by Emily Selby
'Hey, Katie,' Celia drawled out. 'What's the village scoop on Edward Sparrow?'
Katie forced herself to look at Celia, whose face relaxed a little.
'No idea. I've not heard much, and I’ve never met him. I thought he was coming to talk to you.'
'Been and gone,' Jack replied, pushing himself away from the filing cabinet and crossing to his desk. He grabbed his notebook.
'Gave us some interesting stuff. He was there, opposite the café, on the building site behind the fence. He was quite economical with the details but told me he’d been "for a walk" in the area.' Jack flicked a few pages. 'Apparently, he needed some fresh air and wanted to escape the crowds, which is how he explains his choice of the place for a morning walk.'
Katie couldn't help the comment that pushed onto her lips.
'Crowds? Whereabouts?' she gasped.
'That's what I said,' Celia said smugly.
Jack shrugged. 'I'm only quoting. He appeared quite timid and easily spooked, so I didn't push.'
'Did he see or hear anything suspicious?' Katie asked, trying hard to keep her thoughts on the investigation track.
'No, but he admits to having hidden the magazine rack.'
This was quite bizarre...
'Why?' Katie asked.
'He was quite embarrassed but explained he wanted to play an innocent trick on Keith.'
Katie's mouth dropped. 'He knew about Keith's morning routine? He must have watched him for a while.'
Jack made his 'tip-of-the-hat' gesture at her again. 'Elementary, my dear Watson,' he said.
Celia's face tensed again.
'Did he explain it in any way?' Katie pressed on with her questions.
'This is when it got a bit difficult. He started stuttering and I had to be gentler and more patient. If I've understood him correctly, he had been going for walks along the stream for some time. He just repeated several times that this is a quiet place out in nature, without crowds.'
Katie nodded. It made sense. To some extent. Except for the crowds part.
'So, he moved the rack to the side of the building and shoved it behind the bin. And then what?' she asked.
'He went over to the building site, hid behind the fence and watched the café.'
'That's weird...'
'Not if you've just played a trick on someone and want to see how they react,' Jack fired back. 'Haven't you ever?' He glanced her and humour sparked in his blue eyes.
Katie pursed her lips. A hot wave crept onto her face. She wasn't going to admit how rules-abiding and boring her younger years were. Or answer his question.
'Yeah,' Katie blew out a breath. 'If you put it that way, it makes sense, sort of. Still, why did he choose Keith?'
'Ah,' Jack exclaimed, holding his index finger up. 'This is when it got interesting and he started stuttering again. He knew Keith from Leeds. Keith and Jane belonged to his parish. He saw them in the church here, in Sunnyvale, a few times, recognised them, approached them to make contact again, and so on.'
'It doesn't explain why he watched Keith.'
'That's the stuttering bit,' Jack said and paused. He fiddled with his notebook again, and then closed it and threw on the desk. 'If I got it right, it was "just a silly idea that struck him". Walking along the stream reminds him of his youth.'
'And so?' Katie pushed, her curiosity growing.
'And so, I didn't get much,' Jack replied and crossed his arms. He looked away. 'I had to finish the interview, but I'll get back to him.'
'At a risk of being looked down on, I'm going to ask what your hunch is about it, Inspector?' Katie said suppressing a chuckle.
He threw her a steely dagger of a glance. 'No way. I'm not getting out of character,' he replied. 'But you're welcome to tell me.'
'Oh no, Inspector,' Katie fired back. 'I need more information.'
'Like what?'
'What did he say about Keith arriving and leaving. Did he see or hear anything suspicious?'
'He confirms that Keith arrived at the café around 7.30 am and went inside. Sadly, this was when our vicar decided to leave his hidey-hole. He realised how silly his behaviour was. He got embarrassed and bolted out while Keith was in the café. He didn't want Keith or anyone else to see him. He didn’t see anyone on his way. He ran alongside the stream on the grassy bank, towards the Meadowbank Road end of it.'
'I don't think I saw him,' Katie cast her mind back.
