Hope Blooms in Tuppenny Bridge (Tuppenny Bridge #5)

Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

With Zach beside him, Ross guided his reluctant great aunt towards the door.

‘Time to go home, I think, Aunt Eugenie,’ he said, giving Noah a wink.

‘And leave Noah here? Oh, I don’t think so.’ Miss Lavender was clearly itching to stay, but Ross was firm.

‘Noah’s in good hands, and we’ll come back this afternoon for visiting hours. Come on. I’ll treat you to a cup of tea and a sticky bun at Daisy’s café if you’re good. Let’s leave Noah to deal with this, shall we?’

Miss Lavender gave Daisy an appealing look. ‘You will look after him?’

Daisy nodded. ‘I promise.’ She smiled at Noah. ‘Always.’

Evidently reassured, Miss Lavender allowed Zach and Ross to chivvy her out of the room and everyone immediately relaxed a little.

The police officers were kind and patient as Noah hesitantly told them what had happened the previous day.

‘After the harvest festival we were invited to Aunt Eugenie’s for Sunday lunch,’ he explained. ‘Me, Isobel, my brother, Ross, and his girlfriend, Clemmie. Everything seemed fine on the surface. Isobel was a little tense, but that’s nothing unusual. She doesn’t really like my family, you see, and she hates me having contact with them.’

‘Is there any particular reason for that?’ Sergeant Jarman asked.

‘Not that I can think of,’ Noah admitted. ‘They’ve never done or said anything bad to her. In fact, they’ve gone out of their way to welcome her to the family. We’ve been together since we were teenagers, you see, so they’ve known her a long time. But the truth is, Isobel never liked them, and she seemed to resent any time I spent with them. She would get—difficult when I made plans to see them. And she seldom spent time with them herself. To be honest, I was amazed when she agreed to attend the Sunday lunch—or the harvest festival come to that.’

‘And what time did you leave Lavender House?’ asked the sergeant.

‘About six o’clock,’ Noah said, after a moment’s thought. ‘Some time around then anyway. We walked home and got back to Peony Cottage at about six thirty, so I should think that would be about right. Isobel was wearing heels so we couldn’t walk very fast.’

‘And how did your wife seem? Was there any indication that she was angry with you?’

‘Not at first,’ Noah said slowly.

His fingers plucked nervously at the blanket and the sergeant said soothingly, ‘Take your time, Noah. No rush.’

Shakily, Noah told them how Isobel had sat watching the television while he’d made them both a cup of tea, and how they’d then sat on opposite armchairs, speaking very little.

‘She asked me if we had any bread as she fancied some toast. I got up to make her some and she jumped up and followed me. As I tried to leave the room she pushed the door, trapping me against the jamb. I asked her what she was doing and then she…’ He wrinkled his nose at the memory. ‘She spat at me.’

Sergeant Jarman raised an eyebrow as Daisy covered her mouth with her hand in disgust.

‘She spat at you?’

‘Yes. In the face.’

‘And did she give you a reason why she did that?’

‘Oh yes.’ Noah glanced at Daisy who reddened. ‘She’d overheard Daisy and me talking outside the church. She knew I’d made up my mind to leave her.’

‘You were going to leave your wife?’

‘I was. I am. I have, I suppose.’ Noah sounded as if he could hardly believe it himself.

‘But she was abusing him before that,’ Daisy burst out. ‘It wasn’t a one off.’

‘Is that true?’ asked the sergeant.

Noah sighed. ‘Yes.’

‘And do you have any evidence for that? Any witnesses?’

‘Yes,’ Daisy said. ‘I saw the bruises. He was covered in them, from his waist up to his shoulder.’

‘I see.’

‘We’re not having an affair!’ Daisy said hastily. ‘That is, I didn’t see the bruises because… Well, he showed them to me because I could see he was in pain. We weren’t…’

‘No judgement from me,’ Sergeant Jarman said. ‘I’m here to gather facts, that’s all. So, are you saying your wife attacked you on previous occasions, Noah?’

