“Morning, Ben,” said Tristan, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Simeon today, have you?”
Ben shook his head. “Sorry, guv, haven’t seen him since I were down here this time yesterday.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“How about making us both a coffee,” said Tristan, as Ben continued on his way to the lake.
Tess nodded. “Okay, would you like the real stuff or instant?”
“Instant will do fine, thank you. Not too strong and with milk but no sugar.”
While Tess made the coffee, Tristan looked at the trays of pastries to weigh up what little there was left. Just as he was about to comment he heard someone shouting. Tristan went to the door and saw Ben running towards him frantically waving his arms.
“Come quick,” said Ben, gasping for breath, “there’s something in the lake.”
Tristan followed Ben and Tess followed Tristan. When by the side of the lake, they saw something close to the island, floating and seemingly caught up in the overhanging foliage.
“Oh my God,” screamed Tess, as her eyes filled with tears, “it’s Simeon. I recognise his jacket.”
Tristan ran to the boathouse and took out the small punt. He and Ben then rowed over to the island. When they reached the something in the water, Ben turned it over. Tess was right. It was Simeon Dupont and he was dead.
Psychic Sid, feeling much better after a good night’s sleep, had just risen and was eating a late breakfast in his caravan when he heard the sirens of police cars. Wondering why the boys in blue were paying a visit, he rose from the table and looked from a window. To his astonishment there were two police cars, followed by an ambulance and all were heading down towards the lake. Sid opened the door of his caravan and went outside in his dressing gown to see if there were any obvious signs of anything wrong. He was staggered when he saw that several people who worked at Wonderland were gathered at the water’s edge and more from the fairground were walking in that direction. Eager to know the cause of the gathering, he quickly threw on some clothes, picked up the remains of his bacon sandwich and went to join them.
Once Simeon’s body was back on dry land, the police ushered away the spectators and asked that no-one leave the premises. A police board stating ‘no entry’ was placed at the entrance to Pentrillick House and they requested a notice be placed alongside it stating that the venue was to be closed until further notice. Meanwhile, more police cars had arrived along with scenes of crime officers. Everyone was then questioned to try and establish who might have been the last person to see the patissier alive, and where: a routine procedure even though there appeared to be no suggestion of foul play at that point.
Questioning revealed that all who had amusements in the fairground area also had caravans in which they resided on site but that no-one claimed to have seen Simeon at all the previous evening in the grounds of Pentrillick House. However, it transpired that several from the fairground and some of the stall holders had seen him in the Crown and Anchor on Friday evening and many said that he left the pub long before closing time as was always the case for he had to be up early in the mornings to begin his baking.
Hetty and Lottie were in the Crown and Anchor on Saturday evening when they first heard news of Simeon’s death. It was Tommy Thomas who told them.
“I don’t know,” he jested, “the village has been trouble free these past few months but you’ve only been back a week and already we’ve had an unexplained death.”
“Unexplained,” said Hetty, “I thought you said that poor Simeon had drowned in the lake.”
“Well, when I say unexplained it’s because no-one knows yet what happened. I mean, why on earth would he fall in the lake? It’s not as if he didn’t know it was there. They’ll know more of course when they get the results of the post mortem but I expect the cause of death will be drowning. Having said that, I suppose the poor bloke might have had a heart attack and fallen in because he was disorientated.”
Hetty shook her head. “No, I can’t believe he’d have suffered a heart attack because he looked a picture of health. Poor Simeon, his pastries were out of this world, he’ll be a great loss to Wonderland.”
Lottie sighed. “Yes, he certainly will.”
As Hetty lifted her drink, she glanced towards the window and the street outside. “We saw him leave here last night. He seemed very cheerful and was whistling. It’s horrid to think that soon after that he was dead. Poor soul.”
Tommy nodded. “I know. I was chatting to him earlier in the evening and he seemed fine. He said he liked the weekends because Wonderland was really busy. He was a hard worker, no-one can take that away from him.”
