‘Jesus Christ!’ Jack muttered to himself, nearly dropping the doll. ‘It can’t be!’
The stall-holder, a large woman with heavy gold earrings and too much makeup, clearly thought Jack was remarking on the price of the doll.
‘It’s a good price for a handmade Victorian doll of that quality,’ she said. ‘She still has her original hair and shoes, too.’
‘I’m looking for a doll for my daughter,’ Jack said, keeping half an eye on the interior of the framer’s shop.
‘She’ll love her, I’m sure,’ said the woman. ‘She is a collector’s item, too, so she’ll only increase in value... be a good investment.’
Jack smiled, pretending to think about it. Then he saw the two men exiting the framer’s shop, the owner pocketing a wedge of bank notes while the man in the cap put on his sunglasses.
‘I’ll come back at seven,’ he said.
Jack knew that voice. It was Adam Border.
‘Glass eyes still in perfect condition, which is rare when they’re this old. They often roll back into the head, but you can see, if you rock her, her eyes still close and open.’
Jack turned away to hide his face as Border walked past. He waited a few seconds, still clutching the doll, and was about to follow Border when Maggie appeared.
‘I’ve been looking all over for you. Here’s your cold coffee.’
‘You interested in buying the doll for your daughter or not?’ the woman said, finally losing patience.
As Jack sheepishly handed the doll back, Maggie shook her head — what would Hannah want with such a scary old doll! Jack quickly looked around, but Adam Border had disappeared into a crowd of shoppers.
‘Tell you what, I can let you have it for a hundred and twenty, and that’s a real bargain,’ the woman said.
‘I’m sure it is. Thank you very much, but our daughter’s got enough dolls,’ Maggie said firmly as she pulled Jack away.
As they moved off, the woman pursed her lips. ‘Fucking timewasters,’ she muttered under her breath. As she put the doll back on the stand, one plastic eye was wide open, the other remained closed.
Chapter 6
Maggie and Jack’s drive home, the car full to the brim with plants, pots and urns, was tense; partly because they had been given a parking ticket for overstaying the two-hour time limit, but mainly because Jack refused to discuss hiring extra help for Penny.
They carried the plants and pots, plus two bags of soil and fertiliser through the kitchen and into the garden in silence. While Jack carried on unloading, Maggie ordered a pizza, bathed Charlie, fed him, and put him to bed. Because Hannah was eating with them, Maggie couldn’t really bring up the subject of Penny getting some help when Maggie returned to work, so Maggie got out her mobile to show Penny and Hannah the photographs of all the second-hand items they had bought for the loft extension but hadn’t yet collected. Bored with looking at pictures of furniture, Hannah said she wanted to watch TV in her bedroom, so she was allowed to take a slice of pizza up with her.
‘I’ll be up in a minute and bring you a hot chocolate,’ Penny said, getting up from the table.
‘Sorry we left the kids with you for so long,’ Maggie said. ‘We didn’t intend to stay at the market this late.’ With Jack there too, she finally saw her opportunity to bring up the idea of an au pair. ‘Penny, Jack and I wanted to...’
Jack immediately got up from the table. ‘Just going to check I locked the car.’
Maggie couldn’t believe Jack was sabotaging the conversation again. She tried to stop him. ‘I saw you lock it, Jack.’
‘No, you didn’t. I was still unloading when you went to check on Charlie.’ He walked out of the kitchen and the front door slammed behind him. Maggie snatched up the empty pizza boxes as though taking them to the bin, then hurried to the front door just in time to see Jack drive off. She marched back into the house and Penny could see the look of fury on her face.
‘Are you all right, dear? I don’t mean to pry but... if you need to talk.’
Jack had not planned to drive back to the market. He was so pissed off with Maggie, he just needed to get away and was driving on autopilot. But he found himself heading back to where he’d last seen Adam Border. As he parked up, relieved he didn’t need to buy another parking ticket as it was after 6 p.m., he looked at his watch. In twenty minutes, Adam Border would be returning to the framer’s shop.
Jack walked up the now stall-less market, lined with rubbish bags being collected by two council workers who were throwing them in the back of a wire mesh truck. Another vehicle was hosing the street down behind them. As he looked for the framer’s shop, Jack chastised himself for such a stupid move. Why was he out here chasing ghosts when he knew he should be home making up with Maggie?
‘Hello, Jack.’
Turning sharply, Jack came to face to face with Adam Border.
‘You’re a bit late if you want to buy that doll. But I was hoping you would make an appearance.’ Border stepped closer, smiling, and Jack was taken aback when Border hugged him.
‘I thought you’d clocked me in the market. But I wasn’t sure until I saw you doing that routine with the doll. Was that your wife who came up and distracted you?’
Jack flushed, hearing Border’s description of his clumsy attempt at surveillance.
‘But I thought if I mentioned when I was returning to pick up my frames...’ He grinned. ‘And here you are.’
Jack pulled himself away. ‘I don’t know why I came back.’
‘I think I do, Jack.’ Border laughed. ‘How about a drink and a chat for old time’s sake?’
‘What about the frames you need to collect?’
‘I phoned the framer and arranged an earlier time. It’s all done and loaded in the car. It’s parked round the corner.’ He started to walk off.
Jack knew he should walk away but found himself following Border round the corner to a black Mercedes Jeep with mud sprays over the sides and wheels. The back seats were down, and he could see the car was stacked with battered frames and tatty-looking oil paintings.
Border gestured for Jack to get in the passenger side. He hesitated before climbing in, still unsure why he was even contemplating going with him. The inside of the Jeep stank of oil and paint thinners. Cigarette stubs overflowed from the ashtray, and used coffee cups littered the footwell, along with crumpled takeaway wrappers.
‘Your friend obviously doesn’t clean his truck,’ Jack said lamely as the car bounced over a road hump and the contents slid and crashed about in the rear.
‘That’s why it’s unlikely anyone would steal it. This area around the market is notorious for car thefts... I leave it for hours sometimes while I shop around, but it’s always here when I come back. I did real good today. That shop owner is one of my best dealers. He collects for me at auctions and house sales up and down the country.’
‘Where are we going?’ Jack asked, worried about leaving Maggie’s car behind.
‘I’ve got a warehouse space in a property due for demolition. It’ll only be for another six months, then I’ll get turned out, but it will suffice until I return home.’
‘Where’s home?’
‘France. But I keep looking for properties that I can lease for cash — I just need space, electricity, good light and no other tenants.’