“No Thank you Sir, I’ll be Ok.”
Alec got out of the car and after shutting the door he rested his arms across the roof of the car waiting for Lynn, together they walked the six yards back up the street as they did Alec had the feeling that they were being watched as they passed a house with thin lace curtains in all the windows
In a few more yards they had reached number 15 it looked just the same as all the others in the row white PVC widows, neatly laid out front garden and small newly painted wall separating if from the path, opening the small gate and walking up to the front door Alec saw that the flowers in the small hanging basket were the same as the one that Lisa had.
Lynn shut the gate, Alec reached up his right hand and knocked loudly on the door, as he waited for it the answered he turned giving Lynn another small smile trying to relax her even more, but before he could turn back the door was opened
In the open doorway stood a petite grey haired bespectacled old woman dressed in a green knitted shoal around her shoulders covering a cream jumper with a big eyed cat on it, to Lynn she looked like a small china doll, but with deep set shrewd blue eyes were red rimmed from crying.
“Miss Blake…”
The old woman tried to smile but shook her head.
“No, that’s my daughter, I am Hattie Cooper, you better come in.”
She turned away from the door and walked back up the hallway, Alec followed her up the hallway, he found himself stood a huge room spilt in two by a wide archway, ahead of him was a light coloured front room and filled with old furnishings not of which matched, turning his head to the archway he saw the kitchen but unlike the room he was in it was very modern, Hattie walked into the kitchen and over to the line of coats which hung on the back of the door and she began to remove two.
Alec moved across the carpeted floor deeper into the front room to let Lynn in behind, as he did so he saw that sat crossed legged in the gap between the arm chair and the wall was the little boy he’d seen from the photographs, the boy was playing with a small red toy car, He stopped running the car down his leg and looked up at Alec a little disappointed.
“You don’t look like a policeman.”
Alec gave him a friendly smile, then sat down across from him
“I have this.”
Alec took out his ID and gave to the little boy.
“That say’s I am.”
The little boy looked down at the ID, then smiled at Alec.
“Well my name is Daniel, I am five years old, you have a funny name.”
The girls had empted a second bottle of wine, after Elli had talked to Tony and he’d told her want had happened, others had all decided to go into the city leaving Deborah alone, she couldn’t just sit there alone and do nothing, but she didn’t really know hat she could, so alone she had taken a bus back to the places she had to with Jenny, starting at the library then moved to the museum all closed now, but that didn’t matter she just needed, wanted to be there but the rain had come back washing the pain and the memories away, all the time thinking about what that policeman had said.
Soaking wet and shivering with cold she made her way up Parsonage Road, half way up she saw the leaves from the trees had blocked a few of the drains and the water was over flowing onto the pavement, she carefully walked by it, but part way though she didn’t hear or saw the enormous 4×4 making its way up behind her and when she did it was almost on top her.
It missed hitting the whole puddle but its back wheel still sent a tail end of water into the air and over Deborah’s head, but she didn’t care or stop just carried on the few steeps to the darken house, Finding her keys she went inside, she opened the second door just as the phone started to ring but it stopped when she reached for it.
Switching on the hall light she couldn’t bring herself to find out who it was. So she headed down the hallway into the kitchen undoing her coat as she when, Hanging it on the open door and switching on that light to, she started to look around for something to take the chill out of the bones a few minutes later her hands wrapped around a mug of hot sweet tea, she left the kitchen, leaving her coat were it was dripping on the floor.
Pushing the door of her own room open with her foot, she went inside making her way across to desk, putting the mug down she switched on the desk light, filling the desktop with light sitting down on the floor she reached for the bottom drawer sliding it all the way, one by one she took everything out making a small pile next to her feet.
Taking the drawer off its runners she turned it upside down stuck to the bottom of it was a wide brown envelope, she reached inside a took out five smaller power blue envelopes she carefully put them on the desk, then putting all the things back, sitting in the chair she reached for one but then she changed her mid her hands went for the mug, she just held it for a few seconds still warming up her hands, as she sat looking down at the letters.
She felt the rain water in her hair travel down the back of her neck, she shivered a little, getting to her feet and down the mug she went out of the room up the stairs into the bathroom looking for a towel, wrapping it around her head she made her way down stairs, this she didn’t sit in the chair but on the bed kicking off her still wet shoes, she reached over to the desk and picked up both the mug and the envelopes.
