Greengage Shelf

by Emma Sterner-Radley

  But less attractive. These boys could do with taking clothes tips from those ladies.

  “Are you listening to me?” Jackie snapped.

  Kit pulled her gaze from the nearest poster. “Sure. I was keeping quiet, like you ordered me to. You see, I don’t need to speak when I have this.” She showed Jackie the book in her hand before adding, “It was right where you happened to suggest such a book being. At the bottom of your daughter’s wardrobe.”

  Jackie swayed on her feet.

  The other three women all stepped closer to her, but it was Laura who got there first. “Mrs Caine? Hi, it’s me, Laura Howard. Would you like to sit down?”

  “I…” Jackie trailed off. She swallowed, straightened her posture. She planted her feet and then, finally, cleared her throat. “I am going to fetch my phone and call the police. You’ve broken into my house.”

  “No, we haven’t,” Kit said. “Caitlin let us in. She’s got better manners than you do.” Kit tightened her grip on the book and clenched her other hand in her pocket. It was time for a gamble. “After letting us in, Caitlin told us everything about the theft of this book. And about the will. This doesn’t look good, Jackie.”

  Jackie’s posture fell again. “Everything? W-well, th-then you know that it was all Liam’s fault! He used his charm to convince her. Caitlin was only twelve and a half back then, a mere child!” She grabbed the doorframe before adding, “To think I had to defend him when we were in the pub earlier. Even worse, can you imagine I used to sleep with that slutty, chavvy, little rotter!?”

  Adorably, Laura covered Caitlin’s ears with careful hands. The teenager moved away with a sigh and a muttered, “Mum. I didn’t tell them that. They just tricked you.”

  Jackie, open-mouthed, looked from her daughter to Kit and then back again.

  Caitlin plonked herself down on the bed, making the bedsprings groan. “I guess we might as well tell you now.”

  “Caitlin,” Jackie warned.

  “Mum! There’s no point! They pretty much know everything already. Let’s get this all over with.”

  Jackie lowered the hand she’d been raising and gave a curt nod.

  Caitlin’s tear-filled eyes fixed on Kit’s. “Mum was telling the truth. Liam asked me to nick the book with a will in it. He’d tried to go through the books, two times actually, until he found the one with the will. Both times he got caught by Gran before he found it.”

  Kit groaned. “That’s why the bookshelf was disturbed twice!”

  “Yeah,” Caitlin said in a small voice.

  “After that, he asked you to get it,” Laura stated. “That makes sense. Alice would let you wander around the house for longer without suspecting anything.”

  “Yeah, back then at least. Now everyone worries I’ll steal everything,” Caitlin said with an air of petulance.

  “Why did Liam want the will?” Kit asked, wanting them to stay on subject.

  Caitlin lowered her gaze. “He didn’t explain, just made it seem like he wanted to read it for a laugh. Like a harmless dare or something.”

  Laura sat down on the bed next to Caitlin. “You know now that it was more than that, right?”

  “Obviously! I’m not bloody daft,” Caitlin snapped.

  “No. Of course not,” Laura said. “But you told Kit that you were only being helpful when you took it. I’m sure that was a lie to cover your tracks, but I had to ask. There’s been so many lies, many of them told to you. It’s time for the truth to come out completely, for all of us.”

  “With that in mind,” Kit said, “are you sure Liam didn’t tell you anything else about the will? For example, if he wanted it for himself or to give it to someone? Do you know how it later ended up in your dad’s or your uncle’s possession?”

  Caitlin’s gaze was fixed on her hands. “No. I feel silly now for not asking Liam about it. I only thought we were having fun. He even gave me a nice hairband as a reward for beating him in the game of getting the will.” Her gaze shot to her bedside table where a rose-gold hairband was half-squished under a magazine. “Then when he’d had the book for a few days he gave it to me, without the will, and said that I should hide the book. That was when I started to think it was a bit dodgy.”

  From the corner of her eye, Kit saw Jackie leaning her head against the doorframe.

  “Mum? Are you okay?” Caitlin asked.

  “Yes, sweetheart, I only wish you would’ve confided in me,” Jackie answered with a dejected slur to her words.

