Standing back, Maggie looked at him. ‘Don’t you dare say that. Do you hear me? Never again. We all enjoyed the spoils Alex and now we all take the fallout. Don’t leave us. Nothing is worth that. Promise me,’ she begged.
‘I promise, but I hate seeing you like this. Always looking over your shoulder – afraid of your own shadow.’
‘I’m more afraid of you leaving me. I love you.’ Wiping her face with her hands, she half smiled and took a piece of glass out of Alex’s hair. ‘Glass is going to be hiding in that thick mane of yours for years.’ Picking up her brush, Maggie ran it through her long blonde hair and heard the glass fall to the floor. Taking the brush, Alex turned her away from him and brushed it for her – he hadn’t realised how long it had grown.
‘Have you had your hair dyed?’
‘Yes, about two weeks ago! And it’s taken an explosion in the street for you to notice.’ They both burst out laughing. Suddenly they heard a banging and shouting at the door. Instantly recognising the voice, Alex looked at Maggie and in unison they said, ‘Mark!’ and burst out laughing again. Alex walked downstairs to open the door.
‘Bloody hell mate, don’t tell me you slept through that.’ Mark was standing in his boxer shorts only, which to Alex’s eyes was offensive. Mark’s hairy stomach and chest facing him at this time of the morning was enough to bring Alex out of his shock.
The street was already full of fire engines, more police and ambulances. ‘Let’s hope no one wants the emergency services Mark, because they are all here!’ Alex joked. ‘What’s happened, do we know?’
‘Whispers about a gas explosion or something.’
Despite just mentioning a gas explosion, Mark took out his packet of cigarettes, lit one and offered them to Alex who gratefully accepted. ‘Is Percy okay?’ Alex enquired innocently.
‘He’s not there the lucky bastard. He’s fishing or something. Fuck knows. I think they are going to evacuate the area, which means us living with Olivia’s mum and dad. What about you? You can come with us if you want, there’s plenty of room,’ he offered.
‘Well, I don’t know about lucky. Old Percy is going to get one hell of a shock when he comes home and finds his house is not there any more! As for the offer, we’re okay, thanks. I don’t know if the brewery will let us leave the pub – anyone could break in,’ Alex lied.
Alex looked up at Percy’s house. What had been an inferno was now being dowsed by water from the hoses of the fire brigade. It looked like a charcoaled shell; there wasn’t a window left intact and the outside was black with smoke. Alex was pleased about that. Whatever evidence was in there had now gone.
Walking as closely as he was allowed to the scene, Alex saw people sat in the back of the ambulances being treated for cuts and bruises. Some were on oxygen, and some were covered in silver capes being treated for shock. Thankfully, no one was badly hurt. His thoughts turned to the police officers who had entered the building. The blast alone had blown them into the air. Thankfully, they had been wearing helmets which would have protected them. In normal circumstances he would have called it collateral damage, but mentally he cursed himself. They weren’t the ones he’d intended to hurt. It had been meant for that Liverpudlian lot who had hurt Luke and had grown cannabis in a false room in Percy’s bedroom – not innocent police officers going about their daily work.
Poor Magda next door. Alex felt almost ashamed as he looked at her shattered shell of a house. Hopefully she had insurance, he thought to himself. If nothing else, she was free of Percy and his mates stealing her electricity. It was little compensation, but it made him feel better.
As predicted by Mark, the police came round and said they were to move out for at least twenty-four hours while they made the area safe. They enquired if people had anywhere to go and if not, they would be put up in B&Bs. Olivia and Emma were already on hand coming out with trays of tea for everyone. Maggie had dressed and joined them outside Mark’s house, as daylight broke through properly.
‘Alex!’ Maggie called, waving her arms to attract his attention. He walked across to the neighbours sitting around Mark’s front gate on stools and chairs drinking tea. To Alex’s mind it was like something out of the Blitz. It was crazy. ‘The brewery has called. If possible, they would like us to stay here. They are sending someone straight away to fix the windows and sum up the damage. There is a problem with the phone lines apparently. Is that okay?’
‘I presumed as much Maggie. There’s a lot of money in there and burglars always find a way in even if they board the place up,’ Alex said. He could tell Maggie was relieved that they were staying put.
