days’ time she would be arranging her husband’s funeral.

  She put the car in the garage, crossed the road and wearily climbed the stairs into the flat. Her bedroom looked enticing as she went down the corridor, and she went in and laid on the bed, just for two minutes she promised herself.

  Two hours later she woke, feeling chilled.

  ‘Bugger,’ she muttered, ‘I’ll be awake half the night now.’ She made herself a large mug of tea and went into the office. Switching on the laptop, she sat and nursed the mug while the laptop loaded.

  She typed in Le and the computer obligingly offered up Leeds City Council, recognising Claudia and Heather’s earlier fruitless search for the elusive Marilyn. Clicking on Councillors took her through to the listings, and she began to scrutinise them slowly and carefully.

  The men were all mixed in with the women, and so she skipped over the male councillors, perusing the female ones much more closely. It had occurred to her that Marilyn might be her second name, and so she checked every one, but reached the end of the list having achieved no success.

  She decided to give it one last go and scrolled backwards up the list. And then she found Marilyn.

  Councillor Will Monroe. Aka Marilyn Monroe? She had absolutely no proof that Marilyn was the councillor, but she knew, deep down in her gut she knew. And if bloody James Bell turned up at the cemetery this Saturday he’d know that she knew.

  Heather felt sick for Claudia. She clearly had no idea, and yet if James was struggling with his sexuality, it explained his erratic behaviour. So why the hell hadn’t he been open and honest with his wife, instead of battering her every time she “transgressed”? He was obviously struggling with his feelings; he’d raped Claudia two weeks earlier.

  Heather clicked on his image; blonde hair, bloody good-looking, fit… just what did he see in a slightly overweight forty-five-year-old?

  There was very little information on the website, apart from an email address, so she closed the laptop and moved into the lounge. She put something mindless on television, then switched it off and picked up her book. It was going to be a long night.

  Claudia, despite having had a sleeping tablet, was wide awake. The noise provided by her three companions as they proved they could sleep was appalling. She had tried reading, but her arm and shoulder area was too uncomfortable, and she couldn’t remember any of what she had read.

  ‘You okay, Claudia?’ A night nurse she hadn’t seen before, and whose badge proclaimed her to be Jenny Taylor, gently touched her arm. ‘You need anything?’

  ‘Ear plugs,’ she said with a sigh. ‘And something to stop my brain careering along at a hundred miles an hour.’

  ‘You’re worrying?’ Jenny sat down in the chair.

  ‘Wouldn’t you be? If it had spread into the lymph glands, then what’s to stop it having spread further? I just keep thinking that two weeks ago all I had was a sore spot on my shoulder. Now I’m potentially dying.’

  Claudia felt a tear trickle down her cheek, and she angrily brushed it away.

  ‘Hey, come on.’ Jenny reached and grasped Claudia’s hand. ‘Trust Mr Robson, he’ll have removed all of it. And don’t go reading anything on the Internet, you’ll scare yourself silly.’

  Claudia turned her head.

  ‘You already have, haven’t you?’ Jenny said. ‘Honestly, leave it to the experts, Claudia. The Internet shows worse case scenarios, and you can do without reading all that rubbish when you’ve just had major surgery. You’ll be back here in seven years or so, being officially discharged. And that’s the best feeling ever. Now, shall we have a quick cuppa? That might help you drop off.’

  Claudia smiled. ‘Thank you. You’ve made me feel more settled in my mind. I’d love a tea.’

  Jenny stood and walked down the corridor.

  She carried two cups back with her, but Claudia was asleep. She smiled and went to the nurse’s station. ‘Tea, anybody?’

  Zoe was trying to control her anger. Her father wasn’t giving her answers, and she really didn’t believe he knew nothing. Her mother had to have had a reason for walking away, and now seemed to have disappeared.

  ‘So where are you? You’re not at home.’

  ‘I’m in Leeds.’

  ‘But it’s Sunday. Why would you be in Leeds on a Sunday?’

  ‘I have an early meeting tomorrow morning, sweetheart. It made sense to drive up today and get an early night.’

  Will grinned at him and ran his fingers down his back.

  ‘Okay, that’s you accounted for. Now where’s Mum?’

  ‘I have no idea. She doesn’t return any calls or texts, so whatever she thinks I’ve done, I can’t put right.’

  ‘And what does she think you’ve done?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Right, here’s what’s going to happen, Dad. You will come back home tomorrow night, and I will be here at the house waiting for you. If you’re not here by seven o’clock, I shall ring the police and report her as missing.’

  She disconnected and turned to David. Tears were in her eyes and he pulled her towards him. ‘You want to go see Harry and Emma?’

  She nodded. ‘I do. I want Harry there as well tomorrow night. He’s done something, my dad, I know he has. If he’s hurt her…’

  ‘If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’ll have hurt her, I just think she doesn’t want to be found. Wherever she is, she’s with Heather.’

