Sleepwalk

by Ros Seddon

  ‘Sshhh….. Quiet Bits. Wait……’ He whispered. The two watched as Vanessa Gordon locked her front door then turned and looked in their direction, her beady eyes scanning the garden. She pulled some dead leaves from a variegated trailing ivy in the hanging basket above her head and tossed them into a wheelbarrow parked at the foot of her log pile then made her way up the path to the lane where she climbed into her landrover and fired up its tired diesel engine. They watched it rocking from side to side as she pulled away along the bumpy lane until it disappeared from sight. Slim crept up the path with Bits in hot pursuit and stuffed his rucksack full of small logs then, in a daredevil moment of wickedness, stuffed some more in his pockets until they were bulging. As he made his way back down the path he turned and saw Bits standing bravely, but awkwardly in the centre of Vanguard’s perfect lawn like a raven in the snow. He was leaving his mark for her. Slim couldn’t help but smile as he reached the river boundary fence and Bits was still there digging and scratching furiously at the turf in an exaggerated attempt to cover his faeces. Jonky was waiting for him under the bridge. Her thin pale face looked drawn and the skin beneath her eyes was dark. Basically she wasn’t a picture of health.

  ‘How’re you feeling Jonk?’

  ‘Like shit. Did you manage to get some firewood?’

  ‘Yes. No worries. We’ll have you warm in no time. Bits! No! Leave it.’ The dog was chewing up a small log, and every little splinter counted right now.

  ‘Managed to liberate a few bits of coal on the way back’, he proudly announced.

  Jonquil smiled half heartedly and shuddered beneath the dirty white blanket he had wrapped around her when she’d come to him in the middle of the night coughing and sneezing and holding her head. He’d taken off her wet clothes and hung them over the fence to the wasteland and dressed her in his spare vest and trousers; they were dirty but at least they were dry. He’d wrapped her in the old moth eaten blanket that he’d got from the dump and then sat her into his pride and joy; a bucket seat from an old mini cooper he’d found abandoned on the dual carriageway. He’d huddled up next to her that night and promised her a breakfast fit for a queen in the morning; but now, as the sun rose over the river bank and still three days to go before giro day he glanced at his meagre offerings. Someone’s discarded cold chips from the pavement in town and some onions left over from a kebab someone had dropped the night before. He looked at the girl; her face so thin and pale; her body shivering uncontrollably; her knees drawn up to her stomach for warmth, and he pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a large round shiny coin. He turned it over in his hand and the colonel’s second medal glistened back at him. The colonel would understand. He was sure of that.

  ‘I’ve lit the fire Jonk. Try to get some rest and I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  ‘A fiver? You’ve got to be kidding me.’

  ‘It’s not worth any more.’ said the man with the grey beard and the shifty eyes. We get these all the time. I can’t sell them on. No one wants them. In fact, a fiver is probably too much.’

  ‘Done.’

  Slim threw the medal onto the counter and held out his hand. The man flipped a button and the till made that ching ching sound and he was holding a dirty green note out in front of him.

  ‘Cheers. The colonel ….. and me, both thinks you stitched me up but cheers anyway.’ Slim left the pawn shop and headed toward the cafe where the familiar aroma of breakfast was already wafting up the street to greet him. The grey bearded man watched him go into the café and lifted his phone. Ten minutes later Slim reached the bridge with a cardboard takeaway breakfast carton and watched as Jonquil opened her mouth like a little bird as he fed her bacon, sausage, mushrooms, egg and hash brown, his mouth watering as she opened and closed; opened and closed and the delicious aroma lingered long after the cardboard carton was scraped clean. Slim licked the fat from its moulded casing and then threw it to Bits who chewed it to pieces until there was nothing left. He sat down next to Jonky and passed her his little plastic bottle of water and watched as she drained the bottle, right down to the last drop.

  ‘Oh…… I’m sorry I didn’t think………’ She held the empty bottle out to him.

  ‘It’s ok; plenty more where that came from. How do you feel now?’

  ‘Better. Thank you. You’re good to me Slimmy. You always have been. Sometimes I think…… well I don’t know why you bother with me.’

