by Mel Sherratt
‘It’s a bit chilly in here, Amy. Have you got enough gas tokens?’
‘Yeah, I took me card to the post office on Monday. It was on my to-do list.’
Josie smiled, watching her spoon in another mouthful, then carefully wipe the remainder from Reece’s chin with his bib. She was such a good kid, it grieved her to see how she had been let down by her parents.
‘Good. I wondered if the problem with your heating had been sorted.’
Amy looked up quickly. ‘There’s nowt wrong with my heating.’
‘But Ray – you remember Ray, the other housing officer? – he said it wasn’t working properly the other week. I thought that you were still having –’
‘No, it’s okay now.’
Josie wondered why Amy’s body had tensed. For some reason, she wouldn’t look her in the eye either.
‘It’s okay if you did something wrong,’ she said, hoping to encourage Amy to open up. She decided it was time for a white lie. ‘I know when I moved into my house, I was forever switching off things that should stay on or leaving things on that should be turned off.’
Amy began to relax a little but Josie had seen the signs and was worried. Amy seemed to be coping: the house was tidy and Reece, despite his grumbling, was looking well. Maybe there was something Amy was keeping to herself?
‘Is there something else that you want to tell me?’ Josie questioned, her voice soft.
Amy shook her head vehemently.
‘I just wondered, because when I called the other day, I couldn’t get an answer when I knocked. You were in, though, weren’t you?’
‘No, I was at the shops!’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes!’
Amy wouldn’t look at Josie. Instead, she wiped Reece’s face clean and pulled off his bib. Josie sighed and grabbed her file. There was nothing she could do when Amy was in this frame of mind. She was a stubborn little sod when she wanted to be – and she didn’t have to tell Josie anything if she didn’t want to.
For now, she’d have to be content that Amy was doing okay, even though there was clearly something on her mind. She’d have to dig deeper during her next visit.
The rest of the afternoon was quite successful for Josie, too. She’d been to see Mrs Baker from Russell Close, who had finished decorating the downstairs of her property: only another six months before the upstairs would be to a decent standard, no doubt. The new tenant in Winston Place had moved in on time and six of the eight garden checks had been tidied to a reasonable level.
After having a giggle at some of the extremely rude cards on display in the newsagents, she was making her way back to her car when she spotted a figure in the distance.
‘Mrs Middleton!’ Josie waved to catch her attention.
Ruth Middleton turned slightly but kept on walking.
‘Wait a minute!’ Josie had to run to catch her up. Finally as she drew nearer, Ruth stopped.
‘How are you?’ she asked, a hand held to her chest as she caught her breath.
‘I’m fine, thanks,’ Ruth smiled tightly.
‘Good.’ Josie knew instantly that the question was being avoided. Ruth didn’t look well at all. A small woman, she was pale and thin, bags under her eyes denoting her lack of sleep. ‘And how are things at home?’
The last time Josie had visited Ruth after a neighbour complaint about noise, she hadn’t been faring well. Ruth seemed depressed, extremely subdued. It was almost as if she was in a trance. Josie had wondered if she was on strong medication but Ruth hadn’t come forward with the information. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was living with her partner, she might have tried to get her some help – not that Martin was any use, but Josie did see him out a lot with Ruth’s two young boys.
‘Everything’s fine,’ Ruth replied.
‘Right.’ Josie stepped sideways to allow a woman with a double buggy and a toddler to get past. ‘And the boys, are they doing okay? Looking forward to the Easter break coming up?’
‘Look, I don’t mean to be rude,’ Ruth fiddled with the strap on her handbag, ‘but I’m not sure that it’s any of your business.’
‘Sorry.’ Josie wasn’t taken aback by her tone. ‘But you were upset when I last saw you and I thought –’
‘You thought you’d come and stick your nose in again where it’s not wanted.’
‘No! That’s not it at all. I’m worried about you.’
Ruth looked away. ‘No, you’re not. You’re doing your job.’
‘Maybe, but I’m trying –’
‘Leave me be.’ Ruth started to walk away. ‘I don’t need your help. I’m fine on my own.’
