Tarmac? Alex grinned. He’d never thought of that. That was even better!
‘What happened to the house over there? It’s all boarded up.’
‘Break-in of some kind.’ Avoiding going into detail, Alex said he would go and see about the tea and wandered back indoors.
Going upstairs, he could see Maggie was up and already filling the kettle. ‘You must be a mind reader Maggie. The foreman has just asked me about his early-morning tea.’ Going over to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. ‘Are the others up yet?’ The slamming of bedroom doors and the shower running answered his question. ‘Never mind. I was wondering about that promise you made me now my tadpoles have surfaced.’
‘Go on with you, you saucy bugger. With a house full of guests and kids. You don’t stand a chance.’ Turning around, she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him. ‘We’ll put that on ice for now.’ She winked, making him laugh at her inuendo about the freezer.
‘Oy, oy, am I interrupting something?’ Mark stood in the doorway, large as life. His face had strips of plaster on where the paramedics had put them to glue the cut to the side of his head. His eyes were black, but he seemed to be in his usual high spirits. ‘Any paracetamol going spare once you two have finished your morning snog.’
Deana pushed past him into the kitchen. ‘Christ I didn’t think you could look any worse, but you definitely do in the morning, and that’s without your face looking like a car crash. And don’t even think of scratching your balls in those boxer shorts, you hairy monster. Why is it all men do that in the morning, Mum?’ she scoffed and slumped into a chair at the breakfast table.
Smiling, Maggie shook her head in answer to her question and handed Mark some paracetamol.
‘You will be glad of some bloke scratching his balls in your kitchen one day,’ Mark said, doing it on purpose to make Deana squirm even more. ‘It wakes everything up,’ he laughed. ‘Ask your dad!’ He sat beside Deana, making her move her chair further away from him in disgust.
‘Is Olivia coming through?’ Maggie asked, ignoring Deana’s contempt and Mark’s comments.
‘Yes, but she’s having one of her nervous days. She’s already making a mental list of the new stuff she wants. She’s been wanting a new kitchen for ages and now she has the opportunity to go bonkers at my expense.’ As an afterthought, while he sipped his coffee, Mark asked, ‘Did you pick up the exhaust Alex?’
‘Yes, in the back of the van. The scrap dealer said he would sort out the cash with you later today.’
Nodding with satisfaction, Mark slurped his drink. ‘I’ll sort it, but first I need to check Olivia isn’t going to decorate the kitchen in pink flamingos. Don’t know why, but she likes them. Weird if you ask me. I like stags personally.’
‘And I like drinking my tea without an ape sat next to me,’ Deana snapped.
Alex couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Olivia would get her own way and Mark would just have to swallow it. As for Deana, well, whatever sarcastic remark she made just seemed to fly over Mark’s head.
‘I know you would have jumped in last night and helped me, Alex. The others just stood there like idiots and ran for cover, chicken bastards! Call themselves mates. Useless, the lot of them.’
‘Too right I would Mark. It’s ironic I wasn’t there to help. The only night I go out and you needed my help.’ Although, Alex thought to himself, he wondered what Mark would think of the three dead bodies in Percy’s house. He wondered what Percy had said to explain the situation. He decided he would find out later.
Dante and George left for school, Deana got ready for college and everything returned to normal. Olivia declined to go and see her house in the state it had been left and so, once showered and dressed, Alex and Mark strolled over to have a look.
‘Fuck Alex, it looks worse in daylight. Let’s borrow a crow bar off your workmen and get in through the front door.’
‘Did you know them, Mark? Have you argued with a lot of people lately?’ Alex asked.
‘I don’t know, they were wearing balaclavas. Although I have had a few bad online reviews about my mechanic business. One woman sent her husband to get her money back. Even threatened to go to the small claims court, but I’m not telling the police that.’
