Underneath (22 page)

‘Well, yes actually, I have. Bettina, but it was a long time ago, anyway, let me finish.’

He nods.

‘So I contacted eBay, but I’m not sure what will happen with that. If they make me refund them I’ll lose two hundred pounds.’

Niall huffs. ‘That’ll go nicely with the four hundred excess on the car.’

‘Anyway, I went over to her house to ask her to stop it and leave us alone. She denied it all, as expected, and then when I said we should just avoid each other, she told me she had a date with Seb. You know, the same Seb she told you was mad about me? Well he’s so obsessed with me he’s asked Bettina out.’

‘Are you joking?’

‘Nope.’

He takes a gulp of beer. ‘This is getting weirder. I’m starting to feel I’m on some wind-up TV programme.’

‘Right, well anyway, last night I didn’t go to see Bettina to sort things out. She said she was going away with Tyler, but with what happened after I’m not so sure I believe her. I phoned Seb, cos I had his number from the fair, and I told him about what she’d been saying. He was really shocked and said he didn’t think he wanted to date her now. I said that was up to him and I hung up. I had a really bad headache so I went to bed early, and when I woke up the car had been keyed. I reckon she’d heard from Seb and did it.’

‘I’m not very happy that you lied to stay at home and phoned that man.’

‘I think we have more to worry about at the moment, Niall. What are we going to do?’

‘I don’t know.’ I can see his tongue poking around the side of his cheek. ‘Maybe we need to ring the police?’

‘I wondered about an injunction.’

‘I don’t feel we’ve proof enough for that. I’ll tell you what, for a start, I’ll get a security camera fitted on the house. They’re quite cheap now on the internet. If there’s any more damage to the house we’ll have surveillance footage.’

‘That’s a great idea.’

‘Well hopefully that’ll deter vandalism, and if she turns up at the house we’ll have evidence for the courts to get an injunction, so I definitely think that’s the place to start. You’ll have to find some way of avoiding her in the schoolyard. There’s only three weeks of term left so just get Joe to meet you at the bottom of the drive or something so you don’t have to stand near her.’

I smile to myself at Niall’s male solution planning in evidence.

‘With eBay, I’d contact them and let them know what’s happened, and that you seem to have been targeted maliciously. Hopefully with your meticulous feedback record they’ll wipe the slate clean.’

‘I hope so, I love my little business.’

‘Now, without sounding like a jealous prick, no more talking to that Seb.’

I nod. ‘Message received and understood. I shouldn’t need to now anyway and by the way, he’s leaving so he’s not going to be around.’

‘Leaving? Good. Well, I think that’s all we can do for now, isn’t it? I’ll ring a garage on Monday and ask how much it is to get the keying covered on the car. I really don’t want to put another claim in on the insurance or we’ll lose our no claims bonus.’

‘That’s another expense then.’

‘Yes, fate has decided we shouldn’t have any money just now.’

‘Fate or some spiteful cow.’

‘Well she didn’t blame me for reversing into her car, so we’ll have to let her off that one.’

‘Just that one.’

I let Niall have another pint and I have a still mineral water to help me hydrate. We consider sitting outside but the midges are hanging around the water and the moths around the lights, so we stay in the nook. We go back to normal conversation and it feels so nice here, to be away from everything and have this time alone with my husband. We need more of this sort of time, ‘date nights’, I’ve read it called in magazines. If we lived nearer to Niall’s parents we’d have regular sitters.

‘I’ve been thinking that I quite like it around here Niall. Would you consider moving out here with Joe?’

‘Now where’s that idea come from?’ he says. ‘You know I moved to the city to escape the quiet country upbringing I had. It can be a bit remote living in the sticks.’

‘I think it’s lovely, and it’s away from the city fumes. It’d be so much better for Joe. Perhaps we could be nearer to Stafford town centre anyway. It doesn’t have to be here, just near enough to see your parents more often.’

‘I didn’t have you pegged as a lover of my parents, Lauren, you normally try and avoid visiting them.’

