by Agatha Frost
"Sorry," Jeffrey said flatly as he kicked off his shoes.
Evelyn shook her head and rolled her eyes as she leant over to pick them up. She opened the front door and placed them on the doorstep. Heavy droplets of rain beat down on Evelyn’s garden from the gloomy sky above.
"I foresaw rain!" Evelyn cried proudly out into her garden. "The man on the TV said differently, but I could feel it coming."
She closed the door behind her, a satisfied smile on her face. Julia looked to Jeffrey to see his reaction, but she was surprised by his complete lack of expression. He suddenly reached out, and Julia flinched out of the way. When he closed the cellar door behind her, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She caught the letters ‘I N N O' tattooed thinly on his right knuckles, but she couldn't see the completed word on his left hand.
"There was a draft," he stated, not directing it at either of them. "I'm going up to my room."
They both watched Jeffrey climb the staircase, each step creaking under his weight as he ascended slowly. Julia didn't realise she had stopped breathing until he turned onto the landing.
"He’s not a man of many words," Evelyn muttered as she tapped her chin. "But the cards see his kind soul beneath that exterior."
"Is he a guest?" Julia asked, not wanting to admit he was the reason behind her visit.
"Of sorts," Evelyn said as she floated back into the sitting room. "He’s here for three months. Of course, I gave him a discount for such a lengthy stay."
"Three months? That's a long time."
"He’s looking for a home in the village, but you know what the Peridale property market is like. It's hard to find cottages up for sale here. Nobody ever leaves. You were lucky to get such a good deal with your cottage when you did."
"Do you know where he came from?"
"Hull," Evelyn said, her brows pinched together. "I think he’s here to start a quiet new life. I foresee him opening up soon. A man with that many tattoos must have many stories to tell."
Julia nodded her agreement as she scooped up her handbag, somehow feeling Jeffrey's eyes staring at her through the ceiling. She thought about telling Evelyn where her new guest had come from but decided it wasn't her place to out Jeffrey's time in prison.
"Thanks for the tea. It was lovely."
"You're going already?" Evelyn asked as she settled into the sofa and poured herself another cup. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"
Julia glanced up at the ceiling as she heard movement in the room directly above them. She considered asking Evelyn more about her strange new guest, but she stopped herself, unsure of what she thought her visit would achieve.
"I just wanted to see how you were," Julia lied with a smile. "I had some scones left over, and I know how much you like them."
Luckily for Julia, Evelyn didn't seem suspicious of her kindness, which immediately made her feel guilty. Evelyn scurried off to the kitchen and returned with a small bag of green tea leaves, which she thrust into Julia's hands.
"They're best when you leave them to steep for a long time," Evelyn said with a wink. "Don't be a stranger, my dear."
Julia thanked her for the tea leaves and stepped out of the B&B, looking down at the muddy running shoes on the doorstep. She hurried down the garden path, the torrential rain soaking her through in seconds. Before she unclipped the gate, she looked back at the cottage. Through the sitting room window, she saw Evelyn settling into her sofa and inhaling a fresh cup of the Moroccan tea. Julia's eyes wandered up to the window above it, sure she had just seen movement behind the sheer curtains.
Pulling up her collar, she turned on her heels and opened the gate, feeling no closer to figuring out who had ordered the wreath. What she did now understand was why Barker was so unsettled by Peridale's newest resident. As she hurried through the rain, she still felt his icy eyes burning into her skin.
"Julia!" a familiar voice cried out through the darkness. "Julia! Over here!"
She squinted in the rain to see Barker huddled in the doorway of The Plough, the light above the sign casting down on his face. She hurried across the road and joined him in the shelter.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she forced her wet hair out of her eyes.
"Went to the station, but there still wasn't any news about my job, so I thought I would come and drown my sorrows," Barker said, the stench of beer strong on his breath. "What are you doing up here?"
"I just went for a walk to clear my head," Julia lied, peering through the heavy rain to the B&B at the same time a lamp flicked on in the window above Evelyn's sitting room. "Didn't expect to get caught in a shower."
"I'm waiting for it to calm down before I walk home," Barker said, edging forward to peer up at the dark sky. "Doesn't look like it will be anytime soon."
"Well, I'm already soaked through. You could join me on my walk home?"
Barker looked at the rain bouncing off the road, and then to Julia. He wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her out into the shower with a playful smirk. Hand in hand, they hurried through the village, defying the murky clouds circling above. Julia almost led him to her car that was parked in its usual spot next to her café, but she decided she didn't want to soak her seats through, so they set off up the winding lane. As they approached Barker's cottage, the torrential downpour suddenly slowed down, and the clouds cleared a little, allowing the last light of the evening to peek through in scattered rays.
"Typical!" Barker yelled up at the sky, his hair flat over his eyes. "Just typical!"
"Are you going to invite me in?" Julia asked as she wrapped her arms around her shivering body. "A cup of hot cocoa would go down perfectly right now."
"You always have the best ideas," Barker said as he unclipped his gate. "A cup of -,"
They both stopped in their tracks at the bottom of the garden path, their eyes landing on the same thing. Something else had been left on Barker's doorstep, but this time it was something far more dangerous than a wreath; it was a body.
