by Agatha Frost
Julia watched as the other members continued to sit in silence. She couldn’t believe they had all let Rita speak to them in such a way. She had never given the Peridale Harmonics Choir much thought. They popped up at small village events every now and then, but she had never considered how much they all craved something bigger. This desire had blinded them and allowed them to watch as Rita exiled Flora from the group. She looked down at her biscuits; the urge to share them had vanished.
With Rita gone, the rest of the members disbanded fairly quickly. Amy, Shilpa, and Evelyn were the first to leave, followed by Skye, with Alfie not far behind. Julia waited for Dot to get up, but she sensed she was lingering back to talk to Percy. Not wanting to intrude, Julia grabbed her box and headed to the vestibule.
While she waited, Father David walked in. She smiled at him and meant to ask if the wedding rings had turned up, but he walked into the church without acknowledging her.
“Odd.”
The minutes ticked by as she waited for Dot to finish talking to Percy. She instinctively reached for her phone to check her messages, but she remembered she had left it at home. It felt nice to have lived without the distraction for a few days, but she wasn’t sure she had the patience to be parted from it forever. When her foot started to tap, she decided to check in on her gran.
As she pulled the church door open, she nearly dropped her box of biscuits when she saw Dot holding hands with Percy. Percy leaned in and kissed Dot on the cheek, and she giggled like a lovesick teenager. Julia stepped back, a smile spreading across her face. Less than a minute later, the door opened, and Percy hurried out, nodding and smiling to Julia as he went. Dot followed seconds later, adjusting her brooch.
“Wasn’t that wild?” Dot cried, linking arms with Julia. “It took all my energy to keep my mouth shut, but for the sake of being undercover, I let the woman rant on and on!”
Julia considered busting her gran’s secret as they walked across the village green to Dot’s cottage, but she bit her tongue.
“Wild,” Julia replied, concealing her smile. “Very wild indeed.”
Chapter Six
“‘Wedding Woe!’” Julia read the headline of The Peridale Post’s latest front cover aloud. “Really Johnny? You put my botched wedding on the front page?”
“It’s newsworthy!” Johnny blushed as he fiddled with his glasses. “And now that I’m the editor in chief of the paper, I need to make sure every issue grabs our readers’ attention! They’ve promoted me because of my vision. I promised I would get readership up, and if I don’t, goodbye paper. I can’t be the guy who drops the ball after 132 years of circulation.”
“But Julia’s wedding?” Roxy clipped Johnny over the back of the head. “Our best friend, Julia? Couldn’t you have gone with the singing cat on page six? I would have picked that up.”
“Me too,” Leah added, kissing Johnny on the cheek as she ruffled his hair. “You’re outnumbered, Johnny. Bad move.”
Even though Julia would rather her misfortune hadn’t been spread across the front page, she knew Johnny was only doing his job, and news of the event would have spread to every corner of the village already. She couldn’t be mad at him for using the situation to sell papers, especially after last week’s less than tantalising ‘Bus Shelter Vandalised! Whodunnit?’ headline.
She tossed the paper onto the table and picked up her glass of wine. After sitting in on that morning’s choir meeting, Julia had needed the company of her closest and oldest friends to throw their unfiltered opinions into the ring. She had always been able to count on Roxy and Johnny for their support, and after Leah’s recent rocky return to the village, she’d regained her place in the group.
“I had no idea they took the choir so seriously,” Leah said as she scanned The Plough’s lunch menu. “I still keep forgetting how the most trivial things can become huge elephants in this village.”
“They take it very seriously,” Roxy said as she checked her teeth in the back of a spoon. “My mum was a member a couple of years ago. She joined to get out of the house and make some friends after my dad died, but she couldn’t handle the pressure. She said the in-fighting and politics were worse than high school.”
“Impossible,” Johnny muttered under his breath. “Nothing is worse than high school.”
“Well, according to my mother, that choir was.” Roxy looked over Leah’s shoulder at the menu. “I think I’m in the mood for a Christmas dinner. Is it too early?”
