…..But the most terrifying thing was just starting to impinge upon my dulled hearing. It was Larry’s voice, screaming from inside the burning building…
Episode 2.
I must have stood by the window for about 10 seconds listening to those awful screams. Truth to tell I just wanted Larry’s horrific demise to be over quickly, no-one could survive in that roaring inferno. The screams suddenly ceased, and then I became aware that the flames were now spreading into the next-door neighbours house. As the property was part of a terrace of 4, the implications were all too clear.
Cindy had reacted more quickly than me, and was already dialling 999 to summon police, fire brigade, ambulance and god-knows who else. I found myself dashing downstairs in my dressing gown and then hurtling down the garden towards the hedge that had been the location of our many gossipy meetings. I couldn’t believe that anyone’s heart could beat as fast as mine was going then. I soon realised that the hedge was just too thick for me to penetrate, so I set off to race the 400-odd yards around the block to get to the front of Larry’s house.
As I dashed around the block, I was also joined by dozens of neighbours, all in their night attire, all of us streaking to the scene of the conflagration, all of us intent on simply doing something to help, though God knows what help we would be able to give to Larry, he had to be burned to a crisp by now.
By now we were all milling about in front of the fiery house, we could hear the dee-dah of the rescue vehicles sirens coming ever closer. The police arrived first, and began to herd us away from the scene, when we were reluctant to move far away the officer told us that he was concerned that a gas main had ruptured and that the whole area could be in danger. Big bang imminent!
Then it hit me. Gas! The whole area had just been converted to the new North Sea gas system! Wow, something had gone really badly wrong, obviously. And Larry, why he was a gas fitter by trade, and as such often commented that he didn’t trust gas one little bit. In fact, he had converted his house to all-electricity, all that remained of the original gas system was the capped off inlet pipe just under the stairs.
As we were pushed back by the police, we began to spill into the gardens of the houses on the other side of the road. A neighbour who was unknown to me suddenly began to shout that he had found a naked body lying at the back of the perimeter hedge, somebody come and see, quickly!
Of course, I knew who's the body was going to be. Three of us walked over and I knelt down next to figure that I had come to know so well. Most of his pyjama's were burned into his skin. The flesh on one side of his chest had come away, revealing the veins beneath. The soles off his feet were hanging off, it looked as though he were wearing tramps shoes that had reached the end of their days. His hair was gone and part of his nose was missing.
But he was alive! He must have run down the blazing staircase in his bare feet, then collapsed as reached safety.
The ambulance men were called over and hustled us away as they attended to my old pal. I was going to tell them not to give him blood, but then thought better of it, thank God. The firemen got the fire under control, and except for a column of flame coming from the gas inlet pipe into Larry’s house there was little else to see. It was about 5am by now, and I staggered back home, where I was met by an excited Cindy.
She’d attempted to contact Larry’s wife, Isobel, at her parent’s home, and had been briskly told by Isobel’s mother to call back after her husband had returned home. Returned home? From where? Where was he at this time of night? Most peculiar.
Dawn came, but neither of us could sleep a wink. I was dog-tired, but my body was so full of adrenalin that I just couldn’t sit still. I kept trying to find out about Larry, but the hospital weren’t saying anything, only that he was being transferred to the National burns unit at Odstock. We drank endless cups of tea. We tried ringing Isobel again, but no-one was answering. The firemen were still damping down the ruins of Larry’s home, the gas flame having been successfully extinguished.
Later that morning, a knock came at the door and I opened it to find highish-ranking police officer standing squarely in the doorway, Good Morning sir, do you mind if we search your garden? We are rather keen to find something and we think that your garden is the place where we are most likely to find what we are looking for. Yeah go ahead, whatever, I collapsed back into my chair as the men in blue began to trample on my hard-grown veggies as they made their meticulous search.
After only a few minutes, the officer tapped on the window to say that his men were finished searching. He then held up a plastic bag for me to see. It was a threaded gas cap, yellow, about one and a half inches in diameter. Also clearly visible was bright metal around the flats of the hexagonal cap. Bright metal that showed the marks of a recently applied wrench…….
End of part 2.
Englishman.
Bring on the dancing girls!