Small Town Christmas (Some Very English Murders Book 6) (16 page)

“Really? After all that, and you still want more?”

“Get in,” Cath said, and opened her car door.

* * * *

They could see a chink of light around the curtains hanging
in Jared’s front room. He lived in a small terraced house, one of the type that
had just one window at the front. Access to the back was through a shared
passageway. Penny and Cath hovered behind the row of parked cars on the other
side of the street.

“Well, that’s that,” Penny said.

“I can’t believe you’re giving up so easily!”

“I’m finding it really unsettling that it’s you who is
leading me into trouble,” Penny said. “This is the wrong way around.”

“You’ve obviously rubbed off on me,” Cath said. “Let’s
watch for a little while.”

“What for?”

“He might – oh! Get down!” Cath pulled on Penny’s arm and
they sank to the ground next to Cath’s car. Penny peered through the smeary
windows of the car. Jared came out of his house in jogging bottoms and a
sweatshirt, and headed off at a brisk pace, his injury obviously cleared up. He
had left his lights on in the house.

Cath popped up on her knees next to Penny and watched him
go. “Exactly what I was hoping for,” she said. “Being all sporty and that, I
thought he might go for a run or a jog or a bike ride or whatever unnatural
activity it is he does.”

“Don’t you police have to stay fit?” Penny said.

“Yes; at least we have a reason to run. Normal folks doing
it for fun, that’s just odd.” Cath stood up. “He’s out of sight. Let’s see what
he’s got in
his
shed.”

Penny stifled her feeling of foreboding and followed along
behind her friend.

Cath walked with confidence and strode down the passageway.
Penny scurried to catch up. “Okay,” she whispered. “So we saw Jared go out –
but he might not be alone in there, you know. He’s left the lights on.”

“Does he have any friends?”

“I’m one of his friends, I think.”

“And how many times have you been to his house?” Cath
asked.

“Um, well, none.”

“No. He’s a secretive sort of man. Right … he has a shed,
look.”

Cath pointed at a sturdily-built wooden building at the
bottom of his long, thin garden. The yard itself was nothing more than a
concrete path that ran in a straight line, bordered on the right by a
close-cropped lawn that showed big bare patches of soil, and on the left by a
herbaceous border. Winter was not its best look. The few remaining shrubs were
lanky and leafless, and the half-dead stems had a twisted and sinister air
about them.

“I need to check the security of his shed,” Cath said, not
bothering to lower her voice.

“Do you?”

“I do. It’s one of the things we do, as the police,” she
said. “That way, we can advise the householder on how to stay safe. Come on!”

Penny shook her head but she obeyed.

Cath peered in through the small shed window. “It’s too
dark.” She tried to shine her torch to illuminate the inside but most of the
light was reflected by the glass and simply dazzled them both. While she was
doing that, Penny went to the door, and looked at the thick padlock.

The thick, expensive padlock.

The thick, expensive padlock which was hanging open on the
hasp. Penny picked it up, away from the metal ring in the door, and laughed
quietly. She slipped inside and threw herself at the window, slamming her hands
onto the glass.

Cath screamed and dropped her torch, and within moments she
was standing at the open door of the shed, shining the light directly into
Penny’s face. Penny had expected immediate retaliation and already had one eye
closed to save her night vision.

“Very funny,” Cath said.

“I know, it was, wasn’t it?”

“Huh. One point to you,” Cath had to concede. She lowered
the beam of searing light, and swung it around the interior of the shed. “Oh,
now then. What do we have here?”

“I can tell you what we don’t have,” Penny said helpfully,
“and that’s bikes. I can’t see any bicycles at all in here. It’s more of a
potting shed.”

Cath peered up and down, and shone the torch into corners,
as if a bike could hide there like a spider. “You’re right. But he does have a
bike, doesn’t he?”

“He does; at least one. Probably more, you know what these
bike nuts are like. But I reckon he keeps them all inside.”

“Why? Do they not like the cold or something?” Cath said.

“Security. Some bikes cost more than cars.”

“Madness,” Cath said. “But as his friendly neighbourhood
bobby, I approve of his security decision. Even if it does make this a wasted
journey. There’s nothing in here at all.”

“You’re wrong there, too,” Penny said slowly. She walked
along the middle of the floor and studied the bench that ran against the wall.
“He likes his plants, doesn’t he?”

“The garden’s a mess,” Cath said.

“I don’t know; it looks like a working garden that’s fallow
for the winter,” Penny replied. She picked up a pot with a small, stunted plant
in it, and brought it close to her face to smell it.

“Ugh, that is horrible,” she complained, and thrust it
towards Cath. “What is it?”

“You’re asking me? You’ve seen my horticultural success. I
can grow nettles, broken bottles and plastic bags. Once, I did grow a daffodil
but it turned out to be some kind of mushroom in the end.”

“I can’t even begin to understand that,” Penny said. She
broke one side-shoot away from the main plant. “He’s got a lot of plants, but
you know what? They are all the same; they are all this one particular plant.
And it smells bad, and it looks pretty grim.”

Cath reached out with a plastic bag she had produced from
her pocket. “Pop it in there,” she said. “I’ll take it for analysis.”

Penny dropped the shoot into the bag, but she felt
reluctant. “The lab will take ages,” she complained.

“I’m not taking it to the lab. I’ve got a much quicker
method. Your Drew. Come on; our work here is done. Let’s get home.”

Thursday had been a long and hectic day, and Penny felt her
age on Friday.
I have done as much as I can do
, she thought. She looked
through her online orders and double-checked that all the right gifts had gone
to the right people at the right time. She was past her final posting day now,
and she replied apologetically to the last few emails that straggled into her
inbox.

