The Doll’s House (11 page)

‘My name is Parker,' he'd announced, ‘Jim Parker. Your husband and I worked in the same department. I'm in Welfare now, that's why I'm here. We like to keep in touch with our old colleagues, see they're all right.'

She had offered him tea, and he sat drinking it with her in the tidy little sitting room.

‘Oh, don't worry about him, Harry'll always be all right. He knows how to look after himself.'

Jim Parker took a chocolate biscuit which he didn't want.

‘We didn't know he'd moved,' he said. ‘We went to your old house. The new people gave me your address. I must say, I was surprised not to get a call from him. Normally our chaps keep in touch. No thanks, no more tea.'

‘He's gone off to work in some hotel in Suffolk,' she said. ‘I couldn't face it, so he upped and left me. Not that I'm sorry, Mr Parker.'

‘Jim,' he suggested. He looked sympathetic. ‘That must have been very hard on you. I can't see him in a hotel.'

‘I can't either. I never really knew what he did, not even after being married to him for all these years.'

‘Well, it was confidential,' Jim Parker explained.

‘“I decode signals,” was what he said. “Very dull.” Were you in signals, Jim?'

He noticed how easily she had slipped into first-name terms; she was smiling at him, and her skirt had ridden up several inches above her knees.

Oakham's wife was known to be a bit of a tart, but it hadn't posed a problem. She stuck to the local talent among their own circle. Married men looking for a bit of fun on the side, the odd divorced man. Like the steady she was shacked up with at the moment. Oakham didn't seem to care.

Parker said, ‘Do you keep in touch?'

‘No. We're getting divorced and there's nothing to keep in touch for. I don't care if I never see or hear from him again. He was a rotten husband.'

She bit her lip and pulled the skirt down.

‘I'm sorry,' he said again. He leaned towards her. ‘Would it help to talk about it? In what way was he a rotten husband?'

She shrugged. ‘He treated me like I didn't exist. I don't know why he married me in the first place. We went to bed together, I wasn't expecting anything out of it, and he suddenly proposed. After three weeks. I was in love with him, Jim. I'd never met anyone like him. He was different.'

‘Different?' he prompted.

‘Romantic,' she gave a mirthless giggle. ‘Sent me flowers, talked to me like something out of a book. He was something special to look at too; very sexy. I couldn't believe my luck. Of course we were from different backgrounds. His family were stuck-up bloody snobs, if you want the truth. They turned their noses up at me from the start. His mother was a frosty old cow.'

She frowned, lost in some remembered hurt.

‘I wasn't like the first wife. Judith, her name was. They thought the world of her. You know – he wouldn't talk about her to me? Wouldn't mention it. I tell you it drove me up the wall. She was dead, that's all I knew. Naturally I was interested,' she excused herself. ‘Who wouldn't be? She'd only been dead about a year when he met me. But no. She was too bloody precious to talk about.'

‘That's very odd,' Parker admitted. ‘Not easy for you either.'

He could imagine how jealous she had been. She was the type that would nag and nag …

‘He never loved me,' she said suddenly, and her mouth drew down in bitterness. ‘He was just lonely when he met me. Trying to get over
her
. He just made use of me.'

‘But he did marry you,' Parker said.

Romantic, sending flowers, paying poetic compliments. Using her. Not quite, not in the way she meant.

‘That was the worst thing he could have done,' Peggy Oakham said. ‘He ruined my life, Jim. One day he just turned off me; we'd been married about eighteen months. “I don't want to sleep with you any more.” That's what he said. “You go your own way, I won't mind.” It was so bloody cruel, the way he said it.'

‘And did you go your own way? I wouldn't blame you after that.'

‘I had boyfriends,' she admitted. ‘I'm not a cold bloody fish, even if he was. I did it to hurt him at first, to make him jealous. But he didn't care. He had his work, his travelling. He used the house like a lodger. I said something rude about Judith once when we were rowing. You know what he said to me, Jim? He said he'd kill me if I ever said anything about her again. I was scared, I can tell you. That's the only time he lost his temper. Just that once. From then on, he froze me out.'

