Creature Comforts

by Trisha Ashley

  ‘I’m afraid it’s more likely to be a male skull, though that’s not certain,’ the professor agreed. ‘It’s of great age and also it looks as if the individual was of African origin.’

  We all stared blankly at him, except Rufus, who looked amused.

  ‘There were Roman soldiers hereabouts, I believe,’ he continued. ‘Possibly he served in one of the African cohorts.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re quite wrong,’ Lulu said firmly, now she was over the first shock. ‘It’s Howling Hetty.’

  Professor Chumley said wistfully that he could tell us so much more if we would allow him to remove the skull for examination, but again this suggestion was met with so much horror that he quickly desisted.

  More customers were arriving so we took him through into the snug, where Lulu plied him with free beer till Cam arrived and got him to swear he wouldn’t tell a soul about his suspicions. He was interested to hear about the Roman remains by the Lady Spring and said he’d come back when he had more time to examine them.

  ‘Well, if you do, don’t mention the skull not being Hetty’s, or you’ll be run out of the village on a hurdle!’ Lulu warned him, and he promised he wouldn’t.

  Chapter 27: Night Passage

  As the engine roared into life, I felt as if I was trapped in a nightmare.

  ‘Put your foot on the clutch and go into first,’ Harry directed me calmly, releasing the handbrake and I blindly obeyed in a trance of fear.

  The gears crunched and we moved forward jerkily.

  I tried ringing Daisy when I woke next morning, but only got her answering service, so I’d left her a message. But I was so keen to tell someone about my latest dream revelation that I was sitting on a block of stone by the entrance to the Spring waiting for Rufus when he arrived.

  I didn’t waste any time describing it either. ‘I mean, it finally confirmed what I’d known all along must be the truth: that I really did drive that car up to Sweetwell.’

  Rufus said, ‘I suppose it does, but your dreams are throwing a really bad light onto my half-brother. I mean, it was a stupid prank to spike Simon’s drink in the first place, but to then coerce a sixteen-year-old into driving him home was selfish and cruel.’

  ‘I think he was selfish, but then, perhaps we are all a bit self-centred when we’re teenagers?’ I suggested. ‘Harry had a tendency to do reckless things, so I don’t suppose he understood how afraid I felt. But what I really find hard to forgive him for is spinning me that line about ditching Cara so he could go out with me. That was cruel.’

  And I said much the same to Daisy later, when she rang me back.

  ‘I’m inclined to agree with your Rufus on this one, Izzy, because after all, Harry was nearly nineteen and so more than old enough to be responsible for his actions.’

  ‘He’s not my Rufus,’ I said quickly and she laughed.

  ‘I think you’ve mentioned him more than Harry since you got back to Halfhidden, but that’s a healthy sign.’

  ‘We’re just friends,’ I said with dignity, and then she had to go, though she asked me to update her if my dreams made any further progress.

  ‘I will, if they continue,’ I agreed, for I now half-expected each one to be the last.

  Izzy Dane Designs was suddenly becoming more exciting now orders had started to come in and already I was getting some idea of what would be the most popular styles and sizes. My intention had been to create a core stock of designs, but annually change the colours, fabrics and embellishments. There would also be one-off special-occasion designs, too.

  I knew I’d need to visit the two workshops making my clothes in India at least once a year, to choose materials and discuss designs, but I’d have to find someone who could run things here for a couple of weeks, before I could take any trips.

  I was ready for a break by lunchtime, so Babybelle and I met up with Rufus and Pearl and took a picnic up to the rocks reputably infested by the Halfhidden Worm. There was no sign of it, though you’d think it would have come out for some cheese and tomato sandwiches and ginger beer … unless, of course, it had heard about Judy’s bread, because the sandwiches certainly had a lot of chew in them.

  It was pleasant up there, relaxing on an old picnic rug on the short sheep-nibbled turf, but all too soon Rufus had to get back to relieve Foxy so she could have her lunch, and I needed to return to my designs.

  I went into the courtyard to say hello to Foxy, and when I came out, Dan had begun sullenly mowing the triangle of grass where the drive branched into two.

