A Broken Family (18 page)

‘What for? I haven’t done anything,’ Frank protested, but then he paled as the penny dropped. ‘Wait! Surely you don’t think I’ve done my wife in?’

‘Have you?’

‘No, no, of course not! If someone is accusing me of doing that they must want their head examined.’

‘Dad, tell them the truth. Show them the letter Mum left for you,’ Carol urged.

Frank’s mind was reeling. Yes, Daphne’s letter, but where had he put it? He hurried to the mantelpiece, searching, but there was no sign of it. ‘I can’t flaming well find it!’

‘What’s this about a letter, Mr Cole?’ Foreman asked.

‘It’s one my wife left when she walked out on me.’

‘So now you’re saying that she
isn’t
looking after a sick relative.’

‘Yeah, that’s right. The truth is she left me.’

Foreman’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as he asked, ‘So why concoct the story about a sick aunt?’

Frank ran a hand through his hair in agitation. ‘Look, my wife walked out the same day that my daughter went into hospital and I was in a bit of a state. I just said that to keep the gossips at bay for a while, that’s all.’

Foreman didn’t look convinced, but Frank saw a spark of the old Carol as she said sharply, ‘My dad isn’t lying. I saw the letter and read it.’

‘Did you recognise your mother’s handwriting?’

Once again Carol flared as she snapped, ‘Of course I did!’

Foreman didn’t react, unperturbed by Carol’s outburst as he said, ‘Nevertheless, I’d like to see this letter, Mr Cole.’

Frank began searching again, finding it down the side of his fireside chair and with relief he was at last able to hand the letter to Colin Foreman. The man read it, passed it to his colleague, who so far hadn’t uttered a word and still didn’t as Foreman said, ‘It seems you’re telling us the truth this time, Mr Cole. It would have saved us a lot of time if you had done that in the first place.’

‘My dad hasn’t done anything wrong and whoever made the allegation is the one who wasted your time,’ Carol said angrily. ‘Was it Mabel Povis?’

‘I’m not at liberty to say, but I think we can say this matter is closed now.’

With nods of goodbye both men left, and as Frank was still too stunned to react it was Carol who said as the door closed behind them, ‘He didn’t say it was Mabel, but I bet it was and I’m not letting her get away with it.’

Frank looked at his daughter, thinking that at least the visit from CID had served to snap Carol out of her lethargy. ‘Leave it, love. No harm’s been done and we can’t say for sure it was her.’

‘I can’t believe you’re so calm. You’ve been accused of murder yet you say no harm’s been done!’

‘It hasn’t, though it was a bit sticky there until I found your mum’s letter. The CID are satisfied, they left, and I’m just relieved to see that you’ve got your old spark back.’

‘Oh Dad. I wish Mum would come home.’

‘Now don’t go all maudlin on me again. She might and she might not, I don’t know.’

‘I’m surprised that Davy and Paul haven’t been round to see us.’

‘I told them you had food poisoning and knowing those two, they’re waiting until they think you’re fully recovered before turning up, expecting to be fed.’

‘Well they can think again,’ Carol said indignantly.

Frank looked at his daughter, sure that she was going to be all right now. She’d be able to look after this place and hopefully her cooking would improve. As for Mabel Povis, if she was the culprit she was probably shaking in her shoes
now expecting him to retaliate, and it served her right.
He’d prolong it
–
leave her to stew until he was good and ready to sort her out.

It was now mid-June and Tommy was pleased with the way business was going. Though initially reluctant to let his mother take over the books, she kept the accounts efficiently, leaving him more time to concentrate on building up custom. Profits were already up and he’d just gained a contract to supply all the windows for a new build of twenty houses that were near completion.

His mother hadn’t apologised, but thankfully Amy hadn’t mentioned it again. He hoped that one day there could be some sort of relationship between Amy and his mother, but at the moment any mention of apologising or inviting Amy to the house caused hysterics. Tommy knew he was taking the coward’s way out, but until his mother’s emotions were less raw, he was leaving things as they were.

