by Evelyn Amber
Justin took Holly into a bear hug and rubbed her hair playfully, causing her to push him off to smooth it back down.
“See you around, kid.”
Holly then feebly hugged her dad and shared an awkward look with Lucas before rushing off to her room with her face buried in her phone.
“Justin, don’t forget,” Alice said as she hugged him, “I’m seeing Holly off tomorrow, so I’ll be a little later than usual. You’ll be okay to open the shop, won’t you?”
Justin nodded before kissing her on the cheek. Everyone else shared awkward goodbyes before they went their separate ways. Alice was more than happy to lock her door and kick off her heels when she finally closed the door behind them. She put the chain on, which was something she hadn’t done in years, but the earlier confrontation with Barry had unsettled her.
Her bed called her, so she decided she would leave cleaning the dinner mess until tomorrow morning. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she drifted off into a restless sleep while a drunken Barry Oakes stalked her dreams.
2
“Have you got everything you need?” Alice asked, tucking a strand of her daughter’s long, ash-blonde hair behind her ear.
“Mum!” Holly exclaimed, batting Alice’s hand away. “Stop fussing! I’m not a kid anymore.”
“What about your toothbrush?” Alice asked, dismissing her daughter. “Have you got enough underwear?”
"I'm eighteen, not eight," Holly said, her cheeks burning. "Stop worrying."
“You’re my baby.” Alice felt her eyes well up. “I’m allowed to worry.”
“Please don’t cry.” Holly sighed. “The university is only an hour drive away. I’ll come to visit all the time.”
Holly picked up a box with the last of her things and headed for the door. They stood there for what felt like an eternity before Alice pulled her daughter in for one final hug. Holly’s resistance didn’t last long before she melted into her mother.
“I’m so proud of you,” Alice said, cupping Holly’s face in her hands. “The first of my babies to go to university!”
Alice knew Holly was trying to hide her emotions, but looking into her grey-blue eyes, so much like her own, she could see how anxious she was to move away from home.
“I’ll be fine,” Holly said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself.
“I’m just a phone call away,” Alice said, opening the door for Holly. “If you need anything, anything at all, you call me! Day or night.”
“I know.” Holly smiled, kissing Alice on the cheek. “Bye, Mum.”
“Bye, sweetheart,” Alice whispered as her daughter walked down the garden path.
Holly placed the box in the boot of her bright red Ford Fiesta, and slammed it shut. Alice remembered going to the dealership to get her daughter that car. She had asked for the safest car at the best price for a first-time driver. Holly had wanted something with a little more street cred, but she’d been grateful for a set of wheels all the same.
Holly climbed into her car and sat with her hands clamped on the steering wheel, simply staring into space as though she could see the rest of her life right in front of her. She twisted the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life, snapping her from her trance. She rolled down the window and smiled.
“Don’t forget to call your dad,” Alice shouted through cupped hands. “And drive safely! No speeding!”
Holly nodded, and with one last wave, drove down the street and turned the corner. Alice stood in the doorway long after the car had disappeared, dabbing her eyes with a shredded piece of tissue. She had known this day would come, but she hadn’t realised how hard it would be for the youngest of her children to fly the nest. It hadn’t been easy when her other two children had left, but she’d still had Holly until now; living alone would take some adjustment.
Alice walked into her front room, the silence suffocating her. She looked around her cottage, noticing how untouched it was by Holly’s existence; any trace of Holly having lived there had now been packed away in boxes and was currently driving on the way to Edge Hill University. She would miss Holly, but she could get used to not seeing her unwashed clothes cast around the house or trying to grab weeks old dirty plates from under her bed.
She walked back down the hallway to leave and paused as she looked in the mirror near her front door. She scrunched her face as she leaned closer to the mirror, the fine lines around her eyes and lips more pronounced than she would have liked. The slight sagging to her once plump and youthful face felt like it was hiding the young woman she still felt like within. It had been hard coming to terms with entering her fifties, but her aging-anxiety had yet to ease now that she was fifty-one. She made a mental note to get her hair dyed when she noticed the grey roots peeking through. Letting her hair grow out would be the most natural option, but she couldn’t seem to let go of her golden locks.
She gave herself a final look over and shrugged her favourite powder blue cardigan on before leaving. There wasn’t one cloud in the sky as she strolled down her garden path.
She turned left after closing her gate and looked towards the huge clock in front of the town hall, the main focal point of Ashbrook, standing in the middle of a cobbled square. It was surrounded by quaint shops and little cafés. The town was buzzing with activity, as people hopped off and on the busses, and went about their daily business, a few smiling at her as she went.
Strolling past one of the coffee shops, she made her way down the bustling main street and past a high-priced clothing boutique, which happened to be her daughter's favourite shop in town. She remembered having to save up to buy an overpriced dress that Holly had begged her to buy for her high school prom. Holly’s face had been a picture when she’d surprised her with the exact dress.
Her bookshop was the last at the end of the downward sloping main street. Large windows displaying the latest book releases stood on either side of the green front door. The ‘Alice’s Bookend’ sign above the door looked out proudly on the other shops.
