An Alibi A Day

by A. R. Winters

  “Did you see this?” Allie asked Jackie.

  “You know I haven’t.”

  “It’s about the MP for Hawthorne. You know, that nice looking man with the grey suits.”

  “The most boring man in England?” asked Jackie quizzically.

  “I think he looks nice in his grey suits. Anyway, it seems things haven’t been going well for him. It says here that his wife’s divorcing him, and she was cheating on him for years!”

  “Ooh, are you thinking of adding him to your harem of potentials?” asked Jackie, suddenly perking up.

  “My… what?”

  “You know. Eddie. Richard. Charlie. Larry Junior—”

  “Larry Junior! I—”

  “Got you. That last one was a bluff, but you admit the others are in the running, huh?” Jackie was leaning back on her chair with just about the most self-satisfied look Allie had ever seen her put on.

  “No. No one’s in the running. Especially not this MP. It says here that the MP was having an affair too! So he’s already taken.”

  Allie continued to read the article. Suddenly her hands squeezed the newspaper tight, and if she’d been one for amateur dramatics, she may have fallen off her chair in shock. Instead, she said, “Jackie! You’re not gonna—”

  She was interrupted by Jackie raising a hand to indicate her to stop, which annoyed Allie immensely. She was just about to tell her the most interesting part. But when she looked up, she changed her mind.

  Michelle had just entered the café and was already walking towards them.

  “Can I join you for a moment?”

  Allie and Jackie each gave the other a half-nod of agreement, and then Jackie reached out and grabbed a chair by the top of its back, pulling it out for Michelle. She sat down with a small but grateful smile.

  “Oh,” she said when she saw Allie with the paper. “You’ve seen then.”

  Allie nodded excitedly, while Jackie gave her an inquiring look. “I was just reading it…”

  Michelle shook her head with a look of regret. “I’m really sorry, girls.”

  “What is it? What’s happened?” asked Jackie.

  Michelle reached over the table and tapped the newspaper Allie was holding. “This. Look, I wasn’t honest with you yesterday. I didn’t know this was going to come out.” She paused and sighed and shook her head yet again. “If I’d known… well, it’s too late now.”

  “Could you just tell me what’s going on?”

  “All right. First, I just want you to know I’m sorry. I truly am. When I kicked you out… what I said wasn’t true. People weren’t threatening me with bad reviews or anything like that. Sure, people have been whispering and gossiping about you, but the rest of it wasn’t true.”

  “Then why—”

  “She was being blackmailed, weren’t you?” said Allie. She folded up the newspaper in half and placed it neatly in front of her. She wouldn’t be needing to read the rest of the story. She was going to get it from the horse’s mouth. Well, Michelle’s.

  “I was.”

  “Why?” said Jackie tapping the fingers of both hands on the table rapidly in frustrated annoyance about being left out of the loop.

  “I… had an affair. With an MP. With our MP, John Skye. That was my secret. That was what Dan and I were talking about. I thought it was going to stay a secret, but,” she tapped Allie’s newspaper as she spoke, “it’s all out there now.”

  “And Dan?” asked Jackie, not having quite figured it all out yet.

  “He knew about it. He knew about me and John, and he’s been using it against me for months. At first it was a bacon sandwich every morning—he’d drop by and demand one when I was doing the breakfasts each day. But recently he upped his requests.”

  “He asked you to kick us out,” said Allie.

  Michelle nodded. “He said you two were bothering him and Ruth. The way he explained it, he said you were really intrusive. He said you were going through Ruth’s bins—”

  Jackie snapped to her feet. “Going through her bins?”

  Michelle tilted her head. “That wasn’t true?”

  Allie and Jackie both shook their heads vehemently, and Jackie let herself slide back down into her chair. “And I guess you weren’t sitting outside Dan’s house the other night, with a pair of binoculars?”

