“Just leave her here, let her freeze to death!” they muttered, dumping the old woman into the snowdrift. The fools didnt realise the boomerang would come flying back sooner than they thought.
Margaret Whitmore was walking towards her building when she noticed the group of elderly ladies gossiping by the bench, eyeing the fancy car parked nearby.
“Whose is that?” Margaret asked.
“Dunno, love,” one of them replied. “Must be Marys. Folks round ere dont drive motors like that.”
“Only ambulances turn up for us lot!” another chuckled.
They carried on chatting about council decisions and the latest neighbourhood scandals. Then out came Mary herselfthe one who owned the flashy car. She strode past without so much as a glance at them or the vehicle sitting on the grass. Margaret hurried back inside.
“Margaret Whitmore?” a mans voice called as she reached the stairwell. “Remember me? We spoke a few days ago. Im your nephew.”
“Oh, Edward!” Margaret gasped, recognising him. “Why didnt you tell me you were coming? That car on the lawnyours?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, go move it before someone keys it! What were you thinking, parking on my flowerbeds?”
Her nephew rushed outside while Margaret put the kettle on. She had to sell her flatno way was she leaving the place in shambles for the neighbours.
A while back, her uncle used to visit with his son. Then the family lost touch. And now, out of nowhere, here he wasyoung Edward. But something about him unsettled her. He chain-smoked, his teeth already yellowed. Still, at least hed turned up. Shed rather pay him than some estate agent to handle the sale. But he refused the money.
Margaret had spent her later years alone, no husband or kids left. She fancied moving somewhere quieter, maybe the countryside. Fresh air had to be better than trudging up four flights of stairs. Somewhere with a gardenstill fit enough to grow her own veg. By autumn, a buyer popped up for the flat.
“Winters coming. Best wait till spring,” Margaret decided, postponing the move.
“But pricesll shoot up by then!” Edward argued. “Easier to check the heating in the cold. And what if the buyer pulls out?”
“You havent even found me a house yet! Wherell I live? Sort that first, then well sell,” she sighed.
Edward gave in.
Soon enough, he scouted some cottages. After viewing them, Margarets heart sank. They all needed work. But the flat sale would cover the costsif she was careful.
Edward knew a bit about building and promised to help. Still, unease gnawed at her. Why was he in such a rush to sell? Then again, what did he gain from it? She thanked him for bothering at all.
The day came. The buyer and solicitor arrived on time. Edward made tea. Margarets chest achedthis was her home. A lifetime of memories. But no turning back now.
“Right then, time to move!” Edward said once the papers were signed.
“Now? Ive still got crockery in the cabinet!”
“No, today. Buyer needs the place.”
Grudgingly, she packed the last bits. In the van, exhaustion hit. She drifted off, only half-aware of the road and the mens murmured chatter.
“Margaret?” Edwards voice sounded distant. She couldnt respond.
“Leave her here,” she heard faintly. Everything blurred. They dumped her in the snow.
“Shell freeze,” Edward added.
The truth hithed tricked her. Drugged the tea, rushed the sale. Now she was trash to ditch. Eyes closing, she braced for the end.
But someone saw. A young woman driving past spotted the parked van and slowed. Then she watched as two men hauled something towards the woods. Odd, in this weather? Suspicious, she noted the licence plate.
When they drove off, she investigatedand found Margaret. A weak pulse. She called her husband, and together they bundled the shivering woman into their car.
“Where am I?” Margaret croaked as she came round.
“We found you,” the girlEmilysaid gently. “Remember how you got here?”
“That rat Edward! He put something in my tea then drove me out here to die!”
Emilys family took her in while the police investigated. The flat was returned; Edward got locked up for fraud. Come spring, Margaret sold up and bought her countryside cottageno repairs needed. By summer, shed invited Emily and her husband for tea. Shed never forget their kindness.
