***

I remember one afternoon, I think it was a Saturday, when Howard came storming into the house. He looked totally and absolutely pissed off about something or other. I was sat in the living room, watching some football on the television. In came Howard. He took his coat off, and threw it onto the armchair, which was really unlike him. Then he walked straight across to the living room window. I noticed that Howard was shaking.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” I asked, realising straight away that something wasn’t right.

“It’s that batty old cunt, Alfie Whitehouse… the stupid fucker.” Swore Howard. I was shocked. I rarely heard Howard swear.

“What, Howard? What’s wrong?” Howard turned away from the window and looked at me. He was practically frothing at the mouth.

“He’s just practically accused me of kidnapping his stupid cat! Like I’d go and do something like that!” Howard half-shouted, outraged.

“What did he say to you?” I wanted to know.

“Oh, I can’t even remember. The stupid old shit-head just…”

“Hey, come on, Howard, don’t call him things like that.” I interrupted.

“Why not? He’s just implied that I took his cat… what would I want with that flea-ridden fucking thing?”

“HOWARD!” I had shouted. “Just calm down.”

“I don’t want to calm down. I’ve just been accused of kidnap!” Argued Howard. He took a couple of steps toward me. “You need to tell him… you need to tell that old bastard that I’ve got fuck-all to do with his missing scrag-end of a pet! And you need to tell him that I don’t take kindly to being accused of stuff that I haven’t done.” Screeched Howard.

“Okay, Howard, okay. I’ll have a word with him.” I promised. This seemed to calm my cousin right down.

“Well, make sure that you do.” He said, and then off he went, out of the living room, and up to his bedroom.

As it goes, I did have a word with Alfie Whitehouse on Howard’s behalf, the next day. He apologised for implying that Howard might have taken his cat.

“It’s just that Howard is always smirking at me, especially when Buttons is mentioned.” Explained Alfie.

“Yeah, I don’t know why he’d do that, to be honest, Alf… I don’t mind admitting that Howard can be a little, well, strange at times… but what I do know is that he’s not the type to go harming animals… or anything, come to that. It’s just not in his nature.” I told my neighbour, who seemed to accept what I was saying. It wasn’t very long until I discovered just how wrong I was. I’ll say one thing for my cousin; he had us all fooled, he really did. I guess that was what made him so dangerous; people just never saw him coming, not until it was too late. Mind you, having said that, Alfie Whitehouse might have just been the exception to that rule; he sensed something very bad, so very wrong, with Howard, and ultimately, the poor old man ended up paying the price for it.

A week or so later, Howard Trenton looked out of his bedroom window, across to Alfie Whitehouse's home. The old man was sitting on his front wall, still keeping up the vigil for his missing cat, who had now been missing for just over two weeks. Howard's attention drifted away from Alfie for a moment, and he gazed up at the late afternoon sky, above the rooftops. It was filled with dark, leaden clouds.

"It's gonna rain soon." Howard mumbled to himself. He looked back down at Alfie again. The old man was lost in his own little word, and seemed unaware of Howard's presence at the bedroom window. Howard sighed, bored now with seeing his neighbour constantly out in the street, looking, with futility, for his missing pet. "Don't worry, old fella, this'll be the last day that you have to spend without your stupid, precious cat. This time tomorrow, you'll already have been reunited. Or your would be, if such a place as heaven actually existed." Said Howard. “You crossed the line, last week, accusing me of stuff, right there in the street like that. Stupid old bastard.” He looked back up at the sky, just as the first raindrops began to appear on the bedroom window. Howard gave one last glance at Alfie Whitehouse. "Catch you later, buddy." He smirked, before going off to find Mary.

Howard found his new fixation, Mary Broderick, in the living room. She was sat in the armchair, a laptop perched on her legs. Mary was wearing a short black skirt, and Howard took a quick glimpse at her long legs, before forcing himself to focus on her face instead.

"Oh, hello Howard." Mary greeted him as he entered the room.

"Hi. What are you up to?" Howard asked, as he sat down on the sofa, trying hard not to stare at Mary’s thighs.

"Not much, just mooching on the 'net." Mary replied, in a bored voice. Howard nodded.

"Where are Lucas and Kay?"

"They've taken a drive up to Elman, to the do-it-yourself superstore there." Mary told him. "One of the taps is knackered in the kitchen. Lucas said that it can't be fixed and needs a replacement."

"Oh, the cold one? Yeah, it’s fucked. It won't stop running. Lucas was trying to fix it last weekend but wasn't having much luck." Said Howard. "What time did they go out at?" He wanted to know.

"Not long, only about a quarter of an hour back." Mary responded. Howard picked at a small hole that was emerging in the knee of his jeans for a few moments.

"Don't suppose you fancy doing something this afternoon?" Howard asked, his voice a little shaky. Mary looked up from the laptop.

"Like what?" She asked.

"I was thinking a drive out somewhere… maybe Knighton or Hoffen… or perhaps down the coastal road." Suggested Howard.

"What, in the rain?" Said Mary, who nodded towards the living room window; it was raining quite heavily outside. Howard shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, why not. The rain doesn't bother me at all." He advised Mary. She put the laptop down on the floor.

"Go on then. Can we drive down the coastal road?" She asked. Howard smiled.

"Of course we can." He answered. I don't believe my luck! She’s agreed to come out with me! I’m going to get to spend the whole afternoon with Mary. Howard thought, excitedly. And I’ve got Alfie to look forward to even later on, too! The day’s just getting better and better!

Chapter Eight

At just after three o'clock on that cold and grey Sunday afternoon, Howard's car pulled into a ‘pay-and-display’ car-park in a small town called Hingley, which was approximately twelve miles south of Coldsleet. Fortunately, the rain had eased off and stopped during the drive down to the old fishing town, though there was little hope of the sun breaking through the blanket of cloud that hung stubbornly over the whole of the north west of the country that day. Howard and Mary got out of the car, and left the car-park. Howard had suggested that they walk across to the seafront.

"There's a nice coastal path with some great views." Said Howard.

"What, even in the middle of winter?" Mary replied.

"Yes, even in the middle of winter." Smiled Howard.

"Okay then." Agreed Mary. The pair headed towards the sea, which was directly in front of them. They passed a row of ageing guest houses, every single one of them displaying signs that said 'Vacancies' "Does this place get a lot of visitors? I mean, in the summer?" Mary asked.

"No. Not really. It's a lot like Coldsleet. Hingley is a dying town… on its last legs… which is why I like it." Replied Howard, grinning.