Down the Rabbit Hole

by Evelyn Amber

  “Maybe he didn’t find it?”

  “Barry wouldn’t do something like that that,” Minnie said with a shake of her head. “You’re clutching at straws because you don’t want to admit that Faith has manipulated you. I stand by what I said. I know she did it. She must have.”

  “Well, Faith has left Ashbrook,” Alice murmured, looking down. “I just about managed to catch her before she left.”

  “She’s gone?”

  “I don’t think she was a person of interest to the police,” Alice said. “I don’t even think they spoke to her. She would have mentioned it. There’s nothing I could have done to make her stay.”

  “No,” Minnie said. “I suppose not.”

  “The police are going to figure out what happened. Secrets never stay buried in Ashbrook.”

  “I almost forgot,” Minnie said with a click of her fingers, changing the subject. She jumped out of the chair and bustled behind the counter before producing a muffin. “As promised.”

  “Thanks,” Alice said as she accepted the gooey muffin. “I haven’t eaten yet.”

  “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips,” Minnie said with a chuckle. “If we’re to believe the TV, that much sugar is going to make you drop down dead in a matter of seconds.”

  “Well,” Alice said with a wink as she unwrapped the muffin, “I’ve lasted this long.”

  As soon as she discarded the wrapper, she could smell the chocolate and her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

  “Have you sorted everything out for the funeral?” Alice mumbled through a mouthful of muffin.

  “Yeah,” Minnie said, slumping over, her mood shifting once again. “It’s on Friday. If you come to mine in the morning, the car will take us to the church.”

  “What time?” Alice asked.

  “Get to mine for eleven.”

  Alice nodded as an uncomfortable silence fell down on them. She took another bite of the muffin to give her something to do.

  “This is really good,” Alice said, trying to fill the quietness.

  “Thanks,” Minnie said. “Have you got any plans tonight?”

  “The boys coming over,” she replied as she picked a bit of the muffin and dropped it into her mouth. “So, that could end well or disastrously.”

  “You actually got them to agree to that?”

  “Justin was no problem,” Alice replied. “It was Lucas who needed the persuasion, but he finally agreed. I used the ‘but I’m your mother’ card. Works every time”

  “I don’t envy you.”

  “I can’t remember the last time it was me and them without Gordon there to butt in,” Alice said sadly. “Lucas will barely talk to me. I don’t know what I’ve done. I feel like a stranger.”

  “You know what boys are like.”

  Alice nodded in agreement as she finished the muffin. She looked at her watch, shocked by how much time had passed.

  “I need to get back to the shop,” Alice said, wiping the crumbs from her blouse. “I’ve been leaving Justin to man the shop more than I would like these days.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t mind.”

  “I can stay if you want?” Alice asked.

  “I won’t keep you,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I’m going to shut early anyway. No point staying open and wasting my electricity. Good luck with tonight.”

  Alice headed out, waving as she went. She hoped for Minnie’s sake that the people of Ashbrook would start visiting her café again. She made a mental note to mention its re-opening to her customers.

  Alice chopped some onions and added them to a boiling stew pot before flicking through the pages of her cooking book to double check she had followed the instructions correctly. Once she was satisfied, she placed the lid on top and turned the heat down to a low simmer. She had bought three microwave meals as a back-up, praying she wouldn’t need them. She strolled through to her living room, a cup of freshly brewed tea in her hands.

  She flicked through the channels on her television and landed on a soap that she used to indulge in. She started to watch and realised she didn’t recognise any characters from it. She turned it off and decided to read until Lucas and Justin arrived.

  She tucked her feet under her legs and started to read, completely losing herself in the world of Poriot. She was a quick reader and had read over fifty pages before Justin arrived.

  “Lucas not here yet?” Justin asked, shutting the door behind him, shaking Alice from her imaginary world. “I’m late as it is, not that I’m surprised.”

