by Agatha Frost
“I’ll second that,” said Minnie, sucking her fork with her eyes closed. “Although I can’t compare. It’s a shame I never got to try any of your famous baking, sweet Julia. The reviews I’ve heard are nothing short of perfection.”
“You’ll have to come to the café one day,” she offered, meaning it. “Unless you’re still thinking of moving back to Peridale?”
Minnie stared at the cake and smiled as she forked off another chunk. She took her time and ate it slowly, her cogs no doubt churning up an answer.
“Not just yet,” she said finally, still smiling. “The pull of the old place has never left me, but I think we’re going to stay here. For a little while, at least. Lisa and I have had some very serious and honest discussions, and we’ve decided we’re going to give the hotel another go.”
Julia and Barker shared a look.
“Yes, I know what you’re thinking.” Minnie laughed before dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “It was Lisa’s idea, don’t worry. It turns out I’m not the only one who has realised a lot during this ordeal. She sends her apologies again, Julia.”
Julia wafted her hand. “Lisa doesn’t need to apologise. She was a victim in all of this too.”
“She just feels so terrible for not telling you as soon as she figured out what was going on.” Minnie sighed as she traced her fork around the cake on the plate. “I think she’s embarrassed she let herself get sucked into The Buyer’s games. She’s not a malicious woman. Far from it, actually.”
“And she’s happy to get back to work when she can?” Barker asked.
“On the condition that I give her an official managerial position,” Minnie said with a nod. “She wants to see if she can revive the old place. She has a lot of ideas. Good ideas. Reminds me of Bill, actually, but she’s more tech-savvy than either of us ever were. Holidays were booked in travel agents last time I checked, but it all seems to be done over the internet these days.” She cut off another piece. “She can do her own hiring and firing, and I’ll step in to help where I can. I’m not exactly going to be slaving away in the kitchen or flipping mattresses at my age, but I think there’s a hosting position somewhere in there for me. And I don’t mean the kind where I sit around drinking sangria and telling those same stories over and over every night. They might be new to the guests, but if I’m honest, I’m sick of hearing them.”
“And the money situation?” Barker pushed.
“I have an idea.” She sighed and looked down at her wedding finger, on which she still wore a ring. “I collected enough gold and diamonds over four marriages to buy a jeweller a second home. I’d just never considered parting ways with them. I’d call them my memories, the stories of my life – but there’s hardly a lot of good memories in three divorces.” She tilted the ring, and the modest diamond twinkled in the light. “No, it’s time to live in the present and stop rehashing the past. I’ll keep Bill’s ring, ironically the smallest of them, and yet the longest and happiest marriage of them all. I should be able to raise enough money to stay afloat while Lisa recovers, giving us enough time to come up with an action plan for the winter season. It’s Lisa’s time now. I’m ready to step out of her way so she can fly.”
If not for the transfer pick-up time growing ever closer, Julia would have stayed in Chocolatería Valor and sampled the menu until she popped or they closed. With only fifteen minutes to spare until the taxi was meant to arrive, they settled the bill, leaving the last of their coins as a decent tip.
Minnie promised to meet them outside, so Julia and Barker left the café and sat on the benches around the water fountain for the first and last time. Tiny cold water droplets splashed at the back of her neck, bringing relief from the hot sun as she looked around the calmer plaza.
Julia didn’t have the same connection to Savega that Minnie did, but even she could feel the difference the week without a gang calling all the shots had made. Without Rodger’s counterfeit-clothes shops cluttering the place, the true beauty of the traditional buildings shone. Tourists still flocked to the space, but now they were filling the small independent local trinket shops, cafés, bars, and restaurants that had been buried behind the garish exteriors of The Buyer’s empire.
“Your gran really is a changed woman.” Barker nudged Julia and nodded across the square to another of the cafés. “She’ll be volunteering on peace missions soon.”
Julia craned her neck and observed as her gran and Percy took turns hugging Maria, the young waitress who had kept the photo album safe. Dot appeared to give her another tip before heading in the direction of the alley that would take them back to La Casa. Hands full of shopping bags, they cut across when they spotted Julia and Percy.
