The Slay of the Land (The Heathervale Mysteries Book 1)

by Matilda Swift

  ‘Really,’ Arrina said. ‘You’re probably saving me from going blind.’

  ‘OK,’ Julie said. ‘But don’t make a habit of it.’ She loaded Arrina up with a heavy tray of food. ‘This is for table four.’

  Arrina gave her a blank stare.

  ‘The one under the picture of Maria spinning on the mountaintop.’

  ‘Got it.’

  Arrina spent the next hour delivering food and clearing tables. In between, she managed to return some semblance of order to the kitchen and even found a fresh apron for Julie to put on. She was starting to get the hang of carrying the unwieldy trays of food, and she wondered why she’d ever worked in clothes shops when she was younger—café work was far livelier.

  Arrina was delivering a towering stack of afternoon tea to table seven—the one beneath the von Trapps walking around a fountain—when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

  ‘I suppose this will do,’ the voice said, cutting through the murmur of happy diners in the café.

  Arrina glanced down at her own messy apron, noticed fresh smears of chocolate on her fingers, and didn’t even want to think of the state of her hair.

  She turned around slowly, feeling her heart plummet in her chest.

  This was the last thing she needed.

  10

  ‘Oh,’ said Gillian DeViers, slowly looking Arrina up and down.

  Arrina plastered on a wide smile. Then she extended it to the two Gillian clones who followed the woman in—Gertie Cooper and Eleanor Shale. All three of them were clad in tweed skirts and blazers, with clots of pearls and clunky gold jewellery weighing down their ears and wrists. Their faces were powdery with make-up, and each of them had thinning hair whisked up into hairstyles held stiff with Elnett and pins.

  ‘We’re looking for a table,’ Gillian said, gazing in confusion at Arrina’s apron. ‘A clean one. Can you help with that?’

  The front door was still swinging shut behind Gillian’s friends. Arrina considered making a dash for it. But she didn’t need to do that. She had nothing to be embarrassed by.

  ‘Absolutely,’ Arrina said. ‘I’ve got a couple of minutes before I need to get back to organising next week’s college schedule.’ She cleared plates and teapots from table two—beneath Gretl dozing on the staircase—and wiped it down with a cloth from her apron pocket. Then she gestured to the table before carrying the dirty pots into the kitchen.

  Behind her, she heard the barely lowered voices of the three women:

  ‘This village used to have such a sense of decency.’

  ‘A respect for what was appropriate.’

  ‘And it was safer here before a certain element moved in.’

  Arrina almost collided with Julie, who was dashing past with a plate of butter-slathered crumpets. Arrina didn’t stop to check if her friend was OK. She needed to be out of range of the three awful women before she gave in to the temptation to respond to them. As the kitchen door swung shut behind her, Arrina took a deep breath. Gillian, Gertie, and Eleanor were by now sure to be discussing Arrina’s messy outfit, the terrible loss of Hugo Hayes, and the way the college was to blame for every problem the village had ever seen.

  In the kitchen, Arrina took the dirty pots to the sink. She started to clean the jam smears from the first plate. There was plenty of work to be done at the back of the café—Arrina could stay in there until closing time and sort through it. But she could hear snatches of gossip from Gillian’s friends each time the swing door opened. Arrina wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue through very much of that. And while it would feel great to tell Gillian and her cronies exactly where they could stick their opinions of her and the college, the warm satisfaction would last all of two minutes.

  Arrina took another calming breath and put the dirty pots down in the sink. She gave her hands a thorough scrub, hung up her apron, and finger-combed her hair. Then she walked back into the café.

  ‘Julie,’ she said, speaking more loudly than she really needed to, ‘thanks so much for the use of the office space today. I think I’ve got everything sorted here. I just need to head out for a few meetings now. We’ll catch up later.’

  Julie looked at Arrina in confusion. Thirty seconds ago, Arrina had been a committed helper in the busy café. But suddenly, with an hour left to go before closing time, she was darting out to attend previously unmentioned meetings.

  Arrina snuck a glance at Gillian to see her reaction to the lie.

