Warhol's Prophecy

68

HAILEY BARELY MANAGED to suppress a scream.

She took a step back, colliding with the gate.

The woman standing there looked in her late fifties: pudgy-faced and dressed in a blue cardigan and brown slacks. She seemed as surprised as Hailey by this sudden confrontation, and she too stepped back.

‘Sorry,’ Hailey said breathlessly. ‘You scared me.’

The woman eyed her appraisingly for a moment, then managed a smile.

‘I didn’t mean to,’ she said and Hailey heard a slight Northern lilt in her accent. ‘Only I saw you arrive and I was coming over to tell you that Mr Walker’s out. I wasn’t being nosy, you understand, but we’ve had a few burglaries in the area, so we all keep an eye out. We’ve got this neighbourhood-watch thing – very good idea. I thought I remembered seeing you here with Adam once before. That’s why I came over. I didn’t want to leave you hanging around. I don’t think Adam would be too happy if he came back and found his girlfriend standing out on the doorstep, would he?’

‘No,’ said Hailey softly. ‘He probably wouldn’t.’

His girlfriend? What the hell had he been saying?

‘I suppose you were trying to surprise him,’ the woman said.

Hailey nodded.

‘We live next door,’ the woman added, motioning towards the house on the left.

She paused a moment longer, then turned to leave.

‘How well do you know, Mr Walker – Adam?’ Hailey said, as if anxious that the woman should remain.

‘Well, he keeps himself to himself mostly. People do around here, don’t they? My husband’s always laughing at me for saying that. You know, that Northerners are more friendly than Southerners.’ She grinned. ‘We’ve lived here for more than forty years. We’ve seen lots of people come and go. We moved down here in 1949 – no, I tell a lie, 1950.’

‘Do you know Adam’s family?’ said Hailey, interrupting her musings.

‘Well, like I said, everyone minds their own business around here, but we used to speak to his father quite regularly. A very nice man. It’s a terrible shame he’s ill.’

‘What about his mother?’

The neighbour looked away from Hailey and crossed her arms.

‘I don’t agree with what she did,’ said the woman indignantly. ‘Running around with another man. And the worst thing is, she made no attempt to hide it. I mean, you don’t do things like that when you’re married, do you?’

No, you don’t, do you?

Hailey shook her head slowly.

‘And married to a vicar as well,’ the woman continued. ‘It’s a disgrace. I felt for Adam, poor little chap. I think he was only six or seven at the time. It’s always the kiddies who suffer when marriages break up, isn’t it?’

Hailey nodded almost imperceptibly.

‘Mind you, his father did a good job of bringing him up alone. It’s not easy for a man on his own, is it? Especially not a man in his position. But he can be proud of what he’s done. Adam is a lovely lad, but then you don’t need me to tell you.’

She laughed warmly.

‘Did you see much of the brother and sister before they left home?’

The woman looked vague. ‘Whose?’ she asked.

‘Adam’s. He’s got a brother and a sister, he told me.’

‘Well, if he has he’s done a good job of keeping that quiet.’ The woman smiled.

‘The sister apparently had a small child, a boy. Adam said the boy was killed in an accident about a year ago. You must have seen them about.’

‘I think you’ve got your wires crossed somewhere, love. Adam never had a brother or a sister. He’s an only child.’