Jan shouted across to Philip just as he was about to jump in the Land Rover,
"Phil ! it's your mother on the phone, I think she has had a fall, I can't make out exactly what she is saying on the phone"
Phil jumped out and slammed the door on the Land Rover as he ran across the messy farm yard,
"Mum? what's up?" said Phil in a worried voice,
"Oooh Phil" his mother groaned,
"I think I have broken my leg, I can't move and I am getting so cold"
"Hold on there mum" Phil screamed down the phone "Jan will call an ambulance and I am on my way!"
With that Phil ran at top speed towards his truck, he jumped in and set off with all wheels spinning out of the mud strewn farmyard.
Jan meanwhile set about getting an ambulance out to her mother-in-laws address, she then rang he back to try and keep her talking,
"Are you alright Barbara?" Jan asked
"I am so cold, Jan, I have been here for hours, I had to crawl across the kitchen floor and knock the phone off the work-top with the mop handle, thank God you and Phil were at home"
"Well it's ok Mum, Phil is on his way and so is the ambulance"
Jan tried not to sound too worried as she thought it may worry Barbara unduly so she kept the conversation as chirpy as the circumstances would allow,
"How did you manage to fall over?" Jan asked,
"Oh I can't remember " Barbara said rather coyly, "one minute i was walking through the hallway and the next i woke up with such a sore head and I think my leg is broken"
"You have a head injury as well Barbara?"
"Well I think so Jan, I am not sure, I am a little confused"
"Ok ok" said Jan, now a little more urgency in her voice, "Phil will be with you any minute and the ambulance will not be far behind"
"I think I hear him now" Barbara's voice sounding a little stronger at the thought of her son arriving to make things all better again,
At that moment Phil burst through the door and stood there for a few seconds at the sight that stood in front of him,
"Jesus Christ Mum how the hell did you get in such a state?"
Phil grabbed a loose cover off the settee in the lounge and put it over Barbara to help keep her warm,
"I-I-I don't remember Phil to be honest I was just walking through the hallway and the next thing I woke up with a sore head and my leg pinned under me, I must have slipped on something, I cant really remember".
Phil reached up and put the kettle on as he noticed Barbara was looking a little pale and gaunt, he remembered from many years back that warm tea with plenty of sugar was very good for shock,
"No problem mum we will sort the whys and where for's afterwards, but for now we need to get you to the hospital and that head seen to".
Phil poured the hot water on to a teabag and added 3 teaspoons of sugar and some milk to the cup, he held it to his mothers lips while supporting her head, Barbara took a welcome sip and a smile lit her face up, a sight Phil was very heartened by, just then the sound of sirens filled the air and before he knew it Phil was joined in the room by two ambulance personnel who immediately took over the situation, Phil gave them his mother's details and comforted her as the paramedics quickly assessed just how badly Barbara was injured.
It seemed like literally seconds for Barbara to be lifted on to the stretcher and wheeled out to the waiting Ambulance, Phil was almost a little teary eyed but did his best to stifle any imminent tears until he had closed the door on the ambulance and waved Barbara off to the hospital,
"I will follow on in the Land Rover mum"
he shouted as the ambulance drove out of the drive and sped on to the main road with lights and sirens all on full.
Phil walked slowly back to the house and took advantage of a warm kettle and made himself a strong coffee, he rang Jan and let her know the full story and told her he would go to the hospital and ring her from there if there was any news.
Drinking his coffee Phil was left with an almost surreal feeling at the quiet and calmness that had befell the house compared to the last few manic minutes, it was almost eerie. Grabbing his mobile off the kitchen top Phil was just about to leave but he had an uneasy feeling, he couldn't explain it but he just felt that something wasn't right, he walked out of the kitchen and slowly walked up the stairs, his hands were clammy and he felt an uneasiness he had never known before considering this was the family home, a place of normality and safety.
Opening the door to his mothers bedroom Phil peered inside feeling like some naughty boy that shouldn't dare be prying with his mother not there, he couldn't see any issues so walked across the landing towards the two spare rooms that both had their doors firmly closed, opening the first door Phil noticed a really musty smell, a smell that said the room had not been used for months, it was his old room and memories came flooding back, he stood there looking at the posters still on the wall and his old toys still boxed in the corner gathering dust, the corner of his mouth rose in a smile at the youngster looking back at him in the black and white pictures that sat on the dressing table and with that Phil closed the door.
