Anthony visits George to arrange for Ernie to visit. George tells him that his mother is on holiday but while he is in the village, Anthony decides to visit the house to check that everything is in order while she’s away. He finds evidence of a break-in and discovers Evelyn lying tied up in the sitting room. Evelyn has been taken to hospital but is making little progress and there are concerns for her confused state of mind. Police have so far been unable to find any leads to help them solve the case.

Kester hosts a get-together in honour of Nathan being home from hospital and the animosity between Leonie and Helen flares into a spiteful verbal attack after Leonie sees the scars on Helen’s body that she received during the rape; a distraught Helen is comforted by Kester.

Kester receives the news that his father has been having an affair and is soon to become a father again.

Nathan admits to Jessie that he admires Helen and is envious of Kester but doubts that anyone like her would find him attractive.

Previously in Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Rose Cottage, Albans Lane

Nathan wakes to the nauseous smell of bacon cooking. Groaning as a pain of unimaginable magnitude pierces his brain, he tries to blink away the pink mist from his eyes, forcing himself to focus as it speaks.

‘Good morning!’ The voice chirrups gaily ‘Breakfast in about ten minutes I should think. You still prefer tea to coffee first thing?’

The sound of curtains being pulled sends another paroxysm of pain shooting through his head, the early morning sun stabbing white-hot needles in his eyes. The jangle of a spoon against a glass and the roar of fizzing water thunders in his ears, etching deep furrows of pain on his forehead.

‘Drink!’ The pink apparition commands, thrusting the implement of torture into his unwilling hands, ‘Now, while it’s still fizzy’

More pain as the torturer clamps a hand on the back of his head, forcing the poison chalice to his mouth. He shies away from the ack-ack fire of a million bubbles against his nose. The hand holds him fast and unable to escape their fiendish mission, he drinks.

‘Jeeze!’ he groans as the poison powers its way around his digestive system and bursts forth in a belch with the musical quality of a flatulent tuba.

‘More!’

He squints, trying to focus through the throbbing pain and the swirling queasiness of a stomach fighting hard against the evil administrations of the candlewick-swathed Lucretia Borgia leering devilishly in front of him.

‘That’s better’ the voice taunts. ‘Bucket’s there’

‘I’m dying’ He throws himself on her mercy as the ear-splitting boom of a slippered foot pushes the yellow plastic object under his nose as he rolls onto his side, his arms held protectively over his head.

‘Bucket or bathroom, you’ve got about two minutes’ the voice continues with relentless fortissimo persecution. 

He staggers to his feet, his stomach lurching, stumbling as the blanket, so warm and comforting previously, turns against him with equal ferocity and claws at his legs and feet. He belches again, grunting with pain as the bucket hits him in the chest. The malevolent grin of his captor swims in front of his eyes as he clutches it to him.

‘Get going! I don’t want to have to clean the carpet’

He reels towards the door, glad to escape the cacophony of riddle on spent coals and the hideous cackle of the crone behind him, thankful for the relative cool and solitude of the stairway despite its mischievous attempts to avoid his tread. With a burst of desperate energy, he sprints the last few steps.

Later at Rose Cottage

‘What WAS that?’ a considerably brighter eyed Nathan asks as he sits at the table, smelling of rose-scented soap and minty with toothpaste. ‘Whatever it was, I want some’

‘Now?’ Jessie asks impishly.

‘No…to keep in my bathroom. It’s magic. I feel almost human’

‘Now there’s a thing’ Jessie teases ‘I’ll leave you the recipe when I die. Paracetamol and that jug of juice and you should be okay for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t drive, though…and…er…don’t be too far away from a bog’

‘Gee thanks…perhaps I’d better not eat this’ He eyes the plate in front of him.

‘Eat! It’s all part of the cure’

‘What’s the time?’ Nathan twists in his chair and squints at the clock on the cooker behind him.

‘Just after eight but you’ve got loads of time’

‘Better ring Ingrid, she’ll be wondering where I am’

‘Done. Well…’ Jessie elucidates ‘I spoke to your new girl. She says ‘poor you’ and you’re not to worry because you’ve got nothing important until two o’clock. Oh and she sends you a little hug…as long as that’s okay….what with you being her boss and everything and if I didn’t mind cos she didn’t know if it was allowed and she didn’t want to ‘get into trouble nor nothing’’

Nathan smiles into his orange juice. ‘Charlene’

‘She sounds nice’ Jessie settles herself opposite and pours their tea.

‘Don’t even go there, alright?’

‘I only said she was nice, spoke to me like a friend instead of an old biddy. Very concerned she was about you too. Wanted to know if someone should come and pick you up and take you home’

‘You didn’t say yes, did you?’ he asks, forking fried bread dripping with egg yolk into his mouth.

‘No…although, you really shouldn’t drive’

‘I’ll walk into the village and get a cab. Clear my head. If it’s ok to leave the car here?’

‘No bother’ Jessie grins mischievously ‘I’ll tell George it’s mine and offer to take him for a drive’

‘You wouldn’t would you?’ Nathan freezes, his fork spearing a sausage, his knife poised to cut.

‘Well, you don’t know where your keys are do you?’ she teases, sipping her tea and blinking slowly.

‘No…I don’t’ he growls with the realisation. ‘You wouldn’t though…tell me you wouldn’t’

‘Crikey Moses! Can you imagine me in that? Mmm…..actually…’

‘Jess-ie’ he growls a warning. ‘Where are my keys, anyway?’ He feels the front pocket of his jeans.

‘Confiscated and hidden after you c’llopsed. You were only figuring on driving home last night!’

‘I wasn’t was I? ‘

‘And right stroppy you were too’

‘Sorry. I never drink and drive’

‘Never?’

‘Not what you’d call drink. Sometimes a swift pint after work but that’s all. I’d be well and truly stuffed if I lost my licence wouldn’t I?’

‘And precisely why I grappled you to the ground and jumped up on down on you until you gave them up’

Nathan fixes her with a stare and a slow smile.

‘You smiled like that last night too’ Jessie says with a smile of her own, her eyes twinkling.

‘When?’

‘When I took the keys out of your pocket’ she giggles. ‘Long time since I’ve had that sort of effect on a man! Sweet dreams were they?’ She whistles silently.

Nathan clears his throat and pushes back his chair, his cheeks flaming. ‘Best I get going, I think’

The High Street, Milliwick

Seeing Nathan emerge from Park Road and walk towards her, Leonie prepares a smile, pausing with her car keys in her hand ready to greet him. Her face drops as with the briefest turn of his head to check for traffic, he crosses the road.

‘Nathan?’ she calls, raising her arm.

Unsmiling, he acknowledges her with a curt nod and disappears into the newsagent.

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