The Bedside Cabinet
The Cabinet Mystery Book 1
Cassandra Davis
Cahill Davis Publishing
Copyright © 2020 Cassandra Davis
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
To my husband, for giving me the time I needed.
To Beth, for answering all my crazy questions.
To Leslie, for all the late nights.
Chapter 1
Evelyn got comfortable as she tucked herself up in bed with her favourite nightie on. Her daughter, Iris, sat on the end of the bed by her feet, waiting for her mother to explain. They’d both had a long day, and Evelyn was glad to finally wrap herself up in her duvet. She got comfortable by resting on her four ergonomic pillows that seemed expensive when she bought them, but have definitely proved their worth.
“How are you feeling, mum?” Iris asked, her voice sounded concerned yet measured. The way you’d speak to someone backed into a corner, unsure whether they were going to cave in or snap and go crazy.
“I’m ok. The doctor said that after the adrenaline wore off I would feel tired and he wasn’t lying! I haven’t been this tired since I stopped waiting up for you to come home from a night out.” She picked up Iris’ hand and gave it a quick but reassuring squeeze. Iris visibly relaxed.
“Yeah but I’m almost 30. I had to move out at some point. And I was never home that late.” Iris said with a small smirk.
“You’ll understand when you have kids.”
“If I have kids.” Iris said, pointing her index finger at her mother.
“But you love kids!” Evelyn said, holding out both her hands, palms up.
“Yes I do, and I’ll most likely have at least one, but I’m in no rush. If it happens then great but if it doesn’t, it won’t be the end of my world. And besides, I’m missing half of my future child’s DNA right now, so not much chance of grandchildren any time soon.”
“Well, you’ve got me there.” Evelyn smiled at her daughter and leant forward to cup Iris’ face in her hand. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Are you ok?” Iris said, holding her mother’s hand to her face. She wasn’t sure if it was the toll of the day or not seeing her mother in person for a few months but Iris was suddenly aware of how old her mother was. Evelyn’s golden blonde hair had started to fade to grey and the lines on her oval-shaped face had become more pronounced. Her eyes, however, were still the same mix of bright blue and dark grey.
“Yes, I told you, I’m fine. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. It’s not about me. It’s… a strange one in all honesty but something I have to tell you anyway. Just keep an open mind, will you?”
“When do I not keep an open mind?” Evelyn moved her hand back to her lap, Iris’ hand still holding on.
“Ok, so I want to give you this bedside cabinet.” Evelyn said, gesturing to the cabinet down to her right. It wasn’t anything special, just a plain-looking wooden cabinet, painted in white gloss with two drawers and black swan neck drop handles.
“Uh, I already have two but I appreciate the offer?” said Iris, perplexed at her mother’s offer.
“Yes, I know, I helped you pick them. This is slightly different though. I need to give you this cabinet. Straight away.” Evelyn said with urgency in her voice.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Iris asked softly. It was a strange request, given the circumstances and the day her mother had just had.
“Iris, I said I’m fine. Please listen to me.” Iris held her hands up with her palms facing her mother, indicating her reluctance, but also her willingness to listen.
“Ok, sorry, continue.” She said, waving one hand to the side.
“This isn’t an ordinary cabinet. And yes, I know how this is going to sound but I’m serious.” Evelyn took a breath. “This cabinet is, for lack of a better word, magical.”
“Magical?” Iris’ eyes narrow and her brow furrows for a moment. She was definitely questioning if her mother actually was ok now or if she should call the doctor.
“I know how it sounds but just bear with me for a minute. Every morning the cabinet gives you exactly what you need that day. You get one seemingly random object that’s use or purpose becomes obvious over the course of the day. It might be for you or it might not. You might be the one who needs the thing or you might be in the right place, at the right time, to give it to someone else who needs it.”
“Did you hit your head today?” Iris said with the hint of a laugh in her voice.
“I thought you were keeping an open mind?!” Evelyn snapped at her daughter.
“I am! But mum, seriously, a magical cabinet?” Iris looked at her mum with a great deal of concern.
“Yes, a magical cabinet, seriously. Now can I continue?” Evelyn gave her daughter a look that only a parent could. The one that says so many things without the need for words. Usually, it said to stop and behave immediately or there would be severe consequences.
“Oh yeah, go ahead, I need to know what to tell them when I get you sectioned.” Iris couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re so funny Iris Mae Agrippa.” Evelyn tried to stay annoyed at her daughter but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing at that one.
“Ooooh full name time, I must be being naughty. Says the woman talking about a magical bedside cabinet. Evelyn Dorothy Agrippa.” Iris puts one hand on her hip and mockingly gives her mother a stern look.
“Let me just tell you about it. Like the time I got a wrapped birthday present but no idea whose birthday it was.” Said Evelyn. Iris sighed and got comfortable on the bed.
“Ok, I’m listening.”