Still feeling something was not as it should be Phil walked towards the other spare bedroom door that was firmly closed he slowly dropped the handle and at first it refused to open with a small push, so Phil rested his shoulder against the door and pushed a little harder, the door swung open and at that moment Phil was hit with a wall of the blackest flies he had ever seen, they were huge black house flies that flew into his face and stuck to every surface of the room and turned the air black such were their numbers. Phil closed the door as quickly as he could, flies had escaped the room and were flying all over the landing and walking half dazed across the carpets, Phil felt himself retching at such a disgusting sight and smell.
There was no choice for Phil but to brave the room again and run to the window to get some air into the room and the flies out, so much was running through his mind, why had is mother let this happen? did she even know? what was in there that had attracted so many flies?.
Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket Phil tied it around his face like some some cowboy in a Wild West movie, he grabbed the door handle and pushed open the door, the flies were everywhere, worse than before as they had been disturbed, they darkened the room so much it was like a cave, Phil ran to the curtains and threw them open and grabbed both window handles and tugged at them feverishly to get them to open,as the flies crawled all over his face and hands, finally after what seemed an age they opened wide and a huge wave of flies spilt out into the fresh cold air turning the pathway below instantly black.
Phil eased back into the room from the windows as the remaining flies walked or slowly buzzed around the room making their way slowly to the light of the windows, the smell was unbearable, the most disgusting gut wrenching smell Phil had ever know, everywhere he looked there were papers, clothes, drawers strewn all over the place, what on earth had happened in here?. Phil reached for the light and switched it on, the obvious signs of a struggle or burglary that had taken place were underlined by every part of the room being in total disarray.
Hesitantly Phil walked to the built in wardrobe, slowly turning the handle he pulled the door open and peered inside, there were clothes hung in line all full of flies yet again, Phil looked down there was a pile of old clothes covered in dust and cobwebs he grabbed them to see what lay beneath and as he did a skeletal arm of a young child dropped out of the wardrobe and brushed the carpet with the edge of its now bony fingers. Phil jumped back and screamed, fixated and terrified by the sight before him, he ran downstairs and dialed Jan's mobile number, flies were now all over the house, the kitchen and the hallway were covered in them, Phil could barely get the words out when Jan answered the phone,
'c-call the police.... someone is dead...in the spare room, dead i tell you, a skeleton!'
Jan thought it was some kind of joke, 'Phil? is that you ? what ever is the matter with you, where are you?'
'I am at mothers still, there is a dead body in the wardrobe upstairs quickly, get the Police here!'
Jan immediately hung up and dialled 999 and jumped in her car and headed for her mother in laws house.
The sound of sirens again broke the peaceful silence of the little hamlet but this time for a completely different reason. Phil was waiting at the door when the police arrived, Jan pulled up just a few seconds later but was restrained from greeting Phil by a policewoman,
'Thats my husband!' she exclaimed, 'Yes miss ok but at the moment this is an official police crime scene and you cannot enter'. said the officer.
Phil led the Police upstairs to the room where the skeleton of a young child lay in the bottom of the
wardrobe, he pointed it out to the Officers who immediately called for assistance from CID.
'I need all the details you have sir and obviously this will be treated as a suspicious death until we have all the facts, leave your telephone number and contact address with the officer downstairs and we will be in touch, where is your mother now sir?' the officer asked.
'she is in hospital, just gone, she was in a fall' Phil struggled to compose himself
'what is this all about?' Phil asked as if in a daze
'well, sir that is what we aim to find out' came the officers stark reply.
Phil walked out of the house with a blank expression on his face into Jan's waiting arms,
'Phil, what is it love, what the hell has happened?' Phil just muttered, not making a lot of sense
'A damn skeleton in the spare room, how? why? who?'
Jan could see Phil was distressed, 'do you want to go and see your mother now?' she said.
Snapping out of his daze in an instant Phil exclaimed,
'I think that's a damned good idea' and with that he jumped in to the Land Rover and sped off for the hospital, leaving Jan to make her own way.
