Faithful friends

Diane sighed as she sorted through her handbag, “Why are the keys never there?” she said to herself. Then finding her keys at the bottom of the bag and making sure that the debit card was in her purse she closed the front door behind her and set off to the supermarket. Passing her friends’ house she noticed that the car was standing in the drive, “If it’s still there when I get back I’ll call in” she mused, knowing that either Sue or Tom would be pleased to see her.

Pushing the supermarket trolley she suddenly decided to buy enough lunch for two, fresh rolls, brie cheese, mustard ham and a bottle of red wine that was on offer, and then if Sue was at home they could have a special treat; lunch in the sunshine. Somehow she didn’t consider giving Tom lunch.

On her way back home she saw that the car was still in the drive so she went up to the front door and tried the handle but the door didn’t open so Diane rang the doorbell. Tom answered the door.
“OH it’s you, what do you want?” he almost barked at her.
Diane was taken aback; Tom had always been pleased to see her in the past.
“Is Sue in?” she asked in a timorous voice.
“No, she’s gone away for a short time, I’ll tell her you called,” said Tom and he shut the door whilst Diane was standing there.

Going home Diane thought that it was strange that Sue hadn’t told her that she was going away, they usually didn’t have secrets from one another.
During their girlie times they talked about everything, including their sex-lives so Diane was worried that Sue would have left without telling her, she hoped that she hadn’t upset Sue in some way.

After lunch she decided to phone Sue on her mobile but there was no answer only an invitation to leave a message, which she did; expecting an answer from Sue later that day.
However, there was no phone call from Sue; not that day nor the day after; so Diane called at Sue’s house again but this time Tom wasn’t home. Peering through the windows she saw that the lounge was a shambles, a sure sign that Sue wasn’t there. She was filled with a vague worry but couldn’t put her finger on anything concrete Diane began to get worried “I’ll have to go to Sue’s mum tomorrow to see if she knows anything, perhaps Sue is staying there with her,” she thought as she made her way back to her house.

Later that night as she tossed and turned in her sleepless bed Diane remembered what had caused her unease about what she had seen in the lounge, on the coffee table was Sue’s distinctive purple-cased mobile phone. Diane became seriously worried because she knew how attached to her phone Sue was, she would never leave without it, unless she had left in a great hurry.
The next day she went to see Sue’s mother.
“Hello Mrs Black, I was wondering if you’d heard from Sue recently? I wouldn’t normally trouble you but I’ve not seen her or heard from her for several days now and, as you know, that’s not like Sue at all,”
Mrs Black looked at Diane solemnly and shook her head, “No dear, I’ve not heard anything, why don’t you ask Tom?”
Not wanting to worry Mrs Black more that she had already; Diane nodded her head and said, “Yes, I’ll do that, thanks, sorry to trouble you.”
Mrs Black smiled and said, “That’s alright dear, I know you and Sue are close, closer than she is with her sister, it’s not like her to simply vanish is it?”
“No, it isn’t but I don’t expect that it’s anything to worry about, I’ll let you know if I hear from her. Bye Mrs Black don’t worry I’m sure it was an oversight that’s all.”

Back home Diane was beginning to get really worried but she couldn’t think what to do, “It’s not as if I’ve any proof of any crime, just this nagging feeling that something is wrong,” she muttered to herself. Later that evening she dialled Sue’s home number but it rang and rang, no-one answered.
The next day on her way into town Diane saw that their car was in the drive so she went up to the front door and rang the bell. Tom answered the door scowling but saying nothing.
“Hi Tom, is Sue home yet?”
“No, I’ll tell her to get in touch with you when she comes back, then you’ll not have to keep coming here, wasting my time.” And then he slammed the front door shut leaving Diane standing on the mat wondering just who this new Tom was and what had he done to Sue? Previously when Sue had been away Tom was usually the first on the phone to ask Diane to come and share a bottle of wine with him. This snarling man bore little resemblance to the happy-go-lucky Tom she had known before.

