The Feud

by James, Amanda

It’s like walking onto a film set when he arrives a few minutes later. There’s a fire engine, two police cars, a few more vehicles, an unmarked ambulance and about fifteen or so officials of various descriptions milling about, chatting, talking on phones and making notes. Behind the spotlights they’ve erected, he can see half a cottage and a roof. It’s almost as if a giant has sliced the place in two with a jagged sword of fire. His car has a cordon around it and is barely recognisable. There’s another car on a rescue truck, a tarpaulin loosely covering the majority of it. Matt doesn’t recognise the little he can see, but he can tell it’s not burnt.

  As he’s standing there, he hears his name being called from behind one of the police cars. It’s PC David Cross, who’s now hurrying towards him with a middle-aged woman he doesn’t recognise close behind him. ‘Mr Trevelyar,’ Cross says. ‘Matt… Come over here and have seat.’ Cross takes his elbow and guides him over to the front seat of the police car. He nods to the woman standing on his right. ‘This is DI Karen Price.’

  DI Price inclines her head towards Matt, gives a brief smile and shoves her hand through her closely cropped red hair. ‘As you can see, Matt… Can I call you Matt?’

  He nods.

  ‘There’s been a fire at your home. I’m also sorry to say we’ve found a body.’ She pushes her thick dark-rimmed glasses up to the bridge of her nose, tilts her head, studies his face. ‘Can I get you some water?’

  He shakes his head to water. ‘Yes… I know. My friend heard people talking about it in the pub.’

  DI Price rolls her eyes at Cross. ‘Great. How the hell did they find out so quick?’

  ‘Must have been that neighbour who rocked up before the cordon was put across.’

  Price sighs. ‘The postman… yeah. Bloody blabbermouth.’ She looks back at Matt and takes a quick glance at Cross. ‘Not only that… It’s likely it was arson, according to the fire officer in charge. Until we’ve done a few more tests it won’t be confirmed categorically, but the officer is fairly sure.’

  Matt’s jaw drops and he raises his hand to his mouth, but it trembles against his lips so he clasps his hands together in his lap. But the tremble spreads to his arms and legs. He thinks he can smell a whiff of petrol faintly on the air and nausea rises in his throat. His pulse is racing and he feels somehow outside his body. Someone has done this deliberately? Someone has burnt his house and someone has died.

  ‘Matt, you okay?’ Cross asks.

  ‘No,’ Matt manages after a few moments. ‘Not really… Someone hates me enough to deliberately set my house on fire… Did they think I was in it?’ He closes his eyes, thinks about the badger head, the vandalising of his car, the drugging and humiliation… ‘They must have… she must have actually wanted to kill me.’

  DI Price asks, ‘She? Who do you mean?’

  ‘Morvoren Penhallow, who else?’ He looks at Cross, whose expression is unreadable.

  ‘Ah, yes. PC Cross did fill me in about the previous events.’

  A thought suddenly occurs to Matt. ‘Is the body Morvoren’s? Did she set the fire and then somehow get caught in it? Because if she did, I’m not bloody sorry.’ He knows that sounds callous, but so what.

  ‘No. The body isn’t hers. It is a woman though,’ DI Price says, and looks at Matt as if to gauge his reaction. ‘I believe you knew her, too.’

  He wants to yell at her to just bloody tell him, but he doesn’t like the fact that her previous compassion has been replaced by a more suspicious demeanour. ‘Really? Who is it?’

  Price says, ‘The body wasn’t completely burnt, because the fire fighters got here and attended to her. Unfortunately, they were too late. We found a car at the end of the lane with a driving license in the glove compartment. We were able to identify her easily from that.’

  Cross makes his lips into a grim line. ‘Sorry to have to tell you, Matt, but it’s Jessica Blake. I spoke to her briefly when I popped in to see your headteacher at the time of your last incident.’

  Feelings of nausea intensify as he digests this news. Jessica is dead. Dead. What the hell was she doing here?

  ‘Had you arranged to meet Ms Blake at your home?’ Price asks.

  ‘No. No, I’ve no idea why she was here,’ Matt says, a tremor in his voice. Had she come here… started the fire because he’d rejected her? He realises DI Price is holding a bag up and asking him something else. ‘Sorry, what?’

  ‘We found this. Do you recognise it?’

