Part Three     "Legacy"

 
 

*** There are references to suicide throughout the chapter ***
 
 
 
Monday 15th December Continued
 

The police officer spoke slowly and quietly, “Your husband was found in his cell this morning with severe injuries to his wrists. He was taken to the Thurso Infirmary where he was declared deceased. I’m very sorry.”

“How, why?” Despite the divorce and the assaults Joan still felt something for her daughter’s father.

“We don’t know; there will be an inquest, of course. I have been told that you will need to collect the death certificate from the hospital, I'm also informed that a PM has already carried out, unfortunately we've been trying to contact you for several hours, including several visits to your home.”

“Wasn't my authority needed to proceed with the post mortem?”

Richard answered, “possibly not, probably because of the divorce proceedings.”

The officer’s radio beeped, he obviously heard something in his earpiece as he stood up after uttering “Tango Victor received, ETA ten minutes.”

“Madam, Sir, if you’ll excuse me.”

Angela and Tammy returned from the kitchen with a pot of coffee as the front door closed, a blast of cold air entering the room.

Angela put the tray down before she saw her mother’s face.

“Mum, what is it? Oh no!”

“Angela, sit down, you too, Tammy.” That was Richard as Joan was now in floods of tears, having broken with very mixed emotions. Richard took over the proceedings as he gently hugged Joan, still holding her hand.

“Angela, you father died earlier today, we don’t know the circumstances but it looks like he took his own life.”

Angela just stared at him, her face was firstly one of anger then of distress. Tammy put her arm around Angela and pulled her tight, words didn’t seem to matter at that juncture.

Joan continued to hold on to Richard’s hand, as tightly as she could manage. Angela straightened her back, Tammy releasing her from the bear hug. Both Tammy and Richard pulled tissues from a box on the coffee table and passed them to both the widow and her daughter.

It was minutes before another word was spoken.

“Why, why, why—?”

Richard spoke softly, “Joan, we don’t know and we might never know the real answer. Let’s just take this one step at a time. First, we need that certificate, next we phone your solicitor, then we go over to the house and I’ll fax it.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t, if you don’t want me to. Tammy, can you call Elsie and let her know?”

“Yes, Dad. Angela, could you come into the kitchen with me?”

Tammy picked up the tray with the cold coffee pot and carried it out, Angela in tow. Angela was still visibly shaken, as was to be expected, but was handling it better than her mother. Tammy asked Angela to boil the kettle again, partly because caffeine was needed by everyone and partly because Angela needed a distraction.

“Elsie?”

Tammy explained what she knew, Elsie immediately became business like and tried to take over but Tammy warned her off.

“My Dad’s handling this right now, I don’t think Joan would accept anyone else.”

“Okay. I’ll send one of the groundsman over, he’s in the kitchen having a mug of tea right now. I’ll also ring the school and Dr Hoskins.”

“Right, thanks.”

Tammy took two fresh mugs of coffee into the living room but left hers and Angela’s in the kitchen. Right now their parents needed each-other. Ten minutes later the sound of a diesel Land Rover was heard outside, followed by the horn. Tammy grabbed her coat, then grabbed Angela, before heading out of the door.

Behind them, Joan was still gripping Richard, but she’d stopped crying.

It was snowing harder but not settling so Tammy could worry about Angela and not the road. Their driver—Ben he’d called himself—was obviously an experienced driver, that helped Tammy too, sat in the back of the 4x4.

Angela was quiet—too quiet. Tammy gripped her hand and tried to encourage her to say something, anything.

“Angela, I know you didn’t get on with your Dad but he was your father and I know deep down he cared for you.”

“How could you know that?” Angela spat the words out. At least she was now talking, thought Tammy.

“All fathers care for their children, they just can’t always show it. Mothers can be just the same.”

“So?”

“Look, forget what I just said, if that’s easier. I know you’re bottling it all up and when it comes out it will hurt, real bad. So let it all out now.”

“I don’t have anything to say, and I don’t know why you dragged me out. I want to go home.”

“We have to do this, and I think you need to be there.”

“Why?”

“Trust me, I think they will need a family member.”

“Who will, to do what?”

“To collect the death certificate.”

“No! No! No!”

Their driver looked back at Tammy briefly, as they paused at a junction but Tammy waved him on.

“Angela, we have to do this because of the law, nothing else can happen until we have done it.”

“I won’t.”

“We will.”

“What’s it got to do with you, who put you in charge?”

“No-one, I’m just the one who’s trying to help you.”

“I don’t need any help.”

“I’d like a second opinion on that.”

“You’d what?”

“Never mind. I care about you, I really do, but there are some practicalities here. We need that piece of paper, at least three copies if I remember right.”

Angela released herself from Tammy and folded her arms. She remained like that as Ben drove into the hospital car park and stopped outside the main entrance.

Tammy pulled a reluctant Angela from the back of the vehicle and almost dragged her through the automatic doors, into the warm reception area.

After asking a few questions they were directed to the nurse’s station at the A&E entrance where they were asked to wait for a doctor. They were still waiting fifteen minutes later.

“Hello Tammy, Angela. I was expecting you in Out Patients and just saw you disappear in this direction. what are you doing here?”

“Oh, hi Jill,” Tammy was not enthusiastic. Dr Jill Davison did not need to be a psychologist to sense trouble. She sat next to Tammy. “What’s wrong?”

Angela did not appreciate that question so broke down again. Tammy did what she could to help her kindred spirit but couldn’t stop Angela from crying, her face buried in her hands. Neither of the girls saw a white-coated doctor arrive with the black bordered certificates.