‘Please, wait!’ Josie grabbed her arm and was shocked when Ruth flinched. She pulled her hand away. ‘You’re not all right, are you?’
Ruth’s eyes filled with tears.
‘Let me help.’ Josie tried desperately to connect with her. ‘Please.’
‘Sure, you can help. Do you know how? Leave me alone.’
Ruth turned away again. Josie had no choice but to let her go. Even so, she was still thinking of her when she got back to the office. She parked up next to Andy’s police vehicle in the car park, wondering what he’d called in for.
‘What’s all the commotion?’ she asked Sonia, who was practically sprinting up the corridor heading for the reception.
‘Some dickhead’s super-glued himself to the rent counter,’ she said with a grin.
Josie pushed open the door into the office and Sonia turned back in astonishment.
‘Aren’t you coming to see? He’s pissed off because his rent benefit has been stopped. One of the fraud officers caught him up a ladder cleaning windows on three separate occasions. He’s meant to be incapacitated, unable to walk for ten metres without help.’
‘I’m on my way.’ Josie grinned: this she had to see. The dickhead in question must be Derek Maddox from Robert Place. Josie had contacted the fraud department six months previously and they’d been building up a file on him ever since. She plonked her things down on her desk – no surprise to see an empty office – and joined the rest of the staff as the party unfurled.
‘That’s her!’ Derek shrieked as soon as Josie caught his furious eyes. ‘That’s the evil bitch that shopped me!’
Andy was having difficulty keeping his face straight as he looked over at Josie coming into view behind several housing staff. ‘Mrs Mellor, do you have anything to do with this little incident?’
‘Absolutely not, PC Baxter.’ Josie shook her head. ‘Contrary to popular belief, Mr Maddox, I don’t know everything that goes on around the Mitchell Estate.’
‘THEN WHO THE FUCK WAS IT?’ Derek screamed again. ‘When I find out who it is, I’ll break every bone in their fucking body. I’ll rip ‘em up into pieces. I’ll tear their balls off. I’ll –’
‘Calm down, Derek.’ Andy failed to keep the snigger out of his voice. ‘Swearing isn’t going to help. It’ll only stress you out, and you don’t want to come unstuck now, do you?’
Derek’s face turned a raspberry colour as laughter erupted from all around the reception area. An old lady Josie recognised from William Precinct pushed past him and handed the cashier her rent card through the slot in the glass. It seemed that she wasn’t prepared to wait a minute longer.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ laughed Josie. She nudged Debbie. ‘Get the digital camera.’
‘Ooh, yes. We can laugh about him later, too.’ Debbie grinned. ‘What a knob.’
Josie smiled back. She’d known it would only be a matter of months before the job made Debbie as bitter and twisted as the rest of the staff. Once she’d been threatened a few times on the reception desk and verbally abused on the phone, she’d hardened up pretty sharpish.
She grinned. These were the times when she realised that some days on the Mitchell Estate were better than others. The rough was worth it for the smooth.
Just then, she noticed Ray scuttling into the office through the staff entrance.
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‘The photos aren’t to show everyone, Debbie,’ Josie told her as she moved towards him. ‘It’s further evidence that he hasn’t got a bad back. Ray, have you got a minute?’
Ray turned towards Josie but continued to walk through into the office. ‘Not enough of them in the day with scrotes like Maddox allowed to get away with benefit fraud.’
For once, Josie was in agreement with him. ‘We got him in the end,’ she said as she drew nearer to him. They walked through together into the main office. ‘It’s Amy Cartwright that I want to talk to you about.’
Ray stopped at his desk, picking up a message left for him on a notepad. ‘Bloody pathetic.’ He ripped it from the spine, crunched it into a ball and lobbed it at the waste paper bin. ‘They always ring after you’ve arranged to see them yet there was no one in when I called. Well, no one who’d open the door, anyway. What about Amy Cartwright?’
‘I saw her earlier and she was a bit off when I mentioned that you’d been out to sort her heating.’
