by Ashley Cain
“OK”, Sergeant Tozier said gently. “If the fire was strong in the living room, why didn’t you climb out of the bedroom window. Why go in to the living room at all?”
“There is a sheer drop from the back of the cabin. I would have had to jump”.
Sergeant Tozier nodded.
“Where was your mobile phone? Could you have not called for help from the cabin?”
April thought about it. “I don’t know” she said eventually. “I just didn’t think about it. The phone would have been by my bed and I guess I never thought to pick it up when I got out of bed because I didn’t expect the cabin to be on fire. And when I opened the bedroom door and saw the flames I just panicked and my first thought was to get out. I wasn’t thinking rationally. If I had been alert enough to pick up my phone and make a call, I probably would have also had the foresight to put some shoes on as well”.
“I can see how that would happen”. Sergeant Tozier mused, putting the end of his pen in his mouth as he thought. “Did you have anything to put the fire out in the cabin, a fire extinguisher perhaps?”.
“No” April shook her head. “I kept a small one in the kitchen but had used it when the café caught fire. I hadn’t replaced it” she laughed bitterly. “After all, what were the chances of having two fires in the space of a few weeks?”
“I think that is what the insurance will probably think”. PC Mallet joined the conversation again. “Two fires in a short space of time. Prime beachfront location. The land must be worth a fortune. It will look odd if we can’t find a motive, and at the moment there doesn’t seem to be one”.
“What are you insinuating young lady?” Hope’s fists were clenched tight, the knuckles on her hands turning blue. “That April started the fires to get an insurance pay out. Instead of making ridiculous suggestions to save yourself the time and effort of doing any work, you should be out there trying to catch whoever is trying to kill her”.
There was silence in the room. It was as though time had stood still. Said out loud it sounded so fantastically unbelievable that it didn’t make sense. Why would someone be trying to kill her?
The police officers in the absence of a motive also clearly couldn’t quite bring themselves to believe it.
“There is no evidence to suggest that someone is trying to harm Miss Hart” PC Mallet started.
“Pagh” exclaimed Hope “No evidence. What do you call two smoking ruins?”
PC Mallet was saved by answering by Sergeant Tozier. “Did you see anyone in the area when you ran out on to the terrace? Think hard April”, Sergeant Tozier urged, “anyone at all. Either in the street, or by the harbour, or on the beach?”
April thought back. She hadn’t been thinking clearly but she was pretty sure there had been no-one about. She shook her head. “No”.
Sergeant Tozer grimaced. “Why would anyone want to burn your cabin and the café down? We have drawn a blank with the café, there is no obvious motive” he shot a warning glance at his colleague “but now this has escalated. There was nobody in the café, but whoever did this to your cabin must have known that you would have been home. This is not just arson; this is attempted murder”.
April again shook her head. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know”. She looked wearily at Sergeant Tozer. “The only person that I have upset recently is Connor Monroe”. At this Sergeant Tozier glanced at PC Mallet, and a look passed between them that she couldn’t understand. “But surely he is not going to try and kill me just because I sacked him. It’s, it’s unbelievable”.
“We think so too”. Sergeant Tozier said with a sigh. “It doesn’t seem credible that someone would try and kill you just because you sacked them. And he had a clear alibi for the night you were burgled and the night your café was set on fire. But we will speak to him again today”.
April shook her head. “I don’t think it is him” she said. “I can’t believe he would try and kill me. I met him last night and we had a conversation. I can’t believe that a few hours later he would try and burn me alive”.
“Where?” PC Mallet joined the conversation again. “Where did you meet him?”
“At the opening of his restaurant. I was invited and so I went to see what it was like”.
“And was anything said there, did anything happen that would make you think that a few hours later someone would try and kill you. It is very important, because up to now we have no motive at all and no leads”.
April thought back. “I wasn’t there long. I only spoke to Martha, who used to work for me, Connor, Mr Fletcher and his sister Imelda Van Leeuwen. His sister was a bit off with me, but then the few times I’ve met her I’ve not known her to be anything else. I just don’t think she likes me, but then not liking someone is surely not a motive for killing them”. She glanced at PC Mallet as she said the last sentence who at least had the grace to blush.
Sergeant Tozier put his notebook away with a sigh. “I’m going to join the others at the cabin, see if they have found anything that will shed some light on to this and then we will question Connor again. And it may be worth speaking to Mr Fletcher and Ms Van Leeuwen. But unless we can find a reason the trail is not only cold but non-existent. Just try and think back over the last few months to try and remember if there is anyone you have upset”.
“I will”. April got up to let them out, wincing as she put weight on her battered and sore feet. It was a question she would like to find the answer to herself.
