Christmas Trees

by Poppy Blake

  “And when you were overheard arguing with Theo, you were pleading with him to remain silent?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you have ample motive for wanting to harm Theo, maybe to shut him up for good?”

  “No! Well, yes, I wanted him to keep quiet about what I’d done, but I would never do anything to hurt him! We’ve been friends for years, before I was married we spent most summer weekends cycling all over the country. But Zara never liked him, so our friendship has cooled a bit over the last few years.”

  “Did you cheat on your wife before you had children?”

  “No!” Sam glared at Matt. “What do you take me for? It was a temporary blip when I was away from my family that I’ve regretted ever since.”

  “Did you think Theo being godfather to your children would secure his silence about your affair?”

  “Maybe, but even if I did, I had nothing to do with his accident!”

  “Thank you for your honesty,” said Rosie, a maelstrom of emotions swirling through her stomach. She couldn’t believe what Sam had just confessed, and whilst he looked genuinely contrite, she had trouble feeling sorry for him.

  “Okay, well, I think I’d better get back to the lodge. Zara will be wondering where I’ve disappeared to.”

  Sam almost sprinted from the snug, his shoulders hunched under the burden of guilt, and a good few inches shorter than when he’d arrived.

  “Oh, God, yet another member of the advance wedding party with a reason for wanting Theo to suffer!” groaned Matt. “I don’t want to broadcast the details of his personal life, or to cause any unnecessary heartache to Zara unless we absolutely have to. What do you think?”

  “I agree, but clearly Theo didn’t feel the same way.”

  Another random piece of the jigsaw puzzle had been collected, she thought, but obviously they were slotting them in in the wrong order because the picture was no clearer than when they had started their investigation. Okay, they had a list of characters that had been invited to attend Grace and Josh’s wedding, but as yet they didn’t know the plot-line, let alone the epilogue, and time was running out. Unless they unmasked the perpetrator in the next forty-eight hours Grace’s hope of having a wedding day free from anxiety was resting on nothing but quicksand.

  Rosie raised her eyes to meet Matt’s and experienced a surge of pleasure. There was no one else she would rather spend her free time with, even if they seemed to be making a habit of investigating mysteries, and it was time to talk to him about Harry’s offer, to explain her deep-seated fear of losing her home again, how she was haunted by what had happened in her childhood and the insecurity her mother’s breakdown had wreaked on the family still grieving after her father’s death. Choosing to stay at the café was a risky decision, especially if the food poisonings, shootings and cycle accidents continued. Could she contemplate flying into her future without the benefit of a safety net?

  Chapter 10

  Friday morning’s dawn chorus was lacklustre and feeble, as though the birds were expressing their disapproval of the grey, drizzly weather. Against all the odds, Rosie had slept well and she leapt from her bed to rinse away any remaining cobwebs in the shower. As she towel-dried her voluminous hair, she took a few moments to enjoy the view from her bedroom window. The silver-grey majesty of the North Sea rippled in the distance like a sheet of mercury under the leaden skies, whilst the undulating fields in the foreground were colourless and melancholic.

  She couldn’t believe Christmas Eve was only two days away, which also meant that so was Grace and Josh’s wedding, and the bottom fell from her stomach like a penny down a well as she contemplated the list of things she needed to accomplish before then. She scoured her brain for inspiration, hoping that her good night’s sleep had allowed the little grey cells to work subconsciously on the conundrum whirling around her brain. But, of course, she drew a blank.

  As she applied a slick of mascara, her thoughts lingered on her father, his smiling face encouraging her to consider as many theories and scenarios as possible. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have him next to her, sitting at her dressing table, urging her to keep plodding on, helping her to dissect the facts they had gathered so far. But he wasn’t there; he hadn’t been there for fifteen years and his loss still hurt.

  “Rosie? Are you up there?”

  Rosie smiled. She couldn’t indulge her sadness for long when she had a friend like Mia.