  ‘You’re a mate Jonky. You needed help and I was here. Bad job if I can’t help a mate innit? Anyway, if I’d have left you in them wet clothes last night you’d have caught your death.’

  ‘Perhaps I was supposed to?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Catch my death. Perhaps with your help I’ve cheated it again.’

  ‘Cheated?’

  ‘The angel of death. She came for me and I ran and hid……. in the wasteland. You weren’t here and I didn’t know what to do. The night the colonel……. she came for him, but she saw me. She looked right at me. Then after she took him, she came for me. It must be my turn too, you see.’

  ‘Did you tell the cops about this?’

  ‘Yes. I had to draw some pictures of her because I’d seen her before. You see that’s another thing. I’ve seen her many times and twice I’ve seen her come for old souls whose lives are near the end but I’m not old so why does she keep searching for me unless my time has come?’

  ‘So, what does she look like then?’

  ‘Like this……..’

  Jonquil took an old sketch pad from her rucksack and passed it to him just as the familiar sound of Vanguard’s landrover turning off the road and onto the wasteland made them both jump to their feet and Slim grabbed their things as they ran to the hole in the fence. He helped her through and passed the rucksacks through to her then he saw her sketch pad lying on the muddy path under the bridge and could see Vanguard’s shadow fast approaching. He must have dropped the book when he picked up the bags.

  ‘Go Jonky! Run! ....... I’ll catch you up’

  He watched Jonquil as she picked up her rucksack and skipped away through the long grass; her fair hair dancing in little ringlets around her face. She stopped then, and turned to face him. She was still quite close to him; only a few metres away and he could see the greenery beneath her reflecting in her …. oh so green …. eyes.

  ‘Slimmy?’ she whispered.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I just wanted to say thank you; for a breakfast fit for a queen’ .......... for loving me...... ‘........for everything you’ve ever done for me; thank you Slimmy.........that’s all.’

  She gave him a big beaming smile, then turned and ran across the wasteland; her rucksack bouncing against the top of her multi-coloured striped socks and her dirty blue denim jeans. It was the last time he would ever see her……..

  Slim ran back to the path, leaned forward and reached out his hand for the book just as a strong gust of wind caught it and took it a few feet further away. He could see the feet of Vanguard’s green rubber boots and her stick waving around in front of them dangerously close to it.

  ‘I’ve got you now Williams. I’ll take that ……… thank ….. you!’

  The stick reached the book before he did but he dived at it all the same and tried to grab it. Vanguard began to poke him and beat him with her stick furiously.

  ‘Ow! Get off me you old witch!’ He reached out his hand to the book which was partly being swept further away by the wind and partly by her prodding and scraping at it with her damned stick. He was lying on the path; his knees bent back behind him; his arm outstretched then, just as he almost had it she brought her stick down hard on his wrist making him recoil in pain. She stepped closer to him and grabbed the neck of his anorak, pulling it tightly upwards.

  ‘I’ve got you now Williams. I’m making a citizens arrest.’

  And then, like Lassie to the rescue, along came Bits who was barking and growling like a crazed demon. He grabbed the end of her stick in his te
eth and began to tug backwards and pull and tug and pull until Vanessa Gordon suddenly lost her balance and began to topple sideways and down she went. With a faint scream she landed in the long grass with a thud. Bits was running sideways under the bridge dragging his victory stick along clumsily, his head held high. Slim stood up and pulled his dishevelled coat down. He picked up the sketch pad, tucked it into his pocket, turned and started toward the wasteland. Then he stopped. He looked back at Vanguard who was lying awkwardly on a grassy knoll holding her leg, panting and wailing occasionally in pain. He couldn’t leave her. He went back and crouched down beside her.

  ‘Are you ok?’

  ‘Am I ok? Am I ok? Does it look like I’m bloody well ok? ……….. I’ll have you for this Williams. This is assault; and I’ll have that mangy mongrel of yours put down for this, you mark my words. Ouch! ….. Oh God I think my leg is broken. Ow…..’

