Keeley made a feint to the left, then darted to the right and dashed for the back door, relying on the fact that though Annie may be a great deal stronger than she looked, Keeley was both younger and faster.
Not, however, fast enough to get through a locked door. Cursing, Keeley scrabbled for the key that hung from the nearby hook on the wall, and her fingers had just closed around the metal when her head was yanked viciously backwards. Annie had grabbed her hair with such force that Keeley felt a sickening wrench in her neck. She tried to twist away, which only increased the pull on her scalp, then aimed an elbow into Annie’s side just as the woman banged her head against the door. Keeley nearly fell, the pain in her head was so excruciating, but she heard Annie’s sharp exhalation behind her and felt her grip loosen and knew her elbow had been well placed. She dragged herself round, her hands instinctively raised into fists, only to see Annie clutching at her side and looking at Keeley in pained accusation.
“Really, dear, you would hit an old lady like myself?” In spite of the sheer ludicrousness of the comment, Keeley couldn’t help but hesitate, lowering her hands at the sight of the woman feebly clutching herself.
Then Annie slammed her into the door. Howling with pain and rage, Keeley kicked out, landing a blow on the woman’s shin that caused her to stumble. She shoved her as hard as she could, sending her tumbling to the floor, and ran, back through the cottage to the front door, which she knew was unlocked. It also seemed a mile away, though in reality it was just a few feet, and her legs felt like lead. She had reached the porch when she heard Annie behind her, and in spite of herself glanced back over her shoulder, to see the woman close behind her, charging into the living room. Her face was so twisted with rage, she was almost unrecognizable, and she held the vase in both hands high over her head. Her heart thundering against her ribs, Keeley grabbed the door handle, her palms so clammy that they all but slipped off it, and flung the door open just as the vase crashed into the wall centimeters from her head, Annie having flung herself forward wildly in an attempt to prevent her getting out of the cottage.
She stumbled outside and straight into a shocked Ben, Annie screaming in fury behind her.
“It was her—she killed Terry!” she managed to gasp, just as Annie again raised the vase and swung out, so caught up in her rage that she barely seemed to register Ben’s presence.
Ben thrust Keeley to one side and out of harm’s way, just as she screamed for him to look out; then he tackled Annie, barreling her back into the house. His attack caused her to drop the vase, which landed with a loud thud and then rolled, coming to a stop at Keeley’s feet. She looked down as though in a daze, noticing almost dispassionately that it had finally begun to crack down one side, and there was a large chip at the rim.
Ben came back out of the house with Annie, holding her arms behind her in a way that rendered her helpless, the woman now looking confused and sobbing softly. Ben looked grim, but also bewildered; then, as he turned his face to Keeley, his expression changed to one of concern.
“Are you all right?”
Keeley nodded and pointed to the vase at her feet.
“I found the murder weapon,” she said.
* * *
Later, after Annie had been taken to the station and arrested, then sent to the cells in Derby until she could go before the court for a bail hearing, they sat on the sofa together, Keeley staring out the window without really seeing anything. They were holding hands, although she wasn’t sure who had reached for the other first. Ben cleared his throat.
“About earlier,” he began.
“It doesn’t matter now.” She realized it really didn’t. Ben continued anyway.
“No, I need to tell you. It was just a couple of dates, back when I was still training and she had just come back from Manchester. Nothing happened between us, I need you to know that.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me that earlier?”
Ben looked shamefaced. “Male pride, I suppose. Earlier I felt like you were accusing me of something, and I was just being stubborn. Stupid. I went home and sulked for a bit, and then told myself to get back here and sort things out, before I ended up losing you. Thank God I did.”
Keeley laid her head on his shoulder, and after a moment’s hesitation, Ben pulled her closer, then began to stroke her hair while resting his chin lightly on the crown of her head.
“I should have known,” he berated himself. “Should have worked it out. But Annie Rowland—who would have thought it?”
“Did she say why, in questioning?” Keeley felt an unfamiliar pain slice through her as she recalled Annie’s revelations about her mother.
“Not really. She admitted everything, then clammed up. I expect she said more to you? We’ll need a formal statement from you, but it can wait until tomorrow.”
Keeley let out a sudden sob that startled even herself, and Ben clutched her to him.
“You’re in shock.”
“It’s not that.” She recounted exactly what Annie, and Darla before her, had told her. About Donald’s affair, and the incriminating letters that described Keeley as their secret love child. Ben was quiet after she had finished, his hand continuing to stroke her hair. When he spoke, he sounded thoughtful.
“Is there any way she could be mistaken? I mean, I remember your dad, and you were the image of him when we were younger.”
“She said she had read the letters, talking about the affair, and the baby, and how it had to be kept secret.… Wait a minute.” Keeley sat upright as her mother’s words came back to her.
“Ben,” she said urgently, “my mother said she went back to London, that she was there for two months before Dad went back to get her, and I was conceived then. So it couldn’t be me, could it, unless she was lying about the dates, but a whole two months would be pushing it.”