  “I am. Come on up.”

  “Hi. Is the kettle on?”

  “Of course! Isn’t it always?”

  “I take it you and Matt are no nearer to finding out who sneaked into the woods in the dead of night and rigged up that cheese wire to garrotte any unsuspecting passing cyclist?”

  “Correct.”

  Rosie pulled a face when she sipped her coffee, realising she had forgotten to add milk. The taste of strong black coffee lingered on her tongue like dark molasses.

  “Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you look exhausted.”

  “Cheers, Mia. Just what I was hoping to hear this morning.”

  “When was the last time you took some time out to enjoy yourself? To do something just for you; not running the café, not organising the Christmas tree competition, not designing wedding bouquets, and not starring in the lead role of private detective?”

  “I love doing all those things.”

  “All I’m saying is that you have to take a break, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. You can’t possibly function properly when you’re tired. Sometimes, when you take a step back, you see things you wouldn’t normally see when you’re submerged beneath all the detail.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  Rosie groaned inwardly when she saw the triumphant smile on Mia’s face and wished she had put up more of a fight. There was still so much to do – mainly making sure the contestants had everything they needed before Reverend Coulson arrived sporting his judge’s badge on Saturday lunchtime.

  “Walk this way, Miss Barnes. Oh, and you might want to grab a warm jacket, and maybe a bobble hat, a scarf and some gloves.”

  Rosie shot a worried glance across at Mia whose eyes sparkled with mischief as she shook her head to indicate she had no intention of spilling the beans. She followed her friend, noticing for the first time the outrageously over-the-top green elf boots she was wearing – complete with sleigh bells on the tassels. It wasn’t long before she realised that Mia was leading her to the car park where she saw Matt’s SUV chugging at rest.

  “Okay, so you two kids have fun, and when you get back I’ll have every one of our competitors ship-shape and ready to showcase their amazing trees tomorrow.”

  “Mia, I—”

  Her heart ballooned with gratitude, not only for Mia’s unwavering support, but for every single one of the friends she had made in Willerby. Carole, Roger and Grace, Freddie and Archie, but most of all Matt who seemed to have the inherent knack of knowing exactly when to provide a diversion from the hectic hustle and bustle of life as a café and holiday site manager. She sent up a missive of thankfulness to her guardian angel that she had been bestowed with such good fortune.

  “Thanks, Mia.”

  She suddenly couldn’t get any more words out because her throat had tightened with emotion. Mia nodded in silent understanding, swivelled on her heels and sashed towards the marquee humming a rendition of Do They Know It’s Christmas.

  “Hi Matt. So, what’s Mia organised for us?”

  “Wait and see!”

  Matt beamed at her, and instead of the gesture putting her mind at rest it had the opposite effect. She knew him well enough now to suspect that the gleam in his eyes meant she was about to be the victim of another one of his ‘give everything a go’ ripostes. She thought of arguing with him but decided to go with the flow – an altogether new experience for her.

  Unfortunately, the meteorological gods were playing for the opposing team that morning and the ever-present drizzle painted a gloss on th
e slate roof tiles of the cottages in the village blurring their sharp edges. But she was determined to ignore the weather and enjoy whatever Matt had planned for them despite the niggle of nerves in the base of her stomach because she knew it would probably involve some sort of strenuous activity.

  She settled into her seat and surveyed her companion from beneath her lashes. In profile, Matt was as attractive as ever in his black jeans and Ultimate Adventures logoed sweater. The collar was open to reveal a smattering of chest hair and a ripple of desire joined her apprehension. It occurred to her that whenever she sat next to Matt Wilson her emotions churned uncontrollably, whether that was an overflow of discomfort whenever she visited him in the messy kitchen at his office, pleasure when he had suggested they work together on the investigation, or the concoction of nervousness and sexual attraction that was whipping through her veins at the present moment. Being with Matt was hazardous whichever way she looked at it, and she had an inkling that the situation was only going to magnify over the next few hours.