“What will they do about the café when Wonderland is able to open up again?” Lottie asked. “I mean, it was quite an important part of the set-up, wasn’t it?”
Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, and I’ve no idea what they’ll do. I mean, it’s a bit short notice to get someone else, especially this time of the year. We’ll no doubt find out in due course though because Bernie is on the Wonderland Committee and so he’ll be in the know when they get the go ahead to open up again.”
“Do we know anything about his family?” Hetty asked. “I mean Simeon’s of course, not Bernie’s.”
Tommy shook his head. “No, he never mentioned family at all, either in this country or France. But I do know he didn’t have children because he said so when we were talking about Santa’s grotto.”
“Well, that’s something, I suppose. At least no children have lost their father.”
“And I’m glad he wasn’t married,” said Lottie, twisting around the wedding ring on her finger, “It would be horrid for a wife to have lost a husband that way. Or any other way for that matter and I speak from experience.”
Finn and Woody, tired of hearing everyone talking about the death of Simeon Dupont while they were detained at Wonderland for several hours, decided rather than go to the Crown and Anchor in the evening where no doubt they would hear more of the same, to go to Helston instead. For they had been told by the couple of women that ran the children’s roundabout at the fair that a pub in Helston called the Blue Anchor brewed its own beer. It was called Spingo and over Easter and during the Christmas period they made extra strong specials.
To help the lads out, Shelley agreed to drive them to Helston so they would only need to have a taxi home. She was happy to do so for Ginger also expressed the desire to try just one pint of the Christmas brew. Shelley knew she could not do the same and so instead would settle for a half of regular Spingo and then when Ginger was ready she would drive the two of them back to Pentrillick.
However, when they arrived at the Blue Anchor they found the death of Simeon Dupont was also the main topic of conversation there and when it was discovered that the four were not only staying in Pentrillick but that they had stalls at Wonderland too and had known the deceased then they were bombarded with questions. Needless to say, Finn and Woody were not amused, but the girls who liked a bit of gossip answered as many questions as they were able and it wasn’t until they had been there for well over an hour, that talk of Simeon finally died down. This enabled Shelley and Ginger to make a quiet exit leaving behind the lads, who having consumed two pints each of the Christmas brew and were in the throes of buying their third, happy to stay, especially as they had found like-minded people to talk to.
Chapter Eight
On Sunday morning, Hetty and Lottie both woke up well before it was light and so rather than lie awake squandering time which could be put to good use, they both got up without even knowing the other was doing the same. However, once they were up and had eaten breakfast, neither had the appetite for menial tasks around the home and so instead they decided to go to church. For saddened by the death of Simeon Dupont they both felt in need of hearing something positive and church, they agreed, usually had that effect, especially during Advent in the lead up to Christmas.
To their surprise they discovered that Miss Vickery wh
o also lived in Blackberry Way, played the church organ, and after the service, Daisy in attendance with her husband, introduced them to their near neighbour. However, having learned earlier in the week from Maisie that Miss Vickery was sixty eight years of age, they knew that to call her Katherine or Kitty would be quite unacceptable and so politely called her Miss Vickery.
Miss Vickery stood five feet eleven inches tall and because of her height she always wore flat shoes. For the morning service she was dressed in a green suit with a box pleated skirt. Her thick grey hair curled around the green felt hat that part-covered her hair. Her thin lips were coloured with a dark shade of pink lipstick and a pair of delicate pearl earrings dangled from her pierced earlobes.
After leaving the church, and still feeling subdued, Hetty and Lottie walked home for it was too early to go to the pub for a roast and they knew that Chloe’s Café was closed during the winter months. When they arrived back they forced themselves to tidy up the spare bedroom and then had lunch at home rather than go to the pub.
“Since we’ve nothing else planned for today, I think you ought to have a driving lesson,” said Hetty, as she put away the dishes having just washed up.”
