by Agatha Frost
Deciding she was finished with reliving the awful day, Julia closed the image preview window. She almost shut the laptop entirely, but she remembered the second folder. She clicked on ‘Videos’, and only four files popped up. The first was called ‘right-angle.mp4’, the second ‘left-angle.mp4’, the third ‘bride-groom-closeups.mp4’, and the fourth ‘time-lapse-shot.mp4’.
Julia was immediately drawn to the fourth clip. One of the things that had convinced Julia to go with Alec was his video producing skill. He had shown her a handful of wedding videos, which had all been shot using high-quality cameras dotted around the church and reception venue. Instead of having a cameraman in the guests’ faces, the cameras had been hidden to capture natural reactions, almost like one of the reality television shows Jessie loved watching. One of the things Julia had most enjoyed was the portion of the wedding DVD that had a time lapse of the ceremony, condensing the entire day into a couple of minutes.
She clicked on the file, but to her surprise, the clip wasn’t two minutes long, but two hours and thirty minutes long. The camera appeared to be hung somewhere at the front of the church, its frame focused on the doors. She supposed this was to capture all the guests arriving and filling the church. Alec appeared in the middle of the aisle. He gave his thumbs up to the camera before checking something on his phone. When he seemed satisfied, he exited the church, his photography camera around his neck.
The church remained still for nearly a full minute until Father David appeared. He walked into the shot, presumably from his vestry, and he appeared to be reading a letter. He wandered halfway up the aisle before sitting down on one of the pews. He continued to read over the letter, and when he was finished, he pulled off his glasses, wiped them on his robe, sighed, and began to pray. His lips moved in silent prayer as he rocked gently in his seat. She watched him do this for a couple of minutes until she felt uncomfortable. She hovered over the time bar, and a preview of the clip popped up. She dragged it along until something changed.
Fifteen minutes later, Gloria burst through the doors. Father David jumped up and faced the now-deceased choirmaster. He hid the letter behind his back. They talked for a brief moment, but the camera didn’t pick up more than a muffled echo. Father David disappeared from the frame, leaving Gloria to walk down the aisle. She also vanished. Julia was about to scrub to the next event, but she heard Gloria singing. She seemed to be practising her solo for the service. Her voice radiated through the laptop’s speakers. There was no denying her voice had power.
Julia was so captivated listening to Gloria’s off-screen singing, it took her a moment to realise the doors had opened once again.
“You’re far too early, Skye,” Gloria called. “I’m rehearsing.”
“I want to talk to you alone,” Skye replied as she marched down the aisle. “I want this solo.”
“Tough.”
“I mean it, Gloria!” Skye snapped as she walked out of the view of the camera. “You know I’m the better singer.”
“I know that, do I?”
“Everyone knows it.”
“I don’t really care what you think you know, little girl. I sing the solos. That’s how it’s always been, and that’s how it will stay.”
“Why are you so selfish?” Skye cried. “You know Rita is trying to rally a rebellion against you? She wants your position, and she’s promised to be fair with it.”
“Ha! Rita doesn’t have a fair bone in her body. Do you really think the other members will agree to that? I’m their leader. You’ve only been here for five minutes. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
“Rita held a meeting.” Skye’s voice wobbled. “Everyone was there except you and my aunt. They didn’t agree to help Rita, but I could feel they wanted change. It wouldn’t take much prodding to convince them. If not Rita, then someone else, but everyone is sick and tired of you bossing us around!”
A sharp crack pierced through the speakers, and it was a sound that could only be linked to a hand swiftly striking a cheek. Seconds later, Skye sprinted down the aisle, clutching her face. The doors banged behind her and silence followed.
As though she had witnessed it first-hand, Julia sat in shock and stared at the screen until something else happened. A little while later, Gloria walked down the aisle, leaving the church empty once again.
“Skye lied to me,” Julia whispered before sipping more hot chocolate, which was now anything but hot.