  “We’ll have none of that,” Alice scolded, placing her book on the coffee table. “I don’t want any arguments tonight.”

  “It’s not me you need to worry about.”

  “You can be as bad as each other at times.”

  Justin just waved his arm and walked into the kitchen. Leaving her book, Alice followed behind.

  “Something smells good,” Justin said, inhaling as he stepped into the kitchen. “Stew?”

  “Lucas’ favourite.” Alice smiled. “And don’t sound too surprised. It’s mostly vegetables, so you aren’t breaking your diet.”

  “If I hear that word one more time,” Justin said with a roll of his eyes, patting his barely-there stomach. “I’ve been starving all day. Kyle makes it look so easy.”

  “It should be ready soon,” Alice said, lifting the lid to stir it. “Could you call Lucas to make sure he’s on the way?”

  “He’ll get here when he gets here,” Justin said nonchalantly. “If he bothers to come at all. Do you want me to set the table?”

  “I’ve already done it.”

  “How’s Minnie?” Justin asked, leaning casually against the kitchen island. “I forgot to ask when you got back.”

  “She’s better,” Alice said. “She’s coping better than I would.”

  “A guy came in asking for you when you were out,” Justin said, raising a brow suggestively at Alice. “I think he said his name was Thomas? For an older gentleman, he’s very handsome. Is there something you’re not telling me, mother?”

  Alice placed bread rolls in a small basket. Justin looked longingly at them, his tongue poking out of his lips.

  “Sorry to disappoint, but there’s nothing to tell,” Alice replied through pursed lips as she heard the front door open. “That’ll be your brother.”

  For once, she was glad of her son’s lateness and grateful for the distraction. Justin would have bombarded her with questions she didn’t know how to answer. Even though she would agreed that Thomas was a handsome man, she couldn’t imagine being in a relationship with such a person.

  Lucas sauntered in and stood in the doorway, rubbing the dark hair that had started to grow from his usually shaved head. Alice thought all her children were beautiful, but she always liked his hair after it had grown out a little.

  “Hello, stranger,” Alice said, pushing forward her best smile.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he mumbled, not sounding sorry at all. “Lost track of time.”

  “That’s okay,” Alice said in a sing-song voice. “Dinner is almost ready. Go and sit in the dining room and I’ll bring it through.”

  Lucas went straight for the dining room. Alice jerked her head at Justin when he didn’t follow. He huffed out his chest, but followed without protest.

  Alice took the pan off the hob and filled three bowls with the stew. The fragrance of vegetables and mince hit her nose, and even she had to admit it smelled good.

  She placed them on a tray with the bread before walking into the dining room. Some of the stew escaped one of the bowls and sloshed down the side as she went. Justin and Lucas were sat across from each other, both on their phones. She cleared her throat, but neither of them looked up.

  “No phones at the table,” Alice chastised as she placed the bowls down. “You know the rules.”

  “Mine’s half empty,” Lucas moaned, placing his phone in his pocket.

  Alice raised her brow and switched it with hers.


  “Honestly,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Are we all happy now?”

  “You’re such a baby,” Justin said, narrowing his eyes on his little brother.

  “Oh, shut up,” Lucas shot back.

  Alice revaluated if asking them both over for dinner had been a good idea, but she was determined to make it work. She missed having her family around, especially since Holly had left for university.

  “Can we not insult each other?” Alice ordered. “Help yourself to the bread.”

  Alice scooped up some of the stew and was proud that it didn’t taste awful for once.

  “So, Lucas,” Alice said trying to inject some conversation into the eerily quiet dining room, “how are things in the army?”

  “It’s okay,” he mumbled, offering nothing else.

  “Just ‘okay’?” Alice asked.

  “Do you actually care?”

  “Of course I care!” Alice replied, hurt that he would even ask such a question. “Why do you think I don’t?”

  “You never paid any interest in the past.”

