Castle on the Hill

by Agatha Frost

  Daniel scurried out of the shop and into the rain, leaving Liz hungry for more information. She looked down for the note, but Daniel had taken it with him.

  “Dammit!” she cried, her fist striking the counter. Paddy jumped up from his slumber, one ear poking up. “Not you, boy. Go back to sleep.”

  Paddy curled back up in the corner of the shop, but darted straight back up again when the shop door slammed in its frame once more. A large black umbrella retracted to reveal Misty, completely dry.

  “What do you think you’re playing at?” she spat as she marched towards the counter, shaking her wet umbrella all over Liz’s shop. “I saw you last night!”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!” Misty slapped her hands on the table, spraying Liz and her paperwork with rainwater. “That bright, frizzy hair is a little hard to miss. Ever heard of conditioner?”

  “First of all, I was only there to stop them from doing something stupid,” Liz said, getting to her feet. “Second of all, I’m sorry. They were drunk.”

  “Who’s ‘they’?” she exclaimed. “That bimbo, Polly, I guess? What on Earth am I supposed to do with all that stuff? And don’t even get me started on those roses!”

  “What roses?”

  “No wonder you were a detective!” Misty shrieked, her pale cheeks flushing. “You’re a good actress. Stop playing dumb.”

  “I really don’t know what you mean,” Liz said, folding her arms as she frowned at the singer. “What roses?”

  Misty stared at Liz for a moment as though she was about to launch into a rant about how good a liar Liz was, but she seemed to notice something in Liz’s eyes that made her stop. She deflated a little, her beautifully groomed brows curling sharply.

  “Weird stuff has been happening recently,” Misty started, her voice smaller and more fragile. “Someone shoved roses through my letter box, and my costumes have been going missing from my dressing room. I thought it might be you since you keep popping up everywhere all of a sudden.”

  “I swear on Paddy’s life, I don’t have anything to do with any of that,” Liz said, holding her hands up. “Have you gone to the police?”

  Misty shook her head as she glanced at Paddy in the corner. Her softened edges prickled back up, her eyes narrowing on Liz.

  “I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this,” she snapped. “You’re nobody.”

  Liz ignored Misty’s insult because she was surer than ever that she had not been seeing things after all. She swallowed hard, wondering how to say it without scaring Misty.

  “Did you have any guests last night?” Liz asked, taking her seat once more.

  “Apart from you, no.”

  “Then I’m sorry to say this, but I saw someone looking through your window,” Liz said, her voice calm as her police training took over. “I saw a figure dressed in black at the side of your house. I thought maybe I had imagined it, but after what you’ve just told me, it makes perfect sense.”

  “W-Who was it?”

  “I don’t know,” Liz admitted. “I didn’t get a proper look. I almost chased after them, but you saw me, and I panicked.”

  “You expect me to believe that?” Misty said, forcing an unsure laugh. “You’re just trying to frighten me. You’re jealous.”

  “I’m not lying,” Liz said firmly. “What would I have to gain? I’m a painter, not a singer. I’m not a threat to you.”

  “Well, whatever,” Misty said as she took a quick step back. “Just back off, okay? If you and that bimbo pull another stunt like last night, I’ll call the police.”

  “Okay,” Liz said with a nod. “Fair enough.”

  “I need to go,” Misty announced as she pushed her umbrella back up. “The talent scouts from London are coming tonight, and you and your frizziness are messing up my energy.”

  She stormed out of the shop, leaving Liz and Paddy alone once again. They looked at each other for a moment, the excitement of the last three visits seeming to have drained them both equally.

  “I wonder if anyone has ever told her it’s bad luck to open an umbrella indoors?” she asked Paddy. “No, I didn’t think so either, boy.”

  10

  By the time Liz was closing the shop for the day, the rain had eased up completely. As she walked away in the dark with Paddy by her side, she was in a considerably better mood, thanks to a kind painter who had visited an hour previously and left with four bags full of paint supplies.

