Cupcakes and Casualties

by Agatha Frost

  "Don't mention it," Julia said, holding up her hands. "If you catch me in The Plough before you leave, I'll let you buy me that drink, but you don't have to apologise. You seemed to have a lot on your mind."

  "You don't even know the half of it," Alfie said with a strained laugh. "It's been a crazy week."

  Julia thought back to the naked meeting with Shane at the top of the stairs, and she suddenly itched to know the reason behind it. She looked into Alfie's eyes, and she felt he knew exactly what she was thinking. Had the cause of the altercation been enough for Alfie to resort to murder? Julia could feel her heart tugging her away from that thought, but her logical brain knew it was a possibility.

  "Did you find your girl?" Julia asked, eager to move the conversation along. "You said you kept seeing someone?"

  "I did?" Alfie mumbled, almost to himself as his cheeks darkened. "It's honestly nothing. I was having a bad day. I let some old stuff get the better of me."

  "It happens to the best of us," Julia offered with a shrug. "But if you ever need someone to talk to, I have a café where there are more cupcakes where those came from, and I've been told I'm a good listener."

  "I really appreciate that," Alfie said with a smile so genuine, Julia was not sure he could be capable of murdering someone. "You're cool, cake lady."

  "Someone else has called me that," Julia chuckled as she thought of Jessie. "Maybe I should change my name?"

  "Maybe," Alfie said with a nod as he stepped back. "I might take you up on that offer of more cupcakes. I need to get back to work, but thanks for being so cool. I've met a lot of people on my travels, but not everyone is so kind."

  Alfie flashed her one last smile before turning on his heels and hurrying back to the builders. He ruffled his dark hair and got to work smoothing out the concrete.

  As Julia headed to the gate, a pink Range Rover pulled up outside, and Katie's window wound down. She waved to Candy, who waved back before passing her hardhat to Mikey. She ran to the gate, pushing Julia out of the way. Before she climbed into the car, she kicked off her boots and pulled a pair of heels out of her large handbag.

  "There's a retail park out of town that's open until ten," Julia heard Katie say as she wound up the window.

  Julia watched the pink Range Rover zigzag its way down the lane. If Candy was upset about Shane's death, she really was a great actress after all. Julia knew she would have to confront her soon if only to see her reaction as she dug beneath the perfect exterior, but she would wait for the right time.

  "Wait up!" Billy called to Julia as she unclipped the gate. "They've let me finish early because there's not a lot I can do. I told Jessie I'd meet her after work, so I'll walk up with you."

  "Sounds good to me," Julia said, looking past Billy to Mikey, who was sitting on an upturned crate with his face in his hands and the blueprint cast on the floor. Without his actress employer glued to his side, Julia suspected Mikey was a slightly different person from the one she had seen so far. Turning away from him, Julia turned to Billy and smiled. "There's something I need to talk to you about anyway."

  Billy gulped and nodded, and it was obvious he knew exactly what Julia was thinking about. They set off in silence, neither of them saying anything until they turned the bend and the building site was out of view.

  "I know you probably think you're more grown up than you are," Julia said as she reached into her handbag, "but the worrying is keeping me awake at night, so I'm giving you these because I need to know you're being safe."

  Julia pulled out the box of condoms Sue had bought for her. She pushed them into Billy's hands, but he stared down at them with such a look of horror that Julia immediately regretted her decision to intervene.

  "Miss S, we don't need these," Billy said, the bravado gone and his voice that of a little boy. "We were -"

  "If you're already being safe, that's all I need to know," Julia said, her eyes trained on her cottage in the distance, the conversation making her feel uncomfortable. "I just want to know that Jessie's life isn't going to be derailed by something that can't be changed once it's done."

  "Miss S," Billy started again, thrusting the box back to Julia, "we're not doing that. We're both waiting until we're ready."