'He said he stopped to catch his breath just behind the tree opposite the T-junction with... I think it's Sunflower Lane. Then he walked on for a while, realised he must have dropped his phone, so he walked back, but only to the tree, looked in the grass and felt too stressed to search so he abandoned his search and returned to his car.'
'Where did he park it? What does he drive?' Katie asked.
'An old ford Fiesta, dark blue. He parked it somewhere along the stream, close to the Meadowbank Road end. '
Katie chewed on her cheek.
'I think I might have seen his car on the way to the supermarket.'
'That's right. He must have reached his car after you went past it and drove off before you returned. He says he saw a white van, presumably of a window fitting company.'
'Did he-'
'No, he didn't notice the name, but I'll see if I can get the name of the contractors from Mr Bower, and maybe have a chat with them.'
Katie rubbed her forehead with the balls of her hands. A headache began to blaze its way behind her eyes. Everything seemed to fit into a very tight window of time. She remembered it well - the street felt deserted and quiet in the dim morning light. Yet, as it turned out, there were quite a few people around at the time, plenty of coming and going but no-one saw anything suspicious. The whole thing was extremely confusing.
'What do you think, Katie?' Jack's smooth voice pulled her out of her musings.
'My hunch is telling me the young vicar is hiding something. His story seems to make sense on the surface, but-'
'I think I know what you mean,' he cut in. 'I can't say I feel the same, but if I could then I would.'
Katie blinked. 'What did you just say?'
Jack gave a sharp laugh. 'Just staying in the role for clarity’s sake,' he said. 'If you could dig something up on our vicar, it would be great. I could call him in for a second interview and maybe he would let out a little more.'
'Can't you call him anyway?'
'He's lost his mobile and begged me not to call the vicarage. He's asked me to pass him a message through someone trustworthy if I need to get hold of him. I may pay him a little visit on the way back though.'
Katie opened her mouth and then closed it. 'That's weird,' she said and paused to check her feelings on the matter. Strangely, her body was sending no warning signals. Was it a sign that Edward Sparrow didn't lie about the means of contacting him, and didn't have any intention of fleeing, or was her intuition off?
'If you manage to gather anything interesting, please let me know,' Jack said and picked up his notebook from the desk, he slipped it into his briefcase and grabbed his jacket.
'Sorry I've got to run. I need to catch Michael Bower before he heads off for another of his "important meetings."'
He marched out of the office.
At this very moment, Celia slid off the table and pulled her hair back, tying it with an elastic band.
'By the way, it's his birthday this Sunday. We'll be preparing a surprise for him for Monday. I'm collecting money for a little gift,' Celia said not looking at Katie.
Katie's back stiffened. Her hand flew to her mouth.
Jack's birthday? On Sunday? Why didn't he tell her?
And how on earth did Celia know about it?
'Wh-what a great idea,' Katie stuttered, pushing the words through her constricted throat. 'I'll bring some money tomorrow.'
'Thanks, Katie. Maybe you could also make a nice card for him?'
'Yes, sure, why not,' she replied automatically.
A card was a nice idea. She
could make him another one and give it to him on Saturday. Just from her.
But for that, she needed access to the crafts room.
She had to go and talk to Linda. What a great excuse! Her shoulders relaxed a little. She rolled them back and forth a few times to ease the growing stiffness.
Trouble was, she couldn't tell Linda who she was going to make that card for.
Bummer!
The tension in her back returned. She'd have to find a creative way to manage this, 'I have to, but I can't...' scenario.
21
Katie sat in her car, her thoughts whirling in her head like tiny particles of dust in the sunlight.
She could tell Linda she needed the key to make a card for someone at work. And it was true that she’d been asked to make a card! Thing was, Katie would have to create two cards and needed an idea. Hopefully, an idea would come once she sat at the table with her craft box in front of her.
Direction Linda's house it was!
When she parked her car in front of the McKays' immaculate front lawn, Katie realised she probably should have rung Linda beforehand to tell her she was coming. Or tried to call her. It was her fourth murder investigation and she hadn't yet got into the habit of preparing better cover stories. Well, she'd have to wing it again.