“How’s the cane treating you?” Julia asked as Percy settled down next to her on the bench.
“It’s peachy.” He held it up, the stainless-steel twinkling in the light. “Doc said I shouldn’t need it for too long at the final check-up this morning, but it’ll come in handy when I need to nudge Dorothy on the sofa after she falls asleep in front of the ten o’clock news.”
“I think you’ll find that’s usually you, dear,” Dot called from Barker’s other side as she dug through her bags. “I think I fit all the shopping in. I got t-shirts for the great-grandkids, some trinkets for the house, and fridge magnets for everyone else. Do you think that’ll be enough?”
“People will be happy just to see you,” Julia said.
“Can’t go home empty-handed.” Dot pushed up her curls, which she’d had freshly set and blow-dried at the local salon that morning in preparation for her grand return to Peridale. “I still have standards, dear.”
While they waited for Minnie to exit Chocolatería Valor, a familiar red sportscar zoomed around the plaza. Gabriel whizzed past their bench, slammed on his brakes, and reversed back to them. He pulled off his sunglasses, already grinning.
“Ahh, the South-Brown-Croppers!” he exclaimed, their blend of surnames still amusing him as much as it had done all week. “Will I be seeing you tonight at the restaurant?”
They’d eaten in Gabriel’s busy French restaurant almost every night, minus Minnie, who spent the evenings at the hospital by Lisa’s bedside. Gabriel was the type of host who somehow felt like a family friend by the end of a single sitting in his restaurant. Even after only four visits, Julia knew about his childhood growing on up a vineyard in the south of France with eccentric parents, his young adult years working in the finest kitchens in Paris, his work as a holiday rep in the more tourist-driven parts of Spain, and finally how he came to own Eiffel. Barker had admitted to finding his flamboyant personality and loud voice grating by the end of the week, but Julia had warmed to Gabriel much more than she would have expected. Behind the showman was someone who truly cared not only about this place, but also the people who inhabited it.
“I’m afraid it’s our last day,” she said, shielding her eyes from the sun. “We fly home in a couple of hours.”
“No!” he cried. “Really? You have only just arrived!” He sighed dramatically. “But alas, this is how we are used to things. Savega has certainly felt your influence for the better, South-Brown-Croppers!”
“I’m sure Sub-Inspector Castro played a bigger part in that,” she said, feeling her cheeks blush. “He seemed to be close to cracking things before we turned up. We just helped push him over the finish line.”
“You mean we helped push him over the finish line,” Dot corrected, fiddling with her brooch as she pursed her lips. “The ransom was on our heads, remember.”
“I will miss your fiery spirit the most, ma belle Dorothy.” Gabriel winked at Dot before slipping on his glasses. “Now, I must bid you farewell. Have a safe flight, and we will see you in Savega soon, oui?”
Julia waved him off as he sped out of the plaza. Over the past week, Julia had concluded that the plaza, and the rest of Savega, would have fallen into The Buyer’s hands much sooner if Gabriel hadn’t put up such a fight. As long as he was there, Sav
ega had a goateed guardian angel to man the defences, and she knew he wouldn’t let the darkness fall so quickly if another opportunist turned up one day.
After a few minutes of last-minute sunbathing by the fountain, Minnie finally left Chocolatería Valor. They met her on the other side of the road.
“I wanted to try and get Arlo’s new address,” she explained as they walked back to the hotel, “to write to him. To apologise. To maybe even offer his job back. But the waitress said he never left Savega after all. Gabriel has given him a job in the kitchen at Eiffel.”
“Without The Buyer looming, it’s not such a bad place to live,” Dot said as they trundled down the tight, cobbled alley. “Although, saying that, we won’t be in a rush to return, if it’s all the same to you, Mins.”
“I think I owe you a visit next time.”
“You could still ask Arlo to come back,” Barker pointed out when they reached the steps down to La Casa. “For old time’s sake?”