  "But I saw -"

  "My inside out t-shirt?" Billy jumped in. "Yeah, we were kissing. Ya'know, the usual stuff. Jessie spilt her cola on me, so we put my shirt in the tumble dryer to dry it off. Kim came in, so I quickly grabbed it and put it on. I didn't realise it was inside out until I saw you staring at it. Swear down, Miss S, I love Jessie too much to pressure her into that stuff."

  Julia stopped in her tracks to stare down at Billy. He looked scared of her, and she wondered if this was what Candy had wanted when she had stared down at Julia. Billy gulped, but he appeared to be telling the truth.

  "Maybe I've jumped to conclusions," Julia said as she continued walking. "But I still want you to have these."

  She thrust the box back to Billy and then put her hands in the pockets of her coat to stop him from passing them back.

  "Miss S -"

  "You're both smart kids," Julia said loudly as they reached the cottage. "And eventually, if you stay together, the time will feel right, and that's natural. I don't want to be one of those parents who can't be talked to about these things because that's when problems happen. Keep them in your drawer and ignore them until you think you need them. Okay?"

  Billy nodded as he quickly stuffed them into his pocket. Julia pushed open her gate, her face bright red. She felt as though she had just wrestled a lion that had turned out to be a bunny in a costume.

  "Not a word of this to Jessie," Julia whispered to Billy as she pushed on the door. "Do you understand?"

  Billy nodded as he bent down to kick his muddy boots off before entering. Julia stepped into her cottage, the scent of beef instantly hitting her. She waited for Billy to come in before closing the door behind him. She planted a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile before nodding for him to go and find Jessie.

  "Hi, honey, I'm home!" a voice cried from the kitchen. "Did you miss me?"

  Barker appeared in the doorway, once again wearing Julia's frilly apron. His beaming smile was just what Julia needed to see.

  "I thought you were getting the last train back?" Julia asked as she hurried forward to hug him. "I was going to bake you your favourite cake."

  "I rearranged the last meeting to could get an earlier train to surprise you," Barker said after kissing her. "I'm cooking - well - I'm attempting to follow a recipe. I don't know how it's going, but how hard can cottage pie be to make? Jessie chopped the vegetables for me."

  Julia inhaled Barker's aftershave, glad to have him back home. With the murder swirling around in her mind while sleeping in an empty, cold bed, the nights had dragged on without him.

  "How were the meetings?" Julia asked as she followed Barker into the kitchen where a bottle of white wine and two glasses were waiting for them. "Get lots ironed out?"

  "Like you wouldn't believe!" Barker exclaimed as she walked over to the bubbling mince mixture in the pan on the stove. "I think they really believe in this book. They were talking about magazine interviews and daytime TV slots. I don't know if it's all fluff talk to get me excited, but they're making all the right noises. They gave me some sales estimates today, and they think we can shift enough to crack the top one hundred chart, but I'm not holding my breath."

  "It is a good book, Barker," Julia reminded him. "Better than I expected."

  "I'll take that as the compliment I think you intended it to be," Barker said with a smile over his shoulder as he stirred the mixture, slopping some over the edge and onto the hob. "They've given me a list of things that I need to sort out myself. They want me to set up a website to start a blog. I have no idea where to start with that. Do you think Jessie will know?"

  "I know a guy," Julia said, sitting upright. "Candy's husband, Harold, makes websites. It's his job."

  "Candy Bennett?" B
arker replied with an arched brow. "I didn't even know she was married."

  "Neither did I, but trust me when I say he's nothing like her. He's actually really nice. He's staying at the manor, so I think he'll give you a discount considering the man he's staying with is soon going to be your father-in-law."

  "Does that mean Katie will be my mother-in-law?" Barker asked with a laugh. "She's younger than I am!"

  The notion had not crossed Julia's mind before, but she giggled at the thought of having to explain that situation to strangers. Jessie walked in, a small black box in her hands and a sheepish look on her face.

  "We're going out," Jessie said as she looked down at the box. "Give you two some alone time. Billy wants to take me to the cinema. There's a superhero film about some panther dude that everyone is raving about. I suppose this is what it's like to be a normal teenager."

