by Adele Abbott
“He’s great. It’s still tough only seeing him every other weekend though.”
“Is Cindy making life difficult?”
“Not really. She’s glad to have a weekend off. It just feels like Tom and I have to get to know each other again every fortnight.”
“Have you got him into martial arts, yet?” Susan asked.
“I’ve tried, but he’s not interested. The only thing he cares about is music. I bought him a guitar for his last birthday. He’s having lessons.”
“What about you, Suzy?” Brian said. “What inspired you to move back up here?”
“I was made redundant, and there wasn’t much doing down there, so when Dreams told me about the job at The Bugle, I thought I’d apply. I didn’t really expect to get it.”
“Come on, sis,” Simon said. “There has to be more to it than that. Did something happen down there?”
“No. Nothing.”
“You never were a good liar. What about that fella you were seeing. What was his name?”
“Eddie?”
“That’s him. From the way you talked about him, I thought he was the one.”
“He wasn’t.”
“Is that it? Is that all we’re getting?”
“There’s nothing to tell. We broke up. End of.” Susan wished that were true, but even now she wasn’t sure it was.
“Talking of your ex boyfriends, I saw that sad sack, Tony, the other day.” Simon laughed. “You did well to get shut of him.”
Susan didn’t point out that it was Tony who had dumped her, for someone he met at Uni. But then, she knew that her brothers knew the truth. They had rallied around her at the time.
“I hear you had a visit from Ray,” Brian said.
“He gets more like Dad every day.” Susan shook her head.
“Wow! You really know how to insult the guy.” Simon laughed.
“Did you know that Dad had organised another job for me?” She took a sip of her soda and lime.
“I did hear something about that,” Brian said.
“Yeah. Mum told me,” Simon nodded. “I told her it was a bad idea.”
“A lifestyle magazine?” Susan rolled her eyes. “Really?”
“I assume you declined gracefully?”
“Oh yeah. You know me.”
“I saw your first story for The Bugle,” Brian said. “You got that MP locked away for murder. Not a bad start.”
“Not bad. All I have to do now, is keep it up.”
Chapter 8
Molly had already left. Before she locked up for the day, Dorothy decided to make one last check of all the shelves to ensure everything was as it should be. Despite Molly’s protests, Dorothy was convinced that the Crime section must have been shuffled around when they’d locked up the night before. It was typical of Molly—her head was always in the clouds. Tonight though, everything seemed to be in order.
Dorothy fancied a quick drink before going home; a nice white wine would have gone down a treat. But then she had second thoughts—Susan already had her down as an alcoholic.
***
It had taken him a while, but Neil had eventually managed to find a company who could install a wall-safe that same day. He’d helped himself to five hundred pounds of the shop’s takings to pay for it. If he was unable to return the cash by the end of the week, when it was time for the week’s takings to be banked, he’d be dead in the water. But he’d managed to convince himself it wouldn’t be a problem. The safe would be installed later that day, Socky would reveal the whereabouts of the gold, Neil would sell it, and pay back the five hundred pounds out of his share of the takings.
“Debs!” he called from his office.
“What? I was just about to take my break.”
“You’ll have to skip your break this afternoon.”
“No way! Why should I?”
“Because I have to leave early, and I need you to run the shop. I’ll let you go home early tomorrow.”
“How early?”
“Half an hour.”
“An hour.”
“Okay. An hour, then.”
“If I’m running the place, can I sack Fable? She’s doing my head in.”
“No, you can’t. Look, I have to get going.”
“What are you up to this time?”
“Never you mind. Just make sure you keep everything running smoothly.”
Neil had only succeeded in getting someone to fit the safe that day because the company had had a last-minute cancellation which meant they were able to squeeze him in. He’d have to hurry because they were due to meet him outside his apartment building in fifteen minutes.
“Are you Neil?” The young man managed through a mouthful of gum.
“Yeah.” Neil was still trying to catch his breath.
“I’m Jimbo. I thought you weren’t coming. We were just about to leave.”
“Sorry. I got stuck in traffic.”
“Have you got the cash?”
“Don’t I pay you after you’ve installed it?”
“It doesn’t work like that. If it turns out you haven’t got the cash after we’ve spent the best part of an hour fitting a safe into your wall, we’ve got to spend another hour taking it back out again.”
“Fair enough.” Neil counted out the cash. “Three, four, five hundred.”
“Thanks.” The man double-checked it was all there, and then shouted to his mate who was still in the van. “Bricky, put that phone away, and open up the back.”
Bricky, who looked as though he should have been at school, opened the back of the van, which had the name ‘Safe As Houses’ on the side.
“Is that it?” Neil stared at the small box which Bricky had in his hands.
“What did you expect?” Jimbo said. “Five hundred pounds doesn’t buy you much. Do you want it or not?”
“Yeah, I want it.” What choice did he have? Without the safe there would be no gold.