  Her eyes lingered on the way his hand draped across the steering wheel; sure, relaxed, confident. Why had he insisted on keeping the activity they were on their way to a secret? But she knew the answer – Matt had expected her to refuse, to plead a more urgent engagement. And he was right. After all, she was a sunshine addict, not a rain dancer! Panic started its insidious coil around her abdomen and she began to feel lightheaded.

  “Matt, I really—”

  “What’s the matter? Your face looks like a slab of my mother’s pastry.”

  “I think your idea of having fun and mine reside at opposite sides of the Richter scale. Can’t we just—”

  “Are you telling me that you’re frightened of trying something new? Aren’t you always telling me that you love experimenting.”

  “In the kitchen! With new recipes and ingredients! Or with the most exotic flowers and tropical foliage I can get my hands on! Yes!”

  Matt chuckled. “Ah, there she is! The Rosie Barnes I know and love!”

  Rosie gawped at what he had just said but the SUV took a sudden sharp left through the gates of Ultimate Adventures and she had to grab onto her seat to steady herself and the moment was lost. When they arrived at the reception lodge, the next, and more welcome sensation in her kaleidoscope of emotions was relief. Although an hour on the climbing wall would not have been her first choice of activity, it beat the spots off anything airborne.

  “Are you ready to indulge your inner ape?”

  “Ape? What are you talking about?”

  Rosie followed Matt’s eyes into the leafy canopy overhead and the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

  “No way! No, absolutely not!”

  “Hi Rosie,” called Grace, emerging from the reception with Josh and Freddie in her wake; all three of them were dressed for the activity Matt had planned in safety helmets, and knee and elbow pads. “I wasn’t sure whether Matt would be able to persuade you to join us. I’m glad he did – this is definitely going to be the best stress-busting activity ever!”

  Rosie stared at Grace, struggling to formulate an answer that wouldn’t make her look like either a petulant toddler who had been forced to leave her toys and come out to play with the big boys and girls, or just a plain old wimp. She cast her eyes around the clearing that housed the Ultimate Adventures office and shuddered when she saw the quad bikes and mountaineering gear through the open door of the on-site storeroom, a separate wooden structure at the back of the reception lodge.

  The only sound in the woodland, apart from the melody of birdsong, was the persistent beat of her heart thumping through her eardrums and pumping adrenalin around her body. However, hadn’t she felt exactly the same before she’d embarked on the field archery course Matt had introduced her to a couple of months ago and she had loved that!

  “Had to keep Rosie in the dark about our final destination, but I think we’re good to go.”

  “Well, trust me, Rosie; you’re in for a real treat! You’ll love the obstacle course!”

  “The obstacle course?”

  She should have known it would be something like this, and whilst she was alarmed about making her debut on Matt’s famous assault course, not to mention the certainty that she would end up covered from head-to-toe in mud, she was relieved that her approaching humiliation was going to take place on terra firma and not high up in the treetops. She decided to be grateful for small mercies – just looking up at the zip wire overhead gave her vertigo.

  Rosie knew how much effort Matt had put into designing the Ultimate Adventures assault course when he’d stepped into his father’s shoes after his death, and how proud he was of his achievement. It was the most popular activity at the outward-bound centre. So, she straightened her shoulders, raised her chin and inhaled a long revitalising breath; the woody aroma of crushed pine needles and mulched bark tickled at her nostrils and calmed her nerves a little. A least she wouldn’t have an audience for her approaching mortification.

  Matt disappeared into the storeroom and returned with their safety equipment. Under his careful instruction, she wriggled into the elbow and knees pads, pulled her helmet over her curls, and went to stand next to Grace and Josh to listen to Freddie’s safety briefing – which Rosie knew was solely for her benefit. Every word caused a helix of alarm to wind its way ever tighter through her body, but she refused to let her fears beat her. She was determined to grab this chance to be brave, to make her father, and Matt, proud of her.