  ‘Don’t try to move. I’ll go and get some help.’ He ran to the bend in the road and looked both ways. In the distance he could see a car approaching. He waved frantically at the driver but instead of slowing down, the driver knocked it down a gear and speeded up, swerving around him as he passed by; as if his car might catch something. Slim had that effect on people. He looked both ways. People rarely used this road which led to a disused warehouse. He had camped there in the past; until the owners had made it impossible to break in to. There was a lane leading from it that took you from the supermarket car park under the dual carriageway and out here to the back of Sainsbury’s and the old road to Compton without having to go along the dual carriageway thence avoiding rush hour traffic; but no one used it at this time of the morning. He went back to check on Vanguard who was huddled up in the same position and had begun to shiver. Her cries had now become a whimper.

  ‘Look, no one uses this road much so I’m going to cut through the wasteland and get some help from someone at Sainsbury’s, ok? Just hang in there.’

  ‘Oh just go and leave me to die.’ Vanessa Gordon turned her head away from him and began to cry. She had never felt so humiliated in all her life. To have suffered at the hands of this waster who had been stealing from her for so long and now……. to find herself at his mercy was too degrading for her to contemplate. She watched as he skipped blithely under the bridge and through the hole in the fence, his little dog bounding along behind him. She watched the long grass swaying gently in the breeze and she heard the thud as the traffic sped past above her on the by pass. She heard the little dog barking in the distance and the sounds became more and more distant and now all she could hear was the wind rustling through the trees and the long grass and the constant irregular thud of the traffic passing over the viaduct. Wait! …… a new sound………. a car behind her; coming toward her along the lane. If she could only stand up they just might see her.

  ‘Ow! Ouch bloody leg……. Oh where is that stupid boy?’

  The engine sound became louder and was so close, but it was no use. She could not move her leg. It was just too painful to move. She had no choice but to sit still and wait. What if he didn’t come back? Supposing he just left her there? She had told him to. Her exact words were Go and leave me to die……….. Supposing he did just that? Vanessa thought for a minute. She couldn’t rely on this boy to get help. And why should he help her? She’d done nothing but threaten him from the day she first saw him stealing from her log pile. What was the matter with kids today? How could they live like they did? Why didn’t they go and get a job and conform to the system? The wind was gradually getting stronger and then it began to rain. Vanessa pulled her thin cotton jacket around her shoulders and the movement made her flinch as she jarred her leg. Somewhere nearby, a dog was barking………. a deep, gruff bark. It was a big dog; not that silly little black thing of Williams’.

  ‘Help!’ She screamed as loud as she could. ‘Help!..... Someone help me! Please!’ but the only sound was the wind rushing through the trees and the long grass; then the rain began to get heavier and heavier and she began to shiver spasmodically at first, and then uncontrollably and her voice became weaker and weaker until all that remained was the pounding of the rain against her thin jacket and trousers which were by now saturated and were clinging to her cold wet skin and as the rain poured down on her the wind whistled under the bridge and the long grass rushed and swayed and the trees shook and creaked to the rhythm and called out to her ….. Vanguard ……. Vanguard ……… Vanguard……….

  Felicity woke up in the spare room shivering. It was the beginning of July but because it had been raining and there hadn’t been any sunshine for the past two days the house felt colder in the mornings. She hadn’t slept well. They had spent a short time together in David’s room last night and she had lain in his arms for a while but he had been snoring and she had been so tired she had made her excuses and gone to the spare room. Then she kept hearing noises; creaking and banging; distant noises, but enough to disturb her sleep. With the house being so close to the woods it was one disadvantage of being in Rose Lane. When the weather was bad the trees would moan and creak and the spare room was at the back of the house so it was even louder here than in David’s room which was at the front. She checked her little travel alarm on the bedside cabinet; 7.50am. She could hear the familiar sound of crockery rattling downstairs in the kitchen and Ollie’s cheery little voice. She got up and went to join them for breakfast. As soon as he saw her the child’s face lit up.

  ‘Vic! I got Eddie!’

  ‘Eggie? Mmm….. you are such a lucky boy Ollie.’

  ‘Morning Flick. Did you sleep well love?’ David automatically placed an egg into the little koala bear egg cup that was sitting on a plate at a third table setting waiting for her.