She closed the car door and strode to Linda's front door. Remembering baby Adam, she didn't ring, but knocked gently and waited.
'Hello there,' a female voice called out. Katie looked around and spotted a short, corpulent woman fiddling with the lock of a car parked in front of the semi-detached house next door. Katie shaded her eyes from the rare bright mid-day sun. 'Did you come to see Linda? They're in the back garden. Just seen them through the window.'
'Hello Mrs Crabtree,' she called back, recognising the woman. 'Thank you. Do I just walk around the house then?'
'Yes, the gate is on the side of the house,' Mrs Crabtree pointed to a path running around the side of the house. 'Tell her I'll be back in time to help her with the afternoon tea.'
'Will do,' Katie replied and followed the woman's advice. As she approached the gate, she could hear Adam's giggles and Linda's cooing.
Katie pushed the handle, but the gate was locked.
'Hello, Linda, it's Katie. Can I just ask you something?' she said.
A few seconds later, the gate opened and Linda appeared, carrying Adam in her arms. 'I didn't expect you. Anything happened?' Linda said.
Katie's cheeks burned.
'I've just been asked to make a birthday card for one of my colleagues and it's rather urgent. I wondered if I could use the room now, while you're looking after Adam?'
Linda frowned. 'Oh, I was actually planning to go there soon. Emily is popping to collect Adam shortly. But you can go with me if you want.'
A brick dropped into the pit of Katie's stomach. This wasn't the scenario she'd planned for.
'I was thinking of taking Julia with me. She can be quite loud. I don't want to disturb you,' Katie rushed to explain, relieved that she found a plausible excuse to backtrack on her initial plan.
'Just call in whenever suits you. I won't be long anyway. I've got a meeting at 5 pm, here, at home,' Linda replied, bouncing Adam on her hip. 'By the way I've heard your inspector has grilled poor Edward.'
Katie's shoulders stiffened. She bit her upper lip. If she could just keep Linda talking...
'Apparently so. Was it that bad?'
'He rang me earlier, sounding quite anxious, asking if he could come and stay with me for a while.'
'Isn’t he happy at the vicarage?'
Adam wriggled out of Linda's arms and slid down her leg. She caught him just before his feet touched the ground. 'Oh, you little wriggle-bug,' she said making an exaggerated gasp and puffed her grandson in the face. The boy giggled.
'Come in and lock the gate behind you. We'd better get back inside. Emily is due any time.'
Katie followed Linda across the garden to the back door and then inside the house.
'So, he doesn't like the vicarage?' Katie probed gently.
'I don't know what's going on with the boy, really,' Linda said, removing Adam's jacket, hat and scarf. She put him in a corner of the living room where his toys were spread out. Katie considered checking if Linda meant her grandson, or the young vicar, but fortunately it quickly became clear.
'He's not himself,' Linda carried on. 'On the other hand, I haven't seen Edward that much since he left for university. I was quite surprised when he turned up at the vicarage one day.'
'I thought he came here to replace Rev Miller?'
Linda arranged a few cushions on the floor, strategically separating Adam from areas with higher risk of toddler damage.
'We all hoped so, but Edward has been refusing. He says he is on a sabbatical and has some serious studying to do. He doesn't mind helping out with some administrative duties, but he's not keen on undertaking any spiritual work at the moment.'
'That sort of make sense, if you're on a sabbatical from your own parish. By the way, where is he permanently based?' Katie asked, jumping at the opportunity to gather more information.
'Somewhere in Leeds, inner city. A busy parish with its own challenges, quite different from our town.'
'Do you think this is what makes him reluctant to engage in pastoral work here?'
Linda stared at Katie, her pencil-thin eyebrows raised. 'That's exactly what I said to the council, but they still want to talk to him about staying here for a few weeks, while our vicar takes time off.' Linda glanced at the front window. 'No sight of Emily yet,' she mumbled. 'Oh, well, maybe you're all right and I'm just an old woman who's sniffing romance everywhere,' she added, off-hand.