Chapter 26
Hope suggested that she try and get some sleep, but April knew that she couldn’t. There was too much going on in her head for her to be able to relax. She couldn’t bring herself to look out of the door to see what was left of her cabin, but she knew that whether it was totally destroyed or not, she had lost most if not all of her personal belongings including her clothes. Which was the most immediate of all her problems as she couldn’t spend all day in her pyjamas.
There was a knock on the door. Hope went to open it as April went upstairs in to the second bedroom to try and keep out of the way. Even though it was just after six she was sure that Hope was going to have a steady stream of visitors through her door and she didn’t want to answer any questions. As she heard the voices though she turned around, as these were two visitors that she did want to see.
Miguel and Rachel were being ushered in to the living room as she descended the stairs. Rachel came across the room immediately to give her a hug, and April marvelled at how close the two of them had got in such a short space of time. If one good thing had come out of the disaster that had been her life over the last couple of months, it was her friendship with Rachel. Make that two things she thought, looking over Rachel’s shoulder at the doe eyes that Miguel was making at Rachel’s back. The guy was totally besotted with her.
“I thought I’d make an early start” Rachel said looking at April sadly. “I woke up in the night when I heard the sirens and couldn’t get back to sleep. I was worrying whether we had enough pies for the winter fair and decided that I was going to make some more just in case. I knew we had some tins of corned beef and plenty of potatoes and carrots and so I was going to make corned beef and potato pies. But then I saw your cabin and knew that we wouldn’t need any pies at all. Oh April, what on earth is going on?”
“I don’t know” said April tiredly. “I wish I did. How did you know I was here?”
“That policewoman told us. She said you were with your friend, the old lady, and so I knew that you must be with Hope”.
“Old lady” said Hope indignantly, “Who does she think she is, calling me the old lady?”
Despite herself April couldn’t help but share a grin with Miguel and Rachel. Hope had to be in her mid-eighties at least.
“What’s happened April?” Miguel said, serious again. “The whole cabin is burned down. There is nothing left”.
“Nothing at all?” April’s hand shot to her mouth “Is it completely destroyed?”
Rachel and Miguel share
d an agonised glance between them. “Sorry April” Miguel said “I thought you knew”.
“I guessed” April said dejectedly. “I just hoped that maybe something was left. I smelled smoke in the night and the whole cabin was in flames. I just wish I knew what was happening to me. The last two months have been an absolute nightmare”. She covered her face with her hands.
“If there is anything we can do, anything at all” Rachel started. “I know nothing we can do will bring your home back, but whatever we can do to make things easier for you we will”.
“Of course, we will. You are not just Rachel’s employer; you are our friend” Miguel said.
“Thank you, but there is nothing you can do”. April started to shake her head, but then a thought struck her. “Actually, there are two things you could do for me if you wouldn’t mind” she said looking at the two of them. “Firstly, Rachel could you bring me some of your clothes, anything that I could borrow that you are not likely to need this weekend? We are the same size. I can’t spend all day in these pyjamas”. She pulled at them in disgust. “If I knew I was going to have to flee my home in the middle of the night, I certainly wouldn’t have put on my comfy old pyjamas with the lilac bunny rabbits on them”. Despite herself she smiled, if she didn’t try to be cheerful, she would drown in her own tears.
“Of course,” Rachel said. “I’ll go now and get you some. What is the other thing that you need?”
“For you and Miguel to go and sell those bloody pies. You spent all day making them, there is no point in letting them go to waste. You can share the money for them between you, I don’t want it and haven’t done anything to earn it”.
“Aye aye Captain” Miguel said giving a mock salute and a grin. “I was going to suggest that anyway, although we are not keeping the money. You pay Rachel a wage and I am doing it as your friend and because it means I get to spend my day off with the love of my life” He looked at Rachel and she blushed. “I don’t mean to be intrusive April, but where are you going to live, you’ve probably guessed by now we have a spare bedroom?”
“She is going to live here with me” Hope said firmly. “I have a back bedroom and she can stay as long as she needs to”.
April looked at her. She hadn’t even thought about where she was going to live. “Hope, that is really kind of you” she said, “but I couldn’t impose. I will go in to a hotel. It is the quiet season and there will be plenty of rooms available”.
“Nonsense” said Hope. “I promised your Grandma that I would look after you until my dying day and that is what I will do. You are staying here”.
“I’m not being rude, or if I am, I don’t mean to be” Miguel looked at both April and Hope. “I don’t think that staying here is wise. There has been an attempt on your life April, and you won’t be safe here, you’ll be much safer with me and Rachel”.
“No murderer is going to get past me, I can tell you that Miguel” Hope was indignant. “I am perfectly capable of protecting April. If anyone tries anything whilst she is under my roof, they will regret it”.
