by Agatha Frost
The two children picked out felt-tip pens with colouring books, and the mother picked out a bundle of wool, which she said was the perfect shade for a blanket she was knitting back home.
When she was alone in the shop once again, Liz flipped the sign, locked the door, and grabbed Paddy from upstairs. Bundled up in her scarf and gloves, she set off to the seafront, the cool early evening air calm and refreshing.
With Paddy pulling in front of her, Liz wandered aimlessly next to the sea wall, the waves crashing furiously as the sky began to darken. Paddy paused and cocked his leg against a weed that had sprung up through a crack in the pavement. Liz averted her eyes and looked in the direction of Coastline Cabaret. Two police cars were parked outside, even though the bar did not appear to have yet opened.
“Come on, boy,” Liz said, tugging Paddy away from the weeds when he was finished doing his business. “Let’s see what’s happening.”
Liz approached the bar, and considered tying Paddy to a lamppost, but decided Patsy probably would not mind her bringing him in since they had not yet opened.
Liz edged quietly through the door, glad her sudden appearance went unnoticed. She walked along the side of the room and sat down at the nearest table, Paddy close by her side.
Misty was sitting on the edge of the stage with Derrick right next to her, his arm firmly around her shoulders. Patsy stood by chewing her nails while three officers questioned Misty. Just from the looks on their faces, Liz could tell something had happened to Misty, and that the police were there to question her as a victim, rather than a suspect. The first thought that sprang to Liz’s mind was of the figure she had seen outside Misty’s house.
Liz waited until the police officers snapped their notepads shut before standing up. Patsy hurried across to the bar to refill the boxes of crisps that were stacked up in the corner, but Misty and Derrick stayed exactly where they were on the stage, whispering under their breath.
“Everything okay?” Liz asked as she approached the stage. “I spotted the police outside, and I wanted to check nothing bad had happened.”
“It wasn’t bad, it was awful!” Misty wailed, wiping her eyes. “Someone was watching me sleep last night.”
“Are you sure?” Liz asked, arching a brow.
“Yes, I’m sure!” the singer cried. “They were stood in the corner of my room. I thought I was imagining it at first. I thought it might have been a bad dream, but it was real. They were dressed completely in black. I called out, and they darted out of my bedroom, and out of the front door.”
“That sounds awful,” Liz said, her brows tensing. “Do the police know who it was?”
“No,” Misty said, shrugging off Derrick’s arm so she could jump down from the stage. “I told them that you saw a figure outside my house too. It’s spooked me, alright. I’ve got a show tonight, and I don’t know how I’m going to perform when someone wants to kill me!”
Liz had seen her fair share of stalker related incidents, and she knew that if someone was going to kill, they would probably not have bolted when they were caught in the middle of the night.
“You’re a star, Misty,” Derrick reminded her. “That’s how you’re going to perform. You’re the shining star in this dark town. The people need you.”
Misty nodded her agreement, tucking her black hair behind her ears. She inhaled deeply before puffing her chest out.
“You’re right,” she said with sudden determination. “I need to get ready. Maybe the scout will be coming tonight?”
“I’m almost certain of it,” Derrick said, tapping her on the shoulder. “Tonight’s the night you get your ticket out of here.”
“I thought you said that was happening the other day?” Liz jumped in, remembering what Misty had said during her visit to the shop.
“They had to cancel,” Misty said, eyeing Liz suspiciously. “It’s quite common.”
“Very common,” Derrick said certainly. “They’re busy people. Things pop up all the time.”
“If they don’t turn up tonight, I’m going to be convinced someone has put a curse on me,” Misty said dramatically, clearly feeling more than a little sorry for herself. “Things have been going from bad to worse recently.”
“You’re a star!” Derrick reminded her once again. “Your struggles make you stronger.”
Misty nodded, despite probably having heard the same clichés from Derrick more than once. Liz wondered what type of cut he took to be her talent agent, and if it was worth having him around to give the constant reassurances.
