Chapter 16
There’s a note in my pigeonhole when I get to school that morning. It’s from Mike, the headmaster.
Can you come and see me, please?
It’s unusual for Mike to leave a note. Actually, I don’t think he’s ever done it before. Normally, if he has something to tell me, he would drop by class at break. I wonder what… And then I remember.
Mrs Ashford-Wells.
I completely forgot about her letter.
I still have a few minutes before class starts, so I stop by his office. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I say from the doorway.
‘Sit down, Kate. What are you sorry about?’
I like Mike. He’s got a ‘bonhomie’ about him – a cheerfulness mixed with kindness. Everybody loves him, even the children.
I check my watch before sitting down. ‘Mrs Ashford-Wells. Isn’t that why we’re here?’
He scratches his bald spot. ‘Yes. It seems Diana is at it again. I got a barrage of emails and a call this morning—’
‘I’m really sorry – I didn’t get a chance to reply.’
‘Kate, please. That’s why I asked you here. She told me that she left you a letter? At your house?’
I nod. ‘It was pinned to the door when I got home. I should have replied. I’m so sorry.’ But I’ve got a dead body in my freezer and this weird woman staying in my house. It focuses the mind on all the wrong things. ‘How did she know where I live?’ I ask.
‘That’s what I asked. Apparently, Penny Henry told her. I understand Caroline has been to your house once?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’ But I’m astonished. Are parents exchanging teachers’ addresses that they learn through their children?
‘I want to apologise,’ he says. ‘It’s completely unacceptable, and I’ve had very stern words with Mrs Ashford-Wells. I’ve made it clear that we don’t condone parents visiting teachers at their homes. I’ve asked her not to do it again.’
I let out a breath. ‘Thank you,’ I say.
‘And I don’t expect you to reply on a weekend, but if you have some time today…?’
‘Absolutely. I’ll do it at lunchtime.’
‘I appreciate that. Do you need help with the response?’
I get up. ‘I’ll repeat what we said before. That Gregory is not ready.’
‘Perfect. Thank you. Let me know if she contacts you again.’
‘Thank you, Mike. I will.’
I spend the day on autopilot, sending a brief email to Mrs Ashford-Wells at lunchtime.
On the way home, I pick up the ingredients Teri asked me to get for her dinner this evening.
I also drop by the hardware store and ask for advice on how I could lock an old freezer.
‘So it’s childproof,’ I say, as if I had a gaggle of children running through the house trying to climb in it.
A part of me thinks it’s a complete waste of time since Teri won’t be here that long, and God knows I have no intention of keeping Max in there any longer than I have to, but the idea that I have an open freezer, for Christ’s sake, with a dead body in it, accessible by anyone, is giving me hives.
The young man is very helpful. He sells me a metal hasp and staple, some kind of latch with a loop for a padlock.
‘How would I attach it?’ I ask.
‘With this.’ He shows me a drill.
I pay cash, shove it all to the bottom of my Waitrose bag and leave.
‘Did you manage to get everything I asked? Did I ask for too much?’ Teri says when I walk in. I study her face. Is this the face of someone who has found a dead body in the garage? I don’t think so.
‘Not at all,’ I say.
She peers inside the shopping bags. I shove the right one in her direction, and the one with the drill under the table.
‘Perfect,’ she says. ‘Now let me pour you and me a glass of wine, because you look like you need it, and I know I do, and later I’ll cook for you the best meal you’ve ever tasted.’
I carry the bag with the lock and the drill into the garage. Then Holly gets home, looking sad and tired. I spend a bit of time with her upstairs, assuring her that everything will be all right and that she just has to be patient.
But then later, over a glass of wine, Teri says, ‘I think I will get an X-ray after all.’
‘Really? Why?’
She grimaces. ‘I’m still in a lot of pain. I think Holly did more damage than I’d realised.’
I was holding my glass halfway to my lips, and I stop, mid-air.
Teri looks down at her foot. ‘It’s not her fault, of course.’
I just stare at her. I mean, it is Holly’s fault. There’s no doubt about that. But I wish she wouldn’t bring it up like that. I wish she’d make up her mind. Is it Holly’s fault or yours?
But I don’t say that. And I must have been quiet for a while because she looks up, frowning, and her face falls. ‘Oh, no. I’ve upset you.’
I shake my head. ‘It’s fine.’
‘I’m so sorry. I just feel really stupid about everything, and being here, and I can’t walk properly…’ She grimaces. ‘Do you think I could…?’
My chest tightens. ‘What, Teri?’
