Parcels of Doom (Chapel End Mysteries, #1)

by Lown, Anne

  Her gaze was drawn by a policeman leaving the charity shop and getting into his car. Once she’d eaten, she tried to get Jason’s attention, but he ignored her, his meal still untouched. She sighed, leaving him there and going next door to find out what had happened.

  Carmie stood behind the counter, pricing a pile of books. She turned her attention to the entrance when the doorbell rang, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Sorry I ran off like that,” Jenny said.

  “No problem. Did you tell him?”

  “Yes, but he didn’t take it well. I don’t think he knew.”

  Carmie thought for a moment as if weighing up the consequence of what she said next but deciding to say it anyway. “He might be pretending not to know.”

  Jenny leapt to his defence. “How can you say that? He was shocked.”

  “Then you have a problem.”

  Carmie’s cutting words hurt. A lump formed in Jenny’s throat, and doubt itched at the back of her mind. Jenny knew Carmie was right, but she couldn’t admit it. Her knight in shining armour was becoming more tarnished by the day.

  “What do I do?” she asked. “I can’t just turn him away.”

  Jenny expected a tongue-lashing, words of wisdom and sound advice. It was not to be.

  “It’s your choice.”

  Jenny changed the subject. “So how did it go with the police?”

  “They’re not bothered. Nothing was taken except that diary, so they gave me an incident number for the insurance. Think they’re more interested in Paul’s death.”

  “What about Emma? Does she know about the break-in?”

  Carmie shook her head. “Not told her yet, I’ll do it tomorrow. She’s too upset to care right now.”

  To Jenny, that last statement seemed strange. She couldn’t think of a reason for Emma to be so upset, but just when Jenny was going to ask, she caught sight of Jason hovering in the street. She got the impression he didn’t want to come in.

  “Is he waiting for you?” Carmie was studying her from the side of her eye, obviously not wanting to stop what she was doing.

  “Probably,” she said, feeling torn between him and Carmie’s judgmental stare. “I’d better go.”

  Outside, Jason walked over to her when she left the shop. “Let’s go back to your place. I don’t want to be alone right now, and I sure don’t want to be at mine.”

  “Okay,” she said. The walk seemed less sinister in the daylight; it made her feel silly for getting so freaked out the night before. “Where did you go last night?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  Yet again, he was being evasive. He’d left her at his place and hadn’t asked her if she’d got home all right—not really the behaviour of someone who was into you.

  “Someone followed me. I was wondering if it was you.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I didn’t know you’d left until I’d got back later.”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to just sit there waiting.”

  Jenny noticed the lack of apology. This was not how she’d expected things to go. Maybe they were better off being friends, then she wouldn’t feel so hurt by his fluctuating attention. The longer it went on, the better Scott seemed to look. She was starting to miss being with him.

  They walked the rest of the way in silence. Her small two-bedroom house was shielded by bushes at the side and front. It gave her privacy, unlike the home in Bishop she’d shared with Scott. He liked to live at the heart of the action, never wanting to miss a thing. It was why she’d chosen this place. She needed a total change.

  The gate was open. She thought the postman covering her day off had neglected to close it behind him. It wasn’t until they reached the front door that she knew something was amiss. Jenny lifted the key to the lock, but when she went to push it into the keyhole, the door moved forward with it. Fear gripped her.

  Someone had been inside.

  “Wait here,” Jason said before pushing it open and entering the hallway. He crept into each room, searching for an intruder. Once he’d been through the whole house, he returned to the front door. “It’s all right to come in.”

  The items she’d unpacked so far were scattered around each room. Jenny felt violated by the intrusion of her personal belongings. With trembling legs, she sat on a stair and gripped a spoke from the banister. She’d never been burgled before and felt frightened to be there.

  “We need to call the police,” she said. The words were barely audible, but it was clear Jason knew what she meant.

  “Not before you see this.”

  Jenny got up from the stair and followed the sound of his voice into the living room. He stood in the middle of the floor, facing the wall the sofa backed onto.

  Sprayed in large letters were the words: Where are they?

  Her quivering legs crumpled under her, and she landed on the carpet. Bile rose in her throat, and her eyesight went dark while her body felt light. She thought she was going to faint until Jason showed her the first kindness in days, wrapping his arms around her. They stayed like that for some time, enough to help her regain control.

  “Now we should call the police,” he said, taking out his mobile phone and dialling the number.

  THE SAME OFFICER FROM the charity shop knocked on Jenny’s door. Jason led him into the living room where she sat beneath the writing on the wall. She rocked gently, her arms wrapped around her knees, looking nowhere in particular. Neither of them had touched anything while waiting for the police to arrive.

  The officer sat in the armchair, his notebook at the ready. Jenny answered his questions in a shaky voice, with Jason filling in where needed. When it came to what had been taken, she couldn’t think of anything. All that was different were the words left on the wall.

  “Were you the other person at the charity shop when Mrs Hubbard went to open it this morning?” the officer asked.