  Through the plastic evidence bag, Matt looks at the silver chain with a mermaid hanging from the clasp. Yes. He’s seen this before, but where? Then it comes to him… Shit. It’s Lavender’s! He can’t say that though, can he? Fuck. What the hell was Lavender doing here? But then she couldn’t have been, because she was in the pub waiting for him… wasn’t she? Aware he’s taking too long to reply, he frowns and turns the corners of his lips down. ‘Nope. Not seen it before. Probably Jessica’s?’

  ‘Hmm. Possibly. It was found in the victim’s hand.’ DI Price whisks the bag away. ‘But we can’t assume that, Mr Trevelyar.’ She folds her arms, gives him a hard stare. ‘Where were you coming back from just now? And what time did you leave?’

  Lavender’s bracelet was found in Jessica’s hand? What the hell? Keep calm, Matt. He swallows and rubs his eyes, tries to remember what time he left. He tells them he went out straight after Lavender’s call. So it must have been about five thirty. He tells them that and also about talking to Betty and meeting Lavender.’

  ‘Okay. So this Betty will corroborate your story… Lavender too?’

  Matt notices that PC Cross has his notepad out and is scribbling away. The penny drops… He’s being questioned in connection with the bloody fire! His stomach flips. ‘Why?’ He shakes his head, incredulous. ‘Do you suspect me?’

  ‘We have to ask these questions, Mr Trevelyar. We also have to ask you to pop along there to our forensics guys.’ She waves a hand in the direction of a white tent that’s been erected. ‘They’ll want to have a look at you – your clothes too. You knew the victim, so…’

  Matt notices she neglected to say they didn’t suspect him. And what does that mean – ‘you knew the victim’? He doesn’t like where this is going at all. ‘But can you do this without me having a solicitor?’

  ‘You’re just helping us with our inquiries. If you have nothing to hide, then there’s no problem, is there? We can arrange a solicitor, but we’d have to take you to the station and–’

  ‘No. I want to help.’ Matt sighs and follows her to some people dressed in white coveralls. An hour later he’s ‘free to go’. Forensics have finished with him, and Betty and Lavender have corroborated his ‘story’. Until they have more evidence, it looks like he won’t be required again. They will, of course, want to speak to him at a later date and will keep him abreast of proceedings. ‘Free to go’, they’d said. Where he will go is a problem. Matt looks at the ruined cottage with dismay. Though the side housing his bedroom seems intact, smoke damage might have ruined his clothes. Therefore, he has what he’s standing up in. There’s no way they would let him look for extra clothes, toiletries, et cetera, as the house is deemed unsafe. But luckily, he has his phone and wallet, so can get a room in a hotel. There are at least two he knows of in the village. The police offered to help him find somewhere, but he just wanted to be rid of them. After tonight, he’ll have to think again. And with a burnt-out car, he’ll have to think about transport too.

  Matt says goodbye to Price and Cross and with a head full of questions, sets off down the road. Could Morvoren actually have pulled a stunt like this? What was Jessica doing here – could she have set the fire, as had crossed his mind earlier? And what was Lavender’s bracelet doing in her hand? Then he stops in his tracks. The CCTV at the side of the house that wasn’t burnt might have picked up something if it hadn’t been damaged. He runs back to the cottage just as Price and Cross are getting into their car. He tells them his idea.

  ‘We didn’t see a camera,’ Price
says.

  ‘It’s tiny and well hidden under the eaves,’ Matt answers, pleased that he chose to spend the money on the latest type.

  Cross gets out of the car. ‘Excellent.’ He makes for the side of the house. ‘Let’s hope it’s intact and turns up something.’

  As Matt sets off again, he remembers he’s promised to tell Lavender what’s happened. She’ll be even more worried now the police have contacted her about his whereabouts. Matt shoves his hands into his pockets and wonders whether to phone or call round. He needs a place for the night, but he decides it’s more important to forego a phone call and actually go and see Lavender first. Besides… he wants to see her face when he tells her about the mermaid bracelet. She can’t possibly be involved, can she?

  The wind blows the scent of smoke and ash into his face as he turns the corner towards the village, and a chill runs the length of his spine when he imagines what Jessica must have gone through. Once more his mind is flooded with unanswered questions. What the hell was she doing at his house? And why did she have Lavender’s bracelet in her hand? Matt tells himself off – no point in driving himself mad rehashing it all. Lavender will shed some light on it, perhaps. Did she have a fight with Jessica when she’d called round earlier? Did Jessica pull the bracelet off Lavender’s wrist somehow?

