Page 70 of Loving Netta Wilde

He decided the best approach was to style it out. He put on an expression that made out like he was pleased to see her. ‘What are you doing here?’

She stepped out onto the path and pulled the door to. ‘Take a wild guess.’

‘Er, no. Can’t think of anything.’

Doogie loved Claire. They’d been friends for so long they knew each other inside out. He credited himself with knowing pretty much all there was to know about her. And one thing he knew above everything else was you didn’t want to make Claire mad at you. Because when she was mad at you, it was impossible to tell which way she was going to go. She could scream and shout. She could throw things. She could be so angry she couldn’t speak. If she was really, really mad at you, she could be all of those things one after the other. And boy did she look really, really mad right now.

She came to within a few inches of him. ‘What the fuck are you playing at?’

‘Don’t know what you mean.’

‘Don’t give me that shit. You haven’t just turned up on Netta’s doorstep because you fancied a change. You’re up to something.’

She poked her forefinger into his chest. He backed away slightly. ‘I heard what had happened with the accountant wanker. I thought she might need some support.’

‘She’s got Frank for that.’

‘I know but…’

‘But what? You here to make a play for her while she’s at her most vulnerable?’

‘Don’t be stupid, Claire.’

She was in his face again. ‘How come I’m the one being stupid all of a sudden? It’s not like I dropped everything to drive four hundred miles, like a knight in his four-by-four charger to save an old girlfriend from the clutches of her evil ex-husband, is it? And while we’re at it, Merrie confessed to telling you, so let’s have less of the “I heard” crap, shall we?’

‘Is Merrie here as well?’

‘No, she’s at my mum’s. I told her she had to stay away until I’d spoken to you.’

‘It’s not her fault.’

Claire looked like a big cat ready to pounce on something, and the something in question was him. ‘I know that, shithead. I’m putting this all on you. You can see her tomorrow when you go to pick Spike up from your mum’s.’

He was about to tell her she’d got it wrong about Spike, but she flashed him a warning shot right between the eyes. ‘Don’t you dare try to lie your way out of this one. I have spoken to your mother. Yes, Doogie, I have actually spoken to Julie, the woman who can do no wrong. So I know you’ve been feeding Netta lies. Which leads me back to my first question, what the fuck are you up to?’

‘I’m here to stop Netta’s ex doing what he always does.’ He pressed his lips together. That was all she needed to know for now.

A loud cough made them both turn. Frank was on the other side of the fence. ‘How are yer, Claire? Great to see you.’

‘Frank. Lovely to see you too. Netta says you’ve been stuck babysitting Colin. You poor sod. You coming in?’

‘I am.’ Frank nodded at Doogie. Doogie wondered how much he’d heard.

‘Come over then. There’s a proper family council going on.’ She let Frank pass then gave Doogie more evils. ‘This isn’t finished.’

The whole family was inside, except for Will and Belle. Netta seemed on edge. Doogie saw her glance at him when he walked into the kitchen behind Frank and Claire. If Claire knew he’d lied about his mum being away, then she probably did, too. There was going to be a fallout of some kind. He could feel it brewing. He wasn’t exactly in the best of moods himself after Claire had said that about his mum being the woman who could do no wrong. She’d called her that before, back when he and Claire had been together. Usually because he’d refused to introduce them, or to tell his mum that she was a grandmother. He’d been a mess at the time, and it was just one more complication he could do without. He’d known then it was immature and selfish. It hadn’t stopped him doing it though. That was the coward in him again. Sometimes, when Doogie thought about all the years he’d wasted, he wanted to howl.

‘We can’t find Colin. He didn’t come back last night, and his phone’s switched off,’ said Netta.

The others seemed to be aware, so he assumed she’d said it to bring him up to speed. ‘Have you tried the allotment?’

‘He hasn’t been there since yesterday,’ said Arthur. ‘I’ve got everyone on high alert. If he turns up I’ll know about it straight away.’

‘Actually I saw him last night, watching his house. He was pissed up.’

‘What were you doing at his house? Never mind, what did he say?’ said Netta.

‘Nothing. I didn’t speak to him. He seemed to be okay, so I left him there.’ Yeah, all right, he probably wasn’t okay but so what? Doogie was no good Samaritan. Especially when it came to Colin the Wanker. Claire was eyeballing him. He lookedaround the room for a friendlier view and landed on the shiny new air fryer. That was better than nothing.

---