Tolly lays his head on the table next to Bagpuss, tenderly stroking his ears, and my heart twists with anguish. ‘Is he going to be OK now?’
‘I’m afraid all we can do is wait,’ the vet says, gently ruffling Tolly’s hair. ‘You all did everything you could getting him to me so quickly. And well done, Bella, for bringing in the towel. We’ll get his blood tested, but I’m pretty certain it’s ethylene glycol poisoning – antifreeze.’
I have to steel myself not to cry, as I watch my two children wrap their arms protectively around their beloved cat. Despite Tamzin’s best efforts, I know the chances he’ll make it are slim.
I can’t fathom how anyone could deliberately inflict such suffering on an innocent animal. But if some sick person is deliberately going around poisoning cats with antifreeze, why on earth would they go to so much trouble as to come out here? We live at the end of a remote lane; the only person anywhere near us is Gavin, the farmer opposite me, and I don’t believe even he would be so wicked as to kill our cat. It doesn’t make any sense.
And then I suddenly remember the topaz-coloured earring sitting in my soap dish at home.
ELISE MAHONEY
PART 1 OF RECORDED INTERVIEW
Date:- 29/07/2020
Duration:- 36 Minutes
Location:- 17 Felden Road, London SW6
Conducted by Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police
(cont.)
POLICE
So you live next door but one to Mr and Mrs Page, is that correct?
EM
Should I have said something before? I should, shouldn’t I? It’s just … I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
POLICE
No worries, Mrs Mahoney, that’s totally fine. We—
EM
It’s just so awful. We couldn’t believe it when we saw it on the news. He was such a lovely man, always stopped and said hello if he saw you in the street. People don’t do that these days, do they? Not in London, anyway. Everyone’s always in such a rush. But Mr Page always stopped for a chat.
POLICE
There’s no way you could have known what’d happen, Mrs Mahoney.
EM
Was it the wife? It’s always the husband or wife, isn’t it?
POLICE
Perhaps we could start by—
EM
Those poor children, losing their dad like that. It’s just so sad.
POLICE
Mrs Mahoney, if we could go over the events of the night of the tenth of July. You were at home here with your husband?
EM
The tenth of July?
POLICE
The night of the altercation.
EM
Oh, I’m so sorry, I’ve got a terrible memory for dates. But I’m great with numbers – you ask me a phone number, I can tell you, like a walking Yellow Pages, Ernie says. Never needs to go on that Google thing, he just has to ask me: Elise, you got the number for the dentist? And I can reel it off. But—
POLICE
So sorry to interrupt, Mrs Mahoney. I just want to clarify, you told one of my officers on the phone you were at home that evening with your husband, and you witnessed the argument between Caroline Page and Louise Page?
EM
I know it probably doesn’t matter, but I just thought I should let you know, when I heard what happened to Mr Page.
POLICE
No, I’m really glad you called us; it helps us to build a picture of what happened in the days leading up. Can you remember what time it was when you heard shouting?
EM
Well, we’d just turned off the TV, else we might not have heard it. We used to stay up for News at Ten, till they started moving it about. We used to set our watches by News at Ten. Alastair Burnet and Sandy Gall. You’re probably too young to remember them, aren’t you?
POLICE
Sorry.
EM
And Trevor McDonald. We liked him. Such an educated man.
POLICE
So it was after News at Ten? About ten-thirty, then?
EM
Oh, no. We don’t watch it anymore, I told you, they kept moving it. News at ten-thirty, news at nine, news at eleven. To-ing and froing. News at when, we called it. We tried the BBC news, but it’s too much for us, all that bad news before you go to bed. Gives Ernie nightmares. So we don’t anymore.
POLICE
Don’t what?
EM
Watch the news.
POLICE
I see. I’m sorry, you’ve lost me here.
EM
Oh, yes, sorry, Ernie says I go on. We usually go up, that’s what you mean, we go up to bed about eleven, I’d say. I don’t sleep if we go to bed any earlier.
POLICE
And that’s when you heard shouting?
EM
It was that other woman, mainly, Mr Page’s first wife. Louise, is it? I’ve seen her here a few times before, dropping off the children. Shouting the place down, she was. But then Mrs Page, the young Mrs Page, got upset too, understandable, really, started shouting back. The two of them were going at it hammer and tongs. We didn’t know what to do. Ernie said, she’s on her own, we should go round there – the young Mrs Page, that is – but we didn’t want to interfere, you know. And then the other one, she starts saying all these terrible things, making threats.
POLICE
What sort of threats?
EM
[Pause.] It was all a bit horrible, actually.
POLICE
I realise this is upsetting, Mrs Mahoney, but anything you can tell us might be helpful.
EM
Well, we’d gone outside, just, you know, to see if we could do anything. And we saw Mrs Page, Louise Page, get something out of the car—
POLICE
Did you see what it was?
EM
No, it was wrapped in one of those black bin liners. She sort of shoved it at the young Mrs Page, right in her face. She said, let’s see how you feel when it’s someone you love.
POLICE
‘Let’s see how you feel when it’s someone you love?’ That’s what she said?
EM
Something like that, words to that effect, yes. And that’s when the young Mrs Page ran back inside, and then not long after, the police came.
POLICE
We have a report of the incident from Caroline Page, but she didn’t mention any specific threats.
EM
She was very upset. Maybe she didn’t remember exactly. It just stuck in my mind. Such a terrible thing to say. Ernie and I lost our son fourteen years ago in a motorbike accident. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not my worst enemy, losing someone you love.
POLICE
I’m so sorry for your loss.
EM
Thank you.
POLICE
[Pause.] So you took it to be a threat, then, what Louise Page said?
EM
Well, I didn’t think she’d actually do anything at the time. But then poor Mr Page was killed, and I thought, it’s come true. That lovely girl just lost someone she loved, didn’t she?