‘Park it just inside the door, love. Ta,’ Kath said as she led Den into her flat. He wheeled the trolley into the hall and put its brake on with his foot. The contrast between the breezy cold evening outside and the cloyingly warm air inside hit him. He took off his coat and wondered if it would seem odd if he peeled off his jumper too.
Kath had disappeared into a room on the left. Den followed and found her in an armchair, leaning her head back, eyes closed, apparently gasping for air. The climb up the stairs, as well as everything else, had taken it out of her. Perhaps the paramedics had been right – she should be in hospital.
‘Can I get you some water?’
Her eyes fluttered open. ‘Oh, yes please, love, and can you bring my bag of pills in? It’s on the top, next to the microwave – a sponge bag with flowers on.’
Den did as he was asked, then watched her scrabbling through the bag, pressing two pills out of a blister pack. ‘A cup of tea now, yeah?’ he said.
‘Mm.’ She didn’t speak as she was struggling to get the pills down, taking gulps of water and tipping her head back as she swallowed. Den left her to it and pottered about her kitchen. It reminded him of his nan’s – all the cupboards full, orderly and clean. A place for everything and everything in its place. He made tea for both of them and found a packet of Jammie Dodgers in the cupboard, put everything on a tray and carried it through.
Kath had put her glass on the coffee table. She looked a little less grey in her face now but she was still in some distress, breathing noisily through her open mouth like a fish out of water. He handed her a china mug.
‘See if this helps,’ he said. ‘I’ve put some sugar in.’
‘I shouldn’t with my diabetes,’ she said but then, seeing him reach for the mug to take it back, chipped in quickly, ‘but I reckon I need it for the shock. Thank you, Den. You’re a good boy.’
He sat on the sofa opposite her. They both sipped their tea. Den looked round the room, which was cluttered, almost floor to ceiling, with ornaments and keepsakes. Little china animals – kittens, elephants and hedgehogs, tiny cottages and figurines – jostled with vases and boxes, dried flower arrangements and bowls of ancient potpourri. There were framed prints on the wall – the type you’d find in any charity shop – and a few framed photographs, family snaps, some in black and white.
‘Some people would say it’s a lot of old rubbish.’ Kath was looking at him, examining her décor. He felt caught out.
‘Not at all, Mrs C. I can tell it’s all precious to you.’
She smiled. ‘It’s all I’ve got now. This is it. My whole life in a few rooms.’
‘Mum said your daughter’s in Australia.’
‘That’s right, love,’ she said, mildly. ‘Other side of the world. Almost like she’s out of the picture. Awfully sad to start with, but you get used to it.’
‘That must be hard.’
‘Mm. You have to let them go, don’t you? If they want to fly away. I bet your mum’s glad to have you still at home. Don’t you fancy spreading your wings a bit? Oh, you did, though, didn’t you?’
From anyone else, that would have sounded pointed, a sly little dig, but Kath was so guileless. The sort of woman with no filter – she just said what was in her head. He wondered if that was an age thing or if she’d always been like that. He realised she was staring at him then and he felt himself growing hot with embarrassment, reminded again that everyone knew all about him. His story, what he’d done, was public property.
‘I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to upset you,’ said Kath. ‘What I say is, there’s two sides to every story. The papers aren’t interested in balance, are they?’
She went quiet again, but the invitation was clear. He could speak to her, tell her all about it. And after a few moments’ hesitation, he did. He found himself spilling out the whole sorry tale from arriving in Hull to being sent home in disgrace.
‘I think I sort of lost my mind, Mrs C. I thought I was being romantic, but it was something else. I frightened her. I didn’t mean to.’
She put her cup down and heaved herself forwards in the chair, reaching out to him, taking his hand.
‘Everyone makes mistakes, love. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we get a second chance. We get to make things right. You’re so young. Your turn will come. You’ll find someone who loves you just the way you are.’
Her words were so comforting. He was moved that a relative stranger could have such absolute faith in him. Dad always undermined him, whether he intended to or not. Mum was his cheerleader, but she had to be, didn’t she? That was her job. Kath was different. In the middle of all this mess, he’d met someone who could really inspire him. It was unexpected and somehow rather wonderful.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I hope so.’
‘I know so.’
‘Like you and your husband.’
‘My Ray? Yes, he was a diamond. One of a kind.’
She let go of his hand and sat back in her chair. He could see that her chest wasn’t working as hard, her breathing was easier. He wouldn’t leave her, though, until he was sure she didn’t need him to call a doctor.
‘Heck of an evening,’ he said. He was naturally curious about what she’d said earlier about the boy she’d found, but he didn’t want to upset her again. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
She looked down at her tea and then up at him, eyes blinking hard behind the thick lenses of her glasses.
‘You know the gang of kids that hangs around the yard?’ He nodded. ‘I spoke with them yesterday. I wondered if they’d seen anything on Wednesday, cos they always seem to be there, don’t they? Anyway, later one of them—’ she swallowed hard ‘—the one who … he waited for me. Wanted to tell me something. You see, he did see Mina on Wednesday. She was being followed into Nelson House by another lad – Danno, his name is.’
‘Okay.’ Den’s mind was racing now, anticipating where this was going.
‘So I, of course, said I’d have to tell the police. He asked me, begged me, to keep him out of it. I didn’t. I didn’t know his name but I gave them a description – he’s quite distinctive with that ginger hair – and the police took them both in for questioning.’
The bottom half of her face was wobbling now as she battled against tears.
Den leaned forward in his seat and put his mug down on the table. ‘You think Danno stabbed him?’
‘Almost certainly. This was punishment, Den.’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘He’s a nice lad, decent, I think, just got in with the wrong lot. People just get caught up in things, make mistakes and can’t undo them.’
‘Do you think they might come after you? Maybe you should ask for police protection or go somewhere else for a while?’
‘A safe house? You’ve been watching too much telly, Den. I’ll be all right. I’m not part of his gang, haven’t broken their rules. He won’t bother with me.’
‘It’s not nice walking round here at night, though, Mrs C. If you need to go out, you can always ring me. I’ll be your, what’s the word … chaperone. I’ll look after you.’
‘That’s very kind, Den. I’ve lived here all this time. I’m not going to start letting people intimidate me now.’
Her words were admirably defiant, but somehow her expression didn’t match. Behind a brave façade, she was scared. Den tried to think of something to distract her. From his experience in the café a little encouragement to reminisce could go a long way and took a lot of older people back to a happy place. It was worth a try.
‘How long have you lived here, Mrs C?’ he said.
Kath seemed to visibly relax.
‘We were some of the first to move in when the flats were built. Nineteen sixty-seven. My Evie was two. It doesn’t look like it now, but we all thought this place would be paradise for families and it wasn’t bad to start with …’
They sat together for another half-hour or so, Kath talking about the old days and Den listening. Kath was much pinker in the face and more relaxed, half asleep in fact, speaking for a while and then drifting off a little.
‘I’ll leave you to it, Mrs C. But remember, you can call me whenever you need to. I’ll come and see you tomorrow, yeah?’
‘All right, love. I’ll see you out.’ She gripped the arms of the chair, starting to get up, but Den leapt up.
‘No, no, you stay there. I’m fine.’ He paused in the doorway of the lounge. ‘What were you going out for earlier? Do you need me to fetch you anything?’
Kath looked distracted for a moment, then seemed to collect her thoughts. Den imagined that everything before she found the boy in the stairwell must seem like a long time ago now. That was a hell of a thing for anyone to experience, let alone someone in their eighties. ‘Oh, it was nothing. Sometimes it’s just nice to get out. I don’t need anything. Thanks, love.’