Ray shrugged his shoulders. ‘She caught me on one of my better days. She called in at the office to see Doug but he wasn’t in so I went instead. Call me a Good Samaritan, if you want.’
Josie sat down at her desk in front of him. ‘So why did she look so awkward when I mentioned your name? You didn’t give her a hard time because she’d broken something, did you?’
Ray stretched his arms above his head before flexing his fingers noisily. ‘Now, now, Josie, you know me better than that.’
Josie sighed. Yes she did, that was the trouble.
‘What did you say to upset her?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Ray, you seem to forget, I’ve worked with you for years.’
‘Amy’s a thicko, she’ll tell you anything. The only reason I went round at all was to stop me from having to go and see that Neblin bloke of yours. His son’s been causing grief and the last time I called I had the whole street on my back moaning at me. So, if you must know, I went to save myself some aggro. Anyway, it’s sorted now, so what’s the problem?’
‘The problem is you’ve upset her.’ Josie reached for her phone to retrieve her voicemail messages as Irene, Sonia and Debbie burst in through the doors, still laughing about Derek Maddox. ‘The next time you go to see her, let me know and I’ll come with you. It’s taken me ages to build a rapport with her. The last thing I need is for you to break the trust – and don’t call her a thicko.’
Ray’s chair scraped across the flooring as he stood up abruptly. ‘Back off, Josie. Just because you look after all the waifs and strays doesn’t mean I have to give the same customer care.’
‘I –’
He threw his hands up into the air. ‘No, don’t worry, miss do-gooder. The next time Amy Cartwright needs something, I’ll let you sort it out from the beginning. It’s less hassle.’
Josie flicked two fingers up as he walked off. Sometimes it was like working in a nursery, not an office.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
That Wednesday evening, Kelly slid a thin ham and mushroom pizza into the oven for herself and Emily and a crunchy pepperoni one for Jay. It was her first night off in ages, due to a change of shift with one of the early girls. Jay was due in fifteen minutes and Emily was helping her to arrange the salad in a bowl – or rather, she had been for a minute or so, before rushing off.
‘Jay’s here!’ Emily shouted through the door. ‘Can I let him in?’
‘Only because I know it’s Jay, young lady, else the rule still stands.’
As Emily bounded down the stairs to let him in, Kelly rushed across to the mirror and checked her appearance before he came into the room. He smiled and held out a bottle of wine. ‘This calls for a celebration – your first night off.’
‘That and the fact that the sun’s been shining today. I actually took off my jacket this morning when I went to the shops!’
‘We’re having pizza,’ Emily cried. She put both her tiny feet onto Jay’s booted ones and balanced on them as he walked across the room. Laughing as she giggled, Jay lifted her up and threw her playfully onto the settee.
Once the pizza had been demolished, Jay topped up their glasses while Kelly got Emily into bed.
‘At last,’ Kelly sighed when she eventually joined him again. ‘I tell you, that girl has got be the chattiest kid I know. I can’t wait for her to start school to give me some peace.’
‘Don’t give me that, you’ll miss her like crazy.’
Kelly sat down. ‘I know. I’ll – I’ll miss you too when Scott gets back. I can’t believe he’ll be home in a few days.’
‘I hope he keeps out of trouble this time. He needs to calm down and think of what he might lose if he gets caught again. I –’
‘You think he’s shit, don’t you?’ Kelly clipped. ‘You thought he’d serve the full sentence because he wouldn’t be able to stay out of trouble. Well, he’s not a Kirkwell.’
‘Ouch.’ Jay turned away from Kelly’s fierce stare for a moment. ‘I didn’t mean it to sound so nasty. It’s just that I’m going to miss you.’
‘Sorry.’ Kelly grinned, instantly friends with him again. ‘I was thinking earlier how it won’t be the same. There’ll be no more pizzas,’ she raised her glass in the air, ‘no more bottles of wine to share, no more nights watching Cougar or Gossip Girl. Scott hates that type of thing. He’s into serial killers, blood, snot and the likes. It’s rare I get to watch girlie things. It’s been a pleasure to –’
Without warning, Jay leaned forward. Time seemed to suspend as he stared directly into Kelly’s eyes. His face contorted as if in pain. Quickly, he stood up and moved away.