“Look”. April was too tired to argue. She knew that she couldn’t stay with Miguel and Rachel however much they thought that she could. They had only started dating a couple of months ago, and she didn’t want to crowd their space. Three was definitely a crowd when you were in the first stages of love. “I will stay with Hope for the next few days until I can sort something more permanent. I’m not staying here long-term Hope”. She held up her hand as Hope opened her mouth to protest. “I know that you promised my Grandma, and I am very grateful for all you have done and are doing, but I will not impose on your good nature. It will just be until I find somewhere to live on a more permanent basis”.
Miguel looked mutinous. “I don’t like it; you will not be safe here”.
“You’ll not be safe here if you are not careful Miguel” Hope snapped. “If you think we can’t look after ourselves you are very much mistaken”.
“OK, OK, we are getting the message” Rachel said. “We need to go Miguel, if we are to get some clothes and get all the pies and pastries loaded in to the car. At least will the two of you come to dinner tonight? Miguel will cook”.
“That would be lovely”, April answered before Hope could open her mouth. “It will be nice to have a meal and take our minds off all the problems”.
“I doubt very much we will be taking our minds off anything” Hope contradicted. “The four of us are going to put our heads together and try and work out who is doing this and why. If we leave it to the police then we will never get any answers”
The four looked at each other. Hope was right. It was the perfect opportunity for them to discuss what was happening and see if they could get further than the police had got. Which wouldn’t be difficult, April thought, given that so far, the police had got absolutely nowhere.
Chapter 27
It was the darnedest thing, but April didn’t do any of the things that she would have expected she would do if her home burnt down. Not that she had ever expected the cabin, her grandfather’s former workshop, that had been standing on the side of the cliff in Gull Bay for the best part of a century to ever burn down. But as a doer, and if nothing else April loved to be busy, she imagined she would have thrown herself in to sorting things out, phoning the insurance, coordinating the emergency response crews, salvaging what she could, planning what she would need to do next. But she didn’t do any of those things. She did nothing at all.
Hope said it was the shock when she brought her the fifth cup of tea of the morning and April nodded mutely. She couldn’t even be bothered to talk. She hadn’t even put the clothes on that Rachel had brought her. Rachel had obviously chosen the clothes carefully with the aim of cheering her up, a bright cerise top and matching pullover, jeans with diamante stitching down the seams, and a silk rainbow patterned scarf. But April couldn’t be bothered to put them on and continued to wear the bunny patterned pyjamas that she had been wearing when she fled for her life from her smoke-filled home.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that she had agreed to go to Rachel and Miguel’s for dinner, she would have probably stayed in her pyjamas on Hope’s sofa for the rest of her life. She would not let her friends down though, even though going out and walking past the ruins of her home was the last thing she wanted to do. But with some not so gentle coaxing from Hope she was encouraged to take a bath in Hope’s dated bathroom, after which she got dressed in Rachel’s clothes, put on a pair of Hope’s suede boots with a zip up the front that were one size too big, and felt almost but not quite human again.
The good thing about it being so late in November was that when they set off on foot for the Rockspur apartments up the hill behind Gull Bay, it was too dark to see the ruins of the cabin. April only took a quick glance as they hurried past the Bluewater Café and couldn’t see a lot, but given that she could clearly see the outline of the cliff face she had the distinct impression that there wasn’t a lot left of the cabin to see. She heard Hope gasp and mutter a curse under her breath and assumed that she had looked more intently at the damage. April kept her eyes resolutely ahead on the street, she wasn’t ready to confront the damage to her home yet, wasn’t too sure that she ever would be.
As they neared the Rockspur, April’s eyes drifted upwards to the penthouse where Connor Monroe’s apartment was. There were no lights on behind the plate glass windows, but his car was in its parking space at the back. The Bay Harbour Grill had been in darkness when they walked past and so he wasn’t there. Wherever he was he was clearly planning on coming back. However much she disliked him she couldn’t quite believe that he was a murderer, or a failed murderer anyway. There had to be another explanation.
Miguel and Rachel greeted them at the door of their apartment with smiles and good news, all the pies had sold out by 1.30 and with the sale of all the pastries and most of the cakes they had taken in close to a thousand pounds. At any other time, April would have been celebrating, after taking off the cos
t of the stall and the products that was a profit of almost £500, but she didn’t feel like celebrating. And by rights the money was Rachel and Miguel’s anyway, they had done most, if not all of the work. She vowed to herself that she would give them the profit tomorrow when she was feeling stronger to deal with their protests.
Miguel had cooked a simple but tasty supper of moules mariniere, which he served with some crusty bread. Rachel had made a chocolate and hazelnut tart for dessert which was served with some rich jersey cream, and even though April thought she wasn’t hungry, she found that she wolfed down the lot. She even helped herself to a couple of small Florentines, which had been dipped in chocolate and which Rachel brought out with the coffee afterwards. They had avoided all talk of the fire whilst eating dinner, but as soon as the plates and the cups were cleared away Miguel opened the conversation.