by Agatha Frost
Julia continued reading the subtitles until she thought she heard her name. She strained her ears, and again, she heard her name on the wind. She practically tossed the cup onto the side table when she recognised Barker’s voice. She darted around the sofa and rattled the chain off before yanking the door open.
“You’ll need the key,” Addie said as she slowly wandered over, her eyes still on the television while she reached into her nightie’s pocket to produce a large key. “I never leave the thing unlocked. They’d have my carpets up if they could! Take anything that’s not nailed down.”
Addie unlocked the gate and swung it open for Julia. She ran out and almost threw herself over the edge of the balcony. She had never been more relieved to see Jessie’s yellow car.
“Julia!” Jessie yelled, hands cupping her mouth as she circled the now empty park. “Julia!”
“I’m up here!” she cried, waving her arms.
Barker and Jessie looked up, and even though they were three floors down, she was sure she heard them let out a collective breath.
“Stay there!” Barker called, pointing at her. “I’m coming up.”
Julia backed away from the balcony, and for the first time since arriving in Fern Moore, she felt truly safe. While she waited for Barker to run up the stairwell, Julia walked back into Addie’s flat. The little old lady was already back on the sofa, her eyes glued to the silent soap.
“Thank you for looking after me,” Julia called over the back of the sofa. “My husband is here, so I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks for the tea and cake. I really appreciate your help, Addie.”
“No problem, dear.” Addie waved over her shoulder without looking away from the screen. “Drop by again.”
Julia wondered if Addie even remembered who she was or why she was there, but she was grateful all the same. She turned to leave the flat once and for all, but a hand closed around her arm.
“I need to tell you something,” Oliver whispered, clutching something plastic and yellow in his hand. “I found this.”
“Tony’s EpiPen!”
“I didn’t kill him,” Oliver said quickly, “if that’s what you’re thinking. I didn’t.”
“Why do you have it?”
“I told you, I found it.” Oliver glanced at Addie and pulled Julia towards the door and out of earshot. “When Tony died, I freaked out. I was pacing the tent, and I saw this poking out from under Tony’s coat on the floor. I panicked, and I picked it up. I don’t know why, and I don’t know why I didn’t say something then, but the longer I held onto it in my pocket, the worse I knew it would look.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Oliver. This doesn’t look good.”
“I know.” He chewed into his lip as he held out the EpiPen. “I know how this looks, but I didn’t take it; I found it when it was too late for it to make a difference. Are you going to tell the police?”
Julia considered if she would, but she wasn’t sure what difference it would make. If Oliver was telling the truth about finding it after Tony had been pronounced dead, he was right about the EpiPen not making a difference.
“I won’t tell them,” Julia started, resting her hand on his shoulder, “but I want you to do something for me in return.”
“What?”
“Meet me at my café tomorrow night,” she said. “Around six. It’ll be closed, but I’ll be there.”
“W-what are we going to do?” Oliver gulped. “I’m not sure—”
“By the sounds of it, Tony didn’t have many people he was close to,” Julia said, cutting him off before his imagination ran away with him. “You followed Tony around, bending to his every whim. I’m going to bet you heard and saw things you shouldn’t have. I need your help to try to build a clearer picture of the man so I can figure out who would want to kill him, and, more importantly, why.”
“You sound like police. I thought you ran a café?” Oliver asked, his expression confused.
“I do. I’ll see you tomorrow night at six.”
Leaving Oliver with the EpiPen, Julia exited the flat and pushed the gate back into place. Barker and Jessie emerged at the end of the walkway, practically fighting past each other to get to her. Jessie reached her first and wrapped her arms tightly around Julia’s neck.
“You’re okay,” Jessie whispered into Julia’s chest. “You’re okay.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“Dot’s message,” Barker said as he wrapped his arms around the two of them.
“She figured out how to use her machine?”
“No, but Percy did.” Barker kissed Julia on the top of the head. “I think it’s time we took you home and had a chat, don’t you?”
Chapter Nine
After a hot shower and a much-needed cup of peppermint and liquorice tea, Julia collapsed into her armchair next to the roaring fire. They had collected Vinnie from Dot and Percy, and he now slept soundly in his cot in the bedroom.
Mowgli jumped up onto Julia’s lap and kneaded her pink dressing gown before curling up. On the surface, it could have been an ordinary Thursday night at home, but the atmosphere was far from ordinary.
“Christie is on his way.” Barker emerged from the bedroom holding his phone. “He’s going to take your statement and get started on catching those thugs.”
“I said I’d do it in the morning.” Julia rested her head on the back of the chair and closed her eyes as the fire warmed her feet. “I’m so tired. I just want to relax.”
“Relax?” Barker cried. “Relax?”
“Keep your voice down! You’re going to wake Vinnie.”
“A crying baby is the least of your worries right now, Julia!” Barker paced behind the sofa, his hands in his hair. “You were mugged! Do you have any idea what it felt like to get that call from Dot?”
“Barker, I—”
“I assumed the worst!” His voice grew louder. “When we arrived, and you weren’t near the phone box, my mind went to a horrid place. Do you know how many murders start with a mugging? Do you, Julia? Because I do. I lived that life for too many years when I worked in the city.”
