A Village Not So Green (John Harper Series Book 1)

by Edward Holmes

  “What was it about?”

  The suspicion of before seemed to dissipate at the prospect of talking about his favoured topic, “The most ancient of crimes, murder. I don’t suppose that you know of the history of this village,” John played dumb and shook his head, “This place has an evil about it hidden behind a quaint facade of idyllic peaceful village life. Hollingswood was the site of Roman invasion and atrocity, the genocide of druids.”

  “So it was a history book you wrote?”

  “Oh no it was much more than that. The occult has touched this place for generations, there is even a sunken cathedral beneath our very feet hidden in the natural caves and tunnels, once a worship place for the hidden Catholic priests during the reformation. Hollingswood was one of the few free printing press locations for the beleaguered Papists. You see there is the same thread of evil throughout the history of this village, and then twenty years ago it returned. A man one of the most despicable creatures I ever had the misfortune of meeting murdered a young woman. They never found her body but they tried and convicted him. My knowledge of him proved invaluable to the officers involved in the case. In my own small way I helped make the world a safer place, and then I told the story of Martin Wills to help the people try and understand what happened here,” Cooper stopped to take a drink.

  John did his best not to roll his eyes at the man, he was surprised at the writer’s strange conviction that he had changed the world, but he was beginning to understand that Cooper had spent his life defending his book. He was proud of it but knew that it had been a factor in the life he led now. That he was alone because of decisions made to further his career and ego. John had read the book after all and it was no different than the hundreds of true crime thrillers that you could pick up at any cheap bookstore in a shopping centre up and down the country, “Sound like you had a very interesting case. I take it back; you must have been some journalist to get information out of a killer. They tend to plead their innocence to anyone who would listen.”

  “He did but I listened as much as possible, like you do, and found the flaws in his story. I wanted to know what the man was like, to further understand his depravity. Pray you never have to meet a man like him. His eyes are what gives him away, he has a weasel like look with beady eyes that dart about, but when you get them to focus on you then you can see the evil. Those grey orbs show no emotion, I worked on the crime desk for years and I never met a viler creature than Martin Wills.”

  John nodded. He felt the same way about a number of the murderers and rapists he had put behind bars. Sometimes you could sense the suspect, make a judgement early. It was a terrible thing to do but he had learnt to trust his instincts and those hunches had saved lives.

  “Do you have a copy I could read? It seems very interesting, it would give me something to do whilst I’m here.”

  The look of delight evident on his face, Cooper replied, “I still have a number of copies, I could even sign one for you if you would like?”

  “That would be brilliant,” John was telling the truth it would be easier than going to the library if he wanted read Hollingswood Homicide.

  “I’ll bring one in on Monday, I’m going to see my sister this weekend.”

  John stood up, “Well the least I can do is buy you a drink to say thank you. Whiskey?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  It was turning into a good day for the detective and he began walking back to the cottage. He noticed more as he walked down the road than when he was running. The average age of the villagers he saw was over sixty, only a few children played out on the streets enjoying the last days of summer before school started. A group of them were taping flyers to lampposts on the other side of the street to him. They looked across at him and waved, he went to return the gesture but his injured ribs ached so much that he could barely draw breath as he tried to raise his hand. He nodded instead and walked as briskly as he could back to the cottage and the prescription strength painkillers he kept in his bag.

  He made a number of notes in his Moleskine when he returned and spent the next couple of hours going over what he knew and waiting for the phone call from his boss. He cooked himself a simple meal of pasta and bacon. With nothing else to do he had another bath reading a book he brought from home and then took a shower so he felt as clean as possible.

  Getting changed into one of his favourite Thomas Pink shirts, a deep blue and white stripe that brought out the colour of his eyes, with his lucky silver cufflinks, a present he bought himself after moving from undercover vice work to homicide investigations. A pair of jeans, a Barbour jacket and his new shoes completed the outfit. Looking himself over in the mirror, he smiled at his appearance, happy that he looked good. The bruising on his jaw had not darkened since morning and there was only a slight hint of swelling, behind the stubble he would call designer if asked. Combing his straight hair into a slightly off centre parting, he winked at his reflection and left for the bar.

  He arrived half an hour early and secured a table near the bar but away from the door. From his vantage point could see nearly everyone who entered and if they went to the bathroom, which seemed to be doing a roaring trade with the young men that night. It was getting busy and John was nursing a glass of beer for as long as possible so he would not have to get up and risk losing the table to the prowling couples and groups who wanted to sit. Checking his watch John began to get a little nervous, Hannah was late and he was not used to being stood up. To try and ease his nerves he did a mental exercise, one of memory and recollection. He observed everyone objectively, noting discerning features and then placing them around the room in his mind, hopefully making it easier to keep track of them. It was something he had worked on for years and helped when following suspects in crowded areas when on his own. Improving mental recall and heightened observational skills made him a better cop, but for now it distracted him.

