Peppercorn Street

by Anna Jacobs

  He moved quietly across the car park, standing behind a car as Gary shut the door behind him and peered through it to make sure once again that he hadn’t been followed.

  Kieran got out his mobile phone and set it to take photos, then moved round to the side door to his own flat and entered that way, coming out of his inside front door into the hall just as Gary tried to open Janey’s flat. She’d be all right. Bolts were better than fancy locks if you were inside and he’d fitted two good ones to her door.

  Gary knocked on the door and his voice floated down the stairs quite clearly. ‘Open up, Janey. If you’re nice to me, it’ll all be a lot easier, for you and the baby.’

  She must have said something, but Kieran couldn’t hear what. He watched Gary shake the door, testing its strength.

  Then, to Kieran’s relief, the tenant from next door came out. No light had been showing at her windows or under the door. They rarely did. Miss Fairbie said she was recovering from an eye operation and found the darkness more soothing.

  ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ she asked sharply.

  Gary turned and snapped, ‘I’m trying to visit my friend’s daughter. He’s worried about her.’

  ‘She’s just told you to go away. I heard her clearly. If you don’t do that, I’ll call the police.’

  ‘Mind your own bloody business.’

  She held up a can. ‘I will. And you mind yours. I’ve seen you here before. If you come one step nearer I’ll use this spray.’

  Kieran stayed out of sight, delighted that someone else had seen Gary pestering Janey. The man must be utterly obsessed to do it so brazenly. Well, she was a lovely girl, but that’s what she was really – a girl. And Gary must be all of fifty, his waistline heavy and his face plump and jowly. Kieran hadn’t realised that quiet Miss Fairbie was quite so courageous.

  He could see from the reflections in the tall windows of the lobby that Gary was staring across at the small woman, who was still holding up the can with one finger on the trigger. He shouted through the door to Janey. ‘I’ll be back. Your father’s worried sick about you and that poor little baby. It’s shocking the way you treat it.’

  As the man clumped down the stairs, Kieran moved back into the shadows of the passage that led only to his own flat.

  Gary went outside and a moment later there was the sound of a car starting up in the street.

  After it had driven away, two people moved out from behind the tree and crossed the car park.

  Kieran went to open the front door. ‘Hi, Paul, Nicole. I didn’t mean to drag you out as well. Let’s go up and talk to Janey.’

  Miss Fairbie’s door was shut again, with no light showing. He knocked on Janey’s door and called, ‘He’s gone. It’s only me, Kieran.’

  Behind him, Miss Fairbie’s door opened. ‘Ah, Mr Jones. I was going to come and see you in the morning about this incident. I thought we had a good lock on that front door. If intruders can get in so easily, I think it needs improving.’

  ‘You’re right. I’ll be complaining to the manufacturers and getting something better fitted: a key lock and a number pad, perhaps. And I’m going to get CCTV fitted, too. Thanks for sticking up for Janey tonight. That fellow’s been stalking her.’

  ‘I’ve seen him round here before.’

  ‘Yes. So have I.’

  ‘I’ll make sure I keep my pepper spray handy from now on.’

  He held up one hand, palm flattened in a stop signal. ‘Don’t tell me about that. Pepper spray is illegal.’

  She smiled, not a nice smile. ‘It’s not real pepper spray, just looks like it. All that comes out if you spray is a green dye that’s hard to remove. The mere sight of it makes people think twice about attacking usually, as it did tonight.’

  ‘I must find some for Janey.’

  She looked at him, then shrugged. ‘I’ve got a spare. Wait a minute.’ She went back into her room and came out with a small spray can, labelled ‘pepper spray’ in large letters. ‘Us women have to stick together.’ She closed the door again, and he heard bolts being shot on the other side. He’d not put them on her door, but he wasn’t going to complain about her doing it. She clearly had security fears.

  When he turned round, Janey had opened her door and was standing there, looking white and terrified.

  He walked across the landing. ‘I think you know Nicole and her son Paul. Can we come in?’

