by Issy Brooke
She had a hazy idea of where she had to head for. She left Upper Glenfield, walking quickly to the south-west, over the river and past the posh gastro-pub that lay at the southern end of the bypass. She’d eaten there once, with Drew; it was all tiny portions and strangely-shaped plates. Quite nice though, in a restrained and somewhat overpriced way. As a rule, she avoided eating at places that served things in “jus” instead of gravy.
“Turn right down the track by the blasted oak,” she’d been told. “We’re raiding an Anderson shelter tonight.”
She didn’t like the word “raid” but she couldn’t miss out. She walked quickly, shivering in spite of the hot flush that was making her back sticky with anxiety.
There were only a few street lights on the main road. She cursed her own stupidity for not bringing a head torch. She dug out her phone and found the “flashlight” app. The passing vehicles meant she didn’t need the extra light yet, but she was grateful for it once she found the old oak tree which she hoped counted as the “blasted oak” and turned along the rough track. It was wide enough for one car, but it wasn’t tarmac. She prayed that she was on the right path.
She strained her eyes up ahead. It was full dark now, as it was only early summer and the very long days and short nights were yet to come. The sky above was deep velvet blue-black, with sparkling stars and a few wispy white clouds scudding like tattered rags high above. The hedges either side of the track were solid black shapes and if she let her imagination have free rein, she could easily see hunched shapes and clawing hands there. She clamped down on her waking daydream. No. Don’t get carried away, she instructed herself. I’m on a mission, remember?
There was a sound. She stopped dead, and let her phone’s light fade. Was that a twig cracking? Was that a voice? Something moved, up ahead.
She had to go on. She hadn’t come this far just to turn tail and run away.
These people could hold the key to Warren’s demise, she reminded herself. Or at least, they could offer insight into a part of his character that the rest of Upper Glenfield had no idea about.
Her mouth was uncomfortably dry but she walked forwards, as decisively as she could.
Lights flared and she recoiled, throwing her hands in front of her face. “Whoa!”
“Penny?” said a low, male voice.
“Yeah. Don’t point that thing at me.”
The beam lowered to the floor. Off to one side, a circular lantern was turned on, illuminating the area with more helpful and less dazzling light. She could now see two figures, both male, standing about ten feet in front of her. Both had close-fitting hats pulled low, and they were standing with their feet apart in a mock-security-guard sort of stance.
“Hi, guys,” she said as brightly as she could. Like it was perfectly normal to be wandering around in the dark with strange men. “Blue? Lee?”
The taller man on the left raised his gloved hand. “I’m Blue. That’s Lee.”
Lee waved.
“Are you in charge?” she said.
“I’m the leader,” Lee said. “But there are others. We’re more of a collective, really.”
“So you’re not really the leader, are you?” Blue mocked, and swore affectionately.
Lee shrugged. “I set it up, though. And I allowed the rest of you to be equal with me. Consider it a benign dictatorship, then. I am a benevolent dictator.”
“It’s like our current government,” Blue muttered. “The illusion of democracy, nothing more. The oppression of the common man, the…”
“Oh, do shut up.”
“Yes, master,” Blue said, and Lee swiped a back-handed play-blow across his friend’s chest.
“Sorry about my comrade,” Lee said. “I liked your photos. What’s your set-up?”
“Er …” She fumbled in her camera bag. “I’m really new to it. I mean, until last week I just had a point-and-shoot.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. We all start somewhere. Did you read the health and safety rules in the ‘files’ section of the group?” Lee asked.
“Ah. No, sorry, I didn’t.” She hadn’t expected something so formal as health and safety rules. Was she going to be asked to sign a risk assessment?
She heard one of them sigh and she thought it came from Blue. Lee stepped forward and said, “I recommend that you do. We’re not going in a mine tonight so you don’t need to worry about blackdamp but you ought to look it up. Have you got gloves?”