“No.” Minnie shook her head, her mind clearly made up. “He’s where he belongs. He was always too good a chef for us. Arlo was loyal, and we didn’t repay that loyalty. Gabriel will take care of him.”
Jessie rushed at them the second they walked through the doors into the cool air-conditioned foyer.
“About bloody time!” she cried, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Transfer will be here in five minutes.”
“Then we’re back just in time,” Barker said, ruffling her hair before she could duck.
“Not quite.” Jessie hooked her thumb into the dining room, where Sub-Inspector Castro sat alone at one of the dining tables, his suit replaced with casual jeans and a t-shirt. “Undercover spy dude has been waiting for you for nearly half an hour.”
As it turned out, Castro wanted to speak with Minnie. The pair sat at the table and talked in hushed tones for a couple of minutes before he handed over a white envelope and stood. On his way out, he lingered by Julia and Barker with a tight smile.
“I guess this is goodbye,” he said, holding his hand out to Barker, “not just for you, but for me as well.”
“You’re leaving Savega?”
“I am being moved on,” he said with a gentle shrug. “There is little glory for the whistle-blower. The confession of Hillard has already led to the arrests of three of my superiors, and there will be more by the time this is over. Hillard was a rotten branch on the tree, but the roots? They are just as infected.”
“Hardly seems fair,” Julia said, offering him a smile.
“All of this, it is not for the glory,” he replied, his soft smile convincing. “Seeing Savega without the influence of The Buyer is enough. Now, perhaps, I will finally get to spend more time at home.” He nodded at Julia’s bump. “My wife, she is the same size as you right now. Our little girl, she comes in the winter, so perhaps the timing is a blessing in disguise.” He gave Julia a quick kiss on either cheek and shook Barker’s hand firmly. “For now, it is goodbye, and if our paths cross again, I hope it is under better circumstances.”
Castro left just as the two transfer taxis slowed to a halt outside. While Jessie and Barker loaded all their cases into the boots, Minnie ushered Julia out onto the terrace. She tore open the envelope and pulled out The Buyer’s contract.
“Castro said Rodger could fight for ownership from behind bars if he wanted to,” she said as she ripped the contract in two, and then three, and then four. “I did sign them, after all. Luckily for me, Rodger never got time to make copies, and somehow this contract was never catalogued as evidence.”
Minnie tossed the shredded paper over the edge of the balcony and down to the valley below. The white fragments caught the breeze, fluttering in all directions like confetti – the celebration of a new start. Minnie looped her arm through Julia’s, and they walked through to the foyer before the paper touched the ground.
“Take care of yourself, Julia.” Minnie hugged her, one hand resting on the bump. “Promise you’ll send pictures of the little one when they’re here?”
“I promise.”
“You look after her.” Minnie pulled Barker down into a hug before moving onto Jessie. “And it was so lovely to meet you, Jessie. You remind me so much of myself at your age. It’s nice to know the youth aren’t as bad as you hear about these days.”
“We are,” Jessie replied as she squirmed away from the hug. “In fact, we’re worse.”
Julia, Barker, and Jessie climbed into the first taxi, giving Dot and Percy their own time to say goodbye. Percy went first, giving Minnie a one-armed hug before climbing into the backseat of the second taxi. Minnie and Dot hugged the longest, only separating when the driver pipped his horn. The taxi meter was already at five euros.
“This is goodbye for now,” Minnie said as she opened the taxi door for Dot. “We don’t have another forty years left to waste, so let’s keep in touch this time.”
“I’ll hold you to visiting Peridale,” Dot said, kissing Minnie one last time before climbing in. “You can stay with us, of course, but there’s also a local bed and breakfast. You and the owner would get on. She’s a fellow fan of kaftans.”
“Then I shall see you there.” Minnie slammed the door behind Dot and stepped back. “Have a safe flight!”
Julia wrapped her hand around Barker’s and rested her head on his shoulder as they drove down the narrow lane. They emerged into the plaza and headed down the road they’d taken into Savega two long weeks ago. It wasn’t long before they were zooming to the airport. Julia spotted a plane taking off in the distance, and more than ever, she was glad to be on her way home.
