The End of Cuthbert Close

by Cassie Hamer

  ‘I’m not taking the partnership.’ Alex lifted her chin.

  ‘Pardon?’ Rex flinched.

  ‘I. Refuse. Your. Invitation.’ She enunciated the words clearly.

  His expression darkened. ‘But we need you. We need a working mother. We’re losing all our talent. You need to help us.’ He shifted his weight onto the other leg and cocked his head. His tone made her want to scream. She hated whining.

  ‘I’m leaving the firm.’ She reached into her handbag and produced an envelope with Rex’s name handwritten on the front. ‘If you can’t take this seriously, then I can’t work here any more.’

  ‘I’ll have you know, I don’t respond well to blackmail.’ His voice took a darker edge.

  ‘It’s not blackmail, it’s a simple reality. I can’t continue to juggle my life the way I have been, and I’m not alone.’

  ‘You can’t leave,’ he exploded. ‘People don’t get offered partnership and leave. What do you think you’re doing?’

  Alex pressed the envelope into Rex’s chest. ‘I’m backing myself,’ she said. ‘I don’t need you. I need this.’ She looked around at the children, the carers, the mums and dads, some of whom she sensed were now listening. ‘I quit.’

  With that, she brushed past Rex and didn’t stop. Behind her, she heard the sound of blocks, tumbling and falling, scattering and cascading. Another tower had tumbled and a little girl shrieked with delight.

  Alex smiled and kept walking

  CHAPTER FORTY

  With a screech of tyres, Cara pulled into Cuthbert Close. Beth had sounded frantic on the phone, though in the hubbub of the photo shoot it had been difficult to decipher exactly what she was saying. The only clear part of the message was that Cara had to get back to the shed. Quickly.

  She slammed the car door and hurried in. From the outside, everything looked calm. Cuthbert Close was at its quietest in the middle of the day, with little more to be heard than the breeze in the trees.

  She found Beth at the door of the shed, wringing her hands.

  ‘You just missed him,’ she said. ‘I tried so hard to keep him here because I knew you would be able to explain everything so much better than I could, but he wouldn’t listen, and now he’s gone, and I feel like it’s all my fault.’

  The woman was ashen-faced.

  ‘Calm down. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine. Now, come and sit down and tell me who came to the shed?’ Cara led her to the table and chairs under the she-oak.

  Beth took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. ‘It was the food safety inspector from the council. At first, I thought he was here to do a random inspection, but then he told me there’d been a complaint.’

  ‘About Nourish?’

  Beth nodded. ‘He said someone had called them about a food poisoning outbreak.’

  ‘Jasper’s virus,’ Cara breathed.

  ‘Yes, exactly, and I explained how it had all been a big misunderstanding and showed him Alex’s post, and how she clarified that Jasper had a virus and not food poisoning. I said he could even check with the school about other reported cases of gastro. But he just wouldn’t listen.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Beth’s frown deepened. ‘He said that any complaints of food poisoning caused by a business had to be taken extremely seriously and required a thorough inspection of the premises.’

  ‘I’m sure he didn’t find any problems there.’ Cara prided herself on keeping an immaculate kitchen.

  Beth flushed. ‘There were a couple of minor issues.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Apparently we’re supposed to have a thing called a digital probe thermometer so we can check the temperature of the fridge.’

  ‘The fridge is barely a year old!’ Cara exploded. ‘It works perfectly well.’

  ‘The inspector said we should be keeping a record of the temperature history of all perishable products, like a logbook.’

  ‘I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. We’re experienced cooks. We have forty years of cooking experience between us and not once have we ever made anyone sick.’ Cara sat back and looked up to the sky. So clear and blue, completely at odds with the turmoil going on in her mind.

  ‘He’s shut us down,’ said Beth timidly.

  ‘He what?’ Cara’s head whiplashed around.

  ‘He says we can’t operate until they’ve investigated the complaint and we’ve fixed our issues.’

  ‘You mean gone out and bought a thermometer,’ Cara snapped. She closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘I can’t believe this is happening. All those orders. How are we ever going to fulfil them? People have paid for their meals. They’re expecting us to deliver. They’ll never use us again if we can’t provide what they’ve paid for. This could kill the business.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Beth.