She didn't say anything for some minutes. She pulled a paper handkerchief out of her sleeve and blew her nose. He felt sorry for her. Cruelty can take many forms. What Harry Oakham had done to this ordinary, rather stupid woman was more damaging than blows.

‘What happened when he left? What did he say to you?'

‘He'd been away,' she answered. The paper handkerchief was screwed up and pushed back into her sleeve. ‘Gone up to Suffolk to see about a job. He knew I wouldn't live in the country. I said so before he went. But he took the job all the same. He just came home and said, “I'm going to manage a hotel, Peg. It's a good opportunity and I've taken it.” I did lose my temper then. I told him what I thought of him for doing it without saying a word to me, just as if I didn't count. “You don't like the country. The job doesn't include a wife.” That's what he said. He was such a bastard. I started crying. He sat down and said, “Come on, let's talk sense. No point you upsetting yourself. You can have the house. Sell it if you like. Keep the money. And all the furniture and stuff. I won't need anything. I've a few thousand saved. You can have that too. But I want a quick divorce. No hassle, or no house. You'll be better off without me anyway. You could marry the boyfriend if you like. I'm going to pack now.” He was leaving, walking out that same day!'

Parker made a muttering noise of sympathy. Ruthless, the file on Oakham noted. Without moral scruples in the course of duty. Not only duty, it seemed. He changed tack.

‘Are you all right for money? I'm sure the Department would help if there was any hardship.'

‘No, I'm fine. I've got a job. The house sold well. I've got a nice bit on deposit after buying this flat. Thanks, Jim.'

‘Are you going to get married?'

She shook her head. ‘Not me,' she said angrily. ‘Once was enough. My friend would like to, but no thanks. I'm all right as I am.'

‘I wonder why he chose to go into catering? He hadn't taken any course in it had he, after he retired?'

‘God, no,' she dismissed it contemptuously. ‘He never boiled himself an egg if he could help it. Never washed a cup. He said he was going into management. Made it sound very upmarket.' She sneered at the idea. ‘But he was like that. He loved being grand. He liked putting me down because my dad was just an ordinary working man.'

‘It sounds to me,' Parker remarked, ‘as if you've had a very raw deal. What was the name of the hotel?'

‘He didn't say. He just came down that day with his bags and said, “Have you thought about it then? A quick divorce and you scoop the pool?” I said, “Don't worry, I can't wait to get rid of you!” He looked pleased. Smiled at me. “Good. Very sensible.” And then you know what he did? He kissed me on the cheek. “Sorry it didn't work out. You'll be happy with another fellow. Good luck, Peg.” And he went. Closed the door and got into his car and drove off.'

She lapsed into another silence. Parker shifted slightly.

‘Was it a big hotel, or a pub? What part of Suffolk, did he say? I ought to go and see him, have a word. It's Department policy. Not that he deserves it from what you've told me.'

She sighed; she'd opened the wound, but it hadn't drained. In his view it would fester for the rest of her life.

‘Dedham, where his family lived. Near there. That's all I know. Everything was done through his solicitors. It's all over now anyway. I never want to see or hear of him again as long as I live.'

Parker stood up. ‘Thanks for putting me in the picture,' he said. ‘This is all confidential, of course. Don't worry about that. And I hope things work out for you.'

He shook hands with her. She must have been startlingly pretty with blonde hair and those big blue eyes when Oakham met her.

‘Goodbye then.'

‘Goodbye,' she said. ‘If you're round this way any time, give me a ring. We could go for a drink.'

‘I'll remember,' he said. ‘It'd be nice.'

‘Let's take a turn round the Park,' Parker suggested. ‘It's a nice day.'

Rosa and Parker had left the club; Jefford had signed the bill before he left. They walked down to St James's Palace and on into the Mall. Sightseers drifted in little groups, gaping at the sentries, taking photographs. A cluster of Japanese waited uncertainly outside Clarence House. The Queen Mother was not in London, but it didn't make any difference.

‘I like this park,' he said. ‘There's a seat, why don't we sit down?'

‘What do you know about the first wife – Judith?' she asked.

