by Helen Phifer
***
Ollie woke up early. He’d taken ages to fall asleep because all he kept thinking about was Kate. He should have plucked up the courage and kissed her. He thought that she liked him or he hoped that he did. She looked so desperately sad when he’d said goodbye – or was that just his overinflated ego telling him this? He looked at the empty side of his bed. It had been three years since Ellen had slept next to him. Three long years since he’d felt the warmth of someone close to him, even if it was just to hold her.
Once she’d got too ill to climb the stairs he’d turned the front room into her bedroom. He missed her so much, but Kate had made him realise that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life alone. He didn’t want to ever forget how wonderful the years of his marriage were before Ellen got ill. He also didn’t want to throw away the rest of his life. He wanted to go on holidays, but it wasn’t the same on your own.
Before Ellen got ill they’d gone to New York and he’d loved every single minute of it. Ellen had hated it with a passion; it was too busy and loud for her, but he’d enjoyed the hustle and bustle. He wondered if Kate had ever been and what it would be like to whisk her away for a long weekend to the city that never sleeps. He also wished there was something he could do to help her with the drinking, although she wasn’t a complete mess and a stinking drunk like his dad had been.
If she continued like she was it was very likely it would happen eventually and he couldn’t bear the thought of her throwing away the gift of the life that she’d been given. He’d been watching her since the day he’d first been to look at the house and had found himself in awe of her stubborn ways. He loved the fact that despite everything she’d been through she still had her fighting spirit, not to mention the fact that she was brave living in that huge house all alone. She wasn’t a damsel in distress; she was quite capable of fighting her own battles and he admired that about her because it was so different to what he’d expected her to be like.
What would be terrible was if she found the bottle more appealing than living her life and began to give it all up. He wanted to offer to help her, but he didn’t know if it was his place to do that or not. Was he overstepping the mark? He pulled up outside the front of her house, taking the brown paper bag with the freshly baked bagels and two lattes. He tried to open the front door with his key whilst balancing the coffees and bagels in one hand. It wouldn’t turn. Kate must have left the catch on or she was still in bed.
After knocking on the front door he waited, but couldn’t hear anything from inside. This time he hammered with his fist, mild panic beginning to form in his chest as he wondered if he should have left her alone last night. Still no noise from inside. He walked around to her room and tried to peer through the crack in the curtains. The bedside light was on but it was hard to make anything out and he felt a bit of a pervert. He stepped back and banged on the window.
A few seconds later the curtain was drawn back and a tousled Kate, still in her pyjamas, was staring back at him, her eyes screwed up against the bright light. She pointed in the direction of the kitchen door and he grinned, relieved to see she was okay. By the time he’d walked around she was standing there in her bare feet with her arms wrapped around her trying to keep some warmth in. Although the sun was shining it was cold. She stepped to one side and mumbled, ‘Morning.’ Her voice was hoarse.
He followed her in, closing the door behind him and handed her a coffee. ‘Rough night?’
As soon as he’d said it he regretted it. Why did he always sound as if he was interrogating her?
She didn’t seem to notice and shook her head. ‘You could say that – well not once I’d fallen asleep it wasn’t. At least until I had the scariest dream ever. Thank you for the coffee, that’s really kind of you.’
‘I also brought food. I thought you might fancy a warm bagel for breakfast.’
She looked into the brown paper bag. ‘You thought well. They look and smell delicious. I’m starving.’
He went to the cupboard and took two plates out, then picked up two knives from the draining board. He passed her a plate and she took out one of the huge bagels and began slicing it in half. They ate in silence and Ollie found it hard not to stare at her. There were dark bruises on her shoulders and he wondered how on earth she’d got them. He wanted to ask her about them but couldn’t. He didn’t know why he was acting like this, but he couldn’t stop himself and found that he had to force himself to look away from her.
***
‘Oh do you think you could ask your friend about the cameras? I’m willing to pay extra if he can sort something out today for me.’
‘Already sorted. I felt bad leaving you on your own last night, so I rang him as soon as I got home. He’ll be here by eleven and will put up as many as he can.’
‘Phew that’s brilliant. I think I’ll feel a lot better when I can keep an eye on the place and see who’s coming and going.’ She didn’t add ‘or to see if they’re human or not’.
‘Was everything all right when I left?’
Kate wanted to tell him that no it bloody wasn’t, but she couldn’t. What if she was hallucinating or having some kind of alcohol-related episode? She didn’t want him to think she was a raving lunatic. Instead she nodded and smiled at him but she didn’t look him in the eyes because she couldn’t lie to him. She liked him too much.
There was a loud knock on the front door and Ollie jumped up. ‘I’ll get it.’ He went to the front door where Jack and Ethan were waiting to be let in. They went straight upstairs, the smell of McDonald’s lingering on their clothes. He went back to the kitchen to get his coffee.
Before he could say anything they heard Ethan shout at Jack. ‘You’re a wanker. Why did you do that? It took me ages painting those doors yesterday. It’s not even funny.’
