‘Are we going to decide what to call him tonight?’ Maggie asked.
‘I’ll open a bottle of wine then,’ he said, kissing her. ‘We might need it!’ He made his way carefully downstairs, stepping over the paint tins which reminded him he was running very short of cash; he would have to find some more from somewhere to pay the builders and decorators to finish the work.
Unbeknownst to Maggie, Jack had used up his secret store of illegal cash which he had hidden in the garden shed. The money, which he hadn’t asked for, had been left as a ‘thank you’ pay-off in his car after he had helped the four women involved in the mammoth train robbery to escape.
Along with the hidden cash had been jewellery acquired from another robbery investigation. He had sold it piece by piece over the past year and again used the money to pay the builders in cash. The only item left under the floorboards in the shed was the painting rolled in the cardboard tube given to him by the elusive artist Adam Border. Jack doubted it could be an authentic Giacometti painting as he had seen so many fake works in Border’s studio. He’d also done some research on the internet and had been amused by the fact Giacometti only completed around five hundred works of art, yet it was estimated there were over thirteen thousand on the market. He was amazed by the number of famous artists whose works were routinely faked. In one exhibition of the artist Modigliani in Genoa, twenty paintings had been revealed to be counterfeits. The amount of money to be made from forgeries was astonishing.
Trying not to think about their financial situation, Jack checked the pot roast and turned the oven down. He selected a bottle of wine then vainly searched the kitchen’s unfamiliar new layout for a corkscrew. He had only just found it when his mother arrived home with Hannah. Hannah came hurtling into the kitchen, screeching when she saw him and, with blind faith, she leapt into the air, knowing he would catch her.
‘Daddy, Daddy, I met a puppy in the park and we played together! I really want a puppy — can I have one?’ He swung her around and told her that it would have to wait as she would be starting at her new school, and it was not nice to leave a puppy on its own. Hannah wriggled free then glared up at him, hands on her hips. ‘It wouldn’t be by itself. Mummy, Nana and you are here. And I can play with it when I come home.’
‘What about all the new friends you are going to make? You’ll want to play with them, so maybe a puppy can wait until you’re a bit older?’ Hannah stamped her foot and looked as if she was about to throw a tantrum when Maggie called down for her to come and help bathe the baby.
‘I’m asking Mummy about the puppy!’ Hannah shouted as she stomped upstairs. Jack and Penny shared a quiet laugh as they listened to Hannah shouting ‘Mummy!’ all the way upstairs. Jack opened the wine and Penny put on an apron to make Hannah’s tea and help finish dinner.
‘Hannah has talked non-stop about a puppy ever since we left the park,’ Penny said. ‘She even suggested we swap the baby for one!’
Jack shook his head, smiling. ‘Do you want a glass, Mum?’
‘No thanks, dear.’ Penny scooped up the veg prepared by Maggie. ‘I’ll get these on, set the table and sort Princess’s tea.’
Jack poured himself a glass of wine and sat at the table. ‘I love this new kitchen. So much more space. I think they should finish the loft conversion in a few days, too. Marius has just got to collect the glass for the loft skylight.’
‘He’s a lovely man, I must say, and I think he’s done a great job so far,’ Penny said. ‘Those Romanian workmen of his seem very professional. You know the carpenter is related to his sister’s husband?’ Jack smiled. He knew Marius and Penny saw each other socially, not just around the house. He had taken her to the theatre, and she had introduced him to bingo which, to everyone’s surprise, he thoroughly enjoyed. Jack and Maggie had tried to ascertain if their relationship was more than platonic, but neither wanted to ask Penny directly about it, so were left guessing. Jack’s mobile rang. He didn’t recognise the number so he went into the living room and closed the door before answering.
Jack had just finished the call when Maggie burst in and told him off for promising Hannah a puppy. He raised his hands defensively.
‘I never said she could have one! If she told you I did, she’s lied.’
‘Well, you need to tell her off then. “No name” is sleeping, so do it quietly.’
‘Josh, from the US, just called. Remember, you met him when I was on that drug investigation... he came round for dinner.’ Maggie dropped heavily onto the sofa.
‘Oh yes, he was nice.’
‘He’s coming to London on some lecture tour. He wondered if he could stay for a night? It’s a strange coincidence actually, as I was just thinking about the search we had on tracing...’
Maggie interrupted him. ‘You’re at the sleep clinic tomorrow night.’
‘No, no, it’s the following weekend Josh is coming.’
She frowned. ‘Anyway, it’s not exactly convenient with all the building work. The house is such a mess.’
‘He can sleep in my office. I’ll blow up that inflatable bed. It’ll only be one or two nights.’
‘Well, that doubled quickly! You said one night a minute ago.’ Maggie sighed. ‘I know you’ve already said yes. But don’t just leave the extra cooking and food shopping to me and your mum. From memory, he eats like a horse. I see you’ve already started on the wine.’
‘It’s my first glass. Mum’s finishing dinner, so you grab a drink and we’ll name our son.’
Maggie stood up. ‘Slow down a bit, Jack. You’re drinking more than usual lately.’
He shrugged. ‘It helps me get to sleep.’
Maggie raised her eyes to the ceiling before heading into the kitchen. ‘Well, it doesn’t help with the nightmares.’
Maggie didn’t care that Jack had done little to help with the rebuilding work, other than load a few skips when he was available. Most of the time he had been at the Middleton trial, which she knew had been emotionally draining for him. And the unpredictable swinging between dreadful insomnia and terrifying nightmares had also taken its toll. She was relieved that Jack would be having an MRI and blood tests as part of his overnight stay at the clinic. He’d lost a considerable amount of weight and it worried her almost as much as the punching, kicking and shouting while he was asleep.
Maggie had hoped that, after the birth of the new baby, with Jack on parental leave and then a further two weeks of annual leave to come, his nightmares would get better. But they hadn’t. He was still attentive and loving, but his temper was short, and he had started drinking heavily at night, supposedly to help him sleep. She knew he was constantly tired, and she worried that his volatile moods would only get worse with alcohol. Jack had been reluctant to see the police therapist, snapping that his colleagues would think he was screwed up. How could he retain his fellow officers’ respect if they saw him walking into the fucking police therapist’s office once a week? So Maggie was very relieved when Jack had agreed to see Hargreaves.
Maggie finished making supper while Penny fed Hannah, then took her upstairs to read her a bedtime story and put her to bed. She’d set the dining table for two as she liked to take hers on a tray to her bedroom and watch TV. Maggie sighed. They were so lucky to have Penny living with them. But when Maggie returned to work, she was concerned that Penny wouldn’t be able to cope looking after Hannah and Piglet. Maggie had put out feelers with a few people at the hospital who she knew used au pairs but hadn’t said anything to Penny yet. They had to do something, though. Maggie needed to return to work. Jack was always vague about money, but she could tell he was anxious about it, and they badly needed her salary. She decided that after they’d discussed the baby’s name tonight, she would also raise the question of their financial situation.