machine.'
'Neither did we. I used the laundrette on the main road.'
'You didn't have kids.'
'Two machines take the same time as one.'
'The bags were too heavy ... I couldn't abandon Danny ... In any case, I never had any money. Derek spent it all on drink.'
I looked at the vodka bottle on the table. 'He wasn't the only one.' I rode roughshod over her attempt at a retort. 'Why didn't you do the washing by hand in the bath? You weren't working. You had all day to devote to your children. The one thing you could have done was keep them clean.'
'I did my best.'
I'd waited so long to get this off my chest that caution gave way to honesty. 'Then you should be ashamed of yourself,' I said flatly. 'I've seen women in Africa do better than that when all they had was a tub of cold water. You did nothing for your children, and the only reason Danny's a nice kid now is because somewhere along the line someone took an interest in him. I suspect it was Alan's wife'-I could see from her expression that I was right-'because it certainly wasn't you. You were in a drunken stupor most of the time ... like your husband.'
She was surprisingly indifferent, as if she'd heard the same accusations many times before. 'You do what you can to get by,' she said, 'and it wasn't always like that. Some days were better than others. In any case, you don't feel the pain so much when you're drunk. You should try having your face smashed into a brick wall once in a while and see how you like it.'
Pendlebury
Duke's Avenue
Richmond
Surrey
01-940-0000
June 20, 1978
Dear Miss Butts,
Thank you for your letter of June 12, 1978.1 am deeply disturbed by what you say, however, there is little I can do without more information. You did not give me Morin's surname, nor the name of her husband, nor indeed did you say where she lives. As I'm sure you appreciate, it will be difficult for me to raise the matter with the appropriate authorities without these details.
If you wish me to pursue the matter, please write again or telephone me on the above number. Alternatively, you may prefer to attend one of my 'surgeries' at the above address, which would give you a chance to discuss your concerns in person. They take place between 9 a.m. and midday on the first Saturday of every month and do not require an appointment.
Yours sincerely,
(Update: No response received therefore no action taken. Possibility that a strange phone call at 11 p.m. on July 3 with much reference to 'white trash' may have been Miss Butts, but caller was very incoherent. Suspect original letter was malicious. J.M.D.)
*15*
I stared into my coffee. 'How did she stop her cats coming into your garden after Derek killed the marmalade one? It was long after the cat flap had been installed.'
'She propped a board in front of it so they couldn't use it, then let them out one at a time to do their business. It was quite funny watching her. She used to run up and down flapping her arms to stop them coming anywhere near our fence. We reckoned she'd have lost a couple of stone with all the exercise if she hadn't had her face in the trough all the time. You should have heard her ... right noisy she was. Gobble, gobble, gobble. It made us sick just to listen.'
My expression must have given away more than I intended because she dropped her eyes immediately. I thought what a vile little woman she was and how injurious her poison must have been to her family.
'You asked ... I told you,' she muttered. 'Don't blame me if you don't like the answers.'
I caught at the edges of my anger and drew it back inside. 'How do you know she used a board?'
'The kids used to climb over the fence at night and push the flap open to make the board fall on the
