by Agatha Frost
“Oh, Barker,” Julia whispered. “She said a man with a ‘funny ear’ paid her to place the order.”
It took Barker a moment to piece things together, but when he realised whom the man with the funny ear was, his eyes widened, and he looked around the station, his face suddenly pale. It was obvious to Julia that he was experiencing the same out-of-body experience she had only just shaken off.
“Jeffrey,” he whispered. “Jeffrey killed Jim.”
“It gets worse.”
“How can this get worse?”
“Billy is in on it somehow.” Julia couldn’t believe the words that were leaving her mouth, and by the looks of it, neither could Barker. “And I think Evelyn is involved too.”
“Evelyn?” Barker muttered, almost laughing. “The crazy tarot lady? What have I ever done to her?”
“I don’t know, but they’re all over at the B&B right now, and I think they know that I know.”
Barker ran his hands down his face as he looked around the station where he no longer held authority. They both looked at the desk, and then to each other, seeming to both realise they had no concrete evidence, aside from a thirteen-year-old girl’s testimonial, which she likely wouldn’t repeat in the presence of an actual officer of the law.
“What are we waiting for?” Barker asked. “Let’s go and finish this once and for all.”
“Are you sure?” Julia asked, glancing to the door, still unable to shake off their piercing eyes. “This is what got you into trouble in the first place.”
“I need to hear it from his lips, Julia,” he whispered, resting a hand heavily on her shoulder. “That man has been haunting me long before he came to Peridale. Besides, we’re not going alone.”
Barker reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his mobile phone. He scrolled through his contacts, hitting the most recent one before pushing it to his ear. With a hand firmly planted on his hip, he looked around the station as he willed the person on the other end to pick up.
“DS Forbes? Bradley? It’s Barker. Where are you?”
“Right here.”
Julia was surprised to hear the answer come from behind her. They both turned to see Bradley holding open the door of the station with his foot as he bit into a bagel, the phone balanced between his shoulder and ear. A blob of cream cheese fell from the rim of the bagel and down his shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice. Julia and Barker both looked to each other, sharing the same grin.
“We know who sent the wreath,” Barker said as he pulled Bradley out of the station and into the car park. “It was Jeffrey Taylor.”
“The ex-con?” Bradley mumbled through a mouthful of the bagel, as he looked to the B&B. “Are you sure?”
“I tracked down the girl who ordered the wreath,” Julia repeated, feeling like time was suddenly running out. “She gave me a description of Jeffrey, mainly his ‘funny ear’.”
“He’s missing half an ear,” Bradley said with a nod, his hand drifting up to his left ear, leaving behind a trace of cream cheese. “If he sent the wreath, he must have killed Jim too?”
“A leopard doesn’t change its spots,” Barker said, glancing to the B&B. “He’s across the road right now. It’s your call, DS Forbes.”
Bradley finished his bagel and tossed the wrapper to the ground. He turned from the station door to the B&B, his plump cheeks turning a painful shade of maroon.
“Let’s go and see if we can make him confess,” Bradley said as he wiped his fingers down the front of his white shirt. “That’s what a real Inspector would do, isn’t that right, boss?”
“I’m proud of you,” Barker said, slapping Bradley on the shoulders. “They’ll make a DI out of you yet.”
Bradley led the way across the street, a grin spreading from ear-to-ear. He unclipped the gate and scurried down the path to the front door. Julia was pleased to see a pair of handcuffs attached to his belt, but she wasn’t sure just one pair would be enough. Bradley looked around for the doorbell, ignoring the sign on the wall instructing visitors to yank on the chain. He opted for knocking on the door. Julia reached around him and pulled on the chain, pointing out the sign to him. He nodded appreciatively.
As they waited for the door to open, Julia could sense Barker’s apprehension. She felt she was at an advantage having come face to face with Jeffrey on more than one occasion, but Barker hadn’t been so lucky. Despite his face popping up in every garden around Peridale, they hadn’t managed to cross each other’s paths. Julia did not know if that was purposeful or not.