  Matt shakes his head and swallows down a mixture of nausea and anxiety. The village is quiet – just a few people walking to the pub, getting petrol and in the little supermarket at the end of the lane. He can see a line of shoppers at the checkout. People are talking, laughing, putting things into their baskets. Everything looks so normal, but how can it be, while his whole life is falling apart? It’s surreal… like some terrifying nightmare. Please God, let me wake up from it soon.

  Chapter 27

  Lavender opens the door and Matt can tell straight away that she’s had a drink. She gives him a quick hug and then he follows her to the kitchen and he clocks about a third of a bottle of red wine on the side, a glass almost empty on the table. ‘Want a glass?’ she asks, and picks up the bottle.

  ‘I could murder one, but I need a clear head. Everything feels way out of control as it is.’

  Lavender sighs and goes to refill her glass.

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t have any more either.’

  She frowns and tips a little in. ‘This is my last one. I needed it after I spoke to the police.’ Lavender goes into the living room and sits on the sofa, pats the cushion next to her. ‘Why the hell were they asking me if I’d seen you tonight?’

  Matt joins her on the sofa. ‘Because the fire was arson – unconfirmed as yet, but the fire officer’s more or less sure. Something about the fire pattern? Besides, I’m sure I could smell a faint whiff of petrol in the air. They were organising sniffer dogs too – but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist.’

  Lavender’s eyes grow round and she grabs his arm. ‘Who the hell would want to…’ Her words run out and Matt imagines she’s supplied her own answer.

  ‘Yes, like you, I did think it was your lovely old granny.’

  ‘When I saw her last, she was hell-bent on finishing you off… I never thought she’d actually try it though, not really.’ Lavender stares into the fire, her bottom lip trembling.

  ‘The thing is, it might not have been her.’ Matt looks at Lavender, unsure of how to broach the subject of the dead body being Jessica’s. Best to just tell her straight, and about the fact he slept with her last Saturday. In fact, he’ll start there.

  As he’s telling her, Lavender gets up and tips the rest of the bottle into her glass. Tears are pouring silently down her face. ‘Jessica was telling me the truth then… that she was your girlfriend?’ Matt holds his hand up, shakes his head, but she ploughs on. ‘Why the hell did you let me make a fool of myself the other–’

  ‘Hey, give me a chance!’ Matt reaches out a hand, but she folds her arms, fixes him with a hard stare. ‘The next morning, I realised it was a huge mistake. I told her straight away that there was not going to be a next time… She was the one who practically forced herself on me, after all. I know it sounds trite, but it had been a long time since…’ Shit, this isn’t going well. ‘Look, I know it’s no excuse… but while Jessica and I were’ – he feels a flush creep up his neck and looks away from Lavender’s level gaze. ‘While we were in bed, I pictured you. You were all I could think about, Lavender…’

  ‘Right. That’s supposed to make me feel better, is it?’ Her voice is cold, sharp.

  ‘No. But it’s the truth.’

  There’s silence for a few moments and then she reaches for his hand. ‘When I thought you were dead earlier, I told myself that I wouldn’t care if you had fifty women on the go, just so long as I could see your face again. I’m prepared to forget it happened and move on if you want to. Jessica might not be though. She seems to have strong feelings for you – going to all the trouble of coming over here to tell me off and…’ Her voice tails off when she notices Matt’s grim expression. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It was Jessica. The body they found… it was hers.’ Lavender gasps and covers her face with her hands. He gives her a moment and then tells her she was found next to his house. ‘It’s possible it wasn’t Morvoren’s doing at all. Jessica could have been the arsonist.’ Even as Matt says this, he knows it doesn’t feel right.

  Lavender takes three big gulps of wine and sets the glass down on the coffee table. ‘S-so you’re telling me Jessica actually might have tried to kill you, because you rejected her? What, and she somehow succumbed to the smoke or something?’

  ‘Possibly. It’s a long shot, but why else would she be there?’

  ‘Maybe she was going to tell you some cock and bull story about her meeting with me?’ Lavender shrugged. ‘Perhaps she knew I’d tell you that she came here and told me you were her boyfriend – told me to leave you alone. Jessica might have thought up a different story to spin you – so it would be my word against hers.’