Misty went to her dressing room, leaving Derrick and Liz standing awkwardly on the dance floor. He looked down at Paddy before turning on his heels and grabbing a mop, which had been propped up against the stage. He dumped it into a rusty bucket, wrung it out, and slapped it against the wooden dance floor, the smell of disinfectant attacking Liz’s senses.
Leaving Misty to get ready and Derrick to finish his mopping, she walked Paddy out of the bar, her mind whirring. Who had been watching Misty sleep, and more importantly, why? The thought of someone watching her while she slept sent a shudder down Liz’s spine. Was the dark figure that she had seen the same person who had been watching Misty?
Leaving Coastline Cabaret behind, Liz and Paddy wandered further along the seafront. She walked across the wooden jetty leading to Christopher’s office. He was standing on the edge looking out to sea, wearing one of his perfectly tailored suits, his back to Liz; he looked deep in thought. Liz cleared her throat.
“Elizabeth,” he beamed with a grin as he turned around. “What a lovely surprise. I was a little lost in my own thoughts then. How are you?”
“I’m good,” Liz said as she reached into her back pocket. “The delivery from the suppliers you recommended arrived today. There was a huge discount added to my account.”
For a brief second, Liz thought she saw a flicker of dread in Christopher’s pearly eyes, but he composed himself quickly.
“It must just be a new customer discount,” he said with a shaky smile. “They’re not uncommon.”
“I suppose,” Liz said as she looked down at the invoice. “I barely paid anything for what I got. It almost feels like robbery.”
“Enjoy it,” he said with a wink. “It means your profit margins widen.”
Liz was not going to argue with that. As she tucked the invoice in her back pocket again, she was more aware than ever that profit was important to keep her business alive.
“Do you know what happened to The Sea Platter?” Liz asked, folding her arms across her body as the wind rattled down the jetty. “I heard it had closed down.”
“Oh,” Christopher said, his eyes widening like a deer caught in the headlights. “You know how business is. It’s tricky to survive these days.”
Liz arched a brow sceptically as she tried to look Christopher in the eyes, but he could not seem to maintain her gaze for more than a second.
“You wouldn’t be involved, would you?” Liz asked, not needing to be a detective to spot Christopher’s obvious guilt a mile off. “You were jacking up his prices.”
“It’s just business,” he said quickly. “If you can’t compete, you shouldn’t be running a business.”
“With that logic, I should just shut my shop,” Liz said, the invoice burning a hole in her back pocket. “You helped me out, but you kept putting Daniel’s prices up because you knew he was struggling. You didn’t need the money, so why did you do that?”
Christopher opened and closed his mouth like one of his own fish. He looked up and down the jetty, as though searching for a way out, but the only escape route was through Liz and Paddy, and she would not move until she had an answer. Parting her legs slightly, she steadied her stance, tucking her arms even tighter across her chest.
“I wanted to buy The Sea Platter, so I upped the prices of the fish,” Christopher admitted with an apologetic shrug. “It’s just business. I knew Daniel couldn’t afford his bills, so I squeezed him out. When I told him about
the latest increase, he shut up shop immediately. He just gave up. He doesn’t understand what it takes to run a successful restaurant.”
“How could you do that?” Liz scolded, her eyes creasing as she stared at Christopher. “That’s despicable.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
Liz knew Christopher could be ruthless when it came to business, but this shocked even her.
“You’ve just ruined a man’s life,” Liz spat at him. “And for what? More money?”
“I’m doing him a favour,” Christopher cried, his voice deepening as he seemed to grow angry with Liz’s questioning. “He couldn’t handle the pressure. Maybe I’ll give him a job when I reopen it. This is how the business world works, Elizabeth. Divide and conquer, and then rebuild and reap the rewards.”
