by Agatha Frost
Julia didn’t know what she would call it. Barker had moved to the village just over a month ago, and his first week had been spent butting heads with Julia as she interfered with Gertrude Smith’s suspicious murder case. When Julia figured out the murderer before Detective Inspector Brown had a chance to, he seemed to gain newfound respect for her, and he asked her out on a date. Julia’s response had been ‘maybe’, and even though she knew she did want to go on a date with the tall, dark and handsome Detective Inspector, saying ‘yes’ hadn’t seemed so easy.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” Barker said as he approached them, clutching his own glass of lemonade. “Lovely day for it, don’t you think?”
“Quite,” Dot said. “How’s the detecting going?”
“Trying to keep the village safe,” Barker said, his charismatic smile beaming from ear to ear. “I’ve been trying to get this one to ditch the café and join the force after her turn at playing detective.”
“Hear that, Julia?” Sue said, her brows darting up and down as her lips hovered over her straw. “Barker thinks you’re good enough to go pro.”
“I’m going to barf,” Jessie mumbled under her breath after loudly sucking the last of her lemonade from her ice filled glass. “I’m going to get a refill.”
“We’ll come with,” Dot said, grabbing Sue’s arm and dragging her with Jessie. “Have fun, you two.”
Julia smiled awkwardly as her family disappeared, leaving her alone with Barker. For a moment, they silently stood and observed the garden party unfolding around them. When they both seemed ready to talk, they turned, and tried to speak at the same time.
“Ladies first,” Barker said, with a small laugh.
“I don’t think detective work is for me,” Julia said, her finger playing with the top of the green and white straw jutting out of a lemon wedge in her glass. “I’m much more suited to baking cakes.”
“You do make a mean double chocolate fudge cake,” Barker said, nodding in agreement. “But you also ran circles around me when it came to finding Gertrude Smith’s killer.”
Hearing that made Julia swell up with pride. Part of the reason she had been so invested in finding the murderer before Barker was because he suspected her friend, Roxy Carter, of committing the crime, and another part felt underestimated by Barker, and she wanted to prove herself.
“So how did you score yourself an invitation to this thing?” Julia asked, eager to shift the focus of the conversation.
“Katie dropped by the station with invitations for all the boys,” Barker said, sipping his lemonade. “She seemed quite keen that I come.”
“Katie?”
“Do you know her?”
Julia awkwardly sucked her lemonade, glancing around the crowd. She spotted Jessie, Sue and Dot all watching eagerly. Dot sent over two thumbs up, which Sue quickly dragged down and mouthed her apologies.
“She’s married to my dad,” Julia said bluntly.
Barker choked on his lemonade and stared down at her, eyes wide as the housekeeper’s, and as amused as her father’s. “Seriously? But she’s so – young.”
“You think?” Julia agreed, chewing the inside of her cheek.
“Doesn’t that mean she’s your step-,”
“Don’t say it,” Julia held her hand up. “I’ve had enough of that from Jessie.”
They both laughed, and paused to suck their lemonade. Eager to change the subject again, Julia edged the topic to something more intriguing.
“Any interesting cases?” Julia asked.
“You know I can’t talk about them,” Barker said. “There is something I wanted to ask you, actually. Remember that night in your café when I asked you out on a -,”
Barker’s sentence was stopped midway when a collective cry rippled through the crowd. Everybody turned at once to look for the epicentre, which became very apparent, very quickly. Two men appeared to be brawling in the middle of the crowd, causing people to edge forward to form a circle around the fight. Peridale could pretend to be as civilised as the next village, but Julia knew the second something exciting was happening, no matter how low-brow, everyone wanted to be able to give their own eyewitness account.
“Out of the way!” Barker cried. “I’m police!”
That threat alone parted the sea of people. Julia took advantage of the parting and stuck close to Barker, her own curiosity getting the better of her. They both broke out into the clearing, where one man had another pinned to the ground. Julia instantly recognised both of the struggling men. The man writhing in the grass was Charles Wellington, the brother who had been arguing with Katie not so long ago. The man on top was Richard May, a local man who Julia was trying to create a cinnamon, rose and orange wedding cake for.
