Congratulations to HesitantHedgehog on her free choice from Mr Li's extensive menu, (which does now include a side order of Harry) for being reviewer number 100. And thanks to everyone who reviewed; a bumper crop on the last set: KiwiSWfan, greylostwho, Baibe, LCOddy97, Hesitant Hedgehog and Freya 82, you're all brilliant.


Chapter Thirty-Four

Tuesday July 2nd.

'Tick tock'

Harry had no recollection of Nikki leaving his bags for him. But she must have been there. The only way it could have happened was if she had dropped them off in the dead of night, which was unlikely but knowing Nikki not impossible; or when he'd fallen asleep in the early evening. He was trying to sort out the jetlag, but somehow the journey east seemed to make adjusting much worse than when heading west. Even the pills he had didn't seem to be helping. He had been shocked he'd not heard her though; the house could have been burgled whilst he slept in that chair and he'd never have known, he knew he'd left the back door wide open. Every fool knew that most burglaries happened during the day.

He was pleased to see her note though. She'd read the letter, it would go a long way to reassure her of his intentions.

Going home and being made a fuss of by his mother had soothed much of the tension of that Sunday. Not that her greeting had been much more favourable than Nikki's.

As soon as his she had opened the door to him on Sunday night, Anne knew where he'd been. Arriving with only hand luggage after a year away was a give-away.

"If you're not planning on staying; stay away!" she'd warned.

"I am staying, Mum."

"Does she understand that?"

He'd shaken his head. "It's not going to be easy, Mum."

"Nothing worth having ever is," she'd retorted and pulled him into a hug that he had to crouch to receive. He was accepted here despite his faults it reminded him of the friends he'd left behind.

The solicitor Harry had seen with his mother had been helpful, she'd given Harry a generic check list of things to do, not all of which applied but it gave him a framework to start from. There were three charities on the Leo's list that were going to receive significant sums of money after the paperwork had been completed. The majority was going to the student fund at LSSE, and a new scholarship was being created in Leo's memory. Harry liked the idea that Leo Dalton's name would be stamped on the place long after he had stopped stamping about the place physically.

The second charity was a local support group for bereaved parents. It didn't surprise Harry in the slightest that Leo had continued to support 'The Listeners.' He'd been shown a summary of Leo's accounts before he'd even left America and had queried the name then. They would be thrilled by the generous donation Leo had bequeathed them. Their website gave a London address, he would ring up and visit, it would be nice to be the bearer of good news for once. Not that they'd get the money straight away but they would eventually.

Finally there was a small amount left to the Salvation Army. Harry had been slightly surprised by Leo's choice of a religious charity but although he'd played faith questions close to his chest, Harry suspected that Leo had declared an open verdict on the subject of religion. There was no question that the work the Sally Army did among the homeless and with women's refuges was excellent and they had had many contacts over the years with their key workers. It reminded him of the church he'd stumbled into in New York the day of Leo's funeral. It also gave Harry a starting place for the clothes and household goods that he would have to dispose of. The night shelter would be glad of the clothes and boxing up the china and kitchen items would be perfect for a family just moving out of B&B accommodation or a women's refuge.

He'd managed to insure Leo's car in his own name yesterday, so he had a bit of flexibility and transport again. He hadn't missed driving at all in New York, he'd not missed the TV either but back in London he felt cut off without a car. The last thing he'd done yesterday had been to buy some boxes to begin the house clearance. His mother had suggested getting a firm in to do it for him, but he couldn't do that. Other than Francis, who had no stated interest in Leo's possessions there was no one else to go through Leo's things. He couldn't let strangers do it. He needed to sort through it and find some things that could be preserved. Some things that would remain forever Leo, safe in his friend's keeping and to others that were close to him.

Harry wandered through Leo's house munching on a piece of toast, he had no clue where to start. The house was oddly quiet, apart from the kitchen clock that had an ominously loud tick. Maybe he'd grown used to the constant traffic noise in New York. Even ten storeys up it was always there. Here there was just ticking and the birdsong from the garden.

It wasn't going to be the study Harry decided as he stood in the doorway. Every shelf was lined with books and he suspected that on a couple of bookcases there were books behind the books. The study would take hours, days probably. The kitchen was possible, but he didn't want to get rid of everything. If he was going to live there temporarily until he found his own place it would be no use giving away all of Leo's flatware and cutlery. The sitting room was possible, but then what to do with the TV? Would Nikki want it? He sat down in the easy chair he'd fallen asleep in the evening before.

There were so many questions.

There was so much to do.

"I need help Leo," he said out loud, as if Leo was sitting across from him on the sofa.

"Do you think she'll come back to me?"

He had no way of knowing and Leo wasn't answering.

He had no phone either so deciding that a new phone was the first priority of the day, he brushed his teeth and set out for the High Street.

