To her relief, the person at the other end said Larry was there and would she hold on while she fetched him. Within moments she was crying, explaining and allowing him to make decisions. She was only half listening but managed to understand that he would be there the following morning and would change all the locks and add bolts to every door.
‘It won’t happen again, we’ll make very sure of that.’
Before packing what she needed and going to stay with Megan, Rosemary knocked at Gethyn’s door.
‘Have you seen anyone hanging about here?’ she asked, trying to hold back her nervous inclination to cry. ‘Anyone who doesn’t belong here?’
‘No,’ he shook his head slowly, trying to think. ‘Only the American.’
‘You mean Larry?’ She thought again that it might have been him. He could have called, got in and waited a while, then felt a little guilty at going in while she wasn’t there and declined to admit it? But no. He would have explained the instant she spoke to him. And what about the dead flowers?
No, he wouldn’t have frightened her half out of her wits!
‘That’s right, the American. No one else. Oh, the students were down here doing something but that was yesterday I think, or the day before. Why?’
‘Gethyn, I think someone has been in my house.’
‘Never! I’d have seen for sure if someone had been anywhere near your door. I sit here near the front windows a lot, looking at the birds coming to the stream to drink. I sit reading my magazines and books and can’t help looking up when someone passes, although it’s rare, as you know. It’s so quiet. I’d have been certain to see someone, now wouldn’t I? You must have imagined it. You’re tired I expect.’
Rosemary felt an inclination to smile even though she was still frightened and upset. He sounded like his mother!
‘Take it quietly for a few days,’ he went on, ‘then you’ll forget all about it. Imagination, that’s all it is,’ he soothed.
For a moment, she almost believed him. She nodded. There was no sense in bothering him about it any further, and Larry would change the locks in the morning.
‘I’m going to spend the night with Megan. You know, from the library,’ she explained.
‘Oh.’ For a moment he looked disapproving then he smiled. ‘More gallivanting!’
* * *
She walked across the bridge to the car. Then with a frown on her brow, she went back and asked Gethyn, ‘When did you see Larry?’
‘Earlier today, about midday I think. Why, d’you think he – ?’
‘Of course not!’ She turned on her heels, away from Gethyn and the thought that he might have touched on the truth.
* * *
Megan lived in the centre of the small town and in the back bedroom she had a folding bed. It was only two feet across and Rosemary wondered if she would get any sleep at all. The fright she had still had her trembling inside and with a small, hard bed – she hesitated, then a tight ball of defiance built up inside her and she shook her head. She mustn’t be driven out of her house. Foul smell and all, she was going back.
‘Megan, I know you’ll think me foolish but, I won’t stay after all.’
‘I think you should, dear, just for tonight.’
‘I think someone is trying to frighten me out of the house. Those dead flowers, ach y fl! Then there was the time when Mrs Priestley called and asked if I was over my accident, she’d heard I had hurt my ankle falling down the stairs. How did she know? I told no one about that, except you and that was on the phone. I just have the feeling that someone is listening to everything I say, or am I going crazy?’
‘Crazy if you ask me, girl! After all, you only have to ask Mrs Priestley where she heard it from!’ Megan replied. ‘There must be simple explanations for all the small mysteries, and crazy you definitely are if you’re thinking of going back to that house at this time of night without even a bed made ready for you to sleep in! Come on, I’ll get you a hot drink and you can settle down.’
Rosemary shook her head, her lips tightly pressed.
‘No. Thank you, Megan, you’re very kind, but I’m going back.’
‘All right,’ Megan said resignedly, ‘but I’m coming with you!’ She refused to listen to any arguments. She packed the few items she needed for an overnight stay and went with Rosemary to her car.
It was ten o’clock but the day had been a fine one and there was enough light to see their way easily across the bridge and into the silent house. Rosemary went in first and as she reached for the light, a hand came over hers, damp, large and terrifyingly strong. It held her for what seemed a lifetime then released its hold, and she screamed.
Megan was close behind her as a shadow separated itself from the darkness of the corner and launched itself towards them. The shape was large and obviously a man, but it was all a blurr of frenzied movement.
Rosemary was pushed back against the wall swiftly and roughly by a powerful arm. Her head sang with the force of the contact. She pulled herself away from him to stagger against her friend. After a terrifying moment, filled with muffled sounds and sightless struggles, lunging arms and enormous shadows that seemed to grow as they loomed, Rosemary fell to the ground on top of Megan. They fell in a tangled heap and could only watch and scream as the figure disappeared along the path beside the stream.
* * *
Huw Rees was the first to arrive, and he was followed by Mrs Priestley nursing her cat and wearing a blue dressing gown.
‘What happened?’ Huw asked. ‘We heard screams.’ Coming up behind him, dressed in shorts, like himself, was Richard Lloyd. Rosemary was too distraught to give an explanation and it was Megan who told them about their experience.
‘Best you call the police,’ Richard said. ‘I’ll go back and phone, shall I?’
Huw remained with an arm around Rosemary and Megan. He talked soothingly and offered to stay with them all night.