Neil led the way up to the apartment, and was relieved to find that none of his flatmates were home.
“This way.” He showed them into his bedroom.
“What’s going on with this room?” Jimbo said.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like walking into a freezer.”
“Oh, that? I prefer it to be cool.”
“Cool? It’s enough to freeze your nuts off in here. So, where do you want this?”
Neil pointed to the outside wall. “How long will it take?”
“About an hour, unless we hit any problems.”
As Jimbo and Bricky started work on preparing the wall, Neil walked over to the other side of the room where Socky was watching proceedings with obvious interest.
“That’s a very small safe,” the ghost observed.
“It was all I could afford. It’ll be plenty big enough.”
“Did you say something, mate?” Bricky shouted from across the room.
“No. I was just coughing.”
Neil waited until Bricky was back at work, and then said in a hushed voice, “So, where’s the gold, Tobias?”
“All in good time.”
“Come on. I got the safe like you asked.”
“And once I see it is in good working order, I will give you the information you desire. Patience is a virtue, young man.”
Dorothy could hear the banging and drilling when she was still on her way up the stairs. It was only when she opened the door that she realised it was coming from their apartment. From Neil’s bedroom, to be precise.
What was he up to now?
She tried to push his bedroom door open, but someone was holding it closed.
“You can’t come in,” Neil said, from behind the door.
“What’s going on in there?”
“Nothing. It won’t take much longer.”
She was intrigued. What could he be up to? Knowing Neil, it wouldn’t be anything good.
“Hey, you!” Bob, the canary, shouted. “I want a word.”
; Dorothy was beginning to wish that Bob couldn’t talk to her.
“What’s up, Bob?”
“What’s up, is I was brought here under false pretences.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that I was promised plenty of totty, and so far, there has been precious little sign of it.”
“Do you know how offensive that word is?”
“If you want to talk ‘offensive’, how about how offended I am that you promised me lots of love-action, and so far, there’s been a big fat nothing. Didn’t I tell you that Bob was a love machine?”
“You did say that.”
“So, what do you intend to do about it?”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Put the word out. Let the neighbourhood totty know that Bob, the love machine, is all revved up and ready to go.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She wondered if she could persuade her mum to take this psycho bird back.
Dorothy was parched. The only clean glasses in the cupboard were wine glasses. That would have to do—she was in no mood to tackle the mountain of washing up in the sink. She’d no sooner poured herself some cranberry juice than Charlie arrived home.
“What’s all the banging?” He stared at Neil’s bedroom door.
“No idea.” Dorothy shrugged. “Neil won’t let me in.”
“It sounds like he’s knocking the wall through. I’d better go and check.”
Charlie’s bedroom was next door to Neil’s, but much to his relief, there was no sign of the dividing wall having been breached. After a few minutes, there was a lull in the hammering and drilling. That’s when Charlie heard the singing coming from his desk.
Really bad singing.
He looked through the magnifying glass, and saw Greta sitting in front of her house. She was wearing fluffy ear defenders, and the reason for that was clear to see. Standing outside Bunty’s house were Bunty and another fairy. They were holding wine glasses, and singing some truly awful song. Not so much singing it as murdering it. The two fairies were obviously the worse for drink, as witnessed by the two empty bottles at their feet.
“Charlie!” Bunty hiccupped. “Say hello to Biddy!”
“Hi, Biddy.”
“Hello, Charlie Boy!” Biddy giggled. “Bunty has told me a lot about you.”
Greta had now noticed Charlie, and had taken off her ear defenders.
“Hi, Greta,” Charlie said.
“Hi.” She glanced across at the other two, and shook her head. She was clearly not impressed.
“I can’t wait to move in here, Charlie,” Biddy said. She was holding onto Bunty to stop herself from falling over.
“I’ve told Biddy that she’ll be most welcome here,” Bunty said. “We’ll have a whale of a time, won’t we, girl?”
“You betcha.”
The two fairies clinked glasses, and downed them in one.
Bunty was obviously as drunk as a skunk, so now wasn’t the time for Charlie to make a scene, but there was no way he was going to allow Biddy to move in. It would be bad enough for him, but sheer purgatory for poor Greta.
The noise from the next room had stopped, and Charlie heard the workmen shout their goodbyes. It was time for him to find out what Neil had been up to.
Dorothy had obviously had the same idea because she followed Charlie into Neil’s bedroom.
“What on earth do you need a safe for?” She laughed. “It’s not like you have anything worth stealing.”
“I have valuables.” Neil wasn’t about to mention Socky’s gold because he feared his flatmates might somehow feel entitled to a share.
“Such as?” Dorothy said.
“Such as: mind your own business.”
Charlie examined the safe. “It’s very small.”
“It’s big enough. Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m hungry.” He ushered them out of his bedroom.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them were in the lounge. Dorothy was still poking fun at Neil about the safe. Charlie was trying to figure out what to do about Biddy.
There was a knock at the door. They all waited for one another to make a move. The knock came again.
