by M A Comley
“I can understand you being tired after your adventure, but your parents will be worried about you. Please, let me ring them?”
Geraldine stared at the pattern on the blanket covering her.
“Ger, please. Don’t shut me out. I want to help you. I can’t do that if you won’t open up to me.”
Geraldine slowly turned to face her. “I’m lost without him.”
Hearing those four words made Ruth’s head spin. Oh no, had she intended to kill herself? Surely she wouldn’t have cried out for help if that was her intention, would she?
“I know, sweetie. It will get easier, I promise. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since…he died.”
“I know. What will I do now? How will I cope? We had so many plans, and now they’ve all disintegrated, shattered into tiny pieces when he fell from the turret yesterday. How am I ever going to cope without him by my side?”
“I can’t deny it’s not going to be difficult, Ger. Your friends and family will rally around to help you. You can be sure of that.”
“Will they? All I saw yesterday was pity in their eyes. I don’t want to be pitied. I’m still relatively young. I should be on my honeymoon right now with the man I love. Instead, he’s lying in a fridge at the morgue.” Tears streamed down her face.
“I know. My heart bleeds for you. We’ll get through this together. I won’t desert you in your hour of need. None of us will. I’m going to ring your parents.”
Geraldine’s hand grabbed hers. “No. I don’t want them here. I’m sick to death of their continual bickering. All they do is constantly throw the divorce card at each other. Why the heck don’t they go ahead and do it? They don’t care about me. If they did, they wouldn’t keep tearing shreds out of each other. Why? Why do they insist on remaining married? That’s not what life should be about, is it? We deserve to be happy in this life, not miserable all the time.”
“I understand what you’re saying. Have they always been that way? I’ve only met them a few times, and they always seem to get on one another’s nerves.”
“Since I was a kid. Their attitude to marriage should have put me off wanting to get married myself. It didn’t. I loved Bradley so much…was going to spend the rest of my life with him, and now…he’s gone. How am I going to cope without him?”
“You just will. We’ll all be here to support you. You’re not going to go through this alone, I promise you.”
Geraldine snuggled down into the bed and rested her head against the pillow. Sighing heavily, she said, “I need to go to sleep now. Thank you for rescuing me. I love you dearly, Ruth.”
“Give me a shout, day or night, if you ever want to chat.”
“I will. I’m tired now.”
Geraldine drifted off to sleep.
Ruth pulled back the curtain to leave as a young female doctor was arriving.
“Ah, I see the patient has gone off to sleep.”
“Have you given her some medication? Is she going to be all right, Doc?”
“Yes, she needs to rest. Don’t worry, she’s going to be fine. A few cuts and bruises and possibly a bruised rib, but nothing more than that. Were you the person who called the rescuers in?”
“Yes. One of them put the idea in my head that she did this intentionally. Do you think that’s possible?”
“Who knows? She gave me some background; she’s been through a tough ordeal. The brain often reacts differently to the heart in such instances. We’ll keep her under observation for a day or two. Maybe she’ll open up to either me or one of my colleagues in that time. I wouldn’t like to be in her shoes, that’s for sure. Newly married and widowed after only a few hours. That type of situation has to mess with your head, doesn’t it?”
“Is it worth me sticking around?”
The doctor smiled and shook her head. “Not really. She’ll be out for the count for a few hours, maybe you can return then.”
“I will. Thank you for taking care of her.”
“It’s our pleasure. Let’s hope the enforced rest puts her on the road to recovery.”
“Here’s hoping. Can I leave you my number? Perhaps a member of your team could ring me if there is any change with her.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Ruth opened her bag and pulled out the pouch she kept her business cards in and handed one to the doctor.
“Detective Agency?”
“I’m a private investigator.”
“Call me nosy, if you like. But does this mean you’ll be investigating her husband’s death?”
“She’s asked me to. I’ll do my best without treading on the local police’s toes.”
“She’s going to need someone she trusts on her side in the foreseeable future.”
“I’ll be there for her, you can be sure of that, Doctor.”
“She’s very lucky to have such a caring friend. I must get on. I’ll leave your card with the receptionist with strict instructions to ring you when she wakes up.”
“You’re very kind.”
Ruth left the hospital and headed back to the house. She made a slight detour on the way to let Valerie and Ted Cruise know what was going on.
The couple were both shocked to learn the news.
“I need to go and see her. To be with her,” Valerie whispered.
“There really is no point in either of you going there now. She’s been sedated and will be asleep for a good few hours yet. I needed to bring you up to date before I go back home.”
“Thank you for being such a kind friend to her, Ruth. We really appreciate it, don’t we, Ted?” Valerie held her hand out to her husband.
He took it, pulled his wife close and buried his head in her neck. “Our poor baby. Where were we when she needed us?” he mumbled, his tone full of what sounded like remorse.
“No more recriminations. Please, all I ask is that you consider Geraldine’s feelings and what she must be going through from now on. The next few days and weeks are possibly going to be the toughest of her life. She’ll be relying on you both to be there for her, not squabbling as you’ve been doing the past few days.”