  Julie—saint of a best friend that she was—caught on quickly.

  ‘Thank you so much for pitching in,’ Julie said. ‘Helping me handle the rush and sorting out new venues for next week’s college classes—I don’t know how you do it.’

  Arrina picked up a few random files from the desk in the window.

  ‘I’ve got the timetable all worked out now,’ Arrina said, still speaking more loudly than was strictly necessary. ‘Everything’s arranged, so I was more than happy to pitch in.’

  ‘Thanks again,’ Julie said before showing everyone her very widest grin then tacking on a wink that was just for Arrina.

  She would send Julie a gushing thank-you message as soon as she got away from the café. But for now, she needed to get out of there.

  At least one good thing had come out of the situation—Gillian was sure to report back to the college’s Board of Governors that Arrina had ignored her suspension and arranged teaching spaces for the following week. That saved Arrina having to spring it on the board herself.

  Arrina ducked down the quiet pathway to retrieve her car from where she’d left it the day before. The late-afternoon air was warm, and all around, there were birds twittering and the faint rustle of leaves. Arrina walked slowly down the tree-lined lane and looked forward to a quiet evening in with Tinsel. She still had a Tupperware box of Julie’s Christmas biscuits waiting for her and a cottage that smelled of their delicious spices to relax in.

  She pushed away the memory of Gillian and her cronies gossiping in the café. She wouldn’t let the stain of that ruin the progress she’d made that day.

  Arrina rounded the last corner and was met by the welcome sight of her mistral-blue car, looking like a patch of steely winter sky amongst so much green. The great-uncle who’d left it to her had been one of Arrina’s favourite relatives—smart, funny, and always looking on the bright side of life. Arrina felt warmed by memories of him whenever she drove the car, and that was exactly what she needed right then.

  As she got closer, she saw that the bonnet was popped up. She uttered a sigh of annoyance at the sight of it. She had asked the mechanic about this very problem at the car’s last service—sometimes when she slammed the boot, the bonnet released at the front—and he’d promised to fix it. But it looked like yet another of her car’s quirks that was here to stay. Still, it was nothing she couldn’t cope with.

  She only hoped that a bird or a squirrel hadn’t got in and started to make a nest in the engine. Arrina walked around to the front of the car to check for creatures before setting off.

  She almost tripped over a person crouching there.

  Arrina shrieked and stumbled backwards. Her feet slid on acorns and twigs. Empty air opened up beneath her.

  The crouching figure stood and grabbed Arrina, holding her tightly.

  Arrina struggled. She screamed again, though she knew the thick trees would keep the sound from the village.

  Her arms were pinned to her attacker’s chest. She yanked hard but couldn’t get free. She twisted sharply at the waist and pushed down with her heels. She’d taken a self-defence class with Julie the year before, but her mind was now blank. She remembered nothing in her blind panic to get free.

  ‘No!’ Arrina shouted, recalling one thing from the class. ‘No!’ she shouted again, leaning back to aim the word straight into her attacker’s face. ‘No!’

  Then she froze. The face was one she knew.

  ‘Arrina,’ he said, ‘it’s just me.’

  It was Tony Mellor. The man w
ho, months before, had held her this closely and kissed her. Now he looked at her with worry written plainly on his face.

  Arrina breathed deeply to calm her racing heart. Tony’s warm, familiar scent filled her lungs. She had forgotten until then just how much she missed it.

  Arrina pushed the tall police officer’s chest and stepped away.

  ‘What on earth are you doing?’ Arrina asked. ‘You almost gave me a heart attack.’

  ‘You’re not quite old enough for that yet,’ he said with a crooked grin. Arrina didn’t return the smile. Jokes about her age had been cute when they were together—Tony was two years younger, and he’d teased Arrina about being his old lady. But she didn’t want to be reminded of that time.

  ‘There’s a killer on the loose, and you’re hiding in the forest and jumping out at me.’ Arrina smoothed down her dress and ran her fingers through her hair. ‘What on earth are you playing at?’

  ‘First of all,’ Tony said, squaring his shoulders in a way that made his broad chest flex beneath his pale-blue shirt, ‘I didn’t jump out at you. You walked into me.’