The week wore on and there was still no news from Sue and eventually Diane convinced herself that something really was wrong, something so badly wrong that she would have to go to the police.
The next day Diane went to the local police station not knowing exactly what to say.
The woman behind the desk was kind but when Diane explained just why she was there she said that there was nothing that they could do,
“Adults leave home every day but we don’t investigate unless there’s cause for suspicion” she said.
“But there is cause to be suspicious, she left her phone and that’s not a bit like Sue. Even if she’s left Tom she would have been in touch with me, we really are that close. And there’s that change in Tom’s behaviour.”
“Mrs Edwards, that’s only your opinion, perhaps you interrupted something important. However, we will make discreet inquiries with the neighbours”
Feeling slightly reassured Diane went home; she was going to be working for the next few weeks and felt that worrying about Sue would have to be placed on the back burner for a while.

Nothing much seemed to happen with the police, Diane didn’t see them around the streets but, she reasoned, that didn’t mean that they were not making enquiries. Then one evening as she was driving back from work she came to a long line of traffic that seemed to be edging forwards just one car at a time. Eventually she came to the blockage, it was the police, who were checking every car and allowing in only residents.
“What’s this all about Officer?” she asked the young constable who looked as bored as she felt.
“We are trying to stop the press and sightseers from getting to the site of a murder inquiry, please move on madam, there’s still a long queue of people trying to get home.”
As she drove slowly away from the policeman she could see a cluster of police cars further down but couldn’t quite determine exactly where they were. Back home Diane switched on the television and sat down to relax before she started to prepare her dinner. Not really paying much attention to the TV she started when she saw a photo of Tom, turning up the television she heard,
“ingham police have arrested 42-year-old Thomas McGill on suspicion of murder. It is believed that a body was found in the back garden of his Leyland Drive home. Mrs. Susan McGill has been missing for two weeks. The police refuse to comment further.”

Shaking with shock Diane turned the television off, too stunned to cry she sat and tried not to think, but thoughts raced through her mind. “How? Why? What on earth had Sue done to deserve this? Was there anything she had done that might have precipitated this?” cruelly she began to blame herself and these thoughts only stopped when the doorbell rang. Slowly going to answer the door she wondered who would be standing there, and opening the door revealed a young policewoman; who consulted a clipboard before saying,
“Good evening Mrs Edwards, may I come in and ask you a few questions?”
“Oh…er.. yes, I suppose so. Come in.”
Sitting in the lounge Diane wondered what she had done wrong but the policewoman tried to put her at her ease.
“There’s nothing to worry about Mrs Edwards, just a few questions about Mrs McGill, I understand that you were close friends?”
“Yes we both share the same interests; we both work for the same health authority. We usually met every lunch time as well as outside of work”
“Do you know Mr McGill as well?”
Diane paused before answering, “I thought that I knew him well but now I’m not sure that I knew him at all. Tom has been so hostile towards me recently. I never dreamt that he could be so…so, well, so horrible.”
The policewoman leant over and patted her hand then said,
“You think that he murdered his wife?”
“All I know is that he loved Sue and that the old Tom wouldn’t have hurt a fly but now I’m not sure; I’ve never seen this side of him before. There really was a body in the garden then? It’s not all a ghastly mistake?”
“I’m not supposed to say but we did find a body and we do believe that it’s that of Mrs McGill; would you be prepared to come and identify the body? I know that it should be a member of the family but I understand that her mother is rather frail and that her sister lives in Australia.”
Diane nodded, she knew that it would be very upsetting but somehow she had to be sure that it really was Sue.

Down in the bowels of the hospital Diane looked carefully at what was left of the face of the body lying on the table. Tears began to course down her cheeks as she said,
“There’s no much doubt, that’s Sue.” Gently the policewoman led her away and into a room where she left Diane, saying that she would bring her a drink; she soon returned carrying a plastic cup of something that Diane thought might be coffee but from the taste it was difficult to actually know what she was drinking. A man came into the room and sat down
“When you’re feeling well enough you can go home Mrs Edwards, there’s no need
for us to ask you any more questions, are you ok to get home? Constable Evans can drive you home if you prefer”
“Thank you I’d appreciate a lift I came without any money.”