‘Stay here for another day or two? It’s just that my place…’
I can feel myself breathing hard. ‘It’s not really practical.’
‘I know. God, I know!’ She reaches for my hand. ‘But think about it. Max is away, you’re really busy and tired – no, don’t argue. Anyone can see that. I can cook for you both. I love cooking. That will be one thing you won’t have to worry about. Please, Kate?’
I rub my hand over my forehead. ‘It’s really not very practical. I’m sorry.’
‘I won’t tell them,’ she says.
‘Tell who?’
‘The people at the hospital. I won’t tell them what Holly did, I promise. Cross my heart.’
I am so confused. Why does she feel the need to repeat this? ‘I know,’ I say finally. ‘You’ve said that before.’
‘Exactly. So is it all right if I stay?’ She tilts her head and looks at me with those puppy eyes. ‘Just a couple of more days? I’ll be all right by then. And like I said, no one needs to know. Not the hospital, not the police, and certainly not Max.’
My chest heaves. Why is she doing this? Is it some kind of veiled threat?
I can’t even tell anymore. I’m losing my mind.
If I say no, will she be upset? Will she get an X-ray and tell them what happened?
Will the police show up on my doorstep and interview Holly?
Will they interview Scarlett? Scarlett’s parents?
Will someone ask, ‘Where’s Holly’s father? ’
She waits for me to say something. Well, at least I got a lock for the freezer. ‘Fine,’ I say, trying to sound like a good hostess and probably failing. ‘Stay a couple of days.’
‘Thank you,’ she says, breathing out.
I knock back my glass of wine. ‘Do you want me to grab your toothbrush from next door? And whatever else you might need? Change of underwear?’
‘No, no need. I already did.’
I raise an eyebrow. ‘Enough for two days?’
She smiles. ‘I knew you’d say yes. You’re such a kind person, Kate.’
For a moment, I thought she was going to say, ‘You’re such a pushover, Kate.’
That night, when I’m pretty sure everyone is asleep, I tiptoe down the stairs, pull out the drill and screws and the metal clasp.
First, I tug the lid open, and it doesn’t resist at all. Which tells me that my superglue solution was a complete waste of time.
I drill small holes, just like the nice man at the hardware store showed me, and the whole time my heart is in my throat.
It is so loud, in the garage, that I have to take short breaks and listen, fully expecting Teri to barge in.
But the doors are thick, thank God, and her bedroom is at the other side of the house, and soon, I have affixed the clasp and the lock.
I hide the key behind a box of nails on a shelf and go back to bed.
I didn’t like Teri staying one bit, obviously, and neither does Holly. But then, over the next two days, something completely unexpected happens. It’s as if I’ve stepped into an alternate reality.
Holly warms to Teri in a way I haven’t seen her do with anyone else before.
Maybe that’s because Teri is giving her a lot of attention.
She helps Holly with her homework, then they play a four-hander on the piano, giggling.
After dinner – delicious, she really is an amazing cook – Teri cleans up the kitchen and loads up the dishwasher, shushing me whenever I tell her to leave it.
Then once that’s done, she insists we play Scrabble.
God knows where Holly dug that out from.
And last night, Holly laughed so hard at some word Teri played, I thought she was having a coughing fit.
That’s how long it is since I heard her laugh like that.
Which is never, come to think of it.
But my mind is still in the garage, and I imagine that Max can hear us, stuck in his freezer.
I wonder what he makes of all this good cheer.
I wonder if he realises how much happier we are without him.
I also wonder how long before his workplace calls wanting to know when Max will be back.
I wonder if they’re leaving messages on his phone.
Sometimes, I wonder if someone will show up at my door asking to see him.
But it’s different at night. Holly has trouble sleeping, and she climbs into my bed and holds me tight and cries. ‘I can’t believe I did that,’ she says, often. ‘It’s like a really bad dream – except I can’t wake up.’
I do my best to soothe her, but silently, I ask myself again and again, did I do the right thing?
Then I think of Lily. What if she had lost it and killed her abusive boyfriend?
Would she be better off? God yes. She’d still be alive, for one thing.
Would she have gone to jail for killing him?
Without a doubt. Would I have helped her hide the crime? Absolutely.
‘When?’ Holly whispers in the dark.
‘This weekend.’
Because what else can I do? I can’t thaw him while Teri is here, and I’ve resigned myself to that. Her ankle is still tender, although she said the X-rays revealed no fractures, thank God. Holly changes her bandage every day, and there’s hardly any swelling.
She’s ready to go home. Not long now, and we can put all this behind us.