by Agatha Frost
“Barker would be there for you if you needed him to be.”
“He’s too busy being a best-selling author to care about my marriage troubles.” Christie laughed as he stared into his pint. “He’s living the life.”
“It’s not so easy for him right now, you know,” she revealed, immediately wondering if she should have said anything. “He’s having trouble with his publishers. They’re not liking his second book.”
“Really?”
“Maybe you could talk to each other?” she suggested. “There’s no shame in talking about your emotions.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Christie stared into his pint for a second before clearing his throat and leaning against the table. “So, why did you really ask me here? I’m sure it wasn’t to hear me moan about my wife, and I doubt it’s about your mugging, either.”
Sensing that he was ready to give her what she wanted to know, Julia pulled the folded pictures from her handbag. She opened them and placed them on the table. Christie cast his eye over them, and it became obvious straight away that he’d seen them before.
“Where did you get these?” Christie asked with a crooked smile; Julia could tell he was impressed. “Are you sure you don’t want to retrain? It’s never too late. I’d kill for a brain like yours on my team.”
“I’m flattered, but no.” Julia pushed the pictures closer. “I assume you’ve seen these? Tony thought he was being followed by this man.”
“He was being followed by this man.” Christie paused to sip his pint. “Nigel Bell.”
“You know him?”
“Very well.” Christie leaned across the table and pushed the pictures back to Julia. “Our paths have crossed quite a few times over the years. He’s a PI. A private investigator. Well, not officially. He’s not registered.”
“You have to be registered to be a PI?”
“Since 2014.” Christie nodded. “They thought it would put a stop to the unscrupulous PIs out there, but they’re still working. Nigel Bell is a decent. He’s not one of the bad ones, but they’d never officially register him and he knows it, so he operates on the outskirts. If he caused trouble, we’d be able to give him six months of jail time and a hefty fine, but he can be useful from time to time.”
“Why was he following Tony?”
“Nigel specialises in cheating spouses,” Christie said with a twinkle in his eye. “He follows men around when their wives think they’re being naughty. It’s simple stuff. Men aren’t that careful about these things, usually. We’re an arrogant breed. We think we’re never going to get caught, but when do cheaters ever get away with it?”
“Camila hired him?”
“That’s my guess,” Christie said after more beer. “She won’t admit it. I asked her, and she swore she’d never do that. Claimed to trust him, which I thought was sweet. If we hadn’t been in the middle of an official interview, I would have told her never to trust a man.”
“I trust Barker.”
“Barker’s different.” Christie pursed his lips. “I don’t think he’d have it in him. The soppy bugger only has eyes for you. Tony, on the other hand, was quite the adulterer, or so I heard. Cheated on his first wife with Bev, and then on Bev with Camila. I think Camila was trying to find out who her replacement was before he shocked her with divorce papers.”
“And did Nigel find anything?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. Client confidentiality, or so he claims. He wouldn’t confirm or deny Camila was the one who’d hired him, but it was obviously her, wasn’t it?”
“Seems like it.” Julia picked up her wine and sat back in her chair as her mind worked. “Do you know where Camila lives?”
“I do, but I’m not telling you.” Christie finished his pint and grabbed his tie off the table. “I need to get back home, not that the wife will even notice I’m not there yet. Thanks for the pints, by the way. I started a tab under your name.” Christie winked. “Try not to get yourself killed, and if you tell anyone that I told you any of this stuff, I’ll deny this conversation ever happened.”
After settling the bill, Julia left the pub to walk home. She only took five steps before her phone rang.
“Julia?” Dot cried down the handset. “Where are you?”
“Walking home from the pub.”
“The Plough? Great! Come to my cottage right now! It’s important!”
“Gran, I—”
“Important, Julia! Your sister is already here.”
Before Julia could say anything else, Dot hung up. Knowing nothing good would come from trying to argue with her gran, Julia walked to her cottage. She noticed that her café lights were still on, but she put it down to Jessie taking her time cleaning after close.
