An Alibi A Day

by A. R. Winters

  “Is there anything else you could tell us about Larry?”

  He had started to shake his head when he suddenly stopped, a flash of something crossing his face. “He kept his garden nice, I’ll say that. He may have been a loan-sharking rat-faced old miser, but he kept his garden nice.”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  Bill frowned and stared at Allie, annoyed at being contradicted. Then his face softened as he realised something. “Oh. You only saw the front garden, right?”

  Allie nodded.

  “Told you he was a miserly old coot. No, he never touched the front garden. Didn’t for near twenty years. He said he only ever used it to go in and out of his house, and he was damned if he was going to waste time and money just so other people could gawk at it.

  “But the back garden, that he kept nice. Best roses in Hawthorne. And tulips to die for.”

  Allie didn’t think she would die for any flowers, let alone tulips.

  “I suppose everyone has redeeming qualities,” said Jackie. “Even loan sharks.”

  Bill nodded thoughtfully. “What else can I help you with?”

  Allie looked at Jackie, who gave a half-shrug. They’d probably got all they were going to get out of him.

  “I think that’s all. We’ve really got a better understanding of Larry now. Thanks so much. Shall we take our empty mugs through to the kitchen?”

  Allie looked down at her mug. It was definitely not yet empty. She hadn’t had a sip. She looked over at Jackie’s and saw she was the same. They both sprung to their feet and held their dirty mugs up high enough that Bill couldn’t see they were still full.

  Allie took Bill’s empty mug out of his hand, noting that the inside of the white porcelain mug was a deep tea-stained brown. “Thanks for the tea!”

  In the kitchen the girls quickly emptied their mugs into the sink, and then Jackie took Allie’s off of her.

  “Don’t even think about it, missy. I’ll wash them. If we leave it to you, you’ll do the whole kitchen.”

  This was true. Fighting an urge to ‘help’, Allie watched aghast as Jackie did the most cursory cleaning of tea mugs she’d ever seen. She simply swished around some water, rubbed the rim with her fingers to scrape off the freshest stains and then called it good.

  “I’ve got to get out of here,” said Allie, shuddering.

  And so they did, thanking Bill again and heading off back to the B&B.

  Chapter 19

  Jackie and Allie were finishing up their lunch. The day’s special at Bree’s had been steak and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and it had been, unsurprisingly, delicious.

  “Now that is what you call a pie,” said Allie as she pushed her knife and fork together.

  “Well, it was,” said Jackie with a grin. When she was away in the Cotswolds, she didn’t stick to her usual health-nut eating plan quite as much as she did back in London, much to Allie’s relief.

  “Didn’t like that much then, did you?” said Bree as she appeared by their sides and immediately began clearing their plates away, a beaming smile on her face. She loved it when her customers cleared their plates.

  “Nope. Awful,” said Jackie with a chuckle.

  Allie kicked her hard under the table. “Actually, I thought it was lovely. What I like about your pies, Bree, is that they are actually pies. These days so many places give you a little pot of stew with a frozen puff pastry lid, and it just isn’t the same.”

  Bree nodded. “I know, dear. I don’t know how they get away with it. It’s not even a pie, is it?”

  Allie nodded in firm agreement. She had strong opinions about things matching their descriptions and had walked out of more than one pub that either didn’t know what a pie was or was happy to lie about it to their patrons.

  “I was joking,” said Jackie, rubbing her shin, when Bree had left.

  “Oh. Ha, ha.”

  Jackie was glaring at her when she became distracted by something behind Allie.

  “Look, it’s your boyfriend.”

  Allie whipped her head around. She knew it wouldn’t be her boyfriend because she didn’t have a boyfriend, but she was curious as to who it would be. Coming through the door, a cheeky grin on his face, was Charlie. She was still looking over her shoulder at him when he began to approach their table.

  “Hi, how’s it going?”

  “Great!” said Jackie with a smile.