“It’s never too early for Christmas.” Leah passed the menu to Julia. “You’ve just made my mind up. I haven’t had a Peridale Christmas dinner in years.”
“I’ll have the same,” Johnny added as he flicked through the newspaper.
“Me too,” Julia said.
“And that’s why we’re all the best of friends.” Roxy slapped the table as she stood up. “I’ll order. This one’s on me. You two lovebirds bought last week’s lunch, and Julia, no offence, but you just wasted thousands on a wedding that didn’t result in a marriage so you can keep your hand out of your pocket for a while.”
Julia chuckled, grateful for Roxy’s sense of humour in the bleak situation. She had worried her friends would offer their sympathy, but they hadn’t treated her any differently, opting to make light of the tragedy, instead. She couldn’t say the same for the other lunchtime diners, who were all burning holes in the back of her head. She was glad she had decided to sit facing the wall.
“This is the most exciting thing that’s happened since I was kidnapped and chained up in that basement for a week,” Leah said as she peered around the pub. “They’ve been ravenous for a new topic, and I think you might have just outdone my situation. Cheers for that.”
“I’m glad to be of service.” Julia lifted her glass and clinked it with Leah’s. “Although, Roxy is right. I hadn’t even thought about how much money we’ve wasted. The dress alone cost nearly a thousand.”
“On a dress?” Johnny choked on his pint. “Are you mad?”
“No, she was a bride!” Leah pouted at Johnny. “I’ve had clients spend tens of thousands on dresses. Some even buy more than one! I had a client two years ago who bought four dresses because she couldn’t decide. She kept changing during the reception, and then she threw a tantrum when nobody noticed. That was a long night.”
“Who can be bothered?” Johnny rolled his eyes as he folded up the newspaper. “It seems like a lot of effort for a party.”
“It’s not a party!” Leah shook her head as she forced out a laugh. “Men! It’s one of the most important days of your life. Why do you think people put so much effort in? If they didn’t, I’d be out of a job.”
“I think Johnny might be onto something.” Julia glanced at her engagement ring. “I was so sure I wanted to emulate my mother’s wedding, and then none it went the way I wanted. I thought I’d gone simple and small, but there were so many moving parts. I could have been stood there in a potato sack, and I still would have wanted to marry Barker. When we didn’t, none of the other stuff mattered. It felt so trivial.”
Roxy returned to the table and sat down. “What are we talking about?”
“Weddings,” Julia said, circling her glass with a fingertip. “Do you think they’re worth it?”
“I couldn’t be bothered.” Roxy shrugged. “All that fuss for one day? No, thanks.”
“Thank you!” Johnny exclaimed, slapping his hand on the table. “Roxy gets it!”
“But what about Violet?” Leah urged. “Don’t you love her?”
“More than anything.”
“Then why don’t you want to marry her?”
“I never said I didn’t want to,” Roxy fired back, “but if I do, the wedding itself isn’t that important to me. I wasn’t one of those little girls who dreamed of having a fairy-tale wedding, mainly because I imagined my Prince Charming as Princess Charming. If the time felt right, I wouldn’t make any fuss.”
“And how does Violet feel about that?” Leah asked.
“She’s Russian.” Roxy sipped from her pint. “She’s not big on grand gestures of emotion. As long as there’s vodka and pirozhki, she’s set for the day.”
Leah sighed and relaxed into her chair. Despite having two divorces under her belt and having vowed never to marry again, Leah looked upset that the conversation had taken such a turn. Julia wondered if it was because Leah was a wedding planner, or because she had fallen head over heels in love with Johnny and wanted to marry him.
“What happened to romance?” Leah asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “That huge day to celebrate the beginning of your life together is supposed to be special. Start with a bang?”
“My idea of romance is when Violet rubs my feet after I’ve been stood up at school teaching six-year-olds all day.” Roxy took another swig of her pint. “Which I’d be doing right now, so cheers to that burst pipe in the boys’ toilets!”
