Revenge on the Rye

by Alice Castle

  ‘Poor old thing,’ said Katie, smiling ruefully.

  ‘Awful, isn’t it?’ agreed Beth. ‘I just hope they find out quickly who he belongs to now. Do you think the man was married?’

  ‘You were having a good look,’ said Katie with a shudder. ‘Did you see a ring?’

  ‘I don’t think I did,’ Beth said, screwing up her eyes to picture the scene again, then wishing she hadn’t. Suddenly, the brownie didn’t look quite so tasty.

  ‘I’ve never seen a dead body before,’ said Katie glumly. Her brownie was untouched, too.

  Beth could no longer say the same. She scrolled through some unpleasant pictures in her mind’s eye and shook herself. ‘Come on, let’s think about other things,’ she said bracingly. ‘There’s nothing we can do for that man now. And Colin doesn’t want to be sad,’ she said, smoothing a hand over the dog’s ears. He thumped his tail on the ground politely.

  ‘You’re right. Yes. And we’ve got plenty to talk about.’

  ‘I suppose we have. The new café in the village?’ Beth had rather guiltily tried this out recently with her new friend, Nina, while Katie had been away skiing.

  ‘Puccini’s? No, not that. Though we need to discuss that. But don’t say you’ve forgotten? Only the interviews,’ said Katie, with the ghost of her usual enthusiasm coming back.

  ‘Yes! Getting the letter. That was such a moment,’ said Beth. Remembering the keen mixture of joy and astonishment she’d felt at seeing the contents of that slender envelope helped enormously to shove away the sorrows of the morning’s discovery. It wasn’t that she wanted to downplay the awfulness of what they had seen, more that neither of them needed to wallow in it. After all, if Harry and his team did their thing efficiently, then neither Beth nor Katie need be involved in the situation for a moment longer, once they’d got their official statements out of the way.

  ‘I sort of wish it all stopped at the letter,’ said Beth whimsically.

  ‘What do you mean? Don’t you want Ben to get in?’ Katie was suddenly bolt upright on her bench.

  ‘Well, of course I do,’ said Beth slowly. ‘It’s just that now, with the letter and the prospect of the interview ahead of us, all the hope is there. If we could stay in this moment, enjoy that feeling of possibility for ever, it would just be lovely.’

  ‘You mean you don’t think he’ll pass the interview,’ said Katie sagely.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Beth took a sip of her coffee. ‘He’s nice and chatty, if that’s what they want. I’m just worried they’ll test him on stuff that’s out of his comfort zone, like current affairs. I was trying to talk to him about Novichok the other day – I thought he’d love all that Russian spy stuff – and he just asked me if it was a new type of Nutella.’

  Katie laughed. ‘They’re so young. I don’t think they expect them to be fully-fledged members of the debating team… yet.’

  Beth gave Katie rather a dark look. She knew full well her friend had been subscribing to The Week for at least eighteen months in order to prepare Charlie’s brain for the ordeal ahead. And not even the children’s version, either. She was pretty sure she’d also seen a massive pile of newspapers in Katie’s hall when they’d trailed Teddy out of the house earlier. Charlie would probably know more about customs union permutations than most members of the Cabinet by now. Ben couldn’t possibly catch up.

  It was Beth’s own fault for half-expecting Ben to fail at the first hurdle. Now she had less than a week to cram the past thousand years of political and social history into her boy so that he could converse like a middle-aged banker at the drop of a hat. The thought made her wonder quite why this school was such a good idea. But it had been her dream for so long that she couldn’t step back from it now. On second thoughts, maybe thinking about the murder would be more fun.

  ‘Do you think he lived around here? Or closer to Dulwich?’

  ‘Who? Oh Beth, for heaven’s sake, not the, um, victim? Tell me you’re not going to get wrapped up in that now.’

  ‘Wrapped up might be over-stating it. But don’t you feel curious about who he was and what he was up to?’

  ‘Not in the least little bit,’ said Katie. ‘Whoever he was, he obviously got up the wrong person’s nose, and I don’t want to know why he had it coming, but he clearly did.’