She was about to say no, but she patted her pockets and found a thin pair stashed there from the winter. “Oh, yes.” She tried to sound as if she was all prepared and that it didn’t just happen to be accidental.
“Good. Wear them. Watch out for needles and syringes and animal droppings. You know all that, it’s obvious stuff.”
“What about asbestos?” Penny asked in growing alarm.
“You’re right for thinking an air raid shelter might have fire protection, but actually, asbestos wasn’t commonly used in them,” Lee said with convincing confidence. “It didn’t get used much in building until the 1950s.”
“Ahh, right.”
“Lead paint, on the other hand,” Lee continued, “is far more of a risk. Don’t pick at cracked or peeling paint, and have a good shower when you get home.”
“Oh. I won’t lick a thing.”
“Let’s go!” Blue said suddenly. “Are you with me? I’ve got some cool lighting effects I want to try in there.”
“Lead on,” said Lee. “Ready?”
Penny swallowed and licked her dry lips. “Of course.”
The lantern and the torch were enough to light their way. It was all rather thrilling, once Penny squashed her natural concerns. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain this to Cath or to Drew: it was hard to phrase “so I went off in the night with two men I met on the internet” in a way that wouldn’t cause alarm.
“How many of you folks usually come out and take part in these night time expeditions?” she asked as they went along, refusing to say “raids”.
“Sometimes it’s just us. Sometimes more. A couple of weeks ago, four of us were exploring a derelict mansion up near Lincoln. The ballroom was amazing,” said Lee. “There were these chandeliers hanging down, all coated with dust and spiders’ webs, but when we lit them up it was like something from ‘Great Expectations’. It was stunning.”
So he was a well-read and educated sort of bloke. “What about Warren Martin? The mini-market manager?” Penny asked. She held back on calling him “the man who was murdered.” Partly, she felt that it wasn’t a nice way to be forever remembered.
The reaction from both men was negative. Lee hissed, and Blue immediately swore, and said, “What about that idiot? No one misses that great bumbling oaf blundering around. Some people…”
Penny winced. “But he came out with you, exploring, right? I’ve seen his photos.”
Blue called him a stream of names, and Penny’s eyebrows shot up. Blue’s vocabulary was much more narrow and restricted than Lee’s. Lee interrupted Blue’s vitriol. “Steady on, man. The guy is dead, after all, so regardless of what you thought of him in life, try and show a little respect, all right?”
Blue just shrugged. “No. It would be hypocritical of me to say nice things about the guy now, don’t you think? Nasty little…”
“What was so bad about him?” Penny asked. “I haven’t lived in Upper Glenfield for long. I met him in the mini-market, and he seemed … okay.” She kept in mind that the two men’s impressions of Warren would be quite different to her own – as Drew’s had been – and she was curious about how he had so clearly annoyed them.
“Whatever. Are we doing this or what? I need to set up my tripod,” Blue said, and he stamped ahead, carrying the lantern and swearing under his breath. She was disappointed that he wasn’t going to answer the question.
Lee still had the torch in his hand, and he remained with Penny. “Don’t mind him,” he said, pointing at the receding shadow of Blue, making
the torch light dance and flare. “He’s got work issues, and it makes him a little stressy.”
“Work issues. Oh, I know all about that. What does he do for a living?”
“Nothing, and that’s the problem. Maybe I should have said that he’s got lack of work issues. Anyway, so why the interest in Warren Martin? Most women ran a mile in the other direction from him.”
“Just sheer gossip and nosiness,” she confessed. “And the fact that I’ve moved to a place where two people have been killed in less than a year.”
“Yeah, it’s not always like this!” Lee laughed and then shook his head, his head torch swinging. “It’s a rum do. Ah, here’s the shelter. Hang on,” he said as she stepped forward to the steps that descended below a dark hump. “Leave off about Warren, though, would you? He just didn’t fit in with us. He upset things in the group. He tried too hard, if you know what I mean.”
“I think so,” she said. “Like he did with women, I suppose. He tried too hard there, too.”
