Today I called 999 when I heard a argument between my neighbours escalate. In due course two police cars, an ambulance and finally a forensic van arrived. I was later contacted for a statement and told that they had a man in custody. It seems it was a lot more serious than I thought at the time. I’m feeling pretty disturbed about the whole thing and wondering what will happen next. I have agreed to appear as a witness in court if it comes to it. It’s the right thing to do but I feel worried.
My neighbour K and her little boy S moved in next door last summer. She was pregnant with a baby girl who is now five months old. She’s a pleasant woman and S is a lovely kid. I haven’t got to know her well but we said hi and talked about the weather, her kids and my cats. After a few weeks I met boyfriend M, the father of S and the baby. After that I was aware that M was staying at the house for a few days at a time. Then the arguing started, lots of arguing, not pleasant to hear but not a cause for involving officialdom.
A couple of months before the baby was born M didn’t seem to be around anymore. I heard K crying lot and shouting at the little boy. I took some home grown tomatoes round as a friendly gesture. K has a best friend and family, I felt concerned but not responsible. Once the baby was born K seemed happy and M was back on the scene. However I still heard them arguing. Generally K’s voice would predominate.
I’m not the kind of person to keep tabs on the neighbours but we live in a row of Victorian terraces in Northern England so we are in close proximity. My bedroom wall abuts hers and while, thankfully, the walls are thick loud music, children shrieking and loud adult voices penetrate. However I can rarely actually make out what people are saying. Nor do I try!
This morning I was having a lie in. M and K had been arguing in their usual fashion earlier on but I had been able to fall back to sleep. When I next woke it sounded worse than usual, M was shouting more and K was screaming at him. I had started wondering whether I should call the cops when there several loud thumps followed by K shrieking “Ow!” and saying “That really hurt.” That of course was when I dialled. By the time I was off the phone it had gone quiet, then I heard K sobbing.
Later there was a cop car outside and the police were talking to M on the street. I had to go out and walked past them without looking, hoping I looked like somebody not being nosy and not like someone guilty about calling the police. That’s when I saw the ambulance. The forensics van was there later when I came home.
The (plain clothes) policewoman who called to take my statement told me that M is currently in custody. She says she hopes they will prosecute and that M is a nasty piece of work. She also said that K and the kids are OK, which is a relief. I don’t know how this is going to play out. At the moment I’m as worried about seeing K as anything else. I really hope she doesn’t blame me for “making trouble” but I know it was right thing to do.