Dead Simple

you. He was round here Sunday evening, we had tea together. He was telling me how much he loved you, how happy he was, bless him. You’ve made him so happy. He was telling me about this house you’ve found out in the country that you want to buy, all his plans for it.’ She took another drag on her cigarette, then coughed. ‘He’s a resourceful boy. Ever since his dad—’ She pursed her lips, and Ashley could see this was really difficult for her. ‘Ever since his dad – he told you?’
    Ashley nodded.
    ‘He stepped into his dad’s shoes. I couldn’t have coped without Michael. He was so strong. A rock, to myself and Carly – you’ll like Carly. He sent her the money for her ticket back from Australia so she could be here for the wedding, bless him. She should be arriving here any minute. She phoned me from the airport a couple of hours ago.’ She shook her head, in despair.
    Ashley, in baggy brown jeans and a ragged white shirt, smiled at her.
    ‘I met Carly just before she went to Australia – she came into the office.’
    ‘She’s a good girl.’
    ‘If she’s your daughter she must be!’
    Gill Harrison leaned forward and stubbed out her cigarette. ‘You know, Ashley, all his life Michael has worked so hard. Doing a newspaper round when he was a child to help me and Carly, and then his business with Mark. Nobody ever appreciates him. Mark’s a nice boy but—’
    ‘But what?’
    Gill shook her head.
    ‘Tell me?’
    ‘I’ve known Mark since he was a child. Michael and he were inseparable. But Mark’s always hung on to his coat tails. I sometimes think Mark’s a bit jealous of him.’
    ‘I thought they made a good team,’ Ashley said.
    Gill pulled a pack of Dunhills from her handbag, shook another cigarette out and stuck it in her mouth. ‘I’ve always told him to watch out for Mark. Michael’s innocent, he trusts people too easily.’
    ‘What are you saying?’
    She pulled a cheap plastic lighter from her bag and lit the cigarette. ‘You have a good influence on Michael. You’ll make sure he’s all right, won’t you?’
    Bobo started whining again for a biscuit. Ignoring it, Ashley responded, ‘Michael’s strong. He’s all right, he’s fine.’
    ‘Yeah, course he is.’ She shot a glance across at the telephone on a table in the corner. ‘He’s all right. He’ll call any time now. Those poor boys. They were so much a part of Michael’s life. I can’t believe—’
    ‘I can’t either.’
    ‘You have your appointment with your dressmaker, dear. You should keep it. The show must go on. Michael will turn up, you do believe that, don’t you?’
    After a brief hesitation, Ashley said, ‘Of course I do.’
    ‘Let’s speak later.’
    Ashley stood up, walked over to her future mother-in-law, and hugged her hard. ‘It’s all going to be OK.’
    ‘You’re the best thing that ever happened to him. You are a wonderful person, Ashley. I was so happy when Michael told me that – that—’ She was struggling now, emotion choking her words. ‘That you – the two of you—’
    Ashley kissed her on the forehead.

28
    Grace sat, tight-lipped, in the blue Ford, holding the edges of his seat, watching the unfolding country road ahead nervously through the wipers and the heavy rain. Oblivious to his passenger’s fear, Glenn Branson swept tidily through a series of bends, proudly demonstrating the skill he had recently acquired from a high-speed police driving course. The radio, tuned to a rap station, was far too loud for Grace.
    ‘Doing it right, aren’t I?’
    ‘Uh – yep,’ Grace said, deciding the less conversation, the less distraction to Branson, which in turn meant longer life expectancy for both of them. He reached forward and turned the volume down.
    ‘Jay-Z,’ Branson said. ‘Magic, isn’t he?’
    ‘Magic.’
    They entered a long right-hander. ‘They tell you to keep hard to the left, to open up the view; that’s a good tip, isn’t it.’
    A left-hander was coming up and in Grace’s view they were going too fast to get round it. ‘Great tip,’ he said, from somewhere deep in his gullet.
    They got round it, then down into a dip.
    ‘Am I scaring you?’
    ‘Only slightly.’
    ‘You’re a wuss. Guess it’s your age. Do you remember Bullitt ?’
    ‘Steve McQueen? You like him, don’t you?’
    ‘Brilliant! Best car chase ever in a movie.’
    ‘It ended in a bad car smash.’
    ‘Brilliant, that film,’ Branson said, missing his point – or