Suzy by Gary L Beer (easy books to read in english txt) 📕

back he waits for her and sees that she has done well in gathering a huge amount of old branches and some wooden planks. The wood and planks look to be fifty years old; being covered in moss and lichen and she drops them down at Lewis's feet. Several of the planks and branches break under the force of the fall and Lewis can see they are wet and rotten.
“They are perfect Suzy; will you go out and have a look in the field in case someone is walking their dog?”
“Sure, do you need any more to chuck down the Well?”
“No, this should be enough.” Lewis replies as he starts to throw the wood down the Well.
Suzy leaves him to it and walks slowly along the trail until she can see the field; all looks quiet, apart from a fox on the other side of the field walking along the edge of the woods. Suzy stands still and watches the fox which appears oblivious of her presence. The sight of the fox walking along casually also tells Suzy that there are no humans around and she turns and walks back to Lewis.
Lewis has finished filling the Well and has replaced the old wooden planks on top. Using a large branch he sweeps the ground attempting to disguise their footprints in the soft earth. Using the dead leaves that are scattered about the ground he sweeps them into their footprints and tries to cover these with a thin layer of soil.
Standing back to survey his handiwork he looks pleased with his efforts; “Let us get out of here.” he orders as he starts to walk away from the Well.
They make good time walking back to the car and arrive just as a dark blue hatchback pulls in beside them. The driver stares at Lewis and Suzy with obvious hostility as he gets out of his car. Walking to the back of the car he opens the tailgate allowing a huge German shepherd dog to leap out. The dog runs over to the nearest tree and squats and pees with a contented look on its face.
Lewis and Suzy get into the Volkswagen and shut the doors; “Let us hope he is just being hostile as we are invading his space.” says Lewis as he turns the ignition key and starts the engine, putting the car into reverse gear he backs slowly out of the little parking area into the road. All is quiet along the road and Lewis puts it into first gear and drives slowly away back to Suzy's bungalow.

Pulling up outside the bungalow Lewis puts on the parking brake and looks at Suzy; “I have to go and do some work, will you be all right here on your own?”
“Yes fine thanks, I have got plenty to do to keep me busy, will you come round for supper when you have finished work?” Suzy asks hopefully.
“Depends what you're cooking; have you improved since the last time?” asks Lewis referring to Suzy's last attempt at a roast dinner, where the potatoes were as hard as rock, the pork had been baked dry and the vegetables over cooked.
Suzy laughs; “Yes I remember that, Eastenders was on and I forgot all about it, do not worry I will not turn the telly on.”
“Ok then,” agrees Lewis reluctantly; “see you about six o'clock.”
“Six it is then.” smiles Suzy as she gets out of the car and shuts the door. Standing on the pavement Suzy watches Lewis drive along the road until he turns the corner and is out of sight.
Walking along her path she reaches her front door and putting the key in the lock opens the door and steps inside. On the floor just inside the door a plain white envelope lays on the mat, picking it up Suzy sees that the envelope is blank and opens it by sliding her thumb under the join. Inside is a roughly scribbled note from Darren saying that he will call this evening about seven o'clock.
Suzy's stomach twists in agitation and wonders what she is going to say to him; apart from repeating the tale of Doug having a fancy bit and moving away, she is at a loss what else to say.


