by Emily Selby
'No, she said something about helping you with afternoon tea,' Katie quickly corrected herself.
Confusion grew on Linda's face. 'Oh, gosh, I must have forgotten I've asked her.'
'Mavis is helping you with the tea? That's nice. Yes, she's quite good at remembering things,' Emily added. 'So what are you preparing?'
'Yeah, sometimes Mavis' good memory is a blessing and sometimes.' Linda blew out a breath. 'Anyway, I'd better get something nice at Une Tasse de Bonheur.
Emily shot her mother a dagger of a glance.
'Mum? Not cake! Remember what your doctor said?'
'Shush, Emily. You don't need to shout it in front of people. I do remember it very well. Besides, it's not just for me or Mavis. We've got quite a few people coming. And I'm going to pick something healthy for myself as well, okay?'
Ouch!
So, the local grapevine was right. Linda was on a diet. And it looked like she didn't want anyone to know.
Katie sneaked out of the door. She had to rethink her plan of accessing the crafts room and she didn't want to be a witness to a conversation too painful for her friend.
22
'Mum, where do you keep the glitter glue? I wanted to make a Christmas card for my science teacher.' Julia poked her head around the kitchen door. 'Mum?' there was an urgency in her voice.
Katie stirred the contents of the pot, while looking at her daughter. Why do they always forget and why do they always want glitter?
'I don't have glitter glue. You should have some glue in your bedroom and we may find some glitter in the crafts room at the community centre.'
After the most recent murder case, even pronouncing the word glitter still gave her creeps. Let alone buying a new supply.
'But you've promised me to get some more glitter, to replace the jar that got spilled when that man–'
'Yes, honey,' Katie interrupted. She didn't want Julia to talk about it.
'Didn't we order some on AliExpress? Can you check if it's been sent?'
Katie sighed inwardly. Did she even complete the purchase? 'No problem, I'll check it, but when do you need the Christmas card for?'
'Next Monday. We have the last science class next week.'
'Okay, we'll go to the club to have a look at the supplies.' Katie jumped at the opportunity of turning up to collect the key from Linda with Julia without having to drag her there under a false pretence.
'When can we go?'
Linda said she had a meeting at 5 pm. 'Let's see if we can get the key from Mrs McKay after dinner.'
Surely, Linda's mysterious meeting with cake and something healthy should be over by then.
With the plates scraped clear of dinner (spaghetti bolognese with meatballs was always a popular option with Julia), and the plates cleared off the table, Katie and Julia clambered into Katie's little Nissan Micra. Katie, again, realised that popping in unannounced for the second time in the same day wouldn't go unnoticed. She fished out her phone from her handbag and called Linda.
'Hi Linda, can I pop in for the key now?'
'Sorry, Katie. I didn't hear you quite well.' Linda's voice was drowned out by the noise and in the background.
Katie repeated her question.
'Yes, no problem. They're about to leave now, anyway.'
Bother! She had quietly hoped she would catch some of those attendees. Not for the sake of gossip, but somehow, she felt it might have been useful information.
Okay, she was just being nosy. But only because Linda had been behaving strangely lately.
They drove to Linda's place faster than Katie normally would do, although still safely. Katie was thinking of avoiding the evening traffic, although frankly speaking, it was more to satisfy her curiosity.
Unfortunately, by the time she arrived, only Linda's car remained in front of her house.
'Can I stay in the car, mum? I'll listen to the music,' Julia asked.
Katie didn't like it. Not only she didn't want to leave her daughter unattended in the car with a murderer still running loose, but also she didn't think she would only be a minute. In fact, she hoped it wouldn't be just a minute.
'No honey, it's getting cold. Come with me. I promise it won't take too long.'
They crossed the front garden and Katie knocked at the door. Linda appeared almost immediately. She was wearing an apron.
'Come in. I'm clearing the dishes. Actually, we've just finished. Mavis is helping me.' Linda beckoned them to walk inside.
