by Evelyn Amber
“And that was it?” Alice asked. “You didn’t see him at all that day?”
“No.”
“You must have been angry to find out he’d changed his mind?” Alice asked, feeling like she was treading on eggshells.
“I was a little,” she said. “I was upset more than anything. Deep down I knew something like this was going to happen, but I tried not to think about that.”
“What do you mean?” Alice asked.
“He had an easy life here,” Faith said with a shrug. “The idea of running away to start a new life is probably more appealing than the reality. He got cold feet when it came down to it. Everything moved so fast. We weren’t being rational. When he first told me he wanted to leave, I thought he was joking. I loved it when I lived here. I wouldn’t have wanted to leave if I was him.”
“Why did you leave?” Alice asked. “If you liked it here so much?”
“I had no choice,” Faith said sadly. “Dad got a better job in the city. I begged for him to reconsider and for us to stay, but his mind was made up. We had until the end of the summer holidays in 1983. Leaving here was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“So, you must have been sixteen?”
Faith nodded in reply.
Alice went to take another sip of her drink, and as she did, she accidentally knocked a knife onto the floor. As she bent down, she noticed something that made her blood run cold. Normally she wouldn’t have noticed something so insignificant, but as she went to pick the knife up that had fallen very close to Faith’s feet, she noticed that she had quite large compared to the average woman. She quickly sat back up and placed the knife on the table.
Alice’s mind immediately shot back to the large boot prints she had seen in the cottage when she’d discovered Trevor’s body. Had Faith left and returned to get her revenge in a pair of men’s boots to disguise her tracks?
“Did you leave the kitchen at all?” Alice asked. “When you found the letter, I mean?”
“No,” Faith said, tilting her head. “Why does that matter?”
“It doesn’t,” Alice said with a wave of her hand. “But enough of all this horrible business. Done any shopping here?”
“Erm,” Faith replied, clearly confused by the sudden change of subject. “Not really.”
“Those are nice shoes you have on. What size are they?”
Alice wanted to slap herself for how obvious she sounded.
“They’re a ten, but why-”
“Quite a big size for a woman,” Alice cut in, “wouldn’t you say?”
“Why are you asking me about my shoes?”
“Erm,” Alice tried to scramble her brain for any answer that would make sense, but nothing came to mind, so she shrugged.
Faith stared curiously at Alice, her doe eyes as wide as saucers. She let out a cold laugh that made Alice’s skin prickle.
“You think I did it, don’t you?” Faith asked, shaking her head. “What my shoes have to do with this, I don’t know, but you think I killed him. That’s why you agreed to come here, isn’t it? To question me. You had no intention of listening to my side of the story!”
Alice knew she had been caught out and any attempt at an explanation wouldn’t work. She knew she had to be honest.
“Well,” Alice paused, looking Faith directly in the eyes. “Did you?”
“Did I kill Trevor?” Faith laughed coldly, her eyes unmoving. “If I did, do you really think I’d stick around long enough to have this conversation?”
Alice opened her mouth, but Faith interrupted.
“Next time you want to play detective,” Faith spat, pulling a twenty out of her purse and throwing it on the table, “brush up on your skills. Keep the change.”
Faith shrugged on her coat before turning on her heels.
“Wait!” Alice stood up, holding her arm out to stop her leaving, but when Faith turned around, the look of rage in her eyes made Alice step back.
“Stay out of my way, okay?” Faith shouted. “I thought you were better than this.”
Alice slid back down into the chair and watched as Faith stormed off. Those who were left in the café turned around again to gaze at Alice, their mouths agape. She felt as small as Alice had in Alice in Wonderland after drinking the shrinking potion, however, there was no growing potion with a ‘Drink me!’ label on the table in front of her.
“Show’s over, folks!” Harry called as he walked towards Alice. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Alice said with a quiver in her voice. “It was just a disagreement.”
Harry raised his eyebrows at her and chuckled before patting her on the shoulders.
“I’m sure you two will make up.”
“We’re not friends,” Alice replied. “And I doubt we ever will be.”
As Alice walked home, her mind reeled with all the information she had been given. She noticed a familiar figure near the clock in the square, and after squinting her eyes, she saw that it was Barry. He was alone and muttering to himself as he stared into space.
“Barry?” Alice called out.
Barry turned, and Alice was shocked with what she saw. His swollen eyes were so screwed up, they showed the web of wrinkles circling them. He looked much older than his years. Like Minnie, he looked like he hadn’t slept. He stared straight through Alice as though he didn’t see her and turned to walk away as quickly as he could, still muttering to himself.
Alice thought about chasing after him, but he vanished out of sight before she had chance to set off. She looked up at the ink black sky and the night looked more ominous now than ever before.
6
“That will be £7.50 please, Penelope,” Alice said as she bagged up three books for another of her usual customers.
“Thanks,” the young woman said with a sympathetic smile as she passed the money in return for the books. “I’m sorry to hear about Trevor. You knew him well, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Alice replied, shifting uncomfortably under Penelope’s pitiful gaze. “We were good friends.”