Kate stood up, her face burning. ‘Shit, that’s my fault. I forgot about it. I better go and apologise.’
She ran off to go and find Ethan. Ollie, who obviously had no idea what she was talking about, followed her.
‘Ethan, I’m so sorry; it was me who made the mess of the doors.’
Ollie looked at the door Ethan was standing next to with his hands on his hips, looking all defensive.
‘Oh that’s okay then. I thought it was Jack being a dick.’
‘No it’s not okay. I didn’t mean to and I’m really sorry for causing you more work.’
Kate looked up at Ethan and it was then that she noticed the cross on the door and she felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. It definitely hadn’t been there last night. ‘Who put that there?’
All three of them shook their heads.
‘It’s not funny. I’m sick of this. I don’t even bloody like the damn things yet someone keeps putting them up. Well it has to stop. Do you hear me? I don’t know if you think it’s funny or not. This is my house and if I wanted crosses all over it I’d put them there myself.’
***
She stormed off leaving all three men with open mouths and more than a little bit puzzled by her outburst. Ollie looked at the footmarks then the cross. He pulled at it, but it was stuck. It must have been put there when the paint was still wet. Which meant it had happened around the same time that for whatever reason Kate had decided to kick the door open. Jack went inside the room and shouted.
‘You better come in here, boss. I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s going to freak when she sees this lot.’
Ollie walked into the room and felt a chill run down his spine. The entire wall opposite the window was covered in crosses and crucifixes. Every single one that Kate had collected on that very first day and put into the cardboard box outside in the shed was now back in the house and on that wall – except for three crushed and broken ones on the floor.
Ethan pointed to the footprint on the bathroom door. He lowered his voice and whispered, ‘Do you think she’s losing the plot? What’s she doing kicking doors? Why did she put these up if she hates them so much then try an
d blame us?’ He held his finger to his head, turning it round in circles. ‘I mean she likes a drink or four doesn’t she? When we’ve left she gets hammered and maybe that’s when she starts doing weird stuff. You know like an attention-seeking thing.’
Ollie crossed the room and shut the door so Kate couldn’t hear their conversation. ‘No I don’t think she does and don’t ever let me hear you talk about her that way again. Have a bit of respect, Ethan; in case you’ve forgotten she’s paying you cash in hand for your time and effort. I don’t know what’s happening, but we owe it to Kate to try and find out. Have either of you got a phone with a camera on?’
They both nodded and rolled their eyes.
‘Take photos of the door and this wall, but don’t show them to Kate. I’m going to go and talk to her. Stay up here and get cracking on the big room at the end of the corridor. Shut this door. I’ll ask her what we should do about the crosses; actually before you start work I want you to both go outside and check all the outbuildings to make sure no one is sleeping rough in there. I watched Kate put the box of crosses into the stone building and I can’t see her going out in the night to retrieve it. Something’s not right.’
‘Should she not be calling the cops? I mean if there’s something weird going on or someone’s breaking and entering should we even be looking for whoever it is? They might be dangerous.’
‘Man up; there’s two of you. If Kate wants the police involved then we’ll bring them in; for now get yourselves outside and check there’s no one there or there’s no place that anyone could hide.’
Ollie didn’t miss the look Ethan gave Jack and if it wasn’t so absurd he would have burst out laughing. Give them three pints of Stella and they’d take on the world, but the thought of looking through the sheds and outhouses in broad daylight was freaking them out. He turned around and left them to it so he could go and talk to Kate.
The front door was open and Kate was sitting on the top step with her dark sunglasses covering her eyes, her coffee cradled in her hands. He wanted to go to her but something held him back. The sound of tyres on the gravel drive got nearer and he went to look out of the living room window. He recognised the big navy blue Range Rover. ‘Bollocks.’ Martin was parking his car right next to his van.
Kate who had dressed in her tight faded jeans and a big baggy grey hooded sweatshirt stood up, pushing her sunglasses on the top of her head. Her hands were on her hips. Ollie thought she looked as if she was about to do battle. The rear doors opened and there was a loud screech as two girls not yet teenagers, but not far off jumped down and ran towards Kate, who stood there with her arms wide open. They hit her with so much force she almost fell over. She just managed to stand her ground and Ollie couldn’t help but smile at the wonderful sight of Kate cuddling her girls.
***
Kate covered her daughters with kisses and hugged them as tight as she could without squeezing the life out of them. ‘I’ve missed you both so much. You look so grown up, the pair of you. How did that happen?’
Both girls giggled and kept hold of her. Martin got out and walked across to where Kate was standing. Even he smiled to see his daughters so happy, which made a change. Kate had to look twice at his mouth to see what was going on. His smile, which had never been anything to shout about, was now brilliant white and his once crooked teeth were now straight. He looked Kate up and down.
‘Not sure what look you have going on there, Kate, but it doesn’t really do you much justice, does it? Look at the state of you, of your clothes. Are you actually doing the work on this monstrosity yourself?’
Kate kept hold of her daughters and pushed her glasses back down on her eyes. She lifted a finger and pointed to his teeth.