They slowly approached the facedown figure as though not to startle him. The rain stopped completely, allowing fresh blood to pour from the back of the man's skull, dripping down his short brown hair to mix in with the moss on Barker's doorstep.
"Call the police," Barker whispered darkly, holding a hand back to stop Julia getting any closer. "And an ambulance, although I think it's too late for that."
Julia nodded and unclipped her handbag, her fingers scrambling for her phone. As she pushed the device against her ear, she stepped back and watched as Barker carefully rolled the man over. He jumped back, both hands gripping his mouth as he stared down at the wide-eyed, pale-faced man gazing loose-jawed at the clearing sky.
"It's Jim Austen," Barker mumbled through his fingers. "It's the Chief Inspector. He's my boss."
Chapter 5
Julia watched the sun rise over her garden from her kitchen window as she hugged a hot cup of Evelyn's Moroccan tea. Mowgli jumped up onto the counter and stepped over the sink and gently nudged her. She tickled under his chin, and he purred rhythmically, his fluffy tail standing on end and flicking against the spider plant on the windowsill.
"You always know when something is wrong, don't you, boy?" Julia whispered as she set her cup down so she could pick him up. "Are you hungry?"
Mowgli clung to her robe, his claws digging through the fabric and gently pushing into her shoulder. She squeezed him tightly before setting him down by his food bowl. She glanced at the cat clock on the wall, with its swishing tail and darting eyes. It wasn't even six in the morning yet, but she emptied a pouch of cat food into his bowl all the same.
She stomped on the pedal of the bin, catching her reflection in the shiny stainless steel lid. Dark blotches circled her eyes, giving away that she hadn't been able to sleep. Every time she had tried, she had seen the glassy, lifeless eyes of Chief Inspector Austen staring up at her.
The moment she returned to her tea, a soft knock rattled the frosted pane of glass in her front door. She
hurried from the kitchen and past the sitting room, where Barker was snoring soundly in the chair by the dying fire. She pulled her robe together and opened the door, relieved to see DS Forbes.
"Sorry it's so early, Julia," Bradley said, his plump red cheeks burning brightly in the early morning cold. "Is Barker still here? The forensics team has finished at his cottage."
"He's here. Please, come in."
Bradley bowed his head and stepped inside. He walked into the sitting room and cleared his throat. Barker sat up straight, his eyes springing open. He stared around the room after rubbing them, before landing on Bradley with a startled look.
"DS Forbes," Barker croaked as he ran his hands down his face. "Any news?"
Bradley sat on the couch, so Julia perched on the edge of Barker's armchair so she could rest a hand on his back. She rubbed gently, and he smiled appreciatively up at her.
"Jim's wife, Pauline, hasn't taken it too well," Bradley cooed, his voice catching. "He was due to retire next year. Their first grandchild is on the way too."
Barker dropped his face into his hands and let out a small groan. Julia gripped his shoulders to let him know that she was still there, but it didn't appear to make a difference.
"This is all my fault," Barker whispered through his fingers. "He would never have died if it wasn't for me."
"He was struck with a rock, which appeared to have killed him quite quickly," Bradley said, reading aloud from a small notepad. "They're estimating that the time of death was between half past five and six in the evening, which means he hadn't been dead long when you found him. The rain has washed away most trace evidence, so there wasn't much forensics could pick up, but they spent all night trying anyway. Jim is – I mean - he was a good man. They're doing the best they can for him. So far, it's looking like a mugging gone wrong. His pockets were completely empty, and nobody has been able to find his phone. We've put a trace out for it, but if it's not used, it's not going to be easy to track down."
"This wasn't random," Barker muttered, lifting his head from his hands for the first time since Bradley had started talking. "This was about me."
"It's just a coincidence," Julia whispered, clenching his shoulder again. "There's no way you could have known."
Barker shrugged Julia off and started pacing back and forth across the hearthrug, his hands firmly clenched in his hair.
"This is connected to the wreath," Barker stated. "It's so obvious. Whoever killed Jim thought they were killing me. People always used to joke that we looked the same from behind. We got our hair cut by the same person, and we were the same height. He was coming to see me, and whoever left that wreath was waiting for me to get home, and they struck, but they got the wrong man."
"You never officially reported the wreath," Bradley reminded him. "It's better that it comes from you, rather than me. I don't want to land me in trouble too."
Bradley attempted to chuckle, but it came out flatly, leaving behind a thick silence in its wake. Barker walked over to the window and stared out at the fields ahead with his hands pressed up against the thin glass.
"This was personal," Barker said. "Somebody wanted to kill me."
"Julia's right, it could just be a coincidence," Bradley said, his tone low. "Although I have to admit, it does look suspicious. You'll both be expected to give official statements at the station later today, but you already know that."
"I suppose you want our alibis?" Barker asked coldly without turning around.
"You know it's just routine, boss."
"I was in the pub from three until six," Barker said. "Half a dozen people saw me there, including Shelby and Bob. I was outside of the pub waiting for the rain to stop for approximately two minutes when Julia walked by. We then walked home together and – well – you know the rest."
