by Lily Hayden
She watched numbly as the colour drained from her sister’s face. Belle stared back at her, confusion swirling in her clear green eyes. “What? There must be a mistake?”
Rose felt a secondary wave of nausea rise inside her. “He didn’t have much information.” She looked at her sister helplessly. “Should I phone Linda or…?”
“Oh my God, Rose!” Belle’s hands flew to her face in despair.
Rose crossed the room to her sister’s side wrapping an arm around her just as the first few tears slid from Belle’s eyes. “I’d better call the boys.”
With shaky fingers, she dialled Will’s number first, and his flat voice told her that he’d received the same news. After a short exchange, she hung up.
“He had the same call but doesn’t know any more. He’s going to try Tim now, and Linda. Although…”
She trailed off wondering at the horror Linda must have felt to find her fiancé dead on their wedding morning. A wave of sadness overwhelmed her, and she felt Belle’s arms tighten around her as the tears began to fall.
Will
“I’m so sorry.”
Craig looked devastated, but Will barely heard him through the echo of blood rushing in his ears. He looked up at Craig’s lips moving without hearing him properly, and a wave of anger, startling in its ferocity, rose from the pit of his stomach at his boyfriend.
“I’m going to go and see my sisters,” he said coolly, throwing on the clothes that he’d worn the day before.
“I’ll come with you,” Craig said hurriedly getting to his feet.
“Don’t bother,” Will replied coldly.
Craig had been reaching for a t-shirt, and he jerked back like he’d been punched at Will’s uncharacteristic tone.
“Please, Will. If this is about last night, I didn’t mean it like that. You know it was just hypothetical. I was just trying to get my point across to you.”
“Well, you got what you wanted,” as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. He shook his head to clear a path through his anger when he saw how hurt Craig looked. Will thought of the one-way flight that he’d booked in the heat of the moment knowing that when Craig found out, they would be well and truly over. In the fresh light of the news about his father, Will realised that none of it mattered.
“Look,” he rubbed a hand across his eyes with a sigh. “I didn’t mean it. I’m just shocked and I need to find out what’s happened.”
“I can come with you,” Craig looked hopeful.
“No, I just want to be on my own.”
Will shut the door gently behind him knowing deep down that, for him, the relationship was over, yet he was too floored to care. He knocked on the door to his sisters’ room, and Belle pulled the door open gesturing for him to come in.
“Be careful what you say,” she whispered glancing over to Toby who was sat up in bed now, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Rose is on the phone to Eleanor.”
“Has anyone spoke to Linda?”
Belle shook her head. “Not yet. I can’t believe it, Will.”
“Nor me,” he blinked away the tears that pricked at the back of his eyes.
Rose emerged from the bathroom where she’d gone to make the call in privacy, and she folded Will into her arms on sight. “Oh, Will! It’s terrible.”
Toby called out to his mother curious as to the huddle of adults around the bathroom door, and they sprang apart quickly.
“Any update?” Belle asked in a hushed whisper.
“Let’s go down to breakfast,” Rose said wisely. “Eleanor said Tim is going to drive down to the farm. She says you can drop Toby to their hotel, and she can watch him if you need?”
Belle looked uncertain. “I’ll have to tell him. I just want to find out what’s happened first in case he’s got any questions.”
“Tim should know more once he’s got hold of Linda.”
“I can’t believe it,” Will said. “He seemed fine yesterday. In fact, he seemed better than he was the last few times we saw him.”
“I thought the same,” Belle agreed. “He didn’t seem so old, did he?”
Will heard the anguish in his sister’s voice; his heart expanding with empathy for her.
“Do you and Toby want to get dressed and meet us downstairs at breakfast?” Rose had already slipped on some clothes quickly, and Belle nodded in agreement.
“Is Craig not coming?” Rose asked as she and Will walked down the stairs to the pub below.
“We had an argument last night,” Will admitted sheepishly. “I just need a bit of space from him.”
Before Rose could respond, she caught a glimpse of a police car pull into the gravel car park outside. She pointed it out to her brother. “Do you think they’ve come to speak to us?”
“I don’t know,” Will felt his heart quicken as they rushed down the last few steps to watch as two uniformed officers appeared at the main door of the pub.
Belle
Belle could barely bring herself to meet Toby’s eyes for fear that he would see her sadness. She was struck by just how devastated she felt. Her defences were already scrambling to rebuild the barriers that she’d allowed to fall over the last few months, but it was too late. Her heart felt like it had been shattered.
You need to tell him, she warned herself stonily. Before he overhears something.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself to look into his big, innocent eyes. Her heart almost burst with the love she felt for her child, and her eyes filled with tears in anticipation.
“What’s the matter, Mum?” He asked, his little voice full of concern.
“It’s sad news, I’m afraid, Toby,” she managed to keep her voice calm even as her chest burned with the pain. “Your grandad Frank, my dad, has passed away in the night.”
