WINDOW VIEWS -- Memory & Instinct

Look, I've cleaned these windows umpteen times. My records show I first worked them in March 2018, and monthly since then. When your a window cleaner you have a unique view on any of the houses you clean, and the people you clean for. You're given permission to intrude and to stare into their personal space. You can't help but become nosy and intrigued about the folk you clean for. You rarely get to know them very well. Maybe just casual chit chat at the door whilst you sort out what they'd like you to do this visit, or when they pay you. Mostly you are just allowed to get on with it, almost as if you are not really there. Apart from when they're a work at home Mum or Dad, most of them are out when I call, anyway. They leave payment in an agreed place, or I send them a payment link. You do become a good observer in this job. What things are usually in a room. You notice new things appearing, things going missing. The changes in decor. You can't help taking an active human interest.

The Randall's seemed a nice young professional couple, living together when I first cleaned windows for them. Married, once they had the children, two boys, two years apart. Both of them worked in quite high paid jobs, something in finance is what I picked up. The interiors of their house had a bookish bohemian relaxed feel. Unobstructed windows, no blinds, no curtains. Reflections of a youth backpacking and a lot of travelling, post university. It was all there in the photos on the lounge walls, shelves and furniture. As the kids grew up it became inevitably more chaotically organised. And at first I thought nothing of it, because that's just how family homes are, they often are in a right royal mess. But I noticed that over quite a while it was getting progressively worse, the house had not just an unkempt, but an uncared for look. As if it never got cleaned up at all between the periods of dirty turbulent mess. Once the kids were school age, the house was left empty during the day. Everyone was out. No cars in the drive, gates closed. I just did my job and left.

A fortnight ago, I arrived to find both cars parked up in the drive. Odd in itself, as they were rarely there together when I visited. So I expected to see them around as I cleaned the windows. But I saw no one. All the windows not a human presence to be seen anywhere. One bedroom now had curtains closed during the day, which was puzzling. I assumed someone was home ill.  I did the usual cleaning round and moved on to my next client. Sending a payment link to her email address as before. But no payment was made. Usually they responded within a day. But nothing. I started to feel uneasy about it, so ended up popping round at the weekend just to check all was well. Surprised to find both cars still in the same position in the drive. Something even stranger was the state of the kitchen and lounge. No more of a mess than usual, it was exactly the same mess as before. Nothing had moved one centimetre since my last visit, everything left exactly as it was the last time. The dirty plates, half read magazines, cereal packets left open, everything unmoved. I got out my ladders, it was just the same on the second floor. The same bedroom had it's curtains closed. But there were now lots of flies battering themselves against the window. Once I saw that, that was when I phoned the police.