And this time the sincerity of her concern seemed to get through.
‘I wouldn’t want to die here alone,’ said the old lady suddenly. ‘It might be days and days before anyone found me.’
I’m sure that wouldn’t happen, Mrs Wallwin. You’ve got neighbours here.’
‘Yes, I have,’ she said. Till say goodbye now.’
And suddenly she began to close the door. But Cooper noticed that she left it on the chain and watched them through the narrow gap as they walked down the path.
‘Are you sure about that, Ben?’ said Udall as they reached the gate.
‘What?’
‘I attended an incident once when I was stationed in Chesterfield. Someone living in a block of flats reported to the housing office that she hadn’t seen an elderly neighbour in a while. I knew the man was dead before we even got the door open. The smell was on the landing - that smell you know is going to cling to your uniform for ages, until you wash it.’
‘I know the smell/ said Cooper.
‘But, of course, I had to call for the doctor to certify death. The old man was lying on his bed. There was fungus growing around his eyes and dead maggots lying on the floor all around the bed. The doctor said he’d been dead for quite a long time. Not days, or weeks - months.’
‘And you’re saying it took that long for the neighbours to notice?’
‘It wasn’t really their fault. The old man made it clear he didn’t want any contact. He always refused to answer the door, even though they knew he was in, because they could hear him through the walls, moving about the flat. Now and then, they’d catch a glimpse of him scuttling towards the stairs like a sneak thief, but that was all.’
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Cooper nodded. He knew there were some people like that. People who lived in fear of a human touch. People who were terrified of making contact with another person, perhaps because they were afraid of their own lives being exposed for what they were. They heard a voice outside their door and prayed that whoever it belonged to would walk on past.
‘Let’s see what the Taggs are like at number 6,’ he said.
Mr and Mrs Melvyn Tagg turned out to be a young couple, in their twenties, with a harassed air. Melvyn answered the door with an open bottle of Jeyes Fluid in his hand. When Cooper took a breath to speak, the odour of the disinfectant made his eyes water.
‘You’ll have to talk while we get on,’ said Melvyn. He ran his free hand through a fringe of long, dark hair, leaving it glistening with Jeyes Fluid.
‘That’s fine,’ said Cooper. ‘We won’t keep you long.’
In the front room, the Taggs had a small baby lying on a towel spread on the table. It was naked, and its legs and arms were wriggling with irritation. Melvyn introduced the blonde woman holding the nappy as his wife Wendy. She looked at their visitors with suspicion, and a hint of panic.
‘Mel,’ she said, ‘what are they doing here? Why did you let them in?’
‘I couldn’t just stand on the doorstep, could I?’
A slightly older child was sitting on the floor in the corner, surrounded by toys. There were building bricks, wooden blocks, small furry animals and drawing books scattered in a random pattern around. Cooper smiled at the child, and she stared back with her mother’s expression. This was a house where he would have to be careful where he put his feet, in case he crushed some treasured plaything and set off a crisis.
‘Sorry to bother you,’ said Cooper. ‘But I’m glad we’ve been lucky enough to find you both at home.’
There’s nothing lucky about it,’ said Wendy. ‘We’re both stuck here all week. Mel was laid off at the refractory, and now he can’t get a job. And as you can see, I’ve got these two to look after.’
‘We’re making enquiries about a young man called Neil Granger,’ said Cooper.
‘Oh, yes. We’ve heard,’ said Melvyn.
‘You have?’
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‘His brother Philip rang Lucas alter some of your lot had been to see him. Lucas is their uncle.’
‘And he’s your neighbour, too. I take it you mean Lucas Oxley?’
‘Of course.’
‘Word gets around fast then.’
‘It does around here.’
‘Neil was all right/ said Wendy. ‘It’s a shame. Do you know what happened?’
‘Not at the moment.’
‘Philip said it wasn’t an accident. Neil had been in a fight.’
‘Well, something like that.’
‘There was a bit of a rough lot he mixed with in Tintwistle. Bikers, some of them.’
‘Do you know any names?’
‘No/ said Wendy. ‘We hadn’t seen much of Neil lately. We don’t get involved like we used to - we have our hands full.’
Cooper turned to Melvyn Tagg. ‘How long have you been unemployed, sir?’
‘About a month. There’s no call for unskilled blokes these days/ said Melvyn apologetically. ‘I never had much