  Allie just shook her head. Why did Jackie lie so much?

  Charlie crouched down next to their table so that his head was at their level. He faced Allie, a serious look on his face.

  “You can sit on a chair if you like,” said Jackie, tapping the back of the chair next to her.

  He shook his head. “No. I’ll be off in a moment, was just passing and saw you in here. His head was bouncing up and down slightly as he tried to maintain his crouch at the correct height. “Allie, how’s the car? Is it okay?”

  Allie smirked, while Jackie pursed her lips. “It’s fine, Charlie. Thank you again for lending it to me. I really appreciate it, and I’m taking very good care of it.”

  “Good, good. I trust you, of course. I just wondered if you had any trouble with it. You know, if I could help you out with it at all.”

  Yeah, right. He was just worried she was going to crash it or get a big SUV to drive through it.

  “Nope. It’s fine. No problems at all.”

  “Well… good then. Any word from the police? They haven’t contacted me at all.”

  “Nor me. I don’t think they’re going to find out who it was. They don’t have any leads apart from our description.”

  “I’m surprised you of all people didn’t get the license plate,” said Jackie.

  Allie glared at her. “It was dark, and the car was moving too fast.”

  “It may not even have had a license plate,” added Charlie.

  Allie nodded in agreement, glad for the support against Jackie’s teasing.

  “Well, just as long as everything’s all right, I’ll leave you all to it. You take care now.”

  “We will,” said Allie. “I’ll get you your car back just as soon as mine is fixed.”

  As he left, Jackie started shaking her head.

  “What?”

  “Oh. You are quite the flirt, aren’t you?”

  Allie frowned at her. “Am not.”

  “You do have a whole string of admirers,” she said with a cheeky grin.

  Allie was just about to deny it when she felt a warm, strong hand close on her shoulder and ever so gently squeeze.

  “Good afternoon, ladies. May I join you for a moment?”

  It was Richard, and he was already pulling a chair out for himself before Jackie gave him, with more pleasure than necessary, permission to sit down with them.

  “Is everything okay? I saw a rather scruffy-looking man crouching down here. I thought I better check if everything’s okay. I thought Hawthorne was a better class of village than that…”

  “Oh, that’s just Charlie,” said Allie quickly, hoping to change the topic as fast as possible. “He’s a gardener.”

  “Allie’s dating him,” added Jackie with a sugary smile.

  “I am not dating him. I bought him dinner as a thank you for lending me his car.”

  Allie was quite pleased with herself for that response. It was mostly true but deflected from the fact that it had, technically, been a date—at least to start with. Most dates don’t end up with you paying and then filing a report at the police station though.

  “He loaned you his car? That’s awfully generous,” said Richard with a furrowed brow and a frown. He didn’t seem particularly pleased by this minor revelation.

  “And he put her on his insurance, like his wife,” said Jackie, who obviously wanted to be kicked again.

  “Ignore her,” said Allie. “He’s just a helpful guy. I’m sure he’d do the same for anyone.”

  “Well, I must say, I’m glad to hear that even the scruffiest resi
dents of Hawthorne are kind. When I moved here, I was worried that the locals might be hostile towards outsiders.”

  Allie and Jackie both shook their heads. “No, the locals are usually very nice. Tourism’s a big part of the economy around these parts, so they have to be.”

  “Though they haven’t been all that nice to you two lately, have they?”

  “That’s different,” said Jackie. “Some of them still think we had something to do with the murder. I guess anyone would be hostile in that situation.”

  Richard made a point of looking around the café. “No one’s sitting near you.”

  “I know,” said Allie happily. It was one of the upsides of having half a village thinking you might be a killer: they tended to bother you a lot less.

  “Did you make any headway with your investigations?”

  Allie and Jackie glanced each other. They didn’t really know Richard, so how much should they share? What if he actually had something to do with Larry’s murder? But then again, if he’d been involved in the murder, he wouldn’t have encouraged them to investigate, would he?