  ‘But that’s a terrible way to look at it, Katie,’ said Beth, a bit shocked. ‘You know it could have had nothing at all to do with him. It could have been a loose madman on the Rye…’

  ‘Thanks for that thought, Beth,’ said Katie, taking a hunted look around her. ‘You don’t think the killer is still somewhere around, do you? Maybe we should get home. The Rye was a mistake. I’ll have to try Dulwich Park again.’

  They were still the only ones sitting outside, but a slow stream of dog-walkers passed the café and Katie now scrutinised them thoroughly. They all seemed to be marching purposely across the expanse of green, collars up against the wind, and not exhibiting any overt signs of psychosis or brandishing blood-stained murder weapons.

  ‘The killer will be long gone, Katie, don’t worry. Anyway, the body wasn’t even warm when we got to it.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you touched it?’ said Katie in horror.

  ‘Just inadvertently,’ Beth mumbled. ‘Anyway, I washed my hands inside when I was getting the coffee,’ she added, mentally crossing her fingers. ‘That’s not the point. The thing is, the killer could be someone who wanted something he had, or killed him because he had a secret… nothing to do with the poor man at all.’

  ‘Please don’t start all this again, Beth! Haven’t you had enough of being clonked on the head and terrified out of your wits?’

  ‘Well, neither of those things is fun, granted. But don’t you feel you owe the victim something? After all, we were the ones who found him. That must mean something. Isn’t yoga all about karma and stuff?’

  ‘That’s a low blow, Beth. You know I only do the namaste out of the corner of my mouth,’ said Katie.

  ‘All the same. The universe made us find him, Katie. Out of all the people on the Rye, all the people in Dulwich, in south east London… we were the ones.’

  ‘You were the one, you mean,’ said Katie mulishly.

  ‘Me – and Teddy, who is yours,’ Beth pointed out. They both turned to look at the puppy, who’d been silent for a while. He looked up innocently, a well-chewed and almost unrecognisable tartan umbrella clamped in his jaws.

  ‘Is that yours?’ Beth asked.

  ‘Never seen it before,’ Katie admitted.

  ‘We’ll just chuck it in the bin as we leave,’ said Beth. ‘But you take my point? I feel a sense of responsibility now that we have found him, for whatever reason.’

  ‘You’ve got much more pressing responsibilities. Your son, your job. Even your boyfriend, who is, by the way, the person who’s supposed to be dealing with stuff like this.’

  ‘Oh yes, but you know what Harry will say. “Huge percentage of unsolved crimes, motiveless attacks, statistics, blah blah…”’

  ‘All of that is completely true,’ Katie said.

  ‘I’m not denying it. But where’s the justice? That man is dead, and even if you want to pretend nothing’s happened, there’s at least one other person apart from me who definitely wants answers – and deserves them.’

  ‘Who’s that?’ asked Katie pettishly.

  ‘Colin, of course.’

  Hearing his name, the old Lab looked round from where he’d been quietly surveying Teddy’s devastating attack on the umbrella. His kind, limpid eyes looked at Katie.

  ‘You see? He’s beseeching you,’ said Beth, with a little triumph in her tone.

  ‘Colin isn’t a person,’ said Katie tightly. But she also stopped protesting.

  Beth smiled to herself. It looked like she had Katie’s tacit approval for her quest. She wasn’t expecting to get anything like such a favourable reaction from Harry. He’d be furious if he even so much as suspected she was going to make her own enquiries
into the case. But then, he’d be happy giving up himself the moment things got hard. True, he had stuff like this stacking up yards-deep on his desk, and had no manpower or budget for more. It was just as well he was able to let these things go, or they’d drive him mad.

  Beth, on the other hand, knew that she was a terrier when she was on the scent of a mystery. And she did have a powerful incentive to get things sorted out. If she didn’t, where was Colin going to live? It might make one small boy very excited if he acquired an unexpected dog out of the blue. But Colin wasn’t exactly the sprightly puppy he’d ordered. He was an old gentleman, set in his ways, and would no doubt be missing his master very much indeed.

  And there was someone else to consider, who’d be even less enthusiastic about the prospect of dog ownership than Beth. Magpie. Beth shuddered to think what her beloved black and white moggy would think of the day’s developments.