Chapter 2
Evelyn woke up that morning all those years ago to find a small, neatly wrapped present in the cabinet. Her object of the day. As she had done more than a few times now, she carried the present around with her all day. She put it in her handbag in the morning and waited to see when it would come in handy. The perfect opportunity always presented itself with these objects. Off she went to work as usual. Nothing happened on her journey into the office but the opportunity didn’t always come straight away. Just after lunch, she finds out that it's a colleague's birthday. Is this the person who is supposed to get the gift? How do you know? She thinks to herself. Evelyn was still new to all this; she’d not long been given the cabinet by her father and the first few things she’d been given had obvious uses. And they’d all been for her which had made things a bit easier. This was the first thing she’d received for someone else and she knew it must be for someone else because her birthday is in November and it was March.
She waited until the end of the day and decided to give her colleague the present. They don’t know each other that well. They’ve only had a few conversations while making tea but she seemed like a nice enough woman. Her name was Ivy and she wasn’t much older than Evelyn, a couple of years maybe.
“Hey Ivy, I got you a little something. I hope that’s ok?” Evelyn said, putting the present down on Ivy’s desk.
“Oh gosh, you didn’t need to do that but thank you so much! I’m honestly so touched you remembered. Although come to think of it, I don’t remember telling you in advance it was my birthday today.” She took the present from Evelyn and put it on her desk.
/> “Of course you did, otherwise how would I have known?” Evelyn said with a smile and a small laugh.
“That’s true! I must have forgotten; I’ve been tired lately. It must have slipped my mind.” Ivy said, smiling at Evelyn.
“Well, I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure I will. Thank you.” Evelyn put her hand on Ivy’s arm and wished her a heartfelt happy birthday, before returning to her own desk in the middle of the office.
“So that’s it? You got a birthday present for someone you didn’t know? I’m not being funny mum but that sounds pretty boring. So, it’ll save me some money on birthday presents and wrapping paper, great.” Iris said with slightly more than a hint of sarcasm. Evelyn shot her daughter a stern look.
“No, that’s not it. Ivy and I became really good friends after that. We were the youngest women in the office and back then we were only deemed good enough to make tea and do the filing. Even though I have a degree in mathematics and accounting. But who cares about that?”
“Ok, so you made a friend out of it. That’s nice, I suppose.”
“Yes but that’s not all of it. Please can I finish?” Iris nodded and motioned that she was zipping her lips closed.
“So yes, Ivy and I were great friends for those few years when we both worked at Benson's. We drifted apart when I got married and left to have you but we didn’t part on bad terms, it was just a natural end to our friendship. But I found out later, months after I gave her that gift, that she was going to commit suicide. We went to a house party that one of my friends was hosting and I invited her along. She had a few too many Babychams and she told me that she’d been feeling alone for a long time. She didn’t get on with her parents and hadn’t gone back home after she finished university. She’d struggled to make new friends when she moved to the area and her love life was non-existent. But that day I gave her a gift. I don’t even know what the gift was, she didn’t open it in the office and I obviously didn’t ask. It would have been a bit weird to ask what I had bought her.” Iris smiled and nodded in agreement. “That gift showed her that there were people in the world who saw her, who valued her and who cared about her. So maybe that was the real gift, who knows, but what I do know is that random magical cabinet saved at least one life.”
“That is true, I suppose. Maybe it is a bit magical after all.” Iris murmured in agreement.
“And then there’s the time I got a baby blanket. You were about 9, so I knew it wasn’t for you and I didn’t have any pregnant friends or friends with newborn babies. I ended up giving it to the woman I met on the train.”
Chapter 3
The woman was clearly poor, her appearance gave the impression of being put together at first but the longer you looked, the more you saw. The frayed edges on her jeans, the sole starting to detach from her shoe. The pushchair was in decent enough condition but had been well used and wasn’t new. She was desperately trying to keep her baby warm. The baby in the pushchair had on a babygrow and hat but it wasn’t anywhere near enough to keep a baby warm in the kind of winter they were having. The woman was using her jacket to wrap the baby up but the snow was falling faster outside. There seemed to be more snow settling on the ground with every stop they passed.
“I didn’t know how long the mother would have to walk for once she got off the train but I knew she’d need the jacket. The last thing she needed was to risk hypothermia with a baby to look after.” Evelyn said. “So, I gave her the blanket that was in my bag. It was a lovely thick fleece-lined blanket with a big yellow baby duck on it. It was big enough to fold in half and still completely cover the baby, so I knew it would keep her nice and warm once the rain cover was over the pushchair too.” Iris nodded, wondering how this played out.
“I also gave the woman a few notes from my purse. I’d just got my bonus from work, after working away for 6 months on that big South American project. I was on my way to buy you and your father extra Christmas presents. I could spare it.”
“She must have been pleased.” Iris said.