  ‘Of course!’ Zoe slapped her forehead with her hand. ‘Heather! I should try her. I’ve just concentrated on ringing Mum and texting her till my fingers are sore. Why didn’t I think of Heather?’

  She picked up her mobile phone and texted.

  Hi Heather. Can you ask Mum to contact me please? Tell her I’m not with Dad, just David. I need to know she’s okay, and well.

  She put the phone down and waited. And waited.

  ‘She’s not going to answer either. But somebody will sooner or later, because there will have to be a funeral for Owen. We all want to go, Heather can’t keep that quiet, surely?’

  ‘Look, sweetheart, text Harry and see if they’re in. We’ll go over there and talk things through. Maybe they can come up with an idea for f
inding her.’

  She texted and put her phone on the coffee table. From experience, she knew it could be a while before Harry returned the text.

  She picked it up when she heard the ping and opened the message. It was from Heather and it simply read: She’s okay. Trust me.

  Zoe couldn’t speak. She handed the phone to David and he stared at it.

  ‘Look,’ he said finally, ‘Heather wouldn’t lie to you. She’s protecting your mum. And at least you’ve had some communication even if it’s only four words.’

  The phone pinged again, and David looked at it. ‘Harry and Emma are in. He says come over.’

  Zoe grabbed her bag and moved to the door. Once more she felt anger. This was bloody ridiculous. Why couldn’t her mother answer the calls herself?

  David followed Zoe, and they clicked on seat belts simultaneously. Then he removed his, turned around to his wife and took her in his arms. ‘Let me hug you for a minute,’ he said.

  She nodded and burst out crying. He held her until the tears had subsided, then grabbed the tissues from the glovebox.

  ‘Feel better?’

  ‘Not really, but it helped.’

  ‘Right, let’s go and talk to Harry and Emma, see if we can sort this out. People like your mum and Heather don’t just disappear. They’re keeping quiet, that’s all. But I think you’re going to have to face the fact that your dad’s behaviour is the problem. Owen’s behaviour was behind Heather going, and while I know it’s not drink with your dad, I believe he does hit your mum.’

  She shook her head. ‘Don’t say that, David. If it’s true, why have I never clicked on?’

  ‘She would hide it from you. But now you and Harry have left home, she’s decided enough is enough, and she’s walked out. It’s why I’m not worrying too much that she’s gone under the radar, so to speak. I think something serious happened that Saturday when your mum was gardening. I could tell she was upset. You’re too close to her to see it, I guess.’

  They pulled up outside Harry and Emma’s place, and Emma came outside to greet them. ‘To what do we owe this honour?’ she smiled. ‘Lovely to see you, no matter the reason.’

  They followed her into the lounge, and Harry switched off the television.

  ‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘Beer, David?’

  ‘No, I’m good, thanks. I’m driving. Zoe might want something though, she’s a little upset.’

  Zoe looked at Emma. ‘You have wine?’

  Emma laughed. ‘How many bottles?’

  Zoe and David finished speaking, and the silence hung tantalisingly in the room. Emma looked at Harry, and she was the first to speak.

  ‘We guessed.’

  ‘So why didn’t I guess?’ Zoe had anguish in her voice.

  Harry echoed David’s words from earlier. ‘You’re too close to her.’

  ‘I’m obviously not that close, she’s said nothing about it to me.’

  ‘Sis, you’ll be the first one she contacts when she surfaces,’ Harry said gently.

  She stared at her brother. ‘But if you’d guessed, why haven’t you done anything about it?’

  ‘Like what? They would both have denied it, and I didn’t want him turning on Mum because I’d said something. It’s knowing which path to take that’s so bloody hard, Zoe. Go on, tell me what you’re going to say to Dad next time you see him.’

  Zoe shook her head. ‘I don’t want to see him. If this is all true, and I’m convinced now that it is, I don’t ever want to see him again. The thing is, I’ve kind of given him an ultimatum. I told him that I want him back in Sheffield by tomorrow night, and if he’s not there by seven, I’m reporting Mum as a missing person.’

  ‘Don’t do that, Zoe. I think the police will know where she is. They had to go and tell Heather about Owen, and I bet Mum was with her. She wouldn’t let Heather go through it on her own.’

  ‘And they would ask the police to keep their address secret.’ Zoe was clearly thinking things through. ‘I’m glad we came here. I feel better about things now. And we’ll see her at the funeral.’

  She picked up her glass of wine – the second one – and drank slowly. ‘Am I being stupid? She’s a woman in her forties, and she can live her life exactly as she wants to live it. She’s brought me up to believe that, and yet I’m calling her for doing the same thing.’