  ‘This is not your fault.’

  Beth pursed her lips. ‘When the inspector arrived, I was cutting up the pork and I left it on the chopping board to answer the door, so when he came in, it was just sitting there. He didn’t like that. He said I should have covered it and put it back in the fridge before answering the door.’

  ‘He sounds like a real piece of work,’ said Cara, before taking her friend’s hand. ‘I’m sure it wasn’t the main reason he closed us down. Don’t blame yourself, blame the person who dobbed us in.’

  ‘Who would do such a thing?’

  ‘The same person who tried to make mischief out of Alex’s Instagram post, I suspect. A random troll with nothing better to do than spread misery.’

  Beth looked at her, as if deciding whether to speak. ‘The inspector said the complaint had come from someone in the street.’

  Cara did a double take. ‘A neighbour? No.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘That’s what he said.’

  ‘Hey, ladies.’ Beth and Cara’s heads turned in unison. It was Alex, clambering through Cara’s back fence, still dressed in her work clothes.

  ‘You’re home early,’ said Cara.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ asked Beth.

  Alex flopped into a chair beside them. ‘I just quit my job.’

  ‘You what?’ said Beth and Cara together.

  ‘You two should see your faces.’ Alex grinned. ‘It’s like I just told you that I’m planning to cook up my placenta and eat it.’

  Beth’s nose wrinkled. ‘Please don’t do that.’

  ‘I don’t understand. I thought you were going to take the partnership,’ said Cara.

  ‘Turns out it wasn’t what I wanted. You were right, Beth. It wasn’t me that had to change, it’s the dinosaurs in charge.’

  ‘But I didn’t mean you should resign. What will you do?’

  Alex’s face darkened. ‘James and I have spoken about it and we might have to leave Cuthbert Close.’

  ‘Alex, no,’ gasped Beth.

  ‘You can’t leave us,’ said Cara. ‘No one leaves Cuthbert Close unless they’re dying—’

  ‘Or divorcing,’ Beth cut in.

  ‘Or drowning in debt,’ said Alex. ‘Which is basically what we are.’ She looked around. ‘I love this place, and I love you guys, and I love our home.’ She paused. ‘But I’m not sure I like the person I’ve become here. I’ve never really had the chance to sit back and enjoy it. It’s always been work, work, work, to earn enough to pay the mortgage. It’s madness, really. Why do we do this to ourselves?’

  ‘For our children?’ Cara ventured.

  Alex snorted. ‘My boys would be happier living in a tent.’ She flicked a leaf off her lap. ‘It’s made me realise that having less actually isn’t the worst thing in the world.’ She looked up at the trees, waving gently in the breeze. ‘It’s like money has a tipping point. Too much of it, and you’re miserable, and the same goes for having too little. I think there’s a happy medium there, but I just need to find it. The boys don’t need a ducted sound system. They just need to feel safe and loved and secure. I’m lucky,
when you look at it. My mum never got to choose.’

  ‘I think that’s very wise,’ said Beth.

  Cara nodded. ‘That’s all I want for Poppy.’

  Her voice cracked and Alex reached out to pat her knee. ‘And you’re going to have it. I gather Will Parry is coming to the party with his eight hundred k. That’s fantastic!’ She looked at Cara. ‘So why do you look like your cake just went flat?’

  Cara sighed. ‘The council has shut down Nourish.’

  ‘Oh, shit. Why?’

  Cara and Beth exchanged glances but neither spoke. Alex looked from one woman to the other. ‘Not the food poisoning thing?’ Her eyes widened as Cara nodded. ‘Oh, no,’ she groaned. ‘That stupid fucking photo. I can’t believe it. There must be something we can do. Did they leave you with some kind of orders or notice? Maybe we can challenge it?’

  ‘He did leave us with something.’ Beth ducked into the shed and returned with a letter, which she passed to Alex.

  ‘Okay, so it says here that the order is valid for one week while they investigate.’ She lowered the notice. ‘How about I ring him and explain. See if there’s a way to get it lifted sooner?’