  As Belle and I drew level, he turned off the old petrol mower and said to me, ‘I told you not to talk to my Simon about the accident and I hear you took no notice. You leave him alone, or else!’

  ‘You’re too late and you’ve got the wrong end of the stick anyway, because Simon wanted to talk to me,’ I told him. ‘Not that he can remember much about that night.’

  At this moment, Babybelle decided to show Dan her impressive set of sharp teeth and made a low rumbling noise in her throat.

  He eyed her warily, before saying, ‘You’d do better to let it all drop – let the past lie.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ve got much choice, if Cara won’t fill in the missing pieces,’ I said, since I could imagine his reaction if I told him I already knew almost everything that had happened, because I’d dreamed about it! ‘Was it you who tipped off all those council officials and the RSPCA about the kennels, Dan?’

  He didn’t reply, except to reiterate his stock response that we should all clear out, if we knew what was good for us, so I dragged Babybelle away.

  I decided not to tell Rufus about this encounter, since he was already poised on a knife-edge to fire Dan and I didn’t want to be the one to tip him over.

  I wasn’t seeing him that evening anyway, since he was going to be out late delivering something bulky to a customer. Cam was taking a night class as a favour for a friend and Lulu would be busy getting ready for her Haunted Weekenders’ arrival, so I decided on a quiet night in.

  Babybelle, naturally, wanted to spend the quiet night with me, but Debo and Judy eventually persuaded her out to the kennels, using the treat ball.

  They came back saying they’d securely fastened up everything, set the new alarm and CCTV camera and left Babybelle’s door closed but unlocked, though she wouldn’t find that out until she leaned on it at some point – probably the minute she’d eaten all of the treats.

  They retired to bed and I soon followed. But although I was tired, I was a bit afraid to go to sleep because of what my dreams might show me next … and if it was the actual moment of the collision, I’m wasn’t sure I could bear it.

  So I was still half-awake some time later when the alarm suddenly began to shrill, jolting me bolt upright in bed. Then the windows brightened as the security lights came on and there was a loud volley of barks, followed by shouting.

  Debo, Judy and I all popped out of our rooms onto the landing at the very same moment, throwing on dressing gowns as we dashed out to the kennels, Vic and Ginger at our heels. There we discovered the main gate wide open and Babybelle sitting on top of a black-clad man wearing a face-concealing balaclava and swearing blue murder.

  ‘Get her off me!’ he yelled, along with a peppering of four-letter expletives, but Babybelle just stared down at him, as though he was a not very appetising dinner.

  ‘Good dog, Belle,’ I said. ‘Hi, Dan – fancy meeting you here!’

  ‘Now, shall we ring for the police, or Rufus, I wonder?’ Debo mused aloud.

  ‘Or we could just leave him there till morning?’ suggested Judy. ‘Babybelle seems happy enough. Quite comfortable, in fact.’

  Dan made a galvanic attempt to unseat Babybelle, but didn’t shift her an inch, though the growling increased in intensity to a menacing deep roar.

  ‘Gosh, she’s a great guard dog!’ I said, impressed.

  ‘We know it’s you, Dan, you mean-spirited little weasel,’ Debo told him. ‘You might as well admit it.’
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  ‘Why wouldn’t I?’ he said belligerently. ‘I was just driving past when I thought I saw someone hanging round suspiciously and stopped for a look-see.’

  ‘Past from where, at this time of night? You’re barred from the Screaming Skull,’ Judy said.

  ‘I was over at the Falling Star in Sticklepond, wasn’t I? And I was doing you a favour, stopping when I saw someone hanging around and then the gate open. But when I came in for a look, this stupid dog jumped on me.’

  ‘And the mysterious intruder you saw had vanished? I’m not buying that, Dan, and I don’t think Rufus will, either,’ I said.

  ‘The truth will be on our new CCTV camera anyway,’ Debo pointed out, and Dan turned the air blue again.

  ‘That will be quite enough of that,’ Judy told him severely, fishing her phone out of her dressing gown pocket and scattering tissues and a packet of indigestion tablets in the process. ‘I’ll call Rufus – his gardener, his problem.’

  ‘How do you have his number?’ I asked curiously.