Through the frosted stained glass panel in the door, Julia saw Evelyn float down the hallway in one of her caftans. She paused halfway and turned to adjust her turban in the mirror. If Julia didn’t know better, she would have said the B&B owner was stalling. When the door opened, the smile plastered on her face came across as being obviously false. She didn’t look surprised, or shocked to see the three of them there.
“Julia,” she cooed, her eyes wide and bright. “Brought me some more of those delicious scones?”
“Drop the act, Evelyn,” Bradley said firmly, as though he had just wandered off the set of a 1970s police television show. “Where’s Jeffrey? We know he’s here.”
To Julia’s surprise, Bradley’s faux-forcefulness cracked Evelyn’s façade in seconds. Every muscle in her body seemed to soften as her face dropped. Julia was surprised she didn’t press the back of her hand against her turban and faint into a ball on her cream carpet.
“I foresaw this day would come,” she mumbled, her face turning a fresh shade of green. “You better come in. Do you mind taking off your shoes? I’ve just shampooed the carpets.”
The unlikely trio kicked off their shoes at the door as they sent unsure glances to each other. Julia hadn’t expected a Wild West-style shootout, or for Evelyn to make a run for it, but she hadn’t expected a defeated invitation inside. From the curious expression on Barker’s face, it appeared he hadn’t either. Bradley, on the other hand, looked suspiciously around the hallway as though every trinket and ornament were a crucial piece of evidence.
“Can I get you some Moroccan tea?” she offered as she floated into her sitting room. “I have the most beautiful tea set that I picked up in a souk in -,”
“We didn’t come for tea, Evelyn,” Bradley said, cutting her off midsentence. “Where’s Jeffrey?”
Almost fulfilling Julia’s expectations, Evelyn collapsed dramatically into her stylish sofa. She rested the back of her hand against her cheek as she stared off dramatically into the corner of the room. Bradley turned and joined her in staring into the corner as though expecting Jeffrey to mystically appear. Julia arched a brow at Barker, but he sent her a look that read as ‘give him a chance’. Julia almost regretted involving the police on this one occasion. She knew she could get to the point quicker and more successfully, which was why she had gone alone to Fern Moore. She knew her unassuming café-owner exterior was a lot less threatening than two men in suits.
“Before you arrest me, I need you to know why I did it,” Evelyn said calmly as she sat up and adjusted the position of her caftan. “I need my story to be heard first.”
Bradley sat opposite her and pulled a notepad from his pocket. He licked the end of a pencil, flicked to a fresh page, and stared expectantly at her. Julia held in a frustrated sigh. She could almost hear Jeffrey and Billy laughing all the way out of Peridale as they stood there and played along with Evelyn’s performance.
“Start at the beginning,” Bradley said, his pencil hovering over the paper. “Tell me everything you know.”
“I started writing to Jeffrey in prison a year ago,” Evelyn said, the creases in her caftan consuming her attention. “I was meditating one day at the bottom of my garden when I heard a call to help those in need. When I came back into the house, one of the guests had left a newspaper open on an article about a program for prisoners who didn’t get visitors. It broke my heart. Imagine being locked up like that and not having somebody to t
alk with? It was fate! A sign from the divine creator to help those society had turned its back on. I visited many men and women before I met Jeffrey. I would listen to their stories, and in return, they would listen to tales of my travels. People assume I can’t be lonely because I trot around the globe and always have a home full of guests, but sometimes you find the most isolated people in the busiest crowds.”
“Was this a – erm – sexual relationship between you and Mr. Taylor?”
“Oh, heavens no!” Evelyn exclaimed, laughing at the suggestion. “It was merely mentor and student. When I first met Jeffrey, I was taken by his claims of innocence. Of course, everybody I spoke to claimed to be innocent, but his story resonated with me. I believed him.”
“He always was manipulative,” Barker muttered under his breath. “Did he tell you how he killed six women? How his DNA was on one of the women, and how they found him at the scene of the last murder?”