  Caitlin returned to staring at her hands. “Well, I told you pretty soon. Like, right after Gran started asking questions about her books.”

  “Yes, you did. That was good. I wish we would’ve told Alice the truth, but that was when the subject of you,” Jackie paused, seemingly choosing her words, “taking things was quite infected. Also, back then, I believed Liam was a harmless, misunderstood, silly boy who thought it’d be funny to look at someone’s will. When the will turned up and I knew the book was safe, I forgot all about it.”

  Caitlin nodded. “Same. The next time I heard about the will was when Uncle Anthony said he had found it on Gran’s coffee table.”

  “Exactly,” Jackie said. “He claimed it had been laying around and that he was worried about its safekeeping. Alice mumbled that it must’ve fallen out of the book but when pressed became vague about the whole thing. She was tired that day, I recall, and stressed by her sons shouting at her for leaving her will unguarded.”

  “Then what happened?” Laura prompted.

  “Anthony and Phillip took Alice to the bank where she has a safe deposit box. They double-checked that the will was in order and then put it in the box. I haven’t heard anything about it during this past year, not until you brought it up.”

  “So, after Liam had the book and will for a few days, the will turned up in Anthony’s possession. Not Liam’s?” Kit asked Jackie.

  “Ms Sorel, I can see the difference between my ex-lover and my brother-in-law.”

  Kit quirked an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

  “Don’t you dare look at me like that,” she growled. “I’m aware of the rumour regarding me sleeping with my brother-in-law. It’s a lie. Anthony and I have always had a pact of flirting with each other to, I don’t know, get some sort of petty revenge on Phillip. It’s all smoke and no fire.”

  Caitlin groaned in disgust.

  Kit took her glasses off to rub the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Well, Liam could’ve snuck the will onto the table so that Anthony honestly just found it there. Either way, it sounds like I need to talk to them both. Any tips on how to get them to open up?”

  “One,” Jackie said. “Start with Liam. A stone buried in concrete would be more likely to open up than Anthony.”

  Kit put her glasses back on. “I was worried you’d say that. I’m even more worried that you’re right.”

  “We’ll speak to Liam first,” Laura said, pensiveness making her voice quiet. “He’s a bit of a bad egg but has never been downright evil or cruel. If we push the fact that he has implicated Caitlin in this, I think we can guilt him into telling the truth.”

  Jackie squirmed a little. “There is something else you could use. I believe he still has… certain feelings for me. If nothing else, he feels bad about how things ended between us.”

  “Certain feelings is mum’s way of saying Liam’s still thirsty for her,” Caitlin said in disgust. “But yeah, he’s probably feeling guilty, too.”

  “Thirsty?” Laura asked.

  “Fancies her,” Kit muttered, feeling that this was pretty obvious from context.

  “Oh. Right,” Laura squeaked.

  Kit stood in front of Laura so she could blush in peace. “Okay, ladies. Thanks for the suggestions and for finally being honest with me. We’ll leave you alone now to chat about this.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Caitlin said, lightning fast.

  Jackie stayed behind, still leaning against her trusted doorframe, looking like she was lost in he
r own world.

  As she walked them downstairs, Caitlin whispered, “Are you gonna tell Gran?”

  “I’m afraid so, kid. We’ll see what Alice thinks. She might want to call the police now that we know for sure someone’s been messing with her will,” Kit replied.

  To her credit, Caitlin didn’t argue. Instead Kit heard her swallow loudly and whisper, “I wish I could come with you. Mum means well, but she doesn’t talk about her feelings. She just drinks about them.”

  Kit wasn’t sure what to say, but luckily Laura stepped in. “Is there someone you want us to call for you? A friend or something?”

  “No. There’s no one I really talk to. No one I want to talk to either, not about this shameful shit. Go ahead and leave. I’m really tired anyway, so I think I’ll go to bed.”

  Laura put an arm around Caitlin. “Tomorrow morning I want you to call me, okay? I grew up without a mother and was raised by an aunt who I couldn’t speak to about things. I’m not sure I can help you, but I know what it’s like to need someone to listen.”

