Down the Rabbit Hole

by Evelyn Amber

  “I will,” Holly said, swiftly changing the subject. “How’s Minnie?”

  “As good as she can be.”

  “Poor thing,” she said. “Send her my best.”

  “Holly!” a female voice called from the other side of the receiver as a door opened. “What dress?”

  Holly paused before replying, the muffled sound returning.

  “The black one,” Alice just about made out.

  She heard the door shut again as the volume of the music rose.

  “I’m sorry, Mum,” she apologised. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “Okay,” Alice said. “Drink safely.”

  “Mum!”

  “Don’t forget to drink water too.”

  Alice heard more giggling before the phone line cut off. She smiled as she remembered her own university days fondly. She knew things would have been different then, but she doubted students wanting to have a good time was ever going to change.

  At that moment, the door opened, and wind and rain attacked the shop floor. Justin hurried in with an incredibly old and tattered cardboard box with a plastic sheet over the top.

  “I’m surprised this box is still intact,” Justin said as he placed it on the counter. “It’s so old, I thought it was going to crumble the second I picked it up.”

  Justin removed the sheet and plucked his keys from his pocket to slice through the multiple layers of brown tape holding the flaps together. He peeled the top of the box apart and grabbed the first book from the pile, smiling down at it.

  “The Wind in the Willows,” he said, stroking the cover. “I remember you reading this to me when I was sick.”

  “I don’t think you’ve ever been as poorly,” Alice said. “The amount you were throwing up, you would have given that little girl from The Exorcist a run for her money.”

  Alice started to empty the box, pausing to look at the books, each of them having fond memories attached. She had read most of them to her children during their younger years in hopes of passing on her love of literature, but only Justin had caught the bug.

  About three quarters of the way through the box, she finally found Alice in Wonderland. Like all the others, there was a thick layer of dust blurring the cover. She wiped it away to reveal Alice standing in front of a tree and staring up at a smiling cat perched on the higher branches.

  “Who would kill for you?” she whispered to the dusty book as she turned it over.

  She walked behind the counter and glanced at Justin who was too engrossed in The Wind in the Willows to notice anything around him. She quickly placed the book in her bag, hoping it would reveal some answers.

  “I can’t get rid of this,” Justin said as he turned to Alice. “I’m keeping it.”

  “That’s fine,” Alice said. “As I said, we will only sell the ones you don’t want to keep.”

  As they sifted through the books, they both realised they were more sentimental than they’d thought. By the end, they had narrowed the pile of books they were going to sell to only five. The rest, neither of them could part with.

  “Seems like a bit of a lost cause,” Justin said, looking down at the miniscule pile of books.

  “Five is better than none,” Alice said as she placed the others back into the box. “Do you want to take this back when we finish, or do you want me to keep hold of it?”

  “I’ll take it,” Justin said. “I have more room than you. The last thing you need is more books.”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  As soon as she arrived home at the end of the quiet day, she placed Alice in Wonderland on her dining table and looked at it as though she was waiting for it to say something.

  With a cup of tea cradled in her hands, she turned the pages and started to read. She had only read the whole book once before, and she remembered how old fashioned the writing was.

  Alice’s lids already started to flutter when she reached the part where her namesake came across the white rabbit before her tumble into Wonderland. Deciding to leave it for another day, she shut the book and let out a long yawn.

  Once she retreated to bed, her mind raced with visions of the white rabbit. As she felt herself drift off, a ghastly image of Faith sprouting whiskers and floppy ears flashed behind her eyelids.

  7

  “I can’t believe you talked to her,” Minnie cried as she paced the floor of her hotel room. “It was her! I know it!”

  “Calm down, Minnie,” Alice pleaded as she looked up at her from the sofa. “I just wanted to see what she had to say.”

  Minnie stopped pacing and stood at the hotel window, staring out at another dreary day.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say?” Alice said. “I thought I was helping.”

  “What did she have to say for herself?” Minnie turned, her eyes snapping on Alice. “That she didn’t do it? She’s hardly going to broadcast it in the middle of Towngate Café, is she?”

  Minnie lifted her fingers to her mouth and chomped on her already ruined nails. Alice could feel the anger seeping out of her friend, not that she could blame her. If she was in Minnie’s shoes, she would be angry too.

  “She was the one who wanted to speak to me,” Alice explained. “She came to the shop as I was closing.”

  “So?” Minnie cried. “You decided to have a little tea party with her? A nice little chinwag? She murdered my husband!”

  “Do we know that for sure?” Alice implored. “If she did, surely the police would have arrested her?”

  “If it wasn’t her,” Minnie said, throwing her arms out, “who was it? Because I can’t think of anyone else, and the police are useless. They couldn’t find a stolen bike if their lives depended on it, let alone a murderer! ”

  “I’m sure they’re doing their best,” Alice said. “Just sit down and let’s talk about this properly.”

  “I’m too restless.” Minnie looked at Alice with a defeated look before collapsing onto the sofa. “I’m sorry.” Minnie ran her hands down her tired face. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. I know you’re only trying to help me, like you always do. But I have a gut feeling that she’s responsible. I can’t explain it. I just know, and she can’t get away with it.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Alice said, hoping she wouldn’t conjure another argument. “She seemed upset.”

