The Office of the Dead by Andrew Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

off.’ She went over to the fire and began to add coal. ‘I didn’t like to wake him.’
    I sat on the sofa. ‘Janet – does he often do things like that?’
    ‘The tomato ketchup?’
    I said nothing.
    ‘He’s always had a sense of humour,’ she said, and threw a shovelful of coals on the fire.
    ‘He kept it well concealed when I came to stay with you.’
    Janet glanced at me. Tears made her eyes look larger than ever. ‘Yes. Well. People change.’
    ‘Come on.’ I patted the seat of the sofa. ‘Come and tell me about it.’
    ‘But supper –’
    ‘Damn supper.’
    ‘I wish I could.’ Suddenly she was almost shouting. ‘You’ve no idea how much I hate cooking. In the morning the sight of a fried egg makes my stomach turn over.’
    ‘Me too. Anyway, I’m going to help with supper. But come and sit down first.’
    She dabbed her eyes with a dainty little handkerchief. She was one of the few people I’ve ever known who don’t make a spectacle of themselves when they cry. Janet managed everything gracefully, even tears. I brought her another drink. She made a half-hearted attempt to push the glass away.
    ‘I shouldn’t drink this. I’ve already had one tonight.’
    ‘It’s medicinal.’ I watched her take a sip. ‘Tell me, how long’s he been like this?’
    ‘I don’t know. I think it must have started before Mummy died. It’s been very gradual.’
    ‘Have you thought about putting him in a home?’
    ‘I couldn’t do that. He’s not old. He’s not even seventy yet. And it’s not as if he’s ill. Just a bit forgetful at times.’
    ‘Has he seen the doctor?’
    ‘He doesn’t like doctors. That business with the tomato sauce …’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘I think he was just trying to be friendly. Just trying to play a game with Rosie, to make her laugh. But he didn’t realize the effect he would have.’
    She hesitated and added carefully, ‘He was never very good with children.’
    ‘And what does David say?’
    ‘I haven’t liked to bother him too much. He’s very busy at present. There’s a possibility of a new job …’
    ‘But surely he must have noticed?’
    ‘He hasn’t seen Daddy for a while. Anyway, for most of the time he’s all right.’
    I felt like an inquisitor. ‘And what did Rosie say?’
    ‘Nothing really.’ Janet ran her finger round the rim of her glass. ‘I told her that Grandpa was just having a joke, and it was one of those grown-up jokes that children don’t always understand. And she nodded, and that was that.’
    It turned into quite a nice evening in the end. Rosie fell asleep, and so did that dreadful old man upstairs. Janet and I ended up making piles of toast over the sitting room fire and getting strawberry jam all over the hearthrug. Janet gave me a chance to talk about Henry but I didn’t want to, not then. So we ignored him altogether (which he would have hated so much) and I was happy. There was I acting the tower of strength while inside I felt like a jelly, just as I had all those years ago at school. Between them, Janet and Mr Treevor made me feel useful again. We choose our own families, especially if our biological ones aren’t very satisfactory.

9
     
    Even now, when I am as old as John Treevor, I dream about the day I came to Rosington. Not about what happened in the house. About talking to Rosie outside. The odd thing, the disturbing thing, is what Rosie says. Or doesn’t say.
    When I see her in the dream I know she’s going to tell her joke, that she’s called Nobody because nobody’s perfect. But the punchline is scrambled. That’s what makes me anxious – the fact I don’t know how the words will come out. Perfect but nobody. Nobody but perfect. A perfect nobody. Perfect no body. No perfect body. Maybe my sleeping mind worries about that because it’s less painful than worrying about what was going on in the house.
    But the dream came much later. On my first night in Rosington I slept better than I had for years. I was in a