The conversation shifted from weddings to Christmas, and then back to Julia’s wedding again when their food came out. When they were halfway through eating their turkey, stuffing, and brussels sprouts, the topic veered to Gloria’s sudden death.
“It has to be Rita,” Leah mumbled through a mouthful of roast potato. “If her speech was as vibrant as you described it, there’s no other explanation. She somehow killed Gloria to ascend to the throne.”
“How did she even kill her?” Roxy asked. “Mind control? Poor woman dropped like a house. She didn’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe it was natural causes?” Johnny suggested. “She was overweight. Maybe her heart just gave out? She was singing quite loud.”
“That’s hardly going to sell your papers, is it?” Roxy rolled her eyes. “Stop the press! ‘Woman Dies of Natural Causes!’”
“It’s just an idea.” Johnny blushed as he shovelled more turkey into his mouth. “Have the police confirmed that it was murder?”
“As good as,” Julia replied, “and don’t you dare quote me on that, editor!”
“What do you think happened to her, Julia?” Leah asked.
Before Julia could answer, her phone vibrated in her bag, which she had collected on the way to the pub. Having gone so long without it, it took her by surprise and made her jump in her seat. She was relieved to see it was a text message from Barker.
“Arsenic poisoning,” she said.
“Oh, c’mon!” Roxy chuckled as she sawed through a tough piece of turkey skin. “Isn’t that all a little ‘wife killing off her husband so she can run off with the butler in 1856’?”
“No, really.” Julia held up her phone to show the message from Barker. “Official confirmation from the toxicology report. DI Christie just told Barker.”
They silently stared at the phone for a moment, their knives and forks hovering over their food.
“How does someone even get poisoned by arsenic?” Leah asked before popping a sprout into her mouth.
“Well, for a start, it’s tasteless, odourless, and colourless.” Julia tucked her phone away. “It’s not easy to get hold of, but it’s not impossible. It naturally occurs in nature, and it just so happens to be our natural Kryptonite. Rice even has small traces of it, though not enough to kill us. Slip a little of the pure stuff into someone’s drink, or even their food, and they’re not likely to live to tell the tale.”
Leah spat out the sprout and dropped her knife and fork. Johnny and Roxy did the same, pushing their plates away from them.
“And suddenly I’ve lost my appetite,” Roxy said with a sigh before patting her stomach. “Probably for the best. I’ve been using ‘‘tis the season’ since October to keep stuffing my face.”
“Arsenic poisoning?” Johnny echoed, shifting in his seat. “That’s a very intentional way to kill someone.”
“There goes your natural causes theory,” Leah said, tapping him on the knee. “Whoever killed Gloria really meant to do it.”
“She could have ingested it by accident,” Julia suggested. “But that doesn’t seem likely.”
They reflected in silence for another minute. Shirley, the landlady, came over and cleared away their half-finished dinners. Julia sipped her wine and leaned back in her chair, mind whirring.
“Why your wedding?” Leah asked.
“Huh?”
“Why kill her during your wedding?” Leah repeated, sitting up straight. “If someone meant to kill her, they could have poisoned her at any time. And why poison? They could have killed her all kinds of ways.”
“Maybe they wanted to send a message?” Julia suggested. “To me? To the village? To Gloria during her last minutes alive?”
“Or they were in a rush.” Roxy finished her pint and rose, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair. “Speaking of which, I should get going. I promised Violet we’d clean out the spare room since we have the day off school. She wants to turn it into a crafting room. We watched Ghost last week, and she’s convinced she’s going to start pottery.”
“Are you Patrick Swayze or Demi Moore?” Johnny asked.
“Oh, Swayze all day long.” Roxy winked. “Don’t call. I’m sick and tired of the lot of you.”
“Love you too,” Julia said as Roxy kissed her on the cheek. “Be good.”
“Shan’t.” Roxy waved as she headed for the door. “I’ll see you losers around.”
“Will we see you at the bonfire tonight?” Leah called before Roxy left. “I heard they’ve gone all out with the fireworks.”
“Fireworks?” Roxy thought about it for a second. “I’ll pass. I think I’d rather clean my spare room, to be honest. See-ya!”
