Bus journeys

I was reminded today by a passenger I quite often talk to on the way home of a bus journey at the beginning of this week. There was an elderly couple on the bus - I've seen them before - and the man is always really nasty to his wife. The topic of conversation was at first what might have happened to their house keys. The wife fished in her bag for them and produced them and remarked perfectly calmly that she'd got them because she'd locked the door on their way out. He then started on at her saying she should shut up talking nonsense because she was really winding him up and he kept on repeating this phrase.

The rest of the passengers were sitting there with bated breath. Then he said had she noticed the price of onions on the market that day. To which she replied no she hadn't. Someone else on the bus called out the price to her and she repeated it to him. Whereupon he started on at her again how she shouldn't go on like that and everyone was laughing at her for being so stupid. It was all totally unnecessary abuse. The lady I was talking to commented that she wondered what would happen if the wife suddenly turned on him and strangled him - as that was what she felt like doing and she didn't even know him.

I suggested that maybe if the chap's wife did we'd all be interviewed by the police as witnesses and of course we'd all be saying 'no comment' and 'I didn't see anything' to protect her. We were saying today that we could just imagine the headlines - police interview 20 bus passengers who didn't see anything when a murder was committed in front of them. Police do not expect to make an early arrest.

This could make a brilliant crime story - perhaps this is my task for this weekend . . . .