“Why? What’s up?” He was now properly awake.
“There has been an incident at the cottage next to the college in which you worked until last year. We’re interviewing all employees of the college.”
“Like you said, I don’t work there anymore.”
“We know. But you might still be able to help us.”
“How?”
“Mr Salma, can we come in?” Salma ushered them reluctantly into his front room which was not exactly tidy.
“The wife… She left me… Took most of the furniture, the clock, the TV and other stuff. I don’t rightly know what time of day it is.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Recently?”
“Couple of months… Here.” Salma cleared two chairs of their piled-up contents – magazines, newspapers, dirty plates and a muddy pair of trousers.
“She didn’t take the car?”
“Couldn’t. She’s not insured to drive it, or she would have.”
“It must be hard for you?”
“It is. Losing my job didn’t help.”
“Have you found anything else?”
“No, I haven’t… I didn’t leave willingly. Getting the sack doesn’t exactly recommend you to another employer,” he grumbled.
“I don’t suppose it does.”
“But you haven’t come to offer me a job.”
“No. I’m afraid not… Can you tell us where you were at around ten o’clock yesterday evening?”
“Here. At home.”
“Alone?”
“Of course.”
“Do you know the occupants of White Gates Cottage?”
“Yeah. I know Jalli Smith. She works at the college… Look, you don’t think I was responsible for the fire, do you? Was anyone hurt?”
“What can you tell us about the fire?”
“It was on the…” he tailed off.
“But you don’t have a TV, Mr Salma.”
“No, the… the car radio.”
“You were out in it last night. Where did you go?”
“Nowhere. I heard the news this morning. Look, you don’t think I have anything to do with this, do you?”
“Mr Salma, at this stage we’re interviewing everyone as a routine. Is there any reason why we should be particularly interested in you?”
“No! Of course not. It’s just… I wondered why you made a special journey out to see me – seeing as I haven’t been near the college for months.”
“What do you know of Jallaxanya Smith?”
“She’s been working at the college for a long time – in the entomology section. She’s obsessed with bees.”
“Have you visited her in White Gates Cottage?”
“No, never. I was never invited.”
“Why? Did others get invited?”
“Some, perhaps. A lot of people work at the college.”
“So you weren’t particular friends?”
“Nah. We didn’t have much in common. She and her husband just appeared there decades ago. Some say they are aliens from another planet.”
“Do you believe that?”
“She has her very decided views on things. Maybe.”
“Have you been out today, Mr Salma?”
“No. Why?”
“But you must have listened to the car radio this morning…”
“I never went anywhere, though.”
“Are the shoes behind the front door the ones you used yesterday?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Do you mind if we have a look at them, Mr Salma?”
“Yeah, I do. You have no right.”
“Have you a reason why you wouldn’t want us to examine the shoes, Mr Salma?”
Salma was trapped. “Nah,” he said in a resigned voice. Inspector Dollod nodded to his constable, who went to study them.
“So you’ve been in all morning, Mr Salma. You asked me if anyone was hurt. If you had picked up the news on the radio this morning, you would know the answer to that question.”
The constable stood in the doorway with the shoes in a plastic bag. He nodded to his boss.
“I put it to you, Mr Salma, that you visited the college area last night and you deliberately set fire to White Gates Cottage.”
“No way!”
“Mr Salma, I’m arresting you on suspicion of setting fire to White Gates Cottage yesterday evening. You don’t have to say anything that will harm your rights, you understand? And I am obtaining permission from the appropriate authorities to search your house… Bag the trousers, too, if you would, Constable.”
“But…” spluttered Salma.
“Save it for the interview, Mr Salma.” The detective inspector beckoned him through the door. As Salma passed the constable, he pushed him violently, made a grab for the shoes – and ran from the house.
Inspector Dollod was immediately on his radio. “Suspect at large. On foot carrying shoes in a clear plastic bag. He’s dressed in a white string vest and blue jeans and running down Rainy Road.”
“Sorry, Inspector. He rather caught me by surprise,” said the constable, rubbing his neck that had come into contact with a banister rail.
“No harm done. He’s not going to get far, is he? He’s more stupid than I thought.”
15
Jalli was now properly awake; the effects of the drugs had worn off. Jack hadn’t been sure about the injections in the first place – but not being able to see it, had not understood enough to intervene. However, the sleeping hadn’t done her any harm. Jalli was now returning to being her usual positive self. She told Tlasa how much they appreciated being able to be all together so near to where Matilda was recuperating.
Tam explained that there was certainly no going back to live in the house for many weeks.
“Right,” said Tlasa; “this house is yours until your own is repaired. You can stay here as long as it takes. Rob and I will have a holiday in the beach house.”
“But that won’t be very convenient for you, will it?” said Jalli.
“Taking the bus into town and out again twice a day will not kill me. Many people where we work travel further than that,” answered Tlasa firmly.
“Including Kakko when she’s in Woodglade,” smiled Rob.
