Buried (DC Jack Warr #1) - Lynda La Plante Page 0,129

still popped round every now and then – had a cuppa with him, chatted about Mum. Ange knew Mum better than me in truth, so I liked her visiting. She made curtains. Cushions, that sort of thing. I don’t know what else I can say about her.’ Then, Gareth very cleverly turned the tables. ‘You can’t really think that little girl had anything to do with that train robbery?’

Ridley rolled his eyes, but Anik was being sucked in.

‘Hard to believe.’ Gareth shook his head. ‘I mean, Dad and his mates were guessing left, right and centre about who it could be. Someone even thought old Buster had snuck back, done the job, and buggered off again.’

‘On the night your dad died, you said he was visited by a man claiming to be a policeman . . .’

‘That’s right. Big fella. Dark hair. Bit smaller than me. We don’t have CCTV on them back stairs, so I can’t tell you much more than that, really. Dad was a very sick man in those final months. Anything could have caused an angina attack at any moment. But, well, he had a massive stroke on top of it, so . . . no chance. I’m sorry I can’t help you any more than that, I really am.’

*

‘Death of a Salesman!’ Penny shrieked.

Maggie moved on to miming the last word in War of the Worlds and wondered how the hell this game of charades was ever going to end. Jack watched Charlie sleep. He was in a recliner, feet up, blanket over his knees. The heating was on full blast, but Charlie really felt the cold now. His head had lolled to one side, and the skin on the lower side of his face seemed to have slid down his skull – he just had no muscles left to hold it all up.

‘Planet of the Apes!’

Maggie screamed ‘Yes!’, gave Penny a round of applause, said how incredibly clever she was, and they swapped places.

Jack laughed under his breath as Maggie slid down the arm of the chair he was sitting in. He squished up a little, but this chair wasn’t wide enough for the two of them. They didn’t care. They watched Penny stomp around the lounge, mouthing the word ‘Godzilla’. She was so bad at games! By eight o’clock, Penny was snoozing on the sofa, Charlie was in bed, and Maggie and Jack were in the kitchen tidying up after dinner.

Jack opened the fridge to put the butter away and his attention was caught by the shelf full of high-protein, high-vitamin, high-mineral, life-prolonging milkshakes.

‘Thanks, Maggie,’ he whispered.

‘What for?’

‘For buying a month’s supply of these. Imagine if you’d bought a week’s worth. Imagine what that would have been like for Mum to see.’ Maggie turned him round and he was crying. ‘I couldn’t do this without you.’

‘You don’t have to do anything without me. Ever. And Penny will stay with us for as long as she needs.’

‘They’re in the nursery . . .’ he said half to himself.

This thought had come from him trying to work out how they were all going to fit into a two-bedroom flat; but it instantly turned into a much more disturbing thought.

‘He’s going to die in the nursery, Mags. You hear, don’t you, of babies and kids sensing stuff that’s gone on before them. What if Dad—?’

Maggie hugged Jack. ‘Your dad is a loving man with a beautiful soul. A room is a room, but if Charlie hangs around . . . I think we’d be blessed to have him looking over our little one.’

Jack began laughing at his irrational thoughts. As Maggie hugged him, she couldn’t tell where the giggling ended and the crying began, nor did she care. When Jack was ready, he pulled away.

‘We do need three rooms, though. When the time’s right, I’ll ask Mum what’s left from their pensions and the sale of the bungalow – and I’m up for promotion.’

‘As long as we’re all happy,’ Maggie said, ‘everything will work out.’

Jack loved her impractical take on finances, but one of them had to be sensible.

*

Jack walked the last few miles back to the police station to collect the car. It was just getting dark, and the streets were alive with a mix of commuters and drinkers. He used this time to talk himself into giving the women up, getting his promotion and living happily ever after with Maggie. He liked them, but he loved Maggie and that’s all that really mattered in the end. Telling Ridley about the phone call