grinning to himself.
‘Yes, the propertyyour housenow. If that’s okay with you?’
‘They want to see it now?’
‘They want to see it nowis that okay?’
Mr Jackson sighed, shaking his head and disappeared back inside without shutting the front door.
‘Mr Jackson?’ Jessica called out.
Then the Hunters’ Audi estate pulled up and Kate got out panting, as though she’d been running, not driving.
‘Jessicathanks so much.’
‘Are you serious about this?’
‘I just want to take a look,’ Kate said, her eyes once more skimming the peach-coloured window frames and impenetrable layers of net hanging at the windows.
‘It needs work doing to itabout thirty grand’s worth.Nothing structuralmostly cosmetic. Sorry, we’re going to have to be quick, I’m meant to be somewhere else.’
Jessica gave Kate the tour.
Mr Jackson remained motionless on the sofa watching a Gospel channel.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ Jessica called out to him as they left the house.
There was no reply from Mr Jackson.
‘Well, I’m definitely interested,’ Kate said on the pavement outside No. 8.
‘Have a think about it.’
‘I’m definitely interested,’ she said again.
‘Well, talk to Robert -.’
‘I’m going to.’ She nodded to herself then swung back to Jessica. ‘What are you doing tonight?’
‘Tonight? Nothing.’
‘Why don’t you come to the PRC meeting?’
‘I didn’t know there was a PRC meeting.’
‘Didn’t Harriet phone you?’
Harriet hadn’t phoned for some time. In fact, Jessica hadn’t been to the last three PRC meetings. ‘No.’
An awkward silence. Jessica was one of those people it was almost impossible to lie to. ‘Harriet’s probably just lost your number or something. You know what she’s like.’
Jessica didn’t respond immediately. ‘Look, I’ll let you knowI’ll see how Ellie’s day’s been, and if she minds me leaving Arthur with her.’ She paused, looking suddenly pleased. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Course I’m sure. It’s an important one tonightabout the street party.’
‘What street party?’
‘The street party we’re having in June.’
‘Oh. Okaywell, I’ll call you.’
Even though she was late, Jessica stayed on the pavementwaving stupidly at the disappearing Audi before getting into her own car.
Watching her in the rear-view mirror, Kate felt a stab of regret.
What had incited her to invite Jessica to the PRC?
Harriet had an almost pathological hatred of Jessica Palmer, whose misshapen life filled Harriet with horror. She treated her as though tragedy was contagious, because even dullwitted Harriet realised that the grief that comes with tragedy has the ability to shape lives in a way happiness never does.
Sighing, Kate turned the corner onto Lordship Lane.
Jessica sat for a while, listening to a dog barking somewhere close by, then turned the keys in the ignition.
Twenty minutes later, she walked into the newly openplanned offices of Lennox Thompson.
Most of the staff were out on viewings or valuationsapart from Elaine and the manager, Jake, who was almost ten years Jessica’s junior, on the Oxford Alumni, and seriously addicted to coke, which gave his skin a grey pallor that was only heightened by being perpetually offset against the white shirts he insisted on wearing.
Jake thought Jessica and him had things in commonprimarily their educationwhich led him to keep up a repartee with her that was at once fraternal and elegiac.
Jessica knew it wasn’t Oxford they had in commonit was tragedy.
In Jake’s case, the fatal error of perpetually trying to impress parents who had never learnt how to love their childrenhe once told her his father used to make him weed the borders naked, as a punishment.
In Jessica’s, never having made any provisionemotional or materialfor Peter’s untimely death.
‘Guess what?’ Jake said, looking up as Jessica walked into the office.
‘What?’
‘They’re opening a branch of Foxtons
‘Yes, the propertyyour housenow. If that’s okay with you?’
‘They want to see it now?’
‘They want to see it nowis that okay?’
Mr Jackson sighed, shaking his head and disappeared back inside without shutting the front door.
‘Mr Jackson?’ Jessica called out.
Then the Hunters’ Audi estate pulled up and Kate got out panting, as though she’d been running, not driving.
‘Jessicathanks so much.’
‘Are you serious about this?’
‘I just want to take a look,’ Kate said, her eyes once more skimming the peach-coloured window frames and impenetrable layers of net hanging at the windows.
‘It needs work doing to itabout thirty grand’s worth.Nothing structuralmostly cosmetic. Sorry, we’re going to have to be quick, I’m meant to be somewhere else.’
Jessica gave Kate the tour.
Mr Jackson remained motionless on the sofa watching a Gospel channel.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ Jessica called out to him as they left the house.
There was no reply from Mr Jackson.
‘Well, I’m definitely interested,’ Kate said on the pavement outside No. 8.
‘Have a think about it.’
‘I’m definitely interested,’ she said again.
‘Well, talk to Robert -.’
‘I’m going to.’ She nodded to herself then swung back to Jessica. ‘What are you doing tonight?’
‘Tonight? Nothing.’
‘Why don’t you come to the PRC meeting?’
‘I didn’t know there was a PRC meeting.’
‘Didn’t Harriet phone you?’
Harriet hadn’t phoned for some time. In fact, Jessica hadn’t been to the last three PRC meetings. ‘No.’
An awkward silence. Jessica was one of those people it was almost impossible to lie to. ‘Harriet’s probably just lost your number or something. You know what she’s like.’
Jessica didn’t respond immediately. ‘Look, I’ll let you knowI’ll see how Ellie’s day’s been, and if she minds me leaving Arthur with her.’ She paused, looking suddenly pleased. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Course I’m sure. It’s an important one tonightabout the street party.’
‘What street party?’
‘The street party we’re having in June.’
‘Oh. Okaywell, I’ll call you.’
Even though she was late, Jessica stayed on the pavementwaving stupidly at the disappearing Audi before getting into her own car.
Watching her in the rear-view mirror, Kate felt a stab of regret.
What had incited her to invite Jessica to the PRC?
Harriet had an almost pathological hatred of Jessica Palmer, whose misshapen life filled Harriet with horror. She treated her as though tragedy was contagious, because even dullwitted Harriet realised that the grief that comes with tragedy has the ability to shape lives in a way happiness never does.
Sighing, Kate turned the corner onto Lordship Lane.
Jessica sat for a while, listening to a dog barking somewhere close by, then turned the keys in the ignition.
Twenty minutes later, she walked into the newly openplanned offices of Lennox Thompson.
Most of the staff were out on viewings or valuationsapart from Elaine and the manager, Jake, who was almost ten years Jessica’s junior, on the Oxford Alumni, and seriously addicted to coke, which gave his skin a grey pallor that was only heightened by being perpetually offset against the white shirts he insisted on wearing.
Jake thought Jessica and him had things in commonprimarily their educationwhich led him to keep up a repartee with her that was at once fraternal and elegiac.
Jessica knew it wasn’t Oxford they had in commonit was tragedy.
In Jake’s case, the fatal error of perpetually trying to impress parents who had never learnt how to love their childrenhe once told her his father used to make him weed the borders naked, as a punishment.
In Jessica’s, never having made any provisionemotional or materialfor Peter’s untimely death.
‘Guess what?’ Jake said, looking up as Jessica walked into the office.
‘What?’
‘They’re opening a branch of Foxtons
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