  Arrina bent over to pick up her handbag from where she’d dropped it. She looked at Tony through slitted lids but said nothing. They’d been broken up too long to get into a he-said-she-said argument like this.

  ‘Second of all,’ Tony said. ‘I was trying to do you a favour.’

  Arrina’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. She couldn’t wait to hear what sort of favour he was doing by hiding behind her car and trying to frighten her to death.

  ‘I was out for a ride,’ he said, jerking his thumb towards his black classic Norton Commando, which was propped on its kickstand further up the road. ‘I found your car abandoned out here with the bonnet up, and I thought the fan belt must have gone again. Since I had my tools with me, I figured I’d take a quick look. Is everything OK?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Arrina said, still feeling a tingle in the parts of her body that he’d pressed against.

  ‘I meant with the car. It looked like you’d broken down, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.’

  ‘It’s a... temporary issue,’ Arrina said. ‘When I shut the boot, the bonnet pops up.’

  ‘I can take a look at—’

  ‘It’s OK. I’ll sort it.’ Arrina saw a frown cross Tony’s face at the interruption. But she didn’t want to accept any favours from him. Even being this close to him now was causing her heart to remember the deep scars of their break-up.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry for giving you a fright. I was just bending down to put the last of my tools away.’ He knelt quickly and gathered his wrench and screwdriver and zipped them into a compact blue bag. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you like that.’

  ‘Believe me, it’s the least of my problems right now.’

  Arrina wanted to leave. She didn’t need the confusion that being around Tony brought.

  But she couldn’t go while he was standing there. Her car took several tries to get going on a good day. And if she struggled to start it, Tony was sure to stick around and try to help. Besides, she was still jittery from the shock of running into him. She needed to sit down and recover from that—perhaps even listen to the Rosemary Clooney Christmas CD that she kept in her car for emergencies—before trying to drive away.

  Tony didn’t move.

  ‘Look,’ Tony said softly. ‘I was actually hoping to run into you here. I wanted to say sorry for how things went yesterday.’ His deep-brown eyes gazed into hers. Arrina couldn’t look away. ‘When we got the call-out to the college, I was worried something had happened to you.’ They were standing several feet apart, yet still Arrina was sure she could feel the warmth of his body. ‘But an officer can’t let personal feelings get in the way, so I had to shut off my own concerns. Then when I saw you, I was still... well...’ He rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture of regret that Arrina recognised. ‘And I could have...’ Tony continued. ‘I should have been much better about the way I handled things.’

  Arrina felt the wounds of her heartbreak start to strain at their seams. She and Tony had barely spoken since their break-up. And now the two of them were standing alone in a warm, sunny forest while Tony told her how worried he’d been about her.

  They locked eyes, and she took a small step forwards. Birds sang sweetly from above. Dappled sunshine danced in the gentle breeze.

  ‘Has there been any progress on the case?’ Arrina asked, breaking the spell between them.

  Tony said nothing for a moment. Then he dropped her gaze and stepped away. ‘I really can’t talk about it.’

  Arrina made a show of looking around at the empty woodland around them. ‘I don’t think anyone’s going to report you for it. And I’m not asking for confidential information. I just want to know how it’s going. Unless you can’t talk about it because I’m a suspect.’

  She remembered yesterday outside the college, when Tony’s boss, Ian, had looked from the smashed CCTV camera to Arrina with a deeply troubled expression. Tony’s silence made Arrina’s heart speed up again.

  ‘You’re not a suspect,’ Tony said. His deep-brown eyes softened and told her this was true. ‘The case is... going OK.’

  ‘You’re not in MI6. I think you can give me a little more than that without breaking the rules.’ Arrina watched his jaw clench, sharpening the already-strong features of his face. ‘How about telling me whether the college is likely to open before the start of term?’

  Tony looked over his shoulder at his bike, as though he was going to get on it and drive away. ‘Things are... a little more complicated than we’d thought,’ he said finally. ‘There’s no evidence of a break-in, which doesn’t make any sense since the CCTV cameras were smashed to pieces. And the crime scene is a tough place to process because it’s in a bathroom.’

