by Agatha Frost
“Of course,” he said as they walked back through to the grand entrance hall. “It’s upstairs, second door on the left.”
Julia hurried up the staircase, feeling her father’s eyes on her with every step. She turned the corner, and walked towards the bathroom, making her way further down to hall. The broken window had already been replaced, making it feel like nothing had happened at all. The display plinth was still empty, but the dust had since been polished away. Julia knew there was one overlooked person in the house who would know exactly what had been there, but she was sure that Hilary wouldn’t be so quick to offer Julia any information.
After a minute passed, Julia turned to walk back towards the staircase. If her father had been there, she would have had to make her way back downstairs and abandon her plan. Luckily, he wasn’t, so she hurried along the hallway, her tiny kitten heels clicking loudly on the polished mahogany floorboards.
The layout of the manor was a mystery to her, with dozens of different doors lining the long hall. Very soon, those rooms would be full of spa visitors enjoying whatever Katie had to offer them.
Along with the murder, the spa was also a popular topic of conversation in her café at the moment, with most of the villagers firmly against it, even if they were offering free use of the pool to residents during the week. As a business owner, Julia was undecided. The new tourists in town would likely give her profits a little boost, but the thought of the village changing in any way made her tummy ache. While the rest of the world was constantly shifting and evolving, Peridale had stayed as it always had, and that’s why she loved it.
Ignoring all of the other doors, Julia went straight to the room Katie and Charles had been arguing in, on the morning of his death. On her way, she caught a glimpse of Vincent sitting in front of a TV in his wheelchair. She thought they locked eyes, but she decided it was her imagination playing tricks on her.
After knocking softly on the wood, Julia crept into the room when there was no reply. She realised instantly that this was her father and Katie’s room. The nude portraits of Katie that Barker had spoken of littered the walls. Julia wasn’t a prude, but the narcissism made her feel uneasy. The wallpaper behind the portraits was blood red and ink black damask, giving the room a seedier feeling than the rest of the manor.
Ignoring all of this, Julia went straight to the walk-in closet to find exactly what she was looking for. The floor was lined with hundreds of pairs of designer heels. Julia didn’t understand what a woman could do with so many pairs of shoes. She owned a couple of pairs of work shoes, some flat and some with small heels depending on how she felt, and a single pair of black high heels, which she had only worn once, despite Sue buying them for her years ago.
Julia plucked a shoe out at random to look at the size printed on the sole. Just to be sure, she picked up a couple more shoes to check they were all the same size, which they were. They were all size eight, which was an above average size for a woman Katie’s height, but not uncommon.
Leaving the shoes exactly where she had found them, Julia turned and walked back into the bedroom knowing her father could walk in at any moment. On her way past the window she looked out into the rain. The heavy clouds circled above, making it look as though it was virtually dusk, not nearly noon.
She then noticed a yellow light in the darkness. Squinting, she spotted the builder’s cabin stationed at the far end of the garden. Next to the cabin, the rain was bouncing off the roof of a car she immediately recognised as Joanne’s. The Lewis house had been next on Julia’s list, so she hurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs, ready to kill two birds with one stone.
“Ah, there you are,” her father said, appearing from a door when she reached the bottom of the stairs. “I thought you had already gone.”
“Women’s troubles,” she said quickly, knowing he wouldn’t ask any more questions. “Dad, can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can,” he said, suddenly looking nervous.
“Where were you when Charles was pushed from the window?”
Brian pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest, appearing to be considering if he should tell Julia. She knew she was going out on a limb, but he had told her the truth about him and Katie trying for a baby, so it was worth a shot.
“I was in the grounds looking for Katie,” he said, his eyes dark and piercing. “After Charles ruined her speech, she ran off looking for him. When she didn’t find him in the house, she ran off into the grounds before I could stop her. I went looking for her, but I couldn’t find her, so I went back to the house where she was drinking whiskey in my study. She said she couldn’t find him so she looped around and came to find me, but needed something to calm her nerves. Then we came out, and that’s when we saw what had happened.”
“Is that what you told the police?” Julia asked.
“I told them the truth,” he said with a firm nod. “I know what you’re trying to suggest, Julia. Katie didn’t kill her brother.”
“I should get going,” Julia said, setting off towards the door. “I’ve left Jessie in charge of the café.”
Brian walked her to the grand entrance, opening the door for her. They stood and looked out into the rain for a moment. He looked as if he might say something, but he didn’t. Julia wondered if he knew he had just told her that Katie’s alibi was a lie, therefore putting her alone in the house at the time of her brother’s murder. Were those boot prints really the boots Katie had put on in front of a crowd of people? Even if they were the right size, Julia didn’t want to rule anything out yet, even if the evidence was mounting up.
Julia hurried through the rain towards her car, the shower instantly soaking her through. She flicked on her headlights, watching as the rain bounced against the gravel driveway. Her father lingered at the front door, so she started to reverse slowly into a U-turn. When he finally closed the door, she looped around and pulled up next to Joanne’s car.