There was a bang off-screen, followed by the sound of metal clinking against metal. Julia strained her ears, unsure what she was hearing. The doors at the top of the screen opened again, and Rita marched in, sunglasses over her eyes and a black cardigan billowing around her.
“Oh, it’s just you,” Rita said as she pulled her glasses off. “Where’s everyone else? Don’t tell me I got the wrong time. Wait, what are you doing?”
There was another second of silence as Rita squinted and walked off-screen.
“Are you stealing all this stuff?” Rita cried, laughter in her voice. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Are you that desperate for money that you’re stealing church trinkets? Give me that bag!”
A noise indicated a small scuffle, and then a crash of metal. A golden chalice rolled onto the bottom of the screen. Rita walked over and picked it up. She held it up to the light.
“Solid gold?” she asked the person off-camera. “I think this tat would sell for a pretty penny.” She tossed the chalice off-camera. “Cat got your tongue? I should call the police on you, but I think there’s a way this can work for both of us, don’t you?”
Rita hurried off-camera. Another soft bang hinted at another door at the back of the church closing. Seconds later, Gloria walked in, this time with a brown paper bag clutched in her hand. Julia watched as she sat in the pews and ate a burger and fries while looking at something on her phone.
Julia scrubbed across the video, bypassing twenty minutes of Gloria sitting in silence on her phone. She resumed watching when the doors opened, and in walked Rita, followed by Shilpa, Evelyn, Percy, Dot, Alfie, and Flora.
“Too good to meet us at the pub?” Rita called, waving a bottle of water in her hand. “Smells like grease in here.”
“Give it a rest for once, Rita,” Dot said. “You’re always harping on about something.”
Gloria heaved herself up off the bench and walked over to Rita. Julia thought she was going to slap her like she did to Skye, but instead, she snatched the bottle of water.
“I need this for my voice.” Gloria unscrewed the cap and began drinking. She turned around and walked off with a smirk. “Thanks, Rita.”
Flora hurried after Gloria, leaving the other members to snicker behind Rita’s back. The choir rehearsed off-camera, and a familiar coughing sound echoed around the church. It wasn’t as bad as it had been during the ceremony, but it was there. Julia scrubbed along the video. It wasn’t long before Dot and Percy snuck off, and then the guests started to arrive. She closed the video before her appearance; she didn’t want to live through it for the third time.
Julia drank the last of her hot chocolate as she mulled over everything the video had revealed. After draining the mug, she swirled the sunken marshmallows and the undissolved gritty mixture in the bottom of the cup.
“The water bottle,” Julia said, her eyes widening. “The arsenic was in the water bottle!”
She put the cup on the bedside table and scrambled off the bed. Without giving it a second thought, Julia burst into the dining room.
“Barker, the arsenic was in the water bottle!” Julia cried, her heart pounding a thousand miles a minute. “Remember? Gloria was drinking from a bottle when she started coughing, and it only got worse. A water bottle that Gloria stole from Rita to be spiteful. Someone isn’t killing off members of the choir, they’re just cleaning up their mess. Gloria was never the original target. Rita was!”
11
Later that afternoon, Julia and Barker wrapped up warm and walked down to the village to peru
se the Christmas market that travelled across the Cotswolds during the festive period, spending a week in each location. This year, Peridale was hosting the grand opening of the market, and it appeared most of the village had flocked to the green to see what was on offer. Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night had passed, gears had naturally shifted, and the Christmas spirit was well and truly in the air.
“Explain it to me again,” Barker said as they walked down the first row of wooden cabin stalls. “I need to get my head around this before we take it to DI Christie.”
Julia inhaled, the scent of mulled wine from one of the stalls making her wish things were normal so she could enjoy the market. She looked towards her café, down at the end of the row. It saddened her to know she wasn’t part of the event this year, and even though she would love to reopen, she knew it was wise to wait until Monday as originally planned.