  She nodded.

  When they were all seated, he said, ‘First, I’ll get a better lock fixed to the front door tomorrow, plus CCTV. And that back door to the washing area isn’t going to be left open any more. He won’t get in again easily.’

  She nodded, but she didn’t look cheered by it, so he gave her the spray can and told her what it contained. ‘Carry it everywhere from now on.’

  She looked down at it and sighed.

  ‘Thirdly, when I’m going out at night, I’ll tell you and we’ll ask Miss Fairbie if she’s going to be in. She’s one tough woman. Gary backed off when he saw her pointing the pepper spray at him.’

  ‘He might come back and try to charge her with something, knowing him, or send someone else to do it.’

  ‘If he does, he’ll be admitting to pestering you tonight.’ He paused. ‘The man’s gone beyond reason. It’s an obsession now.’ He waited and saw her relax a little. ‘You look tired. We’ll leave you in peace. I’ll be in for the rest of the evening, so you’ll be quite safe tonight. And we’ll be getting that new door lock fixed tomorrow.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  As they walked down the stairs, Paul said, ‘She’s in trouble, isn’t she? What’s with that old perv? Fellows of his age who pester girls should be locked up.’

  Kieran nodded, feeling very sad that a young woman who had enough problems should be facing stalking and sexual harassment on top of it all. ‘I’m working on the problem.’ He looked at Nicole. ‘I was coming up to your place to ask when the funeral is. Do you two want to come in for a quick drink with me instead?’

  ‘That’d be nice.’

  When she was seated with a glass of white wine in her hand, she said abruptly, ‘The funeral’s in two days.’

  ‘I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘I’d welcome your support.’ She turned to her son. ‘Do you want to leave a message for William again?’

  He shook his head. ‘Waste of time. He won’t dare come because of the police.’

  Kieran didn’t walk them home, but he stood at the entrance to his car park and watched them up the street, angry that he should have to do this in a small, normally peaceful town like Sexton Bassett.

  When he got inside, a message light was blinking on his email system and he smiled as he read it.

  Interesting.

  He typed back, ‘Do it. Whatever it costs. The quicker the better.’

  It took Janey a long time the following morning to nerve herself up to go out to the shops. She hated feeling like this, but last night she’d been terrified, and the feeling hadn’t gone away. She hoped they’d come and fit a new lock quickly. The thought that someone could get in made her feel nervous even to go down and put her washing on.

  She made a quick round trip to the shops and the library, not seeing anyone following her, but what did she know? Gary had been trained to shadow people and he was in charge of other people he could assign to watch her.

  For the rest of the morning she stayed in her flat, not daring to go out.

  When someone rang her doorbell, she nearly didn’t answer, then told herself not to be stupid. She was letting this get her down. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Janey? It’s Dan and Miss Parfitt. We were passing by and thought we’d drop in to see how you were.’

  ‘That’s wonderful! I’ll press the buzzer and unlock the door. I’m upstairs on the right.’

  She opened the door of her flat and smiled as they made their way creakily up the stairs. ‘Come and sit down. Let me make you a cup of tea.’

  He held
out a pot plant. ‘House-warming present. It’ll have lovely flowers on in a month or so.’

  ‘How kind of you!’

  As they took seats, he said, ‘Don’t bother with the tea. We can’t stay for long. We’re on our way to a computer class at the library, but we set off a bit early so that we could call in and check you were all right.’

  Miss Parfitt reached inside her shopping bag and held out a parcel. ‘A house-warming present from me as well. It’s only a cake, one of my almond delights. It’ll freeze beautifully.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She felt tears rise in her eyes at their kindness.

  ‘Has something happened?’ Miss Parfitt asked. ‘You look upset and tired.’

  ‘He came here last night. He got into the flats through the front door, we don’t know how. The lock is supposed to be tamper-proof. And he started banging on my door, threatening me if I didn’t let him in. I’m so glad Kieran had put bolts on the inside of the door, or he might have picked my lock too.’