  One of the first things he noticed was the presence of Sean Bradhurst and his lackeys. He noticed the young man go to the bar leaning over talking to the barmaid, his tanned fingers playfully brushing at her hair as he ordered. She seemed flattered but moved quickly away to get his beverage.

  “Perving on bar staff must be your specialty,” Hannah said.

  John was startled and nearly jumped out of the chair, “Sorry, I didn’t notice you come in,” he said looking at the figure in front of him. She was wearing a pair of black high heels which pushed her height up by five inches so she was now close to his own six foot plus. Slender and shapely legs were bare and she wore a tight fitting blue dress, with a low cut revealing her ample bosom. Her flaxen hair was straightened and fell gently onto her shoulders, “and I really would have noticed you if I was paying attention.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. Sorry I am late, it’s not that often that I get to go out so it was a bit harder than I thought to find the right outfit.”

  “Well I’m not complaining; you look stunning.”

  “You look very handsome yourself. So what do you want to drink?”

  “No my treat, what do you want?”

  “This was supposed to be a thank you from me,” she said flashing a smile as she sat down, draping a black pashmina over the chair opposite him.

  John shrugged, “I’m sure you can thank me another time. So what will it be?”

  “I was thinking about wine, would you care to share a bottle with me?”

  “Of course,” John went to the bar after Hannah pointed out her favoured choice of wine. His phone rang as he got there and through the noise of the bar he listened as his boss told him about the charges pending on Harry Bailey before his death. Smiling at the message he glanced over at Sean Bradhurst, who was sat in the booth with his friends.

  Walking back to the table he poured their drinks and raised them for a toast, “To you for making my holiday even better than expected.”

  Hannah was a little taken aback but responded, “Thank you,” after tasting the red wine, which was a rioja she a
sked, “what do you think of the wine?”

  “I’m more of a beer drinker but it’s nice. Fairly strong anyone would think you were trying to get me drunk.”

  She flashed a smile at him, “I thought you might like it. Makes me a little more at ease I must say.”

  John intrigued by her words asked, “Why’s that?”

  “Well it bodes well for me if you like the drink. We share similar characteristics such as having a full body and a bit of a kick,” they both laughed at her joke and Hannah playing with the lip of her glass continued more seriously, “How have you enjoyed your holiday so far then? Lewis said you are here for a couple of weeks.”

  “It has been enlightening I must admit. Suburbia has a lot more secrets than I expected.”

  “You obviously don’t watch enough television.”

  “Don’t get the time normally. Then again the cottage where I’m staying doesn’t have one either so it’s not like I can catch up.”

  Hannah’s eyes fell to the wedding ring on her finger that she played with, “Yeah my son mentioned your real choice of profession. I’ve got to admit it is not high on my list of preferred jobs.”

  John scratched the back of his head, “That boy sure does blab.”

  “There’s not much else to do round here.”

  “I’ve been doing the job since I was out of school; it’s all I know to be honest. Your boy mentioned that his father used to be a copper. Sorry if it is a problem.”

  Inhaling sharply Hannah said, “It didn’t help the situation but it was more the man than the job that led to us breaking up.”

  “If it helps I can pretend I do something else? I don’t say it much but I must thank the job for a change, otherwise you wouldn’t be sat here with me.”

  “True. So how do we do this, you tell me a little about your life and I do the same? Like I said it’s been a long time since I went on anything resembling a date.”

  John took a sip of his wine, “Well my name is John and I’m a biscuit designer.”

  “Biscuit designer?” Hannah replied giggling, “What does that entail?”

  “Next time you look at a biscuit check how many holes are in it. I work on ensuring the right amount of holes are on each type to ensure the right amount of liquid absorbability for dunking in your hot beverage. It’s a cut throat business but I enjoy the work.”

  “I must admit that sounds better than detective. Does that line ever work?”

  “I’ll let you know when it finally does. So tell me a little about yourself?”

  Hannah settled into her chair, “Are you sure it’s not as interesting as being a biscuit designer,” John motioned for her to continue, “Ok then but I warned you. I was born in the local hospital down the road, raised by my mother and her family, since my father disappeared. I went to school in the next village over and then college after. My grandfather worked down the mines and was very much a stickler for education, I always wanted to train to be a doctor or a teacher but it was still something of a boys club for the former and I was from a single parent family. So I started working in Liverpool to make up the money I needed, university might have been free but I was going to have to move away you see and we weren’t a rich family so they couldn’t help fund me. That’s when I met Peter. Back then he was a dashing young man, just made detective and following in his own family’s footsteps. He was a couple of years older than me but we hit it off. It was a whirlwind romance and we were very happy together.”

  “Then Janine Bennett went missing. You’ve got to remember the community was a lot closer back then and it hit everyone very hard. We’d all known her, everyone remembered her behind the bar, far too pretty to just stay here. Pete became obsessed with proving that Wills did it but even after putting him behind bars it never stopped. He wanted to find the body.”

