“You are looking for my sister to answer questions?” said Eva. “Not to make sure she is safe and okay?”
“Where did Kazek get the money?” I asked her.
“What money?” she said.
“Ask him.” I passed the phone over and listened to them. I was beginning to think I could understand Polish by now. I could get the gist of the intonation anyway, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I grabbed the phone back.
“Well?” I said.
“He doesn’t know what money you mean,” Eva said.
“He bloody does,” I said. “God, if we had Skype, I could show you.” Except of course I didn’t know where he’d stashed it this time. “Okay, listen. Can you think of anyone Ros would go to? Any town she’s got friends in, any particular reason she’d have to go somewhere instead of somewhere else?”
“I think I don’t trust you,” she said. “I don’t know how you know all these dead people. Or why you are looking for Ros. What is the real true reason you want to find her, eh?”
“Oh, great,” I said.
“I think I will call the police,” she said.
“Yes, good! I agree,” I told her.
“Let me speak to Kazek,” she demanded.
“To tell him not to trust me? Why should I?” But I handed the phone over anyway, because she could just as easy call back after I’d gone. I gave him the hard stare with my arms folded all the time he was talking. Policja was the only thing I understood out of the whole endless stream of it. He talked her round too. “Nie dzwon po policja. No police. Okay,” was the last thing he said before Czesc and hanging up. He raised his hands, surrendering. Hung his head too.
“Sorry, Jessie-Pleasie,” he said.
“Okay,” I said. “I will find something, either in the cottage or at Gizzy’s, in Ros’s old gaff or in the office or something somehow, or something she said to Gizzy or Gus or Ruby or something for God’s sake that’ll help us work out where she’s gone-and then we can find her.”
He nodded. He walked over to the kettle and held it up, questioning, for all the world like we were just two pals hanging out in my flat, like you do.
“Only what’s that going to change?” I said, sort of to him but more to myself, really. “She might be able to tell me why Becky killed herself, but how can she get Gary the Gangster off your back?”
“Jaroslawa jest prawnikiem,” said Kazek. “Prawnikiem, Jessie-
Pleasie.”
“Write it down,” I said. I gave him a scrap of paper from beside my phone and once he had scribbled on it, I put it in my pocket and sat back. I was exhausted. Then I hauled myself to my feet, opened the fridge, and showed him the shopping.
“Stay here,” I told him. “Don’t answer the door.”
Nineteen
I stayed exhausted too. Four o’clock came crawling round, and I had to drive back to the cottage with the car windows open to keep myself awake. One good thing about living down a farm track and through a caravan site, though-especially when you had to take it at five miles an hour behind the bin lorry-was I could be sure Gary or one of his minions wasn’t following me. I stepped out onto the turf and let the sea breeze blow my hair back. Minions! Could someone be a friend of Dot and have minions? Henchmen, heavies, muscle. A week ago I thought I knew what my worries were, and they were bad enough. I turned and looked towards the cottage. Then, in the time-honoured way, it all went tits up because I met a guy.
I could see him through the living room window. He was sitting at the table, bent over something. Reading, maybe, or writing. And I could hear the sound of the kids, squealing and thrashing about with something. Would I go back? Undo it if I could? I pushed my sleeve up and looked at the red mark where Gary had grabbed me. Thought about Kazek in my flat and Ros’s sister. Gus lifted his head and waved. I waved back and trotted up the path.
“Hiya!” I shouted.
“Jessieeeeee!” squealed Ruby.
“Mummmeeeeee,” said Dillon coming along at her heels. He put his head against my legs and hugged me.
“He doesn’t mean it,” Ruby told me. “He calls everybody that babysits Mummy.”
“I know,” I said, playing it cool, but my heart had filled my chest until I thought my coat would pop open. “So what are you doing?”
“Playing at funerals,” said Ruby. “Come on, Dill. You be the dead body and I’ll be the angel.”
I took off my coat and scarf and fluffed my hair in the mirror, stopped just short of biting my lips and pinching my cheeks. Got close though.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Gus. He was writing-a proper letter on a pad of writing paper with a lined sheet underneath to keep it straight.
“Yeah,” he said, laughing. “Wee toe rags. I told them about Becky’s funeral, and Ruby took to it. Hey, guess what?”
“Who’re you writing to? Relations?” I said. “What?”
“What relations?” he said. “I thought I’d told you. I’m writing to that hill walker. See if he wants to come to the funeral maybe.” I couldn’t keep the frown off my face. He raised his eyebrows, silently asking.
“Ohhhh, I don’t know,” I said. “Just. Okay, that’s a nice idea. He might. Best to give him the choice. But what about your mum and your dad? And why not try to reach your brother? And surely Becky must have some family. Why not let them all know on the off-chance some of them might want to come too? That’s all. I’ll butt out. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“Guess who phoned today,” he answered. I think it was an answer anyway.
“Your brother,” I tried. “Becky’s mum? Who?”
“Try again, Jess,” he said. “Who have we been waiting to hear from?”
“Who?” I said. “Oh! Ros’s sister?” Shit! Did she phone here after we spoke to her at the flat? Had she dropped me in it? Can’t have, the way he was smiling at me.
“Close but no banana,” he said. “Ros called.”
I flumped down into one of the armchairs. I could feel my mouth hanging open but couldn’t close it.
“Seriously?” I said. “She called here?”
“It’s not that much of a shocker, is it?” he said. “She doesn’t want her job back, if that’s what’s worrying you. Yeah, she phoned and said she’d just decided to make a clean break. She met someone else, got a chance of a job up north, took it.”
“Someone else as opposed to who?” I said.
“Becky,” said Gus. “You were right about that. Don’t know why I didn’t see it for myself. Years ago.”
I nodded. “What did she say when you told her Becky died?” I asked. Gus whistled and shook his head again. A big reaction, he seemed to be saying. But what a weird way to signal it, far too light-hearted for how it must have been.
“She took it pretty hard,” he said. “Obviously. I told her she wasn’t responsible. If she didn’t know Becky was feeling that bad, how could she have guessed? But Ros is one of those people, you know. Takes care of everyone. Really-what’s the word?-conscientious.”
I nodded slowly. The sort of person who wouldn’t leave a friend from home stranded in an empty caravan when she knew he was in trouble. None of this made sense to me.
“Well,” I said. “That’s that then. That’s one mystery solved.”
He had bent his head to carry on writing, but he looked up at me now.
“That’s all the mysteries solved,” he corrected. “Unless you’re talking about the thing you’ve still got to tell me.” I tried not to let my eyes grow wide. “Did you ever think, Jessie, that if you let it all go, tell me everything, the whole pteronophobia might just blow away like a… ”