  “No!” said Allie, surprised at her own anger. “Nothing like that! We just asked a few people some questions. No stealing of rubbish, no spying, nothing like that! I don’t even know where Dan lives.”

  “You don’t even know where he lives? In that little cottage on the corner before you turn off to get to Skip’s? Then how did you accost him at his front door?”

  “We didn’t!” they both said.

  Michelle looked down at her hands before looking up at them again. “I’m sorry, I suppose I’ve made a right mess. I just wanted to keep my secret, and I suppose I let Dan manipulate me.”

  “Why did you even need to keep it a secret? They were getting divorced anyway.”

  “It’s complicated. Divorces always are. But what happened is the wife had an affair for several years, but when John found out, she supposedly broke it off. They decided to give it another go for the sake of their children and John’s political career. But she soon started up again and filed for divorce. Before the divorce proceedings started though, me and John started to… meet. Technically, he was being unfaithful too—even though she ‘started it’, as it were—and the divorce courts would have held it against him. That’s why Dan was able to blackmail us.”

  “I’m liking this Dan Simpson less and less,” said Jackie with bitterness.

  “I didn’t like him since the first time we met him,” said Allie.

  “I’m so sorry for everything I put you through, girls. While it was Dan blackmailing me, I have to take responsibility too. Now that the secret’s out, I finally feel free. I’m sure you’re too angry at me, but if you like, you could move back to the B&B for the rest of your stay. I won’t charge you.”

  “Well, we’ll think about it,” said Jackie. “We’ve already moved to our Aunt Kay’s house now.”

  “I’ve thought about it already,” said Allie with a smile. “I’ll move my stuff back later today!”

  Jackie glared at Allie, but Allie wasn’t sure why. A quiet room in the B&B was a far superior option to staying in Aunt Kay’s disaster zone of a dwelling, even if they had turned the spare bedroom to an acceptable refuge from the chaos.

  “Once again, I am sorry, girls. I’ve got to get going now, but if I can help you with anything, just let me know.”

  They bade her farewell and she made her way out of the café, her steps lighter and more carefree than when she had entered.

  “Huh,” said Jackie with a little shake of her head.

  “‘Huh’, indeed. I guess that answers the question of what we should do next.”

  “Does it?” asked Jackie. “I can think of several possibilities…”

  Allie shook her head and gave a little smile. She knew exactly what they were going to do next.

  Chapter 26

  Allie had parked the car around the corner from Dan’s cottage and had just switched off the engine.

  “Put your phone in the glovebox and leave it there,” said Allie.

  Jackie acquiesced with a grumpy look.

  Allie knew she didn’t go anywhere without her phone. But she knew how those things could be used for tracking and didn’t want to risk it for what she had planned.

  “You ready? Then, let’s go.”

  They got out of the car and walked, somewhat hesitantly, around the corner.

  “Wait,” said Jackie, grabbing Allie’s forearm. “Are you sure it’s okay to do this?”

  They stood outside Dan’s cottage. It was a one-storey bungalow with two oak trees in the front garden that were old enough that their high branches hung over the whole building, so that even at the height of a summer’s day, it would squat in shadow.

  �
�It was the police’s job to do this, but they didn’t, so we’re going to take matters into our own hands,” said Allie.

  It was logical to her. She knew that things such as a citizen’s arrest existed, for when a member of the public needed to apprehend a criminal but no policeman was present. In this situation, a crime needed to be investigated, and the police had spent weeks getting nowhere beyond taking statements.

  “We’re basically just doing the equivalent of a citizen’s arrest,” said Allie. “If the police can’t solve it, it’s our duty as citizens to do so. Isn’t it?”

  “If you put it like that, I suppose it does make a kind of sense. A kind of Allie sense, anyway,” said Jackie. She had been rather doubtful at first, but Allie’s argument on the drive over had been convincing.

  Allie looked around, checking that no one was visible. When she was sure the coast was clear, she gave Jackie a nudge, and they hurried down the driveway up to the cottage.