Katie and Julia stepped into the light and the warmth of Linda's house. It smelt of fruit tea and cake. As they walked in, Mavis Crabtree emerged from the kitchen and grabbed her coat.
'Sure you don't need my help anymore?' Mavis asked. 'I'm more than happy...'
'I'll be absolutely fine, my dear,' Linda reassured her. She patted Mavis on the shoulder. 'You've done a great job. Are you sure you don't want that cake?'
'Hell no!' Mavis said firmly. 'The doctor would kill me. She said, "No more cake Mavis" and Mavis is not going to have any more cake. But your nephew will be happy.'
Linda's nephew? Katie knew nothing about Linda having a nephew.
'He's not... Oh, never mind,' Linda waved her hand. 'Thank you very much for your help and see you on Friday.'
'Yes. Don't forget that we’re doing it from the other side of Stream Drive this time around. I honestly don't feel I could go walking in an unsafe area with a murderer still on the loose.'
'Thanks for reminding me,' Linda added and opened the door for her neighbour. Mavis stepped outside and strode along the little path towards the pavement and then to her house. Katie was surprised to see that the wobbly, difficult gait was gone.
'It looks like the walks are helping her,' Katie said thinking back to the image from Monday morning. 'She is walking with more ease now.'
Linda closed the door. 'The walks are helping, but it's something to do with her orthotics. They're badly fitted and make her wobble. She has to wear them on longer walks, but not for short distances.'
Linda gestured for Katie and Julia to follow her into the kitchen.
'Let's not talk out loud there. I think Edward is having a nap.'
'Edward?'
'Yes,' Linda said with a notable annoyance in her voice. 'He arrived a couple of hours ago very distressed. We were just about to start the council meeting when he walked in, all in tears. I didn't know what to do. Luckily, Mavis took over. She organised everybody around the table. I was so embarrassed. We were going to talk about him, trying to think up strategies to convince him to work for our parish for a few weeks. And here he was walking in, crying and shaking.'
Whoa! What a development!
'What happened?' Katie asked.
'What happened? Linda said putting her hands on her hips. 'You should know that, Katherine Redford, because what happened is pretty much your fault. That fancy inspector of yours had called Edward in for another interview. The same day! Second time! He was even more in a heap second time around than he was this morning.'
Katie blinked. She inhaled sharply. She didn't know about the second interview. Didn't Jack say that he hadn't had any means of communicating with Edward? How on earth did Jack get in touch with the vicar at such short notice? And more importantly, why didn't he tell her about it?
She couldn't help him with the investigation if he was keeping secrets from her...
'You look a bit pale, Katie?' Linda asked, her voice becoming uncannily teacher-like.
Katie's hand jerked to her mouth.
'I–I... I'm just shocked. I didn't realise there was anything happening around Edward. What's it about?'
'I told you. I have no idea. Once he walked in I realised he wasn't in a state to be seen in public, so I made him a cup of tea and put him in the spare room. He's been asleep, poor thing.'
'How did he manage to calm down?'
Linda clicked her tongue. 'I might have given him a little bit of that nerve calming medicine I've had from my doctor. Just a tiny half-t
ablet. It should have helped.'
Katie pursed her lips. As much as she wanted to get more information from Linda, she was also itching to ring Jack and discuss what had happened with Edward.
'Mum,' Julia's said, pulling on her sleeve.
'Will we be going soon?'
'Sorry, Julia.' Katie felt the blush creeping onto her cheeks. She’d forgotten about her child! 'I won’t be a minute.'
'Can I have a little bit of cake?' Julia asked, pointing out to the large piece of Black Forest gateau standing on the plate on the kitchen counter.
Linda winced. 'Sorry, darling. This one’s for Edward. He loves Black Forest gateau. I thought it might cheer him up. But I have something else in the fridge. I'd better give it to you, so I don't have this temptation in the house. But let me grab the key for you first, Katie.'
Linda crossed the kitchen floor and grabbed her handbag from the counter.
