Strangers

16

Word spread fast about Scott. But then again, word spread fast about everything in Thussock. Tammy and Phoebe didn’t go to school and Michelle didn’t take George to toddler group. She spent the morning pacing around the kitchen, waiting for the phone to ring. The routine had been as familiar and frightening for her as it had for Scott; the endless waiting for news, the complete helplessness. The police had been as vague and unhelpful as expected. ‘Stay at home, Mrs Griffiths,’ was all they told her. ‘We can’t give you any information. We’ll contact you as soon as we’ve anything to tell you.’ A couple of phone calls with the lawyer they’d assigned to represent Scott followed, and Jackie called Michelle once the news reached her, but that was it. The gravity of the situation was undoubted, the outcome uncertain.

But as the day progressed, a strange sense of normality began to prevail. An engineer arrived to install a satellite dish and connect the TV. Michelle hadn’t even known Scott had arranged it. He never told her anything. Sometimes she felt like she hardly knew him.

By seven o’clock, frayed tempers and nerves had begun to repair. Tammy, Phoebe and George sat with their mother in the living room watching TV, catching up with the channels they’d missed. The doorbell rang and Michelle was out of her seat in a heartbeat, guts immediately churning again. It was Jackie, and she didn’t know how that made her feel. She was equally relieved and disappointed. ‘Come on in, Jackie,’ she said.

‘Only if you’re sure. I didn’t know whether to come round or not.’

Michelle eyed up the bottle of wine she’d brought with her. ‘You should definitely have come.’

After introducing her to the girls, Michelle took Jackie into the kitchen. The TV noise drifting through the house made everything feel deceptively normal. ‘Dez was in town yesterday afternoon,’ Jackie said. ‘He said Graham was acting weird. It’s not his fault, but that fella’s never been quite right, you know?’

‘I know, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to…’ She didn’t finish her sentence. Couldn’t finish it. Jackie put her hand on Michelle’s and topped up her already generous glass of wine. ‘You not drinking?’ Michelle asked.

‘I’m driving. Anyway, I bought this for you. Figured you’d be the one in need of alcohol.’

‘It’s appreciated. I can’t tell you how much.’

‘Like I said, love, I know where you’re at.’ Jackie watched Michelle, not knowing what she should say, or even if she should say anything at all. The building site state of the kitchen was a convenient distraction. ‘That’s quite a hole you have in your wall there.’

Michelle laughed into her wine glass. ‘That’s Scott for you. Impulsive. Selfish.’

‘And is there a plan, or did he just feel like putting the wall through?’

‘Oh, there’s a plan okay. It’s his plan, though. All on his terms, his timescales. He decides he’s putting the wall through, so he puts the bloody wall through.’

Michelle drank more wine and wiped her eyes. Jackie continued to watch her, wondering if she was just making matters worse by being here. Should she just butt out and bugger off back to Dez and the kids? ‘Look, love, do you know what they’re saying?’

‘What who’re saying?’

‘Folks out there?’

‘I couldn’t care less.’

‘I think you should. You and your girls need to be ready, I think.’

Michelle finished her glass and poured another. ‘I can imagine the kind of stuff. They’re saying Scott killed that Graham bloke.’

She looked at Jackie. Jackie looked away. ‘It’s worse than that. Way worse.’

‘Worse. How can it be worse?’

‘They’re saying he killed all of them, Chelle. Thing is, all this only started when you moved to Thussock. Folks are putting two and two together and are coming up with all kinds of answers.’

Michelle laughed. Not a quiet, nervous laugh, this was a full-on belly laugh which filled the house. The girls even heard her over the TV. ‘That’s fucking hilarious,’ she said.

‘I thought you needed to know. I think you and your girls need to be aware. People think your husband’s the killer.’

‘Let them think what they like, Jack. We’re all in the dark here. I don’t have a bloody clue what Scott’s capable of anymore.’

‘You can always come and stay at ours if things get bad here, love.’

‘Things already are bad, Jack. Though to be fair, they were bad before we got here. I thought this move would help, but it’s just made things worse. It must be something to do with me…’

‘It’s not you, Mum, and you know it,’ Tammy said. Neither of them had noticed her in the doorway. ‘We should pack our stuff tonight and get out of here. Go back home. Granddad’s always saying we can stay with him.’

‘That’s not the answer, Tam, and you know it.’

‘Then what is, Mum? Stay here with him until there’s nothing left of any of us? You should have seen him with that bloke last night. Scott was like a maniac. For what it’s worth, I don’t know if he had anything to do with all the other deaths, but I’m worried. I’m worried if he carries on like this it’ll be one of us next. He’s made threats to you before, Mum, and he’s right on the edge. I think we should cut our losses and get out of here.’

Jackie stayed for hours. Michelle put George to bed then she, Jackie and the girls sat in the living room together and talked about nothing all evening, deliberately avoiding any difficult topics of conversation. It was relaxing. It was liberating. There was no mention of Scott, other than when Tammy remarked on how different the house felt when he wasn’t there. ‘It feels normal, Mum, don’t you think? No one’s shouting. We’re not treading on eggshells. I’ve got satellite TV, we’ve finally got the Internet, and you’re half drunk. If things could be like this all the time, I might even feel like staying in Thussock.’