Katie inhaled sharply.
'A romance?'
'I just feel there something's not quite right there. I've suspected a woman, to be honest.'
'Over there in Leeds, you mean?'
Linda nodded. 'He has run away from her, that's what I think. Broken heart, some disappointment...' she added.
Katie thought back to the comments exchanged in the staff room a short while ago.
'Do you think he's all right, you know, in his head?'
Linda open her mouth to say something and she closed it. 'He's a very good guy. Heart of gold. I honestly don't know how he manages to work in an inner-city. I have always considered him a little naïve.'
'Do you know anything of any other trouble?'
'That's what bothers me about him. He's become quite withdrawn. You see, I've invited him to stay with us, since we have a spare bedroom. But he insisted on staying at the vicarage. Fair enough, I have baby Adam most of the week and that's a problem, particularly if he wants to study. But he's been here for a few weeks now and only came to Sunday lunch once. He always says he has a lot of studying to do, but I have a feeling this is just an excuse.'
'Maybe he really is studying a lot? Bible books are thick. There's a heck of a lot of intense reading in them.'
'I know. And I hope this is the case. Oh, finally,' Linda said and rushed to the door. 'Emily is here. Hey, baby, your mummy is here.'
Adam squealed and leaped forward on all fours, following Linda to the hallway.
'Hello, my sweet baby,' a young female voice cooed, more baby squealing followed. 'Hi, Mum. And hi, Katie,' Linda's daughter managed to give Katie a wave while simultaneously picking up Adam, kissing him and removing a small object he must have picked up on his way to her. Katie smiled at her ability to multitask and avoid potential danger. Mothers...
'Hi Emily, are you off duty?' Katie joined the hallway party.
'Yes, finally, I've got a week of reasonably quiet day shifts and can spend some time with my baby. ' She nuzzled her son, who burst into giggles.
'How's the murder investigation going?' Emily asked. 'Apparently, he was poisoned with morphine or something similar.'
'Is the stuff hard to get hold of?'
'Through official channels, yes, but not if you know where to look. If you know what I
mean.'
Katie chewed on her cheek. The murder method was not of much help then.
'Mum,' Emily turned towards Linda who was busy putting some of the toys and other items into a big, colourful bag. 'That café where he was poisoned, isn't it in the area where you go for walks with Mavis? By the way she seems to be picking up. I saw her this morning having a cuppa with a group of medical secretaries in the hospital cafeteria. She was quite animated. Must be all that brisk walking you're doing in the morning.'
'Yes, but we didn't walk past the café. I've already told the police.' Linda shouted from the living room, a note of annoyance in her voice. 'And yes, Mavis seems to be managing much better these days. Although I wouldn't call her walking brisk.' Linda's voice became scornful.
Katie cringed, but Emily seemed to ignore it. She sat on the futon, placed Adam firmly on her knee and started the tedious job of fitting various parts of the boy's body into various parts of his winter jacket.
'I'm happy she's started going out,' she replied, pushing a woolly hat onto Adam's head despite his attempts to remove it. 'It was such a shock to her. Imagine, finding your own niece after an overdose, having to call the ambulance, worrying sick if she's going to make it... No wonder her physical health also deteriorated. Adam, stop doing that, baby, or we'll never leave. I'm glad to see her out and about, outside of work. Adam! Don't wriggle out...'
The boy managed to slide off his mum's lap and was off, crawling and giggling. Emily rushed after him.
'Oh, kids...' she moaned.
'He's a lively little one,' Katie said and smiled watching at the young doctor chasing her little boy across the living room. Despite an overall sweet atmosphere, she felt a tugging in her stomach. Was it hunger or a sign this was something of potential importance?
Probably hunger, it was well past her usual lunch time and she needed to go.
'I'd better be off, Linda. I'm starving. Just let me know when you finished with your cards and I'll pop in to collect the key, okay? By the way, Mavis said she'd be back in time for afternoon tea.'
'Mavis popping in for tea?' Linda winced. 'I don't remember inviting her... '