  ‘We’ve got fifty orders due for delivery on Wednesday, so even if we got it lifted tomorrow, it still wouldn’t give us time to complete.’ Cara rubbed her temples where a dull ache had set in. ‘It would be the end of the business.’

  ‘All right, so we need to get this lifted today.’ Alex pulled out her phone. ‘I’ll ring them now.’

  Cara and Beth watched as Alex wandered deeper into the garden, too far away for them to hear the conversation.

  In a minute, she was back. ‘Okay, so there’s a glimmer of hope here.’

  ‘What is it?’ Beth leant forward.

  ‘The only way you can get up and running again before the week is up is if the original complaint is withdrawn. So what we need to do is find that person. Any ideas who it might have been? The inspector wouldn’t give me a name.’

  ‘All he told me was that it was someone from Cuthbert Close,’ said Beth.

  Cara thought for a moment. Which neighbours? The architects? Surely not. They wanted Nourish to cater for their wedding reception. Mr Atherton at number fifteen? She hadn’t seen him in weeks, and the chances of him using social media were slim to none. Mentally, she worked her way down the close, discounting each resident one by one until she reached number twenty-five – the Devines.

  Threats are everywhere, and you won’t even see them coming.

  Now it made sense. Cara snapped her fingers. ‘It’s Charlie Devine.’

  ‘You really think she would do such a thing? It’s so horrible.’ Beth was incredulous.

  ‘I believe it. I never liked the woman. From the moment she shut down our street party, I knew she was trouble,’ said Alex. ‘And you can’t deny you’ve had your suspicions.’

  ‘But why would she do it? We’ve done nothing to her,’ said Beth.

  ‘Think about it. Her husband has this hugely successful business selling meal-replacement shakes and supplements. Now what’s the worst thing that could happen to that business?’ said Cara.

  ‘People decide they want to eat real food again?’ said Alex. ‘Made by real people in a real kitchen.’

  Cara pointed at Alex. ‘Precisely. We’re a threat. A small one, but a threat nonetheless. She was at the party. She saw Alex go home with poor Jasper, and bang! There’s your food poisoning conspiracy. Goodbye Nourish.’

  ‘It’s genius,’ said Alex with grudging admiration.

  ‘It’s evil,’ said Beth.

  ‘So what do we do?’ said Cara.

  ‘We go and confront her and force her to withdraw,’ said Alex.

  ‘Face to face? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

  ‘Beth, this is our future on the line. You need this business as much as I do,’ said Cara.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ said Alex. ‘Even if I can’t live in Cuthbert Close, I want to make sure you two can.’

  ThePrimalGuy.com.au

  From: The Primal Guy

  Subject: Moving in for the Kill

  Hey Prime-Examples,

  Soz, gotta keep this one short.

  Things are really heating up round here. I’m getting so close to the end, to getting what I want, that I can almost taste it. This journey has been my Everest. I got nearly all the steps behind me, and if I can just nail these last ones, I can be done with this place and get back to my family.

  But I know I gotta be careful. ’Cause this is where it can all go bad.

  When you’ve got the spear in your hand, and your prey is there – sad and defenceless – sometimes you get the feeling like you want to pussy out.

  All I can say, man, is that you gotta keep your eyes on the prize. You know what you need. You gotta eat, after all. You know that blood will have to be spilled if you want to get it.

  But it won’t be yours. Not unless you take the damn shot.

  Peace out,

  Ryan (AKA the Primal Guy)

  PS No PS this week. Too much happening!

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  There was no sign of life at the Devines’ house. Plantation shutters firmly closed. No car in the drive.

  Alex rapped on the door and stood aside.

  ‘Maybe no one’s home?’ said Beth hopefully.

  The door opened. Charlie looked pale. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. She wore no make-up. Usually, her all-white wardrobe was like a highlighter for her tanned skin, but today, the simple oversized white linen shift dress gave her an ethereal, slightly vulnerable presence. The tan – obviously fake, Beth now realised – had faded.

  ‘Hello Alex, hello Cara … Beth.’ Charlie had to lean to see her, hiding behind Cara. Beth gave a little wave.

