Pearl sounded relieved as she thanked Jane. ‘I’ve been on tenterhooks all day.’
‘Just one thing I meant to ask you Pearl… do you smoke? I really don’t like the smell of cigarettes.’
‘Oh no, I don’t smoke.’
‘That’s good. So when do you want to move in?’
‘Well, a friend said he could help me move my few things, so would it be possible to come over this evening after I finish work?’
Jane hesitated. It was sooner than she had expected. ‘Who is your friend?’ she asked cautiously.
‘Eric? Oh — he’s a friend from work,’ said Pearl.
Jane felt she couldn’t ask any more questions, so said that would be fine. She hung up, and then rang in to check in with DCI Church. He was as concerned for her welfare as everyone else seemed to be, and Jane had difficulty biting back a scathing comment or two as they spoke. She tried to turn the subject away from herself by asking about Regina Hernandez, but as before, he warned her to leave the investigation to Vice.
She had just replaced the receiver when the doorbell rang. It was Pearl, so she pressed the buzzer to release the main front door. Pearl had said she only had a few belongings so Jane couldn’t believe how many cardboard boxes were being carried up the stairs by a rather scruffy-looking man with bad acne. He was heaving for breath by the time he reached the top floor. Pearl herself lugged up two heavy suitcases.
Jane took the boxes and carried them into the spare room, whilst Pearl opened the two large suitcases on the bed. Jane didn’t like to mention that they would leave scuff marks on the thick white cotton bed cover, and she put the boxes down on the floor. Pearl had thrown her coat onto the floor, and was still wearing her green beret, and a shapeless woollen dress.
‘Gosh, you’ve got rather a lot of things.’
‘Not really… those are full of my shoes and books, and Eric is bringing up the heavier ones with the TV and radio and my typewriter.’
‘I see,’ Jane said, pursing her lips. Where on earth was Pearl going to put everything in the tiny bedroom? There was only one small fitted wardrobe and a dressing table. Eric staggered to the top of the stairs again, sweating and red-faced.
‘Right, this is it… that’s everything,’ he gasped, as Pearl hurried out and handed him a pound note.
‘Thank you, Eric, you’ve been wonderful. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.’
Eric quickly pocketed the pound note and headed down the stairs to make his escape.
Jane stood in the hall, aghast at the large boxes.
‘This box is for the fridge,’ Pearl said. ‘Just some fresh salad and fruit, and then I’ve got a few tins of soups and some dishes…’
Pearl carried the box and placed it onto the kitchen counter. She then lifted the box containing the TV and staggered into the bedroom. Jane carried the next box, with the old-fashioned typewriter, which was equally heavy.
‘Er… look, I’ll leave you to unpack. Maybe we can have a cup of tea when you’re ready. Although I honestly don’t know where you’re going to put everything. I really didn’t expect you to have so much.’
‘I’ll sort it, don’t worry. I’m used to squeezing into small spaces. One of the boxes is just coat hangers, and when I’ve unpacked everything I’ll flatten all the boxes and they can be stored, or thrown out… Do you have a loft?’
Jane knew there was one in the hall, as she had seen a small rope attached to a hatch door with a plastic handle, but she hadn’t used it. She fetched a kitchen stool and climbed up to open it. It took over an hour for Pearl to empty the contents of the boxes and flatten them. She handed up the suitcases and boxes to Jane to stack in the small loft, which was thankfully empty. Pearl’s bedroom now had books stacked along the floor, with her typewriter on top of the chest of drawers. Balanced beside it was the portable TV set with an aerial on top.
Pearl breezed into the kitchen, spinning her beret around on her finger like a wheel.
‘Phew! I’m almost unloaded, but I’m gasping for a cuppa. I’ve brought my own as I usually only drink herbal tea. Where I can put all my goodies? I only eat fresh food as I am a vegetarian, and I don’t like too much tinned food as it’s full of dreadful ingredients…’
Jane opened the fridge, and Pearl began emptying her grocery box onto the shelves, taking more space than Jane had allocated. Then she stacked her vitamins, herbal teas and tins of various beans in the cupboards.
‘Would you like a sandwich?’ Jane asked, trying to remain pleasant.
‘No, thank you, I don’t eat wheat. But I would love a cup of camomile tea. Then, if it’s all right with you, I’d love to have a bath as I’m so hot and sweaty after all those boxes. Then perhaps we can sit down and sort out the rent and deposit?’
Jane closed her eyes, trying to keep calm. Already the prospect of Pearl Radcliff as a flatmate was not the perfect arrangement that she had hoped it would be.
Chapter Ten
Jane’s alarm woke her at seven. It was the first time since the explosion that she had slept soundly and she went out into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, then returned to her bedroom. There was no sound from Pearl’s bedroom, so Jane went into the bathroom to use the toilet and brush her teeth. She went back to her bedroom to get dressed, then brushed her hair and applied a little make-up.
She was ready to leave just after quarter to eight, and there was still no sound of movement from Pearl’s bedroom. Jane hesitated outside the door, wondering if she should knock and let Pearl know that she was leaving. Having a flatmate was taking some getting used to. Suddenly there was the shrill ring of a loud alarm clock bell, followed by a screech.
‘Fuckin’ hell!’ Pearl came hurtling out of the bedroom. ‘My God, I should have been up half an hour ago! I must have set the wrong time on my alarm clock!’
‘I’m just leaving for Woolwich,’ Jane said, opening the front door.
‘What?’
‘I have to be at the lab early this morning.’
‘Could I borrow your hairdryer? I keep meaning to get myself one.’
Jane hurried back to her bedroom and took her hairdryer out from her wardrobe.
‘Just leave it in the kitchen, will you?’ she said as she closed the bedroom door.
‘Right, yes… OK… See you tonight then. That bloody alarm bell gives me heart failure when it goes off.’
As Jane closed the front door, Pearl was thumping around the kitchen fixing her breakfast. Jane heard the fridge door being slammed shut and crockery and cutlery clanking as drawers were opened and shut. As she went down the stairs she began to feel a little bit unsure of whether flat-sharing with Pearl was going to be a positive experience. She hoped Pearl would leave the kitchen in a better state than she had the bathroom.
As agreed the previous evening, DS Dexter drew up in front of Jane’s block, in an unmarked CID car, at exactly eight o’clock. He leaned over and opened the passenger door for Jane to get in.
‘Morning,’ he said, tetchily.
‘Morning!’ Jane replied, wondering if she’d done something to upset him.
As Dexter drove through Regent’s Park he said nothing. Jane broke the ice by asking about what she thought might be bothering him.
‘Did you speak with Crowley about me showing Daphne Millbank the artist’s sketch.’
‘Yes, last night. He was really pissed off… we had a bit of a slanging match, but he calmed down after I told him that showing Daphne the artist’s sketch was unavoidable.’
Jane looked concerned. ‘What did you tell him?’
‘That Daphne had seen the artist’s sketch in the paper and told you it didn’t look like the man she saw with the rucksack. You then, quite rightly, showed her the sketch to see if she changed her mind, but she didn’t… So he now thinks it was all above board and not your fault.’