“Rita caught someone in the act of stealing valuables from the church,” Julia explained again, taking her time to slow down. “She alluded to the person needing money, and then insinuated that they could both benefit from the theft.”
“So, whoever she caught red-handed is the person who poisoned Gloria?” Barker scratched at his head through his hat. “But they never meant to poison Gloria, they really wanted to poison Rita?”
“If my theory is correct, whoever dropped that arsenic into Rita’s water did it at The Plough.” They paused at a stall selling carved Christmas tree decorations. “I thought the poisoner was either trying to send a message or just in a rush. What if it was both? They wanted to show Rita they couldn’t be blackmailed, and they didn’t have long to do it.”
“She could have given them an ultimatum?” Barker suggested as he picked up a carved angel. “But don’t you think that seems drastic? Killing Rita over some stolen church stuff? If they’d just put the things back, they would have got a slap on the wrist. Why resort to murder?”
“Desperation? Maybe they weren’t thinking straight. It all happened so fast, after all. They’d had to have left the church, sourced the arsenic, and then slipped it into Rita’s bottle at the pub without her noticing.”
“I bet they were watching her the whole time, waiting for her to take a sip.” Barker put the angel back, and they continued down the row. “And it has to be someone who knew they were meeting at the pub, which keeps it confined to those who sang at the wedding.”
“Not necessarily,” Julia mused, looking around to make sure they weren’t being listened in on. “Remember what I told you about Skye’s lie? She told me she didn’t get to Peridale until later that evening, but I have video proof that she was here in the morning. She confronted Gloria and then vanished. Nothing says she didn’t come back to rob the place, get the arsenic, and go to the pub anyway.”
“But then where did she go?”
“Would you stick around if you’d slipped arsenic into someone’s drink?”
“Good point.” Barker nodded. “So, why come back to the choir? Why not run away?”
“That would make it obvious. And she loves singing. She wanted that solo. I doubt she cared that she killed Gloria by accident. She waited things out before paying Rita a visit to finish the job.”
“It all makes sense,” Barker said as they turned the corner and set off up the next row of stalls. “But, realistically, it could have been any of them. If we bring all this to Christie, he’s going to pull each of them in and see whose alibi doesn’t line up for both murders.”
“That’s if he believes us.” Julia reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out the memory stick. “Even with this footage, it’s still only a theory.”
“A better theory than any he’s working with, I suspect.”
“I forgot to ask how your video meeting went. Did they like the book?”
“Oh, it went…” Barker’s voice trailed off as they turned onto the next row of stalls. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Julia followed his eye line to the end of the row, where the remaining members of the choir were setting up a small stage area.
“They don’t wait around, do they?” Julia muttered under her breath. “Two choirmasters dead in less than a week, and yet the show still goes on.”
A small crowd gathered in front of the stage, no doubt eager to see what the choir were going to do in the wake of the recent tragedies. Julia and Barker lingered at the back and watched as the choir finished getting ready. Dot spotted them and waved before she pressed a button on a portable CD player. A crackly backing track for ‘O Holy Night’ played through the small speakers, catching the attention of the idle shoppers who had yet to notice what was happening. Julia wasn’t surprised when Skye stepped forward to take the lead vocals, but she was surprised, and pleased, to see that Flora had been reinstated in the choir.
From the moment the first note left Skye’s mouth, Julia knew she was something special. Up until now, she had only heard people talk second-hand about Skye’s raw talent, but to hear it with her own ears gave her tingles. Her voice was airy, and yet it had enough power to captivate everyone’s attention. It was nothing short of angelic.
When the song ended, everyone applauded, including Julia. She almost forgot she was cheering for her new prime suspect. The choir continued onto ‘The First Noel’, followed by ‘Away in a Manger’. They finished their set with a rousing rendition of ‘Joy to the World’. The crowd erupted as the choir took their final bow, and, from the smiles on the faces of the choristers, it was clear they had enjoyed every second of their time in the spotlight.