“How could you?” Richard cried out, his fist ready to strike Charles’ face. “You’re a little swine! I’m going to have you!”
“We’ll have less of that,” Barker called out, scooping Richard off Charles as if he weighed no more than a bag of flour. “Calm down! There are children here.”
For a moment, the red mist didn’t fade from Richard’s eyes, until he looked around and saw the sea of scared and confused faces. He pushed his long, messy hair out of his red face, then tore free of Barker’s grip. He doubled back through the crowd and disappeared.
“What was all that about?” Dot whispered in Julia’s ear, appearing from nowhere. “Who’s that on the ground? I know that face.”
“Katie’s brother,” Julia mumbled, almost without realising. “I remember him from the wedding.”
“Oh yeah,” Sue said, also appearing from nowhere. “He got drunk during the reception and started swearing at Katie. My Neil was one of the men who had to drag him out.”
Barker held out a hand for Charles, but it was ignored. Charles stumbled up to his feet, and tossed his hands defensively over his head, casting his sharp eyes around the crowd of waiting faces.
“What are you all looking at?” Charles screamed out, with the same anger Julia had heard earlier. “Huh?”
People jumped back as if he were a rabid animal ready to attack, even though he had been the one being attacked by Richard. Charles smoothed out his icy blonde hair, and pushed his way through the crowd, disappearing into the house.
“What could have gotten into Richard like that?” somebody in the crowd mused.
“I heard he was having trouble with Sally,” another said. “Right before the wedding, too.”
“I’m supposed to be making their wedding cake,” Julia thought aloud.
The chatter wore on along with the afternoon. Just when Julia finished her third sickly sweet glass of lemonade, and thought the point of the garden party had long since been lost, a long nail tapping on a microphone echoed through the crowd.
“Who in the world is that?” Jessie asked, barely able to contain her laughter.
“That’s Katie Wellington-South,” Julia said.
Jessie looked from Julia, then back to the woman teetering along the stage in platform shoes as she continued to tap her red nail on the microphone.
“You’re kidding me?” Jessie said. “That’s your step-mum?”
“She’s not our step-mum,” Sue jumped in. “And we wish we were kidding.”
They all stared at Katie, whose platinum blonde hair had been blow dried into a curly mane, thicker and longer than naturally possible. Her makeup, as usual, was bright and could be seen right at the back of the crowd. Her shirt was typically tight, cutting off above her pierced navel, and straining over her ample and artificially enhanced bosom, which sat abnormally high under her chin. As she opened her plump, glossy lips to smile, her impeccably white teeth gleamed out, brighter than the sun in the cloudless sky. A couple of people seemed shocked by the woman’s appearance, but most of Peridale already knew Katie Wellington-South and her ways.
“Is this thing on?” she mumbled, her squeaky voice causing static across the airwaves. “Brian, am I transmitting?”
Brian, who was
standing just off to the side of the stage gave Katie two enthusiastic thumbs up. He was standing behind a wheelchair, which contained a barely conscious Vincent Wellington, who was hardly recognisable behind his oxygen mask. Julia knew he wasn’t much older than Dot, but he seemed twice as old as any person she had ever met.
“Welcome, one and all,” Katie squealed, casting her beaming clown-like grin at the audience, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Can you all hear me in the back?”
There was a mumble and nodding of heads as everybody peered to the back of the crowd. Julia noticed the same perplexed and entertained looks in people’s eyes.
“Thank you all for coming here on such short notice,” Katie squealed, not seeming to realise the purpose of a microphone. “I hope you’ve all been enjoying the canapés and our special Wellington family lemonade recipe, passed down from my great-great-grandmother, Bertha Wellington.”