  “Quick, round the back.” They hurried around the side of the building where there was a path between the stone of the house and a wooden fence that lined the property’s boundary.

  Neither of them was an expert in breaking into houses, but Allie had decided that if she was going to do it, she wouldn’t break in through the front door; it was too visible from the road.

  They emerged from the side passage into a small and rather scruffy garden. There was a dandelion-strewn lawn with grass that hadn’t seen a mower in a while, flower beds around three sides full of weeds and overgrown bushes and, in the back corner, a large double-sized shed.

  “Look at that,” said Jackie pointing at the shed. “We should check in there too. See if there’s anything there.”

  “In the shed? But it’s probably full of spiders,” said Allie with a shudder.

  “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But either way we’ve got to check it, don’t we?”

  “But…”

  “The inside of the house is probably a mess too. Do you really think Dan keeps it up to your standards?”

  That was a good point. Dan hadn’t struck Allie as the type who would be particularly house proud. The house probably would be just as bad as the shed.

  “Let’s check the house first, and then look in the shed if we need to.”

  Jackie gave her a doubtful look but then slowly nodded.

  They walked along the back wall of the cottage, inspecting it for the best methods of entry. There were four windows on the ground floor, a back door with a small window, and underneath, a cat-flap. After carefully looking it all over, Allie was delighted to discover a method of entry.

  “Give me your key,” said Allie, nudging Jackie.

  “Why? It won’t fit,” said Jackie, shaking her head.

  “Come on!”

  Jackie took out the key to Aunt Kay’s house from the pocket of her joggers and handed it over.

  With a happy smile, Allie poked it into the keyhole of the back door. She was pleased to find it wouldn’t go all the way in.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Watch,” said Allie.

  She pushed the key in again, and again, shoving it a little harder each time. After half a dozen clinking pushes, her key went all the way in, and on the other side of the door the key that been left in the lock dropped out and fell to the floor.

  Allie dropped to her knees, reached in through the cat-flap, felt around with her hands and with grasping fingers located the key from the floor inside.

  She withdrew her arm, now clutching the key to the door, with a triumphant look. She stood up, withdrew Jackie’s key and handed it back over, and with an exceedingly satisfied smile she inserted the correct key into the lock and twisted it open with a smooth click.

  “When did you learn to burgle?” asked Jackie with a grin.

  “While you’re off running and climbing and yogaing, I study.”

  “You study burglary?”

  “I watch way too many police procedurals.”

  Despite the tense situation, it was with smiles that Allie and her sister entered Dan Simpson’s kitchen.

  It was quite a dark room with there being just a small window above the sink to provide any natural illumination. Allie located a switch next to the door and turned on the fluorescent strip lights that hung on the ceiling. They came to life after several flickering attempts, bathing the room in artificial light.

  “Check out the knives.” Jackie pointed across the room to where there was a dark metal magnetic strip affixed to the wall below some cupboards, and on it were half a dozen metal knives, each one made from a single piece of metal for both the handle and the blade, all magnetically attached to the metal strip on the wall.

  “What kind of knife was it that was used to kill Larry?” asked Jackie.

  “According to the newspaper, it was probably a kitchen knife, though it wasn’t any of the ones found in Larry’s kitchen.”

  “And Bill?”

  “The same.” Allie was a much bigger fan of reading newspapers than Jackie, who preferred to get her news via smartphone. However, the ‘news’ that Jackie read was all about health and nutrition and celebrity diets. It left her largely out of the loop when anything interesting happened—like murders.

  Jackie marched across the room and stared at the knives.

  “Of course, every kitchen has knives,” said Allie. “We need to find something else.”

  Jackie nodded. They didn’t know exactly what they were looking for, but they hoped to come across at least some kind of clue.

  “I’ll check the drawers and cupboards in here,” said Allie. “You go and see what you can find in the rest of the house.”

