by Anna Jacobs
And it’d spoiled her lovely day.
Seven
As the taxi pulled away from the house and she began to walk up the path, Gabrielle saw that the front door was slightly ajar. Had the people picking up Stu’s boxes gone into her house? He must have given them his key. Why would he do that?
She walked more quickly. The door lock had been forced. She peered inside, listening, but could hear no one, so went in.
As she looked to the right, she cried out in shock. The front room was empty. Not a single piece of furniture was left. She closed her eyes and opened them again. It hadn’t been an illusion. Someone had taken all her furniture.
She walked round one empty room after another, too numb with distress to cry or make any sound beyond the occasional whimper.
Some of her food had been left in the pantry cupboard, cheap perishables like potatoes and onions, and a few open packets, but the rest had been taken. The few remaining items of frozen food, one of which was supposed to be a meal for tonight, must have gone with the freezer.
Upstairs was in a similar state. There was no furniture left. Not a single piece. All that was left of her clothes was her worn underwear and a torn, frayed pair of jeans. They had been left in a small heap on the floor in a corner.
Worst of all, they’d taken her computer. It wasn’t a new one, but she had all sorts of information stored on it. Well, she’d find out now if storing things in the cloud worked. That was the least of her present worries, though.
She was too numb with distress to look in her hiding place, but then it occurred to her abruptly that the thieves would have searched for anything of value that had been hidden. She ran back upstairs, hoping they hadn’t found the cache. Did people usually hide their valuables in the bedroom? Or had Stu told the thieves she had something of value hidden there?
She stopped dead for a moment on that thought. Yes, Stu. She was quite sure he was involved in this.
They hadn’t found the hiding place. She groaned in relief. She still had her mother’s wedding ring and the pretty gold and seed pearl brooch that had belonged to her grandmother, one or two other treasured items as well.
But she’d lost nearly everything else that she owned.
It took her a while to realize she should be phoning the police.
It took them forty minutes to answer her call for help. They sounded astonished that someone should clear a house out so thoroughly.
‘Didn’t your neighbours notice what was happening?’
‘They knew I was going to move and I told Mrs Starkey that someone was coming to collect things today, but I didn’t say what. It should just have been a few boxes, stuff belonging to my ex.
‘Has that gone as well?’
‘I haven’t looked. It was in the garage.’
She led the way there and, sure enough, Stu’s things were gone as well.
‘Who was supposed to be coming today?’
‘I don’t know exactly who. My ex had arranged to have the rest of his stuff picked up. We’ve just got divorced and sold the house, you see.’
‘We’ll have to contact him. Do you still have his number?’
‘Yes.’ She gave it them.
‘Was your furniture valuable, Ms Newman?’
‘No. Some of the electrical equipment was fairly new. I bought the fridge and freezer after we split up, and the washing machine was only a couple of years old.’ She gulped back tears. ‘I don’t understand why someone would do this.’
‘It isn’t common unless you’ve a house full of valuables, I must admit. Could your husband have taken the furniture? People do strange things out of spite after divorces.’
She shrugged. What could she say? She couldn’t accuse Stu on a mere feeling. ‘He was going to a conference all day, so it’ll be easy to check on him.’
‘Do you have somewhere to go tonight?’ the woman officer asked. ‘Obviously you can’t sleep here. There isn’t even a blanket left.’
‘My friend’s away on holiday.’ Anyway, there was only one person she wanted. ‘There’s a guy I’m seeing. I’ll call him. I haven’t known him for long, but I’m pretty sure he’ll help me. He was coming here tomorrow anyway to help with the move.’
And if Dan didn’t want to help her, it was best to find out now.
‘Don’t touch anything, Ms Newman. We’ll get the crime scene people in to examine the place. Why don’t you call your guy? We’ll stay with you for a while.’
So she phoned Dan.
When he answered on the second ring, she burst into tears and couldn’t speak.
The male officer took the phone from her while the woman put an arm round her and made soothing noises.
Gabrielle fought to control her emotions and after a few moments was able to take the phone back. ‘Dan?’
‘The officer told me what’s happened. I’m sorry, so very sorry, Gabrielle. I’ll be on my way to you within a few minutes. Why don’t you book rooms for us at the B and B where I stayed last time? I’ll meet you there in a couple of hours.’
She smeared away more tears and managed a choked ‘Thank you. I’ll do that.’
‘I wish I could get there more quickly. You must be dreadfully upset.’
‘Mmm.’ The first shock was passing. She had gone into a sort of numbness.
She left the officers to keep an eye on the house and walked down the road to the B and B.
Even here, her luck wasn’t in. They had only one room left, though at least it had twin beds.
‘I’ll take it.’ She had no choice. She couldn’t go anywhere else easily till she got her car back. Dan could go to another hotel … or he could take the other bed. She stood very still as she realized she’d welcome his company, hoped he’d stay with her.
She walked slowly back up the hill to the house and found the detectives examining the crime scene.
‘Strangest crime I’ve had for a while,’ one of them was saying to the other.
‘Excuse me. I’m the owner. Is there anything I can help you with?’
