Part 13 (1/2)

The colour left her face. 'Louise! What on earth are you talking about?' she said shakily. 'I don't believe you. If this is one of your sick jokes ...'

'It's no joke. I tell you, I saw them with my own eyes,' I told her. 'Do you want me to come back with you? If he denies it, I'll tell him what I've told you.'

'No! Please go now, Louise. I'll handle this on my own. It's between Simon and me.'

'Are you sure?'

'More than sure.'

I was a bit disappointed. I'd been looking forward to seeing the perfect Simon get his comeuppance. 'Well, if you want me you know where I am.'

'I do.' Karen tapped the steering wheel impatiently. 'Please, Louise, if you don't mind.'

'OK, I'm going.' I got out and bent to speak to her through the car window. 'I'm here till the weekend so if you need ...' Before I could finish the sentence, she was revving up the car and I had to leap back to avoid the car as it sped off. I stared after it. Well, that was grat.i.tude for you!

Susan and I were having our evening meal when we heard a key grating in the front door. Susan looked up.

'That will be Karen,' she said. 'She's the only other person who has a key. I wonder what she's doing here at this time of the evening.' She got up from the table. 'I hope nothing's wrong.'

Your smug little lives have hit the skids this time, I said inwardly.

Karrie burst into the room before Susan could reach the door. Her face was crimson and she was breathing heavily.

'You b.i.t.c.h!' she yelled at me. 'You interfering, trouble-making b.i.t.c.h!'

I stared at her, spreading my hands. 'What am I supposed to have done?'

'You put two and two together and made a hundred and four,' she said. 'Can you imagine how I looked, bursting in and accusing Simon and Adrey of adultery?'

'It was no more than they deserved,' I said. I hadn't mentioned the occurrence to Susan and now she was looking from one to the other of us with a shocked expression, at a loss to know what was going on.

'Will someone please tell me what this is about?' she demanded.

Karen looked at her. 'She ...' She pointed her finger at me. 'She stopped me on my way home this afternoon to tell me that she had seen Simon kissing Adrey in our kitchen.'

Susan gasped. 'Oh my G.o.d!'

'He wasn't kissing her,' Karen went on. 'He was comforting her because she was upset. She'd just received a telephone call from home to tell her that her father had died. Can you even begin to imagine how that made me feel?'

'And you believed him?' I said. 'A likely story if you ask me.'

'Well, I'm not asking you,' Karrie shouted. 'And it's true. She's packing to go home for the funeral as we speak.' She took a step towards me. 'Your trouble, Louise, is that you think everyone is as nasty and devious as you are. Every time you come home there are ructions. The last time you almost had me locked up and now this! It's going to take me a long time to put things right this time. Adrey has already said she won't be coming back and Simon won't even speak to me. And it's all down to you!'

Her hands were clenching and unclenching, and I thought for a moment she was going to hit me until Susan stepped forward and took her arm.

'Calm down, darling,' she said. 'I know you're upset but I'm sure Louise only meant it for the best ...'

'The best?' Karrie screamed. 'Don't try to stand up for her, Mum. She causes chaos wherever she goes. She thrives on it does it on purpose. If you take my advice you'll kick her out. I know one thing I'll never speak to her again.' She shook off Susan's restraining hand. 'It's all right. I'm going now. Give me a ring when you've got rid of her. Goodnight, Mum.'

Susan went to the door to see Karrie out. When she came back, her face was grave. 'Why, Louise?' she asked.

I shrugged. 'I know what I saw.'

'And you actually saw them kissing?'

'He was holding her,' I hedged. 'She had her face close to his. They were about to kiss. I'd lay odds on it.'

'So you didn't actually witness a kiss between them?'

I got up from the table. 'Why split hairs? It was obvious what was going on. If Karrie wants to bury her head in the sand; if she wants to let him get away with it, then it's her funeral. I should have ...'

'You should have minded your own business,' Susan finished for me. She began to clear the table. 'I think it might be best if you left first thing in the morning, Louise,' she said quietly. 'Karen was right, unfortunately. There always seems to be trouble when you're around.'

'I'll do better than that,' I told her. 'If this is all the thanks I'm going to get for telling the truth then I'll go now. I can catch the last London train at ten o'clock and be back before midnight.'

Susan didn't argue. 'As you wish,' she said.

It was really late when I got back to Stoke Newington. I wasn't looking forward to going back to my dingy bedsit and as I climbed the stairs wearily, I told myself I'd be glad to be out of the place. I rummaged in my bag for my key but when I went to put it in the lock the door swung open. Inside I found chaos. I'd been burgled. I stood, staring around me in disbelief. The place had been well and truly turned over, drawers pulled out and the contents strewn everywhere. The bed had been stripped; cupboards emptied. I pushed the door closed and it was only then that I saw that it had been forced. I couldn't even secure it for the night. I pulled the chest of drawers across to block the doorway, then sat down on the bed and surveyed the mess. What a horrible week it had been, and now to come back to this. Luckily, there had been nothing of any value in the room. Certainly no money, but the feeling that someone had been here could possibly come back gave me the horrors. My first thought was for Mark. I needed him needed someone kind and sympathetic. I took out my phone and selected his number. After a few rings, a woman's sleepy voice answered.

'h.e.l.lo, Mark Naylor's flat.'

'I need to speak to Mark,' I said. 'Tell him it's Louise.'

'Isn't it rather late to be ringing?' the voice enquired. 'It's almost one a.m. We were asleep.'

'I'm sorry, but this is an emergency. Who am I speaking to?'

'This is Cathy, Mark's sister,' she said. 'Mark isn't here, he's gone away for a few days. Is there anything I can do?'

My heart sank. 'No, not really. When will he be back?'

'Tomorrow evening. A friend invited him to go up to Scotland for a few days.'

'Oh dear.' I swallowed hard. 'The fact is, I've just come back from a few days away and I've been burgled. The place is in a terrible state and I don't know what to do.'

'Have you rung the police?'

'No. I can't see the point. We're off down to Bournemouth in a couple of days and I'd have to go through all that red tape. Besides, as far as I can see nothing's been stolen.'

'OK, I'll get Mark to come over to you as soon as he gets back. Does he have your address?'

'No. It's room three, fourteen Mason Street, Stoke Newington.'

'Right. I've got that.'