‘She was a lovely looking woman. Naturally we ran a check on her when he said he was getting married. No problem there. Same background as him. County family, tweeds, dogs, horsy – she'd done some modelling in London. Not surprising when you saw the photographs of her. They'd only been married two years when she was killed.'

‘What happened?' Rosa asked.

‘Skiing accident,' he said. ‘They were on holiday in Verbier. She went a bit too fast, hit a bend and turned over. She broke her neck.'

‘How awful,' Rosa said. ‘And he was there?'

‘Right behind her. Brought her down himself.'

‘And then he married someone so completely different. And made her life a misery. There's something out of balance, isn't there? He's not quite what he seems …'

She was considering slowly, trying to put a personality in the empty frame with Harry Oakham written on it.

‘There was a Pole who worked with him,' Jim Parker went on. ‘They were in the field together. He set the target up, Harry did the business. They were very close, those two. The Pole got arrested and did ten years in a State security prison in Cracow. Dreadful place. When he finally got out, Oakham looked after him. Paid for a holiday, tried to keep him on in the Section. But the medical reports were bad. He'd had a rough time and he wasn't reliable, or stable enough to employ. Oakham kicked up hell about it, but somebody got the Pole a job with a charity that kept him going and out of mischief. I used to keep an eye on him. Oakham met him regularly, subsidized him if he needed a bit of extra cash. He was very loyal, very protective. So that's another side to him. It doesn't fit with the sadistic bastard his wife talked about.'

‘No,' Rosa agreed, ‘it doesn't. He must have hated her. Or himself for marrying her. Why are you worried about him? Have you seen him?'

‘Yes, I saw him. Like she said, he's managing a hotel near Dedham.'

‘And what was wrong with that?'

‘Nothing's wrong with it,' he said, ‘except it was like seeing a tiger curled up in a cat basket. After I'd talked to the wife and made a few enquiries round his old colleagues, I went up to Dedham to find him. What worried me was the Pole. He'd disappeared. Walked out on the job and the lodgings and vanished. The landlady said he'd gone back to Poland. I had a gut feeling I'd find him with Oakham. It's a very pretty place, Dedham. Do you know it?'

‘No,' she answered. ‘I've never been there. Constable country, isn't it? I've always thought he was rather a dull painter. But I don't like landscapes much.'

Parker took out his cigarettes. He was easy with her now; she felt she had his confidence. I'm being briefed, she thought suddenly. Sitting in the park where nobody can overhear, and he's briefing me.

‘Can I have one?' she asked.

‘Sorry, here,' he apologized.

‘It's a nice drive up to Suffolk,' he said. ‘I did it in under two hours from London.'

Jim Parker had booked himself into a pub called the Old Mill. He didn't know that part of England; his family came from Sevenoaks. His father had been a successful dentist. He was very disappointed when his son opted for the Civil Service; luckily there was a younger brother willing to take on the practice. Jim Parker wasn't married; he never had the time to settle down, and not much inclination. A couple of steady girlfriends kept him happy without any commitment. He hated strings. And he didn't have a high opinion of marriage. He'd seen too many break ups. The Old Mill was a nice pub, comfortable and unpretentious. Dedham was too full of tourists to please him, in spite of its quaint houses and the charming countryside. He didn't like crowds of people either. He went up to the bar for a drink and to chat up the barmaid.

And then he saw Harry Oakham. He'd been sitting in a dark corner with a man. He moved with the long strides of the predator among the fat pigeons perched around him. Parker didn't move or attempt to follow him. Oakham would spot a tail a mile off. He sat and watched the man he'd been drinking with instead. He waited twenty minutes before he left the pub. He was reading a newspaper, killing time. Parker didn't recognize him when he came into clear view. Parker had ordered a beer and drank it slowly while he waited. Now he elbowed his way close to the barmaid.

‘Excuse me,' he said. ‘Wasn't that a bloke called Oakham who went out a while ago? Tall, dark bloke?'

She raised pencilled eyebrows at him. ‘Don't know. Never heard of him. Sorry.'

Parker shrugged. ‘Thought I recognized him. Worked in the same office for a bit, but it's a year or two now. I heard he lived somewhere round here. I'd like to look him up.'

He smiled at her encouragingly. She was a surly girl and she didn't smile back.