  John could hear the anger and pain in her voice, “I’m surprised you wanted to come here for a drink with all the bad memories.”

  “This place looks nothing like it did back then and other than some of the clientele; it’s probably the nicest of the many pubs to drink in this village. Anyway where was I, oh yeah I had Lewis a couple of years after the murder. Having a son seemed to distract Peter from work and for a couple of years we were one big happy family. But he had never forgotten about the case. He knew Marjorie Bennett from the case and he was spending so much time with her. It was getting that he saw more of her than me during the week, consoling the ‘poor woman’. I couldn’t take it anymore so I kicked him out. It was difficult but I worked hard at it and made a career cooking. My mother and grandmother were excellent cooks so it didn’t take much practice to get a job as a chef and I’ve been doing it for the last ten years.”

  “I must admit your mother and grandmother must have trained you well. Your food is far too good for pub grub.”

  “Well I don’t know about that, it’s not like I’m going to win any Michelin stars in the near future,” Hannah’s eyes flicked to the door and she quickly hid her face with her hand. John followed the direction of her vision to Sean Bradhurst’s father who strode into the bar. He went straight over to his son, hugging and shaking hands with a number of people.

  Shifting his weight so he was directly between the two, John said, “I take it you have a problem with the douchebag behind me?” pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.

  “He makes my skin crawl, the creepy little midget. His son is just another one of many who we’ve had trouble with over the years.”

  “In the pub?” John asked as he swirled his glass.

  “On a more personal level. One of the problems with having a very smart son is that those without a modicum of intelligence tend to target those that do. Especially when you have a copper as a father they always think that you can defend yourself. Lewis has had to put up with a lot of crap over the years and his father hasn’t helped.”

  John just refilled the glasses. There was still a lot of bitterness in that relationship and although Hannah seemed nice he did not need the extra baggage. He needed to move the conversation away from personal problems, “I’m not supposed to reveal this information but it might make things a little easier for you and Lewis. I was going to tell him the next time I saw your son, I thought he might get a kick out of this.”

  Hannah shook her head, “Sorry I’m confused what are you babbling about?”

  “Your son said that I should look into Bradhurst and his friend in relation to the Bailey accident. He said that there had been an incident on the farm, so I asked my people to do a little research. Turns out there were charges and counter charges between the two. Bailey apparently threatened the two young men for trespassing on his farm with his shotgun.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Well you see he found those young men on his property in one of the barns, involved in should we say an intimate act,” Hannah raised her eyebrows, ‘together.’

  Laughing so hard that she snorted, Hannah had to cover her mouth in embarrassment. The noise had caused people to look over in their direction, and she flushed a little, “You’re telling me that Sean and his friend are in a relationship?”

  “I don’t know if they are that far along in their connection but they were definitely enjoying discovering their bodies together. From what Bailey said, he thought that it had been going on for some time.”

  Hannah got out her phone, “I’m going to have to text Lewis this, he will love a bit of dirt on these lot. I’ve not heard anything this juicy since I found out that Keith Birkett is a bedwetter.”

  “The rugby player?”

  “You know him?

  John unclipped the cufflink on his left hand and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a series of bruises that seemed to be merging into a one large contusion, “I had a run in with him this morning.”

  “Oh my god what happened?” Hannah asked as she gently touched his arm, her fingers delicately turning it over, looking at the injuries.

  “I caught him and his gang
of reprobates on the bridge hassling someone, I have this stupid way of getting in trouble and next minute I was getting a beating. Luckily I know what to do in a fight, so I’m pretty sure Keith has another broken bone to the list,” John replied as he tried to put the cufflink back on fumbling.

  Hannah took the small piece of metal off him and threaded it quickly through the cotton hole, “You’re turning into something of a hero of mine, Mister Harper.”

  “Glad to be of service.”

  “I can honestly say this has made my week, Lewis will be delighted.”

  “Speak of the devil,” John said pointing at the door as the young man walked in. Lewis looked around the bar, stopping briefly on the staff and the Bradhurst family, before coming over to the couple. John’s nose crinkled at the overpowering smell of Lewis’s aftershave. It was not a bad scent but he had worn too much. That said, there were a number of people in the Hollingswood Arms that did the same, so maybe it was a current trend.

  “Mother, Detective,” he said nodding at each in turn.

  “Did you get my text?” his mother asked putting an arm on his shoulder.

  “Yeah it didn’t make a lot of sense. You either need to learn text speak or just type normal words,” Lewis said not very impressed. He was looking around nervously, seeing if anyone had noticed he was talking to his mother.

  John stood up, offering his seat to the student, “Let me get you a drink, and I’ll let your mother fill you in. I finally got in touch with my boss; he had some interesting information on Bailey. What are you having?”

  “I’ll have a Maker’s Mark and coke.”

  “Ah a man after my own heart.”

  “And after you have had your drink you can leave us in peace,” Hannah said patting her son’s hand.