The new phone acquired he left it charging and set to work on clearing the clothes. He had thought of a system whilst he was out: a bin pile, a charity pile, a keep pile and a 'Nikki needs to check this,' pile. That way he'd have included Nikki in the clearance but he was actually able to start work. The clothes would be the easiest. They were all too small to fit Harry and he couldn't imagine Jack wanting them; there was no one else who would benefit from them so he set to work. He'd tried putting the radio on, but he didn't recognise the songs and Chris Evans was far too perky at that time of the morning to suit the job in hand. He couldn't concentrate on Radio 4 as he moved from room to room and Women's Hour would be on soon, and he really couldn't face that. So he was left in silence.

He wasn't sure he liked it.

He called the bereavement charity and set up an appointment for the following day, and called the furniture centre at the Salvation Army to see if they would want any of Leo's things and how to go about getting it to them. He was relieved to find that they had their own van and would be happy to come over and take anything away he didn't wish to keep when he was ready.

He texted Nikki to thank her for his bags and to give her his new number, she texted back straight away to say she'd saved it on her phone, but there was nothing else. The clock said one, so he decided he should probably eat lunch even if he didn't want any. He pulled a packet of oat cakes out of Leo's cupboard and the cream cheese he'd bought the day before. He suspected Nikki had been at the fridge as there was nothing left in there and he was certain that Leo wouldn't have had such a presentiment of doom about his trip to have cleared out its contents completely.

It would also account for the one full cup of tea left in the sink with a lipstick stain at the rim.

He needed a break from house sorting, so he started drafting some business cards and looking at how to get himself a website. He made some initial notes as to what services he thought he would be able to offer. He'd have to devise a price list as well. He'd managed to do a deal with LSSE to have use of the Lyell Centre facilities in lieu of payment for the teaching he was scheduled to do there. He hadn't really wanted to return to LSSE, but he wasn't turning down an opportunity to use their facilities on the cheap.

His mother had suggested he talk to Trevor, the banker son of her friend Audrey. Trevor had taken Nikki on a couple of dates back in the new year. Harry wasn't keen on the idea but he wasn't in a position to be choosy and he needed a financial adviser. Even if it wasn't Trevor's area of expertise he would know someone who would know someone. He called the number his mother had given him and arranged to meet him for lunch on Wednesday.

He'd managed to stay awake throughout the afternoon and had just put a shepherd's pie his mother had left for him in the oven when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Hi Nikki," he said on opening the door. She looked hesitant, nervous even. "Come on in."

"Hi Harry, thanks," she replied not meeting his eye but walking into the hallway.

"How are you?" he asked politely.

She shot him a withering look, and stopped in the doorway to the living room.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, more concerned this time.

He watched her swipe a hand across her face and hung back giving her space.

"So you've started clearing the place then?" She asked a forced even tone to her voice.

"Mm hm," Harry agreed. He watched her take in the pile of boxes in the living room.

"I've got a pile of clothes for you to look through if you can face it?" Harry suggested.

Nikki didn't reply just turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"A few scarves, a hat… I didn't know if you'd…" Harry stopped. He'd forgotten her inability to compartmentalise her life. He'd spent the day assigning Leo's clothes to different destinations, without having to consider the reason for his actions. Without really focussing on his friend's death, but in just a few moments and a look at Nikki's rapidly blinking eyes brought back the enormity of it all.

"Why don't you go through to the garden?" Harry suggested. "I'll bring you a drink."

Nikki hadn't really been expecting a glass of wine, more like a cup of tea and stared at the glass in Harry's hand.

"I found Leo's wine stash. I figure it's ours now." He offered her the glass with a shrug, trying to show that he wouldn't be offended if she rejected it and asked for a cup of tea.

She met his eye then and took the glass. It was easier out here on the deck. It was somewhere she'd been before, somewhere she felt she was allowed to be, somewhere she could still pretend that Leo was still there, just out of sight. The patio table and chairs seemed so familiar, a place they had all sat and laughed together in previous years.

"How's it been going?" she asked, finally finding her voice.

"It's going to take ages," Harry groaned. "But I've taken a break every now and then to set up some of my own appointments.

"Appointments?"

"I'm having lunch with Trevor tomorrow," he said grimly. "I need financial advice," he added after a pause.

She nodded and took a sip of her wine. "Say hi from me, I hope you get on ok."

Harry shrugged non-commitally.

"Shall I bring the box out; see if there's anything you would want?" Harry asked.

She shook her head, he wasn't sure if that meant that she didn't want it, or she wasn't ready but he wasn't prepared to push the matter. This was the second night in a row she'd come over and something was making her incredibly uncomfortable. He only hoped it wasn't him.


Huge apologies, I have misled you all. I am apparently the fool and I stand corrected and have it on good authority that 6:15 on a summer evening, or generally day time IS primetime burgling time. You have been warned!