The next morning the usual chaos was prevailing in the Police House. Nick was rummaging around in the office for a report he needed and couldnt' find, in the kitchen Eileen was flitting between getting Katie fed and having breakfast herself. In the middle of it all there was a knock at the police house office door.
Nick muttered crossly to himself but nevertheless moved to answer it. Opening the door his inital irritation faded as he saw Joanna on the step. "Hallo," he said, "Come in You all right?"
"Um, not really no," she said. Nick frowned.
"What's happened Jo?"
"I went out to the car this morning Nick and its in a real state. Windows smashed, tyres let down and its been scratched all down one side. I never heard a thing which is what worries me even more!"
Nick stared at her. "That must have been done after I left last night," he said, "because it was fine then. Look, come on into the house and have a cup of tea and I'll get some details. Where's the car now?"
"I rang the garage and they came out to pick it up and dropped me off down in the village. They have one I can borrow while they get mine back on the road again which is something."
Eileen looked up with a smile as Nick and Jo came into the kitchen. "Hallo there," she said to Jo.
"Jo this is Eileen, Kate's aunt," Nick introduced Jo formally.
"Eileen -I am so sorry about the other night when I came round. I made a complete fool of myself," Jo said anxiously.
"Not at all," Eileen said. "Its all forgotten. Can I get you a cup of tea?"
"I'd love one."
"And this is Katie," Nick said, introducing his daughter who gurgled happily at Joanna.
"Oh, she's gorgeous!"
"Yeah. Take after your Mum don't you love?" Nick grinned as Katie reached out for Joanna. "Well she's taken to you!"
"Am I okay to pick her up?"
"Of course."
Jo pulled Katie onto her knee and sat at the kitchen table with her. Chewing a piece of toast Katie happily cuddled into Joanna.
Eileen smiled as she put a cup of tea in front of Joanna. "You two have made friends!"she said.
"She's a real credit to you and Nick," Joanna said warmly. She looked across at Nick who was settling himself at the end of the table, his notebook in his hand. "Nick, I don't know what to do. Do we have to get, well, official about this?"
Nick glanced at her sharply. "Is there a reason we shouldn't?"
Joanna looked down for a minute. Eileen stepped forward "Come on Katie, lets get you washed and dressed," she said, "whilst Joanna and your Dad have a little chat."
She took the toddler out of the room and Nick focused his attention on Jo. She fiddled with her cup of tea then said, "I'm worried the Jacksons might be involved somewhere."
Nick said, "I can see Nat throwing something at your windows or emptying your bins all over the place or something of that sort. The amount of damage you're talking about, probably not." He hesitated. "Jo, could Maxwell be involved?"
"He's not been near the cottage Nick. I've not even heard from him since." She shook her head. "No its not him I'm certain."
"All right. But I do think you need to make this official Jo. I'll speak to my Sergeant and we can make some general enquiries. See if anything turns up. Don't worry."
She nodded but he sensed she was concerned. "Is there anything else?" he pressed gently.
"No, but it just makes me realise how isolated I am up there. I didn't hear a thing last night and that worries me."
"But you're on the phone?" Nick checked.
"Oh yes."
"Then you must ring me if you're at all worried. I don't mind how late or if its a false alarm. And if I'm not here ring Ashfordly Police Station. Promise?"
She nodded. "Ignore me. I'm just being a bit silly."
"No, you're not," Nick said firmly. "But hopefully this is just a one-off. Leave it with me. Come on, get that tea drunk and I'll get a few details."
Nick was more concerned that he had let on to Jo and he decided as a first port of call, after she had left the police house to go over to the school, to go round by the garage and see the damage to her car for himself.
"Round here at the back Nick," Bernie Scripps the garage owner told him. "She's in a fair state."
He was't joking. The sporty little convertible was in a sorry state indeed. Nick thoughtfully examined it and then glanced back at Bernie.
"Someone's done a job on it haven't they?" he said
"Aye, they have that. Someone with an axe to grind I reckon."
Nick didn't disagree. This wasn't any work of the Jacksons he'd lay odds. He was tempted to look no further than Maxwell Cartwright for this one. Unless Jo had any more skeletons rattling around in the cupboard she was keeping to herself.
He was intending to go over to Ashfordly but as he went past the school Joanna was standing by the gate; she indicated she wanted him to stop and he pulled the motorbike in.
"Nick," she said, "I've just come to the gate to see if there's any sign of Nat Jackson He's not here, he hasn't come to school. Now I know that's not unusual but, well, its making me wonder if his absence today and what happened to my car are connected."
"I'll go over there now and see what's going on," Nick told her. "But I've just been to look at your car Jo and I honestly don't think Nat is behind this or his Dad for that matter."
She nodded. She looked pale and he felt sorry for her. "Try not to worry," he said. "I'll come back later and let you know how I get on with the Jacksons."
In the ordinary way Nick would have called in for a bit of back up before going to the Jacksons. But he decided to take a chance on Bridget Jackson being in one of her more mellow moods this morning.
When he pulled the bike up outside the run down farmhouse he saw that Bridget Jackson was standing by the gate looking anxiously up and down the lane.
"Oh its you," she said. She wasn't friendly but at least she wasn't aggressive. In fact, Nick thought, she looked thoroughly deflated like all the fight had gone out of her. "Thought it might be t'doctor."
"Is it Tommy?"
"Aye his chest is right bad." She shrugged. "I reckon doctor'll want him in the infirmary, when he decides to get here that is." She glared at Nick. "So if you're here to accuse him of owt its a waste of time because he can't even get out of his bed."
Nick said, "And Nat?"
"What of Nat?"
"He's not at school, again, Bridget. You'll have the Social Services down on you if this goes on."
"Ah meant to go down to the school and speak to them about Nat," the woman said. "I've sent Nat away for a few days. Me sister is having him over in Whitby. He went last night. Well, I've got me hands full here and I can't be doing with Nat playing me up and all. Our Sheila'll send him to school with her lot."
"Have you got your sister's address Bridget? The school will want to check," Nick pointed out.
"Come in t'house for a minute," she said.
Nick followed her into the shabby, and not particularly clean, house. Upstairs he could hear Tommy coughing.
"Aye, I told you he were bad," Bridget said grimly. She gave Nick a piece of paper. "Here's me sister's address and she's on the telephone so you can ring her with your questions." She looked closely at the police constable. "Before you go tell me what you were here for. It weren't to check up on our Nat I know that. Summat else brought you here."
"All right, there was an incident in the village last night and I was just ruling out whether your Tommy - or even possibly Nat - might have been involved. But I can see that's not the case Bridget. I'm sorry to bother you when you've got trouble."
To Nick's surprise the woman replied, "Aye, well, happen you've cause enough to reckon Tommy might have summat to do wi' whatever's gone on. Most o't' trouble hereabouts has led back here in one form or another. But not this time."
"No." They both looked up as Tommy began wheezing again. Nick looked at Bridget. "You get back to him. I'll take this message to the school and if I see the doctor or Maggie Bolton out and about I'll ask them to hurry up getting over to you."
The woman nodded. "Aye well thanks."
Nick went back to the motorbike and got on it. But before setting off he sat on the bike thinking for a moment. And the more he thought about it, the more he knew he had to convince Joanna to see what was in front of her. Maxwell Cartwright simply had to be the most likely culprit for this. Unless there was some other secret Joanna did not want to come out into the open.