“But—” began Jalli, again.
“You’re staying!” ordered Tlasa. “And that’s final.”
“My wife can be quite bossy at times,” laughed Prof Rob.
“Only when it matters,” she scolded him.
“You haven’t seen the cottage… It’s going to take weeks if not months,” said Tam, gingerly.
“This house is yours if it takes a year,” said Rob decisively.
Jack extended his hand to Rob. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”
Secretly, Kakko was thinking how cool the place was and was itching to see where her room would be. She had had the same room in the same house all her life; this was an adventure… But then the thought of her room being spoiled filled her with sadness.
“When can we go and see White Gates Cottage?” she asked.
“I think I need a proper night’s sleep first,” said Jalli. “There is nothing we can do there, I suppose?”
“Except for informing the insurance people, nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow,” said Jack. “Look, if you want to go with Tam, we won’t stop you, Kakko.”
“Thanks, Dad. I might go back to Tam’s anyway – but I’ll be back here to sleep.”
“You won’t be late, will you?” said her mum, a little more anxiously than she wanted. She couldn’t dismiss the knowledge that the fire had been started deliberately.
“No, Mum. I won’t.”
“Thanks, Kakko.”
Bandi and Abby came in from the hospital. Matilda was getting on fine. She couldn’t imagine staying at Prof Rob’s but they had jollied her into believing it would be alright.
“We met Inspector Dollod,” he said. “He has some news for us. I told him where we were and he said he would come and see us
later.”
***
Just before Tlasa had finished preparing a grand evening meal, Kakko and Tam returned. Then Inspector Dollod appeared at the door.
“We’ve got him,” he said. “He made a run for it but he didn’t get very far.”
“Who? Who was it?” asked Jack.
“A man called Salma. What can you tell me about him?”
Jalli sighed. She told the inspector the whole story of Salma’s insults and slurs that led to his dismissal, adding, “But Mrs Trenz said that what he said to me was only the ‘last straw’. His secretary had been complaining for some time but she hadn’t had enough evidence on which to act, and then, what really clinched it, was the way he behaved towards Mrs Trenz herself.”
“Thank you,” said the inspector. “I shall need you to make a statement.”
“This is awful. I’ve always tried to be kind to him.”
“He’s complaining the whole planet’s down on him. His wife has left him and his children don’t want to know him… He has confessed. I think his lawyer might be making out a case of unsound mind.”
“Oh, dear,” said Jalli. “Perhaps if I—”
“He could have killed us all, Mum!” protested Kakko. “I’m not surprised his wife and kids don’t want to see him. I doubt they feel sorry for him.”
“It might be because you were the kindest of everyone, that he picked on you,” suggested Tlasa. “In some perverted way you have made more of an impression on him than less sympathetic people. Why not pick on the principal, for example?”
“Or it could be that your cottage was the easiest target,” said the inspector. “The question for us is whether or not he intended to do anyone personal harm… whether to charge him with attempted murder.”
***
The more the police questioned Salma, the more they were convinced that his counsel’s case of acting while his mind was unsound was going to stick. He showed enough remorse that, in the end, he was charged with arson endangering life. At the trial he pleaded guilty and was committed for an indefinite period of psychological care.
His conviction, however, did not entirely remove the jealousy and bigotry of some in the community against people of a different ethnic origin. Sadly, in the minds of a small minority, the Smith family were still aliens exploiting their planet. It didn’t occur to them that perhaps the Smiths had contributed more to Johian society than they had ever given. This may have been because they, themselves, did not contemplate giving anything to anyone else; they did not understand that those who give most are often the ones who receive the most from others. They resented the Smiths’ popularity but they didn’t understand that the popularity was because the so-called aliens contributed without seeking anything in return. Rob and Tlasa rejoiced in the opportunity to help Kakko’s family, and they weren’t alone.
***
Work on the cottage began in earnest within two weeks of the fire. Jack and Jalli were anxious to return Tlasa and Rob’s house to them as soon as possible, and Salma’s confession gave some kind of closure to the horror.
It turned out that a lot of their possessions were happily not damaged beyond repair. Even most of their clothes were fine. Jalli and Kakko were able to retrieve their whole wardrobe within a month. The insurance company paid a firm that specialised in restoring stuff after fire and water damage, and they did a good job.
The roof of the house had to be completely rebuilt and rethatched but as soon as that was completed, the decorators moved in.
After two and a half months, the Smiths were back at Woodglade.
“I have no idea how we shall ever repay you and Tlasa for your help, Rob,” said Jack the day they finally returned their home to them.
“There is nothing to repay… If it weren’t for your daughter and her young man on that exercise in our spacetruck not so long ago, I would have disappeared without trace into the gassy wastes of Planet Sparta. How can I repay her for that?”
“I had forgotten that,” admitted Jack. “Kakko is always on to the next thing. I don’t think she has mentioned that once since we moved into your house.”
“She is an unassuming young person. You must be very proud of her.”