Valerie nodded. “You’re right. We’ve always been the same. We don’t mean anything by it. We love each other dearly.”
“What? Then why? Why do you insist on flinging the divorce card at each other all the time? Can’t you see how that looks to Geraldine?”
Valerie held her head in shame, they both did. “We’ll reconsider our actions, we promise,” Valerie said.
Dumbstruck, Ruth shrugged and left the house, unsure what she could add further after such a shocking admission. Right up until the day she died, she would never, ever fully understand what went on in people’s heads.
She returned home and spent the afternoon preparing the Sunday roast for when James finished his shift. She almost sliced through her finger a couple of times when her mind drifted back to the events of what could only be described as a traumatic twenty-four hours.
During the afternoon, she received several calls from other members of the Am-Dram club, asking if she was going to attend the weekly meeting that evening. She sat at the kitchen table after her chores were completed with a cup of latte in her hand and contemplated what a wonderful community she belonged to. Even if there was a murderer in their midst.
Chapter 6
That evening, when James returned home, Ruth resisted the temptation to pump him for information about Geraldine’s case the minute he stepped through the front door. Instead, she served up the dinner she’d slaved over for hours and recapped the events of what had gone on up on the clifftop.
“Are you serious?” James asked, his jaw dropping after she’d finished.
“Deadly serious. I thought she was a goner. I was so scared. I think if the rescuers hadn’t shown up when they had, the town would have been having a double funeral in the coming weeks.”
“How awful. You don’t think she meant it to happen, do you?”
“I have my doubts. The tho
ught never crossed my mind until one of the rescuers mentioned it. Then when I visited her at the hospital, she was, well, frankly, talking weirdly. I wasn’t sure if it was the medication they’d given her. I don’t know is the honest answer. What I can say for definite is that I’m concerned about her. I believe Bradley’s death has affected her far more than any of us had first realised.”
“That’s so sad. Let’s hope finding the person responsible will give her the peace of mind to continue with her life.”
Ruth held her crossed fingers up in the air. “I know I shouldn’t be asking, but is there any news on that front?”
James tilted his head at her and closed one of his eyes. “You’re right, you shouldn’t be asking. I’m not dealing with the case, you know that, love. Not that I would divulge any information even if I was. Are you going out this evening?”
“Yes, I’ve had several calls today from the group, pleading with me to attend.”
“I’m not surprised. Most of them are as nosy as you and probably want to hear first-hand how the murder came about.”
She swiped him across the top of the arm. “Cheeky sod. There’s nothing wrong with being inquisitive. It’s how we learn about life and what it has to throw at us.”
“Yeah, if you say so. Well, if you’re going out later, I’ll take Ben for a run down by the river.”
Ben whined from his bed in the corner. “I know a certain dog who would appreciate that. I shouldn’t be late back, probably be home about nine.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Take as long as you need. You deserve to have a good time after what you’ve had to contend with in the last day or so.”
“Thanks. Although, I think for once, I’d much rather be at home with you tonight than going over and over the ordeal, or should that be ordeals?”
A couple of hours later, Ruth kissed James farewell and made her way on foot down to the town hall a few roads from the house.
The rest of the group were all there, gathered around the large table where they either hashed out plans or created the costumes for the shows they put on for the townsfolk. Usually it was a fun-filled evening. However, by the serious expression on each of her friend’s faces, Ruth got the impression the next few hours were going to be long and drawn out.
“Come, sit next to me.” Hilary yanked the chair out beside her.
“Hi, everyone. I’ll have to see how I go this evening. If the hospital rings, I’ll have to shoot off. Just pre-warning you.”
Several of the group gasped.
“Hospital? What do you mean?” Gemma Isaac, the local hairdresser, asked through the long veil hanging over her face that she laughingly called an ‘en trend’ fringe.
Ruth spent the next ten minutes recounting the adventure she and Geraldine had lived that morning.
“Is she all right?” Gemma asked, her eyes watering with concern.
“I hope she will be. Put it this way, I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes over the next few weeks. I’ll be there to support her. I hope the whole community gives her the support she needs as well.”
“We will. Maybe we can set up some kind of charity or fund for her,” Hilary suggested.
The group murmured in agreement around the table.
“What an excellent idea,” Steven Swanson, the props manager, agreed. “Why don’t we put on a special event? Let me think about that one for a while, see what set designs we have at our disposal, and I’ll get back to you.”
Lynn Harris caught Ruth’s attention by rolling her eyes up to the ceiling. “That’s a nice idea, Steven; however, we need to get down to the nitty-gritty and ask Ruth what her intentions are.”
“My intentions? In what respect, Lynn?”
“Workwise. Don’t tell me Geraldine hasn’t asked you to investigate the crime?”
“She has as it happens. I’m willing to do it free of charge, too. The trouble is, I have my nemesis in the police to contend with.”
Lynn sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it for a moment or two. “Inspector Littlejohn, I take it?”
“Yep. The one and only. You of all people know the confrontations we’ve had over the years. Can’t say I’m looking forward to going into battle with her on this one. There’s no way I’ll back down, not when Geraldine is going to be relying heavily on my input.”