They asked her a few questions and then one said thoughtfully. ‘They seem to have been very careful about leaving no traces. Must have been watching those crime scene shows on TV.’
The other nodded. ‘I doubt we’ll find anything here. We’ll continue looking and be in touch when we’ve checked everything. Did you have your mobile phone on you or did they get that as well?’
‘I still have it but it’s an old one. I don’t use it much.’
‘Give me the number and I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ll shut the house up and string crime tape tonight. Can’t do much more in the dark.’
‘I’m supposed to clear the house for handover tomorrow.’
‘You’ll probably be able to do that by the afternoon. It’s not a major enough crime to throw a taskforce at it, I’m afraid.’
‘No. Look, can I get some things for overnight?’
There were only a few garments left, mostly ready for the ragbag, and as the thieves had taken all her suitcases, she had to put her clothes into a plastic dustbin liner. The intruders had missed a roll of those because it was right at the back of a drawer, but they hadn’t missed much else.
What sort of thieves took every single item?
What were they going to do with them? Set up home?
That was the only half-sensible reason she could think of.
But what if she was right? What if Stu had arranged this?
Perhaps he was setting up a home in Prague.
Would he keep on harassing her? Or was this his parting shot?
The owner of the B and B looked at the plastic bag disapprovingly, so Gabrielle had to explain what had happened, by which time she was in tears again.
As she slowly climbed the stairs to her room, she heard the woman mutter to her husband, ‘I thought I’d seen and heard everything, but this takes the prize for nastiness. Poor woman. Tyres slashed and everything she owns stolen in one day.’
‘More than a coinci
dence, if you ask me,’ he said gloomily. ‘Mark my words, someone’s got it in for her. It’ll be someone she knows. Always is.’
As Gabrielle went into her room, the owners’ words echoed in her brain, making her more certain than ever that this was connected with Stu.
She didn’t even start to unpack her clothes, was too wrung out with emotion to do more than dump the rubbish bag, then collapse on the bed and lie there, curled up, waiting for Dan.
Surely he would come to her as he’d said?
What would she do if he didn’t?
She didn’t even try to work that out tonight. She was too numb and weary. It’d been a very long day.
Dan told people he was leaving early to deal with a family emergency, then hurried back to his hotel room. He’d done what was needed on this job, anyway, and Leon understood the fact that people had personal crises.
He did jobs for Leon’s small government agency every now and then. They paid promptly, the jobs were fairly interesting, and the people at the agency seemed to appreciate his efforts.
They had offered him another job, but Gabrielle desperately needed help and she was much more important than any job.
He stood still in shock as he realized that. For all his talk of taking things slowly in their possible relationship, she’d rapidly become important to him. He shook his head at his own weakness, then smiled at the thought of her as he slung his things into his suitcase.
The sound of Gabrielle’s muffled weeping on the phone kept replaying in his memory as he drove. It had hurt him to hear how upset she was. Why the hell would someone do that to her, steal all her possessions?
Her furniture wasn’t particularly valuable, so this was a crime which didn’t seem worth the trouble. That was what puzzled him. However, a removal van would surely be easy to trace, even if it had been stolen. They weren’t exactly ten a penny on the roads.
Who could have done it? How would they dispose of her possessions without anyone noticing something from a police list?
He drove to Worton with his usual care and attention to traffic and weather conditions. Having lost a cousin to a pile-up on the motorway when he was twenty, he never let his emotions take precedence over safe driving. Human life was too precious to risk.
It was dark when he arrived in the village, and he could see from the end of the street that there were no lights on in Gabrielle’s house, so he went straight to the B and B.
‘Is Gabrielle Newman staying here?’
‘And you are?’
‘Dan Monahan.’
‘Ah yes. She’s expecting you. Room six. Up the stairs and to the right, end of the corridor. Here’s your key.’
‘Thank you.’ He mounted the steps two at a time, eager to see her.
When he knocked on the door of number six, there was no answer. He knocked again, more loudly, and waited. Still no answer. Where was Gabrielle?
He tried the handle and found the door unlocked, which made him frown as he went in. She should have locked it. Anyone could have got to her.
A bedside lamp was switched on and Gabrielle was curled up on one of the two single beds, asleep but looking troubled. Even as he watched, she moved restlessly and muttered in her sleep.
He went closer. Her hair was a tangle and her make-up smudged. She didn’t usually wear make-up – well, not that he’d seen. Then he remembered that today had been the pampering day. He knew how much she’d been looking forward to it, and even that small treat had been spoiled for her.
Had the thieves fallen lucky, finding an empty house? Or had they known she’d be out? He felt they were more likely to have known, because they’d come with a removal truck, prepared to take everything away quickly.
But the crime still didn’t make sense.
He cleared his throat loudly, but she didn’t stir, so he switched on the overhead light and nudged the bed with one knee.
She turned a little, half opened her eyes and threw one arm across them to shield herself from the bright light overhead.
‘It’s me, Gabrielle. Dan.’
This time she opened her eyes fully. ‘You did come.’
He sat down on the edge of the bed, which brought him close enough to see her puffy, reddened eyes. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t?’