'By the way,' she said rummaging in her handbag. 'I think the heaters need bleeding. They were barely warm today. Couldn't stay too long. So, I’ll need the key again tomorrow, if you don't mind. Haven't finished that card.'
'No problem,' Katie replied. 'I'm going with Julia, so I can’t spend too much time there anyway. We're planning to have a quick look at what we could do. I'll give you the key back tomorrow. But I'll need it again as well.'
'Just let me know when.'
Linda handed her the key, and Katie dropped it in her handbag.
'Mum!' Julia tugged at Katie's sleeve again. 'Can I please go and open the car door. I'd like to do that clicky-click with the key ring.'
'No problem.' Katie gave the key to her daughter. Julia skipped to the front door.
'Put on the outside light,' Linda called out from the kitchen. 'I'd better pack that cake for you,' she added and rushed to the fridge.
Katie followed her daughter to the hallway and stood in the open front door watching Julia hopping on one leg to the car and then playing with the key.
'I'll listen to the music in the car, mummy.'
Katie showed her a thumbs-up sign. Cake packing shouldn't take too much time, and she could see Julia from her position.
One of the doors in the hallway opened and the tall, slender figure of Edward Sparrow appeared in the doorway. His thinning, ash blond hair was tousled and there was an impression of a cushion on his cheek. Clear signs he'd been sleeping.
'Good evening, are you the Katie who works at the police station?'
Katie nodded. 'You must be our new vicar.'
Edward Sparrow hunched. A grimace of fear crossed his face.
'No, no, I'm not your vicar. I don't know if I'll ever be a vicar anymore. After all that’s happened, my career is over.'
'I'm sure it's not over yet,' Katie said, trying to reassure him. If she knew what he was talking about, she might be able to offer more help. Nothing of what Jack told her this morning fitted. Was Jack keeping secrets from her?
'Ha ha, if it was only that easy. I must have lost my mind. They're going to lock me up.'
'Don't worry, they only lock up people who they think are dangerous.'
'You don't understand. I was there, thinking of killing him.'
That was news! It wasn't what Jack had told her.
'But you didn't kill him, did you?' Katie gently probed.
He shuddered. 'I don't know...'
'You were watching him. Where were you?'
'On the other side of the road, hiding behind the fence. She sent me a text... I could have killed him.'
'You can't kill anyone with your thoughts. The technology has not been invented yet,' Katie said with all the conviction she could muster.
'I was thinking of killing him,' he repeated.
'But you didn't. Someone else did. Did you see anyone suspicious?'
'No, I didn't see anyone at all. The streets were completely empty. And then I saw that window fitting van. I got scared of my own thoughts - Satan's thoughts – and then I ran away. God saved me from this unforgivable sin.' Edward's shoulders shook. His voice broke into a sob. In a few quick steps, Katie was beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder.
'I'm sure it will all turn out to be all right,' she said soothingly.
Linda's head appeared in the kitchen doorway.
'Aha, here you are, Edward. I've got a slice of your favourite cake for you. You're not crying again, are you? Crying is not going to help. You have told them whatever you could have. And Katie is right. If you are worried about anything, you can always go back to the police station tomorrow and talk it through with the nice inspector again. You told him everything you knew and he let you go home. You're not a suspect.'
Oh, so Linda was up-to-date with developments as well. A hot wave spread all over Katie's body. It looked like a lot of people knew, but not her...
How annoying!
Linda stretched out her hand with a Tupperware box in a plastic bag. 'Here's the cake for you and Julia. Edward, come into the kitchen. I'll make you a hot drink and you can have your cake.'
Katie grabbed the bag and turned on her heel. She’d better get going. Julia was waiting for her in the car. The car honked.
'Thanks for the key and the cake, Linda. I'm sorry about everything that happened to you, Mr Sparrow. I'm sure it'll all turn out to be okay. If you need any reassurance, give us a ring at the station. We’re nice, friendly people,' Katie said and added the warmest smile she could muster. She waved goodbye and rushed out of the house. Julia was waving at her from inside the car.
