Page 54 of The Tapes
‘Kieron?’
‘He asked how you were doing…?’
I’m quiet for a moment. After our talk in the beer garden, I’d sort of expected Nicola’s father to check in and make sure I wasn’t drinking again. It still feels like something of an invasion.
‘What did you say?’ I ask.
‘That you were doing great.’
I can’t think of anything to reply. Liam and I do this sometimes, when each of us have a long day. He’s married but our relationship isn’t like that. I’ll sit in his living room, or he’ll sit in mine. We’ll drink tea and watch bad television. Sometimes we’ll talk but often we won’t. It’s the company that counts.
For now, he asks about the funeral and I tell him it went as well as expected. It feels as if I’ve had that conversation a lot recently. Liam sits quietly in the passenger seat, giving me space to say more, though not forcing it.
It’s almost accidental but his house is a short distance past my dad’s. I’ve visited so many times in the last week or so that Islow instinctively as I drive past, almost flicking on the indicator to head onto the drive when I remember this isn’t where I’m going.
But then I do stop. I’m blocking the road, though there’s nobody behind.
‘What’s up?’ Liam asks.
I strain against the seat belt, and then pull to the side of the road, wondering if I’ve seen what I thought I have.
Once I’m out the car, Liam joins me on the pavement. ‘Eve…?’
I’m not sure what to say but he follows me onto Dad’s driveway, then to the side. The door is hanging open, one of the hinges busted, the other hanging on by a couple of screws.
‘This is Dad’s house,’ I say.
Liam’s at my side as we stare at the smashed door. ‘It’s been crowbarred open,’ he says.
TWENTY-EIGHT
There’s no broken glass but the door is a mess. I wouldn’t have guessed a crowbar, but Liam’s probably correct. The wood has splintered near the hinge and there’s a large gouge in the frame.
Inside, and three of the kitchen cupboard doors are open. They were more or less empty anyway. Into the living room and it’s not an obvious burglary. The television is there, as well as Dad’s record player. Some of the drawers of his bureau are fractionally open, even though I’m certain they were closed. I check and his pile of bills and bank statements remain in place.
Liam is behind me, pointing to a small cabinet with its doors open. I try to remember what was inside but doubt it was valuable.
‘People would’ve known the house was empty and that you were going to be out all day,’ Liam says – and he’s right. Dad’s funeral had been publicised. It would be known that he lived alone and people knew the times I’d be at the crematorium and then the social club.
Liam looks towards the TV and I suspect we’re both thinking the same. ‘What was the point of breaking in?’ he asks.
I look to him blankly, wondering whether people still nick televisions nowadays. It feels like a throwback to a time whenthey were more expensive and not everyone had a smaller version in their pocket.
‘I’ll check upstairs,’ I say, then leave Liam in the living room as I head up. Dad’s clothes are still in his room, though a burglar taking those really would have left some serious questions. The drawers on his chest are half open, half closed – and it looks as if a couple of rings could’ve been taken. I hadn’t catalogued everything, and doubt they were valuable anyway.
The other rooms seem broadly untouched, though Dad had only been using them for storage anyway. Much had already been carted off to the tip.
Back downstairs, Liam is waiting in the kitchen. ‘Has much been taken?’ he asks.
‘I don’t think so.’
He raises a confused eyebrow, then looks to the back door.
‘I was always getting on to Dad about having better doors and windows,’ I say. ‘They were old and wooden and he’d complain about his electric bill. I said he could probably get a grant for better windows, which would make his heating bill lower. He said it sounded like a lot more trouble than it was worth…’
I tail off, partly because I’m boring myself but mainly because it feels so inconsequential now. Nobody gets to the end of their life and wishes they’d had more conversations about windows.
‘Maybe whoever broke in didn’t know you’d already cleared so much,’ Liam says. ‘They were trying it on to see if there was anything valuable…?’
