Gifthorse: The next instalment of the riveting Marnie Walker series

by Leo McNeir

  “Everything all right?” he asked. “I’ve got the mooring hooks ready.”

  From behind, Marnie heard Anne’s voice call out. She could not quite understand what was said, but turned to see the second boat pulling over to the bank.

  “Marnie?” Ralph was studying her expression. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure. It all looks so …” She shook her head. “It’s probably nothing.”

  “But?”

  “It felt like the lull before the storm, Ralph. Does that make sense?”

  Ralph turned to look at the boats, their two plus Maurice’s. “Are you worried about what we might find waiting for us?”

  Marnie nodded. “It all looks too peaceful.”

  “Come on, pull over. Let’s tie up and get home. Everything will seem better over a mug of tea and a biscuit. Let’s see what Donovan has to say.”

  Almost as if they were trying to protect Maurice, they moored the marina boats either side of his boat on the bank. It was indeed a good disguise. All three boats looked much the same in their preparatory coats of paint and no visible names or markings. When the other two boats arrived, the camouflage would be even better.

  Ralph seemed to be reading Marnie’s thoughts.

  “Does it remind you of that Chinese saying?” he said as he wheeled the bicycle along beside her on their way to the accommodation bridge.

  “You’ll have to remind me,” she said. “My Chinese is a little rusty these days.”

  Anne supplied the answer. “If you want to hide a leaf, put it on a tree.” She grinned. “That’s my rough translation, of course.”

  “Taking account of dialectal variants,” Ralph added.

  Anne laughed. “Indubitably.”

  The light-hearted banter and Anne’s laughter combined to lift Marnie’s spirits. She linked arms with Anne as they walked home behind Ralph and the bicycle. Donovan met them on the other side of the bridge with the news that Maurice was resting in his sleeping cabin. Their journey together had allowed Maurice to recover his strength to some extent, and he seemed calmer, more at ease in himself.

  Marnie was relieved to hear this and, as she made a pot of tea on Sally Ann, she felt almost relaxed about their situation, almost but not quite.

  Chapter 48

  Ben

  Sunday had been spent recharging and catching up. The Saturday voyage had taken up more of the previous day than intended, so Marnie spent most of Sunday going over the past week’s work, checking her finances and preparing for the week ahead. Anne devoted much of the day to reading and making notes for an essay, apart from an hour or so walking with Donovan. Ralph was back to finalising his new book.

  The surprise of the day had been Maurice, who had declined the offer of breakfast on Sally Ann, but afterwards had agreed to go for a walk with Donovan. Having completed two accompanied walks that morning, Donovan declared at lunch that he might have found a new vocation, running a dog walking service.

  “Are you saying I’m a dog?” Anne asked pointedly.

  Marnie and Ralph fixed their gaze on Donovan, wondering how he would extricate himself from that one.

  Donovan smiled. “Not in that sense. But if you were a dog, you’d be something like a saluki or maybe an elegant borzoi.”

  Unaccustomed to such compliments, Anne decided to let the matter drop while she was winning. Donovan wisely decided to do the same before he dug himself into a deeper hole.

  “You did well to get Maurice out walking,” Marnie said. “He didn’t look too bad.”

  “He’d had a couple of days’ rest,” said Donovan.

  “Also, I think he feels safe having you around. What were you talking about?” Marnie asked.

  “He was asking about my Dutch connections, where my grandfather’s family came from, that sort of thing. He seemed disappointed when I said I had to go back to London.”

  “When’s that?” said Anne.

  “I had intended going back later this afternoon. I have things to do for my course. But I told Maurice I’d stay till tomorrow. That seemed to cheer him up. In fact, he even agreed to join us for supper.”

  By evening, two further boats had arrived from the marina and tied up along the bank from Maurice. There were now five boats lined up opposite Thyrsis. Needing to keep clear of the accommodation bridge and not obstruct the curve of the canal to the south, the new boats had moored at either end of the row, so that Maurice was now third in line. For the moment, his disguise as one leaf on the tree was complete.

