The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper(27)

A child with an Australian accent answered the phone.

Lucy’s mind whirred. How old were Marina and Kyle now? Old enough to answer the phone, anyway. She still thought of them as babies.

“Oh, hi. Is that Kyle?”

“Yes.”

“Can I speak to Dan. I mean, your dad?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Auntie Lucy, back in the UK. I don’t know if you’ll remember me...” She tailed off her words when she realized that Kyle had already gone.

She heard Dan’s voice before he picked up the phone. “Who is it, mate?”

“Some lady. I don’t know.”

The phone rattled. “Pepper Car Mechanics.”

“Hello, Dan. It’s me.”

“Lucy?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. It’s good to hear from you. It’s been a while.”

She resisted saying that it had been a while because he never phoned. “I know. A couple of months now.”

“That long? Time flies out here.” Worry then crept into his voice. Lucy welcomed hearing it. “Everything is okay, isn’t it?” he said.

“Kind of. I just thought I’d phone. You know, seeing as it’s a year since Mum passed on.”

“Yeah. I knew it was coming up. I decided to deal with it by keeping busy.”

“The anniversary was last week.”

“Oh. Right. I knew it was close. My plan worked, then.”

Lucy felt a jolt of anger at his joke. Sometimes he had the ability to make her feel eleven again. “I’m worried about Dad,” she said more sharply than she meant to. “He’s been acting rather strangely recently.”

“Why, what’s up with him?”

“Well, he never really leaves the house, only to go to the village. He’s turned into a hermit. He wears the same clothes every day and has got a bit obsessed with this motley fern that Mum used to have. And then, without warning or explanation, he took off on a trip with his neighbor Bernadette. I went ’round to the house and he wasn’t here. He’d traveled down to Bath.”

“That doesn’t sound too much to worry about. He probably forgot to tell you.”

“I don’t think so. It sounded like there was something he wasn’t telling me.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like him but I suppose it got him out of the house.”

“That’s not all. While he was on his travels he says he went to a stately home to see a lord. And I think he said he was attacked by a tiger.”

Dan burst into laughter. “A what?”

“A tiger.”

“Are there any tigers in the UK? Are they not in zoos?”

“I believe this Lord Graystock keeps them in his grounds.”

Dan didn’t speak for a moment and Lucy wondered if he thought that she was the one going crazy. “That sounds really very unlikely,” he said.

“It’s true.”

“Well, that’s great, though, isn’t it? You don’t want him to stay in the house and mope around day in and day out, do you? It shows that he’s starting to enjoy life again.”

Lucy sighed. “Perhaps he shouldn’t be enjoying life again yet. It’s only been twelve months since Mum died.”

“Twelve months is quite a long time. You don’t want him to be miserable.”

“No, but...”

“So, do you think he’s beginning a relationship with this Bernadette lady?”

“No. I mean, I’d not thought about it.”

“I suppose even if he did, it would be all holding hands in the park. It’s not like it’s going to be a hotbed of passion.”

“Dan!”

“It’s true. The steamiest it will probably get is a cucumber sandwich and an ice cream with a cookie in it. Dad’s always been the quiet, subdued type, so I can’t see him changing much now.”

Lucy blinked. Her dad and Bernadette. Was this why her father was acting cagey? “I’m sure he’s not ready for anything like that. He has the house to think about.”

“Whoa, slow down. He goes out on a day trip and you’re marrying him off and worrying about his state of mind. Let him get on with it. Concentrate on your own life.”

“I am letting him get on with it.”

“Lucy. He’s on his own. It’s great that he’s got something going on in his life other than Countdown, murder mysteries and cups of tea. Countdown is still on over there, right?”

“Yes.” Lucy scratched her neck. She sat down behind her desk. “Anyway. Do you think you could come over soon, Dan? It’s been over eighteen months. I thought you might have made it to Mum’s funeral. I could do with a little support with Dad.”

“You know I couldn’t come to the funeral,” Dan said quickly. “Kelly was in the middle of her medical exams. Kyle had broken his arm. Marina had the measles. It was just the worst time. Besides, you didn’t go, either...”

“I’m not accusing you...”

“Well, just to say that you didn’t go, either.”

“I know...”

“Well...”

“Well...”

They had resorted back to being kids again.