Surely if it had happened in public there would have been some witnesses? And yet the powerful news-gathering agency of Fethering gossip had produced not a single clue even as to the direction from which the dying man had entered the betting shop.
Then Carole remembered the hailstorm. Under her duvet, drowned in flu, she had only been aware of the rattling of the icy downpour against her windows, but from Jude’s description it had been really ferocious, obliterating all of the town’s familiar landmarks. That was why no one had witnessed Tadek’s approach to the betting shop.
Carole looked again along the parade. Allinstore, Mamie’s Hairdressing, Polly’s Cake Shop, the estate agents, the charity shops. It seemed unlikely that the young Pole had come out of one of them and yet what other explanation was there for his sudden appearance?
At that moment a car drawing up alongside her reminded Carole of another possibility. The young Pole could have arrived at the parade by car. But if he did, where had he come from? And who with?
? Blood at the Bookies ?
Sixteen
Any social encounter that involved Lily had to be arranged around her schedule. Like most babies – particularly first babies – her arrival had immediately changed the pecking order in her parents’ household. Gaby and Stephen were her slaves, and their lives now revolved around the vagaries of their daughter’s feeding and sleeping patterns.
As a result the visit to Carole on the Friday was rigidly circumscribed by time. If Gaby left Fulham on the dot of ten, Lily would sleep all of the hour and three-quarters’ drive to Fethering. Then they’d have to leave on the dot of two to ensure an equally peaceful return journey.
This suited Carole well. She liked arrangements to be fixed and defined. Nothing caused her greater anxiety than the concept of ‘an open-ended visit’.
And she was hungry for the sight of Lily. Even in the few weeks since their last meeting, the baby had developed exponentially. Her smile was no longer something that could have been mistaken for wind. It was now a definite expression of pleasure, and one that could be bestowed on those around her like a rich gift.
Her mother still got most of the smiles. She and Lily had bonded instantly, and the baby’s arrival had changed Gaby’s personality. Though she hadn’t lost her sparkle, she was calmer. And her conversation no longer revolved about show business. She seemed to have no wistful nostalgia for her work as a theatrical agent, she was totally absorbed in the new life which had come into hers. Carole thought it might be some time before her employers would see Gaby back in the office.
Serenely even-handed, that day Lily granted smiles to her grandmother as well as her mother. There had been some discussion with Stephen and Gaby as to what Carole should be called in her new role. All the possibles – Gran, Granny, Grandma, Nan – sounded dispiritingly old, but there was no avoiding making a choice. She had settled for ‘Granny’ as the least offensive, and indeed the name her own almost-forgotten grandmother had been known by.
With Lily there as a catalyst, Carole was surprised how much more relaxed she felt with her daughter-in-law. She had always liked Gaby, but felt an edge of unease when Stephen was not there and there were just the two of them. She had a bit of that feeling when she was alone with anyone. Her insecurities rose to the surface, she was always afraid that the other person was making judgements and finding her wanting.
But now with Gaby and the baby, Carole experienced something she had never relaxed into before, a kind of gender solidarity. Though she didn’t rate her own maternal skills very highly, the shared experience of motherhood had brought the two women closer. Carole was amazed how unperturbed she could be by Gaby openly feeding Lily. She felt a kind of regret for her own time with Stephen as a small baby, when social convention and her own modesty had made breast-feeding a rather furtive exercise.
But perhaps what she appreciated most was the ease that her daughter-in-law showed in her presence. Gaby did not question Carole’s right to be included in the care of her baby. She even asked for advice and reassurance over Lily’s little quirks of development.
So at two o’clock sharp Carole was sorry to see them go, but warmed by the encounter. She felt bonded with the next two generations of women, and she looked forward to watching the development of the new person in her life.
She also knew that the visit would not have been nearly so satisfactory had her ex-husband been present.
So she was already in a good mood when the phone rang at about half-past two, and the ensuing conversation cheered her even more.
“Is that Carole Seddon?” The voice was cultivated, precise and vaguely familiar.
“Yes.”
“I found your number in the local directory.”
“Well, you would. It’s in there,” said Carole rather fatuously. She still couldn’t identify the voice, but was not left in ignorance for long.
“It’s Gerald Hume speaking. Remember, we met in the betting shop yesterday.”
“Yes, I remember. I’m surprised you’re not there now.”
“Oh, I am. As you may recall my saying, I am an habitue.” His use of the word echoed their conversation of the previous day. “Well, to be strictly accurate, I am not inside the betting shop. I’m standing outside the premises. The mobile phone signal is better here, and also I don’t like having my telephone conversations listened to by all and sundry.”
“Nor do I. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want a mobile phone.”
“I understand.” There was a brief silence. “I thought you might have come in today.”
“Good heavens, no. As I believe I told you, yesterday was the first time I’ve crossed the threshold of a betting shop.”
“I thought you might have got the taste for it.”
“Certainly not,” came the instinctive, Calvinist response.
“Well, Carole,” said Gerald Hume with a sudden change of tone, “I wondered if we could meet for a drink.”
“Meet for a drink?” she echoed stupidly. “You and me?”
“Yes. I enjoyed meeting you yesterday. I thought it would be nice to talk at further length.”
“Well…”
“I’m sorry. I hope you don’t think me forward.” Which was a comfortingly old·fashioned word for him to use. “If you don’t relish the idea, you have only to say no.”
Carole found herself saying “Well…” again. The proposition was so unexpected that she couldn’t immediately adjust to the idea.
“If you’d rather not, you needn’t be embarrassed by refusing.”
“No, I’m not embarrassed.” To her surprise, Carole realized this was true. And suddenly she could see no reason to refuse his suggestion. “Yes,” she said. “Yes. Let’s meet for a drink. When were you thinking of?”
“Would this evening be convenient?”
“This evening would be most convenient.”
¦
Jude also had an invitation that afternoon. She had been half-expecting the call, with foreboding but an undercurrent of excitement. From the moment she’d met Andy Constant, she knew that something had connected between them.
On the phone he sounded even more languid and laid-back. The offer was made very casually, as if the manner of asking somehow took the curse off it. If she refused, his manner implied, it had never been any big deal anyway.
“Thought it’d be nice to meet again,” he said.
He was taking a risk. He knew nothing about her. She might be in a long-term relationship. But still he asked. Jude had already got the impression that Andy Constant was used to getting his own way with women.