  “I try calling you at least once a week,” Alice protested, dropping her spoon into her stew. “You never pick up.”

  “I changed my number,” Lucas replied, leaning over the table to grab a bread roll. “Dad said he’d text you my new one.”

  “Well, he must have forgotten,” Alice replied, not surprised that her ex-husband hadn’t done something he said he would.

  “That’s not like him at all,” Justin interrupted sarcastically before spooning some of the stew into his mouth. “I’m shocked at his sudden change of character.”

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Lucas said, pointing his finger in his brother’s direction. “Stay out of it.”

  Justin shrugged casually, something that always annoyed Lucas. Alice could see his face growing redder by the second. She wished she knew the source of Lucas’ recent change of character.

  “I’m sure it was an accident,” she said.

  “Yeah, right,” Justin muttered under his breath.

  Alice shot him another look and shook her head subtly.

  “This is really good,” Justin hummed in appreciation. “Isn’t it, Lucas?”

  “It’s okay.”

  “A man of so many words,” Justin teased. “Shakespeare would be rolling in his grave.”

  “Justin!” Alice hissed.

  “I can defend myself,” Lucas snapped.

  He banged his fist on the table, making the plates clatter. Nobody would describe Lucas as laid-back, but he usually let his brother’s jabs go over his head.

  “I’m just playing around,” Justin replied, holding his hands up. “You don’t have to take everything so seriously all the time.”

  “Everything’s just a joke to you,” he said through gritted teeth, “isn’t it?”

  “Calm down,” Justin said. “I’m messing.”

  “Stop!” Alice screamed, silencing the arguing siblings.

  She sipped her water and calmed herself. The last thing she wanted was to get angry. Justin looked at her wide eyed, but Lucas tightened his jaw.

  “All I wanted was a nice family meal,” she said, “but once again, you can’t stop yourselves from arguing and insulting each other. I want to bang your heads together sometimes!”

  “It’s him,” Lucas said folding his arms across his muscular chest. “He thinks he’s better than me.”

  “No,” Alice said. “It’s both of you. Lucas, you don’t need to get so angry, and Justin–”

  “You would stick up for him,” Lucas interrupted. “Your golden boy.”

  “You didn’t even let me finish,” Alice said, turning her head to him. “I was going to tell Justin to stop winding you up.”

  “Golden boy?” Justin boomed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know exactly what it means,” Lucas said, a smug smile on his face. “You can’t do anything wrong.”

  “You’re full of rubbish.”

  “Oh, Justin,” Lucas said, mimicking Alice’s voice and placing his hands on his chest, batting his eyelashes. “You’re so perfect! How did I create such a perfect son?”

  Alice placed her elbows on the table and ran her hands through her hair.

  “Now look what you’ve done!” Justin shouted. “I was joking. You always take it one step further.”

  “This was a stupid idea,” Lucas said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing. “I’m going home.”

  Lucas stomped out of the dining room, knocking Justin’s chair hard as he passed.

  “Idiot!” Justin shouted.

  “Wait!” Alice said, rising from her chair. “Please, don’t go.”

  Lucas turned on his heels, his eyes filled with fury.

  “Just once,” he said, “I wish you would take my side.”

  He shook his head and walked out, slamming the door behind him, making the cottage shake.

  “Well, that was a little theatrical,” Justin said from the dining room. “I thought I was supposed to be the drama queen in this family?”

  Alice trudged back to the dining room and stood next to Justin, putting her hands on her hips, her mouth nothing more than a line.

  “What?”

  “Don’t ‘what’ me,” Alice snapped, her eyes turning to slits. “Do you have to aggravate him like that? You know how he gets, and you just stir the pot.”

  “I was joking,” Justin said in disbelief. “Remember? Ha ha, he he? Jokes? He’s the one with anger issues!”

  “And you don’t help!”

  “I don’t know what his issue is.”

  “Neither do I,” Alice said. “I thought I was getting somewhere with him when he agreed to come here.”