  Fortunately, the weather gods’ mood had improved and they were now smiling down on the group by sending shafts of diaphanous sunlight through the branches overhead causing shadows to dance on the forest floor. She gritted her teeth, mainly to stop them chattering, and plastered a smile on her face.

  “Okay, Rosie, are you ready?” said Freddie, his eyes sympathetic when he saw her smile falter into doubt. “Don’t worry, I’ll go first, with Grace and Josh next, and then it’s your turn. Matt has volunteered to bring up the rear guard so he can be on hand to offer help if you need it. We’ve decided that as this is just for fun, we’re not going to race against the clock, but instead everyone should collect their coloured disc at the end of every obstacle for the reason that will become clear at the end. Right, have fun!”

  Freddie gave everyone a fist bump and led the group to the first challenge – an assortment of sturdy wooden stepping stones protruding from what looked to Rosie like her father’s compost heap and smelt almost exactly the same. She suspected that if she fell off before she got to the end, she’d been sucked into its depths like quicksand, never to be seen again.

  With astonishing speed, her three friends dashed across the quagmire of leaves and mulch, their knees pumping like pistons as they navigated each trunk. Rosie gulped and tossed a nervous glance over her shoulder at Matt. He gave her a smile and a brief nod of encouragement, and she began her slow negotiation of the first obstacle, building up a momentum that helped her to get to the other side without incident.

  A feeling of intense relief and accomplishment seeped into her veins and she turned around to beam at Matt until he indicated the next challenge and her stomach performed a somersault.

  “What am I supposed to do here?”

  She heard the wobble of trepidation in her voice as she contemplated what lay ahead. There was no sign of Freddie, Grace or Josh because they had forged on ahead, but also due to the towering pyramid of intertwined rope that was blocking her view.

  “Climb up onto the platform, grab hold of the rope, and swing yourself over the water to the other side. Don’t forget to grab onto the rope-netting when you land or you’ll tumble into the trough - and trust me you don’t want to do that - then climb to the top of the apex and down the other side. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Before she could formulate a persuasive argument in support of a retreat back to the comfort and warmth of the lodge, Matt had urged her forward. She grasped her courage by the scruff of its neck, coming to the conclusion that
it really didn’t pay to think too carefully about what she was faced with, just to fling herself at whatever lay in front of her and hope for the best.

  She grabbed the rope, pulled it taut and leapt from the platform, landing in an ungainly heap on the netting. She managed to scramble upright, but struggled to climb to the top, instantly regretted her agreement to let Matt take up the ‘rear guard’ because it meant he had a glorious view of her swinging behind. However, despite her palms smarting from the rub of the rope, when she reached the other side of the pyramid she felt on top of the world.

  “Yay! I did it! I did it!”

  Rosie pogoed on the spot clapping her hands just like Mia would have done, and the exhilaration of what she had achieved gave her the impetus to contemplate the next obstacle. However, before she stepped forward she remembered to jog over to the green wooden box at the side of the pathway that ran alongside the course to grab her yellow disc and store it in her pocket.

  “Enjoy that?” asked Matt, sweeping elegantly to her side a few moments later.

  “It was amazing!”

  Their eyes met for a brief moment and Rosie struggled with the intensity of the emotions that swirled through her body. A sudden impulse to reach up and kiss Matt was almost too much to resist.

  “On to the next challenge then.”

  She followed the direction of Matt’s finger to where a collection of gates, hedges, fences and wooden barrels were strategically placed for a challenge that looked to Rosie like a show jumping gymkhana, complete with the water ditch.

  “Want me to go first?”

  “Please.”

  She watched Matt vault over the jumps like a seasoned Olympic athlete before grasping a parallel handrail of rope to help him balance as he strolled across a series of twelve wooden barrels that rotated with every step he took. Finally, he performed a flying leap over the ditch at the end.