پدرِ مُرده

CHAPTER SIX

Dead father

I was still lying on the sofa when the doctor arrived. He looked at me and asked me a few questions. Then he put his hand on my shoulder. I felt like a child.

‘Now, Mr Anderson, you must rest. You’re very tired and you need to sleep. I’ll ask Mary to get you something to drink. I’ll give you some pills.

You’ll feel better soon. Mary will take care of you.’ He went over to talk to Mary and they went outside.

After he had gone she brought me a drink and sat down by the sofa.

‘How are you feeling, Mr Anderson,’ she asked.

‘Please, you can call me Carl. I don’t feel very good, but I don’t think I’m mad. The doctor thinks I’m mad, doesn’t he? Well, what do you think, Mary,’ I said.

‘I don’t think you’re mad, Carl,’ she said, ‘but you are very worried about your wife. That makes you think everybody is against you.’ She smiled at me kindly.

‘Yes, yes, of course I’m worried. My wife has disappeared. Then you tell me someone has seen her.

Then there is this madman, and the next thing I find half a dead fish on the beach and its head in my bed! How would you feel-?’ I was angry and speaking loudly.

‘Sssshhhh,’ said Mary. ‘Calm down.’

I needed to talk, to find an explanation to what was happening, but I spoke more softly. ‘I’m sure that Tom put it there, but I don’t understand why. It’s a very bad joke. He must hate me.’

Mary shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think he hates you,’ she said. ‘I don’t think it has anything to do with you or your wife.

Anyway, the police are looking for him now. I told them what happened.

They’re coming here later to talk to you about it. But now you must try and sleep. The doctor has given me some pills.

If you take one of these it will help you to sleep.’ She held out a small white pill and a glass of water.

I didn’t want to take it but my head hurt and I knew that I needed to sleep.

When I woke up it was light. I heard voices in the room. It was PC Grant and Mary. I could hear other voices too, so I knew that the pub was open. Mary walked towards the door.

‘How are you feeling, Carl?’

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘I think.’ My head hurt a bit.

‘I’ll have to go back in the bar,’ said Mary. ‘We’re busy at the moment. You two can have a talk.’ She shut the door to the sitting room and the policeman sat down on a chair opposite me.

‘I have come to tell you that we’ve picked up Tom Parker. He’s at the police station now. He’s the one who put the fish in your bed. He’s told us all about it. Actually, sir, he doesn’t think it’s a fish. He thinks it’s his father.

His father died at sea. He also said something about his girlfriend coming back from the sea.

Well, he found the fish on the beach. He thought it was his father and so he took it home to bed. That’s what he told us. It’s sad, isn’t it?’

‘His father? Now I know the man is completely mad,’ I said. ‘But why does he think it’s his father?

‘Well, Tom Parker has always been a bit strange. He thinks that people who die in the sea will come back to life. Something like that.

He told us his father had come back to him so he put him to bed-‘

This is mad, I thought. This policeman is telling me things that don’t seem real. I just wanted to know where Linda was.

‘What’s Tom done with my wife,’ I said to PC Grant. ‘You know she was seen in Woodbridge on Friday. She was with someone.

Perhaps Tom picked her up from the station and took her somewhere and-‘ I was getting angry again.

PC Grant stood up to leave. I think he thought I was madder than Tom.

‘I don’t know what’s happened to your wife, sir, but Tom doesn’t know anything about your wife.’

‘Did you show Tom my wife’s photograph? What did he say?’

‘No, sir,’ he replied. ‘I put the photograph on the wall in the station. That way if anyone has seen her they’ll tell us. Now, it’s not right that Tom went into your house and he won’t do that again. We took some keys off him. We’d like to see if they’re the keys to the house.’

‘He has a key to my house,’ I asked, surprised. I took my keys out of my pocket and gave him one of them. PC Grant took the key and left the room. He returned a minute later.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s the same key.’

‘How did he get a key?’

‘We don’t know, sir. Is it OK if I go to your house and take a look round?’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘OK, but I am coming with you. I just want to make some phone calls first.’ I stood up from the sofa and then sat down again immediately. I didn’t feel quite right.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ said PC Grant. ‘You make your phone calls and I’ll see what I can do about this fish head.

You need to relax. I think you’ll probably find Mrs Anderson safe at home.’ When PC Grant had gone Mary came back into the room.