Julia jumped out of her car and walked past Joanne’s, the rain continuing to stick her dress to her skin. Through the yellow light piercing the closed blinds, there were two figures, one of them pacing back and forth. Julia crept up the couple of steps towards the door of the cabin. She was about to knock, but through the din of the rain, a woman’s voice floated through. Pressing her ear up against the white plastic door, she recognised the voice as Joanne’s.
“You should be glad he’s dead!” Joanne cried. “He’s done us all a favour. Without this job, we’d be ruined.”
“Joanne, just -,” said a man, who she recognised as Terry.
“Don’t tell me to calm down! You gambled away our future. You gambled away your son’s future. We’re hanging on by a thread, and this job is the only thing that is coming to save us. When was the last time you got us a job like this? Huh? You haven’t in years. You got us into this mess, so you can fix it.”
“Joanne, just listen -,”
“Terry!” she shrieked. “There’s nothing you can say to make this better. I’m tired of this. I’m going, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t follow me.”
Julia quickly ducked under the window and darted around the far side of the building, pushing her body up against the cabin wall. She heard the door open and seconds later, Joanne’s engine roared to life. Holding her breath and closing her eyes, she stood frozen against the wall as the rain pelted against her. She didn’t dare breathe until Joanne’s car drove past her and sped away from the cabin.
Not wanting to chance being caught by Terry, she walked around the back of the cabin, her tiny heels sinking into the mud. The suction of the mud pulled off her left shoe, her bare foot planting in the sludge, her toes dancing in the filth. Hands outstretched and water in her eyes she bent down to pick up her shoe, but she fell forward, landing hands and knees in the mud. It took all her power not to cry out.
She touched the heel of her shoe, so she pulled it out of the mud, deciding it was better to carry it back to her car. Soaked and filt
hy, she tiptoed through the torrent.
Keeping her headlights turned off, Julia reversed through the dark and drove quicker than she ever had, until she was pulling up outside of her cottage.
As she quickly showered so she could go back to the café clean and fresh, Joanne’s words were circling around her mind.
‘You should be glad he’s dead. You got us into this mess.’
Julia hurried into her café under the protection of an umbrella. She wasn’t surprised to see that it was almost empty, except for one customer. What she was surprised to see was Sally sitting at the table nearest the counter. When Jessie and Sally both turned to look at who had just walked through the door, they both looked extremely relieved to see Julia.
“I was beginning to think you would never come back,” Jessie whispered to her as Julia hung her raincoat up in the kitchen. “There was a huge rush of people when the rain started.”
“It’s good practice,” Julia said. “How long has Sally been here?”
“About twenty minutes,” Jessie said as she looked down at Julia’s dress. “You weren’t wearing that when you left.”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”
Julia adjusted her hair in the reflection of a knife, brushed down the creases in the blue dress she hadn’t had time to iron, and walked through to the café and straight to Sally.
Julia noticed how different she looked from the last time she had seen her. It looked as though she had had a good night’s sleep, her mousy hair was perfectly straight despite the rain, she was wearing a full face of makeup, and she was smiling. Julia sensed some nerves coming from Sally, but she understood them because she could guess what Sally was about to tell her.
“The wedding is back on,” Sally said cautiously. “We’ve decided to give things another go.”
“That’s great news,” Julia said, unsure if it was. “I suppose you’re here to reorder your wedding cake?”
“You’re a mind reader, Julia,” Sally said, her fingers fumbling with her engagement ring. “Although can we just have a simple sponge this time? Richard never liked the idea of a cinnamon, rose and orange cake anyway.”
Julia nodded, wondering if this second attempt at their engagement had come with some strict conditions. Looking into Sally’s eyes, Julia sensed uneasiness in them, even if she was trying to hide it behind a smile. Her mascara and elaborate eye shadow were distracting, but not enough to hide the fact she had recently been crying.
“Forgive me if I’m talking out of turn, but I wanted to ask you a question about Charles,” Julia said quietly, leaning across the table.
“Charles?” Sally’s false smile suddenly dropped, and her bottom lip started to tremble. “What about him?”
Before Julia could say another word, her café door opened, and a dark figure walked in from the rain. They all turned to watch as Richard pulled his hood down, his eyes honing in on Sally.
“I’ve been waiting for you in the car,” Richard said, his voice flat and empty.
“I was waiting for Julia to get back,” Sally explained, the shake in her voice obvious.
“Have you asked her about the cake?”
“Yes.”
“And told her you don’t want that stupid flavour?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go,” Richard said, his dark eyes landing on Julia as he reopened the door.
Sally pulled on her jacket, and without another word headed straight for Richard. Something red caught Julia’s attention against the whiteness of her door. Richard’s knuckles were covered in cuts, but they weren’t fresh; they had started to scab over.
“What a weirdo,” Jessie said loudly when they both left the café. “What does she see in him?”
“Sally dreams of the happily ever after. She will do whatever it takes to get it, even if that means sacrifice.”
“I think women like that are dumb,” Jessie said, smacking her gum against her tongue, which Julia had told her she wasn’t allowed to chew behind the counter. “You wouldn’t catch me dead bowing to a man like that.”