  “You must think I’m a crazy woman,” Minnie said, her voice hoarse. “I don’t know what normal feel likes anymore.”

  “Don’t say that, Minnie,” Alice said, clasping her hands. “You’re upset, and you’ve been through a lot. You’re handling it much better than most people would.”

  “I don’t feel like I am,” Minnie whispered. “When I’m awake, all I can think about is them together, and when I finally manage to sleep, I see him led on that metal table being poked at by the morticians. Formally identifying him was awful. I’m never going to shake that image from my mind.”

  “I would have come with you,” Alice said. “You should have asked me.”

  “I needed to do it alone,” Minnie said through quivering lips. “Despite Faith, he was my husband.”

  Alice nodded. Minnie was the type of woman who liked to work things out on her own, and she was too proud to ask for help, even if she desperately needed it. Alice remembered one time when they were in high school before Minnie and Trevor had become a couple. Minnie’s first boyfriend had dumped her; Alice hadn’t found out until weeks after.

  “Being stuck in this room isn’t going to help you,” Alice stated, looking around the tiny room. “When was the last time you went outside and got some fresh air?”

  Minnie shrugged.

  “Why don’t we go out for something to eat?” Alice asked, searching Minnie’s eyes. “Anywhere you want. My treat. Or maybe just a walk around the square, or the park?”

  “I’m not hungry,” Minnie replied. “And I can’t face the pity.”

  “It might take your mind off things,” Alice offered. “And if anyone even tries to ask you
anything, I’ll tell them where to go. I can be scary when I want to be.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  Minnie tried to laugh, and the smallest sound escaped her lips before her bottom lip trembled.

  Alice put her arm across her friend’s shoulders. She hated to see Minnie cry, and it didn’t seem like she had done much else since Trevor’s death.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Minnie said as she sobbed. “I feel like these walls are closing in, but as soon as I think about leaving, I feel sick. Was it like this when your dad passed away?”

  “Yes,” Alice said, pushing the painful memory away. “I was a mess for weeks. Months, even.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I took it one day at a time,” Alice said, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. “And eventually, I felt better. One morning you’ll wake up, and it won’t be the first thing on your mind, and you won’t notice until something reminds you. And then you’ll feel guilty, but it’s normal to move on. It’s our body trying to protect us. It’s not healthy to wallow forever.”

  “I hope so,” Minnie whispered, “because right now, I can’t see a way out of this.”

  Alice looked around the room, wanting to offer more advice. She spotted the Tupperware box and was relieved to see it empty.

  “At least my awful cooking has come in handy,” Alice said.

  Minnie chuckled slightly as she sniffled. She pulled away from Alice and wiped her eyes.

  “You’re not that bad.”

  “I really am,” Alice said with a wink. “Gordon gave me such a talking down the other day.”

  “Tell him to talk to me,” Minnie replied with the first genuine laugh Alice had heard since the murder. “I’ll give him something to really be sorry about.”

  “I think his mid-life crisis is doing that,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “He looks so ridiculous. Dating someone younger than him has given him silly ideas.”

  They both chuckled for a few moments before the dark clouds returned.

  “I heard that Faith is still hanging around town,” Minnie said, breaking the silence, her gaze glazing over. “She’s probably trying to taunt me.”

  “Is she?” Alice asked, surprised by the subject change.

  “Apparently, she’s staying at the Ashbrook inn,” Minnie said. “At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

  “Who told you?” Alice asked.

  “Just someone who goes to my café,” Minnie replied. “She phoned me to offer her sympathies, but I could tell she was just being nosy. I want to give that homewrecker a piece of my mind.”

  Minnie pulled out the letter that she had given Alice to read the last time she had been there. It was crinkled, and the folds were close to ripping. Minnie scrunched it up in her hand and threw it onto the table.

  “I want her to tell me to my face that she didn’t do it,” Minnie said, the anger resurfacing. “I’ll know if she’s lying.”

  Alice knew that now was not the time for Minnie to face Faith; she was too angry to see clearly.

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “Probably not,” Minnie said, dropping her gaze to the floor. “But I’m so furious. I feel like I’m the guilty one, stuck here while the police ransack my home, and she gets to walk around like she’s done nothing wrong. Even if she didn’t do it, she was still sleeping with him.”

  “You have every right to be upset,” Alice said, “but confronting her now won’t do either of you any good, and you know it.”

  “So?” Minnie scoffed. “She can carry on with her life? What about me? What about my life? I might as well have a life sentence! I’m a widow in my fifties! This is it for me. My best years are behind me, and the ones I have left have just got darker.”

  “I can try to talk to her again, if you want?” Alice started. “I don’t know if she’ll want to after last time, but I can try. She might slip up and say something else.”

  “What did you speak about?” Minnie asked, the curiosity obvious in her voice. “Did you talk about him?”

  Alice didn’t want to reveal everything Faith had said, to spare Minnie’s feelings. It wasn’t important for Minnie to know the ins and outs of her husband’s affair.