  “Yes. She was on her own, so I said I’d help.” Jenny felt guilty for not sticking around. Whoever had broken in during the night could’ve come back, finding Carmie alone.

  “Why didn’t you stay?” The policeman watched her carefully, waiting for an answer.

  “I’d realised no one had told Jason about Paul’s death.”

  “And why would you need to do that?”

  Jenny cleared her throat, picking at the fabric of her jeans. “I’d spoken to Paul yesterday and then told Jason about it. We spent the evening together.”

  The policeman turned his attention to Jason. “Is that correct?”

  “Yes,” he replied but didn’t go into any detail.

  “What was your conversation with Mr Worthers about?”

  “He was here to investigate if Annalise Jessop was murdered.”

  Jason shifted his weight. He’d sat on the sofa next to Jenny. She was aware the conversation was becoming uncomfortable. Would he get up and leave? Surely not with the policeman there, but she didn’t know him well enough to be certain.

  “Why was Mr Worthers investigating a case from twenty years ago? It was ruled a suicide.”

  Jenny felt his stare boring into her. She turned to Jason. Neither had thought about what they’d say when questioned. She didn’t have anything to hide, but maybe Jason did.

  Jenny spoke up. “Someone employed him to do it, but he didn’t know who.”

  The officer gave no reaction—maybe he already knew. She was going to say about being followed home but she wasn’t quick enough.

  “Mr Kettle, where were you last night between the hours of ten p.m. and six a.m. this morning? I want you to consider your answer carefully—Mr Worthers’ death is now a murder enquiry.”

  To Jenny’s surprise, Jason answered with full confidence.

  “I was at home with Jenny. We spent the night together.”

  The officer turned to her and asked, “Is that correct?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jenny waited until the policeman got in his car and pulled away before letting her anger get the best o
f her. “What the hell did you say that for?”

  Jason looked puzzled. He didn’t seem to know what she was asking him.

  She grabbed at items on the floor and slung them on top of the packing boxes. “Why’d you tell him we spent the night together at your place?”

  He spread his hands in front of him. “You agreed with me. You didn’t have to, you know.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing and jabbed a finger in his direction. “I just lied for you. You were out last night, and no one knows where. What if they ask my neighbours, or yours? Then they’ll know the truth.”

  “They’re not going to. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “But I lied to the police. Oh my God!” Jenny sat on the sofa. A thought struck her, and she knew it would be her undoing. “Scott knows.”

  His eyebrows arched. “He knows what?”

  She lifted her hand to her throat, then turned to face him. “We didn’t spend the night together.”

  “Why would they ask him?”

  “Because I was followed, and he was here when I got home.”

  Jason went quiet. A muscle twitched by his eye. He spoke through thin lips. “What was he here for?”

  “To warn me off about you, and no, I didn’t let him come in.”

  She knew he was asking if Scott was back in her life, but that didn’t matter, she was scared for her own safety. The person could come back in the night when she was alone. She didn’t want to be the next victim.

  Jason nodded at the wall. “Well, at least you know that wasn’t me. I was with you all day.”

  “What about last night. Did you follow me?”

  “No,” he said. “I went for a walk to clear my head, over by the river.”

  She didn’t need to ask him why he’d gone there. Coming back to the village was turning into a huge mistake for him, and someone seemed ready to make him pay.

  Jenny was mulling something over in her head. “Did you know at the time Annalise kept diaries?”

  “Yes,” he sighed. “She was always writing something down, she was like that.”

  “Did anyone else know about them? After all, no one found them when she died, until now, that is.”

  “Probably. Emma, for one. She was her friend, and Annalise often had a book on her.”

  That was what she’d feared. Whoever broke into the charity shop and her home knew there could be more diaries. She wondered what Annalise could’ve been writing about that had got this person so riled up. If it was the same person who’d killed Paul, then his questions must have struck a nerve with someone.

  Jenny got up and switched on the overhead light. She didn’t want to sit in the growing darkness. Before she turned back, Jason caught her by the arm.

  “Come over here into the light.” He pulled her gently under the bulb and turned her away from him. “You got a cat?”

  “No, why?”

  Pulling at her trousers, he said, “You’ve got cat hair on your bum.”

  “What? How?” Jenny brushed at her backside trying to remove it. She held her hand up to the light. The hair was a blue-grey colour. “Where did that come from? Must be your place?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I don’t have one.”

  The doorbell rang, and Jason went to answer it. He was followed back in by Carmie, and she stood inside the doorway and surveyed the mess of the room.

  Her face paled, and her lips trembled. She rushed over to Jenny and gave her a hug. “That policeman came back and asked me what I knew. I’m frightened for you.”

  “Did another doll turn up?” Jenny couldn’t help herself, the words just popped out.

  “No,” Carmie said, “no doll, but evil’s been here.”

  Jenny flinched at the words and gripped Carmie tighter. She’d never believed in witchcraft before, but she’d never seen a doll carrying a name of someone who’d died later that day either.

  “Don’t worry,” Jason said. “I’m going to spend the night. I’ll look after her.”