  *

  The improvement in the weather continued. Monday morning was bright and warmer than on previous days as Margaret Giles arrived at school feeling that everything was getting better. Buds were visible on the stalks of the daffodils that the children had planted last autumn around the school site. Spring was on its way, and she decided to include a reading of Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind in assembly that morning.

  If winter’s here, can spring be far behind?

  The first hint of discord came when she passed through Valerie Paxton’s office. The secretary was filing circulars from the education authority and barely glanced up to say a curt good morning. Valerie had always run the office efficiently, but her attitude … Margaret resolved to have a quiet talk with her when the opportunity arose.

  By the time assembly was over, Valerie was dealing with the post and registers, so Margaret contented herself with a brief question in passing.

  “I don’t want to interrupt you, Valerie, but can I just ask what time Mrs Haycroft is coming in?”

  “No idea.”

  “Sorry? You remember you spoke to her on Friday?”

  Valerie still did not look up from her paperwork. “No. I tried to speak to her but the line was engaged.”

  “Valerie, I need to see her urgently. That’s why I asked you to ring her. I noticed you’d crossed through her name on the list by your phone.”

  “Oh yes.” Valerie’s tone was vague. “It’s not my fault if their line’s busy the whole time. I can’t go chasing after people who aren’t even connected to the school.”

  Margaret took a deep breath and spoke slowly. “Try her now, Valerie. Ring Mrs Haycroft’s mobile number.”

  Valerie made a fuss of looking up the number in one of her folders. She dialled it and announced, “It’s a message. The number’s not available. Try later.”

  Margaret knew that Willow often had her mobile switched off.

  “Try Marnie’s office number, please.”

  Valerie pressed buttons, listened and handed the phone to Margaret. The head prepared to speak, but found herself listening to the engaged tone. She glimpsed a look of triumph on Valerie’s face as she gave her back the phone.

  “Keep trying, Valerie. Let me know as soon as you get through.”

  *

  Marnie was having what she called a twenty-four carat Monday morning. It was a series of back-to-back phone calls with clients – mainly Willards Brewery – and suppliers. She was becoming convinced that everyone had entered into a conspiracy to be awkward. Perhaps it was spring fever, she told herself.

  Anne finished dealing with the post and placed a small pile of papers on Marnie’s desk.

  “Mainly routine stuff there, Marnie, but some good news.” She waggled two cheques in the air. “This month’s instalment from Willards and the retainer from the manor job. I’ll pay them in this morning after college. I’ll be back by lunchtime.”

  Anne left the office, but before getting into her car she had a call to make. From her pocket she took one of Molly’s apples and walked round to the stable barn. As soon as Poppy saw Anne, she nodded her head and made her usual snuffling sounds. Dolly stood up from her usual straw bale and stretched. Anne stroked the cat, then the horse’s face and slipped the apple towards her mouth. The soft lips closed round the fruit to be followed by a hearty crunching sound.

  “An apple from Mrs Appleton,” said Anne. “It’s going to be a nice day today, Poppy. I expec
t Ben will take you for a good walk.”

  With one more stroke of both horse and cat, Anne turned and left. As she drove out onto the field track she could see blue sky and light clouds tinted pink by the rising sun. A nice day. With all her attention focused on driving, Anne failed to see that she was being observed. Willow was on her way to cottage number three with a basket of washing for the machine. Beside her, Ben was carrying his painting equipment. His task that morning was to produce sketches from nature. His mother had suggested he look for early flowers both to paint and to press for a project on spring. Normally, he preferred drawing pirates or knights in armour, but he knew that Anne liked nature studies and he hoped to create something that would please her.

  *

  Valerie Paxton knocked and entered the head’s office.

  “It’s no use, Mrs Giles. I’ve been trying for ages to get through to Glebe Farm. The phone’s engaged the whole time. I’ve got all my other work to do and –”

  “All right, Valerie. Give it a rest for now. Try again at break time. It’s very important that I speak to Mrs Haycroft today without fail.” She picked up the fax she had received from the Open University on Friday. “Can you make two copies of this, please. I’ll need them for our meeting.”