Since his father had left they hadn’t heard from him; not a letter, or a phone call, and with the business to run Tommy was relieved that he’d only had a couple of mild asthma attacks. If he had a bad spell that kept him in bed, at least he now felt confident that Len would be capable of handling things until he was on his feet again. However, Len would need help for the installations and after a hectic day on Thursday, he said to his mother, ‘I’m going to employ another couple of glaziers, along with buying two more vans.’

‘It’ll make a huge dent in our profits. Can’t you manage with one man and a van?’

‘Not with this new contract. As it is, Len and I are already at full stretch.’

‘Very well, I’ll allow it, but if nothing else comes up by the time the work is finished, you’ll have to dismiss them. I’m not paying out wages for men to sit around doing nothing.’

Tommy was close to the end of his tether. He’d been patient, had let his mother handle the accounts, but she was overstepping the mark lately and he had to put a stop to it. ‘Mother, I don’t need your permission to employ men, nor do you pay their wages.’

‘How dare you speak to me like that! I’m your mother and I have every right to have a say in the running of the business. I make up Len’s pay-packet, handle his tax and insurance, and therefore I know just how much extra staff will affect our profit margins.’

Tommy only just managed to stem his temper but he couldn’t hold back the barb. ‘
Our
profit margins? I think you’re forgetting that Dad handed the business over to me.’

‘That’s it, rub it in, add to my humiliation by pointing out that I have to rely on you to support me,’ she cried, tears imminent now.

‘Mother, that wasn’t my intention. I appreciate that you keep the accounts, and we agreed on a monthly salary. I also quite rightly pay you for my keep so I don’t feel that I’m supporting you.’

She sniffed, but her eyes were still moist and she dabbed at them delicately with a lace-edged handkerchief and said croakily, ‘I’m glad to hear that.’

Tommy sighed. He wanted to say more, to tell his mother that she had to let him run the business his way, without interference, but he’d never been able to handle her when she was tearful.

He’d leave it for now; and anyway, it was Amy’s birthday next week and when he told his mother what he intended to do, she’d probably have another bout of histrionics.

Amy hadn’t given up on Carol, and when it came out that her mother had walked out, it went some way to explaining
–
along with her illness
–
the state Carol had been in.

As the weeks had passed Amy still saw Carol as often as she could, though she now felt the widening distance between them. They had once been so close, like sisters, but Carol now seemed far older than her eighteen years.

As she wasn’t seeing Tommy that night, Amy was with Carol now and where once they had talked about boys, fashion, and the latest music, these days Carol’s only conversation seemed to be about cooking and housework. Of course she still ranted occasionally about Mabel Povis, but the once-nosey woman was a shadow of her former self and was rarely seen peeping through her curtains these days.

As though aware of Amy’s thoughts, Carol said, ‘People round here don’t like snitches, and after what Mabel Povis did to my dad, she’s been ostracised. Your mum’s the only one who has any time for her now.’

‘I think my mum feels sorry for her.’

‘Well she shouldn’t. That woman accused my dad of murder and he could have ended up in prison.’

‘I know and I’m not sticking up for her. I think my mum’s mad too, but she’s so soft-hearted and when Mabel Povis turned up at our door, crying, she let her in.’

‘She came here too, trying to say she was sorry, but unlike your mum, my dad slammed the door in her face,’ Carol snapped.

They had been through all this so many times, and hoping to change the conversation, Amy said, ‘When I finish early on my half days off, I sometimes bump into Lena Winters.’

‘How come she isn’t at work? I thought she’d been transferred to another branch.’

‘Yes, that’s right, in Streatham, but apparently because it’s a larger shop she’s got an assistant manageress. It allows her to take every Thursday off. She seems so different now that she isn’t our boss, and I think she must be lonely as she usually invites me to join her for a coffee and a chat.’

‘I always felt her cold and distant,’ Carol commented. ‘Anyway, let’s get back to Mabel. As I just said, my dad slammed the door in her face, and since then when I see her, I make my feelings plain. I even spat at her feet the other day.’

Not Mabel again, Amy thought as she once again tried to divert Carol, asking, ‘Have you seen anything of your brothers?’

‘Since I told them I wasn’t going to do their washing and ironing, we hardly see them.’

‘Has your mum been in touch?’

‘No,’ Carol said, her face saddening.