  "You've come a long way from that girl living on the streets," Julia said, stroking her cheek with a finger. "What's in the box?"

  Jessie looked down at it and pulled it away from Julia for a moment before holding it out with shaky hands. Julia accepted it, unravelled the black ribbon, and snapped it open. She stared down at a silver locket, 'Julia and Jessika' engraved on the surface.

  "It's a year today that you caught me stealing cakes from your café," Jessie said, her cheeks instantly blushing. "A year exactly since you took a chance on me when no one else would and changed my life."

  Welling up, Julia pulled the locket from the box, her fingers shaking more than Jessie's. She fiddled with the clasp before unlocking it, a picture of Julia on one side, and one of Jessie on the other.

  "It's beautiful," Julia whispered, clenching the locket in her hand. "I didn't even realise."

  "It's just a date," Jessie said with a shrug. "But I'll never forget it as long as I live."

  Julia reached out and yanked Jessie into a hug. She cried happy tears into Jessie's hoody, unable to stop them from flowing.

  "I love you," Julia whispered. "And I'm so proud of you."

  "Yeah, I love you too," Jessie replied as she pried Julia off her. "But don't make it weird. The film starts soon, so I need to go."

  Jessie gave her one last smile before hurrying down the hallway towards Billy. When the door slammed behind them, Julia unclasped her fist and looked down at the locket again. She could not believe it had been an entire year since she had caught a scared little girl with a dirty face and ratted hair stealing cakes from her café because she was starving and liked Julia's baking. In that time, she had watched Jessie grow from a little girl into a young woman, and she meant it when she said she was proud.

  Barker took the locket from Julia and looked down at it, also seeming on the verge of tears. He brushed Julia's hair out of the way and clipped the chain around her neck. The locket fell and landed just next to her heart. She rested a hand on it, vowing to wear it until the day she died.

  "You've raised a good kid there," Barker whispered as he cupped Julia's face in his wide palm. "You should be proud."

  "She'll be our kid soon," Julia replied, her lips trembling. "You weren't here, and I didn't want to tell you over the phone. Your favourite social worker visited with good news. The adoption has been approved. We're going to legally be her parents before she turns eighteen in May."

  Barker pulled Julia into his chest, and even though she knew he was trying to hide it, she felt a teardrop drip onto her ear. The mince mixture bubbled over the side and fizzed against the gas flames, but it did not matter. Exactly one year ago, Julia had woken up on this day with a looming divorce and an unclear future, but one year later, she had so much to live for.

  8

  Julia became increasingly restless as the days passed and no new information surrounding Shane's murder surfaced. A piece in The Peridale Post told of his simple, working-class upbringing in the northern town of Burnley. He had a divorce under his belt, but the union created no children. His parents were dead, and the only insight into his personal life revolved around his work as a builder.

  With so little to go on, Julia had pushed Barker into calling DS Christie to find out more information, but there was nothing to tell. Forensics had not found anything of note at the scene and could only confirm that the bloody brick located at the scene was the murder weapon. The autopsy had uncovered that he had eaten a burger not long before his death and that his approximate time of death was somewhere between midnight and four in the morning.

  When Sunday rolled around again, Julia convinced Barker to visit Peridale Manor to talk with Harold about building a website. Julia did not care if Harold could do the job, but she did want to talk to him again. Harold's name sat last on her list of suspects, behind Candy, Harriet, and Alfie, but he was the only one with a large question mark next to his name.

  "It's happening so fast," Barker said as they passed the building site. "I overheard the architect say he's had all the pieces built off-site to get it finished quicker."

  Julia slowed down and looked at the tall, metal structure that had popped up where Barker's cottage had once stood. She had only realised the sheer scale of the project when the framework had been erected, and she could not help but feel that Harriet had a point after all. It looked unlike anything else in Peridale, lacking any of the village's charm or personality. Julia liked to think she was comfortable with progress, especially after spending so many of her adult years living in a big city, but the building made her feel defensive of the village she adored.

  "Candy would have built that same house wherever she bought her land," Julia said as she sped up and continued down the tight lane. "She doesn't care about Peridale one bit."