“Where’s the fire?” Julia called as she let herself into her gran’s cottage. “Barker is expecting me back…”
Julia clasped her hand over her mouth when she walked into her gran’s sitting room. She tried to hold back the laughter, but the two glasses of wine made it impossible to keep it in.
“Shut up,” Sue cried. “Just shut up!”
“You look…”
“I said shut up!”
But Julia couldn’t stop laughing. She looked Sue up and down, unsure what she was dressed as, but enjoying it all the same. A dark maroon velvet gown suffocated her from her neck to her wrists and down to her toes. A matching velvet hat with a plume of feathers jutting out, almost scraping the exposed beams in the ceiling, balanced on her head. Her waist had been nipped in with what appeared to be a corset, and she held a frilly umbrella in one hand and a large fan in the other. The transformation didn’t end at the costume either. Her face had been powdered white, and her cheeks were bright red.
Unable to stop herself, Julia pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the camera. She snapped a handful of pictures before Sue whacked her with the umbrella.
“The camera on this new phone is excellent.” Julia chuckled as she looked through the pictures. “It really captures your joy. What does Neil think of your new look?”
“Neil?” Sue cried, stumbling forward but hardly able to move under the restrictive layers. “Neil will never see this! No one will!”
“He’ll see you at the party!” Dot appeared behind Julia, dressed in a matching emerald green outfit. “This was your idea, Sue.”
“Was it?” Sue cried, collapsing stiffly into the armchair. “I don’t remember asking for this!”
“An engagement party was a wonderful idea.” Dot cracked open her fan and wafted her face, her other hand resting on her stomach. “I can barely breathe, but don’t I look wonderful? I think I might start dressing like this every day.”
Dot fiddled with her signature brooch, which she had pinned to the high, frilly collar of her dress.
“You do look rather fetching, Dorothy,” Percy said as he appeared behind her. “I could get used to this.”
Percy was similarly dressed in a purple velvet tuxedo, with a penguin coat so long the tails touched the floor. A monocle, top hat, and cane completed the look, and he’d even gone to the trouble of sticking on a fake twirled moustache.
“Your costume is waiting for you in the dining room, Julia,” Dot announced. “Go and try it on. We need to make sure it fits. The engagement party is tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow?”
“The village hall is booked, the invitations went out this morning, and Jessie made one of those internet event thingies just to be sure!”
“Not laughing now, are you, big sis?” Sue smirked as she fanned herself. “I can’t wait to see you in yours.”
After reluctantly changing into her costume in the dining room, Julia assessed her black and white outfit in the reflection of the dark window. Feeling like she had somehow drawn the short straw, Julia waddled into the sitting room, barely able to breathe in the tight corset.
“What did I do to upset you, Gran?” Julia asked as she brushed down the white apron over her black dress. “I’m a maid? Seriously?”
“Look at you!” Dot clapped her hands together. “Oh, this is going to be amazing! People are going to talk about this for decades. It was such a good idea to use this theme for the engagement party. I’ve had an even better idea for the wedding!”
“Shakespearean dress?” Sue mocked.
“No,” Dot said with a wave of her fan before tensing her brows. “Although, that’s not a bad idea! Oh, isn’t this fun? Why did we ever stop dressing like this?”
“Because it’s uncomfortable!” Julia cried as she struggled for breath. “I’m not wearing this! Why does Sue get to be a lady and I’m stuck being the maid?”
“Someone needs to be the maid, dear,” Dot said as she fussed with Julia’s curls. “And this was all they had in your size. I think your hair should be up for the party. It’s more in keeping with the style. What do you think, Percy?”
“Oh, yes.” Percy nodded, squinting through his monocle. “You have such an eye for detail, Dorothy.”
“I know, dear.” Dot fluffed up her curls. “Julia, make us all some tea, will you?”
“Are you being serious right—”
“Oi, maids don’t talk back!” Sue poked Julia in the corseted stomach with the butt of her umbrella. “Make mine a green tea, will you? There’s a good girl.”
