The goings-on that the camera had picked up in her back kitchen that day had certainly been an eye-opener, even for somebody as broad-minded as herself. But despite what she had seen through the big hole in Danny’s sock, which someone had put over the camera, she had made the monumental decision to keep quiet and not share this with anyone, not even Josh – not yet, anyway. Rosa knew that she had to handle this in the right way at the right time, and ideally without any police involvement. She’d had enough of that lately and she was trying to simplify her life, not create more dramas. She would be guided by that old saying: ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold.’
She closed her eyes and suddenly felt the familiar tingle of Queenie by her side. Once again, she heard her say the words: Sometimes in life, if you don’t know what to do, do nothing, say nothing and the answer will come to you.
‘I hope so, Queenie. I really do,’ Rosa replied aloud.
At that moment, there was a loud knock on the back door which almost made her jump out of her skin. Hot tore across the shop floor, barking loudly. Thinking it could be Luke, she opened the door to a bloody-faced and shivering figure.
‘Nate? Is that you? What’s happened?’ Seeing the lad’s blackened eye and split lip made her grimace slightly but the memory of where she’d come from herself, and her less than perfect past, meant she couldn’t send him packing. ‘Get in here, quick. Come on.’
A bedraggled Nate followed suit as Rosa led the way upstairs, carrying Hot. It was warm and cosy up there. As she pulled an old dressing gown from the airing cupboard, she felt nothing but sympathy for the troubled figure in front of her.
‘It might be a bit big but it’s warm,’ she told Nate. ‘Have a shower and you’ll feel better. We can talk properly then. Have you got any clean clothes?’ Nate shook his head. ‘In here?’ She pointed to his bag as he nodded. ‘OK. I’ll get them washed and dried in no time.’
‘Thanks so much. It isn’t–’
‘It never is,’ Rosa interrupted. ‘Just get in the shower, Nate.’ She passed him a big, warm bath towel. ‘There’s shampoo in there, spare wrapped toothbrushes and shaving stuff as well.’
Rosa checked the freezer then turned the oven on to heat up. Pizza and salad would be quick and easy, as she guessed he was probably starving too. Despite her now being comfortable and, in her words, ‘safe’, her past life was always circling, and more than anyone she understood the currency of the fist when intelligent conversation and resolution had not been ingrained as a child.
Twenty minutes later, Nate reappeared in the lounge. His injuries looked less severe now that he was clean from blood and dirt. His mop of tangled greasy curls, Rosa noted, was no more.
‘You’ve cut your hair.’ She gulped. Then, without thinking, ‘You look even more like me now.’
Nate laughed nervously. ‘Did it myself, couldn’t bear not being able to wash it properly.’
‘Sit down.’ Rosa pointed to the sofa. Hot had accepted the presence of Nate and was perfectly happy chewing away noisily at a bedraggled, headless rabbit dog-toy.
Rosa went to the kitchen and returned with a mini-feast of pizza and coleslaw and Diet Coke. She put the tray down on the coffee table and said, ‘Help yourself.’ She waited till they’d both eaten before asking, ‘So, do you want to tell me what happened?’
‘Not before I say I’m so sorry for letting you down at the café after Halloween.’ Nate put his empty plate back on the tray.
‘Yes, that was really wrong of you. Even a short text would have helped. But I guess you had no credit.’
‘I panicked. Look, Rosa, I’ve done something really bad.’
‘Is this connected to your face being smashed up?’
‘Oh that? No, I fell.’
‘And I’m Mother bloody Teresa. Give me some credit, Nate.’
Nate started to talk quickly. ‘OK. I didn’t steal your money, Rosa. I know what it looks like – I heard you got your takings nicked the other day. And who the hell was that bloke in the shop with the scar? He thought it was me! I reckon he was just pinning it on me; he looked like someone straight out of The Godfather. He punched me so hard, it knocked me over. Told me to hand back the money, but how could I, when I didn’t have it. He told me that if I ever troubled you in any way again, he’d make sure it’d be more than a punch I was getting.’
Hearing this, Rosa put her hand to her tummy.
‘Shit, I forgot about you being pregnant,’ Nate said. ‘I’m sorry if I’m stressing you out.’
Rosa grimaced slightly. ‘I did just get a little pain, but I’ve had something similar before. Probably trapped wind, the speed I shoved that food in. I was hungry.’ She burped. Rosa found it so easy to be herself around this man.
‘Do you want a cup of tea – would that help?’ Nate asked. ‘Here, put your legs up.’ He threw her the blanket that was on the sofa.
‘Nate, calm down. Like I said, it’s probably wind.’ Then Rosa added softly, ‘And I trust you didn’t take the money. But will you stop saying sorry and tell me what you’ve done that’s so bad.’ She braced herself for the worst. Despite nothing really fazing her, if he had pushed Sheila down the cellar steps, she wasn’t quite sure how she would deal with that kind of revelation.
As if he’d read her mind, Nate mumbled, ‘I didn’t push that woman, if that’s what you think.’
Rosa tried to get comfortable. She twisted her legs around so she was lying on the sofa and resting her head on her favourite dachshund cushion.
‘So, you were at the pub that night, then? I knew it.’
‘You know everything.’ Nate sighed. ‘After I lost my wages at the betting shop, and upset Mad Donna too – well, I had nowhere to go, as I told you. I still had the key for the pub, I knew that the cleaning lady had a day off and that poor old Sheila was so ill she would never venture to the back of the pub where the boxroom was. And as she was moving so slowly, I could hear her in advance and keep out of her way easily by coming in and out of the back door.’
Nate drained his glass of Diet Coke. ‘However, that night when I sneaked in, I found her sitting behind the bar in a terrible state. She said that she’d taken loads of tablets and wanted to end it all. I sat with her, Rosa – I did, I swear. We talked about her whole life, her sons. It was so moving. It was so sad. I said that I should call an ambulance. She insisted I didn’t.’ Nate looked at Rosa, his face twisted with distress. ‘I honoured her wishes. When an hour had passed, she became a bit delirious and went to the top of the cellar steps. She asked if I could push her down them – hard. Finish her off properly. I obviously refused. She then said she was going to do it herself. I don’t know where she got the strength from, but when I tried to stop her she shoved me away so hard I lost my grip on her, and in doing so she overbalanced and crashed backwards. She landed with such a thump…and the rest you know.’
He swallowed back tears. ‘I know I should have stayed with her, that I should have rung an ambulance and tried to save her, but instead I focused on trying to save my own skin. I was so horrified and scared that I might be implicated that I ran upstairs to get my phone, and in scrabbling to pack things away I knocked my wireless speaker which started booming out my music. At that moment you, thankfully, arrived, and I rushed out through the back door of the bar without you seeing me. I knew then you’d ring the ambulance and do what needed doing.’