  “Okay,” said Jackie somewhat tentatively. “I hope something worthwhile comes out of all this snooping.”

  Chapter 27

  Dan was standing behind the counter in his shop when Michelle came marching in like she owned the place. Here we go.

  “It’s over,” she said once she had reached the counter.

  “What’s over?”

  “The blackmailing. I don’t expect you to read the papers, but if you did, you’d know the story is out. I’m revealed.”

  “So, no more bacon sandwiches for me?” He offered her a dismissive shrug. “Like I give a—”

  Michelle slammed her hands down on the counter, making him jump back a little. He wasn’t used to this level of feistiness from her.

  “And I told those two poor girls as well. I felt so guilty about kicking them out of the B&B.”

  Dan’s eyes narrowed. “What, exactly, did you tell them?”

  “I told them that you were blackmailing me! That it was you who made me kick them out. I felt so bad for them before I could barely bring myself to do it. But I did it to keep my secret, and now—it’s all out there! My reputation may be ruined, but at least there’s no more secrets.”

  Dan had squeezed his hands up into tight little fists. “What else?”

  Michelle shrugged. “Oh, we figured out some of your other lies too. That they weren’t searching through Ruth’s bins, and that they didn’t spy on you at your home—they didn’t even know where you lived!”

  Dan’s hands relaxed. “But they do now?”

  “I…” Michelle faltered. “I may have mentioned it? Not that it matters. They’re good, decent, people, Dan, and you’re not messing up mine or their lives anymore.”

  “Right. Thanks for the messages. Do you want to buy anything? If not, you can sod off now.”

  Michelle’s cheeks were red, and they grew redder at his dismissal. “Goodbye, Dan,” said Michelle with a contemptuous shake of her head.

  As soon as she’d left, he reached for the shop phone behind the counter. He dialled a number.

  “Hello? Mr Patel? Yes, it’s Dan. I’m sorry, something’s come up. I have to leave early… it’s very important… my mother has died, Mr Patel… okay, half an hour will be fine.”

  Dan spent the thirty minutes he had to wait pacing up and down behind th
e counter, thinking things through.

  When Mr Patel finally arrived, Dan spent a minute or so turning on the waterworks and pretending to sob about his poor dead mother. In reality, his mother was alive and well and living in South Wales, but what Mr Patel didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

  As soon as he was able, Dan hurried out the shop and off home. He just hoped he’d make it there before the busybody amateur detectives.

  Chapter 28

  Now that they’d decided they needed to search the whole house, Jackie took three steps to her right to reach the kitchen door, twisted the handle, pulled it, and then turned back to Allie. “It’s locked.”

  Allie tilted her head at her. “Are you sure it’s not just stiff?”

  Jackie twisted the handle hard and yanked hard enough to shake the whole door loudly in its frame.

  “But who locks a kitchen door?” said Allie with a frown.

  SLAM!

  They both spun around to see that the door through which they had entered had just slammed shut. And it wasn’t the wind that did it. This was done by a person. Her shock wasn’t complete until, with an annoyingly satisfying click-thunk, the lock was engaged.

  They were trapped in the kitchen.

  “What—” said Jackie in confusion as she spun around.

  On the other side of the glass they could see Dan, dangling the key to the door.

  “Let’s out of here!”

  “Is he going to call the police on us?” asked Jackie with alarm.

  “I don’t think so…” said Allie.

  They stood by the door, peering out of the small window. Dan stood on the other side of the glass, shaking his head and glaring at them.

  “You had to get involved, didn’t you?” said Dan from the other side. “Why didn’t you go back to London like you were supposed to?”

  “Why did you want us to leave anyway?” asked Jackie. She banged her hands on the glass for emphasis.

  “Because he killed Larry. That’s why, isn’t it?” said Allie.

  “You’re too smart for your own good. And now look where’s it got you. If you’d just left things alone, everything would have worked out fine. But no, you had to get involved. And now there’s three more bodies than there needed to be.”