  “She mentioned that she saw the letter,” Alice said before she paused. “At the cottage.”

  “What else did she say?” Minnie asked. “I can take it. It can’t get any worse.”

  Alice paused before saying, “She was supposed to see Trevor that day.”

  “Oh,” Minnie replied, barely above a whisper. She looked down at her hands and started to fidget before speaking. “Do you think they were in love? I need to know.”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Alice said. “From what I saw, it seemed Faith was more invested in it than Trevor. He did leave that letter after all.”

  “What difference does it make?” Minnie asked, cradling her face. “He was still having an affair. How could he do that to me?”

  “Men are fickle,” Alice said, running her hand soothingly across her friend’s back. “If I knew the type of man Gordon was going to turn into, I wouldn’t have walked down that aisle.”

  “At least you have your children,” Minnie said, the tears coming in full force as her body shook. “I don’t even have that. I wanted children so much, and now I’m left with nothing.”

  “You always told me you were happy not having them.”

  “I was,” Minnie said. “I thought I was anyway. I went along with what he wanted. I had my husband, and I thought that was all I needed. But I didn’t even have him. Not really. And now, I have nothing.”

  “Then he didn’t deserve you,” Alice said, hooking her finger under her best friend’s chin. “No man who is going to do that to you is worth your time. Look at this as the start of the rest of your life. You have so much to live for, and you still have plenty of time to find your happiness again. And you’ve always got me. I’m not going anywhere, am I?”

  Alice gripped Minnie’s hand and squeezed it softly.

  “Thank you,” Minnie replied, barely above a whisper.

  “I’ll come by soon,” Alice said as she climbed off the bed. “I can cook you something else, but I guarantee it will be awful.”

  “I’ll be back home soon,” Minnie said with a sad look on her face. “The police are pretty much done. I’m just delaying the inevitable, but I suppose I should face things sooner rather than later.”

  “You’ll be fine,” she said. “It’s like ripping off a plaster.”

  As Alice reached for the door, she remembered the promise she had made to Barry. She had wanted to mention him several times during their conversation to see what Minnie thought, but she didn’t want to overload her with information. She paused and turned, causing Minnie to tilt her head.

  “Can I ask you something before I leave?” Alice asked tentatively. “Do you know anything about a book Trevor bought from my shop?”

  “What book?”

  “Alice in Wonderland?”

  “No,” Minnie replied with a shake of her head. “Why?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “I sold it to him at my shop. The original owner needs it back, but I don’t know where to look. That’s why I came to your house the day…the day I found him.”

  “I could look around when I get home?”

  “Thank you,” Alice replied. “I’m sure my friend would really appreciate that.”

  Alice left the inn and regretted not bringing her coat. The rain fell quickly, drenching her in a matter of seconds. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself and hurried home as the night started to settle in.

  Alice was going to go home and deal with Faith tomorrow, but as she walked past Ashbrook Inn, she noticed the stark blonde climbing into a taxi, leaving behind a stack of cases on the pavement. Alice had to act fast if she wanted a chance to talk to her before she left. She jogged across the road and reached the taxi as the driver lifted the last suitcase into the b
oot.

  “Faith!” Alice shouted as she knocked on the glass. “Can I talk to you again?”

  Faith looked through the window and narrowed her eyes on Alice as the driver climbed behind the wheel after loading the last case.

  “Drive!” Faith cried, and the engine roared into life.

  Alice knocked again, this time harder. Faith rolled her eyes, and she relented.

  “What do you want?” she spat as she wound down the window.

  “I just want to talk to you,” Alice replied breathlessly as she wiped the rain from her face. “Please? It won’t take long.”

  “To question me again?” Faith replied, pursing her lips. “As fun as that sounds, I think I’ll pass.”

  The taxi driver tapped the wheel impatiently as he waited for his instructions.

  “Just leave me alone.” Faith rolled the window up and looked straight ahead.

  “I gave you a chance,” Alice shouted as the car started to rev its engine. “Return the favour.”

  Alice waited, but Faith’s stare didn’t shake. Giving up, Alice turned to walk home. She only took two steps before she heard the taxi door open.

  “Wait!” Faith shouted as she climbed out of the taxi, the rain soaking her instantly. “You’re an extremely persistent woman. I remember that about you from school.”

  “I have my moments,” Alice said. “And Trevor was a dear friend of mine. I just want to find out what happened to him.”

  “Alright,” Faith said, looking back at the taxi. “But I’m leaving first thing tomorrow.”

  Faith stepped to the driver, who was less than impressed, and handed him a £10 note, and told him to keep the change. He didn’t help Faith with her bags, and as soon as the last suitcase was out and the boot was shut, he sped off.

  Alice helped Faith with her suitcases and they both heaved them to the entrance of the inn. At first, Faith offered for them to talk at the bar but Alice was soaked through to the bone and desperately needed a change of clothes if she didn’t want to catch a cold. She wrote her address on a scrap of paper and they arranged to meet later.

  Alice made her way home with rapid steps as she shivered under the clothes that felt twice as heavy thanks to the rain. She arrived back home in just over five minutes and went straight to the bathroom.