  ‘I put it in my mobile when he came to tea,’ she said. ‘He’s sort of our new landlord, after all.’

  Rufus came down on the motorbike I hadn’t seen up till then, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt over, at a guess, nothing. He looked tired, dishevelled and cross, which, perversely, made him look even more attractive than usual. I suspected that when Judy rang, he’d only just got home and gone to bed.

  He assessed the situation grimly. He did grim very well.

  ‘It’s Dan,’ Judy said helpfully. ‘We seem to have solved the mystery of the dogs that escaped in the night.’

  ‘Babybelle, get off!’ he commanded, but she only obeyed when I called her, planting her great paws in delicate bits of Dan’s anatomy in the process.

  Dan picked himself up from the ground and pulled off the balaclava, stuffing it into his pocket, before repeating his story about the suspicious stranger.

  ‘How inventive! Are you sure you didn’t write the plots of Baz’s thrillers for him?’ said Debo with sarcasm.

  ‘And do you often drive around at night wearing head-to-foot black and a balaclava?’ Rufus asked, then stooped and picked up something from the grass. ‘And this looks amazingly like a wrench to me.’

  ‘I didn’t spot that,’ Debo said.

  ‘It’s not mine,’ Dan said quickly.

  ‘I think you should count yourself lucky we’re not calling the police – because if we did, I might ask them to investigate my missing mower, too,’ Rufus said pleasantly.

  ‘You just try proving anything on either count,’ Dan said truculently.

  ‘I think if we look at the CCTV footage we’ll find your mysterious stranger is the Invisible Man, won’t we?’ Judy suggested.

  ‘I was trying to do a good turn, I was,’ he insisted. ‘But if you don’t believe me, please yourselves, because I’m going now.’ He dusted himself off and turned to leave.

  ‘You can go – with a month’s notice,’ Rufus told him.

  Dan swung round and stared at him. ‘You can’t do that! I’ve been working here most of my life—’

  ‘Or not working here most of your life,’ Judy amended.

  ‘You needn’t work the notice, either, because I don’t want you on my property ever again. And I’d like you out of the cottage by the beginning of June,’ Rufus said implacably.

  Dan began to bluster. ‘You can’t get rid of me that easily – I could take you to a tribunal and get you for unfair dismissal. I’m not leaving my cottage either and—’

  ‘Judy, phone for the police,’ Debo said. ‘I’ve had enough of this. And by the way, Dan, I was talking to Freddie Tompion and it came out that he saw you selling the sit-on mower when he’d gone up to Sweetwell to play chess with Laurie. You shook hands with the man, took a wad of money and he loaded it up and went.’

  ‘I never!’ he said predictably. ‘And I don’t think you want the police involved,’ he said to Rufus, ‘not when it was your own mother’s idea to let the dogs out and all the rest of it. She’s a piece of work, she is! Even took my—’

  But we were not destined to hear what it was that Fliss took, for at this point Rufus felled him with a single blow.

  ‘You’ll regret that,’ Dan snarled, getting up again and tentatively fingering his jaw. ‘I’ll have the law on you for assault and—’

  ‘Did any of you see me hit him?’ Rufus appealed to us.

  ‘No,’ we chorused, as one.

  ‘There you are, Dan – three witnesses say I didn’t lay a finger on you. I expect you ran into something.’

  Dan stared at him in impotent rage, and then all at once the fight seemed to drain out of him, though he gave us all a look of hate before trudging off down the drive.

  ‘Good riddance,’ Judy said. ‘The sooner he’s out of Halfhidden, the better.’

  ‘So long as he’s not stupid enough to dispute my firing him … or drag my stupid mother into it,’ Rufus said.

  ‘Oh, I don’t suppose he will,’ Judy told him. ‘Do you really think she was egging him on to let the dogs out and send all those inspectors to the kennels?’

  ‘Probably, because of her misguided idea that I’d let her live in the Lodge if you moved out – and Dan seems to think he’s included in the plan. He’ll soon find his mistake.’

  ‘Yes, and now he won’t even have the cottage,’ Judy said. Then her face lit up. ‘I’ve just had a brilliant idea!’

