It rained for the whole evening. As Nancy lay in the bed, Felix asleep beside her, she could hear the rain slapping against the window, the rain and the trains rumbling past. She thought of living in the countryside. Felix was probably thinking of walks across the fields on summer days or in the sharp winter sun, ending with a drink in front of the fire in a rustic pub with wooden beams and horse brasses on the wall. But what about days like this, when it was rainy and dark and cold? You wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, and you wouldn’t be able to do anything except stay indoors and make your own fun. She looked at the man beside her. The two of them. Making their own fun.
It was still raining as they ate breakfast the next morning.
‘Suddenly I see the benefit of working from home,’ said Felix. He was wearing a yellow jacket he normally wore for hiking. ‘I’m not sure it’ll keep the rain out.’
‘At least people will be able to see you.’
‘Is that a sarcastic statement? Do you think I look ridiculous?’
‘It’s a descriptive statement. It means people will be able to see you, which will probably be useful on a day like this.’
He found a beanie hat to wear and a pair of bulky gloves. With all of that and his maroon backpack, Nancy did think he looked a little ridiculous, but she didn’t say anything. What did it matter, as long as it kept him dry?
When he was gone, she made herself more coffee and sat at her computer. She clicked on some property sites. She wasn’t looking at houses in the country. She was at looking commercial properties for rent. There were a lot of them. It was like a scene of devastation, the remnants of the restaurants and the delis and the coffee shops that had gone bust during the pandemic or gone bust after the pandemic because they couldn’t find the staff. It was too early to think of starting again, of course, but in her head, she was making calculations. All she needed was some money, a business plan, a couple of people to work with and the perfect property in the perfect place.
She was happily looking at an empty site on Newington Green when there was a knock at the door. A knock on the door had started to feel alarming, like a phone call in the middle of the night. It signalled that the person was already inside the house. She opened it to be confronted by Harry, his hand held up, ready to knock again. He looked agitated, his hair unkempt, dark rings under his eyes.
‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked.
‘I was about to ask you that. Have you had any water coming through?’
‘No, why?’
‘Can I come in?’
Nancy stepped aside and he stepped inside.
‘Do you mind?’ he said.
‘Mind what?’
He looked around, seeming to orientate himself, and then walked into the bedroom. Nancy walked after him, baffled, but also embarrassed and angry. She wasn’t even sure if she had made the bed. He walked to the far wall, by the window, and looked up. He reached towards the ceiling and placed his palm on the wall, running it this way and that.
‘It seems dry to me.’
‘Of course it’s dry,’ said Nancy. ‘What are you talking about?’
She followed him back out of the bedroom.
‘I just got back from a night shift,’ he said. ‘I went into our bedroom. It shares a wall with yours. What I found was rain coming through the ceiling. There was a bulge in the wallpaper on the ceiling and then it was running down the wall. It always fucking…’ He stopped himself and took a breath. ‘Sorry. It just always happens when there’s heavy rain. There’s a bit on the roof where the lead meets the tiles…’ He stopped himself again. ‘I won’t bore you with the details.’
Nancy gestured towards her half-full cafetière.
‘I’m just drinking this,’ she said. ‘Do you want some or will it keep you awake?’
‘Nothing could keep me awake after the night I’ve had,’ he said. ‘Except water dripping onto me.’
She poured him a mug. She gestured at the milk, but he shook his head and gulped at the coffee.
‘It’s probably not hot enough,’ she said.
‘It’s fine. It’s coffee.’ He glared in front of him. ‘It’s the landlord. Have you met Goddard?’
‘Kind of—’
Harry interrupted her.
‘I brought in someone to look at it. He said that whoever did the job, did it wrong. It needs doing all over again. I wrote to him and told him about it. No reply.’ He gulped down the rest of the coffee and put the mug down heavily on the table. ‘He can reply when it suits him. One month our rent didn’t go in because of a mix-up at the bank. The first we heard of it was a warning letter from his solicitors. But ask him to bring the building up to a decent standard, then suddenly he’s awfully hard to track down.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ said Nancy. ‘It must be difficult. With the baby and everything. And then Kira’s death.’
His face lost its angry expression and became pensive. He nodded.
‘I see things at work, people dying, all the time. But when it happens to someone you know, it feels completely different.’
‘Your partner told me that she was about to babysit for you.’
He looked taken aback.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘She said—’
‘I don’t think Kira would have been a suitable babysitter.’
‘Why?’
‘She didn’t seem altogether reliable.’
‘Everyone I’ve talked to says she was nice.’
‘I didn’t really know her but I’m sure she was nice. That’s not the point.’
‘Doesn’t it seem odd, though, that she offered on the day before she took her life?’
He shook his head.
‘You should see the people I see when they’re brought in. When you’re in that terrible state, you don’t think of other people.’ He turned and looked at Nancy more directly. ‘I suppose you understand that more than most people.’
Nancy wondered what he would do if she started screaming.
‘I meant that if she offered to look after Lydia, then she wasn’t thinking of taking her life on the Saturday.’
‘I don’t see what you’re getting at.’
‘I was just thinking aloud really. And I’m afraid I’ve got to go,’ she said. ‘I actually do have a prior engagement.’
Harry started to move towards the door but then looked around.
‘You’re sure that no water has come through?’
‘I haven’t seen anything.’
‘This house,’ he said. ‘If it’s not one thing, then it’s another. I sometimes think that I’d like to find out whoever did the electrics in our flat and then track him down. But if you have any problems, get in touch. I think we should deal with Goddard as a group. Strength in numbers. In fact, if you’ve any concerns at all, let me know. I’m a doctor as well as a neighbour. If you need to talk about anything…’
Nancy reached for her jacket and punched her fists into its sleeves.
‘No,’ she said. ‘That won’t be happening.’