Lee snorted. “Poor guy. He was as irritating as anything, but he didn’t deserve to die. But you won’t find anyone in this group being particularly sorry about it, that’s all. Don’t read any more into it than that. Okay. Got your gloves on? Ready for this?”
“Yup. All ready.”
Lee shouted down into the shelter. “Don’t set off some mad flash, will you, Blue? We’re coming down.”
There was an echoing laugh, and as soon as they crept to the bottom of the steps, a brilliant light flared as Blue took a photo of them, caught and startled. Lee cursed at him, and Blue laughed loudly and without remorse.
* * * *
Lee and Blue insisted on walking Penny back into the centre of Upper Glenfield. “You can’t be too careful,” Lee said as they stood at the crossroads. She was reluctant to let them accompany her to her own front door. Letting these two strangers know exactly where she lived seemed too chancy, even for her.
That nervousness was in spite of the fact that everyone in the town probably already knew where the “Londoner” lived. If in doubt, they just had to follow the sound of the motorbike and the barking dog.
“Thank you,” she said. “It was a fun evening.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. We’re always keen to have new members. Do get the photos uploaded when you can.”
“It’s Blue’s photos that I can’t wait to see,” Penny said. “With those glow sticks and the long, slow exposure. They are going to look fantastic. But not that one of me being surprised, please. You can delete that.” She knew he wouldn’t.
Blue grinned. She could see him more clearly as they were standing under an orange street light. He was in his late thirties, and almost skeletal, with jutting cheekbones accented by the unflattering overhead light. “Yeah,” he said without false modesty. “They are going to be a cracking set of shots.”
“Yes. Right. Okay, thanks again…” Penny began to look up and down the silent road, preparing to cross.
“Take care.”
“Bye.”
She walked slowly, conscious of the two sets of eyes behind her. She imagined that they were watching her and she didn’t want to turn around to see if that were true.
Halfway down River Street, she broke, and glanced behind.
The two men were still there, dark unidentifiable shapes in the night, camera bags and paraphernalia making strange lumps around their bodies.
So they were probably going to work out which house she lived at anyway, she thought as she unlocked her door and let herself in. Kali bounded out from the living room, wagging her tail, gave her a sniff to work out where she’d been, and then returned to her warm spot on the sofa.
Penny wandered in and sat heavily on the arm of the chair, and plopped her camera bag on the floor. What had she learned, she asked herself. Apart from the fact that I am potentially irresponsible with no sense of personal danger?
Well, I’ve learned that Warren was not well-liked in the urban exploration world. And he wasn’t well-liked in the camera club, either. He’s got a talent for not getting on with people, she decided.
Lee had been evasive about Warren but Blue had been downright rude, and angry. She mentally added two more suspects to her list of potential killers.
Chapter Nine
“I’m going to watch Eric like a hawk,” Penny whispered to Drew.
He shook his head in despair. “This is madness.”
“It’s organised chaos, certainly. But this is how art happens. Don’t worry.”
“Art? I can think of some short words for this–”
“Oh, hush.”
Drew pulled himself up onto a table, and sat there, his legs swinging like a small child on his first day at big school. They were in the industrial unit that Drew used as a forge. Since downscaling his smithing business, it was mostly quiet and there were large spaces left where he’d sold some equipment that he no longer needed. But it still had a pleasingly work-like air, and Penny had decided it would make an excellent backdrop for some of the dog photos for the calendar. She admitted it was partly due to her growing interest in urban exploration. She’d even invested in a combat jacket, in a moment of rashness while shopping at Lincoln indoor market on Friday. So far, she’d bottled out of wearing it. She thought she might add a red satin lining and some embroidery.
She’d managed to round up a few members of the camera club, and some volunteer dog walkers had brought the better behaved dogs to the forge that Saturday morning.
Better behaved? She swallowed her groan as a rangy collie cross with multi-coloured eyes dashed past her and wedged itself between a chair and a pile of boxes, its hindquarters wagging furiously as it found something delightful and probably rancid into which it plunged its muzzle.