‘I know,’ I giggle. ‘I’ve realised today that I’ve resented your mum trying to be a mother to me. I felt like she couldn’t bridge the gap of hurt I feel when parents get mentioned. What if I got close to her and something happened and she hated me? I couldn’t go through that again.’

‘My mother’s not like that, Lauren. She’s really maternal.’

‘I guess she’d have to be with four of you.’

‘I don’t know, we were quite a handful. One thing I do know is that Mum took to you as soon as she saw you, the swan who thought she was an ugly duckling.’

‘Yes, well today she made me feel like the swan, and I feel like I’ve made a breakthrough, that maybe I can feel loved by others, if I can trust them first.’

‘You’ve no idea how happy that makes me feel to hear that. You can’t let what your parents did to you torture you forever. You must be a good egg if I’ve stuck with you, being the golden child that I am.’

It’s Niall’s way of saying he loves me, and I grab hold of his hand. ‘Shall we walk home now and snog on street corners and in doorways like teenagers?’

‘Lead the way,’ he says, downing the last of his pint.

We arrive home, Glen lets us in and we walk through to the living room, a spacious room painted beige with a traditional style brown leather suite and a brass fire with cream marble surround. I can’t work out what’s different and then it hits me. I look at Rebecca. ‘Oh, I didn’t bring flowers.’ Usually these would have pride of place in the centre of the mantle shelf within five minutes of my arrival.

‘Don’t you be worrying about that Lauren; you’ve enough fetching and carrying after these two. I know they turned up without you last night, but I bet I know who packed.’

I grin as Niall pouts. ‘I’d been working hard all day mum.’

‘Of course, my darling boy, you provide for your family and that’s an amazing thing.’ She winks at me behind his back.

After a long game of Trivial Pursuit we head off to bed. I am by now absolutely shattered, and I’m aware that Niall is still in the en-suite as I feel myself drift off to sleep.

Morning starts with an array of breakfast cereals, sliced fresh bread, croissants and jam, and we are told in no uncertain terms by Rebecca that we are staying for Sunday lunch, and that she’s bought an extra-large chicken and a gammon joint. I’m pleased to hear this as I’m in no rush to head back. After breakfast Niall, Joe and I go to our room to shower. Niall takes Joe in to supervise his, and I put my phone on to check for messages, having switched it off the night before. After a minute or so it starts beeping; I have seventeen message notifications. I open them in turn. They are all from an unknown number.

‘Enjoy what time you have left with your husband.’

‘You are a selfish bitch.’

‘It won’t be long now.’

‘Tick tock.’

They go on, all warning in tone. I feel an icy chill up my spine and I tremble. I head to the bathroom. ‘Niall, do you have a moment?’

He comes out of the bathroom drying his hands on a towel. ‘What’s up love? I’m just making sure Joe actually washes himself.’

I show him my phone.

‘Right, that’s it; as soon as we’re home I’m ringing the police. They can come round tonight. If they can trace that phone we can find out who’s behind it. In the meantime, turn it off.’

‘I’ll text Monique first cos I forgot to tell her we were going away.’ I type a quick text that we’re at Niall’s mums and that I hope she’s free for a coffee tomorrow as usual. I soon get a reply.

‘Of course, thought I’d got to report you as a missing person. Hope you’re having good time. Usual place nine-thirty?’

I type back yes and that I’m switching off my phone and will fill her in tomorrow. Then I turn it off and throw it to the bottom of my handbag as if it’s made of dirt. I lie on the bed and await my shower, looking forward to the cleansing water and the feel of the heat warming my skin.

We set off back home around four with hugs from Rebecca and leftover food parcels for supper. Joe has a carrier bag full of toys he didn’t arrive with. Rebecca reminds us that we are more than welcome to stay a week or two in the school holidays. It’s been a glorious weekend. I drive down the country lanes with the windows open to catch the last of the country fresh air before the motorway clogs my lungs with fumes. Niall and Joe are in the courtesy car, which races me for a short while before disappearing off ahead.

I arrive at the house and I’m met with a stony faced Niall. ‘I’ve phoned the police. Go upstairs and look, but don’t touch anything.’