  Alice grabbed a small roll from the middle of the table and ripped it apart angrily before dipping it in her stew a little harder than she had meant to. The stew dripped down her blouse.

  “You can’t try and be his friend if he doesn’t want you to,” Justin stated. “If there’s something I know about Lucas, it’s that he’s stubborn.”

  “I’m trying to be his mother, not his friend,” Alice said, taking a bite of the bread, her appetite completely gone. “I don’t know what’s happened to him. He never used to be like this. I don’t know why I’m the enemy.”

  “Dad has probably fed him lies.”

  Alice shook her head. As much as Gordon had broken her heart and as much as they disagreed on certain things, she knew he wasn’t capable of turning her own children against her.

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Alice said. “Has Lucas ever said anything to you? Mentioned something that’s bothering him?”

  “Mum, you saw what just happened,” Justin chuckled. “We aren’t exactly pally. I’m the last person he would want to discuss his personal life with.”

  “Something must be bothering him.”

  “Like what?” Justin scooped up the last of his stew with a piece of bread. He smiled as he chewed on the bread, closing his eyes. “Don’t tell Kyle.”

  Alice laughed uneasily but was still upset about Lucas leaving. She held back the tears, not wanting to cry in front of her son.

  “Next time you see him,” Alice ordered, “I want you to apologise to him.”

  “Are you being serious?” Justin asked. “You heard what he said.”

  “I’m deadly serious,” she said. “It isn’t a question.”

  Justin pulled his face and it reminded her of when he was a child. Justin said Lucas was stubborn, but he was just as stubborn at times, something she would never say to him.

  “Be the bigger person,” Alice said. “He’s your little brother.”

  It was a cheap shot, but she knew Justin’s pride wouldn’t let him apologise without a little push.

  “Fine,” he said. “If I see him, I’ll apologise, but I’m not doing it for his sake.”

  “Thank you.”

  Justin stayed long after dinner, helping himself to some biscuits while they w
atched a film on the television. Alice would usually find the guilty look on Justin’s face humorous every time he took a bite, but she was at her wits end with Lucas. She didn’t know what was going on with her son or what could be bothering him, but she intended to find out before it got worse.

  11

  Alice preferred a dash of colour in the clothes she wore and didn’t own many dark articles, so she had rummaged in her wardrobe for her black dress a few days ago in case she’d have to buy something new last minute. Finding the dress had been a struggle and she’d worried more than once that she’d thrown it out. Her bank balance was thankful when she’d found it at the back of her wardrobe. It’d been crumpled and a little dusty, but it was nothing the local dry cleaners hadn't been able to fix.

  She slipped the dress over her head and adjusted it until it felt comfortable. She turned to assess how it looked and smoothed down the back of it. The last time she’d worn the dress had been when she’d still been married; it used to be Gordon’s favourite. She had given up calorie counting and strict regimes a long time ago, but she had tried it on when she had first found it so was pleased to find it still fit.

  She wasn’t overweight by any stretch of the imagination, but her body was not as slender as it had once been. The dress gripped to her soft curves a little more snuggly than it had years ago but it didn’t look bad. She pinned her blonde hair neatly back in a simple French twist and applied a little mascara. She ran her hands down the dress one more time before heading downstairs.

  She slipped her feet into her kitten heels and stepped outside into the dreary day, locking the door behind her.

  If ever there was a day for a funeral, it was today. She draped her shawl around her shoulders, hugging it to her chest. She inhaled the crisp air and set off.

  The walk to Minnie’s house felt twice as long as usual. The grey clouds showed no signs of clearing as she looked up at the overcast sky. It hadn’t gone unnoticed to her that the last time she’d taken this same walk had been when she’d discovered Trevor’s body.

  She knocked tentatively on Minnie’s door when she arrived and then walked in after no one answered. She’d normally wait for a reply, but today wasn’t a normal day.