the handsome Mr Grimshaw was concerned.
The eyes crinkled with amusement. Well, well, well. Could it be that Gresham Terrace’s most unstable resident was going to get it together with a convicted felon? The humour left the eyes and was replaced with coldness.
The spectator noted that Jade had taken the box of broken magic eyes home with her. Brad had carried the carton. He was now out of sight, having gone into the hallway first, but likely he was setting the carton down for Jade and possibly clucking about like an anxious mother hen, keen to get into both Jade’s good books and knickers.
The eyes momentarily narrowed at the thought of Jade getting it on with Brad. To hell with them. They were welcome to each other. However, it would have been so good to have witnessed Jade’s reaction to the box that had been deliberately left on Brad’s doorstep.
No doubt the girl had gone on to have an attack of the vapours, like some silly Edwardian maiden. And Brad, desperate to prove he was both respectable and a good neighbour, had likely listened to Jade’s outpouring of woes, unsure what to make of his neighbour’s tall story but desperate to come to the rescue and be a real-life hero. Pathetic.
The eyes blinked as Jade disappeared inside Number 3. There was a moment where Jade briefly reappeared. She bobbed down, indicating that something was being picked up from the doormat.
Good. Miss Ferguson would now be in possession of a letter. It had been delivered by hand. But unlike previously, there had been no need to place it behind a plant pot. It had been the work of a moment to pop round last night, under the cover of darkness, while Jade had been inside Number 5 cosying up to the idol of Gresham Terrace.
Being a good neighbour meant you did your homework about the people around you. That you made enquiries. Listened to the word on the street. Fortunately, Gresham Terrace had an excellent grapevine thanks to everybody keeping an eye out for each other.
Surprisingly the best source of information came not from the internet but from the police. It was amazing how indiscreet they could be if you asked the right questions in a certain way. So much for the Data Protection Act! Of course, Google had proved extremely helpful at filling in a few gaps about Jade Ferguson and Brad Grimshaw along with the usual social media platforms. It was remarkable how many people failed to check their security settings!
The eyes blinked as tears suddenly welled. Recently life had been stressful, what with personal worries and, of course, a bereavement.
Matters were now coming to a head. Soon it would be time to deal with Miss Ferguson. Mr Grimshaw had never really been an issue. However, Jade was something else. One way or another, she’d caused a lot of upset. She might come across as frail and vulnerable and make the likes of men like Brad feel macho, but the reality was that the young woman was a troublemaker.
Discovering that Jade had had an affair with her boss hadn’t been a huge surprise, although a pair of eyebrows had been raised at learning Jade and the man in question had enjoyed a decade-long relationship behind the wife’s back. How had they managed it for all that time? And what a way for the relationship to end. A public meltdown at Jade’s place of work. Tut, tut, tut.
It had ended badly for the personal assistant. She’d been sacked on the spot and gone on to do a stint in a psychiatric hospital. That sounded about right for someone like her. Never doing anything by halves. She was a drama queen. A most unpleasant person. Just like the aging soap star who had witnessed the whole thing and taken the story to the press for a few measly quid.
And now Jade was here, at Gresham Terrace, with all her emotional baggage which included paranoia and rudeness. She’d disturbed the harmony of the street for almost everyone.
Poor Mother had yet to be laid to rest. And who had caused Mother’s demise? Jade, of course. And to think that all the upset had started over something as insignificant as a spare set of house keys. What a fuss she’d caused. The silly bitch.
The moment was almost right to properly punish Jade Ferguson. Up until now, making mischief inside her house had been nothing but a bit of fun. A giggle.
Soon it would be time