“Purely accidental, Detective Inspector!” Evelyn suddenly sat up and tilted her head to Barker. “Jeffrey was their drug provider, not their murderer. The victims were all women of the night, were they not?”
Julia was surprised by Evelyn’s blunt tone. She turned to Barker to gauge his reaction. The grit in his jaw and the silence of his tongue confirmed what Evelyn had asked.
“The whole case, headed by you, Mr. Brown, was a mess. The real killer confessed all when new evidence cleared Jeffrey’s name!” Evelyn reached out and picked up the wooden box on the coffee table. She pulled back the engraved lid and dragged out a deck of tarot cards, which she started to shuffle in her hands. “I always trusted Jeffrey’s honesty. The cards told of his innocence every time I have given him a reading.”
“The cards tell you what you want to hear,” Barker said, shaking his head and pinching between his eyes. “It’s hocus-pocus nonsense.”
“I once had a reading that told me I would be a firefighter,” Bradley mumbled as he stared off into space. “I suppose they weren’t far off.”
“We all have many paths,” Evelyn said, tapping the top of the deck. “Not all of them come true.”
“Sounds like a get out of jail free card to me,” Barker mumbled.
“Draw your destiny, Detective Inspector.”
Barker looked down at the cards, smirking in disbelief. He looked to Julia for guidance, but all she could do was offer a small shrug. She didn’t believe in the cards any more than he did, but she knew that Evelyn believed in them, and that was enough for her. To her surprise, Barker relented and drew a card. He turned it over to show a young man sitting under a tree, his arms crossed and his expression stern. A disembodied arm floating in a cloud next to the boy offered a gold chalice, despite him already having three identical cups in front of him.
“Four of Cups!” Evelyn exclaimed, taking the card from Barker. “Just as I suspected. It has many meanings. This card proves you are stubborn, Detective Inspector. You are unable to look out of your world to see new offerings. You think you have all of the facts, therefore you will not accept new information, but you are wrong. Jeffrey is innocent, and you are just too stubborn to see it.”
Barker shifted on the spot, his cheeks burning brightly. It seemed as though Evelyn had hit a nerve, sending him into silence. In some ways, Julia understood what Evelyn was trying to say, even if she did think it was a coincidence that Barker would pick that card. She was sure Evelyn could have spun any of the cards to tell a story about Barker and his faults.
“This is all well and good, Evelyn, but what about Jeffrey?” Bradley asked, taking the conversation back to their original reason for being there. “How has he come to be in your B&B?”
“When he told me of his release, I insisted he come here,” she said as she slotted the cards neatly back into their box. “He was paid handsomely for his false imprisonment, and I recommended he try and find a place to buy in Peridale.”
“You told me he had moved from Hull,” Julia said.
“I didn’t lie to you, Julia.”
“You just didn’t tell me the whole truth.”
“Technically, not a lie.”
“But a deception, all the same,” Bradley jumped in. “But I suppose if the courts say he is innocent, who are we to argue?”
“Are we forgetting why we came here?” Barker asked, cocking his head suggestively to Bradley. “The wreath?”
“Quite right!” Bradley said, repositioning his pencil over the page. “What is your involvement in the wreath that was left on Barker’s doorstep?”
“What wreath?” Evelyn asked, her brows pinching tightly together. “I know nothing of a wreath.”
“Cut the act, Evelyn!” Bradley demanded.
Evelyn’s face disappeared into her neck as she stared at Bradley, her nostrils flared and her eyes filled with confusion. For the first time since they had entered her B&B, Julia felt this was Evelyn being her true self.
“I saw you sneak Billy in here,” Julia said, sitting next to Evelyn and resting a hand on her knee.
“Ah, Billy,” Evelyn said, nodding her head. “I suspect he is the reason you are here.”
“Well, yes,” Julia said.
“Restraining orders are unlawful, in my opinion,” Evelyn said with a heavy exhale. “Especially between father and son.”
As Evelyn stared down at her fingers in her lap, Julia, Barker, and Bradley all looked to each other. Bradley and Barker both shook their head, before training their eyes on Evelyn.