  Instead of her usual evening walk along the seafront, Liz decided to visit the castle for the first time since the night before Halloween. It was not that she had been avoiding it, but she had not seen the point in trying to retrace the night’s events, mainly because she remembered everything first-hand.

  She arrived at the castle, pleased to see Nancy already waiting for her. Without the red floodlights, the old stone structure looked even more ominous in the dark.

  “Hi,” Nancy said with a sheepish smile. “I’m surprised you called after last night.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve felt better,” Nancy said, lowering her head. “I have a bit of a headache. I don’t really remember much. Me and Polly went to the Fish and Anchor after you went home, and I’m sure I remember Shirley kicking us out at closing time.”

  “Misty paid me a visit this afternoon,” Liz said as they linked arms and set off towards the dark courtyard. “I think you’re off the hook. I can’t say the same for me or Polly.”

  “This is why I don’t drink vodka,” Nancy said as she fiddled with her glasses. “It gives me silly ideas.”

  “Let’s just forget about it.”

  They headed into the dark castle, Paddy trailing behind them. It was almost possible to imagine it being a different place from the one they had visited the night before Halloween. Without the hundreds of people, it felt eerily small, the silent dark swallowing them whole. Without the cushioning of the townsfolk, their steps echoed and bounced off every surface. If it was not for Nancy’s companionship, Liz might have immediately turned back.

  They made their way to the scene of Nathan’s murder. Torn blue and white crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze, the only sign anything had happened. They walked past the tape and headed down the corridor together, just as Liz had with Simon on that night.

  “Should we really be doing this?” Nancy whispered into her ear. “What if we get arrested?”

  “Relax, I won’t touch anything,” Liz whispered back. “If they weren’t finished with this place, they’d have an officer patrolling.”

  Not knowing what she was hoping to find, Liz walked right up to the point where she had found Nathan’s headless body. As though he remembered it vividly, Paddy whimpered and pulled back.

  “There’s nothing here,” Nancy said. “Not even a drop of blood.”

  “We do clean crime scenes.”

  “We?” Nancy asked with a smirk. “So much for ‘ex-detective’.”

  “I meant they,” she said quickly before handing the lead to Nancy. “Just wait here.”

  Liz walked forward, tracing hers and Simon’s steps. She knew it was a fool’s errand from the start. The police, no matter how incompetent, would not leave behind something obvious at the scene of the crime.

  “We don’t even know what killed him,” Liz thought aloud when she returned to Nancy and Paddy. “If they’d found a murder weapon, that would be public knowledge by now.”

  “Must have been an axe,” Nancy suggested. “Or a knife?”

  “Whatever it was, it had some force behind it,” Liz said, turning and looking at the spot where she had kicked Nathan’s head. “It rolled all the way down there. I bet he didn’t even see it coming.”

  “I wonder what it feels like to have your head severed,” Nancy muttered, her hand drifting up to her neck. “Your brain must know what is happening, even if your eyes don’t.”

  “I suppose it’s a quick way to go,” Liz said
as they walked back through the dark castle, the only light coming from the moon as it leaked through gaps in the crumbling stone. “But why decapitate him, and why that night? It’s all a little obvious, don’t you think?”

  “Because of the legend? Maybe they wanted to blame it on the ghost?”

  “Or become part of the legend?” Liz suggested as she scratched the side of her head thoughtfully. “I doubt people will ever tell the story the same way after this. Nathan will always be connected.”

  “But the murderer won’t,” Nancy said. “Surely if they wanted to be connected to the legend, they’d just confess so they could have their moment of glory?”

  “The criminal mind is a strange place,” Liz assured her as they walked back into the courtyard. “Believe it or not, the thrill doesn’t always come from the kill, it comes from getting away with it. Like you said, the problem with that is they never get their moment of glory. I’ve always thought people who go to great lengths expect to be caught one day, maybe even crave it.”

  They walked through the courtyard towards the exit, Paddy yanking on Nancy’s arm. They left the castle, both of them stopping immediately when they saw two figures looking out over the town.

