TT13 Time of Death Read Online Free PDF Page B

think we’re doing a fat lot to change things.’ Before Helen could respond, Linda looked up, brighter suddenly, as if fearful of bringing the mood down; of slipping back into a darker place she had been trying to avoid. ‘How’s your dad?’ she asked. ‘I always liked him.’
    ‘He’s fine,’ Helen said. ‘Awkward and ridiculous a lot of the time, but that’s how they get, isn’t it?’
    ‘What about your younger sister? Jenny, was it?’
    ‘Yeah, she’s good. Married with a couple of kids.’
    ‘You?’
    ‘I’m good, too.’
    ‘Any kids, I mean.’
    ‘I’ve got a two-year-old.’
    ‘Bloody hell, you left it a bit late, didn’t you?’
    ‘The job,’ Helen said. ‘Well, not just that, if I’m honest.’ She grinned, thinking about her son, the rings he’d be running round her father by now. ‘He’s great, though. Keeps me on my toes, anyway.’
    ‘And what about him?’ Linda nodded towards the door. The last place Thorne had been standing. ‘He your old man?’
    ‘Well, we’re not married,’ Helen said. ‘And he’s not Alfie’s dad.’
    Linda waited, but Helen did not want to say any more. She could not be sure that Paul – the man with whom she had been living and who died while she was pregnant – was the father of her child. There had been an affair. A painful mistake that had not been fully rectified before Paul was killed, though it had been more than paid for since in shame and guilt.
    And there was always Alfie.
    ‘He’s good with him though, is he?’
    ‘Tom? Yeah, he’s great. I mean we haven’t been together very long, so it’s still early days.’
    ‘He a copper as well, is he?’
    Helen said that he was.
    ‘Yeah, he’s got the look.’
    ‘And obviously I haven’t?’
    Linda cocked her head, studied Helen, as though trying to make up her mind. ‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘Going that way.’ She saw Helen’s expression tighten a little. ‘I’m only kidding.’
    ‘I shouldn’t really be surprised anyway,’ Helen said.
    ‘So … London then, is it? Must be bloody rough down there.’
    It seemed odd to Helen, that she was the one answering all the questions, talking about her life. She guessed that Linda was finding that easier than saying too much about her own. Perhaps she thought that quite enough speculation about how her family lived was going on already. Either way, whatever put Linda most at ease was fine with Helen.
    ‘It’s not too bad,’ she said. ‘Actually, it’s no worse than anywhere else. I work with kids, so—’ She stopped, aware that she was venturing into territory that might make Linda uncomfortable. If that was the case, the woman showed no sign of it.
    ‘Got to be worse than here though, surely, the crime.’ Another shake of the head, another biscuit. ‘Well, up to now, anyway.’
    ‘What about you?’ Helen asked. ‘How long have you been married to Stephen?’
    Helen saw Linda stiffen momentarily at the first mention of her husband’s name. Linda cleared her throat. ‘Oh, only five years,’ she said. ‘He’s not from round here. Charli and Danny aren’t his kids.’
    Helen held herself back from asking how he was with them, but Linda clearly understood the cause of the silence. ‘And yeah, he’s great with them. Like they’re his own, since it’s pretty bloody obvious what you were thinking.’
    ‘Sorry,’ Helen said. ‘I haven’t come back here so I can put my foot in my big fat gob and make you feel awkward, honestly. I’m just here to keep you company. If that’s what you want.’
    Linda’s expression softened. ‘That’d be good.’ She nodded towards the door. ‘That lot aren’t exactly a bundle of laughs.’ She raised a hand before Helen could say anything. ‘I know, I know, they’re just doing their job. Did they really have to go through the bins though, take the rubbish away? Did they really need to take my dirty washing?’
    ‘It’s about being thorough,’ Helen said. ‘The smallest thing can