“Jeffrey Taylor is Billy Matthews’ father?” Barker asked loudly. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Well, of course,” Evelyn muttered, looking awkwardly to Julia. “I assume that is why you are here? I facilitated a meeting place for them to breach the restraining order. When I heard Jeffrey’s story about how he was being blocked from seeing his son, it touched my heart, especially when I learned the son didn’t live far from Peridale. Jeffrey only heard that he had a child days before his false imprisonment, and despite numerous attempts to contact the child’s mother, she blocked him at every turn. I was the one who told Billy who his father was, and I brought him here to meet him. It was a beautiful thing. A perfect bond that nobody can explain.”
“They do have a lot in common,” Barker said faintly.
“Which is why I brought Jeffrey to Peridale,” Evelyn said, not picking up on Barker’s sarcasm. “It was essential for Jeffrey to build a relationship with his son, even if we had to do it in secret. You never know who is watching. I suppose it wasn’t going to last forever.”
“Do you realise what you’ve done?” Barker cried. “You were the catalyst those two criminals needed to cook up a murder plot against me!”
“Murder?” Evelyn cried, matching Barker’s tone and suddenly standing up. “They are kind men, Barker Brown! Sweet, innocent people.”
“Billy Matthews is anything but innocent,” Bradley whispered as he struggled to keep up with his note taking. “Please, do continue.”
Evelyn appeared to grow to match Barker’s height somehow, her eyes trained on his. Julia was sure Evelyn was cooking up some spell that she had picked up on one of her travels. She waited for either of them to talk, but when they didn’t, she stood up and stepped between them, pushing Evelyn back down to the sofa.
“The thing is, Evelyn, we have proof,” she said, sitting next to her and resting her hand on Evelyn’s. “Jeffrey paid a young girl, Billy’s sister, to order a wreath to leave on Barker’s doorstep. One day later, Chief Inspector Jim Austen turned up dead on that same doorstep, in an act that we suspect was meant for Barker. You must be able to see how suspicious this looks?”
“I didn’t murder that man,” a voice called from the doorway.
They all turned to see Jeffrey Taylor standing in the door, with his tattoo-covered arms folded casually across his chest. Billy appeared behind him, his nostrils flared, and his arms wide and ready to fight.
“Are you confessing to sending the wreath?” Bradley demanded, jumping up and poc
keting his notepad.
“I didn’t kill that man,” Jeffrey repeated, his eyes darting to Barker, a wicked smirk prickling the edges of his lips. “I did want to scare you though. I think it worked.”
Julia noticed Barker’s fists clench by his side. She jumped up and looped her fingers around his to stop him from doing something he might later regret. Jeffrey darted his brows up and down, begging Barker to do something, but Julia had her hand firmly gripped around his.
“Jeffrey Taylor, you’re under arrest for causing a threat by means of intimidation,” Bradley said as he pulled the handcuffs from his belt. “You are also under arrest for the murder of Jim Austen. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something, which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Did you get all of that?”
“Here we go again,” Jeffrey said coolly, the smirk growing as he turned around, his hands behind his back ready for cuffing. “Billy, get out of here.”
Billy stared into his father’s eyes with horror, his head shaking ever so slightly. Jeffrey appeared to nod as Bradley tightened the cuffs around his wrists. Billy turned his attention to Barker. He ran his thumb across his neck before doubling back and heading for the door, which slammed behind him. Julia felt Barker about to run after him, but she tugged him back, remembering what had happened last time they had attempted to chase the teenager through the village.
“This way,” Bradley said as he tugged his prisoner towards the door. “Don’t try anything funny.”
To Julia’s surprise, Jeffrey went without question. He didn’t protest his innocence, nor did he fight his arrest. His lack of objection and complete silence sent an eerie shiver running through the B&B. Barker followed after him, but Julia hung back and looked down at Evelyn who had sunk into the sofa and was wafting herself with a paddle fan.
“I’ll put some Moroccan tea on,” Julia said.
“Good idea.”
Chapter 12