Liz had no clue on how she should respond to Christopher. She could never imagine a person being so cold and callous, all for the sake of money. As it turned out, however, she did not need to bother formulating a response. Heavy footprints pounded down the jetty, forcing her to turn quickly on her heels. Paddy barked, just as a brick flew through the air towards them. It crashed through the window of Christopher’s office, sending glass shattering in every direction. Liz jumped back, and unwittingly into Christopher’s arms.
She pulled away as she squinted into the dark while Paddy growled by her feet. Just like the night outside Misty’s house, she saw a dark figure.
“What the hell?” Christopher shouted as he stared into the gloom.
Liz’s police instincts kicked in the moment she heard the heavy footsteps thumping back down the jetty. Without thinking, she passed Paddy’s lead to Christopher before sprinting after the assailant.
It had been a long time since she had pursued anyone on foot, and her body could feel it. She had left her gym addiction behind in the city with the rest of her baggage, and had quite enjoyed watching her body soften as she enjoyed her life a little more. She was forty-two, after all, and the thought of the six in the morning gym starts for the rest of her life had made her shudder. As she left the jetty and jumped down onto the street, she wondered if she should have perhaps dropped into the gym at least once or twice since the move.
The figure, who was dressed entirely in black, was faster than Liz. She watched them hurry under the yellow glow of the spaced apart streetlamps, never getting more than one light behind them. They zoomed past The Sea Platter and continued towards Coastline Cabaret. They suddenly cut across the road, darting in between the police cars, which were still there from their visit to talk with Misty. As though the police sensed what was happening, one of the occupants of the vehicles opened their door, knocking the brick-thrower clean off their feet. They landed on the ground with a thud, groaning as their hood fell back from their face.
“Daniel?” Liz cried, completely out of breath. “What are you doing?”
The three officers climbed out of their cars, all of them looking as confused as the other. Liz paused over The Sea Platter owner, clutching her ribs as her breath steadied.
“What’s going on?” one of the officers asked as she reached for her handcuffs.
“I’m ex-police,” Liz said. “He just tossed a brick through -”
“My office window!” Christopher cried as he caught up, Paddy hot on his heels. “He just vandalised my property!”
“You had it coming,” Daniel cried as he wriggled under the force of two officers turning him around to handcuff him. “You’re lucky it wasn’t worse!”
“What did you think this would achieve?” Liz whispered, crouching down to his level. “Did you think you could get away with it?”
“I - I don’t know,” he muttered, the desperation evident in his hoarse voice. “I just wanted to hit him where he’d hurt me.”
Two of the officers shoved Daniel into the back of their car, while the other pulled Christopher to one side, a notepad in his hand.
As she watched the patrol car drive away, Liz almost felt sorry for Daniel, even if it did not excuse the criminal damage. A light bulb suddenly flashed above her head, making her turn in the direction of the front doors of Coastline Cabaret. Was Daniel Misty’s secret observer? Liz furrowed her brows, unsure of why The Sea Platter owner would want to stalk the singer a couple of doors down. Another light flashed above her head when she remembered something Daniel had said from his hunt for chalk that had reluctantly taken him to her shop.
“’I went on a date with Misty when she first arrived in town’,” she whispered under her breath. “Oh, Daniel. Did you kill Nathan?”
12
Liz wanted nothing more than to hide under the covers when she awoke the next morning. She groaned as she looked over at the alarm clock, knowing she only had five minutes left before she had to get up. She jumped out of bed, immediately regretting it when the chill hit her. She dressed quickly in yesterday’s clothes, and cursed under her breath when she touched the cold radiator; Bob’s tinkering had not been successful.
After opening the shop, the first half of her workday went by uneventfully for which she was thankful, due to having been up for most of the night scribbling down everything she had discovered in her sketchpad. Sylvia visited for her weekly supplies, and the tourist family from earlier in the week returned for more felt-tip pens after admitting they had lost them, but her morning was otherwise quiet.