  Chapter Three

  Perhaps it was York’s revenge on Beth for her trick with the victim’s phone, or perhaps it was just the way his day panned out, but it was a subordinate who eventually took statements from both women down at the police station. The whole process seemed to take forever, and it felt as though several days had dragged past by the time they found themselves standing outside the school gates that afternoon, waiting patiently for the boys to be liberated.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ said Beth, shaking her head.

  ‘What? I know you’ve been doing that experiment, letting Ben walk back, but surely on a day like today, you know, finding a body, you’d like to pick him up yourself?’ Katie was surprised.

  ‘Not that. I’m still collecting him, he’s just going solo in the mornings. No, I meant this,’ said Beth, shaking the brown lead she still had clasped in her hand. Colin, feeling the shake, looked round patiently. ‘And why do I feel this dog is just tolerating me?’

  Katie, who was a lot more relaxed now as Teddy was slumped asleep at her feet, laughed. ‘I must say, it’s funny seeing you with a dog. I never saw you as a dog owner, really.’

  ‘Whereas you’re an expert, now, I suppose?’ Beth said, a little tersely.

  ‘Don’t be like that. Come back with us and I’ll give you one of Teddy’s spare bowls and some dog food to keep you going, just to get you started off.’

  ‘I’m still hoping Harry’s going to ring me and tell me someone’s rushing round to pick Colin up,’ said Beth. ‘But that would be wonderful, thank you. Sorry to be such a grump. It’s just that I know this is going to cause… Oh, here they come.’

  With that, the boys were upon them. Charlie made a bee-line for Teddy, who was suddenly alert and yapping in sheer delight at seeing his chief accomplice again. Meanwhile, Ben ran over to Beth, looked incredulously at Colin, and astonished her by falling on his knees before the dog and gathering him into an enormous hug. Colin, meanwhile, was acting as though he’d been given a blood transfusion, wiggling his entire, solid body in pleasure, wagging his tail like an outboard motor on full speed, panting with joy and licking Ben’s face.

  Katie and Beth looked at each other in astonishment.

  ‘Have they met before?’ Katie asked.

  ‘Not that I know of,’ said Beth, her eyebrows disappearing into her fringe. She’d been braced for Ben to find babysitting Colin almost as much of a chore as she did, and was certainly expecting a lot of renewed pressure to get a puppy instead. What she hadn’t anticipated was this apparent reunion of souls separated at birth. It was going to make things much easier tonight – but a whole lot trickier in the long run.

  Beth, looking down at her beloved boy and seeing the smile on his face, couldn’t begrudge him this happiness, and wondered if she’d been in the wrong all these years denying him the pleasure of a pet. Yes, they had Magpie, but as far as she chose to interact with humans at all, Beth was her point of reference. Beth was under no real illusions – there might be moments when Magpie seemed to empathise with Beth, but mostly, she was just the bowl-filler in chief, it was as simple as that. And the cat wasn’t mad about Ben at all. She had spent the first six or so years of his life running off every time she’d seen him, and steadfastly spurning his love. Even now, if she deigned to sit on anyone, it was Beth, and it tended to be when she was cold and fancied a human hot water bottle.

  Would a dog have helped Ben through those first years without his dad? But no, Beth was the one who’d really suffered James’s absence. Ben had been too small to register the change in their lives, and had grown up knowing no different. And during those early years, Beth had not been in a state to take on a dog as well as the unwanted position of widow. She needed to give herself a break on this one.

  ‘Have you noticed, Beth, Colin seems to be showing Teddy the ropes?’ whispered Katie as they straggled home, the two dogs in front being proudly led by the boys. Beth looked and, as usual, thought that Katie was being wildly optimistic. Teddy was managing to take at least five paces for every measured plod of Colin’s, and seemed to be dancing around the old boy’s paws in a way which certainly would have led Beth to cuff him one over his silly fluffy ears, if she’d been a dog. But Colin was loping along patiently, pink tongue lolling from side to side, a little slow but apparently perfectly happy. Was he missing his owner at all? Beth wondered.