Deana squared up to Alex while he was on his own. ‘Well Dad, you have made your mark on the world – that’s for sure. What now? I suppose those protection blokes will come sniffing around, but there shouldn’t be any danger to us, should there?’
‘No, I think we’ll be okay. It’s not a revenge attack on us, it’s just one of those things. Deana,’ Alex faltered, ‘thank you for last night. I never got the chance to say before, but thanks,’ he whispered.
‘That’s what families are for. Anyway, it was fun.’ She grinned and walked away to join the others. Alex knew he couldn’t have accomplished half of what he had last night without her help. She was trusting, strong and loyal.
The street was suddenly deserted. It seemed weird looking at the boarded-up houses and the police taping off the house and the end of the street. The police knew they were staying in the pub and had agreed to keep an eye on them. And, of course, their own team had contacted them and arranged a visit later that day. It was to be expected, but they were always under scrutiny.
Maggie sidled up close to Alex and held his hand. ‘Well, that’s a lot of money the brewery will lose with no one allowed down the street. It’s Christmas in three weeks and we have bookings, what are we going to do?’
Putting his arm around her comfortingly, he looked down the street at Percy’s house. Wincing inside, Alex knew this was all his fault. He realised now that he had gone too far. ‘Don’t go cancelling anything Maggie. Not yet anyway. Believe me, this will last a couple of days at most and will give you a chance to sort out your decorations. The neighbours will get fed up of sofa surfing and start to come home. They have their own Christmases to sort out. The only person really in shit street is old Percy and I’m sure he’ll get sorted soon enough.’
‘Do you think we should offer him a room here? He’s an old man. Who knows if he has any family?’
Shocked at her idea, Alex quickly scuppered it. ‘Definitely not Maggie. If we let him stay, we’ll never get rid of him. Anyway, I don’t think the brewery would let us have lodgers, or the police either. Let the authorities look after Percy, it’s for the best,’ he reasoned. Personally, he thought Percy had everything that was coming to him. He’d known something was going down this weekend, which was why he’d disappeared.
‘Yes, you’re right. It was just a thought.’
‘That’s because, my lovely, you’re a kind-hearted woman, which is why I married you.’ Kissing her on the top of the head, he pulled her closer.
‘Is that all?’ She laughed. ‘I thought it was because you were fed up with having a “quickie” in my dad’s shed after closing time.’ They both burst out laughing. Alex thought back to the many times the handlebars of her dad’s bicycle had banged his arse, or some other tool had fallen on his head during their frenzied passion. A smile crossed his face when he thought back to those days. Funny, but bloody uncomfortable!
11 PARTNERSHIPS
Almost ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Maggie felt happy again, because Alex had been right. Within two days Mark had drifted back into the neighbourhood and landed on their doorstep complaining about Olivia’s mother who was ‘a moaning, miserable cow’. He couldn’t stand it any more apparently.
Slowly everyone had drifted back into the neighbourhood, and the police had taken down the tape that had cordoned off the area. Percy had been put up in a bed and breakfast for the time being, which he was quite happy about, considering his house and possessions had been blown to bits. He was getting regular meals, and it wasn’t costing him anything.
Alex had waited for Percy’s return and noticed when Percy had originally come back to the neighbourhood, unaware that there was nothing to return to, that he had no fishing rods with him when he had been dropped off. Musing to himself as he stared out the window, he wanted to laugh but couldn’t find it in him.
Deana pulled Alex aside one day. ‘Dad, I’ve got a bit of gossip for you,’ she whispered and walked out of the pub. Following her lead, Alex followed her into the beer garden out of earshot.
‘I know how they wired up Magda’s electricity.’ She grinned.
Puzzled and frowning, Alex waited. ‘Well?’ he prompted.
‘Did you know she has a summer house at the bottom of the garden. Well, I say summer house, it’s enormous.’
‘How could I? I’ve never been down her garden.’ Intrigued, he waited, knowing full well that Deana was pausing for effect.
‘It’s about twenty foot long and wide and is more like a granny flat. It’s all kitted out apparently.’ Deana nodded, clearly impressed.
‘Deana, do you want to get to the point?’
‘I’ve just mentioned the point and you’ve missed it. To go that far down her garden with electricity, she had to have a separate mains box put in, leading from the original one. The bastards have wired it up from her garden summer house, that’s why no one saw the wiring. And the only person who knew she had a summer house was Percy!’