‘I can’t do this anymore,’ he said.
‘Why? It’s early yet.’ Kelly picked up the bottle of wine, indicating that it was still half full.
‘No, I mean I can’t be with you anymore. This is killing me. I thought I could handle things but everything’s gone weird now. I need to keep my wits about me. You’re Scott’s girl, my mate’s girl. I’ve got no right to feel the way I do.’
All at once, the penny dropped for Kelly.
Jay sat back down again. He took her hands in his own. ‘I can’t help myself, Kel. I think about you all the time. I can’t wait to pick you up from work every night, I go crazy over the weekends without you.’
‘But you’ve taken me – us – out for the last two Sundays… Oh.’ Kelly pulled her hands away.
‘I shouldn’t have, but I wanted to be with you. I thought I could handle it, but now I realise that… oh, fuck. I’m just going to come right out and say it. I realise that I love you.’
The last few words came out in a whisper but Kelly heard every one as if Jay had shouted them from the top of the Empire State building.
‘I know I can give you so much more than Scott,’ he continued. ‘You’re a great mum, you’ve started work to earn your keep, to make a difference, and you’ve survived. Most women would have sat cowering in a corner waiting for their partners to come back.’
Kelly sat in silence, unable to speak.
‘You deserve far better than him,’ Jay added.
She laughed harshly. ‘Like you, you mean? Don’t beat about the bush, Jay.’
He touched Kelly’s cheek again, ever so slightly, like a feather floating past. ‘I can’t stop thinking about you.’
‘But you’re Scott’s mate!’
Jay grimaced. ‘I can’t stop thinking about that either.’
‘No,’ Kelly shook her head, ‘you can’t. And you shouldn’t.’
‘But have you ever stopped to think about why I’m his mate? It’s because I wanted to keep an eye on you. I know what Scott gets up to.’
‘But you do it too!’ Realising the living room door stood ajar, Kelly quickly closed it for fear of waking Emily. As she came back to stand in front of the fire, she shook her head, trying to rid it of all the confusion. How could Jay sit there and make out that Scott was worse than him, just because he hadn’t been caught that nigh
t? And why say it now? Was he only doing it to cover up his feelings – his guilt, perhaps? Taking her off the scent by trying to put the blame on Scott?
But it wasn’t Scott’s fault that his mate had fallen for his woman. And it wasn’t Scott’s fault that Kelly had led Jay on. Because that’s what she’d done, hadn’t she?
‘You’re just like him,’ she said, if only to reassure herself.
Jay rubbed his hands over his face before looking up at her. ‘But I’m not – you’ve got to believe me.’
‘You’ve got a reputation on the estate for being a hard bastard! No one wants to start on a Kirkwell.’
‘That’s because I’ve had to defend myself because of who my brothers are. Men pick fights because of who I am. That’s all it is. I’ve never stolen anything, and I’ve never done a job with Scott either.’
Kelly sat silent for a moment, puzzled by what he’d said. ‘I thought you always went with him,’ she said eventually.
Jay shook his head. ‘No! How many more times do I have to tell you?’
‘But you warned him off the last job. I heard you talking in the kitchen – you said it was too risky.’
‘That’s because it was too risky. I didn’t want to see you suffer. I warned Stevie and Michael but they never listened either.’
Kelly was confused as she tried to work out the finer details. Scott had done lots of jobs with the Kirkwell brothers. Had she assumed that Jay was involved when he wasn’t? She thought back to Josie defending his actions after she’d been attacked.
Had she been wrong?
She sat down next to him again. ‘Tell me what’s going on.’
‘You know I’m the youngest brother,’ Jay explained. ‘I’ve had to live in their shadows for years. You’re not the first person to think I’d be involved. But I swear to you, I’m not. What they do makes me sick. I haven’t got time for petty thieves. They think they don’t hurt people, people like you and me, but they do. For every factory they do over, hard working people lose their jobs. For every car they steal to move on, someone’s stranded. It’s not as easy as the insurance paying out.