  Once they were at Katie’s, and Teddy and Colin had been turned out into the chilly garden, the boys were suddenly a little less keen to keep up the façade of responsible dog ownership and sneaked off to Charlie’s PlayStation instead. Beth looked at Katie. ‘So, how long do you think the novelty’s going to last?’

  Katie smiled. ‘You’ve got a point, but the thing is, Teddy’s here for keeps now, whereas Ben doesn’t come over much midweek – he’s the main attraction tonight. Sure, Teddy’s a bit mad at the moment,’ she admitted, as they watched the puppy attempting to clamber up the big copper beech after an anxious squirrel. ‘But he’ll get a lot steadier, and then he’ll be a great companion for Charlie. You’ll see.’

  Beth noted that Katie was feeling a lot happier about Teddy this afternoon than she had been this morning. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that Teddy was currently safely outside, wearing himself out, which ought to mean a long, long sleep was on the agenda quite soon. Nevertheless, she felt she ought to sound a note of caution.

  ‘I think he’s basically going to be your dog. Charlie and Michael might think they want one, but the day-to-day stuff is going to be down to you. But you’re happy with that, so it’s fine,’ Beth added quickly, not wanting to be too much of a doom-monger.

  ‘Well, don’t look now, but I think you’ve got a new fan, too,’ said Katie, nodding to the huge glass garden doors where Colin was now seated, nose against the window, gazing fixedly and expectantly at Beth. He’d had enough of the great outdoors, it seemed. In the background, Teddy was literally barking up the wrong tree, as the squirrel executed a heroic leap onto the fence and bounced away across the neighbours’ gardens towards the park.

  As they stacked the boys’ plates in the dishwasher later, Beth realised she was moving at half her normal speed. She was trying to put off the evil hour when Magpie was going to have to make the acquaintance of their impromptu houseguest. But there was nothing else for it. Collecting an unwilling Ben and a patient Colin, and with a carrier bag full of must-have dog accessories that Teddy had already managed to tire of or find superfluous, Beth set off for home.

  As soon as she got her key in the lock, Beth braced herself for the inevitable. Sure enough, Magpie was laid out in the hall like a fluffy monochrome rug, waiting for the special tummy-tickles which she consented to endure when her humans got home. They were a bit late back today, but she was willing to let that pass. As soon as the door swung open, though, and she got a good sniff of her least favourite perfume – eau de dog – Magpie shot at least five feet up in the air.

  Pausing only to direct a vicious green glare at Beth, who quailed, Magpie zoomed towards her cat flap in the kitchen like an Exocet missi
le. Beth, afterwards, wasn’t even sure if she’d put a paw on the ground in her flight, which had taken seconds. Colin looked up at Beth, head on one side, pink tongue still lolling, as if to say, ‘What was that?’ And Ben bounded, oblivious, into the hall.

  ‘Straight up to do your teeth now, it’s a school night.’ Beth was using her special firm voice and Ben, for once, did as he was told with minimum ‘aw, Mum’ whining.

  Beth and Colin were left in the tiny hallway. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Colin. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do next, do I?’ she said, a little exasperated. To say the day hadn’t panned out as she’d hoped, was a massive understatement. She’d had the utter horror of discovering yet another body. If that wasn’t catastrophe enough, she selfishly still rather resented Katie having purchased such a demanding pup. And now, just to add sprinkles on the top of all the awfulness, she seemed to be lumbered with a dog of her own. Things couldn’t really get much worse. Could they?

  Just then, she heard the sound of a key in the lock and York appeared, looking exhausted. He stopped short at the sight of Colin, who was taking up a large amount of hall. Colin immediately leaped up with a deep woof and wagged his tail madly, brushing the wall on one side of the narrow hallway, then the other, at the first sights and sounds of a man approaching. Then he seemed to take a closer look and his tail stilled abruptly. He sat down, then sprawled out on the tiles, head on his paws, eyes facing the wall, and let out a tiny whine.

  It was his first sign of distress in what must have been a confusing and terrifying day. Immediately, Beth felt dreadful. No matter how much things had sucked for her, it had been a thousand times worse for this poor old boy. He must have seen his master being murdered, and now he was with strangers, far from everything familiar. At least he couldn’t possibly understand all that had gone on. She hoped.