  “I don’t think we’re any closer,” said Allie. She was being deliberately enigmatic. They weren’t any ‘closer’ because they were still in the same place they had been last time!

  “Actually, the police have told us to stop looking into it. It’s the police’s job, they said, and we’re not to go around investigating like amateur detectives.” Jackie was paraphrasing what they’d been told, but it was broadly true. She neglected to mention that they hadn’t exactly been following what had been ordered.

  “Perhaps that’s for the best. If you got too close, it could be dangerous.”

  Allie flicked her eyes up at him and gave him a quizzical look. “Dangerous?”

  Richard nodded. “Oh yes. If the killer thinks you’re onto them, they might try and scare you off—or worse!”

  “Worse?”

  Richard looked down at his hands, slowly turning them over each other. “I don’t want to alarm you, but I met more than my share of murderers when I was a lawyer. Some of them… let’s just say they don’t like it when they get caught. They can be quite violent, in fact.”

  “Thanks for the cheery tip,” said Jackie.

  “Ah. Sorry. I don’t mean to alarm you. I think I’ve done enough damage. I’ve got to get on now.”

  “We won’t keep you,” said Jackie with a smile.

  Richard quickly departed.

  “That was interesting, wasn’t it?” said Jackie.

  “Do you think he knew? About the death threat? And the… car incident?” She had almost said attempt on my life but didn’t want to actually say the words out loud; it would make it all too real.

  “I’m not sure. But I did notice one thing though—he didn’t like Charlie sniffing around you!”

  “He was not ‘sniffing around’ me! He was inquiring after his car.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. I’ll tell you what though, Richard’s definitely got his eye on you.” Jackie poked Allie in the arm.

  “Nope. Don’t see it. He didn’t even ask me out.”

  “Maybe he’s just waiting to make sure you’re not arrested for murder,” she said with a grin. “After all, he is a lawyer. He’s got a reputation to maintain.”

  “Unlike us,” said Allie shaking her head. “Ours is shot.”

  Jackie gripped her arm. “Nope, it’s just taking a rest. Once this is all over, people will know we’re not the killers, and they’ll forget all about their silly suspicions.” She leaned in close. “And if we find the real killer? Our reputations will be untouchable! And then we’ll buy this building, move here, and be real Cotswolds ladies.”

  Allie snorted. Yeah, right. She didn’t think that was likely at all.

  “Are you ready?”

  “What for?” asked Jackie dubiously.

  “I think it’s time we had another chat with Michelle.”

  Chapter 20

  Larry’s old neighbour Bill had told them that he was a loan shark, giving out high-interest loans to people in need of a speedy cash infusion. But that wasn’t how Michelle had described it. She had said that he used to help people. It was quite a different perspective.

  And now Allie wanted to find out just which version of Larry was the true one.

  They trooped up the stairs to the B&B, Allie leading the way and Jackie following.

  “Good afternoon, girls,” said Michelle as they entered through the upstairs door and reached the entrance hallway for the B&B.

  Ever since they had reported the death threat to her, Michelle had started spending most of the day sitting at the reception desk. In the past, it had sat empty unless she had been expecting someone to arrive, but now she’d added guard duty to her daily chores. Of course, it still sat empty when she was off changing the beds or attending to her other tasks, but nonetheless, they were pleased at the effort she was making.

  “Michelle,” said Allie, standing in front of the desk, “I was wondering if we could talk to you a little more about… you know.”

  The landlady gave her a quizzical look. Either Allie was less good at being euphemistic than she hoped, or Michelle was being deliberately obtuse. Or possibly a combination of the two.

  “The murder. Larry.”

  “Oh.” Michelle looked thoughtful for a moment, and Allie suspected that she was thinking about how to deflect their questions or get rid of them. A soft sigh left her lips. “I’m sure there’s nothing I can help you with, but go on then.”

  “You owed Larry money.”