  ‘Oh, not another,’ groaned Rufus. ‘I haven’t recovered from having Foxy foisted onto me yet.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, you know she’s just what you needed,’ Debo said. ‘Go on, Judy.’

  ‘You could promote Olly to gardener in his stead,’ Judy suggested, with the air of one pulling a white rabbit from a hat. ‘Foxy could give him a hand with any major jobs – she’s always up for a bit of overtime – and when his dad retires, he can keep an eye on things, too.’

  ‘Would Olly want to give up his work at the alpine nursery to do the job full time?’ asked Rufus.

  ‘Yes, because when Dan leaves, he could have the cottage and get married!’ Debo said brightly.

  ‘Olly wants to get married?’

  ‘He’s been engaged for years to a lovely girl he met at the adult learning centre – she’s a gardener, too. It’s perfect! And the cottage is slap-bang in the middle of the village, so his family are all in easy reach.’

  ‘Right,’ Rufus said faintly. ‘That’s all organised, then!’

  Chapter 28: Romantic Comedy

  Tears blurred my vision. I blinked them back, then crept out onto the main road at a snail’s pace and took the turn up to Halfhidden.

  ‘There are more gears than one,’ Harry pointed out, straightening the wheel before we veered off into the ditch.

  ‘At this rate, it would be quicker to walk,’ Cara said acidly from the back seat, where Simon had now burst into slurred and unrecognisable song.

  I think Rufus must have slept in after a long drive to deliver the bulky garden antique, followed by the alarms and excursions in the kennels the previous night, because he didn’t turn up at the pool next morning, and it was surprising how much I now missed his company, after years of preferring to swim alone …

  Even my naked young Roman soldiers seemed to have ceased to haunt my imagination the moment Rufus came on the scene.

  When he called at the Lodge later with Pearl, who’d just been to the vet’s to have her stitches out, she was not only full of bounce but seemed a totally transformed dog, with white glossy fur and shiny eyes, usually fixed adoringly on Rufus.

  He didn’t stay long because he had to get back to the antiques centre and I was in the middle of printing out order slips to go into packages, but we’d be seeing each other at the pub as usual that evening anyway.

  When the parcels were packed, Judy drove me over to the Middlemoss post office with them and then dropped me at the pub to see Lulu. It was fun the four of us meeting up most evenings, but I suddenly felt like a h
eart-to-heart, just the two of us, and she felt the same way.

  It was still a bit early for the lunchtime customers, but we’d just settled down in the hotel bar with coffee when we heard the sound of people arriving and a familiar loud voice from the public bar. We looked at each other.

  ‘Dan? I thought he’d been barred?’

  ‘He has,’ Lulu said, ‘but the new barmaid probably doesn’t know him.’

  We peeped cautiously over the bar, where we could see through to where Dan was standing – or swaying, to be more accurate – attempting to chat up the barmaid, encouraged by a couple of his cronies.

  ‘He must have got tanked up at the Falling Star first,’ Lulu suggested, and I thought she was right, especially when he began shooting his mouth off about his recent grievances, slagging off Debo and Judy in very nasty terms and then saying how he’d get his own back on Rufus for firing him.

  Lulu turned to me, raising her eyebrows.

  ‘Rufus did fire him last night – I was just about to tell you.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Fliss will see me right, when we get married, and Rufus can’t very well throw his own mother out of his cottage, can he?’ bellowed Dan, steadying himself with a hand on the brass rail of the bar. ‘Let’s have a drink!’

  ‘He’s deluded,’ I said.

  ‘He’s certainly drunk,’ Lulu said, catching the barmaid’s eye and shaking her head. ‘I’ll go and get my dad and Bruce, so they can put him out before any customers arrive.’

  He didn’t go quietly, but eventually his friends persuaded him into the car and drove him away. Once he’d gone, Lulu fetched fresh coffee and I gave her a quick résumé of what had happened the previous night, resulting in Dan being given a month’s notice.

  ‘He’s so stupid! If he’d just buckled down and worked really hard when Rufus took over, then I’m sure he could have kept his job … or he would if he hadn’t also decided to have a fling with Fliss and then brag about it.’