Barely able to comprehend what was happening, Julia retreated into the kitchen and filled the kettle. While it boiled, she stared at her reflection in the microwave door, wondering how she’d gone from having a serious conversation with a DI in the pub to being dressed as a Victorian maid and making tea in her gran’s kitchen.
“Don’t question it, Julia,” she whispered. “You’ll drive yourself insane.”
Ignoring Sue’s request for green tea, Julia crammed a handful of tea bags into a teapot before filling it with boiling water. She grabbed four cups and carried them into the sitting room on a tray. Sue was waiting with her phone to take revenge pictures of Julia; she should have expected it.
“The tray just completes the look.” Sue chuckled as she slotted her phone into the top of her outfit. “I think you should carry it around with you tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea!” Dot called from her position at the window. “Oh, you’ll do the food for us, won’t you? We haven’t hired anyone.”
“Gran…” Julia sighed. “What do you expect me to pull together in a night?”
“You’ll think of something!” Dot muttered as she pushed her nose close to the window.
“What are you doing?” Julia asked as she struggled to bend over to set the tray on the table.
“Spying.” Dot turned around to show her tiny binoculars on a long stick. “There’s someone in your café.”
“Did those come with your costume?”
“No. I’ve had them for months.”
Julia walked over to the window and pulled back the net curtains to look at what Dot was seeing. She took the binoculars and squinted through them at her brightly lit café across the dark village green. As clear as day, she saw Jessie sitting across the table from a man.
“That’s him!” Dot said, snatching the binoculars off Julia. “That’s the man!”
“What man?” Sue called.
“The man from Mulberry Lane!” Dot passed the binoculars to Percy. “Come and look.”
Percy hobbled over, using his cane as though he actually needed it. He pulled out his monocle, took off his top hat, and pushed the binoculars up to his eyes.
“Oh, I don’t think it works!” Percy called. “Are my eyes really that bad?”
“Other way, dear.” Dot took them off him and turned them around. “How did you cope so long without me?”
“I have no idea, Dorothy.” Percy pushed his nose up against the glass. “That’s him, all right! That’s the man! He’s getting up. I think he’s leaving.”
Julia took the binoculars from Percy and watched as the suited man stood. He rested a hand on Jessie’s shoulder and said something that made her laugh. Julia’s stomach knotted as she watched him pick up a briefcase and head to the door.
“I’m going to talk to him,” Julia said, passing the binoculars back to Percy. “He’s twice her age!”
Julia welcomed the red mist as she stormed out of Dot’s cottage and onto the village green. A lioness roared within her, ready and willing to protect her cub at all costs. The suited man walked out of the café and towards the post office. He stood on the corner next to the red phone box and pulled out his phone. Julia cast an eye into the café, but Jessie was too busy turning off the lights to have noticed her.
“You there!” Julia cried, her finger outstretched. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
The man looked up from his phone and squinted at Julia through the darkness. He was nearing his fifties, balding, and too thick around the middle for the size suit he was wearing.
“Excuse me?” he said as he looked her up and down. “You’re dressed like a maid.”
“I know I’m dressed like a maid!” Julia cried as she snatched the bonnet off her head. “Answer my question. What are you doing with my daughter? She’s only eighteen!”
“I’m sorry?” The man’s brows fell heavier over his eyes. “I don’t quite know what you’re talking about.”
“Jessie!” Julia tossed her hand at the café just as the lights switched off. “I just saw you talking to her!”
“Oh, Jessie.” The man looked a little less confused as he nodded. “You’re her mother?”
“That’s what I said!”
“It’s nice to meet you. You’ve raised a good kid there.”
“I know I have!” Julia felt her anger rise within. “Which is why I don’t understand what she’s doing with you. You’re old enough to be her—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He fanned his hand to calm Julia. “Let me stop you right there. I think there have been some crossed wires. I’m Jessie’s estate agent.”