Toby wrinkled his brow. “Is that, like, the same as dead?”
She swallowed as she nodded watching Toby’s face fall, wishing desperately that she could go back in time to throw the invitation away, and protect themselves from this hurt.
“That’s a shame,” he said surprising her with his frankness. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to know him, Mum. You must be very sad.”
She didn’t trust herself to speak instead wrapping her son in her arms and holding him tightly to her chest. She tilted her head so her silent tears ran onto the arm of her hooded jacket not wanting him to know that she was crying.
“Are you ok?” She asked when she felt able to speak.
He wriggled free suddenly, forcing her to quickly swipe her eyes dry.
“I’m a bit sad,” he looked up for her to see the shiny tears in his own eyes. “But we’ll be ok, Mum. You’ve got me.”
“That’s right,” she fought back a second wave of tears. “Hey, shall we go and get some breakfast?”
Toby nodded hopping off the bed to reach for her hand. “Come on, Mum.”
As they walked in silence down the stairs, Belle was surprised to see two police officers in the foyer talking to her siblings. The four adults turned to watch her approach, their eyes taking in the small child apprehensively.
“That’s my sister Belle,” Will told the police officer hurriedly. “You can speak to her now if you like. I can take her son in for breakfast.”
The young male police officer looked relieved. “That would be really helpful, thank you.”
Belle waited for Toby to be out of earshot before she turned to the police nervously.
“What’s happened?”
She had no idea if this was standard protocol, but the visit felt ominous and official. The older of the pair stepped forward to introduce herself.
“We’re very sorry to hear about your father,” she said. “I’ve explained to your brother and sister that due to the nature of the incident we do need to ensure we conduct an investigation, and we had some questions we needed to ask each of you.”
Belle glanced at Rose, who looked as shocked as she felt. “What exactly happened?”
�
�Your father was found by his partner at around seven o’clock this morning,” the officer replied gravely. “It’s too early to confirm the cause of death, but there was no sign of forced entry, but there are injuries consistent with a fall.”
She felt a wave of nausea rise inside her and her mind flickered to the memory of Rose vomiting noisily in the bathroom that morning.
“Were you aware of any medical conditions?” The officer asked when she couldn’t bring herself to reply.
“No, nothing,” Belle told them, looking at her sister for verification. “We don’t live locally, and we weren’t here regularly. I think Linda would know more than we do.”
She saw the younger officer grimace, just a tightening of his jaw that was gone as quickly as it appeared, but the gesture alarmed her, and she looked between the two expectantly.
“Linda confirmed that there were no serious underlying health conditions,” the older of the two said slowly. “But she also said that there’d been several discussions with your father over the course of the last few months about the will.”
Belle flinched at the implication. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
The officer looked uncomfortable as she met Belle’s eyes. “Like I said, we do need to ensure we investigate fully, which means we do need to ask you all some questions.”
Tim
Tim shifted in the uncomfortable plastic seat in the waiting area of the police station, feeling irritated to be kept waiting.
“Mr Jones?” A kind-eyed older woman appeared in the doorway. “If you’d like to come through.”
As he rose from the seat, a message from Emma pinged onto the screen of the phone in his hand. He dismissed the notification, his chest tightening with stress that had nothing to do with his father’s death.
“He was seventy,” Tim said with a small shrug when the detective leading the interview offered her condolences. “These things happen, I guess. I’m not really sure what more I can add.”
She looked uncomfortable. “His partner Linda mentioned there had been a few conversations regarding the will and until we can ascertain the cause of death, we do need to conduct a full investigation.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tim asked sharply looking up at the woman in surprise. “That she thinks we had some hand in this? That’s utterly absurd! How could we?”
“I understand this must be upsetting,” the woman replied calmly. “But as you can appreciate, we do need to ensure we look into any concerns raised. Are you able to confirm your whereabouts last night?”
“Do I need a solicitor?” Tim asked haughtily with no trace of alarm in his tone.
“It’s completely up to you,” the woman replied before launching into an explanation of voluntary interviews and rights.
“It won’t be necessary,” Tim cut her off abruptly. “I arrived at my father’s property about three o’clock yesterday afternoon. I was there for a couple of hours, and then I returned to Cedar Vale Hotel and Spa where I remained with my wife and children until I came here.” He glared at the woman when he was finished before adding. “I don’t see why all this is necessary. Linda would have known if one of us came to the house.”
“She spent the night away from Bluebell Farm,” she replied matter-of-factly. “She found your father on her return this morning.”
Tim fell silent as he tried to process the scene her words conjured up.
“God,” he said finally. “That must have been awful for her.”
She nodded her head and for a moment, the room fell into a respectful silence before she continued.
“What we usually do is cross check any alibis, just so that we don’t have to disturb you again unnecessarily. But, just for the record are you able to advise of the discussions regarding the will at all?”