  Emma, practical Emma, spoke. ‘Look, in a year’s time all this will seem like a bad dream. Your mum will be settled wherever she chooses to settle, your dad likewise, and things will move on. This is the transition period, and I suspect Claudia just wants time out for a few weeks while she gets her brain into gear. I know this won’t stop you worrying, but you’ve got to give her whatever space she needs. We all agreed on that?’ She looked around at the other three, and they nodded.

  David and Zoe stood. ‘Thank you for listening. We’re going to get off now,’ David said. ‘I’ve got an early start tomorrow, and I think Zoe needs to think all of this through. Thanks for listening, you two, and if we hear anything, we’ll let you know.’

  Emma and Harry walked to the car with them and waved as the rear lights disappeared down the road.

  ‘You really not worrying then?’ Emma asked.

  ‘What do you think?’ Harry replied. ‘I’ve been texting Mum all week trying to find out where she is.’

  Before heading off upstairs to bed, Zoe sent a text to her father. She kept it short and to the point.

  Don’t bother racing back from Leeds. I won’t be seeing you.

  Chapter 13

  The suite was in situ by nine o’clock; the funeral was organised for May 6th by eleven o’clock and Heather was with Claudia by just after two for visiting.

  She leaned over to kiss her friend. ‘You look good.’

  ‘Thank you. I feel so much better. I’m probably going home tomorrow.’

  ‘Yeah!’ Heather’s smile lit up her face. ‘It’s pretty damn lonely in that flat without you. I’ve taken to talking to myself, and the answers I’m getting are rubbish.’

  ‘So, what news? Have you got a date for the funeral? How do you feel?’

  ‘Yes, it’s 6th May, and I’m okay. Broke down in the funeral directors, and they were lovely with me. I think they were a bit surprised I was on my own, but I could hardly expect Owen’s cousin to come over from Norfolk to go with me, and he’s the only family left. I’ve arranged for a small notice to go in the paper a few days before, so his friends will know the date. I don’t think it will be a large gathering. I need to organise a wake, but I’ll sort that in a few days.’

  Claudia nodded. ‘Thank you for leaving it a couple of weeks. I should be fine by then. I have an appointment…’

  ‘For Weston Park?’

  Claudia nodded again. ‘The Monday before the funeral. I’ve to be there for nine, and it will take all morning because they do loads of tests. Will you be able to go with me?’

  ‘Of course. You don’t need to ask. Now, let’s forget about bloody cancer, let’s talk about what we’re going to do when you get home. You won’t be sitting on a sun lounger, that’s for sure, unless we’re out on the patio. I just hope you like the suite.’

  ‘Heather, I’m getting lots of texts…’ Claudia’s face had clouded over.

  ‘From the kids?’

  ‘And James. I’m ignoring his, bombastic little twerp. But the kids are clearly upset. I may text them tonight now I’m feeling more my normal self, to let them know I’m okay.’

  ‘That would be good. Just don’t give them details. Not yet. And don’t worry about the cemetery this week, I’ll take the flowers. Until you’re fit enough to cope with meeting up with him again, I don’t want you bumping into James.’

  ‘You think he’ll be there again?’

  ‘I think he’ll be there every week until he sees you. I won’t let you go alone, but this Saturday I don’t think you’ll be strong enough to handle the evil git. But I am.’

  Claudia smiled at her friend. ‘What would I do without
you?’

  Heather left for home just before six; Claudia’s evening meal had arrived, and so Heather left her to her hospital life. Claudia was to ring the following morning if they confirmed she could go home, and then hopefully their world would be a little more normal.

  She drove past James’s house to see if his car was there. She needed to pick up some more things but was wary of making waves by him realising she was next door.

  His car wasn’t there, and she checked her watch. She couldn’t take the risk, it was too close to his normal return time. It made her angry that she was as much a target of his violent tendencies as Claudia was, and Heather drove away at considerable speed.

  She put the car into the garage, returning quickly to the flat. Maybe she could call home before going to the hospital the next day, but sooner or later she would have to make decisions about the house. Tenants? Sell it? Whatever her final actions would be, she could never return and live next door to a man who had once been a close friend.

  Sleep didn’t come easily. She was putting a wash load in by half past six and ironing the dried clothes with the new iron that was stressing her because it didn’t have the same feel as her old iron, by ten o’clock. She had decided not to go back to the house – she needed to be ready to go as soon as Claudia called her.

  The flat looked really nice, and she couldn’t wait to get her friend home. When her phone rang out she snatched at it.

  ‘I can come and get you now?’

  ‘You can. I’ve got my painkillers, my drain tube has been removed, and I’m good to go. I can’t carry anything, so I’ll wait on the ward for you.’

  ‘Half an hour,’ Heather said and disconnected.

  Claudia was sitting chatting to an elderly patient when Heather arrived but said goodbye with some speed. ‘Get me out of here,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t take any more.’

  There seemed to be a lot of bags, but Heather made no comment. She manhandled all of them, and ten minutes later they were on the road and heading for home.