A light came on in the porch of Gethyn’s house and the door opened a crack. He looked out, but seeing what appeared to be a crowd, did not venture outside. Rosemary thought she ought to go and explain to him what had happened, but Huw’s arms were too comforting.
Megan went to talk to Gethyn and when she had told him briefly what had occurred, she came back and reported to Rosemary that he was ‘there if she needed him’.
‘I’d better go and talk to him, ask if he heard or saw anyone,’ Rosemary said, trying to control the shaking of her limbs. Huw’s arms tightened as Mrs Priestley said, ‘No you don’t, my dear. You’ll come with me and have a cup of hot, sugared tea and a piece of cake while we wait for the police. Nothing like a bit of carbohydrate for shock.’ She glanced at Megan, whom she recognised, and pursing her lips in disapproval, added sharply, ‘Your friend had better stay and wait for the police, hadn’t she!’
‘No, Megan is just as shocked as me and—’ Rosemary stopped. The expression on Mrs Priestley’s face showed startling enmity. Not for the first time, she realised, and recalled that for some mysterious reason neither had explained, Mrs Priestley disliked her friend intensely. She looked from one to the other and decided that in this intance her loyalties were with Megan.
She pulled free of the old lady’s arm and returned to stand near her friend.
The police searched the house and when they asked about the unmade bed, Rosemary explained about the previous fear that there had been someone there. After reassuring her that her home was now empty of any unwelcome trespasser, and as secure as they could make it, they left, promising to keep a special eye on the place.
After a brief word with Gethyn, they drove once again to Megan’s house, leaving the occupants of the five cottages unable to sleep. Huw and Richard waved them off and from her front window, Mrs Priestley, still nursing her cat, also waved goodbye. Gethyn stood at his door and watched until they were out of sight.
‘What I can’t understand,’ Megan said as they drove up onto the main road, ‘is how anyone can do anything without the rest knowin
g! Gethyn was in his window watching when we arrived. I saw the curtains twitch.’
‘No, you must have been mistaken, he told me he had gone to bed early and was woken by our screams,’ Rosemary said.
‘Then what made the curtains twitch?’
‘The window was open and there’s a bit of a breeze.’
‘Oh, well, all right then, you’re probably right. But,’ she added, ‘they’re a nosy ol’ lot and I bet they’ll know soon enough if someone is playing games with you.’
* * *
The friends drove into work together the following day, and to her relief, Rosemary saw Larry waiting for them.
‘I thought I’d get here and do the job as quickly as possible so you can forget being frightened,’ he said as he kissed her. ‘As soon as the stores open, I’ll buy what I need and get it fixed. Don’t worry. I’ll be here to take you two to lunch and by then the house will be as secure as Fort Knox. You have my word.’
‘I’ll have to go shopping for new bedding too,’ she said.
‘I’ll help you choose,’ he said with a grin. ‘I like the ambience to be right for nights with my special girl.’
* * *
The morning passed like a flash as Rosemary explained the events of the previous evening to Sally, between attending to her work. Sally was intrigued and wanted to hear every detail.
‘Are you sure it wasn’t this Larry? He isn’t exactly open with you is he? He expects you to take an awful lot on trust. How can you be so trusting? I’d have to come right out and demand some answers.’
‘I don’t know,’ Rosemary said honestly. ‘I just know he’ll explain as soon as he can.’
‘Twpsin you are, falling for a mystery man and too afraid of losing him to protest!’ Sally teased. Rosemary didn’t reply, Sally was right, the fear of losing him was too great for her to insist on anything. If he was using her for some reason of his own, then she would go along with it until he either told her the truth, or vanished from her life completely.
When Larry came at lunch-time he had news for her.
‘It seems you could have been right about someone listening to your conversations,’ he told her. ‘The police had a good look around the area and found a box on the telephone pole that shouldn’t be there. Someone had tapped the lines of the five cottages.’
‘The phone lines have been tapped? In our cottages?’ She stared at him in disbelief. In a small voice she asked, ‘Who?’
‘That they don’t know. The lines had been disconnected from whatever surveillance position was used and there was no sign of a recorder. Whoever did it has managed to hide his part of the installations, so we’ll probably never know. They’re interviewing everyone, and that must include you,’ he said. ‘But don’t worry, I’ll be with you and I think they know you aren’t likely to be the guilty one.’
Megan made her excuses and declined to join them for lunch, and Rosemary sensed in her a slight but growing mistrust for the American. She wondered if it was simply a disappointment that she was less available since Larry had entered her life and taken so much of her time, they had been able to meet less often. But no, she amended, Megan was not the type to be jealous in that way. She wasn’t as outspoken as Sally but she wouldn’t be afraid to complain if she thought it necessary. Perhaps she thinks in the same way as Gethyn, she sighed. The stranger, the newcomer must be the most likely suspect.
They ate at a pub, Larry cheerful and obviously intent on making her laugh and forget her experience. Afterwards, they searched the stalls of the local market and bought a complete set of bedding for the double bed. Larry insisted on paying for it.
‘I must,’ he said with mock severity. ‘I should have listened to you when you told me you thought you were being overheard. This is my way of saying sorry.’
* * *
She was glad he was there when she went into the house that evening. They checked the new keys and Rosemary gave one to Larry. ‘If someone comes in now, I’ll know it was you,’ she said, ‘and I won’t be afraid again.’