Jill quickly stood to speak to the doctor before taking the death certificates from him. She sat and waited for Angela to wipe her eyes.

“Angela, I’m sorry, I just didn’t know.”

“Jill, it’s okay,” Tammy answered for the girl.

“Tammy, do you need a hand with anything?”

“No, we have it organised, for now.”

“Can I come and see you both a bit later?”

“Sure, we’re at Angela and Joan’s cottage, probably for a few hours more. I just need to get back to the house to fax one of those.” She pointed at the sheets in Jill’s hand.

“Oh, sorry. Hang on, I’ll be back in a mo.”

Dr Davison headed behind the nurses’ station and returned with a large envelope, inserting the certificates for protection.

She handed the envelope to Tammy and shooed her and Angela towards the main entrance. Ben had moved the Land Rover from the ‘Drop Off’ area but had kept the engine running, the lights and sound of the diesel engine made it easy to find. Emotionally drained, they boarded their transport .

Angela was silent all the way back to the cottage. It was gone five when they arrived back, Tammy thanked her driver as she got out of the car, Angela reluctantly followed.

Angela used her key to open the front door, having been prodded by Tammy. Inside, in the living room, they found their parents fast sleep on one of the couches, wrapped around each-other.

Tammy pushed Angela into the kitchen and sat her at the table. She put the kettle on to boil and joined Angela at the table.

“Tammy, tell me this is a dream, right?”

“Angela, I would love to tell you that, but this is real. Nothing is going to change that.”

“I know, but I don’t want to know.”

“Right now you have to believe what is happening, fantasy doesn’t work here.”

“What?”

“I’ll make some coffee.”

“Yes, please.”

A few minutes later they had steaming mugs of coffee. Tammy made a note to buy the Smalls a decent coffee maker, and show them how to use it. She sat back down with Angela and started working through a mental check-list..

First, she checked the fridge, there was enough odds-and-ends to make a stew or something close. She put a pot on the stove and cut up what looked like lamb, before browning it in the pot. Angela was handed a knife, a chopping board and a selection of vegetables.

The remains of the boiled water went into the pot with a stock cube. The veggies followed soon afterwards.

Angela was left peeling some neeps while the pot bubbled gently. Tammy washed her hands thoroughly then picked up the phone.

“Elsie?”

“Yes, Tammy, what have you decided to do?”

Elsie McPherson seemed to know what everyone was going to do, but asked anyway.

“I think we’ll be staying here tonight, but we might need some more bedding.”

“See what’s there and let me know what you need. What else?”

“Dinner’s organised but we’ll need some more milk and a loaf. And a fax machine.”

“Consider that done.”

“You didn’t query the fax.”

“If your father is going to be comforting Joan then he’ll need to handle the solicitor and coroner paperwork, won’t he?”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Angela is excused school for a few days on compassionate grounds but you must attend tomorrow. Your first class is at ten, I have the revised schedule here. Michael will collect you at nine. Have you told your father about the governor vacancy?”

“Not yet.”

“He just needs to apply.”

“Oh.”

“Tell him to call Harry.”

“Will do, we bumped into Jill Davison at the hospital.”

“I know, Harry called to check on you.”

“I can’t do anything in this town——”

“Of course you can, Tammy, just remember that people here care about you.”

“Is that the polite way of saying ‘spying’?”

“Now, now young lady.”

“Sorry, Elsie. It’s been a mad day.”

“I know, you’ll see Michael in about fifteen minutes, I’ve sent Leanne to find you some clothes, she’ll be with Michael when he comes.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s alright, dear.”

Tammy only now turned to see Angela hunched over the table, sobbing quietly. The stew pot was about to boil over so Tammy turned the heat down and gave the pot a stir before putting the cut potatoes in. One-pot cookery was her speciality, whenever her mother had been absent.

She left Angela to her sorrows and checked on Joan and her father. They were still asleep and plainly locked together. Tammy wondered for a second but dismissed the thought.

She was back in the kitchen, finding crockery and cutlery in preparation for the meal when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi Tammy, it’s Jill. How is everyone?”

Tammy gave her a run down on the sleeping/sobbing situation and said they would all stay at the cottage that night.

“That sounds like a good idea, I’ll pop round in the morning.”

Tammy had just put the phone down when the doorbell rang. She reached the door just ahead of her father, both he and Joan had woken when the phone rang. Leanne carried Tammy’s overnight case into the cottage, handing her a small package.

Michael struggled in with a couple of duvets and pillows, it was plainly very white outside and getting worse by the minute. Leanne wanted to check on everyone but Michael insisted they had to leave.

“Come on, everyone, let’s get through the next few days together,’ Richard said, ‘but, Joan, if you want me and Tammy out of your hair just tell us.”

“No, Richard, please stay.” Joan stood and threw her arms around Richard. “Thank you for being here.” She kissed him on the cheek but kept hold of him, long enough for a second kiss. Their eyes met briefly then they separated.

Joan took control now, feeling more confident. The two bed cottage would be cramped tonight but for one night it didn’t matter.

“Tammy, you use the guest bed in Angela’s room. Richard, your choice the sofa in here or the sofa-bed in my room. I’d have to say it does get cold down here at night.”

“If you don’t mind I’ll accept the second option.”

“I don’t. Girls, can I smell dinner?”

The rest of the evening, post-meal, was spent watching the telly. Tammy didn’t have her laptop and Angela hadn’t received hers from Amazon yet. Tammy would have to chase that, seeing as she’d placed the order. Not that it would have made a great deal of difference, there was no broadband in the cottage—a legacy of George Small.