"Phil ! it's your mother on the phone, I think she has had a fall, I can't make out exactly what she is saying on the phone"
Phil jumped out and slammed the door on the Land Rover as he ran across the messy farm yard,
"Mum? what's up?" said Phil in a worried voice,
"Oooh Phil" his mother groaned,
"I think I have broken my leg, I can't move and I am getting so cold"
"Hold on there mum" Phil screamed down the phone "Jan will call an ambulance and I am on my way!"
With that Phil ran at top speed towards his truck, he jumped in and set off with all wheels spinning out of the mud strewn farmyard.
Jan meanwhile set about getting an ambulance out to her mother-in-laws address, she then rang he back to try and keep her talking,
"Are you alright Barbara?" Jan asked
"I am so cold, Jan, I have been here for hours, I had to crawl across the kitchen floor and knock the phone off the work-top with the mop handle, thank God you and Phil were at home"
"Well it's ok Mum, Phil is on his way and so is the ambulance"
Jan tried not to sound too worried as she thought it may worry Barbara unduly so she kept the conversation as chirpy as the circumstances would allow,
"How did you manage to fall over?" Jan asked,
"Oh I can't remember " Barbara said rather coyly, "one minute i was walking through the hallway and the next i woke up with such a sore head and I think my leg is broken"
"You have a head injury as well Barbara?"
"Well I think so Jan, I am not sure, I am a little confused"
"Ok ok" said Jan, now a little more urgency in her voice, "Phil will be with you any minute and the ambulance will not be far behind"
"I think I hear him now" Barbara's voice sounding a little stronger at the thought of her son arriving to make things all better again,
At that moment Phil burst through the door and stood there for a few seconds at the sight that stood in front of him,
"Jesus Christ Mum how the hell did you get in such a state?"
Phil grabbed a loose cover off the settee in the lounge and put it over Barbara to help keep her warm,
"I-I-I don't remember Phil to be honest I was just walking through the hallway and the next thing I woke up with a sore head and my leg pinned under me, I must have slipped on something, I cant really remember".
Phil reached up and put the kettle on as he noticed Barbara was looking a little pale and gaunt, he remembered from many years back that warm tea with plenty of sugar was very good for shock,
"No problem mum we will sort the whys and where for's afterwards, but for now we need to get you to the hospital and that head seen to".
Phil poured the hot water on to a teabag and added 3 teaspoons of sugar and some milk to the cup, he held it to his mothers lips while supporting her head, Barbara took a welcome sip and a smile lit her face up, a sight Phil was very heartened by, just then the sound of sirens filled the air and before he knew it Phil was joined in the room by two ambulance personnel who immediately took over the situation, Phil gave them his mother's details and comforted her as the paramedics quickly assessed just how badly Barbara was injured.
It seemed like literally seconds for Barbara to be lifted on to the stretcher and wheeled out to the waiting Ambulance, Phil was almost a little teary eyed but did his best to stifle any imminent tears until he had closed the door on the ambulance and waved Barbara off to the hospital,
"I will follow on in the Land Rover mum"
he shouted as the ambulance drove out of the drive and sped on to the main road with lights and sirens all on full.
Phil walked slowly back to the house and took advantage of a warm kettle and made himself a strong coffee, he rang Jan and let her know the full story and told her he would go to the hospital and ring her from there if there was any news.
Drinking his coffee Phil was left with an almost surreal feeling at the quiet and calmness that had befell the house compared to the last few manic minutes, it was almost eerie. Grabbing his mobile off the kitchen top Phil was just about to leave but he had an uneasy feeling, he couldn't explain it but he just felt that something wasn't right, he walked out of the kitchen and slowly walked up the stairs, his hands were clammy and he felt an uneasiness he had never known before considering this was the family home, a place of normality and safety.
Opening the door to his mothers bedroom Phil peered inside feeling like some naughty boy that shouldn't dare be prying with his mother not there, he couldn't see any issues so walked across the landing towards the two spare rooms that both had their doors firmly closed, opening the first door Phil noticed a really musty smell, a smell that said the room had not been used for months, it was his old room and memories came flooding back, he stood there looking at the posters still on the wall and his old toys still boxed in the corner gathering dust, the corner of his mouth rose in a smile at the youngster looking back at him in the black and white pictures that sat on the dressing table and with that Phil closed the door.