  Valerie took the paper and left the office without another word.

  *

  By the end of the morning Marnie’s head was spinning. She felt as if she had been phoning for England. Although desperate for a break, she decided on one last call before getting some fresh air. She rang the hospital and asked for Dominic Brodie’s ward. The nurse on duty remembered Marnie from previous visits and was prepared to tell her that Dominic was making progress, but they were still concerned about his neck injury. Marnie asked the nurse to pass on her good wishes and say she would probably visit him the next day.

  Leaving the answerphone and Dolly in charge of the office, Marnie walked through the spinney to join Ralph for coffee on Thyrsis. She had barely left the office barn for two minutes when the phone began ringing. By then she was out of earshot.

  At the other end of the line, Valerie Paxton snorted with impatience when the answerphone message cut in. She went back into the head’s office, barely concealing her annoyance, and explained the latest position.

  Margaret Giles frowned. “There’s nothing else for it, Valerie. I’ll have to go down there to see Mrs Haycroft.”

  “You can’t,” said Valerie.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve got parents coming in with the new girl who’s starting after Easter.”

  “Ah yes, I forgot. You didn’t mention them this morning.”

  “I’ve been too busy,” Valerie pursed her lips, “making phone calls.”

  Margaret paused for thought. She knew how much her secretary disliked Willow and Ben, though she failed to understand why, but she could see no other way forward. Time was running out.

  “Valerie, I want you to go down to Glebe Farm and give a message to Mrs Haycroft. Straight away, please. Say I need to see her urgently, that it has to be today, as soon as possible. She can either come here, or I’ll go to the boat, which ever’s more convenient.”

  “Do you think it’s right to go chasing around after –”

  “Valerie, we don’t have time to discuss this now. This is an emergency. Do you understand?”

  Valerie turned her head towards the window and said nothing.

  “Fine. Please get your coat and go. If she wants me to go to her, ask Willow to ring me. I’ll come as soon as I’ve finished my meeting.”

  *

  Marnie took two mugs of coffee along to Ralph’s study on Thyrsis. It never ceased to amaze her how Ralph had managed to make the boat feel like an annex to his Oxford college. He had once joked that from his study window on a clear day he could see Magdalen College from anywhere on the canal network.

  The forward section was over fourteen feet long and, although it was under seven feet wide, he had fitted it out with a built-in desk, bookcases and shelving units to hold a formidable array of equipment, including printers, a copier and two computers, a desktop and a laptop.

  He had also fitted in a music centre, a radio and a small television. He claimed the latter was to enable him to keep up-to-date with news developments during the day. With any other man, Marnie would have suspected that this included test matches, but Ralph was a major figure in his field and rarely permitted himself any distractions during the working day. Even the music centre was intended to provide a background aid to concentration while processing statistics.

  She set the mugs down on a shelf and looked across the canal at Maurice’s boat.

  “Any sign of activity over there, Ralph?”

  Ralph had his usual slightly vague expression as he emerged from deep concentration.

  “Frankly, Marnie, I suspect that if a spacecraft had landed from Mars, I wouldn’t have noticed it this morning.”

  Marnie grinned. “No, I suppose not. Here’s your coffee. I can go and leave you to get on, if you’d prefer.”

  Ralph swivelled his chair and pointed at the small armchair.

  “No. Do stay. Make yourself at home. It’s nice to have you here like this. Doesn’t often happen.”

  They sipped their coffee, and Marnie looked round the cabin.

  “I don’t suppose there’s another boat like this anywhere in the country,” she said.

  “Aren’t you forgetting Donovan’s boat, X O 2?” He pronounced the name, Exodos. “It’s got something of the same feel about it.”

  “And something of the feel of a U-boat in Anne’s opinion,” Marnie added.

  “True.” Ralph chuckled. “He seems to have won Maurice over all right.”

  Marnie agreed. “Yes. I think he really trusts him, likes having him around.”