The woman in front of Julia let out an audible yawn. The man beside her checked his watch. Just like Julia, they hadn’t come for a history lesson, they had come to find out the mystery behind the announcement.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you are here today,” Katie said. “It’s because my husband and I have some very exciting news to share with you all. Isn’t that right, Brian? Why don’t you come up here?”
Katie motioned for Brian to join her. He shook his head and held his hands up. Katie didn’t seem to get the hint, so she teetered over to the stairs at the side of the small stage and dragged him up. He waved awkwardly into the crowd as they walked across the stage together. One person tried to start a slow round of applause; it didn’t catch.
“Hello everyone,” Brian mumbled into the microphone Katie had crammed in front of his mouth. “Thanks for coming up here today.”
Katie wrapped her arm around his waist, and Brian did the same. Their age gap was never more apparent than when they were standing side-by-side.
“How old is she?” Jessie mumbled, still clearly shocked.
“She’s the same age as me,” Julia said as coolly as she could. “She’s thirty-seven and he – my father – he is sixty-two.”
Jessie’s eyes shot open, and her hand clamped over her mouth to contain the laughter. Julia was glad their age gap amused her, because all it did for Julia was turn her stomach. She would never forget the day she found out over the phone from her gran that her father was marrying a woman the same age as her. At first she had thought it was one of her gran’s twisted jokes, but she wasn’t that lucky.
“So, our big announcement,” Katie said, letting out a small squeal of excitement. “We’re very pleased – no, not pleased. What’s the right word, baby?”
“I’m going to throw up,” Sue mumbled. “This is unbearable.”
“We’re over the moon?” Brian offered, looking a lot more uncomfortable than Katie did with the microphone in his face.
“Yes!” Katie agreed. “We’re over the moon to announce that we are turning Peridale Manor into a luxury spa!”
Katie squawked and bounced up and down on her dreadfully high heels, looking out expectantly into the crowd. Julia turned to Sue, both frowning at one another. Julia wiggled her finger in her ear, wondering if she had heard that right.
“Is that it?” Dot rolled her eyes, passing her lemonade to Julia. “Hold this. I’ve been clinging onto my bladder since she got up onto the stage. Fill me in on what I miss.”
Dot trundled through the crowd and back into the house. Julia and Sue both turned back to the stage, where Katie had stopped bouncing, and was staring disappointedly into the sea of puzzled faces.
“Not the reaction I was expecting,” she mumbled quietly into the microphone. “Let me say it again. We’re turning Peridale Manor into a luxury spa!”
“We heard you the first time!” a man heckled from the crowd.
“You called us up here for that?” a woman cried. “We thought you were pregnant!”
“Pregnant?” Katie laughed, her hand dancing over her exposed midriff. “God, no. With this figure? No. My husband and I, with the permission of my father, are turning this great manor into a spa. We’ll offer luxury beauty treatments and weekend packages for the ultimate relaxation experience!”
Katie stared into the crowd again, but she seemed to be angering people more with each word that left her glossy lips. Julia didn’t care what else happened, she was just glad her pregnancy fears had been her imagination playing tricks on her.
“How are we supposed to afford that?” Amy Clark, the elderly organist, called. “We’re regular folk with regular jobs in these parts.”
“Well, people will come from out of town to stay here for the weekend,” Katie said, a small awkward laugh escaping her lips. “It’s a good thing! Think about how all of the businesses in town will benefit from the extra tourism.”
“It’ll attract rich yuppies!” the same man from earlier cried. “They’ll treat our village like their playground!”
Katie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The crowd was growing more restless with every passing second. She dropped the microphone to her side, and started whispering into Brian’s ear. He whispered something back, and she nodded. She clicked her fingers at a tuxedo-wearing waiter who was hovering by the side of the stage. He hurried over, crammed a hard hat over Katie’s enormous hair, a heavy fluorescent jacket over her revealing outfit, and helped her switch from her platform stilettos to heavy work boots.
Now that the free food and lemonade had dried up, the chattering in the crowd grew louder and louder. People seemed less happy to stand around listening to Katie talk now that the cat was out of the bag. Katie looked out from under her yellow hardhat and lifted the microphone up to her lips again, seeming to sense the unrest.
