Page 7 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘Not at all, help yourself!’ Kevin slapped him on the shoulder on his way out. ‘I’ve got a few things to see to, but you finish them off!’
Julia, who had nothing more pressing than a dog walk ahead of her for the rest of the afternoon, stayed with Walter.
‘Want one?’ he asked.
‘No thanks. I had lunch just before I came.’
Walter picked up a cucumber sandwich and bit it in half. ‘I didn’t. I was at a meeting. A doctor’s appointment actually, with Amaryllis.’
‘Oh, I hope she’s all right.’
‘Yes, yes, she’s fine. More than fine, actually.’ Walter hesitated, and then leaned in towards Julia with a funny smile on his face. ‘The thing is…’ He lowered his voice, although there was no one else in the room. ‘The thing is, we’re expecting.’
‘A baby?’ asked Julia, redundantly. ‘Amaryllis is pregnant? Oh, how wonderful, Walter!’
‘We haven’t told anyone yet. We will be visiting her mum and dad this weekend to give them the good news. We wanted them to be the first to hear. But I just wanted to say it, out loud. We’re pregnant! I’m going to be a dad.’ He looked proud of himself.
‘Oh, Walter, how lovely. And of course I won’t say a word to anyone until you’ve announced the news to the family. And what good news it is! You are a good man and I’m certain that you’ll be a marvellous dad. And Amaryllis will be a lovely mum. That’s one lucky baby.’
Walter beamed. ‘Really? Do you think so? I really want to be a good dad…’
‘No doubt in my mind.’
‘Thank you. It’s just…’ A series of microexpressions chased each other across his face – Julia thought she saw delight, confusion, fear. ‘I mean, it’s a lot, isn’t it? Being a parent. Like, it’s huge. I mean, it’s everything…And the world, it’s so unpredictable…So dangerous.’
‘Well, there are dangers, of course, but it’s also a good and kind place, Walter.’
‘I suppose that, being a policeman, I see all sorts of things. Difficult things.’
‘That’s true. I felt the same as a social worker. It’s hard to come face-to-face with the dark side of humanity, and even just the random awful things that can upend people’s lives.’
‘Like this hit-and-run accident with Lewis. It’s so horrible and sad, and so random. I mean, at least it’s an accident, butstill: the man was walking through the woods in the evening, minding his own business, just getting a breath of fresh air after a good day’s work and dinner with his wife. Just taking an evening stroll before turning in, and the next thing he knows, BAM! A car hits him and he’s dead. And Coral is a widow.’
‘I hear you, Walter. It was a horrible, tragic accident.’
Walter hesitated, and then said, ‘And there’s something else, Julia. Something I can’t get out of my mind.’
Julia waited.
‘The car that hit Lewis? It reversed back over him.’
‘What? My God, I didn’t know that.’ Julia felt slightly sick thinking about this. Perhaps Lewis might have lived if the car had only hit him once.
‘We didn’t release that yet; it’s still part of the confidential information. It looks like the driver hit Lewis, felt the impact and reversed to see what he’d hit. He didn’t see Lewis lying on the ground, stunned. The post-mortem says that’s what killed him.’
‘How utterly appalling.’
‘You see what I mean? The world, Julia. It’s just…so dangerous. So random. And you never know what’s coming your way. And soon I’ll have a kid. I don’t know how I’ll sleep at night. Or go to work and leave him. Or her. And then they’ll want to go and play with friends. And go swimming. And ride bicycles…’ Walter shuddered at the very mention of bicycles.
‘I know that feeling. When I had Jess I felt so vulnerable in the world; I didn’t know how I would survive having something so precious. But I knew I had to try to manage that anxiety, if I was going to bring up a child who felt safe and independent. All you can do is love your child, and prepare them for the world, Walter. And, if you can, try to make the world a little bit of a better, safer place.’
He nodded, solemnly. ‘That’s good advice. I’ll try to do what you say, to manage my worries. As for the world…’ He stood up,and straightened his shoulders. ‘Well, I am going to do my bit to make the woods and lanes of Berrywick safer, for a start.’
5
Wilma pulled a dusty box from the depths of the storeroom at Second Chances.XMAS!was written on the top in large capital letters in green felt-tip pen. Someone had sketched a Christmas tree underneath the word.
‘Brace yourselves ladies, it’s that time of year again,’ she said, dragging the box across the floor.