‘I—I am,’ Noah said sadly. ‘She’s been attacking me almost from the beginning of our marriage. That’s why I knew I had to leave.’

‘So, after she spat at you, what happened next?’

Noah swallowed. ‘She told me what she’d heard. She was calling me names, telling me what a waste of space I was. The usual stuff. Then she started on Daisy. Calling her names, I mean. Saying the most terrible things about her, about both of us. I…’

He stopped and they all waited. Eventually, Sergeant Jarman said suspiciously, ‘You what, Noah?’

‘I told her a few home truths,’ he admitted. ‘I told her that Daisy meant everything to me, and that Isobel had made my life hell for long enough and I wanted out. And that, no matter what she did or said, I wasn’t going to change my mind about that.’

‘So, you didn’t strike her? Push her? Touch her in any way?’

‘Of course not!’ Noah gasped. ‘What sort of man do you think I am? I’ve never hurt her! I never would.’

‘Even when she’s shown no hesitation to hurt you?’

‘I have never lifted a finger to Isobel,’ Noah swore. ‘I couldn’t do it. If you don’t believe me at least bear in mind that, at that time, it would be physically impossible. I was still pinned in the door frame at that point. If you find it hard to believe I wouldn’t hurt her, at least look at the evidence.’

‘Don’t upset yourself, Noah. I’m just trying to establish whether your wife could reasonably claim she acted in self-defence,’ Sergeant Jarman said.

‘Really?’ Daisy couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. ‘Have you seen the state of him? What kind of self-defence is that?’

‘I have to ask these questions,’ he explained patiently. ‘I’m just trying to establish the facts here, that’s all.’

Daisy nodded. ‘I know. Sorry.’

‘So how did Mrs Lavender react to your words?’

‘Badly,’ Noah said. He glanced down at his fingers, which were nervously pleating the blanket again. ‘She released the door but then… She punched me on the side of my face. Before I could gather my thoughts, something struck me on the head. I sort of crumpled, and she struck me again and again.’

‘Do you know what she was hitting you with?’

Noah nodded. ‘Not at first, but then I saw the shoe in her hand and realised she was using the heel.’

‘Sorry, where exactly in the house were you when this happened?’

‘In the kitchen,’ Noah said. ‘There are two doors in our living room, as it runs the full depth of the house. One leads into the hall, the other into the kitchen. I’d gone through the kitchen door to make her toast.’

‘So where did Mrs Lavender get the shoe?’

‘She was wearing them,’ Noah said, puzzled.

‘Is it usual for her to wear shoes inside the house?’

Noah hesitated. ‘No, as a matter of fact, it’s not. She’s usually very fussy about leaving shoes in the hall. I don’t know why she was still wearing them.’

‘I see. And these were shoes with heels?’

‘Yes. Isobel never wears flats. She considers them ugly.’

Sergeant Jarman was writing quickly. After a moment or two he looked up.

‘So, she repeatedly struck you on the head with the heel of her shoe?’

‘Yes. I felt a bit dazed. I remember shaking my head and blood spattering over my hands. I managed to grab the shoe from her and turned to throw it across the room, but when I looked back at her something heavy hit me in the face. I couldn’t tell what it was. The pain was agonising, and I covered my eyes. She pushed me and I fell over, and then I saw her reach for the meat tenderiser?—’

‘The meat tenderiser?’ Sergeant Jarman asked sharply. ‘But that’s not what she hit you in the face with?’

‘No. I saw her grab it after I’d already fallen to the floor. I just remember being hit, over and over again in my stomach and chest, while I lay on the floor. I tried to get up and she dropped the tenderiser and grabbed me by the throat. She was clawing at me, punching me in the face and scratching my neck. And all the while she was screaming abuse at me. Terrible things. Vile things.’