After shutting the shop for her lunch break, she decided to visit Simon at the farm. Thanks to their conversation at the castle, she felt they were on slightly better terms, even if she still did not know exactly where they stood.
She took the beaten path leading up to the farm with a renewed sense of confidence. The sun was high in the sky, even if it was cold, and the rain clouds were so far in the distance, it looked unlikely they would be bothering Scarlet Cove anytime soon. When the land levelled out, bringing the farmhouse into view, Liz’s confidence wavered.
“Get a hold of yourself, Elizabeth Jones,” she whispered. “You’re a grown woman.”
As she approached the farm’s metal gate, she heard Simon’s unmistakable laugh, but it was followed by a softer, higher pitched one. She rested her fingers on the cold metal, using it to force herself up on her tiptoes. In the distance, she could see the chicken enclosure; Simon and Natasha were feeding the chickens. Unlike her own embarrassing encounter with the chickens on her first visit to the farm, Natasha made it look easy. She scattered the chicken feed with ease, laughing at whatever Simon was saying. Remembering what Simon had said about them just being friends, she inhaled deeply and began to unhook the gate. She stopped when she saw Simon reach out and pull a piece of straw from Natasha’s hair. Liz gulped hard, putting the gate back to a locked position.
Liz was about to turn and head back towards the town, but she could not seem to move. She watched them interact for almost a whole minute, unsure of what she was looking for. They seemed to really like each other. Liz felt the green-eyed monster growing deep inside her, something she had not experienced since her teenage years.
She reminded herself of her age and how pathetic she was being. Deciding if Simon wanted to talk to her, he would come and find her, Liz began to turn on her heels. She stopped when Natasha headed for the gate of the enclosure. As though she had known she was there, her eyes locked immediately with Liz’s. She smiled, and Liz found her lips returning it, until she noticed that Natasha’s was not a friendly smile; it was cold and bitter, and screamed ‘I’ve got him’. Natasha turned back to Simon as though she had forgotten something, her hand landing on his shoulder. She said something that caused them both to laugh again, but Liz had already seen enough.
On her lonely walk back down the beaten track, Liz wished she had brought Paddy with her, not just for companionship, but so she could use him as an excuse for her visit to the farm.
The trees lining the path whistled and swayed in the wind, shedding their vibrant gold and red leaves. It would have usually inspired Liz to take a picture to paint later, but she did not hear her
muse singing to her in that moment.
When she reached the edge of town, her feet took her straight to the gallery where Nancy worked without her even realising it. She had never been one for sharing gossip with girlfriends, but she knew this was one of those times that she needed to do just that.
Nancy was in her usual spot behind the reception desk when Liz arrived. The moment she caught Liz’s eyes, she seemed to notice something was wrong.
“What’s got you down?” Nancy asked. “Hang on, let me guess. Would it be something to do with a certain blond farmer?”
“That obvious?”
“It’s written all over your face,” Nancy said with a sad chuckle. “Oh, Liz. Do you like him?”
“What?”
“Do you like him?” she repeated. “It’s a simple question. Yes, or no?”
Liz was caught off guard by the blunt question. She did like Simon, but admitting that in the middle of everything seemed like a bad move. To her relief, her phone rang, providing the perfect distraction. She dove into her bag, pulling out more than her phone. The invoice from the new supplier fell out. Bending down to pick it up, she looked at the screen.
“It’s Miles,” Liz said as she put the phone on silent. “I’ll ring him back.”
“What’s that?” Nancy asked, nodding to the paper in Liz’s hands. “A love letter about how you want to live happily ever after with Simon, but you’re too stubborn to admit it, or tell him?”
“They’re just some invoices,” Liz said through pursed lips, tossing the paper onto the desk as she tucked the phone back into her bag. “Check if you don’t believe me.”
To Liz’s surprise, Nancy reached for the invoice, but Liz was just thankful the topic of conversation had changed to something she was more willing to talk about. Nancy scanned the invoice, her brows tensing together.