‘PC Grant has told me about Tom,’ she said. ‘Try not to worry. I’m making some lunch for us. Then we can go to your house.

I’ll help you clean up the bedroom if you want.’

‘That’s very kind,’ I said. ‘But I want to make a few phone calls first. I’m going to call the flat. If no-one’s there I’ll call Melissa. She was with Linda on Friday– I might call Linda’s parents as well.

They may know something. What do you think?’ I was so worried and tired that I was finding it hard to decide things by myself.

‘Good idea, Carl. Use the phone in here.’ She went to the kitchen and left me alone to make my phone calls. I phoned the flat first. There was no-one there or at Melissa’s place. I then called Linda’s parents.

Her mother answered. She was surprised to hear my voice. I didn’t often phone them.

‘Carl! How nice to hear from you. How are you?’ She obviously didn’t know anything. I didn’t want to tell her too much.

‘Hi there, Joan. I’m at the house in Little Moreton. I’m waiting for Linda to arrive. She was at a party last night. Did you speak to her yesterday? I’ve phoned the flat but there’s no-one there.’ I hoped I didn’t sound worried.

‘I spoke to her on Wednesday, I think. I’m sorry things aren’t very good between you. If there’s anything that I can do.’ I wasn’t pleased that Linda had told her mother about our problems.

‘Well, everything’s all right now. We’re spending the weekend together down here in Little Moreton. I just wanted to know what train she’s catching.

In fact I’d better go to the station now. Bye, Joan.’ I wanted to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

‘Oh, I’m glad everything’s all right. Have a good weekend,’ she said. I didn’t think she sounded very sure and I wished I hadn’t called her.

Mary came in with some food, but I couldn’t eat anything.

‘I can’t understand why Linda told her mother that she wasn’t very happy, but hadn’t told me before.’ Then I remembered something the policeman had said.

‘Mary, who was Tom’s girlfriend? What happened to her?’

‘She was called Jenny. She wasn’t really his girlfriend. She was in love with his brother, Bill. Unfortunately Bill wasn’t interested. She used to go round with Tom so that she could be near Bill.

Then one day a few weeks ago she disappeared. They found her body in the river a few days ago.’

‘Oh yes.’ I had remembered the story in the newspaper. ‘They found her body in the river, didn’t they? And her head had been cut off.’ I was thinking about the fish head in my bed.

‘Well, that’s what the newspapers say, but we don’t know. Anyway, Tom had nothing to do with it. He was with his brother at the time. They were in London, I think.’

Mary didn’t seem to want to talk about it any more.

‘Come on then,’ she said. ‘Let’s go and clean up this bedroom.’

We went in Mary’s car. She didn’t think I should drive. When we got to the house she told me to stay in the car for a minute.

‘I’ll go and see what it looks like first.’ I let her. I did not really want to smell that terrible smell or see that fish again.

I looked at the house. I was beginning to hate that house. She came out after a few minutes carrying some blankets.

‘It’s not too bad. The police must have taken the fish head away. I’ll take these blankets and wash them at the pub. Oh-‘ she put her hand in her pocket. ‘There’s a letter for you.’

She handed me the letter through the car window and I looked at it. I saw my name in Linda’s writing. My hands were shaking as I opened it.

Dear Carl

I’m sorry but it’s finished between us. Please don’t try to find me. I am all right.

Be happy, love

Linda

I looked at the letter without saying anything for a minute or two. I couldn’t believe it. Mary had opened the back of the car to put the blankets in. She saw me put my head in my hands.

‘Carl, what’s the matter? Who is the letter from?’ Without a word I handed her the letter. She read it.

‘Oh dear Carl, I am so sorry.’

I still had the envelope in my hands. I looked at the stamp. I wasn’t thinking right, but for some reason I saw something strange on the envelope.

‘Mary, this can’t be right. Look.’ I showed her the envelope. ‘This was posted in Woodbridge.

Why was she in Woodbridge if she was going to leave me?’ I suddenly thought that this letter wasn’t true.

‘Someone has made her write this letter,’ I said. ‘I’m sure that Tom has done something to her. Look what he did to that girl and the fish. Now he’s got Linda and he won’t let her go.

She’s probably somewhere near here. She may be dead, like Jenny. Oh dear, my poor Linda. What am I going to do?’

Mary looked at me as if I was mad. But I thought I was right. I thought I knew the answers.