Chapter Seven
Seven
Harriet walked into her tutor room at 8:15 a.m. for morning registration to find the famous five already waiting quietly. This was clearly a concerted effort on their part; usually students wandered in between 8:35 and 8:45 a.m. in various states of bleary-eyed lethargy—the famous five were particularly prone to lateness. But not today. The rest of the class had yet to arrive, and those already gathered looked either contrite or sheepish. She took a seat behind the desk.
“Good morning,” she said in what her daughter termed her bright but dangerous voice.
The students shifted uncomfortably in their chairs; Billy was captivated by something inside his rucksack. Leo looked pensive as he scribbled away in his sketchbook. Even Carly seemed unsure of herself.
There followed various offerings of “Morning, miss,” in voices significantly smaller than usual. She let them stew. Finally, Billy asked, “Are you in trouble, miss?” at the same time as Ricco asked, “Are we in trouble?”
All faces pointed at her.
“It wasn’t the best afternoon I’ve had, sitting in a police station.” They had the good grace to look guilty. “But I wasn’t charged with anything”—she watched their shoulders sag with relief—“on the proviso that I clean up the theater. And by that, I mean clean up the mess that I didn’t make.”
She let that sink in.
“That’s not fair!” Isabel exclaimed.
“No, it isn’t. That’s why you’re going to help me.” She gave a sweet smile with just a hint of don’t-mess-with-me attitude.
Five mouths dropped open. One or two made a feeble attempt at protest, but she caught their eyes, squinting her own in challenge, and their voices dried up.
“When are we supposed to do it?” asked Billy.
“After school and weekends, I should think. It ought not to take too long; from what I saw the mess was mostly superficial. It’ll be like litter picking but with the benefit of being inside.”
Cue groans and profanity. She didn’t say anything. In her job you chose your battles with care.
“We didn’t do all of it.” Ricco sounded hard done by.
“Yeah, it was already a skank-hole when we found it,” added Isabel.
“I’m sure it was. But we were the ones who got caught trespassing.”
They had no answer for that.
“She can’t actually make us do it,” Carly said, smirking.
“No, I can’t. But if you’re not prepared to take responsibility for your actions, then I’m not prepared to keep covering for you.”
“When do we start?” asked Billy, his voice thick.
Her phone vibrated on her desk, and she glanced at the screen.
Unknown number: Ms. Smith, the finalized agreement of which we spoke yesterday is now ready. Please meet my client outside her property, the Winter Theater, at 12:30 p.m. today. Regards, J. Knight
Her first thought was Cripes! Her second was Will he be there? Quickly followed by Cripes! again. The possibility that he might be at today’s meeting had nothing whatever to do with her decision to wear the rust-colored shift dress that suited her skin tone and the lipstick to match. She felt the eyes of her students upon her and quickly scrabbled through her brain to recall what they were talking about.
“As soon as I get the go-ahead, I’ll let you know,” she replied to Billy.
“Can you not tell our parents about this?” Ricco asked. “I mean, I’ll tell them what I’m doing but just not why, if that’s all right. I promised them I’d stay out of trouble, after the last time, and I don’t want them to have anything else to worry about, you know, what with Dad and everything.”
Ricco’s dad had a chronic illness and couldn’t work; he probably wouldn’t work again. His mum worked long hours as a carer. They were good people stuck in a sad situation.
“What about health and safety, miss?” piped up Carly. “Insurance and stuff. From a safety perspective, we might not be able to go into a derelict building.” Clearly Carly was looking for legitimate ways out, which made a refreshing change. Carly did have a point too. She’d ask at the meeting.
“Health and safety didn’t appear to concern you when you broke in repeatedly and spent countless hours in there illegally,” Harriet countered.
Carly shrugged. “Yeah, but that was before—”
“Before you got caught? Or before you realized there would be consequences for your actions?”
“UUURRR!” Ricco laughed. “She’s got you there, Carly.”
Carly turned to him with her eyes squinted. “I’m trying to get us out of having to do free and illegal labor—what are you doing to help?”