“And Peridale isn’t the city.”
“And Fern Moore isn’t Peridale.” He stopped pacing and tossed his arms out, his eyes pinning Julia into the chair. “I don’t care about official borders and postcodes. That place isn’t like this village, not even on Peridale’s worst day. The people who live there are not like us.”
“They’re not all like that, Barker.” Julia pursed her lips. “Addie, for one. And what about Billy? He came from there too.”
“And what about the rest? What about the ones who mugged you? Nice people don’t snatch the rings off your hand!” Barker deflated and leaned against the back of the sofa. “I’m sorry. I think I’m in shock.”
“I was the one who had to live through it,” Julia reminded him.
“Which is why I don’t understand how you’re so calm.” Barker walked around the sofa and sat down. Mowgli sprang off Julia’s lap and ran into the bedroom, allowing Barker to grab Julia’s hands in his. “What were you doing in Fern Moore? I left you miles away at a children’s soft play area to talk to Bev.”
“And that’s what I did. I spoke to her, and I ended up on a bus.”
“What were you doing on a bus?”
“I wanted to talk to Bev without her thinking I was prying answers from her,” Julia explained before yawning. “It worked. She opened up, and I got a lot of useful information from her.”
“Useful information?” Barker let go of Julia’s hands and collapsed into the sofa. He covered his face as he breathed heavily. “Maybe you’re also in shock and not processing what happened. This isn’t a game, Julia. You’re not playing Cluedo and trying to pin it on Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick. This is real life! You have too many people who care about you to be throwing yourself into dangerous situations like this.”
Julia’s first instinct was to jump to her own defence. In the two years
they’d known each other, Barker had never spoken to Julia like this before, and as she stared into his eyes and saw his fear, she understood why.
“Barker, I don’t know what to say—”
“Promise me you won’t throw yourself into a situation like that again.” Barker sounded more exhausted than Julia felt. “Do you remember what I told you about Vanessa?”
Julia was taken aback to hear that name leave Barker’s lips. In their first few months of dating, Barker had told her about being briefly engaged to a woman called Vanessa, an officer shot to death by a lunatic who wanted to exact revenge on the police after being arrested for driving while drunk. Barker hadn’t mentioned her since that night, and Julia hadn’t known how to ask about it, so she hadn’t.
“I remember,” she said softly.
“It’s been almost ten years.” Barker let his hands run down his face. “I don’t mean to bring her up. You’re my wife, and I love you more than anyone I’ve ever known, but—”
“You can talk about anything with me, Barker.” Julia got out of the chair and sat next to him. She clutched his hands in hers. “Anything.”
“Vanessa was a police officer murdered at random by someone angry about losing their license.” Barker paused and turned to look at Julia with a firm gaze. “Do you know what that means? If someone is willing to murder a police officer for something as trivial as that, what do you think a maniac is going to do to an ordinary person for their phone and jewellery?”
“They were kids.”
“Did they have a weapon?”
“Barker, I—”
“Did they have a weapon?” Barker repeated. “Because I know you, Julia, and I know you wouldn’t have handed over your mother’s ring unless you really had to.”
Julia nodded, which caused Barker to cover his face again. He didn’t ask what the weapon was, and there was a knock at the door before he had a chance to.
“That will be Christie,” Barker said, dragging himself off the couch. “I’ll let him in.”
Julia resumed her place in her armchair and took a gulp of her tea for courage. Jessie emerged from her bedroom and took the wonky armchair next to the window. Julia tried to catch her eye, but she seemed to be having as hard a time as Barker. Julia had been through a whole range of emotions since the mugging, but she hadn’t expected guilt to be one of them, and yet it consumed her more than any other.
“Julia.” DI Christie nodded to her as he sat on the sofa. “I’m sorry to hear about what happened. There are some real low lives out there. Barker told me most of the story over the phone, but I want to hear it from you first-hand. Start at the beginning.”
Christie pulled out a notepad, and for the first time since Julia had met him, he seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare. The mocking glare was gone from his eyes, and his usual smirk was downturned at the corners.
Julia started with the visit to the soft play area, and then the chance meeting with Bev. She was honest about why she wanted to talk to her. She recounted the bus journey to Fern Moore, where she had planned to get a taxi. She explained that Johnny had sent her a text, and before she could call anyone, the gang appeared. When she mentioned the knife, Barker let out a pained sigh and continued pacing in the hallway. Jessie’s fists clenched against the armchair, her top lip curled in a snarl as she stared into the fireplace.
“You did the right thing not putting up a fight.” Christie slapped the pad shut when she finished the story. “Too many innocent people have died trying to protect their possessions. We can’t take them with us to the other side, right?” He stood and tucked the pad into his jacket pocket. “Look, Julia, I’m going to be honest with you. It’s very unlikely that we’re going to find your items. I’ll put an alert out to all the pawn shops in the area. If those thugs are stupid enough, they’ll try to trade them in, but those types are usually savvier than that. They know how to get rid of things without anyone ever finding out.”
“Don’t forget the bus,” Barker injected. “It might have had cameras.”
