1
The postman walked up to the door, grumbling as he shifted the bag across his body. He riffled through the letters and took out a large handful, barely glancing at the addresses on the front. Rubbing his dripping nose with the back of his hand, he swore at the rows of letterboxes and shoved the envelopes into each one, not caring if it was the right one or not. With a grunt he looked up at the overcast sky, then turned around and hurried along to the next block of flats, eager to get his shift over before the heavens opened.
Maggie took the envelopes out of the letterbox and shuffled through them. Gas bill, electricity bill, council tax – why did they always arrive on the same day, she asked herself for the thousandth time. Another Christmas card. Why did people continue to send them, year after year, when she never sent one back? A bit of junk mail, a pizza delivery service, a leaflet for a stairlift… she scrunched the flyers up and chucked them in the nearby bin, left there for that purpose, then put the rest of the post in her bag and locked the letterbox.
‘Morning, Maggie.’ The woman from the flat across the hall always appeared full of energy, even early on a Saturday morning. With her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, perfect make-up, and figure-hugging clothes, she always looked like she’d just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Compared to her own drab look of well-worn, faded black trousers, T-shirt, and baggy cardigan, combined with greying hair she didn’t have the energy to dye and bags under her eyes that grew larger every day, Maggie wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or hate her.
‘Morning, Laura.’ Maggie hoped it wasn’t too evident that her smile was pasted onto her face. The few times she’d spoken with Laura, the girl’s bubbly excitement had grated on her nerves, so she tried to avoid her whenever she could.
‘You’re up early today.’ Laura rattled her keys and opened her letterbox, her shiny rose-pink nails glinting even in the dull light. ‘Don’t usually see you around much before ten on a Saturday.’
‘Oh, you know how it is. Duty calls, and all that.’
‘Ooh, sounds exciting!’ She glanced up from the letters in her hand. ‘I didn’t realise I was living next to a celebrity, until that story with those girls came out. I couldn’t believe it when I saw you on the news! So, tell me… is there something else going on? Some big story about to break?’
‘Sorry, Laura, I’m not allowed to talk about it. You’ll find out soon enough.’ Maggie winked, suppressing a laugh as Laura’s mouth opened in a wide O.
‘Mum’s the word,’ she whispered, making a zipping motion across her lips. ‘If you need anything, just let me know. I can be very discreet.’
Maggie smiled. She knew Laura would be on the phone to her friends as soon as they parted company. ‘Well, I’d best be going. Have a lovely day.’
‘You too.’
Maggie pulled her coat more tightly around her; the damp air penetrated the padded material, making her shiver.
‘Oh, Maggie. Wait a minute, I think this one’s for you.’ Laura held a pristine white envelope out to her. ‘It was in my letterbox. Looks official, that’s beautiful handwriting there.’
Maggie reached over and took it from her. She was right, the calligraphy on the envelope was exquisite, ornate letters written in black ink.
‘Maybe it’s an invitation from the Queen,’ Laura said. She gasped. ‘Maybe you’re going to get a knighthood, or become a dame, or whatever it is!’
‘I don’t think so, Laura.’ Maggie chuckled. ‘It’s probably some charity event they want me to speak at. Nothing as exciting as a damehood. Well, I’ll speak to you later.’
‘Okey-dokey.’ Laura waved at her and jogged into the lobby.
Maggie groaned. Did Laura really just say that? The woman was like a Labrador, she probably bounced from the moment she woke up to the moment she collapsed in her bed, and slept like a baby all night long. She stuffed the envelope in her bag and gave it, and Laura, no further thought.
It was only a short walk to the café where she was going to meet Chloe and Mike, and she enjoyed the morning sun on her face. The crisp December air blew away the last remnants of sleep and she walked briskly along the pavement, small clouds of vapour rising from her mouth.
She was looking forward to seeing them again, they’d all been busy with their lives since the summer. Rescuing Chloe’s and Mike’s sisters, Jane and Charlotte, from the clutches of a madman had been due to a series of lucky coincidences, Maggie knew, but the media had declared them all heroes and filled the papers and internet with their stories for weeks. As a journalist, she was aware that they were five-minute wonders and that the world would soon forget about them, but the four teens had found it overwhelming. Each one had dealt with it in their own way, either by throwing themselves into their studies or by shutting themselves away from everything.
Maggie, instead, had had to take a few weeks off work, due to her autoimmune illness flaring and causing her body to shut down. When she’d cautiously returned to the offices of The Southern Recorder, Roger, her boss, had kept her and Andy, her long-time friend and colleague, and partner during the rescue, closed in his office for an hour while he took out all his anger and worry on them. After which, he’d assigned them both to the most boring news stories he could find, saying that was all they could expect until he’d calmed down or hell froze over, whichever came first. She grimaced as she recalled his final words before they left the office with their tails between their legs. ‘It’s more likely hell will freeze over, I promise you that.’
She put away all thoughts of Roger, work, and her illness as she pushed open the café door and hurried inside, glad to be out of the cold.
‘Brr, it’s chilly today,’ she said as she sat down at the table where they were waiting for her. She unwrapped her woollen scarf and tucked it in the sleeve of her coat, draped over the back of the chair.
‘Morning, Mags.’ Mike raised his hand and craned his neck, beckoning to someone.
A waitress scuttled over with a steaming mug of coffee and placed it in front of Maggie, then went to greet an old man hobbling through the door, his wooden walking stick knocking into chair legs. Maggie watched as the waitress guided him to a nearby empty table, then turned her attention to the teenagers.
‘We thought you might need this after your long trek here.’ Chloe leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘It’s good to see you again, Mags.’
‘Oh, get on with you, I live just around the corner.’ Maggie took a long sip of coffee and sighed deeply. ‘It’s lovely to see you both again too. And thank you, this is much appreciated.’
‘No Sally today?’ Chloe looked around, as if expecting her to appear at any moment.
‘No. She got called in at the last moment, a colleague’s sick. She said to give you her love.’ Sally had slept over last night, the two of them convinced they’d have a lazy Saturday lie-in before going to the café. Maggie knew it was the downside of having a policewoman as a girlfriend, but hadn’t appreciated Sally’s alarm going off at six that morning. Still, at least she’d had time to wake up properly before coming here.