Lynn nodded. She was a cherished friend who often showed up at the detective agency to volunteer her secretarial services free of charge, to break up the monotony of being ‘just a housewife’ as she put it. Her services had proved invaluable to Ruth when she’d first set up the agency. Despite Ruth insisting she should put Lynn on the payroll since the business was now more buoyant, Lynn refused to let Ruth pay her, quoting that getting paid would take the enjoyment out of the job. She drove Ruth to distraction with that way of thinking. At Christmas, Ruth always slipped a little something extra in Lynn’s card, whether it was a voucher for a spa day or tickets to a concert she’d been raving about, because at the end of the day, Ruth was one of life’s givers.
“You go, girl. I have no doubt that your determination and stubbornness will come up with the answers soon.”
Ruth should have been taken aback by what Lynn said. She wasn’t. Instead, she laughed. “I’ll take that as a backhanded compliment.”
Lynn winked. “Of course. I have every faith in you.” She leaned forward in her chair and whispered, “Do you really think there’s a killer living amongst us?”
She shrugged and said in a hushed voice, “Who knows? We could be looking at an out-of-towner who showed up to attend the wedding with one intention in mind…to kill Bradley. I want to get today over with, make sure Geraldine is all right before I truly start digging.”
“But if it was someone from out of town, they’d be long gone by now, surely?”
“You’re right. However, there’s always some form of trail, you know that, right? Be it a paper trail or someone might have overheard a conversation on the day of the wedding. Wherever the trail starts, I’ll be on it like a dog with a bone, I assure you.”
“Hey, you two, let us in on the secret?” Hilary called out.
“It’s nothing. Just discussing when Lynn can come in and give me a hand at the agency. Certainly nothing for you to worry about,” she added, putting Hilary in her place.
Once the interest in the murder had died down, everyone got their heads together to come up with an idea for the added show to raise money for Geraldine. They were already knee-deep in preparing for their main show, which was due to take place at the end of the summer. The Sound of Music was much anticipated by all those connected with the Am-Dram club; it was an all-time favourite that hadn’t been performed in decades. Now they had another show to think about and all that it entailed.
Ideas were thin on the ground that evening. Steven showed his frustration by drawing a close to the meeting barely two hours after it had started. While the others were upset by the decision, Ruth felt grateful as most of the evening had put her in the limelight with the others demanding to know the ins and outs of a cat’s bottom, to do with the case. Ruth struggled to answer the questions bombarding her from the word go because it was just too soon to answer any of them.
At nine o’clock, Ruth took a leisurely walk back to the cottage. It was a warm evening, even though the sky was full of white fluffy clouds. At the bottom of her road, a few of her neighbours gathered around, nattering over the fence between two houses. She waved as she passed and said good evening. They all appeared embarrassed when they responded. It was obvious what they were gossiping about. Her heart went out to Geraldine. She would have to contend with people talking behind her back for months to come—sadly, that was a given in small towns such as this.
A few doors down, a light was on in the run-down cottage her sister and her husband had just bought and were in the throes of renovating. She knocked on the front door. It was ajar, so she pushed it open and poked her head into the stripped room. “Yoo-hoo,
anyone here?”
Her sister appeared from the adjoining room, dressed in white denim dungarees covered in plaster and splodges of differently coloured paint. “Hey, I was going to ring you later. Come in if you’re not wearing anything decent; otherwise, I’d stay out there if I were you.”
Ruth laughed. “I’m half-decent, does that count? How are things going?”
“So-so. I think it has finally dawned on Keith what a mammoth task this project is.”
“Oi, I heard that. Hi, Ruth. Feel free to don some grubby clothes and lend a hand,” Carolyn’s husband shouted from the adjoining room.
“Erm…thanks for the offer, hon, but don’t be offended if I decline,” Ruth shouted back.
Keith mumbled something indecipherable and started banging pipework again.
“Oops, I think I’ve upset him. What’s he doing?”
Moving a few steps closer and lowering her voice, Carolyn said, “Putting in the central heating. Told me it would be a doddle. Have you ever heard of an electrician doing a plumber’s job?”
“Can’t say I have. Did he think it would save you guys some money?”
“That’s exactly why he’s doing it. The only thing is, it’s taking twice as long, and I predict the job is far messier than if he’d paid a professional plumber to do it.”
“Men, eh? They think they know best, but in the end they’re always proved wrong. You need to learn to put your foot down. It’s your money as well invested in this place.”
“We’ve had that argument dozens of times before, you know that. I let him get on with it.”
“That’s not fair on you in the end, Carolyn. Adds to the stress of the job in hand, doesn’t it?”
“I know. We’ll sit down and discuss things once this place is done and dusted. It’s a good job our relationship is solid, otherwise we’d be on seriously dodgy ground by now. Anyway, enough about this place. How did the wedding go yesterday?”
Ruth winced. She should have realised Carolyn and Keith wouldn’t have heard the news if they’d been wrapped up in their own cocoon renovating the cottage. “Damn, you won’t have heard.”