Julia took a step back, her heart tightening in her chest.
“What?”
“Estate agent?” The man repeated. “An estate agent is someone who helps people find houses to—”
“I know what an estate agent is!” Julia cried, unsure why she was shouting. “You’re Jessie’s estate agent?”
The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small business card that read ‘Larry Cornish—King’s Estate Agents.’ Julia’s mouth dried as she stared at the tiny silver writing on the black card.
“I’m—I’m sorry,” Julia muttered as she thrust the card back at him. “I—I need to go.”
Leaving Larry Cornish outside the post office, Julia hurried back across the green to Dot’s cottage before Jessie could leave the café and spot her. Once back in the cottage, she closed the door and leaned against it, staring down Dot’s hallway blankly.
“Well?” Dot cried, hurrying in, binoculars still in hand. “Who is he?”
“An estate agent.” Julia inhaled, but the corset stopped the full breath reaching her lungs. “Jessie doesn’t want to live with me anymore. That’s why she’s been acting so off with me. She’s leaving.”
Chapter Fourteen
Though she desperately wanted to know why Jessie had decided to leave the cottage, Julia couldn’t bring herself to ask. They spent all Monday night putting together a plan for Dot’s engagement buffet as though nothing was any different. When Jessie went to bed a little before midnight, Julia intended to talk to Barker about the situation, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him either. Naively, she thought not talking about it wouldn’t make it real, but when she found herself baking cakes for the party at 4am while the cottage slept, it felt far too real indeed.
After a couple of hours of broken sleep, Julia woke early to get Vinnie ready for the day. When Jessie woke to go to the café, Julia hated herself for avoiding her, but she wasn’t sure she could look in her eyes without crying.
“What did
I do wrong?” Julia asked Dot when they were at the village hall, setting things up for the party later that morning. “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I’ve done to upset her.”
“Oh, Julia, you haven’t done anything!” Dot tucked her finger under Julia’s chin and lifted her head up. “You’ve been an amazing mother to that girl, and she knows it. You haven’t done a single thing wrong.”
“And yet she wants to go.”
Julia and Dot set up the last pop-up table for the buffet and stepped back to look at their handiwork. In the space of a couple of hours, the hall had already been somewhat transformed. Dark green velvet lined the walls, and Victorian-era props had been set up all around the room. It looked amazing, but Julia was too distracted to enjoy it.
“She’s turning into a young woman,” Dot assured her. “Remember being eighteen and feeling like you wanted to take on the world? She’s not leaving you behind, she’s just spreading her own wings to find out who she is.”
“But why would she keep it from me?”
“Why do you think, dear?” Dot cupped Julia’s face in her hands. “Forgive me for saying this, but you’re not taking this well, are you?”
Julia shook her head. “I don’t know how to react.”
“Be relieved that it’s not something worse.” Dot gave Julia’s cheeks a squeeze. “I feared the worst. I read an awful article about a girl who woke up in a shed in Serbia with her kidney missing! Be thankful it wasn’t a kidney!”
Julia allowed herself a smile at her gran’s silliness. Even though she could be draining and highly dramatic, Julia appreciated how Dot could always make her laugh, even if she intended to or not.
“I don’t want to lose her,” Julia said, barely above a whisper. “I’ve only had her for two years. It’s not long enough.”
“I don’t know how to break this to you, but it’s never long enough, Julia.” Dot pulled her over to the stage that had been set up for Percy’s magic show, and they sat on the step. “Remember when you left me to go live in London with that awful man? You’re my granddaughter, but I raised you as good as my own while your dad ran around the country chasing antiques. I know he didn’t cope well with losing your mother, and even though a part of me will never forgive him for abandoning you girls for so long, another part was grateful that he left you with me. I got to be a mother all over again, and I loved every second of it. Don’t tell Sue, but you were the easier of the two. I never had to worry about you. You were twenty-three when you left, and I still wasn’t ready to let you go. Oh, the nights I would pine for you to come home!”