‘I eat out here when the weather’s good, but come on back to my favourite place… the kitchen.’
‘How long have you lived here?’ Jane asked, as she followed Natalie back inside.
‘Five years. It needs quite a lot doing to it, and as it’s a basement it gets a bit on the damp side. But I love lighting a fire in the winter, and its cosy which is important to me. I bought most of the furniture second-hand from charity shops.’
They went into the narrow hall and Natalie pointed to a closed door.
‘That’s my bedroom. I have my mother’s old quilt, and my desk and a portable typewriter, but it needs some more wardrobe space. I’ll get it sorted one day.’
She had expected the basement flat to be dark, but when Jane followed Natalie into the kitchen it was surprisingly light.
‘This is the best part. The previous occupant went to great lengths to modernise the kitchen and put in the big window.’
Jane was impressed. The kitchen was painted a bright blue, with a fridge-freezer, large cooker with an extractor hood, and a wide sink with wooden draining boards. There was a painted old-fashioned wide-legged table, with four hard-backed painted chairs with bright cushions on the seats. Tall glass-fronted cabinets were filled with crockery, and wide drawers beneath with cooking equipment.
‘Every available inch has been used for storage. I have a washing machine and dryer tucked in the little recess, so it’s very compact. But as I love cooking I spend most of my time in here.’
‘I think it’s lovely… it has a sort of country cottage feel.’
‘Yes, exactly… you’d never think we were in the basement. I bought it because of the little garden. At one time it must have been three times the size but the properties backing onto it have the rest. I was going to get a cat, but I just never got around to it… like all the redecorating I keep on meaning to do!’
Natalie had fetched two mugs and put the kettle on. As she showed off the kitchen, she brewed up some fresh coffee in a small percolator and opened a tin to take out a packet of biscuits, placing them down on the table.
‘Sit down… We’ll have a cup of coffee and then I can talk you through what you would like to cook for our lunch. I bought a variety of ingredients for you to choose from, but I think we won’t get too extravagant to begin with, and stick to something basic. I’ve got chicken, liver, bacon and some fresh minced beef to maybe make spaghetti bolognese. It depends what you’d like to start off with.’
‘I’m speechless… this is so kind of you! Let’s make spaghetti bolognese as I really love it, but I wouldn’t know where to begin…’
‘Well, we’ll make the sauce first. I’ve got all the tomatoes, onions and garlic, and then we’ve got some fresh pasta.’
Natalie poured them both a coffee, placed milk and sugar on the table and sat opposite Jane. She delved into her pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes.
‘Hope you don’t mind? Do you smoke?’
‘No, I don’t… but please go ahead.’
Natalie took out a long, thin, white-tipped cigarette.
‘I want to give up so I started on these, but I’ve got so used to them. They’re menthol… “Snow-fresh Filter Kool”… it’s sort of like smoking a polo mint.’
She lit up and fetched an ashtray as Jane poured some milk into her coffee and ate a custard cream. Natalie drank her coffee black, and laughed as she added three sugars.
‘I’ve got a terrible sweet tooth… this is very strong Colombian coffee, so I try to limit myself to just a few cups a day.’
‘Do you live here all by yourself?’ Jane asked.
‘Well, most of the time. My last relationship went on for a couple of years… he was very easy-going but this is a tiny flat and even though he only stayed at weekends I was often pleased to have the place back to myself on Mondays.’
‘I was at dinner with a friend the other night, and I’ve never seen such a sophisticated flat. It was a sort of ultra-modern design and was very unexpected. I thought we were going to a restaurant, but after picking up fish and chips he drove us to his flat. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt so inadequate, because he was so capable, and…’ She giggled.
‘Why were you feeling inadequate?’
‘Oh, it was just so sophisticated and I’d worn this awful suit, fawn trousers with a safari jacket.’ Jane drained her cup of coffee and continued, ‘I don’t know what made me wear it… I felt so old-fashioned, and couldn’t think of anything interesting to say.’
‘You aren’t old-fashioned at all… I like what you’ve had done to your hair. What does this friend do?’
‘He’s one of the officers, not in the same team, but sort of working alongside me in the Dip Squad.’
‘Dip Squad? What on earth is that?’
Jane stood up abruptly and screeched as her coffee cup turned over. Natalie immediately reached for a napkin as Jane deftly put her hand into Natalie’s handbag, which was on the arm of the dining chair, and took out her wallet and held it up between two fingers.
‘You see, I just got your wallet because I distracted you with my coffee cup. There was no coffee in it.’
There was a beat of an unpleasant moment as Natalie snatched her wallet back. ‘You shouldn’t have done that.’
‘I was just dipping you to explain how pickpockets work. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.
Natalie’s face relaxed. ‘Oh no, you haven’t! This dippy squad sounds outrageous. So, tell me, what work does this designer house bloke do?’
‘He’s a DS on the Bomb Squad and he’s got quite a bad reputation when it comes to women. But it’s been extraordinary lately… I’ve gone from having nobody showing the slightest interest in me, to a date with him. And I think my DCI is sort of interested as well. And there’s also a lovely man called Michael Mitchell, who’s a charge nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital, where I met you.’
Natalie rinsed their coffee mugs and began to open cupboards and take out all the ingredients required to make the bolognese sauce.
‘Well, you can now invite any one of them over to your flat to have dinner. My mother always used to say that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’
Natalie handed Jane an apron, then got out a large chopping board and a sharp knife. Jane watched as Natalie peeled and sliced the onion into fine sections. She showed Jane how to squash and chop garlic cloves and let her have a go at it herself. Natalie got a large pan, poured in some olive oil, turned on the gas and scraped in the garlic and onions from the chopping board. She handed Jane a wooden spoon, told her to keep the gas low and keep stirring until the onions were see-through.
Jane was enjoying herself as Natalie put in the minced meat, then when it was brown she let Jane add some diced tomatoes, herbs and tomato puree, then after giving it a good stir they left it to simmer. Natalie uncorked a bottle of red wine while Jane was stirring the bolognese.
‘I’ve bought freshly made pasta, which will only take about five minutes. You need to test if it is cooked through, but it should be what the Italian’s call “al dente”… slightly firm on the bite.’
Natalie lit another cigarette whilst Jane kept on stirring the sauce, then put the pasta into the boiling water.
‘So, now you know how to make spaghetti bolognese! You should serve it in a bowl with some grated parmesan cheese on top and garlic bread which should be crispy, not soggy when it comes out the oven.’
They both sat at the table with a glass of wine. A large ceramic bowl contained the finished spaghetti bolognese, with two serving spoons beside it. The garlic bread was laid out on a large warmed plate, and looked and smelled delicious.