  ‘Thank you…… not brilliantly at first. The forest kind of talks to you when it’s windy like it was last night; but I think after a while you become accustomed to it and then I must have slept like a log and obviously didn’t wake up when I should have.’

  ‘You should think of this time as a little holiday babe. You don’t have to get up early for work. You should make the most of it and have a lie in.’

  ‘Yes you’re right; but I think we kind of program ourselves to get up at a particular time when we’re working and then it feels wrong if you’re not awake at the usual time.’

  ‘Yes. I know what you mean. I couldn’t lie in if I wanted to; body clock wouldn’t allow it. Help yourself to soldiers.’

  In the centre of the table David had arranged a plate stacked with bread and butter fingers and both he and Ollie were dunking them into their eggs.

  ‘I haven’t heard them called that in years’ Felicity smiled as she took one and dunked it in to the top of her egg and felt it melt in her mouth; another childhood memory now rekindled. After breakfast David drove Oliver to his mothers while Felicity had a shower and then they set off for Knapp in their old clothes. Bob Croft was there to meet them with his drawings and estimate for the loft conversion, which wasn’t as much as either of them had expected. He said he would need a decision before work could continue upstairs and would have to put a hold on the re-wiring for which he had contracted in an electrical team. The two went into the garden to discuss the matter.

  ‘Flick, you’d be daft not to go ahead at this price. It’s much less than I thought.’

  ‘Hmm… me too. I was expecting at least a thousand pounds more. Are you sure though David? About putting up the money? I ……. I haven’t had a chance to speak to my parents yet but I’m sure they would help.’

  ‘Your mother’s got enough to worry about Flick with your dad. I’ll be glad to help; really, I will. That’s it then; decision made. Come on ……. Let’s tell Bob to go ahead.’

  ‘As long as it doesn’t affect my insurance claim.’

  ‘It won’t do babe; stop being so negative. As long as everything is kept separate and they know this is at your own expense it’s not going to affect your claim. Trust me.’

  It was with some trepidation t
hat Felicity told her builder; ‘I’d like to go ahead with the loft project Bob. How much longer do you think it will take?’

  ‘Ah …… well……. I should say we’re looking at an extra two weeks work but hang on a minute. I have other jobs planned you see and I had the plasterers booked for Monday. I’ll have to cancel them now you see until we’re ready for the second fix. I’ll try to do some re-shuffling but I can’t make any promises. We’re booked solid for the next six months you see. I’ll make some enquiries and come back to you.’ With that he sent his men away to other jobs. Materials had to be ordered he’d said and that would take time. She’d be hearing from him in due course. Bob Croft jumped into his dirty white pick up truck which refused to start until the fourth attempt and then as he pulled away and a cloud of blue smoke shot from its exhaust pipe Felicity looked at David and he looked at her and they both burst out laughing.

  ‘First fix, second fix …….. booked solid. How come he’s driving that old truck if he’s so busy?’

  ‘We must be in the wrong business Flick.’ David sighed and they both looked around the cottage.

  ‘At least they’ve got the stairs in eh? We can get the bathroom and the spare room cleaned up and painted if nothing else.’

  ‘DC Peters is here Sir’

  ‘Thank you Steve, send her in will you?’

  Within a few minutes she was knocking at the door and then it opened.

  ‘Ah. The elusive DC Claire Peters. Sit down Claire. What have you got on the Breen case?’

  ‘Nothing. I can’t find anything Sir. It’s like I’m banging my head against a brick wall. Forensics haven’t come up with anything. Our Miss Breen is squeaky clean. Everyone loves her. No one has a bad word to say about her. Works hard but doesn’t play hard. Hasn’t had a steady relationship since a guy she went out with at school and he emigrated to Oz. The only guy I haven’t had chance to interview is the neighbour’s son, Tom Baines but I’ve arranged to meet him tonight when he gets back from work. I do have an expert opinion of suspected arson according to this report but there’s no concrete proof of it; or of the person responsible.’ She placed the final report from the fire investigating officer on his desk. ‘Dead end Sir but I’ll keep trying.’