“Not at first, how would you feel if someone tried to give you £50 on the train?” Evelyn asked Iris. “She tried to refuse out of principle, maybe pride, but the baby was freezing.”
“No, I can’t take it. It’s such a nice blanket. I’m sure you must have someone else you want to give it to.” The woman looked embarrassed at the gesture. She was looking around at the other people in the carriage and got redder and redder as she made eye contact with the few that were listening in to the conversation.
“Nope, no-one. I was going to donate it once I got into town but it looks like you’ve misplaced your baby’s blanket so take this one. You can donate it when you’ve finished with it if you want to.” She could see Evelyn was trying not to embarrass her further but they both knew she needed help.
“Uh, yes, definitely misplaced it. Must have accidentally left it at home. Of all the days for it to snow!” The woman said with the hint of embarrassment fading from her voice.
“I know! It’s always the way. Here, let me tuck the baby in with the blanket. I remember when my daughter was this small. She was such a light sleeper that I swear I couldn’t even breathe without waking her up!” The woman nodded, grateful for the help. Evelyn folded the blanket, moved the coat from around the baby and gently tucked the blanket in. The motion of the train gently rocking the baby kept her asleep.
“It can be exhausting with a baby.” The woman said with a half-smile, taking her coat back from Evelyn and quickly putting it on. She took a deep breath as she zipped it up around her and settled into its warmth.
“It can but thankfully it’s not permanent. My little girl is 9 now and could sleep through a tornado!” The woman smiled at Evelyn and Evelyn smiled back. She seemed to visibly relax, the longer they talked.
“Thank you for the blanket. I really appreciate it.” She held out a hand to shake Evelyn’s so Evelyn took the opportunity to give her a few notes too. Evelyn lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear.
“I don’t know what your situation is and you don’t have to tell me anything. I want to give you this because I can afford to and, with the greatest respect, you look like you might be struggling a little right now. I know how tough it is to stay on top of everything with a baby at the best of times. Whatever you use this for is up to you and I don’t judge. Just please, use it to make you both happy.” The woman held Evelyn’s hand for a few more moments, deciding whether to take it or not but she knew she wouldn’t get another opportunity like this.
“Thank you.” She said, quickly wiping away a tear that had slid from her eye before anyone else could see.
“That’s so nice of you. But how did you know she wasn’t a junkie or something?” Iris asked.
“Well for a start she had given the baby her jacket and she was only wearing a t-shirt, so I could see that her arms were clear of track marks. So, it ruled out some of the harder drugs at least. And she looked clean and smelled nice. Two things that junkies, unfortunately, don’t do is wash themselves or their clothes much, if at all. She also didn’t look like she was tweaking or withdrawing from anything. She just looked cold and tired and she had a slight leak stain on her chest which you only get when you’re breastfeeding.”
“She could have been an alcoholic.” Iris mused aloud.
“True but for the baby’s sake I was really hoping she would buy food or something.”
“Any idea what happened to her.”
“Yes actually, I saw the lady again about 6 weeks later and she looked so much better. She told me about the day that we’d met on the train and how I had helped her just when she thought that was going to be it for her. She needed to top up the electricity on her key meter because it had been off all day. She’d run out of money, and if she didn’t find enough cash, all her food would go off. She’d spent her last £40 on food for her and the baby and only had £3 in small change around the house. The smallest top-up for this key meter she had was £10, whic
h would last her about 2 weeks, just long enough for her last paycheque to get into her bank account.
She had been working and then she’d been on maternity leave with the baby for 18 weeks but her company had to let her go when she was due to come back. Maternity leave and employment rights in the UK weren’t as good then as they are now. She told me that she couldn’t afford childcare to even go to interviews, let alone the new clothes she would need as none of her old ones fit. One of the things that happens to your body after a baby. The £50 I had given her meant that she could top up her key meter for 2 weeks and she made the decision to spend the rest on the internet. The landlord of her house had it installed but she could never afford it. She had a computer but barely ever used it as she didn’t have broadband to go on the internet. She couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to afford the monthly charge on a contract every month. It was new then, we’d just switched from dial-up ourselves, so I knew how much it cost. She did tell me she’d signed up for one that had a 28 day cooling-off period so she could essentially get the first month free, if nothing came of her using the internet to look for jobs online.”
“I didn’t realise you could find jobs online then.” Iris said.
“It was still new too but it was coming up to the millennium and things on the internet were definitely picking up.” Evelyn told Iris. “She told me that she also heard of a local scheme that leant out clothes for interviews for people who couldn’t afford to buy new ones and, thankfully, the clothes were of a decent quality.”
“That’s an excellent idea! I wonder if that’s still a thing? I’ve got loads I could donate if there’s any by me.”
“I bet you could! I’ve seen your wardrobe and it’s a good thing you’re single; otherwise, he wouldn’t have anywhere to keep his clothes!”
The Bedside Cabinet: The Cabinet Mystery Book 1 Page 1