‘Mum your bedroom’s a right mess,’ adds Joe.

I run up the stairs, enter my bedroom and see a scene of total carnage. What looks like my whole wardrobe is laying cut on the floor. Not cut to shreds, but cut enough to make it unwearable. My jewellery box is lying empty on the floor and all my trinkets, both valuable and vintage costume jewellery, are gone. The jewelled hooks I have on the side of the wardrobe to hang large necklaces on are also stripped bare. I lift up the duvet cover. Luckily my shoes and bags are hidden under the bed, saved by the king size duvet, they remain thankfully untouched. I think of my teacup pendant that I’d just bought and not had much time to wear yet, and I think of the sentimental pieces of jewellery I’ve had from Niall, including a diamond pendant he bought me when I had Joe. My wardrobe doors are open and there are only about ten items of clothing left hanging. Perhaps they got bored or ran out of time. I glance at my gold band, the only remaining piece of jewellery I have, and I’m thankful I never take it off.

I close the door on the scene, sit on the top step and cry. Angry tears pour down my cheeks, mixed with the total sorrow of things I can’t replace. Niall joins me, sitting a few steps further down with Joe behind him.

‘Dad says someone’s broken in and been really mean to your stuff.’

‘How did they get in?’ I ask.

‘They jimmied the kitchen window open, but they haven’t touched anything else, only your stuff. I’m sorry, but your laptop’s downstairs. It’s been smashed.’

‘Surely this proves there’s a vendetta against me. It’s got to be her.’

‘Who mum?’

Niall frowns at me, clearly indicating I should shut up. ‘Oh nobody you know, don’t worry Joe. Someone’s been a bit nasty with mum about her eBay business.’

Joe looks at me. ‘I don’t want to sleep on my own tonight.’

Niall folds his arms protectively around our son. ‘No-one can harm you when we’re with you. We’d kill them before we let anyone get you.’

‘Can I sleep with you tonight though?’

I look at Niall, who nods, and I turn to Joe and stroke his cheek. ‘We’ll wait until we’re allowed to clear up and then we’ll put you in with us, just for tonight, okay?’

Joe’s deer trapped in headlights look disappears. ‘Thanks mum.’

It comes to me then. ‘Niall, did the burglar alarm go off?’

‘It was flashing when I got here. You know how it is though; no-one takes any notice any more.’

How come the autodialler didn’t contact us? Oh damn ...’ I think of my mobile phone lying switched off in my bag. ‘It will have, but my phones not on.’ I turn on my phone and wait for it to load. There’s a message. It’s from the unknown number.

Do you like your surprise? Everything you value is disappearing one by one, dignity, job. What next, husband?

‘Oh my God,’ I squeal, but I’m drowned out by the sound of the doorbell. The police are here.

Niall takes Joe into the dining room so I can talk to the police about everything that’s been happening. They ask for my telephone and look at the keying on the car and the mess in the bedroom, plus the broken laptop. They take notes of everything, and then PC Sheldon, a young slim guy with straight dark hair and a mole above his lip, indicates that I should take a seat in the living room. His colleague PC James goes to sit with Joe, allowing Niall to join us, and I hear him reassuring Joe that he’s safe.

‘Okay Mrs Lawler, so you believe that a Mrs Bettina Southwell has been committing these acts against you?’

‘That’s right. I’m hoping the phone tracing will prove that as I know I don’t have any evidence.’

‘We were called out earlier this afternoon to another property in Handsworth that was the scene of some criminal damage. It belonged to Mrs Southwell, and when asked who could have done it, she cited both her ex-husband and yourself.’

‘More like she did it herself before or after she came here to make herself look innocent.’

Niall leaps to my defence. ‘We’ve been away all weekend, so how does she reckon Lauren did that?’

‘Yes, well Mrs Southwell also says that she has been away all weekend. We need to do some more investigating. I will be back to visit Mrs Southwell regarding this break in, but I have to say, from where I’m standing this looks very much like a dispute between you two ladies. You had a witnessed argument in the schoolyard, and on Friday afternoon, visited Mrs Southwell at her property and threatened her.’