‘You ought to leave one somewhere,’ he advised. ‘There’s nothing more annoying that finding yourself locked out of your own home, unless it’s being locked out of your car. That happened to me once.’
When they were eating a simple breakfast the following morning, Rosemary pointed to the brick shed at the bottom of the garden.
‘I’ve decided to hide the spare key in there like we used to years ago,’ she told him. ‘There’s a loose brick and no one will think of looking there for it.’
Larry examined the place and agreed.
‘It seems as safe as it can be, but make sure no one sees you put it there. Until the police find out who was responsible, you mustn’t trust anyone, check?’
‘Check,’ she smiled. ‘D’you think the police will find the man?’
‘Surely! In a one horse town like this, with everyone knowing everyone else, it’s a certainty. Dammit, I bet the neighbours can hear you changing your mind!’ Larry sounded more confident than he felt, but needed to reassure her that the nightmare of knowing someone out there had entered her home and defiled her bed, would eventually be ended. Once the culprit was caught, she would be able to put it out of her mind. She smiled at him, knowing what he was trying to do and grateful for his concern.
* * *
A few days later, when Larry had gone and the house had once more settled comfortably around her, the postman knocked. Fear rose again.
‘Would you take this in for next door, Rosemary? I can’t make Gethyn hear.’
‘Certainly. He can’t be far.’ She smiled and took the parcel from him.
After an hour, she went outside and knocked on Gethyn’s front door. He opened it immediately and smiled as he took the parcel she offered.
‘Come in for a moment,’ he said, stepping back to allow her room to enter the small hallway.
‘I don’t really have much time—’ she hesitated. But then she changed her mind and stepped in saying brightly, ‘But there’s always a few minutes to spare for a chat with a friend, isn’t there?’ In that moment she had suddenly thought that his refusal to open the door to the postman might have been a ploy to talk to her for a few moments. He was a lonely man, seeing so few people, and it was unkind not to give him a little of her time. He disabused her, saying, ‘I heard the postman knock but I was in the bath, likely he was too busy to knock a second time. Come in. Excuse the mess.’
The room was in a mess. The cupboard which had stood against the wall in a corner, had been moved to stand at an awkward angle further along the wall. Piles of magazines and papers were strewn across the old leather couch. He hurriedly gathered them and put them, and the parcel, into the cupboard and pushed the doors closed.
‘I’ve taken your advice, Rosemary, I’m sorting out some of Mam’s things. Takes for ever, doesn’t it, reading through and wondering what to throw out and what to keep in case it’s needed?’
‘You’ve certainly been busy,’ she laughed. ‘If you want any help – ?’
‘No thanks. Best I get on with it myself. Not working, it gives me something to do.’
‘If you’re sure.’
‘The police haven’t found anyone then?’ he said as he struggled to clear a place for her to sit. ‘I didn’t expect them to. And there’s strange them finding the phone interfered with! In a small place like this you don’t expect such carryings on. More like the way Americans behave than people in our village!’
His eyes darted to her face and away again and Rosemary realised it was his way of saying he suspected Larry of being involved. She ignored the remark and instead asked, ‘Have you found anything interesting?’
‘Interesting?’ He stared at her with an intensity that slightly unnerved her and she waved deprecatingly at the cupboard.
‘You know, papers relating to the family. I think it must be fun, learning facts about yourself and your family that are new to you.’
‘Nothing like that. Only boring
old stuff that should have been thrown out years ago.’ He seemed unhappy about her remark, and she wondered if it had sounded like snooping. Although they had known each other all their lives, Gethyn was still a very private person, easily embarrassed, even by her.
She stood to leave, rescuing some forms and documents that slid to the floor as she rose, and putting them on top of others on the table. It seemed that the place was filled with paper, everything from complete newspapers to the smallest cuttings and receipts.
‘Best I let you get on, Gethyn. I can see you have plenty to keep you busy.’
‘Come in later on today, when I’ve got things under control,’ he said and as he spoke, another pile, this time of yellowed newspapers, slowly collapsed and descended in a slow avalanche, onto the carpet. He shrugged and smiled ruefully. ‘Better make it tomorrow!’
There was an easing of the secretiveness Larry showed. Now, she always knew where he could be found and usually, what he was doing. It was searching through the libraries and the archives, where he spent most of his time, although occasionally, when she was not free, he went on sightseeing trips to the mountains and into some of the historical towns of North Wales. They spoke at least once every day and knowing he was within a few hours driving and at the end of the phone helped Rosemary to relax once again. Every weekend he spent with her, only working at his research while she was occupied too.
One Thursday, he asked what she had planned to show him at the weekend.
‘I’m in Cardiff now,’ he told her, ‘but I’ll be finished here soon and for the next week I’ll be at Aberystwyth, close enough to come home to you every evening.’
She couldn’t hide the excitement the words caused and didn’t even try.
‘Darling, I can’t wait. I’ll make us a picnic for Saturday,’ she said. ‘It’s very windy here but so far it’s dry. Saturday is my day off and I’d like to show you Aberangell mountain.’
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