Daisy felt sick to her stomach. It was hard to believe that someone as cool and haughty as Isobel could behave in such a way. The picture Noah was painting with his descriptions was painfully realistic. She couldn’t stop her imagination playing out the events in her head, and it hurt like hell. He must have been terrified.

A huge part of her wanted to walk out of the room. She needed some fresh air. To escape from what she was hearing. But Noah couldn’t escape, could he? He had lived that dreadful experience, and he would probably relive it for the rest of his life. There was no way she was abandoning him now.

Instead, she forced herself to sit quietly and calmly, holding his hand while he finished making his statement.

‘What made you go to the church, Noah?’ Sergeant Jarman asked. ‘Seems a funny place to head to.’ He nodded at Daisy. ‘Why not, for example, head to Miss Jackson’s flat?’

‘And what if Isobel had followed me there?’ Noah tightened his grip on Daisy’s hand. ‘I was thinking clearly enough to know that I couldn’t lead her to Daisy. Why the church? I honestly don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘I don’t even know where Isobel was at that point. I think she must have gone upstairs. I sort of staggered outside and I saw the steeple and I thought—I know it sounds stupid, but I thought, sanctuary . It was the only thing I could think at that moment. So, I headed there. Somewhere at the back of my mind I thought I’d be safe there.’

‘I see.’ The police officers exchanged looks, and Daisy saw the compassion in their eyes.

At last Sergeant Jarman got to his feet, thanking Noah for his time.

‘What will happen now?’ Daisy asked.

‘Mrs Lavender isn’t at home,’ he told them. ‘We’ve been to Peony Cottage, and it’s all locked up. Have you any idea where we might find her? According to her assistant at the Petalicious flower shop, she was supposed to be at work this morning, but didn’t turn up. Her assistant’s called in her gran to help. She’s in a bit of a state, actually, because there’s some sort of service tomorrow at the church and they’re supposed to be supplying the flowers.’

Leon’s memorial! Daisy had forgotten all about it. Evidently Isobel had, too. Either that or she didn’t care, which was more likely.

Noah gave them Isobel’s mother’s address in London, and her aunt’s address in Harrogate.

‘We’ll send someone round to talk to her,’ Sergeant Jarman promised.

‘Talk to her? She needs arresting!’ Daisy cried.

‘Just let us do our job, Daisy,’ he said gently. ‘We take this sort of thing very seriously, believe me. I give you my word, this crime will be investigated thoroughly.’

‘So—so you are treating it as a crime?’ Noah asked.

Sergeant Jarman gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘It is a crime, Noah. And if your wife has done this to you, she’s a criminal. Simple as.’

When the two policemen had finally left, Noah let out a long sigh and leaned back on his pillows.

‘I’m sorry you had to go through that,’ Daisy said softly. ‘It must have been so hard for you to relive it all.’

‘I don’t know how she’ll cope if she goes to prison,’ Noah said. ‘I feel so guilty.’

‘It’s no use me telling you that you shouldn’t, is it?’ When he didn’t reply she said, ‘What didn’t you tell them?’

Noah frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘When you were telling them about Isobel calling me names, you hesitated. You were going to say something else, but you didn’t. I could see your brain ticking over. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?’

She saw the faint flush of pink on his cheekbones and knew she was right.

‘What didn’t you tell them, Noah?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Oh, Daisy.’ He reached for a glass of water, wincing as he did so, and she hurriedly passed it to him. ‘Thank you. I’ll tell you, but it’s not going to be pretty. And I warn you, I don’t come out of this at all well.’

‘What do you mean?’

He took a sip of water. ‘Like I said, I told her a few home truths. And I just couldn’t tell the police about that, because it doesn’t just affect me. Isobel and I have been keeping secrets from each other for so long. I never thought they’d ever come out. But now…’

‘Noah, whatever it is, you can tell me,’ Daisy urged him. ‘I’m on your side, I promise. I always will be.’

‘I’m not going to hold you to that,’ he said. ‘But I’ll tell you anyway. I need to unburden myself to someone. It’s been a long, long time.’