‘Good God, Martin, step out of the sunlight. Your teeth are blinding me. Where on earth did you get them from? Some poor horse must be missing them. You should really give them back.’
She began to giggle at her own joke. Ollie, who was still inside watching, had to stifle his laughter. Kate one, Martin nil.
‘How dare you! I came here to make a truce and this is how you repay me.’
‘Don’t play the martyr with me; you gave the first insult, remember? What have you come for anyway? You didn’t bother coming to visit when I was at the flat.’
Not wanting the girls to get tangled up in any arguments, she bent down and whispered to them, ‘Why don’t you go and have a look around our new house. Go and pick which rooms you’d like for bedrooms and I’ll have the builders get them ready just for you.’
Her daughters laughed and ran off into the house.
‘Don’t get mucky. We have to go to Tamara’s in five minutes and I don’t want you both looking like your mother.’
‘Ouch, what’s wrong with looking like me? You’re such a prick. So what do you want? Because this isn’t a social visit.’
‘Nothing. I heard you’d bought this place and thought I’d call and see if you were still a stinking drunk or whether you might be getting your act together.’
Kate crossed the short distance to him and slapped him across the face with her right hand as hard as she could. The sound echoed around the garden it was so loud.
‘You’re a fucking bitch, Kate, always have been. I should have known better. Summer, Autumn, come on – we have to go. Say goodbye to your mother.’
He spat the word ‘mother’ out and Kate wanted to kick him in the balls, but she didn’t. She waited to kiss and hug each of her girls before they left. It might only have been the shortest visit in the history of the world, but at least she’d been able to hold, kiss and smell them, which meant more to her than anything. She bent down and whispered close to their ears. ‘As soon as this place is finished I’m going to try my best to get you both here with me; in the meantime be good for Daddy. I know it’s hard because I find it hard, but it won’t be long before we’re back together.’
Her daughters kissed and hugged her again then ran off towards the waiting car where Martin was revving the engine. They climbed in, slamming the doors, which made Kate smile. He hated it when anyone slammed his precious car doors and she saw his shoulders tense at the noise. He turned the car and began to drive away. Looking at her one final time he shook his head. She couldn’t help herself and gave him the finger. The bastard could go and fuck himself. As soon as this place was habitable she would fight him tooth and nail for custody of her girls.
A battered van passed Martin’s shiny monstrosity on the drive and she prayed this was her camera man because she’d feel a whole lot better if she knew no one was sneaking around outside her house once it was dark. If he had any spare she would get him to put one on each floor so she could monitor the bedrooms to see exactly who or what it was going to and from them once the house was quiet.
Ollie came outside. He placed his hand on her arm, gently turning her to face him.
‘Are you okay, Kate? I wasn’t listening, but it’s hard not to with his loud mouth. What a prick he is. Honestly I can’t believe the way he treats you, but you did really good. In fact you did great. It must be so hard for you not being able to see your daughters and knowing they’re living with him. You’re a pretty amazing lady, Kate.’
She smiled, even though her heart was breaking in two for her daughters. She could cope because once this place was up and running she would be back on track and she had the hope of getting them back to cling on to. Earning a living, she would be able to provide a safe place for them all to live. As long as she could find out what the strange smell was and who was playing games with her.
She wondered how Martin had found out about this place because she hadn’t told him. It definitely wouldn’t surprise her if it was him or he was paying someone to try and scare her to death because that would be just the sort of underhand, sneaky thing he would do. Especially if he thought she’d come into money that he didn’t know about. He was so greedy he would want a share of it even though he had left her penniless. The van parked up and a man about the same
age as Ollie climbed out.
‘Morning, lad; took some finding this place did. It’s certainly off the beaten track. No wonder you want some cameras installing.’
‘Mark, this is Kate – whose house it is – and yes we need what you have installing today if possible. It’s really important.’
He nodded, looking at the pair of them then he arched one eyebrow at Ollie. Kate felt her cheeks begin to flush and turned to go back inside, leaving them to it. She felt a lot better now. She had no idea what was going on with the banging around or what the hell Martin had wanted, but it could wait. She would go and make some coffee for everyone. She could even have a packet of biscuits still in the cupboard if the lads hadn’t already eaten them – her attempt at a peace offering.
She might go for a walk through the woods again, clear her mind. No wonder she was a mess. There was so much going on she didn’t know what to start with first. This time she wouldn’t be paying Father Joe a visit though, well not like yesterday. He’d told her he’d come and see her when he found anything out so she’d have to wait for him. She just hoped he would have some answers for her; then again did she really want to know what was happening? After last night was it better to carry on and be oblivious to everything?
Chapter Six
As Father Joe shook hands with the last mourner to file out of the crematorium. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Funerals were his worst nightmare. He hated trying to talk about someone’s life – someone who most of the time he’d never met – and make it sound as if he cared. He did care, just not to the extent that he should. How could you? Most people didn’t bother with church or religion any more. Priests no longer received the same respect in communities that they once had and a lot of it had been brought on by their own misconduct.