“I did for a while,” Julia said, holding her hand out under Jessie’s mouth for her to spit out the gum. “When Richard attacked Charles at the garden party, did he actually hit him?”
Jessie reluctantly spat the gum into Julia’s palm. She screwed up her face, thinking about it for a moment, before looking down her nose at Julia in the way she did.
“Nope,” she said firmly. “Your boyfriend dragged Richard off before he got a chance.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Julia corrected her as she tied her apron around her waist. “Although I do need to talk to him.”
“Are you going to ask him on that date?”
“He already asked me again,” Julia said, a smile spreading across her face, but then quickly vanishing when she remembered what day it was. “It’s tonight!”
“Oh, please,” Jessie said, rolling her eyes as she walked through the beads into the kitchen. “A moment while I vomit.”
She let the excitement spread through her for a minute while Jessie was in the kitchen. She bit into her lip, wondering if she had anything suitable for a date in the back of her wardrobe.
“Close your eyes,” Sue demanded as she moved towards Julia with a small makeup brush. “Stop fidgeting!”
“It tickles,” Julia said. “How much longer is this going to take?”
“Miracles don’t happen without a lot of praying,” Sue mumbled as she took a step back from Julia. “Needs more wing.”
Julia attempted to look in the mirror that Sue had been blocking with her body since insisting on doing Julia’s makeup. She had foolishly called her sister to ask for some advice on what she should wear, so when Sue showed up at her door ten minutes later clutching a trunk filled with more makeup than Julia knew what to do with, she instantly regretted calling her sister.
“Barker isn’t going to be able to resist you when he sees you,” Sue said, clearly pleased with her handiwork. “I’ve never seen you look so feminine.”
“I don’t know if that was a compliment or an insult.”
“Both,” Sue said. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
Julia did as she was told. Her lids felt heavy under the weight of the eye shadow Sue had been precisely applying for the last twenty minutes, as did the rest of her face. She felt like she was wearing a mask; something she wasn’t at all used to. She wasn’t opposed to a little mascara or lipstick every now and then, but it wasn’t practical to apply a full face of makeup before baking in the morning.
“Barker has seen me before,” Julia said, trying her best to look past her sister to the mirror. “He knows exactly what I look like.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a little enhancement,” Sue said as she dug in her trunk for more makeup. “A little highlight and I think we’re done.”
“I don’t think my face can take anymore.”
“It’s the final touch. I promise. It’ll just bring the whole thing together.”
Sue swirled a clean brush in a compact of sparkly powder, which kicked up a small cloud of glittery dust. She dusted the powder on her cheeks, nose and cupids bow until she seemed satisfied that she had done her absolute most to make Julia look presentable for her date. When she was done, she stepped back, a proud grin spreading from ear to ear.
“You look like you’re going to cry,” Julia mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, scared to move in case the mask fell off.
“You look beautiful!” Sue said, clasping her hands together under her chin. “Oh, Julia. You look so beautiful.”
Sue stepped to the side to finally let Julia see what she had done. Squinting in the dim light of her bedroom, Julia moved closer to her dressing table mirror. Her heart rate doubled in an instant.
“I look – I look-,”
“Beautiful!”
“Like a clown!” Julia cried, moving even closer to the mirror. “I don’t even look like myself.”
; “That’s the whole point!”
Julia closed one eye to get a better look at the black powder smoking up to her brow, unsure if it had been Sue’s intention to make her look like a panda. Her cheeks were striped silver, pink and brown, bringing to mind Neapolitan ice-cream.
“I look like The Joker!” Julia moaned, pulling apart her sticky, red lips. “I look like a clown!”
“It’ll look better when I’ve finished your hair,” Sue said, already twisting Julia’s wavy hair around the barrel of a curling iron. “Trust me.”
Julia sat back in the chair and stared at her reflection, and for a moment she almost did submit to her sister’s pruning. The heat of the curling iron sizzling against her scalp snapped her to her senses, and she sprang forward and out of the chair.
“This isn’t me!” Julia said, clutching the small burn on the back of her head. “I’m sorry, Sue, but this isn’t me.”
Leaving her sister, Julia opened her bedroom door and walked through to the sitting room, where Jessie was flicking through the TV guide and drawing moustaches on the women. Julia needed an opinion she could trust, and she trusted Jessie’s without question.
“Jessie?” Julia asked, resting her hands on her hips. “How do I look?”
Jessie mumbled her acknowledgment of Julia’s presence but continued to perfect her moustache on a soap star’s upper lip. Her tongue poked thoughtfully out of the corner of her mouth as she assessed her handiwork. Julia cleared her throat, and Jessie’s head snapped up.
“Oh my God,” Jessie spluttered loudly, not even trying to hold back her laughter. “What did she do to you?”
That was all Julia needed to hear. She turned on her bare heels and marched back into her bedroom.
“It’s too much,” Julia said as she looked around for her makeup wipes. “I have twenty minutes to look like myself before Barker is outside of my cottage.”
“Julia!” Sue cried, pouting like she did whenever she didn’t get her own way. “I’ve spent an hour working on that!”