  “Is that -” Nancy started.

  Simon quickly turned around at the sound of Nancy’s voice, as did Ellie, who was clutching her big brother’s hand; they had very different reactions.

  “Liz!” Ellie cried, pulling away from her brother to hug Liz around the waist. “Can I stroke your dog?”

  “Of course,” Liz replied. “I like your coat.”

  “Thanks,” Ellie said, standing up to show Liz her yellow raincoat. “Natasha bought it for me.”

  Liz gritted her jaw, forcing her lips to keep smiling. Ellie hardly had to bend to reach Paddy. They came face to face, and Paddy ran his tongue up her cheek, causing her to giggle.

  “Your dog is funny,” Ellie said as she wiped her cheek with her pink mitten. “I want a dog.”

  Liz looked up at Simon as he shuffled on the spot uncomfortably. Liz’s embarrassment at what had happened last time they had spoken made it difficult to sustain eye contact.

  “Ellie, why don’t we take Paddy on a little walk?” Nancy said, already grabbing the little girl’s hand. “Let’s give Liz and Simon a minute alone.”

  Nancy winked at Liz as she hurried off, her short fringe bouncing up and down above her glasses. Ellie turned back and waved at Liz before they vanished around the side of the castle.

  “Ellie wanted to come and look at the view,” Simon explained, his hands deep in his pockets, his chin buried in a grey scarf. “I wouldn’t have brought her up here, considering what happened, but I needed to get out of the house.”

  “Trouble in paradise?” Liz replied, almost regretting the words the second they left her lips. “I’m sorry, I just -”

  “Natasha was jilted at the altar,” Simon blurted out, taking a step forward. “I tried telling you earlier, but it just wouldn’t come out, and then you mentioned Fishy Chris, and then I -”

  “Took your cheese back and stormed out?” A playful smirk tickled Liz’s lips. “I deserved it. You were trying to make peace, and I was being my usual stubborn self.”

  Simon dropped his head, a soft smile taking over his lips. Something deep within Liz squirmed hard, making her want to forget everything that had happened.

  “We’re just friends,” Simon said, echoing what he had said in the shop. “She was going to marry this city banker, and he left her at the altar. She panicked and came here. I couldn’t just turn her away.”

  Liz nodded, wanting to believe that, but she could not shake the way Natasha looked at Simon.

  “Why didn’t you call me after I walked away?” Liz asked, the one question she had been craving to know the answer to. “I felt like you suddenly ditched me.”

  “You left,” he said, his brows crinkling. “I thought you’d changed your mind about the coffee, and you didn’t want to take things any further.”

  “Because a woman in a wedding dress was hugging you,” Liz said, her voice unintentionally rising. “It felt like a clear message.”

  “She’s not a bad person,” Simon protested. “But I’m not in love with her.”

  “In l-love?” Liz echoed, the words scratching against her tongue. “Are you saying -”

  Before Liz could finish her sentence, Paddy bolted towards her with a stick in his mouth, almost knocking her clean off her feet. Ellie ran around the corner of the castle, a gigantic grin on her face. Nancy followed seconds later, completely out of breath and less happy with the situation.

  Paddy stopped and doubled around, his backside in the air, his tail wagging. Ellie pried the stick from his mouth, tossing it back towards Nancy, who quickly darted out of the way as she clutched her ribs.

  “I don’t know how kids do it,” Nancy panted as she adjusted her glasses. “I – I can’t breathe.”

  “I should go,” Simon said after checking his phone. “A last-minute order has come through. The ice cream labels need applying.”

  Liz nodded her understanding, even though she wanted to grab Simon and demand to know how the sentence would have ended. They locked eyes for a moment, the cold and Ellie’s joyful cries disappearing; it felt like that moment in the castle before they had found Nathan’s body. Simon looked like he was about to say something else, but he took Ellie’s hand, smiled a timid goodbye, and set off down the hill.

  “So?” Nancy asked with a wide grin after catching her breath. “Did you kiss and make up?”

