Frozen Grave

Chapter 30

Emily finished unloading her carrier bags and put the steak in a black-pepper marinade. She made the salad and went into her kitchen cupboard to choose some wine for the evening. She belonged to a wine club and she got it by the case. She knew she drank a little too much wine, especially when Ellerman was staying. They seemed to bring out the worst in each other – that was why it worked between them. That was one of the reasons she knew they were meant for one another. No one else had ever freed her to be herself. No one had made her feel so passionate, so alive.

Ellerman arrived at three. He rang her to make sure she was in.

‘Come on up.’

He carried his bag up the sweeping staircase to her flat on the first floor. Emily lived in Taunton town centre. Her parents had bought the house for her after her first husband was paid off, after her breakdown. After the school had agreed to give her a job because she used to be a pupil and her parents had paid for the new library.

She clung to him as he got inside the door.

‘Lucky you were home,’ Ellerman said, stepping inside.

‘I should get you a key, then you can come whenever you like.’ She held on to him.

‘Yes. Good idea. What’s for dinner?’

‘The usual: steak and a lovely bottle of wine; I hope that’s okay?’

‘Marvellous. I look forward to it.’

‘Did you like the case I gave you last time?’

‘Wonderful. Much appreciated.’ He kissed her forehead. It was the case of wine he’d taken to Megan’s last week. ‘And I have something for you.’

He brought out the bottle of Angel perfume and gave it to her.

She kissed him, unwrapped it straight away and daintily dotted it behind her ears. She was happy. Ellerman was pleased with himself.

Emily opened a bottle of French white and gave him a glass.

Ellerman took it from her and sat down in one of the tapestry-covered armchairs; he leant his weary head back onto the chair as he closed his eyes and drank the cool crisp Sauvignon Blanc. He loved staying at Emily’s. There was a reliability about it all. Even her house was just as he knew it would be – every time. Emily had traditional taste in furnishings. The house was neat. The rooms were high-celinged with original Edwardian features: dado rails and architraves. There were heavy-framed portraits of moody-faced children and hunting scenes on the walls. It suited Emily because she looked like she belonged in a period drama. She was small-mouthed and large-eyed. Wiry and tall with a quiet elegance and strength.

‘Ah, it’s good to be here,’ he said.

She sat down opposite him. ‘I’ve gone part-time at work now.’

‘Don’t the school object?’

‘I’ve given in my notice anyway. My parents have offered me a chance to set up something for myself.’

‘Doing what?’

She shrugged. ‘I was hoping you might have some ideas.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes. Something we can do together, maybe? Craig will be leaving for uni and we can move on to the next phase in our relationship. That was always the plan, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. Absolutely. A business together? That would be great. Let me think about it. Meanwhile, I’m really stuck for cash at the moment in Spain. The architect miscalculated something major. The idiot. He put the dining room over a bore-hole – stupid. That all needs sorting.’

‘How much do you need?’

‘Ten? Would that be possible?’

‘Ten thousand?’

‘Yes. Think of it as a loan.’

‘Or I could become your business partner?’

‘I’m not sure the Spanish business is the one to start with.’

‘Why not? I have put quite a lot of money into it already. My book-keeping skills could come in handy. Maybe it’s time you let me handle the financial side of it?’

‘People have different ways of doing things, don’t they? I’m not sure you’d approve of mine.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I might do things differently than you. I’m self-taught – I do things my way. It may be too difficult to come in on the Spanish business, that’s all I’m saying.’

‘Nonsense! Good business sense exists or it doesn’t. It starts with good housekeeping. I think you could benefit enormously from my help. Cash-flow problems seem to plague you.’

Ellerman shook his head and sighed irritably. ‘It’s all so much more complicated than you think.’

‘I can make it simple for you.’ She smiled.

He reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Thank you, darling.’

Mason woke intermittently and called for Sandy. She was never far away. She came back from her scavenging and wagged her tail as she sniffed Mason’s face. She whined and nudged him with her head. He knew what the nudge meant. It meant she was hungry and she needed him to get food for her. She had found water in the puddles in the car park but no food. It had been days since she’d had proper food and she was frantic. Mason drifted back to sleep; Sandy was uneasy.

In the evening she sniffed the air as she heard the sound of people passing on the road that ran beneath the adjacent arch. She smelt takeaway kebab. Laughter echoed beneath the arch.

Sandy stood upright and walked nearer – she peered through the fence. Sandy never went near people without Mason. The streets had taught her to trust only those that Mason trusted and even then to be cautious. Her face pressed against the fence as she watched them pass. The smell of food made her whimper, her mouth drool. She looked back at her master and her loyalty was tested. She needed food to live. One of the three lads picked up a stone and aimed it at her. She yelped as it rattled across the fence and hit her on the nose. She backed away, whimpering.

‘Sandy?’

Mason tried to move. He forced himself to sit upright but he could not stand. He slumped down again, he was too tired. She went back to him and lay down next to him. She smelt the infection rising in his body. She couldn’t sleep from hunger.

In the morning she heard cars come into the car park. She heard the car door slam and she knew it would be the woman who put on her coat and had food in her bag. She crawled out and watched the woman. She saw the woman open her bag and look at Sandy. She smelt food so strongly now that she began to whine.

The woman threw half a sandwich across to Sandy before she walked quickly away across the car park.

Sandy picked up the sandwich in her mouth and took it back to Mason. She placed it next to him on the blue coat. She nudged his head. He stirred at the smell of food. He reached out a hand and she licked his palm. Mason took a bite of the sandwich as Sandy watched him and then he placed it in front of her and nodded; she finished it.