Read Vacuum for Free Online

garden opposite and beckoned to her. When the traffic thinned, Margaret crossed the street. ‘Are you Press, that kind of thing?’ the woman said. ‘It’s long after the event, but are you doing an atmospheric article? We’ve seen many journalists and broadcasting folk here. We were objects of considerable interest, owing to proximity. Most likely you’ll note our wall has a new section. The Jaguar knocked a hole, you see. It’s possible to find symbolism in that.’
    â€˜I wanted to see the actual site,’ Margaret said.
    â€˜Not Press? General interest?’
    â€˜That kind of thing.’
    â€˜Crime, violent deaths fascinate some. I do not object. Tastes are personal. Or are you connected with one or more of the parties concerned? If it’s one of those killed, you have my sympathy. Obviously. We get one of the detectives down here gazing about as if he thinks clues will come floating by on the wind even now, days and days after. Maybe he wants to reassure us by his presence that they’re still on the case. Yes, still on the case and getting nowhere. This is not the top man himself, Iles, but his dogsbody, Harpur. Their names have been in the media a lot, of course. Our view – my husband’s and, to an extent, mine – is they’ve lost the fight for control of the streets. There’s no safety, no lasting tranquillity. It looks like he – that’s the Harpur one – comes here to demonstrate he hasn’t given up or handed over, pacing about and looking thoughtful. Oh, splendid, when nothing much is happening here, as is the usual. Well, excellent. But what about gunfire and a child and a woman destroyed? That’s a different item, wouldn’t you say?
    â€˜We long for the kind of civilization we used to have. As a society we’re on the slide. Mrs Thatcher, as she was then, thought society didn’t exist. It does, but it’s breaking down. Whose fault is that? I’m not talking behind their backs. I told them the same on the day. That Iles, poncing about like a Nureyev. And now this government coalition, as it’s known, is going to cut the number of officers. Economies. Consider this – would our wall have been repaired under the coming regime of penny-pinching? I look at these new bricks and recall they were made necessary by an off-course car with two corpses aboard, for reasons unknown. Unknown to us, anyway. This is not a cheerful idea. Would you care to come in for a cup of tea with hubby and me? The house is quite safe pro tem.’
----
    1 See Naked At The Window
    2 See Roses, Roses

FOUR
    L uckily, Denise always slept very heavily, especially after she and Harpur had made love, and he was able to leave the bed at just before three a.m. without seriously disturbing her. As he moved, she did porker-snort mildly twice, eyes still shut, and reached out with her right hand as if to get her ciggies and lighter from the bedside table. Harpur pushed them nearer her. This seemed only humane. And, in any case, it always thrilled him to see her take a first fiercely comprehensive, feverish pull at the charred nicotine with lips that looked made for it. The charge of smoke went for sure right down deep and pervasive in her, a homely place to be.
    Naturally, a portion of it would come back out and drift close around her ears, like buttonholing her to confide something. Harpur considered Denise the kind to be worth confiding things to, quite a few things. But there was no real commitment and determination in her blind search for the twenty-pack this morning: not much more than a subconscious, tobacco-programmed twitch. She turned on to her stomach, jabbed her hand back under the duvet as though it had culpably been AWOL and resumed full, reasonably quiet blotto-ness, which she excelled at. Harpur had dozed only, knowing he must be away so early for the break-of-day raid. He’d set the alarm for seven thirty so Denise