23
In the crafts room, Katie reluctantly pulled one of her boxes off the shelf. She hadn't even taken her jacket off; the room was indeed quite chilly.
'Mum, the radiator is barely warm,' Julia informed her.
'We can't stay long then. Let's have a look at what we've got here. You choose what you need, except glitter.' Katie paused to let the last comment sink in. She wasn't going to have glitter at the house! No way.
'Why not glitter. I like glitter.'
'Because glitter gets everywhere and is hard to clean, baby. You know that very well.'
'But mum, I'll help cleaning it.'
Katie pushed aside the series of memories flashing in her head now - of all those instances when her daughter solemnly promised to help clean something, but she hadn't quite followed through. She didn't have the energy to fight this battle. Not tonight.
'No, baby, and this is my last word.'
'But why?'
'Because. '
'Because is not an answer!'
Katie pressed her lips very hard. It was her fault. She shouldn’t have used the 'because-is-not-an-answer' tactic on her daughter. Now, she had to suffer.
'Because I said so,' Katie fired off as calmly as she could. 'And the longer you continue this pointless argument, the less time you'll have for your crafts.'
Julia lifted her chin defiantly. Her long, strawberry blond hair spilled over her face. Her nostrils flared. Katie could smell the threat of "Whatever" in the air.
But her daughter surprised her again. 'Fine. But what are you going to do?'
'I'll look through what we've got. I need some inspiration.'
Julia heaved a sigh and dived into the box. Katie watched her for a while, considering how to sneak out to make the call to Jack. Her underlying irritability was making the evening with Julia rather difficult to enjoy for both of them.
Katie glanced at a jar with the collection of various trinkets, buttons, shiny chocolate wrappings and other things Julia was opening.
'Need help with that?'
'No, I've opened it. Can I pour it out on the table?'
'No problem.'
They sifted through the contents in silence for a while. Katie rehearsed her opening lines to Jack in her head. Once she had it, she pulled herself off the chair.
'Keep looking, baby. I need to make a call. I'll step outside.'
She sneaked out into the cold, dark evening and blew out a puff of white cloud. The temperature must ha
ve fallen to around zero. Katie hugged her jacket. She needed to be quick.
'Oh, hi Katie, how are you?' Jack's voice sounded surprised and warm. Yeah, playing the innocent!
'A bit cold,' she replied in a clipped voice. 'Did you speak to Edward Sparrow for a second time today?'
'Yes. I was going to call you about it tonight.'
'Oh, were you?' she replied, giving in to the pressure pushing up from her stomach.
There was a pause at the other end of the line.
'I was. Are you all right?'
'Sure I am,' she snapped and instantly regretted it. Oh, that classic female line her ex-husband Barry, loved to hate and used to bring up every time they tried to discuss improving their communication. She bit her lip. This was not a good way to start a new relationship, by repeating all the mistakes of a failed one.
'I'm angry with you. Why didn't you tell me you spoke to him? When was it?'
'Sorry I haven't reported immediately,' he replied after a second’s hesitation. Was there a hint of sarcasm in his voice? 'I ran into him accidentally. I was at the building site; went there with Michael Bower. We found the guys from the window fitting van and they confirmed they had seen a man walking along the stream around the time vicar reported. We've even found the vicar's mobile.'
That was a lot of news, important news.
'Wow, that's big progress.'
'Sadly, not really. It's not that relevant.'
'What do you mean?' she asked, confusion growing in her mind.
'It wasn't the vicar who added poison to Keith's coffee.'
'I gather so. You let him go.'
'Yes. Actually, there were some interesting findings, but things don't add up.'
'So what's happened?'
'Okay. So, our young vicar has probably been romantically, albeit platonically, involved with Jane.'
'What?'
'Sorry, could you just keep it to yourself. No village gossip with this one. He begged me to keep it secret. He's ashamed of it. She's a married woman and all that.'
'She's no longer married. Which seems quite convenient. Particularly, considering he was in the vicinity of the crime at the time of murder, planning the very thing that killed Keith.'