“If you ever want a coffee or a chat, you know where I am,” Penelope said with a sincere smile.
“Thanks,” Alice said. “I might take you up on that offer. How’s Ruben doing by the way?”
“He’s a little bubble of energy,” Penelope chuckled. “But his teachers say he’s doing well with his school work.”
“That’s great,” Alice said, glad the conversation had shifted. “He’s such a sweetheart.”
Justin appeared from the storeroom with a pile of books dangerously cradled in his arms.
“Hi, Penelope,” he said, straining his neck to peer around the pile of books.
“Hi,” she replied with a smile. “Before I forget. Have you thought any more about the book club?”
“I have actually,” Alice said. “There’s a few people that seem interested. If you could get the word out, I think it could be a great idea.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “I’ll ask some of the other mums at school. I’m sure they’d love it. Anyway, I better get going. I have some errands to run. No rest for the wicked, eh? Bye!”
“Bye,” Alice and Justin said in unison before the little bell rang.
“A book club?” Justin asked, his arms starting to tremble from the weight of the books.
“It’s just an idea.” Alice took some of the load from his arms. “I thought it might be fun to get together with some locals and talk about books. Nothing too serious. I might not even do it.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” he replied. “Could help bring some more customers in too.”
Alice walked around the counter to put the books she had taken from Justin in their respective places. She had never thought of the book club as a business move but Justin could be right.
Over the next hour, Alice almost forgot about the events that had happened over the past few days. She was grateful that Justin had taken over answering the customers’ intrusive que
stions. She was happiest when she was surrounded by books in her shop without the constant interruptions.
As Alice swept dust along the floorboards after her lunch break, Barry rushed past the window, muttering loudly to himself. She rested the broom against a bookshelf and walked up to the window.
“Justin,” she called into the storeroom, “I need to run out. I’ll only be a second.”
Without waiting for a reply, Alice bounced out of the door and broke into a jog to catch up with Barry.
“Barry!”
Barry looked over his shoulder and immediately picked up the pace when he spotted her.
“Barry!” she repeated through panted breaths as she struggled to keep up with the surprisingly quick man. “Please, just wait!”
Barry slumped his shoulders and came to a halt. He slowly turned to face Alice, not raising his eyes from the cobbled ground.
“I’m sorry about the book,” she said as little raindrops started to fall from the clouds. “I had no idea how much it was worth.”
“What good is an apology?” Barry cried, looking up at her.
Alice recoiled when she saw his face. He was barely recognisable from the man she knew. In the harsh light of day, the bags under his eyes were dark and sagging, his skin was pale, and his hair was lacklustre. She could smell more than a few day’s worth of alcohol on him. Was the money worth his self-neglect?
“Please tell me you know where it is,” he begged. “Please, Alice! I need this.”
“I’m sorry,” Alice replied with a shake of her head. “I don’t. Last I heard, it was with Trevor, but I don’t know if it’s even at the cottage. The police might have confidscated it as evidence.”
There was a flash of something in Barry’s eyes that Alice didn’t recognise. Was it guilt or was it something more sinister?
“Do you know anything about what happened?” Alice asked tentatively.
“You sold the book!”
“I meant about Trevor’s murder.”
“No,” he replied, a little too quickly. “Why would I? I hardly knew the guy.”
“I don’t know.” Alice sighed. “Did you go to speak to him about the book before he died?”
“I was going to,” he said as he ran his hands through his thinning and greasy hair. “But I didn’t have the chance. Why do you ask?”
“I just want to know what happened.”
“Why?” Barry asked sharply. “Last time I checked, you just worked in a bookshop.”
Alice opened her mouth to speak, but she was so taken aback by his new attitude, she was at a loss for words. Where had the sweet and placid man gone?
“Barry, I’m really sorry,” she mumbled, “but you did donate the book. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“And if I don’t find that book,” he said, “I might as well drive myself off a cliff.”
“Don’t say that, Barry.”
“It’s true!” he cried. “I need that book, Alice. My life isn’t worth living without it.”
“Is it really that important?”
“Yes,” he replied bluntly. “I promised Thomas.”
“Thomas?”
Barry looked around, gripped Alice’s arm, and dragged her to the entrance of an alley to their right.
“He sells antiques,” Barry said, his eyes darting around. “Mainly books.”
“Is it illegal?” Alice asked.
“No,” Barry said quickly with a waft of his hand. “But, I was desperate for some money, so he gave me an advance on the book, which isn’t illegal, but I’m in a lot of trouble now. I didn’t mean to donate it! Why would I? I was in a hurry to bring you those old books because they were cluttering up my library, and I must have dropped it in by accident.”
“And why does Thomas want the book so bad?”
“He has a collection of classic books and he said the Alice in Wonderland will complete it so he can sell the whole thing. They’re all worth a lot alone, but together, we’re talking five figures.”
“And he gave you an up-front payment for the Alice in Wonderland?”
“With the promise that I would get him that book.”