The little bell rang out as she walked in. Justin, who was behind the counter, looked up from a copy of Stephen King’s Mr Mercedes.
“How was it?”
“I cried,” Alice said with a forced laugh as she traced her fingers along a stack of books. “You children grow up way too fast. It seems like it was only yesterday that you were all running havoc at home.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Justin replied, scratching his blond hair. “At least you won’t have to clean up after her.”
“You were as bad as her as far as mess goes,” Alice pointed out.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Justin said with a wicked smile. “Kyle said he’s sick of tidying up after me.”
Alice chuckled as she joined her son behind the counter. The shop was absent of customers, but that wasn’t unusual for the time of day. As soon as lunch came around, the shop would be busy. When she first opened, she’d worried that the people of Ashbrook wouldn’t welcome a bookstore with the rising popularity of electronic readers, but she’d soon realised the townsfolk had a great appreciation for thumbing through physical books.
The shop was modest in size, but she offered every genre of book someone could wish for; from mystery to gardening, to modern bestsellers and the classics; she had it all. The shelves lining the shop were bursting with paperbacks and hardbacks, and that was how Alice liked it. She loved knowing that she could travel to a far-off world on a quest with Frodo Baggins and his companions or to a bygone era to solve a mystery alongside Miss Marple.
“Anyone customers so far today?” Alice asked as she looked over the inventory list.
“We had Clementine looking for a knitting book,” Justin replied, “again.”
"She wanted another knitting book?" Alice said. "That's her third this month!”
“She’s a peculiar woman.”
“She's lovely,” Alice replied, nudging him playfully on the arm. “She used to babysit when your dad and I went danci
ng."
“I remember vividly,” Justin said. “She used to make us cut cat pictures out of magazines and make collages with her. I can still smell the PVA glue.”
"Are you forgetting that you were the first to show us as soon as we walked through the door?"
Justin smiled as Alice made a note to order some more knitting books. She jumped when Justin’s phone rang, breaking the silence.
“It’s Kyle,” Justin stated. “Can I take this?”
She nodded in reply as Justin lifted the receiver to his ear. If it had been anyone else, Alice might have minded her employees taking calls during work, but she didn’t begrudge her son a chat with his husband on a quiet morning.
Alice gazed at the metal bin of books to the left of the counter, and she thought back to yesterday's dinner interruption. What was so special about Alice in Wonderland? Why had Barry been so adamant that he needed it back? To her knowledge, it had been a run-of-the-mill tatty old copy. Trevor had visited the shop for something else entirely and had bought it on a whim after flicking through the books in the preloved bargain basket. Alice didn’t know if visiting Trevor would uncover anything, but she was too curious not to.
“I’m nipping out,” Alice shouted into the back of the shop as she grabbed her bag. “I need to see a man about a book.”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Barry Oakes’ visit last night, would it?” Justin asked as he stepped back into the front of the shop, his hand covering the phone.
“Maybe,” Alice replied with a twinkle in her eye as she opened the door. “Maybe not. I’ll be ten minutes at the most.”
Luckily for Alice, Minnie and Trevor's house wasn’t too far from the shop, so it wouldn’t take her long to get there. It was unseasonably hot for a spring day, and she wished she had chosen to leave her cardigan at the shop. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she walked back up the sloping main street.
She’d known Trevor and Minnie since high school, and they both had a kind nature. If Trevor’s purchase of the book had caused an issue, she wanted to clear the air as soon as possible. Barry had been a great help since her shop had opened and she’d become fond of him. If the book was so important to Barry, she would at least try and get it back. If it held sentimental value, she could understand, but from the way Barry had acted, she had a feeling it held a great value of a different kind.
She reached the top of the hill and paused for a moment to catch her breath. She picked a tissue from her handbag and wiped the sweat away.
When she arrived at Minnie’s house, she found that the blinds were shut. Minnie had always been an early riser, and it wasn’t like her to leave the blinds closed, especially on such a beautiful day.
She unlatched the small wooden gate and walked towards the cottage. Alice noticed the door was partially open, and she was about to walk in, but hesitated. Trevor and Minnie were more than used to her visits, but she usually phoned ahead first.
“Minnie?” she shouted through the small gap in between the door and its frame. “Trevor? Are you there? It’s Alice.”
She waited for a response, but she heard no movement from inside. Minnie could be forgetful at times, but even she would never forget to close the front door on her way out. Alice felt her mind creeping towards darker thoughts.
“Is anyone home?” she shouted again, raising her voice. “Hello?”
Still, there was no response. It wasn’t strange for someone to leave their door open, especially on a hot day, but coupled with the closed blinds and lack of response, it seemed no one was home.
She hovered for a moment, wondering if she should go back, but something didn’t seem right. For the second time that day, she jumped at the ringing of a phone. She plucked it from her bag to see who was calling her; it was Justin. She thought about picking it up to see if he had any ideas about what to do, but she declined the call and dropped it back into her bag. She wouldn’t normally decline his calls, but she resolved to call him back when she’d put the mystery of the open door to bed.