  Carmie let go and stepped back, taking Jenny’s hands tight in her own. “Is that all right?”

  “Yes,” Jenny said. “I don’t want to be alone, and we need to work out what to do about it.”

  Jason looked down at the carpet and breathed out a sigh. It seemed as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He slipped his hands in his trouser pockets before returning his attention to Jenny and Carmie. “Does that mean you believe me now?”

  “Yes,” Jenny said, “I think I do.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carmie didn’t stay long. Her husband was waiting at home for his evening meal. The thought of food made Jenny hungry. For someone so small, she had quite an appetite. She rubbed her grumbling stomach.

  Must be all the walking and fresh air.

  “I need to eat, but not here.” The thought of staying in the house for the next few hours set her nerves on edge. She’d stay there that night, but for now, she needed to go somewhere else.

  Jason seemed to understand and gently nodded. “Let’s see if the pub’s reopened. I’m sure they won’t hold up business if they don’t have to. After all, it happened in the annexe outside.”

  Jenny changed out of her trousers. She felt a mess after sitting on the chair in his garden, not to mention the cat hair. Outside, the streetlights were on. She shivered from the change in temperature—at least that’s what she told herself.

  “What is it?” Jason asked.

  She shook her head to indicate it was nothing, not wanting to admit her fear of being chased the night before. Jason took her hand, but it did little to comfort her.

  The high street heaved with parked cars, and it didn’t take much to guess where everyone was. The noise hit them when Jason pulled back the pub door. The police were gone, except for an officer outside the granny annexe, and no one was going out there. The rubberneckers were out in full force and had come to the scene to talk about it.

  Jason tried to shoulder a path through the crowd but squeezing through was a problem. Hot bodies packed the room, deep in conversation and waiting for something else to happen. When Jenny and Jason made it to the bar, they found Martin in his usual place surrounded by strangers.

  Jason was the first to speak after nudging someone out of the way. “What’s going on here?”

  Martin finished taking a gulp of his beer. “Police let them open up. Must be the best night they’ve had so far.”

  Jenny couldn’t disagree with that. She shuffled out of her jacket, sweat already on her upper lip. She looked down the line of people waiting for drinks. A man with a weather-beaten face stood at the other end. He was on his own, staring at his pint. His demeanour struck her as odd among the voyeurs.

  Dave and Tracy served behind the bar, the pair run off their feet. When Dave made it to their end, they bought two drinks each. No point going thirsty while they waited for him to return.

  Jason paid.

  Dave came back with the change. Jason held his hand to ask, “So, what happened here last night?”

  Dave gave him a pained expression. “I can’t talk right now. See me later when it all dies down.”

  Jenny kept quiet, taking in the tension and expectation in the room for more wrongdoing. She turned her attention to Tracy. The tearful woman flinched whenever Dave went near her. There was a growing bruise on her left cheek that she’d partially covered with makeup. Jenny decided to watch her and see how they behaved together when the crowd died down.

  She caught the end of what Jason was saying. “And there was writing on the wall.”

  He must be talking about the break-in.

  Martin put his pint down. Concern showed in his eyes as he asked, “What did it say?”

  “Where are they?” Jason said.

  “Do you think they mean other diaries?”

  It was a fair question, and they’d come to the same conclusion. What Jenny didn’t understand was why someone had broken into her house. She was a newcomer in the v
illage and barely knew what went on years ago.

  Martin played with his glass. “Why Jenny’s place?”

  Jason flinched. “That’s where Annalise lived, don’t you remember?”

  He slowly nodded. “Sorry, I’d forgotten.”

  A cheer erupted in the far corner of the room. A few young people were having a drinking match, oblivious to the effect they had on others. Heads jutted in their direction, eager for some action. The ghouls wanted to see their pint of blood spilt on the pavement and were growing tired of waiting. The alcohol flowed, and the quiet reverie disappeared. The atmosphere was turning into another Saturday night on the town. Except it wasn’t Saturday, it was Tuesday, and many had jobs to get up for in the morning.

  A gap formed in the crowd going towards the toilets, so Jenny excused herself and slipped away. The noise was too much for her fragile nerves, and a moment’s peace was what she needed. At the door to the toilets, her foot caught on something, knocking her off-balance. She looked down to find a couple of the wall decorations had fallen. A painted dish, now broken, and a complicated knotted rope. She’d almost twisted her ankle. In annoyance, she kicked it aside, so she wouldn’t do the same on her return.

  Damn those things. Who the hell wastes time making them and putting them on the wall?

  The crowd was thicker on the way back. She squeezed past other customers, including Martin, as he went to use the gents. Jason was still by the bar, but upon catching her gaze he nodded towards the door.

  “I thought you wanted to speak to Dave when it quietens down?” Jenny hadn’t finished watching how Tracy reacted for the rest of the evening.

  His jacket was already on. “I know, but it’s getting a bit much, and I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “Shall we wait and say goodbye to Martin?”

  “He already knows.”