Alice couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for selling the book, but she swallowed down the guilt; Barry had, after all, donated it, accidentally or not.
“How much money did he give you?”
“£4000.”
“£4000?” Alice almost choked on the figure. “For an old book?”
“Yes,” Barry said, appearing on the verge of tears. “And I’ve already spent it paying off old debts! I don’t have anything to give him back.”
“And he can’t sell the collection without it?”
“Thomas has a customer that wanted a specific collection of first edition books. This customer, had a list of books she wanted. Alice in Wonderland was part of it. For the whole collection, she has promised to pay over £35,000! She was insistent on Alice in Wonderland being part of the collection, or she wouldn’t buy it. It was her favourite book as a little girl. She grew up next to the real-life park that inspired Lewis Carroll. I found my copy for next to nothing at a book fair years ago, and I’d been looking to sell it for some extra cash. I had no idea how much it was really worth until I found Thomas. I bit his hand off when he offered me £4000!”
“I see,” Alice said with a sigh. “I’ll talk to Minnie. I can’t promise anything, but she might know where the book is.”
“Please do.” Barry reached out and grabbed Alice’s hands. “I’m scared of what Thomas will do if I don’t get that book to him soon.”
Barry tried to pull away, but Alice clutched his hands and said, “You need to look after yourself. No amount of money is worth letting yourself get into a state like this.”
Barry’s cheeks turned scarlet as he looked down at his dirty clothes. He seemed disgusted by what he saw. Alice let go of his hands, and he scratched his head. His face softened, and he half-smiled as though grateful for the honesty of a friend.
“Thank you, Alice,” he mumbled. “You’re right.”
The raindrops fell harder from the greying sky as she watched Barry walk away.
“He couldn’t have murdered Trevor,” Alice mumbled to herself, hoping she was right. “Not him. Not Barry.”
She walked back to the shop as the rain poured in bigger droplets. She was only a few steps away from the shop, but the rain was unforgiving, and she was drenched by the time she got back to the store.
“Bit wet out there?” Justin chuckled as he added some tatty old books to the preloved bin.
“You could say that,” Alice said, peeling off her cardigan that now stuck to her skin. “I wish the weather would make its mind up.”
“Where’s the excitement in that?”
Alice shook her damp hair out from the bobble it was in and dropped it. She reached to grab it, one hand still holding her hair up. It landed in front of the small collection of children’s books. An idea flashed in her mind and she turned to smile at Justin after she had managed to make her hair look somewhat presentable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Justin asked, tilting his head.
“Do you still have that box of your old books?” she asked. “The books from your childhood?”
Justin placed his finger on his chin as he thought.
“You mean books we had when we were kids?” Justin asked, raising his brow. “I think they’re in the attic.”
“We could sell them here.” Alice started as she approached the counter. “What do you say?”
She remembered there was an old copy of Alice in Wonderland somewhere in the collection of books. It was a long stretch, and she was positive that it wouldn’t be a first edition, but if she could get her hands on an old copy of the book, it might help her figure out who might want to kill for it.
“Sell them?” Justin protested. “I’ve had them since I was a kid! They’re my memories.”
“Have you read them in the last twenty years?” Alice as
ked.
“Well no,” he replied. “But that’s not the–”
“They’re just gathering dust in your attic,” Alice interrupted. “If we sell them, at least they’ll go to a good home.”
He pouted at Alice and shrugged, reminding her of the face he would pull when he was a little boy whenever he wouldn’t get his way.
“You can wipe that look of your face,” she joked. “I’ll do you a deal. If there’s any that you absolutely can’t let go of, you can keep them. But our children’s book section is lacking right now.”
“I guess I could ask Kyle to fish them out.”
“Thank you,” Alice replied before kissing her son on the cheek as she joined him behind the counter. “You can go on your break while it’s quiet. See if you can get those books.”
Justin headed out, pulling his hood over his head. Alice watched absentmindedly as the rain pounded against the road outside. With the weather this bad, she was sure no customers would be crazy enough to brave the rain. She wouldn’t be interrupted as long as the downpour continued, so she took her phone out of her bag to call Holly.
The phone rang out seven times before Holly picked up.
“Hello, darling,” Alice said when Holly finally picked up. Pop music blasted in the background. “How’s it all going? Have you settled in? Have you made any friends?”
“Mum!” Holly exclaimed. “Don’t embarrass me. You’re on loudspeaker.”
Alice heard the distinct giggling of girls in the background, joined by Holly’s.
“One sec,” Holly said.
The phone muffled, and Alice heard footsteps and the sound of a door closing.
“Sorry,” Holly said. “Me and my friends are just going through an essay.”
Alice knew that particular white lie all too well, but she wouldn’t begrudge her daughter some fun, even if she had been worrying about what she had been getting up to.
“How have your classes been?” Alice asked.
“Eye-opening,” Holly replied. “There’s a lot more work than I expected.”
“That’s university for you,” Alice said. “I know all the parties are exciting, but make sure you keep on top of everything. You’ll get swamped if you don’t.”