  ‘That must have been terrifying.’

  ‘Yes. But the lady opposite came out with pepper spray and he backed off.’

  There was a knock on her door and because she had people with her, she didn’t hesitate to open it. Kieran was standing there. ‘Come in and meet Miss Parfitt and Mr Shackleton, who’ve brought me house-warming presents.’

  ‘I gather you’ve been helping protect this lass,’ Dan said. ‘It’s a scandal what that fellow is doing.’

  ‘He’ll make a mistake. So far he can claim he’s acting on behalf of her parents, but we’re building up evidence. There’s someone at the council involved, a so-called social worker.’

  ‘Not Miss Stevenall?’ Miss Parfitt said.

  ‘Yes. How do you know her?’

  ‘She’s trying to have me moved to an old folks’ facility, claiming I’m not in possession of my wits. It can only be because my nephew wants to get his hands on my house. He can’t, though, because I’ve changed my will.’

  ‘Did you tell him that?’

  ‘Not yet. I was a bit nervous of doing it while I was alone with him, to be honest.’

  ‘Would you mind giving me details about what’s been happening to you?’

  She looked at her watch. ‘Another time I’d be delighted to, but Dan and I have to go to a computer class now.’

  ‘And she’s nervous,’ Dan said with a smile.

  When they’d gone Kieran said quietly, ‘That was a very fortunate meeting. It’ll help me build up a picture of what’s going on. What I really came to tell you is that someone is coming this afternoon to put the new lock in. You’ll have both a key and a pin number. And that’s for front and back doors, I’m afraid, so you’ll have to take your key with you when you peg out your washing.’

  ‘It’ll be worth it to feel safe.’

  He looked at her with complete understanding. ‘But you still won’t, will you?’

  ‘No. I know what he’s like. He boasts that he never lets anyone get the better of him.’

  ‘Give me a few days. We’ll either nab him or drive him away.’

  ‘If he isn’t caught, I’ll have to leave, because I’ll never feel safe while he’s around in such a powerful position.’

  ‘That’s one of the reasons I went into investigative journalism: people who abuse power.’

  ‘And because you like helping people,’ she said softly. ‘Me, Nicole and Paul – anyone you meet who needs help.’

  He nodded. She was very perceptive for someone so young. ‘Yep. And my second piece of information is that I’ll be out tomorrow. It’s Nicole’s husband’s funeral.’

  ‘I’ll be at college.’

  ‘How do you get there?’

  ‘Walk.’

  ‘Get a taxi there and back tomorrow.’

  ‘I can’t afford it.’

  ‘Let me pay.’ He fumbled in his pocket.

  ‘I can’t let you do that.’

  ‘You can. You must. I’ve plenty of money and I don’t want to lose my best tenant.’

  She hesitated, then took the money. ‘I’ll pay you back one day.’

  ‘I’m sure you will, but in the meantime, you’re right about one thing. I am enjoying being able to help people again. Makes me feel more – normal, gives me a purpose in life.’ His smile wasn’t in evidence as he shrugged and limped back downstairs.

  She could see pain engraved in the lines of his face, not only physical pain when he moved unwisely, but also emotional pain. Well, his whole life had been taken from him for a while. She knew about that, had had counselling about it at Just Girls. But she’d also heard him lately whistling and humming as he pottered around the place – and seen the way he looked at Nicole. No hiding that look. He really fancied her, might even be in love.

  But Nicole had only just lost a husband, hadn’t even buried him yet.

  Life was so much more complicated than Janey had believed a year ago – and yet, that year had not only brought her pain but deep satisfaction at coping on her own, joy at having a baby to love, and since she’d moved to Peppercorn Street, the pleasure of making new friends. She smiled, as she added mentally, friends of all ages. Before Millie she’d not have been capable of that, wouldn’t have thought of older people as friends.

  She felt as if something was growing inside her, something warm and strong and hopeful. If she could just hang on to that, perhaps she could move on to better things.