  They soon arrived at the manor, and Candy's black Range Rover let Julia know the actress was home, but she had no interest in speaking with her anytime soon. She was still her prime suspect, but she knew very little was to be gained from talking to the egotistical woman. If she were to uncover Candy as the culprit, it would have to be through other means.

  Hilary let them in and showed them to the study, where Harold had set up a temporary office.

  "Just one second," Harold said, barely looking up as his fingers continued to type. "Let me just finish this last line of code and then I - done! Oh, hello again. It's Julie, right?"

  "Juli-a," she corrected him with a polite smile. "Don't worry. It happens more than you'd think. I hope we're not interrupting anything."

  "Not at all," Harold said, offering them the two seats in front of the large mahogany desk, which sat in the middle of the dark, book-lined room. "I'm only working on an app update today. I'm ahead of schedule as it is so I can take a break."

  Julia and Barker took the two seats. It was unusual for Julia to see someone else behind the desk that her father usually occupied when he was making phone calls and sending emails while buying and selling antiques. Unlike her father, Harold did not quite suit the grand room around him. He was wearing a printed t-shirt, which was a little too tight around the stomach and arms, and a pair of fabric shorts that would have been more suited to a skateboarding teenager than a middle-aged coder.

  "'Empire Strikes Back'," Barker said with a grin as he nodded at Harold's t-shirt. "Still one of the best films of all time."

  "You're not wrong there, my friend," Harold replied, his grin matching Barker's. "Cinematic perfection that has yet to be matched. What would our childhoods have been without those films?"

  "Dull," Barker replied. "I'm Barker Brown, Julia's fiancé. I heard you build websites? I might be in the market for one."

  "Oh?" Harold said, leaning against the desk after half-closing his laptop. "What sector are you in, my friend?"

  "I'm an author," Barker said somewhat nervously. "Well, soon-to-be-published author through Mystery Triangle Publishing. My publicist wants me to set up a website to start blogging. I don't really understand it, but he made it sound important."

  "I've heard of those guys." Harold nodded, seeming a little impressed. "You must be good. So, you're looki
ng for a simple website where you can write blogs for social sharing?"

  "Those are the exact words my publicist used!" Barker cried, pointing at Harold. "Social sharing! I don't even know what that means. If I'm totally honest with you, I don't trust any of it. The kids these days share far too much online."

  "You're too young to be talking like that, my friend," Harold said with a deep chuckle. "I can sort you out. In fact, if you've got an hour, I can get you something set up today, and I'll even show you the basics."

  "How much will all that cost?" Barker asked. "They said they'd cover the costs, but on a thirty-day invoice."

  "Let's say one hundred to you," Harold said with a shrug. "Setting up profiles is easy. I have some other sites that I've built that are similar. I'll just change up some of the colours. Once I've taught you how to use it, you'll be set."

  Barker moved his chair around the desk so that he was next to Harold, leaving Julia to mull over her thoughts. Instead of watching them, she walked around the room and glanced over the spines of the thick leather-bound hardbacks that lined the walls. Instead of thinking about the books, she was thinking about the questions running through her mind. If Harold had killed Shane, his only motive would have been the affair between Candy and Shane. If Harold did not know about the affair, he had no reason, therefore ruling him out of the picture entirely. As Julia listened to Barker and Harold discuss the more delicate details of the blog, she tried to think of a way to uncover information without asking the man outright.

  "The house is coming along nicely," Julia said, turning towards the desk with a book open in her hands when there was a break in conversation. "It certainly looks big."

  "Don't let Candy hear you saying that," Harold whispered, his eyes flashing a hint of bitterness. "She thinks Mikey has tricked her and not designed the house to scale. She wanted something as big as this manor, not that we had the budget for it."

  "I'm sure it'll look fine when it's finished," Julia offered as she slammed the dusty book shut. "I bet you're both glad work has resumed after that dreadful incident with - Oh, what was he called? The builder who was in charge? My memory is like a sieve."