She pushed the door, and it let out a loud creak. She took tentative steps through the floral printed hallway. The stillness was eerie. Goosebumps shot up on her arms as she crept further away from the light streaming through the front door. It wasn’t cold, but she pulled her cardigan tighter around herself.
She reached the end of the hall and stepped into the living room. Her heart stopped. A body lay motionless on the floor. Without needing to get any closer, she could tell it was Trevor. Scattered books surrounded him as though someone had been looking for something in a hurry. Two cracked halves of a blood-soaked teapot sat inches from his head. She recognised it as a decorative piece that was usually placed on their coffee table.
Her natural instinct was to check that he was okay, but her feet wouldn’t allow her to move. She felt like the soles of her shoes had been glued to the carpet. Her throat constricted as she tried to speak, but she could only manage small whimpers. She looked desperately around the living room and noticed big muddy footprints leading to the back door, which was open like the front. They looked like work boots, but before her mind would focus, she looked back at Trevor on the carpet.
She knew she could have only been standing there for a matter of seconds, but every second dragged on like an hour. She finally snapped to her senses and rushed to Trevor’s side. She knelt down and noticed a gash in the side of his head. Blood trickled down his face to form a red pool on the carpet.
Whatever had happened to him was recent. She clasped her hand over her mouth, knowing Trevor was dead. She stared at his pale and ghostly face, his mouth ajar. His blank eyes stared soullessly back at her. Her face matched his, but her screams were not silent.
3
“Where is he?” Minnie screamed, trying to push through two police officers that were restraining her. “This is my house! You can’t stop me from going in. Let me through!”
Minnie’s small frame pushed against the officers as hard as she could, but immediately stopped when two paramedics pushed Trevor’s bagged up body out. She placed both of her hands over her face and the tears started to pour.
“Trevor!” she wailed, running over to the body bag, her shaking hands outstretched but not seeming to know where to put them. “This can’t be happening! Not my Trevor!”
Alice stared ahead at the scene unfolding in front of her that seemed to be going in slow motion. She locked eyes with Minnie and swiftly ran to her side. She said nothing but cradled Minnie in her arms the way she always would when they were younger.
They stood in a silent hug as they watched the ambulance drive away with Trevor inside. Alice had to use every inch of her strength to stop Minnie from crumbling to the ground.
“Excuse me, are you Mrs Taylor?” A man with a deep voice appeared behind them and tapped on Alice’s shoulder.
“Miss.” Alice corrected after turning her head to see where the voice had come from.
“My apologies, ma’am,” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Inspector Dobbs. I need to ask you a few questions about what happened.”
“Can I have a moment with my friend, please?”
“Of course,” said Inspector Dobbs, taking a step back, but still staying within earshot.
Alice stared ahead at the house as police officers crawled around it like bugs. She looked down at Minnie as she clung to her, and then to Dobbs; she knew she couldn’t avoid his questions.
“I need to talk to the police, Minnie,” Alice said, squeezing her friend’s arm softly, looking into her hazel eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Minnie replied, barely above a whisper. “I suppose they’ll want to talk to me too at some point.”
Alice wished she had some comforting words for her friend. It broke her heart to see her like this but nothing she could do would bring Trevor back.
“I understand that you found the body,” the inspector stated without a hint of softness. “Is that correct?”
The wor
d ‘body’ made Alice shudder. Thinking of her friend like that made her want to faint. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she swallowed hard, resisting the urge.
“Yes,” she said. “That’s true.”
“Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened?” Inspector Dobbs probed as he pulled out a small pad and pen. “Start at the beginning of the events leading up to you finding Mr Haworth’s body.”
Alice thought for a minute as she tried to remember why she’d even visited the house. It felt so long ago since her biggest problem had been a tattered old book.
“I came to visit, and the door was open,” Alice started, choosing her words carefully. “I thought that was peculiar, and I shouted their names–”
"Who are you referring to when you say ‘names’?" He flipped over a page in his little notebook.
“Trevor and Minnie,” Alice said, pausing for him to say something else until he nodded for her to continue. “Nobody answered, so I went inside to make sure everything was fine. Something didn’t feel right the second I stepped inside. I–I went to the front room, and there he was.”
“You said ‘something didn’t feel right’ when you walked in?” Dobbs said without looking up from his pad as his pen scribbled the information down. “Can you elaborate on that?”
“It just felt off,” Alice replied. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not like them to leave the front door open.”
“I see,” the inspector noted with a raised brow. “Was there anyone else at the property when you arrived?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Is there anything else at all that may be of importance?”
Alice thought back to the books scattered on the carpet and wondered if it could have anything to do with Barry and the mystery copy of Alice in Wonderland.
"No," she said with a shake of her head, deciding not to confuse things by mentioning the book. “Not that I can think of right now.”
She didn’t know why she’d lied. She was sure the inspector could tell she was holding something back, but either way, he didn’t push her for more information.