  ‘Our bathrooms are very clean.’

  ‘That’s not always a good thing. Too many harsh chemicals can make it hard to get good forensics.’

  ‘I’ll be sure to tell the cleaning crew to be lazier in future,’ Arrina said. Tony smiled, and his eyes twinkled in the sun. Arrina looked away. ‘But what does it mean if you’ve got no forensics and no evidence of a break-in?’

  ‘It means it’s going to be a tough case. But we’ve got a couple of leads we’re following. Trust me, we’ll—’

  A loud ringing shattered the peace of the woodland.

  Tony took out his phone and answered it. ‘Sorry,’ he said to Arrina before turning away. ‘I’m on call.’ He walked a few steps towards his motorbike and gave a clipped, ‘Yes, yes, no, OK’ into his phone.

  The words trust me echoed in Arrina’s ears. The last time she’d trusted him, he’d broken her heart into a million little pieces.

  ‘Are they sure about that?’ Tony asked in a murmur. ‘Have they looked at everything?’

  Arrina’s ears pricked up, and she took a few steps closer to Tony, hoping he wouldn’t turn around and notice.

  ‘But what about—’ He was interrupted then gave a quiet, ‘No, it’s OK. I’ll be right there.’

  He hung up, and Arrina hopped back quickly to stand by her car.

  Tony turned to face her, and he once again rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He didn’t say anything as he slid his phone back into his pocket.

  ‘That was about the college, wasn’t it?’ Arrina asked.

  Tony averted his gaze. ‘I’ve got to be off,’ he said. ‘Sorry again for scaring you.’

  ‘What was it?’ Arrina asked. ‘Do you have any leads on Hugo?’

  Tony walked over to his bike and fastened his tool bag onto the back. He pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped the oil from his hands. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss this with you,’ Tony said quietly. He stared intently at his oil-streaked fingers.

  ‘What?’ Arrina asked. He’d just been talking to her about it a minute ago. What had changed? ‘I only want to know if it was about the college. That’s all.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Tony repeated, scrubbi
ng at a stubborn stain on his wrist. ‘This is official police business.’

  He picked up his motorbike helmet and glanced over at Arrina. Her heart sparked with pain as she recognised this sudden shutting down from him. It’s exactly what had happened when they broke up. How had she let him do this to her again?

  ‘You’ve got oil on your neck,’ Arrina said. ‘Don’t forget to clean it off before dealing with your official police business.’

  Then she got into her car and slammed the heavy door behind her. She stroked the steering wheel gently. ‘If you start,’ she whispered to the car, ‘I will buy you premium petrol every time I fill you up for the rest of your existence.’

  Then she squeezed her eyes shut and turned the key.

  The car roared into life, and Arrina drove away.

  11

  Arrina pushed her car right up to the speed limit on her way home. She took the tight turns of the country lanes with G-force twists and kept the windows down to blow her muddled feelings far away.

  How could Tony Mellor still make her heart flutter like that? After what he’d done to her and all the months she’d spent trying to get over him. It wasn’t fair that she was still so bothered by him when he clearly didn’t care for her at all. If he did care, he would have told her what that phone call in the woods was about. It was clearly something related to the college, and he knew how much she wanted to know. But no, he’d stuck to his line about official police business. He’d acted like she was nothing more than a nosey member of the public.

  Arrina screeched to a halt halfway up her hill and stormed up the rest of it to her cottage. She arrived out of breath and sweaty, and she persuaded herself that the quick climb was to blame for her racing heart, not Tony Mellor.

  Arrina fed Tinsel a turkey pouch and grabbed some extra treats for him from the back of the cupboard. Then she took the cat’s fish-shaped nibbles and her own Christmas biscuits and settled into a nest of sofa cushions and blankets.

  It was a warm August evening, but Arrina put on back-to-back Christmas movies and tried to lose herself in snow flurries, twinkling lights, and candy canes. Worries gnawed away in the back of her mind, particularly Tony’s lack of reply when Arrina asked him if the college would reopen next week.