Kates Friends part 8

She closed the door behind Rani and went back to the sofa. It was weird having someone in her home. It didn’t happen very often. She picked up the leaflet and flicked through it to the arts section. Maybe she could do one of these courses, it would improve her drawing, but how big were they? Five, ten people maybe more. She grimaced and put it down. She sat staring out the window for a while wondering if she would ever do the things she wanted to. It just seemed that every time she started to do something she wanted that people would make life so difficult. Either it was her family showing up or her friends or even strangers and then she would lurch from one mess to another and then down she would go, well not this time. This time she was going to make it all work out. Well hopefully. All this worrying was making jittery, it was time to do something. She still needed some milk she could go and fetch some at least that would get her out of the house for a bit.

She grabbed her coat and purse and headed out and having shut the door she turned head down and walked straight into someone. “Sorry!”

“Oh hey there, watch out.”

She looked up into her frowning neighbour. “Sorry” He looked pale with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes that stared at her. “Sorry.” He didn’t move.

“Yeah well never mind.”

She stood still not sure whether to speak or not.

“Tara said your place wasn’t too bad.”

Kate hesitated he was still staring at her. “Well not so bad. Could have been worse.” She shrugged and looked at the wall past his shoulder.

“Humph! Yeah well he trashed my place. Pretty much everything was broken.” He turned away and started down the stairs. “The police weren’t at all helpful. No chance of getting the people who did either, but I suppose you know that.”

She watched him down the first few steps and then followed him. “Yeah well, they found some of my things out the back fields so they may get something on them.”

He stopped short and turned back towards her. “They found your stuff?”

“Well some of it.” She shrugged and looked down at the steps.

He blinked and shook his head. “Typical. I lose everything and you get all your stuff back. I could have predicted it. They didn’t even seem interested in what was taken.”

“Yeah well my stuff wasn’t worth anything.”

“Humph!” He stomped down the last few steps. Strode out the door and let it slam behind him.

She blew a long breath out and then walked after him. The breeze was cool on her face and the small amount of sun felt good. She turned her face towards the sky and closed her eyes. Right and now for the shops. The short walk was all she needed and as she entered the little corner shop a smile was on her face. The shop keeper looked across to her and raised an eye brow and nodded to her as the door closed behind her. He then turned his face back to the lady in front of him. His voice carried to her in the tiny shop. “Yes well, I can’t say I’m sorry that he was done over.”

“Really?” Replied the woman.

“Well he has all sorts of people coming and going, and at all hours. I pity his neighbours with the likes of some of them that come to call.”

“Blimey, that bad.”

“From what I hear, very much so.”

Kate walked up and down the rows not really looking at the shelves.

“Between you and me I’d say there was something very wrong going on. And by very wrong I mean illegal.”

Kate picked up some milk.

“Well, no one has that many visitors and for a postie he sure had a lot of money to throw around.”

She frowned. Postie? Who were they talking about? She had thought it was her neighbour but he wasn’t a postman. Had someone else gotten burgled? She picked up some jaffa cakes.

“Oh is that what he does?”

“Yeah well there’s no way he could afford that sports car on that salary. It’s just a shame that his neighbour was done over too.”

“Really the neighbours too, like the ones up here?”

“Yeah and it isn’t a week since they were done either. I can’t believe it really but there does seem to be quite a run of them; although that was a bit weird too, and then there were the other two from just over the park. I keep thinking I should improve the security around here but there really isn’t anything I can do. Even the busybody neighbourhood watch group didn’t see anything. All those old dears curtain twitching and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping it.”

“I didn’t think St Marks Road is part of the neighbourhood watch?”

“Where isn’t these days, but come to think of it you may be right. Well they soon will be I guess.”

The woman put some of her shopping into her bag before replying. “Well maybe with these burglaries we’ll get some policing done around here. It’s not like we don’t all know what’s going on. I mean the park is a state I daren’t take my girl there anymore you never know what you’ll find.”

“Yes well maybe they’ll get the people responsible now.”

Unlikely, thought Kate, that was a problem that wasn’t going to go away just because there were more police around. She waited with her few things as the guy rang up the last of the womans’ items.

