The House of Susan Lulham (Kindle Single) (13 page)

‘Yes,’ Mr Unsworth said. ‘I believe I did.’

At approximately five minutes past three they’d put on all the lights and she’d gone across the living room to the outsize TV.

The DVD case,
Hair of the Bitch
, had been amongst the pile of stuff she’d transferred from the bookcase to the sofa, and now it was in the hands of Lou Dixon.

‘
Bitch!
’ Lou had snarled. ‘
You evil, lying bitch
.’

Pointing a pink-varnished finger at Merrily, eyes hollow with hate. Throwing down the DVD case on her way out.

But Anita Wells, sitting stiffly on the dust-sheeted sofa, insisted that this was down to Jonathan. Something timed to go off at three am, the time Susan Lulham died. It was stupid, it was irrational, but that was the state he’d been in, Anita said.

Nattie nodding, looking upset. Mr Unsworth standing in front of the TV, swaying slightly, saying nothing.

‘
Should
I have said something?’ he asked now.

‘Perhaps not. I don’t know.’

‘And you?’

‘Oh, yeah. I saw what I presume you saw. Before you came in. When I went around the room, checking things.’

All too aware that they weren’t even saying it to one another. These things happened all the time and never even passed into local folklore because they weren’t discussed at the time.

‘I’ve been thinking ever since,’ Mr Unsworth said, ‘that it was just me, an old man, who—I’m sorry, you were about to—?’

‘No, no.’ She shook out a cigarette. ‘You first.’

‘Who noticed that the television set was unplugged. Who
thought
that the television was unplugged.’

The bramble outside had begun tapping the window.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It was.’

THE END

CREDITS

Cover by BJ Craven.

Thanks to the Rev. Kevin Wilkinson, Ed Wilson, my agent, also Alex Larder, Jo Harrington and Tom Young for lightning cyber-rescue. And, of course, Carol for the same hyper-critical editing she applies to a long novel.

Thanks also to Peter Florence and Mark Ellingham who invited me to contribute a short story to the Oxfam anthology
Oxcrimes
. Which appeared complete because short stories are expected to leave the reader asking questions.

Then people started putting some to me, and I wanted to know the answers too, and Mark Ellingham said, ‘Why don’t you expand it?’

So Susan Lulham was my first short story and now she’s my first novella, and still she leaves unanswered questions.