“And just like that, we’re sixteen again,” Johnny said with a fiddle of his glasses. “Who said we have to age gracefully?”
“Forty is the new twenty, according to a magazine I read in the doctor’s waiting room,” Leah said after finishing her wine. “And beige is going to be a big trend for spring and summer next year, which is going to make my wedding portfolio as exciting as a bowl of porridge.” She patted Johnny on the shoulder and stood up. “We should get going too. I’m pitching my ideas to a fussy bride in an hour, and you’ve got that piece about the stolen street signs to research.”
“Ever the exciting life.” Johnny drained his pint before standing up and pulling his messenger bag across his body. “Good luck with your mystery, Julia.”
“Will we see you at the bonfire?” Leah asked. “There’ll be treacle toffee.”
“As tempting as destroying my teeth on toffee sounds, I think I’m going to pass too.” Julia smiled. “I’m not quite ready to face the world on that scale yet.”
“I understand.” Leah ruffled Julia’s hair before kissing her on the cheek. “If you change your mind, I’m leaving my cottage at seven.”
“Can I credit you as a source regarding the arsenic poisoning revelation?” Johnny asked. “It’s important that the people know what’s going on.”
“Nope.”
“Worth a try.”
Johnny and Leah left arm in arm, leaving Julia alone in the pub. She reached into her handbag and pulled out her small notepad. It was open on her working sketch of her wedding cake design. She ripped out the page and scrunched it up before dropping it into her bag. On a fresh page, she wrote ‘Gloria Gray’ in the middle, with ‘arsenic poisoning’ underneath. Beneath that, she wrote ‘Motive: message or necessity?’, underlining both. She enclosed the entire thing in a bubble and drew two lines away and wrote her two suspects. On one tangent, she wrote ‘Rita Bishop: Rival Leader’, and ‘Skye (surname???): Denied Lead Vocals’, on the other.
It wasn’t a lot to work on, but it was a start. She knew the police might be interviewing suspects even as she scribbled her notes, but the conundrum gave her something to occupy her mind. Without her friends distracting her, it was easy to slip into her own dark thoughts.
She was about to pocket her notepad when another thought sprang to mind. She turned to a fresh page. With her pen hovering over the paper, she hesitated before writing ‘Fathe
r David’ in the middle. She drew a giant ‘?’ through his name, and then added ‘blanked me like a stranger’ underneath. He had probably been deep in his thoughts, especially after having witnessed his choirmaster die during one of his wedding ceremonies, but a niggling feeling in the back of her mind wanted to investigate further.
Satisfied she had exhausted all she knew so far, she finished the last drop of wine and dropped her pad back into her bag. When she stood up, the picture of Gloria Gray on the front page of Johnny’s abandoned The Peridale Post stared up at her.
“Who would want to kill you?” Julia whispered to the picture. “Who did you upset, Gloria?”
Chapter Seven
Even though Julia had decided against going to the village’s annual bonfire, Barker convinced her it would be a good idea to get out and face the world before reopening her café, if only to show everyone she was still standing. With Jessie on a date with Billy to catch the last showing of a horror movie left over from Halloween, Julia didn’t want to spend a silent night alone in the house while Barker wrote in the dining room. They wrapped up in hats, scarves, gloves, and heavy coats, and met Leah outside her cottage across the lane a little before seven.
“I’m so glad you decided to come,” Leah said, her breath turning to steam as they walked arm in arm down the dark lane, fireworks popping in the sky all over the village. “I haven’t seen a bonfire as big as Peridale’s in over twenty years. I never realised how much I missed the little things about village life.”
They waited a couple of minutes at the bottom of the lane before Johnny joined them. Following the scent of burning wood, they crossed the village green and started towards St. Peter’s Primary School. They veered off halfway, climbing over the wall and into the field between the school and the graveyard.
The bonfire, which was held in the same spot on the edge of Haworth Forest every year, stood as tall and wide as a two-story house. It burned bright in the dark, orange sparks crackling up to the inky sky.