  Matt thinks this is possible, but he’s girding his loins to broach the subject of the bracelet. The thought of it is a lead weight on his chest. ‘We’ll never know now, will we?’

  ‘No, I guess not… I can hardly get my head around what you’ve told me. It’s like walking through a nightmare.’

  Matt nods. ‘That’s exactly what it’s like… and there’s more.’

  ‘More?’

  ‘’Fraid so.’ Matt shifts in his seat, looks at the rug in front of the fire. ‘The police asked me if I recognised a bracelet that was found in Jessica’s hand.’ He pauses, glances back at Lavender. She’s frowning, looks impatient for him to get on with it. ‘I did recognise it, but I said I didn’t.’

  ‘Why would you do that?’

  ‘Because it was a delicate little silver chain with a mermaid hanging from the clasp.’

  Both of Lavender’s hands shoot to her mouth, but can’t prevent a moan of shock escaping her lips. ‘That’s mine.’

  ‘I know, that’s why I said I didn’t recognise it.’

  She stares at him, open-mouthed. ‘Hang on. Do you think I had something to do with her death? And you didn’t tell them the bracelet was mine to… what, protect me?’

  He shrugs. ‘It did cross my mind, but then I realised you were in the pub at the time of the fire. You told the police that you were, too, and they will check your story, ask witnesses if they’ve not done so already.’

  ‘Oh, well, that’s all right then!’ Lavender jumps up, starts to pace the room. ‘How the hell could you think I had anything to do with Jessica’s death? What kind of a woman do you think I am?’

  Matt jumps up too. ‘Hey, calm down. What would you have thought if you were in my shoes? The police show you something that belongs to me and say it was on the victim’s body? Come on, Lavender. Think about it!’

  She stops pacing and heaves a sigh, looks into the fire. ‘Yes, I suppose…’

  ‘I didn’t think it for long, you know. When I went over it in my mind later, I came up with a
reason why she might have had it in her hand. When she came round to yours earlier, did you come to blows? Or did she grab your wrist, for example?’

  Lavender shook her head. ‘No. No, we never came to blows.’ She walks back to the sofa, slumps down on it and covers her face with both hands. Then her shoulders start to shake, and Matt realises she’s sobbing as if her heart will break.

  He hurries over, puts his arms around her. ‘Come on, love. We’ll get to the bottom of it. There must be another explanation.’ He can’t think what the hell it could be right now, however.

  ‘I don’t n-need to get to the bottom of it, because I-I know!’ A fresh bout of sobbing vibrates through his chest as she lays her head there. ‘I wish I didn’t know because it’s t-too terrible to take in.’

  Matt releases her and fetches a glass of water and a tissue from the kitchen. ‘Here, drink this. Then take a deep breath and tell me what it is.’

  Lavender does as he asks and then takes a deep, shuddering breath. ‘It was my gran… no, I won’t ever give her that title again. It was that bitch Morvoren’s doing. We were right in the first place. She was the one behind the fire. I have no idea how Jessica ended up in the middle of it all, but Morvoren obviously wanted the finger pointed at me.’ Lavender blows her nose. ‘The last time I saw her, we argued, as you know. She grabbed my wrist and the next day I realised my bracelet had gone. I knew she’d never let me have it back… Ironic, as she was the one who gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday. She said it was because we have webbed fingers, and the old tales that webbed fingers on women meant they were related to mermaids way back.’

  Matt slumped down next to her on the sofa. ‘My God. Are you saying Morvoren burnt down my house, found Jessica was there and injured, possibly dying… so shoved your bracelet in her hand to make people think you did it all?’

  Lavender gave a slow nod. ‘Seems that way to me. How about you?’

  Matt can hardly take it in. What kind of a person was Morvoren? Would she really stoop so low as to set her granddaughter up for murder? ‘I honestly don’t know, Lavender. We know she hates me and why. Also, because I’m back in the village and telling anyone who’ll listen what an evil witch she is. But why would she try and do something so awful to you? I know you stood up to her after you found out she’d lied to you about me, told her you didn’t want to see her again, but this…’ He shakes his head. When he thinks of his own lovely gran, he can’t conceive of such a terrible act.