by Alice Castle
‘Apart from hiring you. And there wasn’t much he could do about his mother, I suppose.’
‘No. She must have had to listen to him ranting about me so much that it drove her literally crazy. I didn’t realise she’d married again after his father died. If I’d heard that name, Seasons, from the start, I might have got onto things a lot sooner. Then Mum, and Mrs Croft, wouldn’t have had to suffer. And poor old Alfie wouldn’t have died. Of course, all the stuff about the allotments, the Open Garden events, and even about Alfie’s daughter Venetia, turned out to be completely irrelevant in the end.’
‘How did Seasons’ mother get her hands on the poison?’
‘Atropine? Believe it or not, it’s in prescription eyedrops, used to treat inflammations. I should have noticed her great big bulging eyes.’
‘You can’t be expected to see everything, Beth. You’re not a doctor. And you were on your own in this. I promised I’d help but, well, in the end, I just felt I had to put Charlie first. If I’d known that woman would try and kill Wendy, and you, and your whole bridge table…’ Katie looked as close to murderous as Beth had ever seen her, and she found it rather comforting. ‘What will happen to her now?’ Katie asked.
‘Psychiatric reports. Honestly, she’s as mad as a box of badgers. I thought her son was bad enough – he always seemed one shout away from an aneurism – but she’s gone up, up and away since it all happened. She won’t go to a normal prison.’
‘Still, you must feel a lot safer with them out of Dulwich.’
‘Absolutely!’ smiled Beth. ‘I’m not sure where Seasons will go. But it can’t be far enough for me. Now. How’s the Billy situation?’
Katie sighed. ‘I’ve decided on a charm offensive. We’re going to ask him over, as often as Charlie will let me, and I’m going to monitor everything and come down on him like a ton of bricks if he puts a toe out of line.’
‘Do you think that will work?’ Beth put her head on one side. She was sceptical – and also worried that Ben would get left out. What with this, and all the coffee mornings Beth wasn’t being asked to, not to mention the rumours now swirling about her, she was beginning to feel as though the Haldanes might be on the back foot in Dulwich, despite the removal of the evil Seasons clan.
‘I’ve got to give it a try. But I’ll be with you all the way on your next case,’ Katie smiled.
Beth drank up the dregs of her horrible coffee and gave an answering grin. ‘Don’t hold your breath. What else could possibly happen around here?’
***
Back home in Pickwick Road that evening, with the comfort of four familiar walls around her, Beth was feeling happier than she had for a long time. So what, if there was a bit of talk? Such things were five-minute wonders in SE21. She’d be knocked off the gossip agenda as soon as Belinda got a new handbag.
In the meantime, Wyatt’s had a new, benign atmosphere she was revelling in. It was a blessed relief that Seasons would never corner her again, and doubly so that her boy could now wander the school without falling under the moody, malevolent scrutiny of a man who wished her family ill.
And another enormous plus, everyone now turned a blind eye to Colin’s presence about the school. After Beth had managed to catch up with Janice and make a clean breast of everything, she knew that her friend was still on her side, still her protector, and still one of the ageing Labrador’s biggest fans. The old boy was now fast becoming a bit of a school mascot. True, the payback for Janice’s forbearance might be Beth coming good on her rash promise to babysit young Elizabeth, but Beth was braced for that. More or less.
Lazily swirling her hand in the post-supper washing-up water and taking out a tea-stained mug, Beth held it up to the light for a second and then scrubbed it out thoroughly. Had Seasons, or his family, been the worm in the bud all the time, as far as Dulwich was concerned? And had she herself unknowingly been pursuing some sort of feud against her father’s persecutor? She knew she’d much rather believe that Seasons and his family had brought it all upon themselves. But maybe there was something about Dulwich which just did sometimes drive people to extremes. Not her, obviously, she thought, polishing the mug until it shone.
Beth did a final sweep of the sitting room for cups and plates, finding a couple of strays. Hands full, she passed Ben’s horribly scuffed school shoes in the hall and nudged them into a neater alignment with her foot. Back in the kitchen, she slid the last of the dishes into the water. Harry and Ben had just played their last PS4 game before bedtime, and she heard Harry thudding down the stairs after shooing the boy off to bed.
The whole house shook as usual. The heavy footsteps continued down the hall, stopping at the threshold of the kitchen. Magpie hurtled out of her cat flap like a scud missile. Harry hesitated in the doorway, looming uncertainly. Beth looked at him in surprise, her favourite tea towel decorated with the flora and fauna of Dulwich Park in her hand. He wasn’t usually a ditherer.
‘I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should move in together. Get a bigger place.’
Beth, amazed, knew her eyes must be as big as the saucers she’d just been rinsing. It was quite an offer. Her heart leapt. Harry, so big, so tall, so wonderful in his gorgeously huggable Aran jumper, had bashful uncertainty writ large all over him for the first time in living memory.
‘But we couldn’t possibly afford it. You know what houses go for round here,’ she said. Even as she spoke the sensible words, a wide and bewitching smile spread across her face, turning her, at a stroke, from doughty Shetland pony to the most enchanting little unicorn.
Harry strode over to the sink with a single pace, bent low and took her into his arms. ‘We could, if we moved out of Dulwich. It’s not the only place in the world, you know,’ he whispered into her ear.
Shocked, Beth looked up into blue, blue eyes. The teacup she’d been drying so carefully slipped from her fingers and smashed into a million pieces on the floor.
THE END
From the same series:
1. Death in Dulwich
2. The Girl in the Gallery
3. Calamity in Camberwell
4. Homicide in Herne Hill
5. Revenge on the Rye
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Find other thrilling reads at www.crookedcatbooks.com!
From the same bestselling series:
1. Death in Dulwich
2. The Girl in the Gallery
3. Calamity in Camberwell
4. Homicide in Herne Hill
5. Revenge on the Rye
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