  Allie could hear Jackie muttering something about having the subtlety and tact of a rhinoceros but ignored it.

  Michelle first shook her head, then opened her mouth, then closed it again.

  Finally, she stood up and said, “How do you know that?”

  “Bill told us. Larry’s neighbour. He said that Larry was a loan shark, offering high-interest loans to people who needed help. Is that what he did to you?”

  “No! No, of course not.” If Allie wasn’t mistaken, Michelle was looking a bit paler all of a sudden. “Larry was my friend. Yes, he loaned me some money, but it was nothing like that! He was just helping me out.”

  “Helping you? That sounds generous of him. What was the APR on that loan?”

  “A… P… R?”

  Ignorant or bluffing? Allie wasn’t sure but she intended to find out. “The interest rate.”

  “Was he ripping you off?” asked Jackie to clarify.

  “I don’t know! We didn’t talk about that. He was just a helpful man. He gave me a little loan in a time of need.”

  “That’s not what Bill said,” said Allie, with a confused frown.

  “You shouldn’t listen to Bill. He’s the most miserable old wretch in the village. Thinks badly of everyone. He even says Bree downstairs just fakes being nice and she’s actually a ‘witch’, or something that rhymes with it. It’s all codswallop. He just hates everyone.”

  She did have a point about his negativity. But that didn’t mean that everything he said was wrong. Allie was quite certain there was at least some truth to Bill’s words, but the question was, which ones?

  “I think it’s lovely that he was so kind to you,” said Jackie. “Sorry to have bothered you again. Come on, Allie.”

  Before Allie could complain that she wasn’t quite done, Jackie had interlocked their arms, turned them around, and they were heading back downstairs again.

  When they were out on the street again, Jackie released Allie’s arm.

  “I was just about to really start grilling her,” said Allie, peeved.

  “I know you were, that’s why we left. Remember, we are staying there. Upsetting our hostess wouldn’t be wise. There’s enough people against us in Hawthorne as it is.”

  “Hmm… If you say so. Do you think she was lying though? I do.”

  Jackie hmmed. “Perhaps. Maybe she did owe Larry a sizeable sum.”

  “And if the interes
t rates were as high as Bill said, then maybe she could only see one way out of her debt.”

  “Killing him?”

  Allie nodded. “It’s just a theory for now, but it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  “Only if you think Michelle is the kind of person who would resort to murder.”

  “How can you tell if someone is capable of murder?” asked Allie, genuinely curious as to the answer.

  Jackie didn’t give her the kind of answer she was looking for, instead shrugging and saying, “You never can tell.”

  “Hmph. Well she’s going on my list of maybes.”

  “Mine too,” said Jackie, taking Allie by the arm again. “Let’s go for a walk. It’s good for thinking.”

  “Is it?” said Allie dubiously. Jackie always thought some form of exercise was the answer to everything. Surely some things could be solved with cake, or biscuits, or a marathon telly session, couldn’t they?

  “Yes, it is. Now come on.”

  With the sigh of acceptance that comes only with more than a decade and a half of step-sisterly friendship, Allie let Jackie drag her away.

  Chapter 21

  Bill sat in front of the remains of his lunch at the small dining table in the corner of his living room.

  It had been such an eventful day that he’d decided to treat himself to a slice of Battenburg cake after he’d finished his sardine sandwiches. It had gone down wonderfully with his fifth mug of tea of the day.

  It had been a while since he’d had two young ladies on his settee, that was for sure. It had been odd that they were interested in Larry next door though. Larry hadn’t had a lot of fans. But then again, neither did Bill if he was honest. People today just weren’t as friendly as they used to be. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why though.

  He picked up the last sizeable crumb of his cake and popped the moist sponge into his mouth, still with a little piece of marzipan attached. Delicious.

  He hadn’t told the girls everything, of course. He liked to think it was because they might come back for more, but it was really because his memory wasn’t quite what it was.