Chapter Six

The sound of Lewis's car pulling up out the front is a relief from the cleaning and washing Suzy has been doing all day. Lewis's attitude and warnings of future problems made Suzy remove every trace of Doug's presence, even washing the windowsills, cupboards and doors to remove any fingerprints. Lewis knocks gently on the door and Suzy throws her cleaning cloth in the bucket of water and disinfectant.
Wiping her hands she hurries along the hall and opens the door; “Hi Lewis, I hope you have had a good day?” she asks with beaming smile.
“Bloody awful to be honest, hope your day has been better?”
“I have been cleaning and polishing, but I did get some bad news this morning when I opened the door.” she admits as she takes the letter from Darren off the shelf and hands it to Lewis.
Lewis takes hold of the letter and opens it and reads it quietly to himself, looking Suzy in the eyes he warns; “This sounds like the first trouble to come, what are you going to say to him?”
“Only what I said to his boss Adam, on the phone.” she replies with no emotion to her voice.
“You reckon you will be able to do that, face to face?” Lewis asks harshly.
Suzy's face colours a pale shade of pink and she stares back at Lewis with fear in her eyes; “I do not know; especially if he uses the same tone of voice as you just used on me.”
Lewis laughs; “Yes, I was testing you to see how you would react under pressure, not very good are you?”
“Darren coming round has stressed me out a little,” Suzy admits; “Would you like a coffee while I finish cooking your dinner?”
“Yes thanks, I will sit in the lounge if that's Ok?”
“Sure, wherever.” Suzy agrees as she walks into the kitchen.
Lewis enters the lounge and can see that Suzy has dragged the carpet in which they bought yesterday. Sitting down in a soft armchair Lewis realises that with Darren coming round they will need to lay the carpet in case he comes into the lounge.
Suzy comes in a few minutes later carrying two mugs of coffee; not able to put them on the coffee table as they had burned it yesterday, Suzy puts Lewis's mug onto the floor next to him and sits down in the other armchair. Taking a sip of coffee she sighs contentedly and settles back in the chair.
“Make the most of your rest, will be best if we get this carpet laid before Darren comes round.” he tells her.
Suzy pulls a face; “He is not coming in here, I am not going let him in.” she says firmly.
“You have known him a long time it will just make him more suspicious if you are hostile towards him. If you invite him and give him a bit of a sob story he is more than likely to go away happy.”
“Yes I see what you mean, but I am not happy about it.”
They sit and drink their coffee in silence lost in their own thoughts, as Lewis drinks the last of his he stands up and walks into the kitchen. Suzy can hear him put the mug into the sink and walk along the hall to the toilet. Drinking her coffee quickly Suzy stands as she hears the flushing of the toilet and walks into the kitchen. Putting her mug into the sink she goes into the lounge and helps Lewis move the furniture so they can lay the carpet.

A half hour later Lewis sits down in the armchair, tired, irritable and dusty, he stares moodily down at the 'new' carpet. The carpet looks like it had not been moved for years and Lewis stands up quickly to wash the dust off his hands and face. As he shuts the bathroom door he hears the doorbell ring and realises it must be Darren. He had not realised how long it had taken to lay the carpet and he washes quickly. Opening the bathroom door he forces a smile on his lips and goes into the lounge and sees Darren sitting on the couch. The sound of a cupboard door slamming in the kitchen indicates Suzy is making Darren tea or coffee.
Darren looks up at Lewis as Lewis walks in; the look on Darren's face is one of total dislike. They had never really got on in the past and Lewis assumes that with Doug out of the way Darren thought he was in with a chance with Suzy.
Lewis walking in the door and appearing so friendly with Suzy by being here puts a stop to that way of thinking. Angry at Lewis's presence Darren scowls at him and asks in a harsh voice; “What are you doing here? You are the last person I expected to see.”
Lewis stares Darren deep in the eyes reflecting his anger; “I have known Suzy for years mate, just here to help, if you do not mind?” Lewis challenges.
“Yes I do mind.” says Darren as he stands up and walks towards Lewis. Staring him deep in the eyes he raises his fist and punches Lewis hard on the right cheek.
Lewis is shocked by Darren's aggressive behaviour and without thinking punches Darren back harder on the nose.
Darren's nose bursts in a shower of blood as he tries to step back. Tripping over the edge of the 'new' carpet Darren falls backwards onto the floor and bangs his head on the hard tiling that makes up the fireplace.
Knocked unconscious Lewis puts his foot onto his neck; stopping any chance of him breathing. Darren regains consciousness as he fights for breath; Lewis's foot on his neck feels hard and rough and he cannot move it. The rubber of the trainers, feeling as hard as concrete, is his last sensation as the breath is forced out of him.
Suzy walks in the door and in a state of shock stares down at Darren's obviously dead body; “Why did you do that? Have I got enough problems?” she shouts in a scared voice.
“We never did like each other and he walked over and hit me hard; seems he wanted you for himself so I hit him back.”
“Are you serious? Whoever won or lost it's down to me who I hang around with, you are just saying that, why did you do it really?”
Lewis holds his hands up in a sign of defeat as he takes his foot off of Darren's neck; “The truth is what I said, you are worth fighting for.” he smiles looking her up and down in a