Back home she saw the local newspaper lying on the hall floor, picking it up she began to read,
“Local health worker Sue McGill aged 38 had been missing for two weeks before the police found a body, believed to be female, in her back garden in Leyland Drive, Tom McGill, aged 42, has been taken into custody for further questioning .”
The article continued but Diane couldn’t read any further her eyes filled with tears and she sat down on the stairs and wept.

The days dragged by and Tom was charged with the murder of Sue, he was released on bail but Diane didn’t go to see him. She didn’t see him until the first day of the trial when he was standing in the dock to make his plea.
“Not guilty”
Diane had to stop herself from gasping; she had never even thought that the police might have made a mistake. Then she thought, “Poor Tom, we were friends and even I thought that he was guilty.” Miserably she sat through the rest of the day’s proceedings feeling guilty for doubting Tom and on her way home she decided to phone Tom later that evening.

“Tom, I’m so sorry I should have phoned before but I really have been worried about you.”
“Diane, you have surprised me, I didn’t think that I’d ever hear from you again. I’m sorry that I shouted at you, please try and forgive me. I need you to be my friend, especially now that I’m on trial.”
Tom sounded so much more like the Tom that Diane knew and loved that she said,
“Oh Tom, of course I don’t hold it against you, I’m sure that you had a good reason for being in a bad mood.”
Tom replied that she didn’t know the half of it.
“Would you come here and we can talk?” he said
Diane agreed although she was sure that it probably wasn’t a good idea. Putting the phone down she wondered just why she had agreed to visit Tom that evening.
“I feel sorry for him but that’s because I’d already decided that he had murdered Sue without hearing his side of the story, I really must give him a chance to explain himself to me,” she mused as she prepared her dinner.

Later that evening she made her way to Tom’s house, ringing the doorbell she trembled in anticipation but when he answered the door Tom was smiling at her.
“It’s nice to see a friend,” he said as he kissed her cheek “I saw you in the courtroom but, of course, I couldn’t do anything. Come in do.”
Sitting in the lounge Diane noticed how tidy it was; not like the last time she had seen it. “I’m sorry I haven’t been round sooner but it was very difficult and I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me” but she still felt uncomfortable when Tom sat next to her on the sofa.
“I wanted to tell you my side of the story Di, I wanted to explain.” he murmured as he put his left arm across the back of the sofa and incidentally around Diane’s back.
“I’m listening” she said as she tried not to cringe away from him.
“Did you know that Sue was having an affair with someone from work?” he asked.
“No, I don’t believe you Sue wasn’t like that she was old-fashioned and faithful.” she gasped.
“Well, I’m sure that she was, she kept denying it, of course, but I was sure that all those nights working were really spent with someone called Jack”
“But the night sister is called Jack, Mary Jack but we call her Jack, so obviously Sue spent time with her, it was part of her job whenever she worked until ten at night. Jack is a woman and I know that Sue wouldn’t fall for a woman; we’ve talked about it so I’m sure about that.”
He looked puzzled then sad, a tear rolled down his cheek.
“You mean all this was a figment of my imagination? That everything I did and thought was wrong? Oh my God! What have I done?”
Diane tried to turn towards him but now he gripped her tightly as if he didn’t want to let her go and it was only when his large hands started to squeeze her neck that she finally knew that Tom had killed Sue. Gasping for breath she tried to say
“Tom, this won’t make things better,” but she couldn’t voice her thoughts; gradually everything turned black and her last conscious moment was filled by Tom saying,
“You’re as bad as Sue is, you’re both liars, I know who is telling the truth and it’s not you.”
When Diane had finished struggling Tom pulled her into the garden and pushed her into the recently excavated hole that had been the resting place for Sue; pushing the soil over her he scowled down at the grave and said, “I hope that you both enjoyed lying to me.” He then turned around and went back into his house where he sat down and watched television.