“She never said who she had the affair with?”
“No. She did say they weren’t from Belfrey, although I’m not sure I believe her. But thinking about it, I doubt she would have been happy for me to rent this place from Annie if her husband were in fact my real father.”
“Then who? You say Annie was certain the letters were signed by your mother?”
Keeley had a flash of insight and raised her hand to her forehead, the answer suddenly so obvious, it should never have been in doubt.
“From Darla. But she wasn’t the only Darla in Belfrey. And I wasn’t the only girl born that month.” Now she knew why the picture of Donald had seemed so familiar. And Darla Philips hadn’t been one to socialize with the locals, so Annie may not even have known her first name, whereas everyone knew Keeley’s mother simply by dint of her being the butcher’s wife. Her whole being flooded with relief. Annie was wrong.
“Raquel,” Ben finished for her. “Raquel is Donald Rowland’s love child.”
I was right, Keeley thought, Raquel was involved in all of this, just not in the way I thought.
“Do you think you should tell her?”
“No,” said Keeley firmly. As mean as Raquel had been, Keeley realized she had done her an injustice. Had almost, because of her own insecurity, wanted the culprit to have been Raquel. “There’s been enough harm done, enough digging up of secrets better left buried.”
Ben nodded, looking thoughtful again.
“So, at the same time your mother was having her own affair with some as yet unnamed person, Darla Philips was carrying on with Donald.”
“It looks that way. I wonder how they met? Mrs. Philips was always worse than my mother for acting like she was better than everyone else. Perhaps Donald was her bit of rough.”
“It seems,” Ben said wryly, “that Belfrey in the ’80s was a regular hotbed of vice.”
Keeley let out a surprised laugh, and continued giggling as she saw the corner of Ben’s mouth flicker in suppressed amusement.
“And they say nothing ever happens around here,” she said, to be rewarded with a bark of laughter from Ben. He was still laughing when h
e took her in his arms and kissed her as though he were a man starved.
“I think I might be falling for you, Keeley Carpenter,” he said when they finally broke away from each other. Keeley just stared.
“You do?”
“Yes,” he said firmly, then held his hand out to her. “Come on,” he said.
Keeley looked at his outstretched palm, bemused. “Where are we going?”
“To bed.”
So they did.
BREATH OF JOY
A warming and invigorating exercise that combines breathing with rhythmic movement to charge the entire body with endorphins and positive energy. An excellent antidote to depression and lethargy, and can be used anytime for a quick pick-me-up.
Method
• Stand with your feet hip width apart. Stand tall, but relaxed.
• Inhale and exhale slowly through the nose.
• The inhalation comes in three parts, and each part corresponds to an arm movement. For the first part, inhale up to a third of your capacity while bringing your arms up in front of you.
• Continue inhaling to two-thirds of your capacity, while bringing your lifted arms out to the sides.
• Continue and finish the inhalation, bringing your arms up overhead, reaching for the sky.
• Exhale through the mouth with an audible “ha!” sound, and as you do, bend forward and swing your arms all the way down and back behind you.
• Return to standing. Do this sequence three to five times.
Contraindications
Keep the knees slightly bent if you have any trouble with your knees or lower back. If you have low blood pressure, this exercise may make you light-headed, so try not bending forward too far and performing it more slowly. If you have high blood pressure, migraines, or glaucoma, it is recommended you do not try this practice without first consulting a doctor.
Chapter Nineteen
Three days later, Keeley stood behind the counter of her newly opened café and allowed herself a triumphant smile. It had been a busy morning, as familiar and unfamiliar faces alike had crowded into the Yoga Café. If, as she suspected, a good portion of them were there out of morbid curiosity, Annie’s attack and confession being the story of choice in the local and even regional papers, then at least they were eating and drinking as well as feeding said curiosity. Norma and Maggie had been in, of course, oozing false sympathy in a bid to get the details from her. Thankfully, some generous helpings of her summer fruit puddings had distracted them. Diana had been in too, with a small basket of eggs and her timid smile.
It was a beautiful day, the sun high over the dales on the horizon, and her wraps, salads, and smoothies had been as much in demand as her more traditional dishes. The lunchtime rush was slowly abating, and had been so hectic, Megan closed Crystals and Candles early and came over to give her a hand, donning one of Keeley’s fresh lemon aprons with the YOGA CAFÉ logo emblazoned across it.
“Duane said he would come in,” Megan said now, “along with this new girl he’s been dating. I wonder if it’s someone from work.”
“Maybe,” Keeley agreed, doing her best to sound interested. In truth, she hoped Duane had found himself someone nice, and a gym enthusiast with a tan to rival his sounded perfect.
Then the bell above the door sounded, and Duane walked in with a woman who, although certainly glamorous, was definitely not a girl from the center.
“Oh, how rustic,” Raquel said with a large, insincere smile, her honeyed tones somehow managing to make the word “rustic” convey all her considerable disdain. Megan’s mouth dropped open, while Keeley grinned in surprise. It was perfect, she thought, just perfect.