“Oh hi, be with you in a minute.”

She smiled.

“Yeah sure, you do know the clear up rate for burglaries is virtually nil, don’t you?”

“Oh come on, they can’t not. These guys are doing it in broad day light. I mean look at this one. The guy was home by mid day and his girlfriend didn’t leave until eight and yours...” He nodded towards her. “Middle of the afternoon wasn’t it?”

The lady turned and looked at her.

She nodded. “So they think, but I was out all day.”

“They are going to catch these guys. People are going to see them at some point.”

The door opened and they turned to see a dark silhouette. “I won’t be second.”

Kate blinked, she recognised that voice, constable Perry?

The man pushed the door open and came through.

She stood still.

His eyebrow flicked up and down and smiled.

“Hi”

He walked straight towards her. “Hi, didn’t expect to see you again quite so soon. How’s the bike going?”

She nodded. “Good.”

“Just good huh.” He paused. “Well I guess that’s better than okay.”

“No really thanks, it saves me getting the bus, if you need it back it’s okay.”

He shook his head. “You don’t borrow things too often do you?”

She shook her head. “I try not to.”

“Well I’m just glad it helps. Anyway it shouldn’t be long before you get yours’ back.”

“Yeah lets hope.” She smiled.

“Getting some of your stuff back..?” asked shopkeeper.

“Yes the police found a pile of stuff, some of it was mine, so after they’ve finished with it I can have it back.”

“Blimey maybe there’s hope yet.”

“Yes we were lucky a group of kids found it the same evening. Guess they didn’t want it. We might get something from it, only time will tell.” He turned his full attention onto Kate. “So what are you up to?”

She blinked and shrugged. “Not much. Slow day for me.”

He nodded. “Well lucky you, I’m run off my feet.”

“Yeah I heard another couple of burglaries.” She nodded towards the shopkeeper.

“Yeah in St Marks road.” He looked at the man briefly and then turned his attention to the closest shelf. “I never realised Chalvey St Marks was such a hot bed of crime.”

“It isn’t usually.”

She watched as the shopkeeper started adding up items.

“It seems if it isn’t one thing it’s another.” Mat picked up some biscuits.

“Well that’s what we have you guys for, isn’t it?” Said the shopkeeper.

Mat looked at him. “Yes I guess it is but right now there’s been rather a run on burglaries, rather more than there have been in quite some time.”

“Humph.”

“Well I guess that’s the way it goes.”

“Yeah well the burglaries may be new but there’s been trouble for quite some time. The amount of druggies here abouts is soaring. You might want to get on top of that while you’re about it.”

Kate took a step back.

“We’re working on it and in the mean time if you see anything if you could report it to the station because the main problem is that we have nothing to go on.”

“Oh come on it’s everywhere.”

Mat shrugged. “Yes but without any proof or witnesses we can’t do anything. Look at this mornings break ins for instance, as far as we can tell it was done during quite a busy period and yet none of the neighbours saw anything. I mean not only is there a school on St Marks road but it’s also got several shops and the health centre and yet so far no one knows anything, no one saw anything. We still have a some places unaccounted for but realistically if no one comes forward then we have nothing to go on and it won’t matter whether we get fingerprints or not because without anyone to compare them to if they’re not in the system we won’t get them.”

“Humph.”

“What numbers?”

“Huh?”

“What numbers St Marks Road, it’s just I was running that way this morning...I just wondered which end?”

“Oh in one of the block of flats, 97 and 8.” Mat shoulders sagged a little as he turned to the shopkeeper. “It’s the same with the drugs too, no one seems to know anything. We know there are dealers hereabouts but without any proof we’re stuck.” He shrugged.

“Sure you always need people to come forward.” The shopkeeper turned his face towards Kate. “That’ll be six forty two thanks.”

“Well would you rather we just accuse anyone who was in the area?”

The shopkeeper shrugged

“Exactly, we can’t do that, we need probable cause and that means someone who saw something coming forward.” He turned to Kate “So you were running that way this morning, do you think you might have seen anything? It would have been just after nine we think.”

“Well I think that was about the time i was out. So maybe.”

“Anything would be a help.”