Still feeling something was not as it should be Phil walked towards the other spare bedroom door that was firmly closed he slowly dropped the handle and at first it refused to open with a small push, so Phil rested his shoulder against the door and pushed a little harder, the door swung open and at that moment Phil was hit with a wall of the blackest flies he had ever seen, they were huge black house flies that flew into his face and stuck to every surface of the room and turned the air black such were their numbers. Phil closed the door as quickly as he could, flies had escaped the room and were flying all over the landing and walking half dazed across the carpets, Phil felt himself retching at such a disgusting sight and smell.
There was no choice for Phil but to brave the room again and run to the window to get some air into the room and the flies out, so much was running through his mind, why had is mother let this happen? did she even know? what was in there that had attracted so many flies?.
Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket Phil tied it around his face like some some cowboy in a Wild West movie, he grabbed the door handle and pushed open the door, the flies were everywhere, worse than before as they had been disturbed, they darkened the room so much it was like a cave, Phil ran to the curtains and threw them open and grabbed both window handles and tugged at them feverishly to get them to open,as the flies crawled all over his face and hands, finally after what seemed an age they opened wide and a huge wave of flies spilt out into the fresh cold air turning the pathway below instantly black.
Phil eased back into the room from the windows as the remaining flies walked or slowly buzzed around the room making their way slowly to the light of the windows, the smell was unbearable, the most disgusting gut wrenching smell Phil had ever know, everywhere he looked there were papers, clothes, drawers strewn all over the place, what on earth had happened in here?. Phil reached for the light and switched it on, the obvious signs of a struggle or burglary that had taken place were underlined by every part of the room being in total disarray.
Hesitantly Phil walked to the built in wardrobe, slowly turning the handle he pulled the door open and peered inside, there were clothes hung in line all full of flies yet again, Phil looked down there was a pile of old clothes covered in dust and cobwebs he grabbed them to see what lay beneath and as he did a skeletal arm of a young child dropped out of the wardrobe and brushed the carpet with the edge of its now bony fingers. Phil jumped back and screamed, fixated and terrified by the sight before him, he ran downstairs and dialed Jan's mobile number, flies were now all over the house, the kitchen and the hallway were covered in them, Phil could barely get the words out when Jan answered the phone,
'c-call the police.... someone is dead...in the spare room, dead i tell you, a skeleton!'
Jan thought it was some kind of joke, 'Phil? is that you ? what ever is the matter with you, where are you?'
'I am at mothers still, there is a dead body in the wardrobe upstairs quickly, get the Police here!'
Jan immediately hung up and dialled 999 and jumped in her car and headed for her mother in laws house.
The sound of sirens again broke the peaceful silence of the little hamlet but this time for a completely different reason. Phil was waiting at the door when the police arrived, Jan pulled up just a few seconds later but was restrained from greeting Phil by a policewoman,
'Thats my husband!' she exclaimed, 'Yes miss ok but at the moment this is an official police crime scene and you cannot enter'. said the officer.
Phil led the Police upstairs to the room where the skeleton of a young child lay in the bottom of the
wardrobe, he pointed it out to the Officers who immediately called for assistance from CID.
'I need all the details you have sir and obviously this will be treated as a suspicious death until we have all the facts, leave your telephone number and contact address with the officer downstairs and we will be in touch, where is your mother now sir?' the officer asked.
'she is in hospital, just gone, she was in a fall' Phil struggled to compose himself
'what is this all about?' Phil asked as if in a daze
'well, sir that is what we aim to find out' came the officers stark reply.
Phil walked out of the house with a blank expression on his face into Jan's waiting arms,
'Phil, what is it love, what the hell has happened?' Phil just muttered, not making a lot of sense
'A damn skeleton in the spare room, how? why? who?'
Jan could see Phil was distressed, 'do you want to go and see your mother now?' she said.
Snapping out of his daze in an instant Phil exclaimed,
'I think that's a damned good idea' and with that he jumped in to the Land Rover and sped off for the hospital, leaving Jan to make her own way.
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