The choir exited the stage, making way for a solo guitarist who looked more than a little disappointed when the crowd dispersed. Sensing her chance to grab Skye, Julia pushed through the moving shoppers, leaving Barker behind. The choir stood behind the stage, all smiles as they talked about their performance. Skye and Alfie were holding hands.
“That was incredible,” Julia congratulated them. “Skye, your voice is something else. I had no idea. You’re a real star.”
“Thank you.” Skye fanned her blushing face. “I’ve never felt anything like it! That was exhilarating. I could have stayed up there for an hour.”
“You did great,” Alfie said with a cheery smile. “You finally had your time to shine.”
Julia waited until the choir naturally broke apart, and when Alfie and Skye set off into the market, she followed right behind them.
“Wait up!” she called when they reached a German bratwurst stall. “I wanted to talk to you both about what happened to Rita.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard,” Alfie said. “She wasn’t the nicest woman, but to be stabbed to death for her jewellery? It doesn’t seem fair.”
“And after what happened to Gloria,” Skye added, her brows tilting down. “I almost didn’t want to sing today because of it, but we were already booked to perform. It was the first and only thing Rita did for our choir, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Julia trained her eyes on Skye as she spoke, but she was either telling the truth, or she was as good an actress as she was a singer.
“I think the murders are connected,” Julia admitted, not wanting to beat around the bush. “I think the original poisoning was intended for Rita, and Gloria was caught in the crossfire.”
“Why would someone want to poison Rita?” Alfie asked, his brow creasing.
“It’s a long story.” Julia didn’t want to give everything away in front of Skye. “Where were you both on Tuesday night? That’s when Rita was stabbed in her son’s flat. I’m going to the police with some new information later today, and it’s going to put you all in the spotlight.”
Skye and Alfie glanced at each other, and it seemed neither could believe Julia was asking for their alibis. Julia tried to assure Alfie with her eyes that she wasn’t asking him.
“We were at the cinema,” Skye said. “We went to see that new horror film. Didn’t we, Alfie?”
“Yeah,” he replied quickly. “We were at the cinema.�
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“We were together all night,” Skye added, linking her arm through his.
Julia narrowed her eyes on Alfie. He smiled back at her, but his expression was uneasy. He lifted his hand and rubbed his tattoo-covered neck, his gaze drifting away from Julia’s. She wondered if they had gone to the same film Billy and Jessie had seen on Bonfire Night, the night before Rita was killed. If so, she was certain Jessie had said they were watching the final showing.
Before she could push them further, Barker appeared in the crowd and ran towards her, his face twisted.
“Something’s happening at the church,” he said, panting as he caught his breath. “You need to come and see this.”
Barker wrapped his hand around Julia’s, and they ran to the top of the row. A crowd had gathered outside the church, but Julia could still see two police cars parked outside.
“They’re searching the place again,” Barker said. “Christie must be onto something.”
They watched on in silence as the crowd around them aired their speculations.
“Do you think there’s been another murder?”
“Another one?”
“Could be!”
“This village is cursed!”
“It would be on Christmas market day! I’ve been looking forward to this all year.”
The church doors opened, and DI Christie walked out, his eyes averted. He held the doors open for two uniformed officers who were stood on either side of Father David. When people realised the vicar’s hands were cuffed behind his back, a gasp rippled through the crowd. Julia’s hand drifted up to her mouth. The vicar was led solemnly and quietly to one of the cars. He didn’t say a word, nor did he look up. He bowed into the car with silent dignity while the pin-silent crowd watched on.
“I’m going to find out what’s going on,” Barker said before pushing through the crowd towards the church.
Julia hung back, not wanting to step on DI Christie’s toes, especially after their interview at the station. There was no guarantee Christie would tell Barker anything, but the two were former colleagues and friends, and Christie still owed Barker a backlog of favours.