  Kit saw Caitlin glance at Laura and then give her a bland smile. Inwardly, Kit winced. Laura wasn’t aware of it, but many Greengagers saw her as some sort of saint and not a real person. It was doubtful if Caitlin would want to talk to the flawless Laura about being fooled by an older bloke and stealing. Still, Kit was going to find someone to help this girl. Someone who listened. Someone who had a parental feel to them. She only had to figure out who that was.

  When Caitlin had said goodbye and gone back inside, they ambled towards the car. The heavy silence made it obvious that they were both lost in thought.

  “So…” Laura said.

  “So,” Kit echoed, “um, I’m going off to Liam’s house. Did you mean what you said in there? That you’re coming with me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I come along?”

  “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. He might get…” Kit waved her hand in the air, searching for a word that wouldn’t scare her girlfriend. “Angry or something.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t want you to go alone. Besides, you’re the one who always says that I know everyone and everything that happens here on Greengage.”

  Kit chuckled. “Yeah, all part of being lady of the manor, huh?”

  “Shush you. It’s only because I really care about this island and the people on it. Also, I have a good memory for people and their actions. I might be able to dredge up some facts about Liam to make him talk.”

  Kit knew when she was beaten. “Okay, come along. Just be sure to follow me if I start running.”

  “Dearest, if I thought Liam would do anything that we would need to run from, I’d call the police and take them with us. As I said, he’s a bad egg, but he’s never been violent or involved in anything worse than anonymous letters and petty theft. He doesn’t even do drugs except for the occasional marijuana.”

  Kit halted and shot her a glance.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Kit. I may be naïve at times, but even I know that the small criminal element on this island bring in drugs from the mainland. I keep an eye on the dangers around here. That’s why I’m sure Liam isn’t likely to hurt us.”

  A few steps more, and they were standing by the car. Laura opened the passenger door for Kit and motioned for her to get in. For a second, Kit couldn’t move. She had a sudden urge to either kiss, hug, or inappropriately grab the woman she loved.

  “You are something else, Laura Rosalind Howard. You know that, right?”

  Laura laughed, and as always in her warm voice it sounded like gentle summer rain on moss. Or music. Or something equally sappy. Kit couldn’t find the right simile. All she knew was that her heart belonged to that laugh. She hoped desperately that she hadn’t damaged what they had beyond repair.

  “Is that a compliment?” Laura asked.

  “Everything I say to you is a compliment,” Kit said. It wasn’t sucking up, she meant it with a sincerity she couldn’t convey. “Oh, and I want points for remembering your overly posh middle name.”

  Laura smiled, leaned in for a kiss, and then whispered, “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you, too. Now, let's go confront your so-called ‘bad egg,’ honey.”

  Kit got into the car, impatience once again overshadowing her other emotions. She was so close to the answers now. Liam would have to bloody talk!

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Twisty Knickers and Twistier Confessions

  The car rattled along towards Nettle Road. Kit found herself wishing that Laura wasn’t always so aware of the speed limit. If she weren’t, they could have been there by now. Also, Kit realized she had put her knickers on the wrong way around. That seam she could feel shouldn’t be there. She fidgeted to get comfortable.

  Half a century later, they arrived at the row of terraced houses next to Alice’s cottage. Kit could see a mop of dark blond hair moving in the window of Liam’s end-of-terrace. He was home. They parked right by the house, but as Kit was taking her seatbelt off, Laura’s phone rang.

  “Ugh. It’s Uncle Maximillian.”

  “Well, you better answer it,” Kit said, inwardly adding, And tell old Max to shove off.

  Laura did so. Answer the call, that is; unfortunately, she didn’t tell him to shove off.

  “Hello. What? No, I don’t know what the difference between a turtle and a tortoise is.”

  “I think one of them lives in water,” Kit muttered, simply to feel like part of the conversation.1

  “No, Uncle, I don’t think it’s possible to have a turtle stuffed, nor am I sure it would be ethical.”

  Kit stared at Laura in amazement. How did she not sound pissed off? How was her voice as normal as if this were a reasonable conversation coming at a convenient point in time? The only sign of impatience was her lips pressing together before she said, “Anyway, I really must get going. When I come home, we can continue this conversation.”