“I guess I’ll get it, then.” Charlie stood up.
It was Craig from downstairs. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Charlie stood to one side, and then followed Craig over to the lounge area.
“Another party?” Neil sounded hopeful.
“Not this time. I’m collecting signatures for this petition.” He held up a clipboard.
“About what?” Neil said.
“To get the human out of the apartment block.”
“You mean Susan?” Charlie looked horrified.
“Is there another one? She’s spoilt the whole atmosphere. Everyone has been forced to walk on eggshells ever since she arrived. We used to be able to relax and be ourselves.”
“What good would a petition do?”
“I’m going to give it to Redman. He owns several apartments in this building. If he thinks that the human is going to drive other tenants away, he’ll soon kick her out.”
“I doubt he could do that legally,” Charlie said.
“Do you think Redman cares about that? He’s a law unto himself.”
“I’ll sign it.” Dorothy reached for the clipboard.
“No!” Charlie pushed it away. “None of us are signing that. Susan is our flatmate. She’s one of us now.”
“How can she be one of us?” Craig said. “She’s a human.”
“Maybe so, but she’s our human,” Neil said. “And we’re not going to do the dirty on her, are we, Dorothy?”
Charlie and Neil both glared at her.
“No.” She sighed. “I suppose not.”
“It won’t make any difference.” Craig started for the door. “I’ll easily get more than enough signatures to sway Redman.”
“What were you thinking?” Neil turned on Dorothy as soon as Craig had left.
“She does my head in. I want her gone.”
“You’re being unfair,” Charlie said.
“Okay, okay. I didn’t sign it, did I? Give me a break!”
At that precise moment, Susan arrived home. “I just saw Craig coming out of here. Is there another party?”
“Err—party—err—no.” Neil stuttered. “He just popped in for a chat.”
As Susan approached the lounge, she noticed the wine glass on the table in front of Dorothy. She wished the two guys would take Dorothy’s problem more seriously. If this continued, she would have to say or do something.
“Hey, Susan,” Dorothy said. “You’ll never guess what Neil has had installed in his room.”
Chapter 9
“That stupid ghost will be the death of me,” Neil said, aloud to himself, the next morning. He had planned to go hunting for the gold the previous night, but Socky had decided to disappear while the safe was being installed.
“Morning, young man.” The ghost suddenly appeared next to the window.
“Where have you been?”
“I had to visit a relative in Ghost Town. We got talking, and the hours just flew by.”
“Meanwhile, I was waiting for you to give me directions to the gold.”
“What have I told you about patience? The gold has been there for over a hundred years; it isn’t going anywhere.”
“So? Where is it?”
“I’ll have to draw a sketch for you.”
“Can’t you just tell me?”
“It is much too complicated for that, young man.”
“Okay. Get drawing then.”
“I couldn’t possibly do it now. I haven’t had any sleep. I’ll make sure it is ready by the time you get back this evening.”
“But—”
It was too late. Socky had disappeared.
“I hate that ghost.”
“Were you talking to yourself in there?” Susan asked Neil when he joined her in the kitchen.
“Err—yeah. I like to give myself a pep talk before I start the day.” He made a mental note that he must keep his voice down when talking to Socky in future. That would be easier said than done because that ghost could be so infuriating. Still, once he had the gold, all would be forgiven. Not long now.
He poured himself a bowl of cornflakes, and went through to the lounge.
“Is the shop busy at this time of year?” Susan sat on the sofa opposite.
“Not particularly. I set on a new assistant yesterday. Her name is Fable.”
“Great name.”
“She’s a huma—err.” He’d almost said ‘human’, but had caught himself just in time. He’d forgotten for a moment that he wasn’t speaking to a sup. “She’s a humorous sort. Quite funny really.”
“Right? That’s a good thing, I guess?”
“What about you?” Neil decided to change the subject. “Any more big stories on the horizon?”
“Nothing definite, but I did get one strange tip-off yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“It seems that all the cash in the vaults of Washbridge’s two main banks disappeared.”
“Bank robberies?”
“Not exactly. The money simply disappeared, but then reappeared.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“I know. I’m not sure the source of the story is to be relied upon. It’ll probably turn out to be nothing.”
Dorothy came out of her bedroom—she was still half asleep.
“Morning!” Neil shouted.
Susan had already spotted the empty wine glass in her flatmate’s hand.
Dorothy grunted something, as she shuffled over to the kitchen.
Charlie hadn’t slept well. Every time he’d dropped off to sleep, he’d been woken by the sound of singing. Bunty and Biddy had been at it until the early hours of the morning.
It was all quiet now, so he took a look through the magnifying glass. There was no sign of the two drunks, but Greta was on her bench, knitting.
“Morning, Greta.”
“Morning, Charlie.”
“I don’t imagine you got much sleep last night.”
She shook her head. “Hardly any.”
“Me neither. Is she always like this?”