“I’ll just have a cold drink, I think,” Raquel said, looking at Keeley in a cool challenge. When Keeley simply beamed at her and made her a fresh orange and lime juice “on the house,” she looked a little disappointed. But knowing what she knew, and having spent the last three days being comforted, among other things, by Ben, Keeley could afford to be generous. The couple retreated to a table in the corner, Duane flushing as Megan continued to gape at them.
“How could he go out with her?” she said to Keeley in disgust. Keeley shrugged. She actually thought they were well suited, given as they were each as self-absorbed as the other, but didn’t want to offend Megan with her appraisal of her cousin.
The bell went again, and this time it was another couple, decidedly more welcome and, Keeley noted with relief, fully recovered from their recent ordeal. Seeing Keeley, Bambi gave an excited woof and wagged his tail furiously, nearly knocking the place settings from a nearby table.
“I’m so glad to see you both, Jack,” Keeley said with undisguised warmth. The old man shrugged, but she saw the flash of pleasure in his eyes.
“Well, I’m not keen on all this sort of thing, but I know Bambi here was quite partial to them burgers of yours, so I’ll have two of them for him and a pot of tea for myself. Normal tea, mind, none of that herbal stuff.”
Keeley prepared his order and then, as everyone was happily eating, there were no new customers, and Megan had gone through the washing up with surprising speed, Keeley decided it was time for a break and sat down with Jack and her own mug of tea. Bambi laid his great head in her lap and looked at her with adoration—or a plea for more burgers.
“He looks so well now,” she said, stroking him.
“Aye, he’s right enough. Strong old fella. Nearly did for him, that Rowland woman. It’s funny, but I always did think there was something not right about her, though I didn’t have her pegged down for the murder.”
Keeley nodded and sighed. The only blot on her landscape was that she now needed somewhere to live. Annie had been bailed and apparently went to a niece in Devon, and Keeley had packed up her meager belongings and moved them into the apartment at the top of the café.
“You look glum, lass,” Jack remarked. Keeley told him about her living arrangements.
“It’s not too bad just for me, though it does put paid to my holding classes up there for a while. But I spoke to my mother this morning, and she wants to come and stay. There’s not enough room up there for the two of us.”
Indeed, she had had to stop Darla from traveling straight up there when she had heard about Annie’s attack, reassuring her that both she and the business were fine. Although her mother’s concern had touched her, given that it was somewhat out of character, Keeley still wasn’t sure how she felt about Darla’s confessions of infidelity and wasn’t quite ready to deal with it in the flesh. Not to mention the fact that, while their phone conversations may have grown rather more cordial, Keeley wasn’t sure that their tentative and reinforced bond would hold up to the strain of being cooped up together in the tiny apartment.
Jack chuckled in sympathy.
“She likes her own way, that one.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Mark my words,” Jack said amiably, pulling on his pipe, “your mother comes back to visit, and there’ll be murders.”
Recipes from the Yoga Café
TOFU SCRAMBLIES
Serves 4
Perfect for breakfast or a midmorning snack. An alternative to scrambled eggs.
Ingredients
½ onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red pepper, diced
250 grams firm tofu
1 teaspoon cumin (or turmeric, if preferred)
½ teaspoon black pepper
50 milliliters vegetable stock
Method
1. In a medium pan, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes before adding the garlic and red pepper. Continue sautéing until the onion is soft.
2. Crumble the tofu by hand, and add it to the pan.
3. Mix cumin and black pepper into the tofu mixture.
4. Make up the vegetable stock, heat it up, and pour into the pan.
5. Cook until the water is absorbed into the tofu mi
xture.
6. Add a little salt if desired.
Enjoy!
VEGETABLE MOUSSAKA
Serves 6
Traditional moussaka is meat-based and can be quite high in fat. This alternative is lighter while still retaining the hearty nature of the dish—a great comfort food! If you’re not vegetarian but still want a lighter alternative to the traditional dish, substitute 200 grams diced chicken for the beans.
Ingredients
200 grams new potatoes, sliced
2 courgettes, sliced
1 aubergine, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
400 grams beans (Italian borlotti beans, also called Roman beans, are the best due to their high protein content and delicious nutty taste, but if you can’t find them, try cranberry, kidney, or pinto beans)
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
150 grams plain yogurt
30 grams grated cheese
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
Method
1. Boil the new potatoes until tender. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grill the courgettes and aubergines on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Grill the peppers on high heat for around 5 minutes, until slightly charred and soft. Add the potatoes, courgettes, and peppers to a baking dish with the beans and chopped tomatoes. Stir well. Add the basil and drizzle the olive oil over everything. Place the dish to one side.
2. Beat the egg. Mix together the yogurt, the egg, and the cheese. When blended spread half the egg mixture over the top of the vegetables. Arrange the sliced aubergines on top of this. Finish by spreading the rest of the egg mixture on top of the aubergines, and sprinkle it with the nutmeg.
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