I need there.’
‘Oh, no, you don’t have to,’ Maddy said.
‘It’s what neighbours are for. I mend a lot of fencing and stuff. I’ve probably got something knocking around in my garage that will do the job. Some of the wood is salvageable,’ Harry said. ‘And you’ll sleep easier if you know your house is safe.’
‘Thank you.’ Maddy’s chest heaved as she tried to hold in her tears. He was being so considerate. After the past few months of badmouthing Harry, and cursing him behind his back, did she deserve him being so good to her now?
She wanted to call her insurance company, which the police said she could do as they would be forwarding on their report. Was she insured for arson? Why would someone want to set fire to her house? And would her insurance company believe it wasn’t her? Insurance companies were good at finding some small print that meant they didn’t need to pay out money.
Everything appeared very black and bleak for Maddy right now. A bit like her kitchen.
‘I’m popping over to Truro today,’ Harry said, placing a toasted cinnamon bagel dripping with melted butter and honey in front of Maddy. ‘Why don’t you come with me?’
After a sleepless night, worrying about who would want to set fire to her house, Maddy wondered if the distraction would be a good idea. ‘Yeah, might do.’ She licked the sweet honey on her fingers.
‘It’s not like you’re allowed back in your house yet.’ Harry sipped a coffee, having had his breakfast earlier. Apparently, Sookie had woken him up – again.
‘True.’ CSI wanted to come back this morning and finish off and had told Maddy she still couldn’t enter her house.
‘Come with me, and you can get some items you need to tide you over. A bit of retail therapy may do you good.’
‘I need to call my insurance company first. Get the ball rolling there.’ She’d held off yesterday, fearing she’d burst into tears down the telephone to some poor agent. Today she was stronger. Or at least she hoped she was.
‘Of course. I’m in no rush.’
‘And I’d better call Valerie, to update her.’
‘OK, I’ve got to pop out for a bit to see a customer I missed yesterday. I’ll be back in an hour.’ Harry grabbed his truck’s keys hanging off a hook in the kitchen by his back door.
After finishing her breakfast, Maddy made a call to Valerie who reassured her the gallery would be fine. It didn’t stop Maddy pacing around the living room while she spoke.
‘I’ve organized for Josie to be in all day today, and over the weekend,’ Valerie said. ‘You must have so much to do, so don’t worry about the gallery, I will manage it. The summer holidays don’t start for a couple of weeks yet. You get yourself sorted.’
‘Thanks, Val.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?’
‘I’ll see what Harry says. Thank you so much for the offer.’
‘I’m here if you need me, Maddy. Please don’t forget that,’ Valerie said. The sincerity in her voice choked Maddy. She really didn’t want to blub down the phone, though, otherwise Valerie really would worry. ‘But you can do this, my dear. This is only another of those obstacles that life likes to throw in your way.’
‘Just when I thought everything was going along smoothly.’
‘I’m afraid, as you get older, you soon learn life was never meant to be easy. I’m sure these things are sent to test us. To weed out the weak from the strong.’
‘Which am I?’ Maddy asked.
‘You’ll come out the stronger – if you’re anything like your mother.’ Valerie laughed, and Maddy found it contagious and giggled with her. Valerie always had a positive influence on her. ‘Let’s face it; life would be dull if it was all plain sailing.’
Next, notepad and pen in hand with her insurance documents in front of her, Maddy took a deep breath and called her home insurance company. She tried not to get frustrated with the automated messages directing her to the right department. ‘All I want to do is talk to a human being!’ she said to the automated voice, tapping the end of her pen against the pad.
When she finally spoke to someone, some ten minutes later due to the high volume of calls – how many other people had had house fires, for God’s sake? – she found them extremely helpful, putting her mind at rest. They asked a lot of questions, possibly more because she’d confessed the police were involved, providing their details. They couldn’t arrange for a Loss Adjuster to inspect the damage until they’d received the reports from CID. Maddy put the phone down feeling a little less stressed – but it still meant she couldn’t really do anything with the house until sometime next week. Today was Friday.
They’d asked her if she had somewhere to stay or if she would need rented accommodation. However, because of the situation, and the company needing to ensure she wasn’t the one who’d caused the house fire, she was made aware they would have to recover payments from the policyholder – i.e. her – if found negligent for starting the fire or allowing someone else to start it.
The insurance company offered to put her up in Bodmin, and although it wasn’t far away, Maddy thought it too far for her. ‘I think I’m okay, I can stay with a friend, but I’ll call back if I need further assistance,’ she said. Worst case scenario, she could sleep at the gallery. The insurance company had said they paid a daily accommodation rate, so even if she stayed with a friend, she could give them compensation.
Once the insurance company received the police and fire reports, they would be able to send out a Loss Adjuster, and the ball could get rolling in getting her back into her house. But this all depended on the police reports. Clearly, if they believed she’d set fire to her own house, the insurance company wouldn’t pay out.
Harry was still out, so Maddy busied herself with the dishes in his kitchen, clearing away the breakfast things. She was generally a tidy person, and it appeared Harry was meticulous, too – which wasn’t a bad trait in a man – so she liked to keep everything straight, as if she wasn’t even here. She decided to let Sookie out who had been sitting by the front door and meowing noisily. She’d been looking very unimpressed at being stuck in Harry’s house yesterday. Maddy knew she liked to be outside if the sun was shining. She had a favourite place in the garden underneath a rose bush, where she would pretty much sleep all day. With her backdoor firmly sealed, Sookie couldn’t get into Maddy’s house and she would soon find her by the front or back door of her house when it was feeding time.
***
When he returned, Harry found Maddy in her back garden, her strawberry-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, swishing as her head moved. She stood in the sunshine, an easel before her, with a metal plate in one hand covered with blobs of different shades of blue paints, staring at a canvas.
‘Everything okay?’ he said, standing beside her and admiring her preliminary sketch for a new painting – the ocean and waves crashing
