Page 34 of The Stranger in Her House

I wish I could sound more authoritative, more threatening, but my voice betrays me and cracks mid-reply. ‘If there is any decency in you whatsoever, you will look after her,’ I say. ‘Just be kind to her.’

‘You can trust me,’ he says, but his disingenuous smile is designed to unsettle me. This man is as far from trustworthy as you can get, and the only two people who know it are him and me.

CHAPTER 24

SIX WEEKS LATER – REVEREND EDDIE EDWARDS

I’m in the kitchen at the back of the church drying the dishes Mrs Kelly washes when my mobile phone rings. I flip open the leather case and the name ‘Joe Lawson – Neighbourhood Watch’ appears. I answer immediately, but I instinctively know what he’s going to tell me.

‘She’s back, isn’t she?’ I say first.

‘There’s a taxi dropping her off outside the bungalow right now.’

I imagine Joe has spent the last few weeks in his lounge, perched by the window, curtains twitching, preparing for this moment. ‘Okay,’ I say. ‘I’m only at the church, so I can be there in a couple of minutes.’

‘Do you want me to delay her?’

‘Only if she leaves the house and I’m not there. I’m setting off now.’

I apologise to Mrs Kelly and ask her to finish clearing the detritus from the coffee morning, then I hurry through the churchgrounds, September’s leaf fall crunching underfoot. I really hope I can reach Connie’s bungalow before she sets off for Gwen’s. I half walk, half jog, and in my head I’m running through what I’m going to say. This has been my vocation for the best part of thirty years and there’s not much I haven’t yet encountered, but these circumstances have added complications I’ve never experienced before.

I catch Connie just in time. She’s exiting her house and locking the front door. I know where she’s headed. She is casually dressed and her hair is tied up over her head. She looks pale and drained and I can only assume the flight back from Italy wasn’t an entirely pleasant experience.

‘Hi Connie, have you just got back?’ I ask.

‘Hello Reverend Eddie,’ she replies, surprised to see me. ‘Yes, I landed a few hours ago.’

‘And are you well? How was Italy?’

‘It was busy, thanks. Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m just about to visit Mum ...’

‘That’s why I’m here. Do you have a moment?’

She cocks her head to one side and stares at me, as if trying to read me. ‘Why, what’s happened?’

‘Could we perhaps go inside?’

She hesitates. She must know I’m not here without a reason. We make our way into her lounge but she doesn’t offer me a seat.

‘I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, Connie, but I’m afraid Gwen died while you were away.’

She holds a hand up to her mouth and steadies herself against the arm of the chair. I move towards her to offer my support but she holds her palm out in front of her. ‘What ... what happened?’

‘It was an accident. It appears that Gwen had a fall down the stairs one evening and hit her head on the radiator.’

‘Wh . . . when?’

‘About a fortnight after you left.’ She shakes her head. ‘A few of us tried calling the number you left us, but it doesn’t appear to work.’

‘Was she in pain?’ she asks.

‘I don’t think so. From what we’ve been told, Paul found her in the morning and called an ambulance.’

‘The morning? You mean she was there all night? Where the hell was he?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘He was supposed to be looking after her.’

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