“Oh, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to concentrate with all that’s going on.” Lottie, hoped her dispirited mood might spare her a spell behind the steering wheel.
Hetty tutted. “Come on now, don’t make up excuses. Driving will take your mind off poor Simeon and serve a useful purpose too. You did really well the other day. I think you’re a natural and you really want to have your test over and done with before the summer when the roads are much busier with visitors.”
Slightly flattered by her sister’s words, Lottie grudgingly agreed to the driving lesson providing they went no further than Blackberry Way.
Inside Sea View Cottage, Shelley and Ginger were busy cooking dinner: toad-in-the-hole with roast potatoes, fried onions, stuffed mushrooms, lots of vegetables and thick gravy. Had Wonderland not been closed then they would of course have been working and during breakfast they had agreed that because of the impromptu day off, they must enjoy it and go to the Crown and Anchor for lunch. However, practicality changed their minds; for on thinking a little deeper they realised the future was uncertain because every day that Wonderland was closed meant they were being deprived of much needed income. Hence they thought it wise to watch the pennies for a few days and eat at the cottage instead. Besides, they were pretty confident that neither Finn nor Woody would be too keen on a visit to the pub for it had been in the early hours of Sunday morning that the girls heard a taxi pull up outside the cottage, and from the racket the lads made as they climbed the stairs to their respective rooms, it was unlikely either would be feeling anything other than awful for the entire day.
Inside the grounds of Pentrillick House, police tape cordoned off the lake and the wooden chalets were closed and locked up. No Christmas lights twinkled along the avenue of trees and no-one ho-ho-hoed in Santa’s grotto. The sleigh ride stood abandoned beneath a sheet of tarpaulin and the fairground amusements were eerily silent.
Psychic Sid, saddened by the sombre mood of the usually happy atmosphere of Wonderland, decided to drive into the village on Sunday afternoon and have few pints of Doom Bar at the Crown and Anchor where he hoped the jovial tone of the pub would lift his spirit. After putting on his coat because the day felt chilly, he locked up his caravan and walked across the grass, up through the avenue of trees and over to the car park where his estate car stood alone in its row. As he pulled the car keys from his pocket, he saw the forlorn figure of a young lad who he estimated to be in his early teens, sitting on a grass bank.
“Are you lost, son?” he asked. “You know that Wonderland is closed for a few days now.”
The lad nodded. “Yes, I know. My father told me of Monsieur Dupont’s demise. Very sad, not that I knew the gentleman.”
Sid unlocked his car, dropped the keys onto the driver’s seat and turned back towards the lad. “May I ask who your father is?” Sid felt the lad ought not to be on the premises and didn’t want him to get into trouble.
“Of course. My father is Tristan Liddicott-Treen and I am his son Jeremy. My sister, Jemima and I arrived home from school last night.”
Sid’s shoulders slumped. “Oh dear, not much of a welcome home then, Master Jeremy.”
Jeremy smiled. “No need for the master,” he said. “Jeremy will do just fine.”
“Jeremy it is then and may I ask how old you are?”
“You may indeed. I am thirteen years old and my sister, Jemima is fifteen.”
Sid sighed. “Oh, to be so young.”
Jeremy considered himself to be quite grown up but thought better of contradicting his elders. “And may I ask who you are, sir?”
Sid chuckled. “You may indeed. I’m Sidney Moore, better known as Psychic Sid. You’ve probably seen my caravan down by the maze.”
Jeremy’s face lit up. “Yes, I have and I must say that my sister was very impressed to discover that you’re here this year. She’ll no doubt pay you a visit before the holidays are over. She and her friends are always reading their horoscopes on the internet and in magazines and I’ve noticed how they manipulate the words to mean whatever suits them best.”
“Oh, that’ll be nice,” gulped Sid, hoping it would be very near to the end of the holiday and preferably just before he was due to leave Cornwall, that Jemima called upon his services. “I shall look forward to seeing the young lady.”