Amy noted that as usual now, Carol’s face was void of make-up. Her hair was shiny though and looked newly washed, but it hung without any attempt at styling below her shoulders. ‘Carol,’ she said, ‘I liked Linda, the girl who was taken on to replace you and we became friends, but I was shocked when she was caught fiddling the till. She’s been sacked so there’s a job going; I’m sure Mrs Jones would take you on.’

‘No thanks. I was sick of smelly feet and anyway, I’m needed here.’

‘Don’t you get fed up with being stuck at home all day?’ Amy asked.

‘Not really. I’ve discovered that I like cooking and I enjoy trying out new recipes. I made a lovely meat pie with suet pastry today and my dad loved it. At least he’s still eating, but I’m a bit worried about him. He’s drinking heavily and goes to the pub every night.’

‘So you’re mostly on your own,’ Amy said, feeling sorry for her friend.

‘It doesn’t bother me,’ Carol said, nodding towards the recently acquired television. ‘I’ve got that for company now and I’m happy enough.’

Amy found it hard to believe. Just a short while ago the thought of making a cake or pie would have had Carol in fits of laughter, and she wouldn’t have been happy stuck indoors every night in front of a television.

It didn’t seem possible that in such a short time she had changed so much. Had the old Carol gone forever? Amy was beginning to think so and the thought saddened her.

Frank finished his pint, wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and went to the bar to order another. He wasn’t in the mood to chat and once served, he went back to the table to sit alone with his thoughts. At first he’d believed his daughter’s story, but it was so sketchy that it didn’t really add up. She didn’t know the bloke’s full name, who he worked for, nor where the flat was in Tooting. It didn’t ring true, and he’d come to the conclusion that Carol wasn’t as innocent as he’d thought. She’d been caught out though, made a mistake and found that she was pregnant. The bloke had probably buggered off, leaving her little choice than to get rid of the baby. If the abortion hadn’t been botched, he wouldn’t have known anything about it, but it had gone wrong so Carol had to come up with a story, using rape as her only defence.

His stomach churned. Until all this happened he’d seen Carol as his perfect, untouched daughter, but he was now seeing her in a different light. And it didn’t help that she looked so much like her mother. Frank knew that he was sick, that the feelings he’d until now stifled were unnatural, but every night, lying alone in his bed now, the urges grew and one day he feared he’d act on them. He gulped his third drink, determined to get drunk. That way he’d return home incapable of anything other than passing out again, sleeping it off until his alarm woke him in the morning.

Frank had downed his fourth pint when the door opened and Terry Price walked in. He was a big, bullish-looking bloke, a bouncer who was handy with his fists. His wife, Edna, was another one like Mabel Povis, a nosey bitch who loved to gossip. ‘Watcha, Frank. How are you doing?’ Terry asked.

‘Fine,’ he slurred. ‘How’s your missus? Still busy on the jungle drums no doubt.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘That she’s got a big mouth,’ Frank said, inciting what he knew would be coming.

‘I can see you’re drunk, but I ain’t standing for that. There’s nothing wrong with my missus.’

‘Yes there is. She’s a fat, ugly, old cow,’ Frank slurred, sure that he had gone far enough now. With the sick thoughts in his head he deserved a good kicking.

Frank didn’t offer any resistance as Terry hauled him to his feet and dragged him outside.

Stan could see what was about to happen, and limped outside, with about five other men following behind him eager to see the fight. They watched the blows landing, but when it became obvious that Frank Cole was incapable of defending himself, Stan became fidgety. Maybe he should wade in, but Terry Price was a huge bloke and unless the others joined in to help, he was likely to come off as badly as Frank.

When Frank no longer had a wall at his back he fell to the ground and Terry laid into him with his boots. Like a pack of animals scenting blood there was baying, but Stan couldn’t watch it any more and stepped forward, shouting, ‘He’s had enough, Terry.’

The man’s head shot round, eyes wild as he growled, ‘I ain’t even started yet.’

‘Leave it out. You can see he’s drunk,’ Stan said, incensed as Terry continued to put the boot in.

The kicking stopped as once again Terry fixed him with cold, gimlet eyes. ‘He wasn’t too pissed to insult my wife, but if you want to take his place, come on then, I’m waiting.’