“I still think that people want backgrounds of fields and grass and trees. And butterflies,” Drew said, folding his arms.
“There’s a beauty in here. It’s about the contrast,” she said crossly. “Hard metal and soft snuggly puppies. Anyway, it’s not my problem, as such. Eric told me quite plainly that he was in charge, so I shall sit here with you and let him get on with it.”
“You’re mean,” Drew said. “You set this up and then hand over a mess to him. That’s unfair.”
“I know.” She shrugged. “But he wants to take over, and it’s not really my business. Not until I get the finished shots. Then he can butt out, and I will take over.”
“Fair enough. Is he a suspect? Is that why you’re watching him?” Suddenly, Drew unfolded his arms and half turned to her, hissing, “Hang on a minute. Is this all a set-up just so as you can watch Eric?”
“No, not at all! I didn’t even know that he would come because it was such short notice.”
Drew narrowed his eyes at her.
“But yes,” she admitted. “He is a suspect. Look at him! He’s so arrogant and pompous and overbearing. Ugh.”
“You can’t put him on your list just because you don’t like him. Do you have any evidence at all?”
“No. I was hoping Nina would be here because I really want to ask her about what went on between her and Warren, and between Warren and her dad. But apparently she’s got a part time job up at that fast food place on the roundabout north of town.”
Drew kicked his legs against the table. The collie had been lured out of the corner and was now posing on a bench, as if it had been born to be a supermodel. Eric was flapping around with a lamp and muttering about tungsten.
“That will be a good shot,” Drew said in surprise.
“Of course it will,” Penny said. “Anyway … I have more suspects than just Eric now.” She took a deep breath and told him about her night time jaunt with the urban exploration duo of Blue and Lee. She downplayed it as much as possible, but she could tell that Drew was anxious.
“You do like taking risks, don’t you?” he said.
“Yes,” she said, as decisively as she could. “Don’t forget, I had a life before I moved up here. I once got lost
in Borneo and slept in a hut with a bunch of people whose language I didn’t even speak, and ate something that might, or might not, have been actual insects. I’ve argued with border guards in Russia and wrestled a pickpocket in Mumbai. And I’m none the worse for any of that.”
After a moment of silence, Drew said, “We must seem very quiet to you, here in the backwaters of Lincolnshire.”
“Are you kidding? For a start, the person that I used to be – you know, the pickpocket-wrestling sort of person – she’s gone. I don’t know what happened. People tell me it’s the menopause or something, but whatever it was, I don’t seem as assured of myself as I used to be. And secondly, I’ve travelled the world but I have never, ever been involved in any murder cases. I come here and bam! I’m stumbling over corpses. They’re practically littering the place.”
“Why do you suspect Blue or Lee in this?” Drew asked.
“Do you know them?”
“Not really. Lee’s the caretaker at Glenfield Academy, the high school up past here. Blue, he’s nothing really. One of life’s perpetual drop-outs.”
“That’s sad. Are either of them in relationships?”
“I don’t really know. Come on, I’m a bloke. We aren’t supposed to take much notice of that sort of thing, are we?”
“You’re such a sexist dinosaur.”
“I prefer sexy dinosaur.”
Drew’s offhand remark fell into the space between them and sat there. Penny didn’t know what to say in reply. She didn’t look at Drew, until he coughed, and said, “Well, anyway. Sorry. That was inappropriate. I’m also a blithering idiot. Ignore me. As far as I know, Blue is single. Who’d date him? You’ve met him. He’s not a great catch. And Lee has a couple of kids, I’ve heard, but they live with their mothers in Lincoln.”
“Mothers, plural?”
“Yes. He was a bit of a lad in his day, was Lee, but the few times I’ve met him in the pub, he’s been a decent sort of man.”
“The guy in the camera shop … said that Blue and Lee made their own laws, or something,” Penny said. “He wasn’t warning me about them, exactly, but …”
