Free Requiem by Celina Grace Page B

full family contingent,” she said to Olbeck, trying to make a joke of it. He hadn’t met any of her siblings before except Jay.
    “Alright, sis,” said Courtney, coming over and giving her a smoky hug. “When are you gonna get some real furniture?”
    “What do you mean?” asked Kate, realising with a jolt that her seventeen -year-old sister was now taller than her. And Jade—she hadn’t seen Jade for nearly a year. Her youngest sister was now a large, plump young woman, and she was wearing a pair of straining leggings and a top that did nothing to hide a mountainous pair of breasts. Try as she might, Kate could not suppress the thought that her fourteen-year-old sibling looked cheap and tarty. She gave Jade an extra warm hug to try and atone for her thoughts.
    “Well, it’s a bit old, innit?” Courtney looked disdainfully at the worn leather sofa that Kate found so comfortable.
    “Oh well,” said Kate rather helplessly. “I will when I get around to it.”
    She made tea for those who wanted it: Peter , Olbeck, and herself. Jay had stood silently through the greetings and tumult of the female Redmans, and he was now sat at the kitchen table with his eyes cast down. Kate wished she could get rid of everyone so she could talk to him.
    Olbeck saved her. While Kate was showing her mother and Peter, at their insistence, round the house and into the garden, she saw Olbeck talking quietly to Jay . After about ten minutes, he came over to tell her he was taking her brother to the station to make his statement.
    “Statement?” screeched Mary. “What’s he done?”
    “Nothing, Mum, I’ll explain later,” said Kate hurriedly, seeing Jay flinch. She squeezed his arm as he went past, hoping to catch his eye, but he flashed her a quick half smile and then he and Olbeck were gone.
    Jade, Courtney and Mary surrounded her, bombarding her with questions.
    “It’s nothing,” said Kate desperately. “He’s just a witness, that’s all. It’s nothing—”
    “Now, now,” said Peter, unexpectedly. “Don’t badger the poor girl. Why don’t we all sit down and listen to what Kate has to tell us, if she’s willing and able to?”
    Mary shut up instantly. Courtney and Jade subsided after Peter raised his hand in a ‘shushing’ gesture and motioned for Kate to speak.
    While Kate was explaining what had happened —all that she could say about the case—a small part of her was mulling over Peter’s presence. Her mother was clearly smitten with him, and the girls seemed to like him. He seemed a nice enough man. But what was the attraction for him ? Did he really like her mother? If so, why ? Kate hated herself for thinking like that, but she’d faced the facts about her mother a long time ago. Mary Redman had a drinking problem, and she was feckless, short-tempered and unreliable. Where was the attraction in that?
     
    They all left soon after. Kate shook hands with Peter at the door of her house as they were making their goodbyes.
    “I didn’t ask you how you came to be in the vicinity,” she said. “Do you live around here?”
    “Yes, duck—not far from here. Burton Abbot. You must come and visit me sometime.”
    “That would be lovely,” said Kate politely. “I’m pretty busy with work at the moment, though. What do you do?”
    “Me? I’m a driving instructor.” Peter laughed. “Bit nerve-wracking at times, but I do enjoy it.”
    Courtney and Jade were getting into the back of Peter’s car. Kate gestured to it.
    “Do you use that for lessons? It looks quite unscathed.”
    Peter put an arm around Mary and began to shepherd her towards the passenger seat.
    “No, I’ve got something a bit more modern for the learners,” he said. “You might even have seen it around. Bright yellow Mini. Easy for other drivers to spot—and avoid! Pete Buckley’s yellow peril, they call it.”
    Kate smiled and waved as they drove away. Once they were gone, she went quickly back inside to her desk and scribbled