  ‘Could we come in? There’s something we need to discuss with you,’ said Cara.

  Charlie frowned and gripped the door handle. ‘It’s not a good time.’

  ‘It’s quite important, please,’ said Cara.

  ‘Can we discuss it here?’

  ‘Not really,’ said Cara, holding her ground.

  ‘All right.’ Charlie stood aside to let the women through.

  It was years since Beth had been in the house. Was it Christmas drinks one year that the Pezzullos had hosted? Anyway, she remembered it as a gleaming white modern box inside, with blond-wood furniture and fresh white lilies at every turn.

  It wasn’t like that any more. There was a sense of weariness about the place, maybe because it had been empty for all those months? Or was it the mess now scattered about the place, towers of still-taped packing boxes, and piles of paper and magazines strewn about everywhere? It was not what she had expected of Charlie Devine. Not at all. Three weeks should have been enough time for anyone to unpack their belongings and get a house in order. Her eye was drawn to a notepad, sitting on top of a particularly large pile of papers. Her brain pinged with recognition. There was something familiar about it …

  ‘I wasn’t expecting visitors,’ said Charlie, as if reading her mind. ‘We’re still getting sorted. All I can offer you is a green tea or an acai juice.’

  ‘No, thank you,’ said Cara. ‘I wanted to talk to you about what you said this morning, about Nourish, and the unforeseen threats we might face.’

  A look of surprise scudded across Charlie’s face. ‘I didn’t mean anything, really, just that being in business is difficult and you need to keep your wits about you.’

  ‘But why would you say that?’ Cara insisted. ‘Why this morning?’

  ‘No particular reason,’ said Charlie. ‘I was just making conversation. Being friendly. That’s what people do in this street, don’t they?’

  Her voice was even and unreadable. That Cuthbert Close was a friendly place was surely a positive? But Charlie’s tone gave it an air of criticism. Seemingly it wasn’t just Beth she needed distance from, it was everyone in the street.

  ‘You see, Charlie,’ said Alex, ‘Cara and Beth here had
a visit from the food safety inspector today, and he’s shut down their business because of a complaint from a neighbour.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ Charlie’s fingers went to her chest.

  Cara, Beth and Alex waited. Charlie’s eyes moved from face to face.

  Alex cleared her throat. ‘We think maybe the complaint came from you.’

  Charlie’s eyes widened and she blinked quickly. ‘It wasn’t me. I have no interest in seeing your business close down.’

  ‘C’mon, Charlie, it’s obvious. You see Cara and Beth as a threat. You basically said as much. Now, all we’re asking is that you ring the council and withdraw the complaint,’ cajoled Alex.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I think it might be time for you to leave,’ said Charlie, sounding defensive.

  Beth went to stand. She wanted nothing more than to leave. Something was … off. ‘Yes, of course. Sorry to disturb.’ As she rose the front door to the Devines’ house swung open, bringing in a blast of cooler air from outside.

  ‘Mum! Mum!’ The voice was quavering, panicked.

  All four women stood, with Charlie leading the rush towards the doorway. It was Talia, and she was holding something in her hand. Something that looked like … like hair. Human hair. Curly human hair.

  Beth gasped.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Talia whimpered.

  Cara stepped closer.

  ‘It’s Poppy’s,’ she said, her voice high and strangled.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  ‘Talk me through it again,’ said Alex tersely. ‘Step by step.’

  Talia gulped. ‘We got to your house, but no one was home, so we went across to Cara’s to wait in her back garden. Then Poppy said she wanted to play hairdressers, so I got some scissors out of the shed and gave them to the boys. I made them swear on their lives that they wouldn’t actually cut any hair. They were just supposed to pretend. I’m so, so sorry.’

  ‘Then what happened?’ Alex demanded.

  ‘I went back into the shed because the kids were hungry and I thought there might be some food. When I came back out, Poppy’s ponytail was on the ground, so I just picked it up, grabbed the scissors and ran home.’ The stricken girl looked at the boys, sitting on the couch with their feet dangling six inches off the floor.