“We can’t get out of it,” said Billy flatly. “We were there. We should help to clean the place up.”
“I agree with Billy,” Leo added timidly. “We can’t make Miss Smith do it by herself, not when she took a bullet for us.”
Ricco nodded. “Yeah, we owe her.”
The rest of the group made pained noises of assent, and then the other students began to filter into the common room and the discussion was dropped.
The snow was the light, dusty kind, as though someone in the clouds were tapping it through a fine sieve. It settled on Harriet’s hair and coat and made the busy street look even more Christmassy as it fluttered past the overhead fairy lights. The snow-capped forests of fir trees that flanked the hills around the town looked like cake decorations from down on the street.
Usually this would have filled her with a childish glee, but this first snow of the season served only to remind her of all the fun she wouldn’t be having. Well-meaning people kept telling her that the empty-nest feeling wouldn’t last forever, that she would grow to cherish her independence and that the time she did spend with Maisy would become “quality time” rather than the mundanity of everyday life. But most of this wisdom came from couples who had gone on to redefine their relationships in their new, changed landscape. Maybe she should get cats.
Her phone rang in her pocket; it was Pete.
“Hey, Pete, what’s up?”
“Emma says you’ve got a meeting with Evaline Winter today.”
“That is correct. I’m on my way to it now. Took an early lunch.”
She heard Pete pull in a deep breath. He did this when he was measuring what he was going to say next, carefully lining up his words to best effect before speaking.
“She’s a bit of a slippery fish. A pike, with a large bite radius—metaphorically speaking, of course; I’ve never known her to actually bite anyone. But there’s a first time for everything.”
“If you’re trying to warn me about something, could you be a bit more specific, please?”
“Em told me that you’ve got ideas about turning the theater into some sort of community youth club.”
“So?”
“Just be on your guard. Evaline Winter is an astute businesswoman, and she isn’t famed for her philanthropical ventures. The reason she’s got so much money is because she’s very good at keeping it for herself. I say this as a solicitor who’s had more than one run-in with her professionally.”
“Really? How have your run-ins gone?” Harriet was curious. Before yesterday, she’d never crossed paths with the wealthy widow.
“She owns a lot of properties in the area, private rentals and the like; she’s quick to sue for missed payments but less proactive when it comes to maintenance and building regs.”
“I’m clearly having a slow brain day, you’re going to have to spell it out for me. What exactly am I on my guard for?”
The theater was coming into view as she hurried along the pavement. A limo with blacked-out windows had already pulled up outside the front.
“She isn’t going to give anything away for free. If she lets you use the space for your students, look for the catch because I promise you there’ll be one.”
“She’s already got me for cleaning services.”
“Yeah, well, that’ll just be for starters. Strictly off the record, the woman’s a shark.”
“You are really feeling those marine-life analogies today, aren’t you?”
“I’m serious, Harri. Be careful.”
Pete was the only person who still called her Harri.
“All right, all right, keep your hair on. I’ll stay alert.” She paused and then asked casually, “In your dealings with Ms. Winter and her impressive bite radius, have you had much contact with her solicitor?”
“James Knight?”
“Yes, I think that’s his name.” Act casual.
“He’s one of those steely types. Gives nothing away and then clobbers you at the last minute with some hidden clause or other that collapses your case. He’s a good solicitor, just not very personable; that’s probably why he heads up the business side of the practice and leaves family law to the other partners.”
“Right. Good to know.”
“Well, that was all, just wanted to give you a heads-up. Good luck. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it from Em later. Oh, and listen, I get that you’re feeling a bit weirded out about Maisy not being around for the holidays, but we’d still love to spend Christmas with you. You were my family before any of the kids came along, you always will be.”
She smiled down the phone. “Thanks, Pete. Did Emma put you up to that?” She knew Emma would have been bending his ear about it when she’d got home last night.
He gave a chuckle. “A little bit. But it doesn’t make it less true.”
She pressed end call and took a deep breath. She was ready.