“If you would all like to follow me in an orderly fashion, I’d like to show you the construction on our brand new outdoor pool, which will be open to all Peridale residents free of charge during the week.”
The mumbling died down a little. The sound of a free swimming pool seemed to ease the villagers.
“What about weekends?” somebody cried.
“Well, of course there will be a small charge at the weekends. Now, if you would all like to follow me.”
A couple of people started to boo the charade, but Katie was either choosing not to listen, or she couldn’t hear it under the heavy hardhat. She started walking towards the steps, assisted by Brian, who was carrying her shoes like a butler. Before she reached the edge of the stage, an invader snatched the microphone out of her hand and took the spot where she had been standing. The crowd suddenly grew silent.
“You hear that, little sister?” Charles called out through the microphone. “The people of Peridale don’t want your spa. They don’t want you to turn this great manor into a circus.”
For the first time all day, there was a cheer. Some people were even clapping. It seemed they had short memories and couldn’t remember the same man fighting on the ground not too long ago.
“This manor is a symbol of this town and it shouldn’t be touched. Who’s with me?”
Charles turned the microphone into the crowd, and a rapturous cheer crackled through the large speakers. Julia assessed Charles with caution. The argument she had heard earlier suddenly made more sense, and she was sure the intention behind Charles’ sudden bout of village pride wasn’t inspired by historical preservation.
“You ruin everything!” Katie screeched, her shrill voice traveling throughout the grounds without the aid of a microphone.
“This house will become a spa over my dead body,” Charles said firmly, before dropping the microphone and pushing his way off the stage.
The entire crowd moved towards Charles, hoping to catch a glimpse of his next actions. He disappeared around the side of the house, quickly followed by a crying and shrieking Katie, and Brian, who tried to calm his wife. Vincent was still sitting by the side of the stage, staring into space. He didn’t seem to have a clue where he was or what was goin
g on.
“Your family is nuts!” Jessie exclaimed excitedly. “What was all that about?”
Julia almost mentioned the argument she had eavesdropped upon earlier, but decided against it. There were too many pairs of ears listening for a scrap of real gossip to explain what had just happened.
“Should we go after them?” Sue asked, standing on tiptoes to look over the crowd.
“Let’s leave them,” Julia said, resting a hand on Sue’s shoulders, pushing her back into the grass. “They’ll sort it out.”
Out of nowhere, a dozen men carrying trays filled with more canapés and lemonade dispersed through the crowd. The rumbling calmed, and the free food and drinks went down a treat. Even Julia was growing to like the taste of the Wellington family lemonade. She thought she sensed a dash of grapefruit mixed in with the lemons and sugar, and made a mental note to try such a mix in a cake.
“A spa in Peridale?” Barker said as he made his way over to Julia. “I’m not so against the idea myself. I like a massage as much as the next man.”
“You city folk,” Sue said, rolling her eyes. “Full of your airs and graces. I wouldn’t mind the free pool though. I hate having to drive out of the village in the summer when I want an outdoor swim.”
“What do you think, Julia?” Jessie asked. “For or against your nutty step-mum’s spa?”
Before Julia could correct Jessie about her use of the word ‘step-mum’, the crack of shattering glass pierced through the air, silencing everything. It just so happened that Julia was facing the right way to see a man bursting through an upstairs window of the manor house, surrounded by a flurry of glass shards. He travelled noiselessly to the ground, his arms floating above his body, but not reaching out for air as Julia expected a man falling from a second story window would.
Julia heard the thud of his body hit the grass. She was in no doubt that the man was dead. Suddenly realising who the man could be, she dropped her lemonade and pushed through the crowd, not needing Barker’s police credentials to do the work for her.
With Sue hot on her heels, she burst through the ring of shocked faces that had gathered around the face down man in the grass. When Julia saw the icy blonde of Charles Wellington’s hair, she instantly felt guilty for feeling relieved that it wasn’t her father.