Chalk Dust & Broomsticks, Chapter 24

Gina Blunt visits Althea in hospital but is dismayed to find that she has amnesia.

The Scent of Evidence

September 1999

The new school year at Primrose Primary School began on 5th September with Mrs. Sue Phillips, previous Deputy Head, as Acting Head whilst Althea lay back on the starched white pillows of Langwich General Hospital, nursing her wounds and trying to regain her memory.

Shirley liked Sue Phillips very much and enjoyed working with her. They both went back quite a few years, back to the days when Geoff Padstow was Head of the Junior side and Mrs. Ogglesby was Headteacher of the Infants.

Monday morning at the school was no longer about education; it was about preservation. The administration block was cordoned off with yellow tape that fluttered in the humid breeze.

In the foyer, Inspector Stanhope stood like a pillar of weathered granite. He was a man who looked like he’d seen every dark corner of the county, and he wasn't easily impressed by Althea’s "modernization" projects. Beside him, PC Knight, a younger, sharper-eyed officer, was busy cataloging the entry and exit logs.

“It’s too clean, Knight,” Stanhope murmured, looking at the polished floors. “An attack this violent in a room like this headteacher’s office ... you don't just walk away without leaving a trace. Unless you knew exactly how to hide.”

While the forensics team worked the rooms, Althea Gardner remained propped up in her hospital bed at Langwich General. The amnesia she claimed was a thin shield, but she held onto it with the desperation of a drowning woman.

Nick Blunt’s wife, Gina, sat by the bed, her suspicion growing with every "confused" look Althea gave her.

"Hello Althea, I've brought you some flowers. How are you feeling?" She offered the flowers, which Althea looked at with suspicion. A pretty nurse walked by, offering to get a vase, her large smile making Gina realize this visit wasn't going to be easy.

"Do I know you?" Althea asked again, her voice a fragile whisper.

"I'm Nick's wife, Gina," she replied, her patience wearing thin. "Nick Blunt. From the Education Office. You two were... close."

Althea looked at the clinical ceiling, her fingers picking at the edge of the white sheet. "I don't remember any Nick. My head... everything is just white noise."

As Gina left the room to speak to the nurse, Althea’s eyes didn't stay vacant. The moment the door clicked shut, the "confused" fog vanished. She looked toward the window, her mind racing.

Gina spoke quietly to the staff nurse. "Althea Gardner seems very confused today. She doesn't know who I am and couldn't even remember my husband. Is she all right?"

The nurse replied, "We have our concerns about Althea, but don't be unduly alarmed. Recovery takes time. She had a heavy blow on the head."

"Yes, I can see that."

"Perhaps you had better come back another day, when she's not so heavily sedated."

"O.K., yes, I will do that. Thank you."

Gina briefly returned to the bedside, said goodbye, and left the hospital. On her way across the car-park, she rang Nick.

"She's lost her memory, Nick. She can't remember anything at all about the day it happened, or the attack, or anything."

"You're kidding? Did you speak to the nurses?"

"Yes, of course. They say the amnesia is probably temporary. I did wonder, though, if she was putting it on?"

"What made you think that?"

"I'm not sure, just the way she was. It wasn't very convincing, but it's probably me. I'm so tired today. I probably got it all wrong." Gina doubted herself as she spoke to her husband.

Nick was concerned. Everything was going wrong. "Come home soon, darling. Don't get over-tired. It's not good for in your condition.”

"I'll not be too long, Nick, but first I want to do some shopping and then I'm meeting Miranda for coffee at Puccinos."

"Ok, ok, take care. Love you lots, bye."

"Love you too, bye."

The Coffee Shop Council

Puccinos was a popular coffee shop in Langwich High Street, near to the school. It was a regular meeting place for members of the Primrose staff and parents, situated as it was near to the library and a small bank. Gina enjoyed meeting her friend Miranda there. She sat stirring the froth of her cappuccino. Her foot tapped nervously as she looked at her friend Miranda.

"What's the matter, Gina? Come on, spill the beans."

"It's Nick," Gina began. "He's been so odd lately. He's really nervous all the time, as if he's got something to hide."

"Have you checked his pockets?" Miranda asked immediately.

"No, of course not. Why would I do that?"

"Well, I would. You might find the answer to your questions in his pockets. Not if you've got cause to be suspicious. If there's nothing there, you'll put your mind at rest."

"Weeell, maybe, but it won't do me any good to get anxious, will it?"

"I do it all the time with Timothy's jackets. Check his diary and the credit card statements while you're at it."

"Miranda, shame on you. I'll think about it."

Just then, Carol Catchpole walked through the door. She was always smartly dressed, people often said she resembled Margaret Thatcher. She leaned across the counter and carefully asked the Italian waiter, Chico, for a cappuccino.

"Look," said Miranda. "There's Mrs. Catchpole."

Miranda, ever the social butterfly, stood up and went to greet her. "Hello, dear. How are you keeping?"

Talk at the table soon turned to Althea Gardner's health.

"She's lost her memory. Says she can't remember anything about the attack. Strange, isn't it?" said Gina.

"Well, she won't be much help to the police if she can't remember anything, will she?" replied Miranda.

"Unless she's faking it," Gina mused. "I wouldn't put it past her to pretend, especially if she had something to hide. Whoever clonked her on the head must have had a reason. Who do you think it was?"

"It's been a while since I was working at Primrose Primary," Miranda recalled, "but nobody liked her. She is a serial bully. That Caretaker, Gerald, I know he had it in for her because she extended his working hours when he was already working flat out."

Carol shook her head. "No, it couldn't have been Gerald. He was on the field at the time with his dogs, Pippin and Petal. He was doing a reconnoiter of the perimeter fence. I saw him through the classroom window while I was knitting with the children.

"This coffee's nice, isn't it?" remarked Miranda. "Shall we have another cup?"

"Good idea," answered Gina. "I'll get them. Do you want another one, Mrs. Catchpole?"

"No, dear. One's enough for me."

Gina fetched a couple more coffees. While she was waiting for them to be poured, she noticed in the mirror behind the counter that Carol’s elegant hat was leaning close to Miranda's ear as she whispered something to her...

The conversation between Gina, her friend Miranda, and Carol Catchpole took an even darker turn.

"…and another odd thing…the evening of the staff Christmas Party. I saw Althea heading towards the boiler room. She wasn't just going in," Carol hissed to Miranda, "She was dragging a heavy plastic sack. It was one of those thick, black ones and she looked intent on her task. We were all a bit merry and I didn’t think much about it at the time. There’s always so much waste to get rid of after a party.”

Gina returned to the table with the coffees, her face pale. "I just got a text from Nick. He’s worried. He said the police are at the school with someone called Inspector Stanhope. They’ve been examining the school surreptitiously and it appears they’ve found something in the boiler room."

Carol set her cup down with a sharp clack. "The boiler room? That’s where the 'heart' of the school is. If they’re looking there, they aren't looking for a thief who hit Althea. They’re looking for a body."

Miranda shivered, fiddling nervously with her silk scarf. "Whose body? A tramp? I wouldn’t put it past someone to try and get in there if they could. There are plenty of homeless people on this estate.”

Carol didn't answer. She just looked out at the market square, thinking how much simpler life had been in her youth and wishing that it would be like that again now.

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