“Did you know Monsieur Dupont?” Jeremy suddenly asked.
“Yes, but not very well.” Sid chuckled, “He never came to have his fortune told but I did sample a few of his wares as my figure probably tells you.”
Jeremy smiled. “And who can blame you.”
“So, is there any reason why you’re sitting out here in the car park when you’ve acres of beautiful gardens you could be in?”
“Every good reason. I love cars and all modes of transportation. I’m a bit of a nerd, you see. Of course, there’s not much here today but hopefully the Wonderland will be open again soon and the car park will be packed full of interesting vehicles.”
As he spoke a girl with similar looks to the lad came running around the corner. “There you are, Jeremy,” she said. “Mother sent me to look for you. Come on, we’re going out on the horses.”
Jeremy stood. “Okay, Jemima, I’m coming.” He turned to Sid and shook his hand. “Goodbye, Mr Moore, it’s been really nice talking to you and hopefully I’ll see you again soon.”
The grounds of Pentrillick House fell silent earlier on Sunday evening than it had for the first few days of the week. For the Crown and Anchor rang last orders just before ten thirty ensuring that most of the fairground people were back on site and tucked up in their caravan beds before midnight. All were hopeful of a good night’s sleep and optimistic that the following morning they would hear that Wonderland was to be reopened very soon.
Inside Pentrillick House, the Liddicott-Treen family also slept, oblivious of the freshening wind whistling around the house and sending ripples across the dark waters of the lake. As the time ticked by the wind strengthened further and then suddenly in the early hours of the morning, Jeremy Liddicott-Treen was woken by a crashing noise deep inside the house. Curious as to what it might have been, he courageously slipped from his bed, put on his dressing gown and tip-toed into the long, dark passageway. At the top of the main staircase, dimly lit by wall lights on the old wood panelling, he sat and waited to see if the noise occurred again. Another crash and the sound of breaking glass caused him to jump, but not one to be frightened by the unknown, he crept down the stairs into the vestibule and from there proceeded towards the part of the house from which the noise had seemed to emanate. Inside the old kitchen which had not been used for many years he found a window wide open and shattered glass from a broken pane lying on the old tiled floor.
He tutted. How many times had he heard his mother remind his father
that the faulty catch needed to be repaired? He leaned across and pulled the window to but left the glass for others to clear up in the morning and made a mental note that he must inform his father that Jenkins, the maintenance man, needed to repair the window promptly.
Rather than go back to his room by way of the main staircase he took a shortcut up the narrow back stairs which led to the now disused servants’ quarters and because he had not been in there for some time he peeped into the old nursery simply because its contents always made him smile. Without switching on the light he went into the room, stroked the mane on the old rocking horse and crossed to the window which looked out to the south. In the distance the sea could be glimpsed above the trees in the valley and beneath large clouds that moved swiftly across the dark sky. Jeremy took in a deep breath…it was good to be home. A sudden flash of light amongst the trees on the far side of the lake caused him to squint. Knowing that there was no lighting in that area, he opened the window hopeful that his visibility would be improved. The light appeared to be moving through the trees near to the children’s adventure area. Suddenly it briefly stopped and then began to move again but now in a changed direction. Jeremy frowned for if the light were a torch then someone was retracing their steps.
He continued to watch until he saw a figure emerge from the woods and onto the path which ran round the lake. It moved with haste but as it approached the old boathouse, the light went out and he saw nothing more.
Chapter Nine
On Monday afternoon, villagers learned that the results of Simeon Dupont’s post mortem specified the cause of death, as expected, was drowning. It also stated there were excessive amounts of alcohol in his blood and it was unlikely that he knew much about his demise.
Hetty and Lottie learned of this from Bernie when they went to the post office for stamps to send off their Christmas cards to friends and family up-country.
A Pasty In A Pear Tree Page 6