‘I wasn’t sure. I don’t feel sure of anything lately.’
‘You can always be sure that I’ll do what I promise.’ As tears filled her eyes, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. She felt so right there.
She didn’t speak, only nestled against him. But a warm tear rolled on to the back of his hand, then another.
‘You’ve had a dreadful day,’ he told her softly, stroking her hair. ‘Maybe we can start to turn that around from now on.’
‘I can’t understand why he would do it to me.’
‘He? Do you know who did it?’
‘It had to be Stu.’ She raised her head to look him in the eyes. ‘Who else could it have been? They came prepared with a big truck, so they must have known I’d be away.’
‘That’s what I was thinking. But how would your ex know you’d be out?’
‘Stu wanted to have his boxes picked up today and I said I wouldn’t be in. I even told him about the day’s pampering I’d won. How stupid was that?’
Dan couldn’t resist dropping a kiss on her damp forehead. ‘Well, let’s go out and get some food before everything closes. Which is my room? I need to drop off my luggage and wash my hands.’
She flushed bright red. ‘Um. There was only this room free.’
‘Ah.’
‘It’s got twin beds. We could share it, if you like. It’d save you a lot of trouble and … I’d feel safer. I feel as if someone might attack me at any minute.’
‘People usually do feel violated and threatened when their home has been broken into. It’s normal.’ He surprised himself by adding, ‘I won’t let anyone hurt you like that again, Gabrielle.’
After a short silence to let that sink in, he added in a more upbeat tone, ‘So, which bed do you want?’
Her voice was flat. ‘It doesn’t matter. This one will do.’
‘Let’s get something to eat, then. I have a very healthy appetite, I’m afraid, no matter what happens. The unpacking can wait. Where do you suggest we go?’
‘They do decent meals at the local pub, or we could get a curry. We’re probably still in time for either.’
‘Which do you prefer?’
‘I don’t feel hungry.’
‘If you were hungry, which would you choose?’
‘Indian.’
‘Good. So would I.’ He pulled her to her feet. ‘You’d better wash your face. Your make-up’s run. Sorry about your day of pampering being spoiled.’ He gave her another quick hug. There were no words capable of taking away the sting of this spiteful crime.
Her lips trembled but she pressed them closely together, laid her hand on his cheek for a moment, then went into the tiny en-suite bathroom. She came out with her skin looking fresh and clean, which he thought suited her much better than make-up, anyway. Who wanted to kiss a cheek covered in gunk?
It surprised him all over again how much he wanted to kiss her – and keep kissing her.
The restaurant was brightly lit and full of people laughing and talking. A waiter showed them to a corner table, which had just been vacated, and handed them menus.
‘The food smells wonderful,’ Dan said. ‘Glass of wine? Beer?’
‘Beer with a curry, don’t you think?’
‘It’s what I prefer. What do you fancy to eat?’
‘Order whatever you like. I can eat anything, but I don’t feel very hungry. I’ll probably just pick at things.’
When the food came, he bullied her into eating poppadums and onion bhajis, then some chicken tikka. He was relieved to see a little colour come back into her cheeks.
She patted her hair self-consciously as she leaned back afterwards. ‘I must look a mess.’
Her hair had dried
in a tangle of curls, which he thought looked gorgeous. ‘I like your hair that way.’
‘You do? Really?’
Why did she look so surprised at this compliment? ‘Yes. I wouldn’t say it otherwise. I guess you must usually straighten it. Why?’
‘My hair is too curly. It doesn’t look professional. They said that on the first management training programme and Stu said it too. He hated it to look messy.’
‘Messy! It looks gorgeous, makes me want to run my fingers through it. Anyway, you said you’d resigned from your job and you’ve certainly resigned from your marriage. Why not wear your hair the way you want? I really do like the way it curls round your face.’ He reached out and twisted a curl round his finger for a moment, then let go.
She looked at him doubtfully. ‘I don’t own the straightening equipment any more. The thieves even took that. So I have no choice about how I wear my hair.’
He was annoyed with himself for not considering the ramifications of her losing just about everything she owned. ‘Your insurance will pay for replacements if you need them.’
She flushed and stared down at her clasped hands. ‘I let the house insurance lapse. It only ran out last week and … well, it didn’t seem worth it when I was moving in a few days and wouldn’t have another house to insure for a while.’
‘Oh, Gabrielle! You poor thing! No, don’t cry. We’ll work something out.’
She bowed her head, but tears were trickling down her face again. And she had every reason to be upset.
‘Look, I’ll go and pay for the meal, then we’ll go back to the B and B.’
He put his arm round her without thinking as they strolled back, but she went stiff, so he let go again.
Once inside the B and B, she said, ‘I think I’ll go straight to bed, if you don’t mind, Dan. I’m exhausted.’
‘Fine by me. You use the facilities first.’
She picked up her rubbish bin liner full of clothes and vanished into the bathroom. When she came out, she was wearing some faded pyjamas. She blushed as she saw him looking at her.
‘I don’t have a dressing gown now. I suppose I’m lucky even to have these pyjamas. I was going to use them for cleaning rags.’ Her voice caught as she said that.