Taking the crowbar off Alex, Mark pulled away the boards protecting the front door. As they walked in, Alex looked on with horror as Mark gave a low whistle. ‘Christ, Alex, they went to town on this, didn’t they? My fifty-inch television is hanging off the wall smashed to pieces.’ Treading on glass underfoot, they wandered into the kitchen.
‘The weird thing is, they kept asking where their money was.’ Puzzled by it all, Mark looked around the dark room and opened the blinds to let in some daylight. ‘That job I mentioned was only a couple of hundred quid and her car was an old banger anyway. Makes me wonder though.’ Pursing his lips together, Mark looked at Alex and shrugged. ‘Shit happens, what can I say? I must have been more pissed than I thought, or as high as a kite; it didn’t look this bad last night.’
‘Things always look worse in the cold light of day. We’ll soon get this lot cleared away though. I’m sure the builders at mine will take a few quid to put your cupboard doors back on and sort the door for now until Olivia gets her interior-designer head on.’ Alex laughed, trying to make light of the situation, although looking around, it looked like a warzone. ‘Well, he’s had his money’s worth now, that’s for sure Mark. I doubt they will come back now the police are on to it.’
‘I’ll be ready next time if they do. I know people who know people.’ Alex knew it was all bravado, but he left it at that.
Other neighbours popped their heads around the door and wandered in. ‘We’re here to help where we can,’ Emma said, raising her sweeping brush and bin liners. Mark and Alex cast a furtive glance at each other. They knew she meant well, but what the hell she was going to do with those was anyone’s business! No sooner said than done an army of neighbours were clearing what they could away and the place actually looked almost liveable again. ‘Thank God George was at yours last night with Dante, Alex. I wouldn’t want him witnessing this. Who knows what could have happened?’ Sheepishly, Mark looked at Alex. Tears were almost welling up in his eyes now the aftermath of the shock had set in.
‘Well, he was, and he didn’t. Be grateful for small mercies. Look around you. It doesn’t look too bad now all the glass has gone. All that rubbish can go in my workmen’s skip. Nip out, get a new television, even bigger than the last,’ Alex said, ‘and we’ll leave Emma to keep hoovering the same patch over and over again.’
‘Have you seen that they have been upstairs? All of the clothes have been pulled out the wardrobes. It makes you wonder if they were looking for something, doesn’t it?’
Trying to get him from that train of thought, Alex said, ‘No Mark. They weren’t looking for anything, just trying to make a mess of your house. They were hooligans with baseball bats and were probably all on drugs anyway.’ Alex watched Mark’s face closely as he seemed to accept his explanation.
Eventually, Olivia mustered up enough courage to come home and tears rolled down her face when she saw the smashed photo frame containing her wedding photo. Alex couldn’t comprehend that that was the only thing that bothered her! In true style, her parents turned up to console her and Mark nudged Alex in the ribs. ‘We’re staying with you again tonight, aren’t we? I’m not going to her mum’s,’ he emphasised through gritted teeth. The thought of spending a night with Olivia’s mum terrified him more than the men who had trashed his house!
After lunchtime, everything looked almost normal again and Olivia, Emma and Maggie decided to go shopping while the workmen set about putting their cupboards back in the kitchen. As Alex had predicted, they took the extra cash offered.
Walking up the street towards Percy’s house, Alex saw him on the front path. ‘Morning Percy. I saw you got a special takeaway last night. What was your explanation?’
Percy paled when he saw him. ‘Told them they had argued and done the business to each other.’
Frowning, Alex cocked his head to one side. ‘How did they do that, if there were three of them?’
‘Told them one shot the other two in temper, then shot himself in the head.’
Astonished, Alex stared at him. ‘And they believed that?’
‘Dunno if they believed it or not, but that’s my story and I am sticking to it.’
‘Was my name mentioned at all?’
‘I’m not stupid Alex; your name never came up. You weren’t even around, because I never saw you.’ Percy was as white as a sheet and his hand trembled as he took the roll-up cigarette from behind his ear and lit it. ‘No harm done eh, Alex mate?’