The morning after their quiet return to the village and a much-needed night in their own beds, all five of them made their way to the café, huddled under umbrellas, for Dot and Percy’s official ‘Welcome Home’ party.
Most of the village had crammed themselves into the café, which had been transformed with banners, balloons, and bunting, all bright pink. Katie’s choice, no doubt.
“You could have brought the sun with you,” Sue said, nodding past the crowded café as the rain lashed outside. “So much for a hot summer!”
“It feels like home,” Julia replied, smiling.
From behind the counter, they watched silently as Dot held court in the centre of the café. The villagers had been hanging off her every word since the start of the party. Only Julia knew the edges of Dot’s wild ransom stories had been softened.
Dot had told Julia everything, and in such detail, she knew she was the only one who would ever hear it. Dot forced her to promise she’d never tell the full account, and Julia had been happy to oblige.
Not that the omissions mattered. Dot had never seemed more in her element. As usual, she relished being the centre of attention and having more wild stories to tell than ever before. She’d be dining out on the Savega stories for years to come.
“Where did Barker sneak off to?” Julia asked Jessie once she’d joined her in the kitchen. Jessie looked up from the mountain of washing up the guests had already created, and which she and Katie were diligently trying to work through.
“Went out the back.” Jessie nodded at the kitchen door. “Probably hiding away in his cave.”
Julia pulled on the heavy fire door and slipped out into the small yard. The humid rain drenched her as she yanked on the wooden doors set into the ground. She crept down the wooden staircase into the basement, which had been Barker’s private investigator’s office for the last few months.
Barker was at his mahogany desk in the centre of the room, focused on his laptop. Once a bare, empty basement, Barker had transformed the room into a comfortable office space. Rugs covered the concrete floor, and bookcases and pictures disguised the old walls. Softly lit lamps, tall potted plants, and a dark red Chesterfield sofa completed the look.
“Sorry,” he said, typing away without looking up. “I wanted to get a start on these emails. More keep flooding in. That I wasn’t the one to solve the case doesn’t seem to matter to any of thes
e people. Barker Brown, PI is officially in business.”
“Anything catching your eye?”
“A woman up in Lancashire with a missing sister,” he said, closing his laptop slightly. “Another suspects her husband of bigamy – not something you see every day. I’m going to have a busy few months ahead of me.”
“Well, I’m glad I was the one who technically hired you for the Savega case.” Julia winked as she sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. “Does all this mean you’re going to be too busy for Mrs Morton?”
“She fired me.” Barker grinned from ear to ear. “I’m free! It turns out she was the one cheating on her husband, and she was so consumed with guilt, she wanted to get even by proving he was doing the same to her. Still, I was right about something. He has a little issue with gambling. But he’s denying any extracurricular activity and he’s already called the divorce lawyers.”
“Poor Mrs Morton.”
“I think she’s as relieved that it’s over as I am.” He leaned back in his chair and looked around the office. “It’s good to be home, isn’t it?”
“It really is.” She smiled when she looked at his desk and saw their wedding picture next to the first scan of their unborn child. “Now that we have the honeymoon ticked off the list, let’s stay in Peridale for a while.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Barker held his hands up. “Turns out, you were right. A holiday isn’t a holiday when you’re living in one all the time.”
“Changed your mind about buying that holiday home, then?”
“For now.” He closed his laptop fully and leaned across the desk to kiss her. “Never say never, though. I need to spend all the money I’ll make from all these new cases on something.”
“Let’s not count your chickens before they’ve hatched.”
“A chicken pun?” Barker arched a brow. “Really?”
Julia went to laugh, but instead she jolted in her seat, something twinging in her stomach. She squirmed, doubling over slightly, immediately pressing her hands on the bump. It happened again, this time fluttering like butterflies. She rested her hand on the spot where she felt the sensation and was rewarded with another twinge – but this time, it prodded lightly against her hand.