“Kakko? Oh, yes. She can be trying at times – but she has a heart of pure gold. We love her dearly.”
“She has some holiday to take before the end of the month. Has she any plans?”
“Plans? I don’t think Kakko has ever planned to go anywhere. Adventures come to her. I guess she and Tam will just chill out. The novelty of having her room back in the cottage and everything will occupy her for a day or two… I hope.”
“Do she and Tam want a place of their own sometime?” asked Rob. “If that isn’t being too nosey?” he added.
“No. They’re quite open about it. The answer is: one day. They’re waiting for Tam to get a permanent job after he finishes his course next year… But even when that happens, I doubt she’ll ever relinquish her own room in the cottage.”
***
Shaun went out jogging on his crutches with Wennai nearly every week he was at Prof Rob’s. On the first occasion, she hadn’t told Aril and Patia where she was going; she had dressed in her sports kit and said she was going on a run. Having almost sprinted the two kilometres from her home, she turned up at the house flushed and sweating.
Kakko went to the door. This was the first time she had seen Wennai not made up. She was impressed. Perhaps there was more to this girl than she had originally thought. She obviously cared about Shaun and knew where to find him.
Shaun took her into a corner and they chatted for an hour.
“She’s what he needs,” observed Abby. Kakko agreed. Her brother connected to this girl – Wennai wasn’t the girly airhead Kakko had decided she was the first time they had met.
“Wennai went through some tough times as a child,” said Jalli. “Losing her mother like that has made her what she is. She has time for people in trouble. And somehow, Shaun appeals to her.”
“At first, I reckoned it was a flash in the pan – someone attracted by his football prowess,” said Bandi, “but it goes much deeper than that.”
“He’s going to be out of the game for ages,” sighed Kakko. “It must be very frustrating for him.”
“There is a strong possibility that he will not ever play for City United again,” said Jack. “Not with all that metal in his leg.”
“Oh, don’t say that so loudly,” protested Kakko; “he might hear you.”
“Oh, he knows the score,” said her father. “It was him who told me what the doctor said.”
“I know but—”
“Well,” smiled Jalli, “one thing is for certain. We can be sure Wennai is not all about football. Look at them.” Shaun and Wennai were so engrossed that they had no idea the rest of the family were talking about them.
After that, Wennai’s running took her past the house every other day and Shaun went out swinging along beside her. But he consistently assured his family they were just friends. “No. She’s not my girlfriend. We just like each other’s company.”
***
After a week, Kakko took Shaun aside. “You’ve told Wennai, haven’t you?”
“Told her? Told her what?”
“About what happened after I broke your leg.”
“Yes… And you didn’t break my leg – I broke your fall.”
“And she understands?”
“As much as anybody. The thing is… The thing is, she got bitter about losing her mum. But now she’s realised that she’s not the only one horrible things happen to.”
“Do you love her?”
“What sort of a question is that?”
“A straightforward one.”
“I’ve told you, I… I don’t think of her like that. Not like a girlfriend.”
“How do you feel about her?”
“She’s a very good friend who understands me more than anyone else outside of our family. More than anyone else has ever don
e. And she can tell me more about how she feels about losing her parents than she can anyone else. She’s never had anyone to really talk to.”
“She’s attractive.”
“And that can be a problem. She gets unwanted attention from men who don’t want a proper relationship… And when she goes running, she gets these weirdos wanting to run with her.”
“And that’s where you come in? What about the boy she’s been dating? What’s his name…? Gollip?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t train with him, though.”
“So now it’s just you to defend her against unwanted attention.”
“I can fend them off with my presence.”
“I bet she managed OK before you came along… She really likes you, Shaun. I mean, I’ve got to say it. Someone has to.”
“I know… I know she did. But—”
“I reckon she wants you more than anything.”
“She wants her mother back.”
“Yes. But she knows that cannot happen. You’re the ‘here and now’.”
“OK. But I’m not ready for it to be more than just friends… for now.” Shaun gave his sister a pleading look. He didn’t want the conversation to go on. Kakko was satisfied.
“Just look after her,” she said. Shaun nodded.
***
After Shaun moved back to the cottage, Wennai could no longer run past where he was living. He had also now completely discarded the crutches – he could walk pretty well but he still couldn’t run. Wennai was now fitter than she had ever been and she did not want to give up running so, twice a week, Shaun took the first bus into town to meet her in the park. He wandered about like a coach while she did circuits.
One day, Aril came to the park with his sister. She had soon confessed to her brother and Patia that she was meeting Shaun but Aril had stayed away to give them space. Today, however, he had a message to convey.
“Hi,” he said. “Mind if I interrupt?”
“Aril. Great to see you.”
“It’s OK. I won’t gooseberry.” He laughed as Wennai sped away to the far side of the clearing. “The team coach asked Gollip how things were with you because he knows you’re supposed to be friends…”
The Spark (White Gates Adventures Book 4) Page 16