“There’s nothing to discuss,” he replied calmly despite the heat rising beneath his skin at the thought of them speaking to Eleanor. “There was some talk by my father of selling the land around the house to the neighbouring farm to raise money for home improvements. Nothing more than that really.”
The woman noted this down on the pad besides her. “So, who exactly is set to inherit on your father’s death?”
“Originally it would have been my siblings and I,” Tim sat up straighter in his chair not liking where this was going. “I imagine he would have made some provision for Linda, but it wasn’t anything that we talked about.”
“There must have been some discussion?” The detective set down her pen to eye him sceptically. “It must be worth a fair whack.”
“The only discussion was over selling the land,” he responded. “I advised him it would devalue the property, and that there were more sensible ways to finance any refurbishments. That’s about as far as the conversation went.”
“What about your brother and sisters?” She asked. “I find it hard to believe that nobody would have any concerns about what would happen to their interest after he remarried.”
“You’d have to ask them.” Tim replied in a brusque tone to match her own.
“And can I ask about your financial situation?”
The question made Tim stiffen in annoyance.
“My situation is good, thank you,” he responded snootily. “I’m a Head of Operations at a major bank, my wife is a Dental Surgeon and a partner of her own practice.”
“And your siblings?”
“You’d have to ask them,” he repeated. “The only comment I can make is my youngest sister Belle was in quite a bad accident recently which meant she lost her job. She and her son have been staying with my family while she recovers, however she’s on the mend and is actually moving back to this area in the next month.”
The detective nodded her head. “Well, thank you for taking the time to stop by and answer our questions. Is there a number we can take for your wife just to confirm your whereabouts? Just for the record, of course.”
Tim felt his stomach lurch a little at the mention of Eleanor, but he nodded. “Of course.”
Will
“Will!”
His heart was already hammering against his ribs at the thought of the impending conflict, but he had two choices; keep walking or get this over with. He felt his hands curl into fists at his side as he turned to face Craig.
“You just left me in the hotel room!”
Will had been bracing himself for an emotional onslaught, but his mouth dropped open in shock at the self-centredness of Craig’s opening words. He stared at him for a moment in utter disbelief.
“You know my father has died, right?” Even as he spoke, his tone dripping with disgust, hearing the words aloud were enough to make his chest ache.
Craig recoiled as if he’d been hit. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that…”
Will looked at him properly, taking in the red-rimmed, puffy eyes. He looks terrible, he thought, a sliver of pity slipping through his own upset.
“Will, please can we just talk?” In a flash Craig had changed tack from the aggressor to the victim. He reached out a hand tentatively touching Will’s shoulder. “I saw the police wanted to talk to you all. What did they say?”
“They’re not sure what happened just yet,” he replied flatly. “Linda found him this morning. We think he might have fallen.”
“Oh, God, that’s awful.”
“Yeah,” Will looked down at the ground, unable to deal with the pain in Craig’s eyes as well as his own.
“Where are the others?”
“Rose has gone to clear her head, and the police wanted to speak to Belle so she’s just text me to say she’s going back down the police station.”
“They want to speak to Belle?”
Will looked up sharply at Craig’s tone. Revulsion rose from the pit of his stomach as he noted the sparkle in Craig’s eyes, somewhere between scandalised and thirsty for gossip as if they were talking about some soap opera or office drama.
“Routine.” Will responded as coolly as
he could muster before turning away.
He seemed oblivious to Will’s tone. “What are they saying suspicious or unexplained or…”
“What the hell, Craig!” He burst out in anger. “This is my family you’re talking about!”
“I wasn’t saying anyone had done anything! I just meant with the will changing and all, they might think…”
Anger flared up inside Will’s chest, and he turned away knowing that if he didn’t, he would regret the next words that came out of his mouth.
“Come on, Will,” he felt Craig behind him, but he kept his eyes fixed firmly ahead. “I mean, you and Belle both went out late at night; you need to be realistic about what they’re going to think. I can speak to the police if they want and vouch that you were back here.”
He spun around to look at Craig in confusion.
“Belle went out last night?” The words were out before he could stop them.
“Just after you.” There was no malice in Craig’s voice, only concern which somehow felt worse.
Will turned back to the pub, but the building swam fuzzily before his eyes, and for a horrible moment he thought he was going to pass out. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, focussing his eyes on the swinging sign above the door until his vision cleared.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” Will responded finally. “But my father has died, Craig. I can’t do this right now. Maybe you should just go home.”
Although he spoke in a cool, measured tone, Will could feel the bewilderment mixing with his upset already to form a heady cocktail of emotion.
“Will, please,” Craig reached out for him, but Will pulled away from his grasp.
“Craig, I just don’t have the energy to do this right now. I need to be with my family, and everything we talked about yesterday still stands. I’m going to Japan, and I’m sorry that it’s not what you want.”
“I can’t just leave you now,” Craig protested. “And this changes everything.”