  “Not quite,” Liz said, frowning into the distance, unsure of what had just happened. “How did I get here?”

  Taking a deep breath, she leaned against a wall looking over the little town. In the darkness, she looked out at the horizon, the choppy waves illuminated by the faint moon. Paddy dropped the stick at her feet before staring expectantly up at her. She kicked it feebly as she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

  Nancy took a seat beside her, and they sat in a calm silence. Liz took the time to think about everything that had happened over the past year; she could hardly believe the changes she had undergone. She had moved to Scarlet Cove to get away from her life in Manchester, but it appeared to have followed her.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Nancy asked, nudging Liz softly with her shoulder. “What’re you thinking about?”

  “Nothing and everything.”

  “That’s a little vague,” Nancy replied with a creased brow. “Spill the beans, Liz. I’m your friend, aren’t I?”

  “Yes.”

  “Friends tell each other things,” Nancy said with a coaxing nod. “I’ve seen that look before, and it’s nothing to do with this Simon situation.”

  Liz turned to her friend with a smile. She came across as ditzy and carefree most of the time, but she was more perceptive than Liz gave her credit for.

  “I was married,” Liz said carefully. “For a long time.”

  “Did it not work out?”

  “That’s one way of putting it,” Liz replied, tears gathering behind her lashes.

  “What do you mean?”

  Liz drew in a breath, ready to tell Nancy the secret she had vowed to leave behind in her old life.

  “He died,” she said before pausing. “His name was Lewis. We were both on a case, and he was shot. That was nearly three years ago, but I swear it feels like thirty.”

  “Oh, Liz,” Nancy said, resting her hand on Liz’s to give it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m so sorry.”

  Liz looked at Nancy as she smiled through her tears. She looked down at the hand, expecting more questions to come, but they did not. This action alone comforted Liz more than any words could. The quietness descended once more, and they both looked out at the black waves.

  “For the record, Simon does really like you,” Nancy said, still looking ahead. “A lot.”

  “Did he tell you that?”

  “Not in so many words, but I can tell. He isn’t like
most guys. I’ve known him-”

  “For as long as you can remember,” Liz chuckled. “I know.”

  Nancy squeezed her hand again, only pulling away when her phone vibrated loudly in her pocket. She dug it out, her jaw dropping immediately.

  “What is it?” Liz asked.

  “Jack just texted me,” Nancy said, turning the phone around to Liz. “He says The Sea Platter has closed down.”

  “But I only spoke to Daniel this afternoon,” Liz said, squinting at the bright screen. “How could it have closed so quickly?”

  “Beats me,” Nancy shrugged. “A lot of strange things have been happening in this town recently. C’mon, let’s go back. I’m freezing up here.”

  As they walked down into the town arm in arm with Paddy leading the way, Liz’s mind whirred with questions. What could have happened for Daniel to close The Sea Platter so quickly, and was it connected to Nathan’s murder? Liz was not sure, but she felt a renewed surge of energy to get to the bottom of both mysteries.

  11

  Liz’s first delivery from the new supplier arrived a few days later just before she had been about to close. After the deliveryman stacked the boxes inside the shop, she slid a craft knife across the tape, and ripped back the cardboard. She pulled out the invoice that was balancing on top, and dug through the polystyrene pellets to the oil paints. She plucked a couple out at random, pleasantly surprised by their apparent high quality despite the low price tag.

  After moving the boxes into the small stock room behind the counter, she glanced over the invoice, nothing seeming out of place until the last line. Just above the final total, which only came to £76.59, there was a minus £200 ‘discount’.

  “Odd,” she whispered to herself, not remembering the supplier mentioning anything about a discount when she placed her first order on the phone.

  A family she did not recognise shuffled into the shop. Liz pushed the invoice into her back pocket as she smiled at the family. She quickly learned they were in Scarlet Cove for a short autumn holiday. When they asked about the recent beheading, Liz played dumb, pretending not to know anything that had not already been mentioned on the news.