  Sitting in front of a computer, Winifred listened to the tutor explaining what happened when you switched it on. He’d already shown them a motherboard, the mouse and other bits and pieces, and talked about memory and RAM. She repeated the new words again to be sure of remembering them.

  It seemed clear enough so far. She could feel herself relaxing just a little.

  ‘Now,’ he said, ‘before we do anything else, you need to understand and believe that you can’t break a computer by pressing the wrong button or clicking on the wrong part of the screen.’ He smiled round at them. ‘Do you honestly think the college would let you near these computers if you could break them?’

  Winifred relaxed still further.

  By the end of the class, she had lost her fear and was eager to learn more. They’d played cards on the computer to learn how to handle the mouse. She hadn’t played patience for years, only they called it solitaire now. It was more pleasant to play on the screen than have pieces of card slipping and sliding when you tried to put them in piles.

  Hazel linked arms with her as they walked out. ‘There. That wasn’t bad, was it?’

  ‘It was fascinating.’

  From behind them Dan said, ‘Not too bad at all. It’s the Internet I want to know how to use. Janey says you can join groups discussing gardening, rare-seed societies, all sorts of things.’

  ‘I came here by taxi.’ Hazel pulled out her mobile phone.

  ‘If you don’t mind a walk, why don’t we go to my house?’ Winifred suggested. ‘Maybe we could buy something for lunch? I’ve got plenty of cake for afters but not much for starters.’

  Chapter Twenty-One

  On Wednesday morning Nicole woke early, lying in bed listening. What had woken her? Birdsong, she realised. Some birds were sitting in the tree outside the flats, making a cheerful noise. It was too early for the hum of traffic from High Street, too early to get up really, but she was wide awake, so she went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Inevitably her thoughts turned to the funeral and she sighed. Hearing someone approach, she turned to smile at her son.

  ‘Couldn’t you sleep, either?’ Paul asked.

  ‘No. Did you hear the birds?’

  ‘Yes. And it’s starting to get light earlier, isn’t it?’ He sat down at the table, legs stretched out, soft brown hair tumbling every which way.

  As she set a mug of tea in front of him, he sighed. ‘I’m not looking forward to this afternoon, Mum.’

  ‘No. I’m absolutely dreading it.’

  ‘Do you think William will do something to upset it?�
�

  ‘Why should he? He got on quite well with your father until recently, when he seemed to hate everyone.’

  He shrugged. ‘I just feel – uneasy. I reckon he will do something, and probably something stupid. He’s lost the plot.’

  She shivered because she too felt apprehensive. It was sad to feel that your son wasn’t behaving rationally. She kept going over and over her own part in his life. Was it her fault he’d gone off the rails? Had she been a bad mother? She’d tried so hard to be a good one.

  Paul took a drink of tea, then set the mug down and stared into it. ‘I wish the funeral was in the morning. I hate hanging around, waiting for it to begin.’

  ‘Me, too. Do you want a cooked breakfast?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m not really hungry, thanks. I’ll just grab a piece of toast, then I’ll go on my computer.’

  That lack of appetite showed how upset he was. Paul usually had an amazing capacity for eating, though he was still thin and leggy, looking as if his hands and feet belonged to someone bigger. He reminded her sometimes of her father, who’d been a gentle giant.

  Paul didn’t eat much lunch, either. Nor did she. ‘Time to get ready,’ she said at two o’clock, feeling as if the day had been twenty hours long already.

  She hadn’t bought new clothes, wasn’t even dressing in black, just a dark-grey suit with a white blouse. Black didn’t suit her and she wasn’t buying something she’d never wear again for a man who hadn’t been faithful to her. She tied her hair back neatly, put on some lipstick and wiped it off again, because it looked too bright against her pale face. There, that’d have to do.

  When they were both ready, she gave Paul a hug, then held him at arm’s length and smoothed his hair back. ‘We should have got you a haircut.’

  ‘No one will care.’ He hesitated. ‘Do you think she will come?’