  Kit peered through the car window, keeping an eye out for that blond head. Yes, he was still walking around in there. Kit’s heart picked up speed when she saw that Liam held something to his ear. Must be his phone. Was Jackie warning him? Or Caitlin? Would their soft spot for him be strong enough to overcome his lies and manipulations?

  Kit grabbed Laura’s arm. “Honey, I have to go. Now. I think someone called to warn him.”

  Not waiting for a reply, she opened the car door and started jogging towards the house. She heard Laura saying something ending with the word “goodbye” and then the smatter of Laura’s kitten heels behind her.

  Kit banged on the door, tired of being polite with these people. She was also tired of feeling that seam. How had she not noticed that her knickers were the wrong way around until that stupid tree climb?

  Bloody annoying! Is this where the saying “getting your knickers in a twist” comes from?

  The door opened with as much vehemence as Kit had put into the knocking.

  “What?!” Liam demanded.

  Kit took a step forward, about to tell him what. Laura stopped her by replying first. “Hi, Liam. It’s been a while since we’ve spoken, hasn’t it? May Kit and I come in?”

  “No,” he barked.

  “Fine. We’ll talk out here in the open,” Kit said, raising her voice. “About you getting a teenager to steal for you and the criminal activity you were up to with that will.”

  A muscle fluttered in Liam’s sculpted jaw. Kit maintained eye contact. If he thought glaring and shouting would make her back down, he’d never been in a packed London Tube carriage trying to convince a businessman to give up his seat for a pensioner. Kit had. She crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet. After about thirty seconds of staring, which would’ve fit in nicely in any gunfight in an old Western movie, Liam stepped aside. Kit and Laura walked into the house, despite its stink of bacon and stale air.

  Liam ran his hand through his hair, which had once more fallen into his eyes. “Now that you’re in, I suppose you expec
t something to eat or drink?”

  Normally Kit would’ve said yes. Now, however, she didn’t trust her host to not spit in her tea.

  “I’m good, thanks. Laura?”

  “I’m fine as well, thank you.”

  “Let’s get on with it then,” Liam muttered.

  He drifted into a room with peeling wallpaper and a sofa that had fallen straight out of 1977. Interestingly, a modern, big, and very expensive-looking TV was mounted on the wall.

  Liam threw himself down on the sofa, avoiding eye contact.

  Kit stood in front of him, Laura by her side.

  After a moment of silence denser than treacle sponge pudding, Kit shoved her hands in her jeans pockets and said, “We’ve been talking to Jackie and Caitlin tonight, but then I suppose you’re aware of that.”

  Liam’s gaze lingered on the wall. “I dunno what you mean,” he said before starting to chew his thumbnail.

  “I’m wondering if either Jackie or Caitlin was the one you were just on the phone to.”

  “Nah.”

  Kit narrowed her eyes. “No?”

  He paused his thumbnail-biting long enough to repeat, “Nah.”

  Laura cleared her throat. “Liam. This will be much simpler if you’re honest. I remember your dad, back when he was my teacher, telling us that we mustn’t tell lies and that things are easier if you’re upfront from the start.”

  He stopped chewing as if his thumb had bitten him. “Yeah, well, you must’ve been like nine when he taught you. He was probably talking about someone nicking a pencil. This is a bit different, Ms High and Mighty.”

  Kit was about to jump to her girlfriend’s defence, but she didn’t need to. Laura shook her head wearily and replied, “The point still stands. Being helpful and honest is your best bet here. We know you took the book. Finding out why you did it surely only helps you?”

  He scoffed. “How do you know that’s true? Because Caitlin told you? Some attention-seeking little kid with a crush on me?”

  “Exactly,” Laura said. “Her crush made her protect you. Her mother, who also has some lingering affection for you, wasn’t sure about ‘telling on you’ at first either. Still, the truth always comes out.” She paused until he deigned to look at her before continuing. “In the end, they both admitted you were behind the theft of the book so you could read the will. When Alice noticed it was gone, you gave it back to Caitlin to hide it—”