  As they sat together, Marnie noticed movement across the canal. She saw the rear hatch on Maurice’s boat slide open and Donovan climb out onto the counter. Marnie stood to tap on the porthole, but in seconds he had gone. She guessed he was on his way to the office barn to see if she and Anne were about. She was right.

  *

  Valerie Paxton drove slowly down towards Glebe Farm. She hated using the field track when it was slippery and bumpy. If you missed a patch of mud, you would be bouncing over tussocks of thick grass. Her husband had washed the car for her on Sunday, and now the sidewalls of its tyres would be filthy.

  She was seething inside. Back in the office her work was piling up. There were forms to be completed, typing to finish, correspondence to deal with, dinner money, absence returns, and on and on. She should not even be here, she thought. That family had left the school. Mrs Giles could do what she wanted, but she had no right to take up her time, interfere with her day. She resolved that she would go to Marnie Walker’s office and give her a message to pass on to the Haycroft woman. And that would be that.

  Parking at the edge of the buildings, she walked past the farmhouse and saw the large tinted plate glass window of the office barn. She could see into the interior and grudgingly admitted to herself that it looked professional and impressive. It also looked empty. Much as she regretted it, she now had no choice but to find the boat with its silly hippy name, Glastonbury. Being unfamiliar with the layout of the farm complex, Valerie was not sure where to go. She knew roughly in which direction the canal lay and set off, skirting the barns to find it.

  Muttering to herself, she concentrated on keeping her shoes out of the mire. After a minute or two, she looked up and was surprised to see the reflection of light on water, the strip of canal bending away from her a short distance ahead, the attractive arch of a bridge spanning the water. A boat was moored on the opposite bank, a faint trace of smoke rising up from a chimney, a smell of burning wood in the air. Valerie had to admit it was a pleasant sight. It reminded her of a calendar she had once seen from the local tourist board. Then she remembered why she was there, and closed her heart to the scene.

  Stepping forward, sh
e stopped in her tracks. Beside the bridge, Ben was squatting at the edge of the canal, concentrating intently on some task. She realised that he was perched at about the place where she knew they had discovered Mr Meadows’ body.

  She shuddered, overwhelmed with antipathy towards the boy, his mother and everything they had done to shatter the peace of the village. They had brought degradation and death to the community, her community, her home and the lives of everyone who lived there. They had no right to be there. They were nomads, water gypsies, in her eyes worthless vagabonds who did not deserve the special attention that Mrs Giles was heaping on them.

  Her heart was filled with anger, and she could have stamped her foot in annoyance and frustration. The boy’s very presence at the place where Mr Meadows had died seemed an affront to his memory, to standards of decency, to everything worthwhile. In that moment she realised how much she hated the boy and his mother, yes hated them.

  With loathing in every cell of her body, she strode towards the bridge, below which the boy, intent on his task, was unaware of her approach.

  *

  When Donovan reached the office barn he found it locked. He knew Anne would be returning for lunch, and guessed Marnie might be having a meeting with the two builders working in the farmhouse. Curious to see how the rebuilding was coming along, he walked across the courtyard, entered the house and was surprised at how much progress had been made.

  The hall was ready for decorating and a quarry-tiled floor laid. Stepping on the cardboard that protected the tiles, he stood at the foot of the stairs and admired the fine balustrading. Somewhere above him, he could hear voices and a radio playing. Men were chatting to each other as they worked. Marnie was not there.

  Donovan became aware of a car nearby. Too early for Anne, perhaps it was a client arriving for a meeting. He wandered through into a spacious living room, with French windows looking out onto what would become the garden and a wide inglenook fireplace surmounted by a massive oak beam. Double connecting doors led into what he expected was to be the dining room. From there he went through another door, across a small lobby into what he guessed was to become a large farmhouse kitchen. Here, pipes were protruding from floor and walls, electric wires dangling from the ceiling and pencil and chalk markings indicating the positions of cooker, units and fittings. Donovan made his way out through the hall and headed back to Maurice’s boat.