“Good point.” Christie made a note of it. “I’ll call the company first thing. You’ve given us some good stuff to work with. I know a couple of guys by the name of Mark who hang around the estate, so I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you, Detective,” Julia said after stifling another yawn. “I’m sorry to make you come out so late. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Christie walked into the hallway and patted Barker on the back before looking back into the sitting room. “Julia?”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to say this for your own good and not to score points.” Christie’s eyes darted down to the floor as he seemed to be arranging his words. “Please, for your sake, you need to stop investigating. You’re a clever woman, but I’d hate for you to die trying to outdo me.” He paused. “You run rings around Barker and me when it comes to this. Maybe you’re in the wrong profession, and you’d be better suited at the station, but please, stick to the baking. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
Christie patted Barker on the shoulder again and left the cottage, leaving a cloud of stuffy silence in his wake. Julia had solved countless mysteries over the past couple of years, but for the first time, she asked herself if it was worth what she stood to lose.
“I think I need to go to bed,” Julia said, unable to look at either of them as she stood. “I really am sorry.”
Barker kissed her on the cheek as she passed, but he didn’t follow her. Julia climbed under the covers and stared through the open curtains at the sharp crescent moon in the pitch-black sky. Despite her exhaustion, she was still awake when Barker climbed into bed during the early hours of the morning. He wrapped himself around her and clung like he had never clung before.
Chapter Ten
Julia slept in until three in the afternoon the next day. When she first opened her eyes, she thought she’d only slept for a couple of hours, which made looking at the clock and seeing that she’d almost slept for a solid twelve all the more shocking. She let out a yawn, feeling like she could fall back asleep if she stayed in bed any longer.
She tossed back the covers, noticing how light her hand felt without the rings she’d grown so used to. She touched her neck; another bare space where something precious had once sat.
“They’re things,” Julia muttered as she stuffed her feet into her sheepskin slippers. “You’re not a materialistic woman.”
With heavy steps and a sleepy mind, Julia plodded to her bedroom door in the late afternoon gloom, feeling like Jessie looked most mornings. She scratched her head and fought back a series of all-consuming yawns.
“You’re awake,” Barker called cheerfully from the kitchen. “I was just making you some breakfast.”
“It’s three in the afternoon,” Julia said, checking the cat clock above the fridge to make sure her alarm clock hadn’t lied to her. “Why did you let me sleep that long?”
“Because you needed it.” Barker scooped bacon onto a plate, which contained a full English breakfast fit for a queen. “Jessie insisted she run the café on her own today, so I turned off your alarm when you didn’t wake up with me this morning.”
“Where’s Vinnie?”
“With Dot and Percy,” Barker said as he ushered Julia onto a stool at the counter. “Everything is taken care of. You don’t have to worry. Do you want your tea?”
“Coffee,” Julia found herself saying. “I need it.”
Barker put the plate in front of Julia along with a knife and fork, a napkin, and a bottle of ketchup. He quickly made a cup of coffee and placed it next to her as she started working on her two fried eggs. Barker wasn’t an unromantic man, but he’d never gone to such lengths before.
“Is it good?”
“It’s really nice,” Julia mumbled through a mouthful of sausage. “I’m very grateful for this, and, not to sound rude, but what’s the occasion?”
“Can’t I make my wife a full English now and
then?” Barker’s fake plastered smile melted away after a couple of seconds. “Okay, it’s an apology. The way I acted yesterday was out of line.”
“Oh, Barker—”
“No, Julia.” Barker held his hand up. “You were right. You had to live through it. I didn’t. I was upset and scared, and I took it out on you, the last person who should have had to deal with it after going through something like that.”
“I’m honestly fine,” Julia said, and she meant it. “It’s already yesterday’s news. I can’t do anything to change what happened. I got myself into that situation, and I lived to talk about it. The chances of it happening again are probably statistically low right now, right?”
“Technically, yes.” Barker grabbed a plastic bag from next to the sink and reached inside. “But it doesn’t mean you don’t have to be prepared. It’s better to be safe than sorry, yes?”
“I suppose.” Julia squinted at the bag as she took a bite out of her buttery toast. “What’s in the bag?”
“I went to the shopping centre and picked up a few things.” Barker reached into the bag and pulled out a small white box. “A state-of-the-art mobile phone to replace the stolen one. It was a little pricey, but the man in the shop said I could link it up with mine and we can track each other at all times.”
Julia took a silent bite out of her toast as she watched Barker retrieve the next item.
“A panic alarm.” He placed another box on the counter. “And a whistle. I’ve always said every woman should carry these around, but few actually do.”
“What next?” Julia mumbled through bacon. “Pepper spray?”
“Well, yes.” Barker pulled out a black canister. “Christie did me a favour and took one from the station’s inventory. He signed it out so no one will miss it.”
Julia choked on her bacon as she stared at the police-grade weapon.
“Barker, I’m sure it’s illegal to carry that!”
“It is.” Barker winked. “But who’s going to know?”
“And what if I use it?” Julia wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’ll be arrested for using a dangerous weapon. You of all people should know that. It’s illegal for you to be holding that right now. You’re a civilian like the rest of us.”