"And Julia?" Bradley murmured after he finished scribbling down what Barker had just told him. "Where were you before you met up with Barker?"
Julia moved from the chair arm to the seat, shifting uncomfortably as she stared at the back of Barker's head. She didn't want to admit that she had lied to him, even if it was before they had found the poor man's body. Now wasn't the time to continue that lie.
"I was visiting Evelyn's B&B," Julia said as she stared down at her hands in her lap. "I left my café at half past five, which my lodger can account for. I then walked up to the B&B, which took around two minutes. Evelyn will be able to tell you my exact time of arrival. I wasn't sure of the time I left, but it was less than a minute before I saw Barker."
"The important thing is you're both accounted for at the time of the death, and long before it," Bradley said, snapping his pad shut after scribbling more notes. "It will make it easy to eliminate both of you really quickly so we can find the monster that did this to Jim."
Julia smiled her thanks, even if she could feel the tension radiating from Barker after learning the truth of where she had really been after finishing work.
"Can I make you a cup of tea?" Julia asked, sensing the awkward silence that was growing between them. "Or perhaps make you something to eat? You must be starving after working all night."
"I should get going," Bradley said with an apologetic smile as he pushed himself off the sofa, his large stomach hanging low over his belt. "Barker, I know people at the station would like to hear from you. They're all pretty shook up about this."
Barker nodded, but he still didn't turn around. Clutching her robe together, Julia showed Bradley to the door and thanked him for stopping by. She waited until he was at the bottom of her garden path so she could wave him off, before turning and walking slowly back into the sitting room, where the tension was almost palpable.
"Why didn't you tell me you went to check up on Jeffrey Taylor?" Barker asked as he finally turned around.
"It wasn't like that."
"What was it like then, Julia?" The sudden increase in tone took her by surprise. "Because it seems like you enjoy sneaking around behind people's backs."
"I didn't know this was going to happen!" she snapped back, her arms folding firmly across her chest. "I just wanted to see Jeffrey for myself, and maybe ask him straight if he sent the wreath to scare you. I didn't even get a chance. He's intense, and I didn't speak two words to the man."
"I could have told you that," Barker mumbled as he brushed past her, grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch. "I told you about the Jeffrey Taylor case to stop you looking for information. You have no right sniffing around in my past, but you just can't help yourself."
Julia watched as he stormed towards the door, confused at what had just happened. She chased after him, catching the door before it slammed in the frame.
"Where are you going?" she called out as he hurried down the lane.
"To give my statement.”
She stood on her doorstep, watching open-mouthed until Barker finally disappeared around the bend towards his cottage. Her closest neighbour, Emily Burns, was already in her garden, although her eyes were glued on Julia. She didn’t doubt news of their argument would spread around the village before noon. When she finally turned around, she wasn't surprised to see Jessie standing in her bedroom doorway in her black pyjamas.
"Lovers’ tiff?" Jessie asked sympathetically.
"To be honest with you, I don't know what that was," Julia said, shaking her head. "Sit down, and I'll make you some breakfast."
She closed the front door, and they both walked through to the kitchen arm in arm. Julia pulled eggs from the fridge, cracking them one by one into a bowl. She added salt, pepper, and a splash of milk, then poured them into a hot frying pan. As she scrambled the eggs with a fork, Jeffrey Taylor's dirty running shoes flashed into her mind, and she realised he was likely out and about in the village at the same time Jim Austen was murdered. She wished she had remembered that during Barker’s outburst because it might have helped her case.
Chapter 6
After a nap and a shower, Julia pottered around her cottage, unable to rest because al
l she could think about was Barker. She hovered over his number on her phone more than once but stopped herself from pressing the green call button. He needed space and he would talk to her when he was ready.
Instead, she did the only thing she knew to do in times of trouble; she baked. She poured her frustration and guilt into a new version of the chocolate cake, this time substituting the cow’s milk for chocolate oat milk to create an even richer taste. When she finished glazing the cake in glossy icing, she dropped a glacé black cherry on top.
She took a step back from the cake to assess her work, wishing Barker were there to taste the first slice. During her baking, she had come to the conclusion that she owed Barker a big apology for going behind his back. She realised that figuring out life’s jigsaw puzzles meant nothing if she didn’t put those she loved before her urge to discover the truth.
With Jessie looking after the café and Mowgli chasing birds around the garden, Julia boxed up the cake and decided to turn to the one person who had always been there for her in times of need.
Cake in hand, Julia set off walking into the village. When she reached Barker’s cottage, she paused to stare at the doorstep, the body still fresh in her mind. She looked into Barker’s sitting room window, but he didn’t appear to be home. She checked the silver watch on her wrist, wondering if he could still possibly be giving his statement.
When she reached her gran’s cottage, it felt like coming home. It was a place she had found solace many times in her life. It had been there for her during her mother’s death when she was a little girl, and then two decades later after her husband, Jerrad, had kicked her out of their London apartment, and it was there for her today when she needed somebody to lean on. Of course, she knew it was really her gran, and not the building that provided the deep-rooted feeling of home, but it was comforting seeing the cottage almost completely unchanged from her childhood.