Her own shopping was also complete. She dressed in
comfortable lounge-around-the-house clothes, and spent the morning wrapping the
presents. She took a great deal of pride in a well-wrapped parcel, neatly
finished with ribbons and tags.

But Kali needed a walk, and the two attacks preyed on Penny’s
mind.

Someone was out to get her. Someone had driven a car at
her; someone had tried to hit her over the head.

She went from feeling sick with fear, to red-hot fury, and
back to fear again; the cycle of emotions spun around, minute to minute.

Kali pressed against her leg. She looked down at the big,
trusting eyes. Kali wagged her tail, her hindquarters swaying.

Penny sighed. She couldn’t stay in the area. She had to
leave until the police caught the person responsible. She hoped, in a funny
way, that it was the same person that had killed Clive that was now pursuing
her. It made things neater, easier. If they caught Clive’s murdered but that
person was
not
the one who was after Penny, then what was she going to
do? Stay away from Upper Glenfield for ever? That was probably what they
wanted. In which case, she could not let them win.

Maybe she could be a decoy, she thought, and work with the
police to lure the attacker in to some situation where they would be caught. It
would be dramatic and cinematic and she’d be a local hero. She ran through a
few fantasy scenarios in her mind.

But Kali’s need to go for a walk was insistent. She had
duties. She had to get out there.

Get out in the unsafe community where she couldn’t trust
anyone.

Her mouth went dry. She picked up the phone, and finally called
her sister.

* * * *

Ariadne was delighted to help. Penny told her she needed to
walk Kali but that she felt a little ill. Ariadne came around instantly,
bringing mince pies and her children, Destiny and Wolf. All three of them
chattered excitedly about the forthcoming festivities. Ariadne was looking
brighter and happier than she had done in many months.

“I was worried that you might be a little afraid of
Christmas,” Penny said quietly, once Wolf and Destiny had disappeared off with
Kali for a long walk.

Ariadne curled her feet up on the sofa and hugged a
cushion, but she tipped her head up and met Penny’s gaze. “I thought I was
going to be afraid, too,” she said. “After what
he
did, and now it’s our
first Christmas alone. But we’re not alone, are we? Me and the kids, I mean.
We’re not alone. We’ve got you, and all your friends, and all the people that
I’m getting to know. It’s going to be all right.” She smiled warmly, and it lit
up her angular face. “You’ll come over for Christmas dinner, won’t you?”

Penny wanted to hug a cushion, too. She hadn’t told Ariadne
about the latest attack, even now. She thought she should, but it was such a
relief to see her sister relaxed and positive that she didn’t want to give her
a new thing to worry about.

“Are you all right?” Ariadne asked.

“Yes, fine. I’m just exhausted from the craft business, and
feeling a bit under the weather, that’s all. Thanks for coming over. Kali
needed to get out.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We haven’t had a good chat for
ages, with you being so busy. And the kids love walking the dog. We’re all
looking forward to the Christmas market tomorrow.”

“Even Destiny? I thought she was at the age where she was
too cool for all that. I remember her attitude to bonfire night.”

“This is different,” Ariadne said. “She gets presents,
remember? Yeah, we’re all going down and I’ve said that they can both have one
mulled wine each. Just one! It’s a big thing for them. You’re going with Drew,
is that right?”

No, I should go away and hide and miss out on all this
,
Penny thought miserably. She forced a smile. “I’m supposed to be the stand-in
Santa in case Jared can’t make it,” she said. “But I am … well, I mean, I don’t
feel well. Perhaps I should pull out. Find another stand-in.”

“A stand-in for the stand-in?”

Penny gave Ariadne a meaningful look. If her sister would
agree to take Penny’s place, Penny could go and book into a hotel somewhere far
away.

Ariadne cottoned on quickly to the insinuation. “Absolutely
not. No. I am so looking forward to a nice family Christmas – me, the kids,
you, Drew. I’ve bought a new outfit for the market tomorrow. I’ve got those
hand-warmer things for Destiny and Wolf. I’ve bought you and me some novelty
reindeer antlers to wear. Yes, we will wear them and we’re going to forget all
our worries and we’re going to have fun.”

“But I’m ill. I can’t go.”

Ariadne had a stern look on her face. It was the same look
their mother would adopt when they had been small girls, trying to blag a day
off school. “No, you are not. You’re just tired. Get a good night’s sleep
tonight.”

“But if I’m ill tomorrow, won’t you stand in for me?”

“Nope. Because you’re not going to be ill. You will be at
the Christmas market. With us.” Ariadne’s eyes were shining and Penny realised
that she was close to tears. “This will be the first good Christmas we’ve ever
had together.”

* * * *

Drew came around on Saturday afternoon. He walked Kali
while Penny got ready to go out. She was plagued by doubts. She had spoken with
Cath earlier on the phone, and Cath had also sounded strained and worried.

“I can’t tell you what to do,” she had said. “I can totally
understand your position. We have laid on extra policing; we can do that,
because of the murder. It’s not for you, as such, but all the officers have
been made aware of the situation. You’ve got my number. If you leave, I will
support that decision. If you stay, I understand. And if you do go to the
market, I’ll meet you when you get there and I’ll give you a pager, too. All
you need to do is press the button to alert us that something is wrong.”

“Does it have a GPS locator on it?”

“Of course,” Cath said, and Penny was surprised, but
slightly reassured.

* * * *

She decided to stay.

Once Kali was settled, and Penny was wrapped up in layers
of clothing to brave the cold, it was time to leave. Penny walked close to Drew
and he put a protective arm around her shoulders.

“You don’t have to come out tonight,” he said. “I would
still be happier with you far away somewhere. Sorry, that sounds wrong. But you
know what I mean.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you, yes, I know. But this is
important for Ariadne, and the community, too. And maybe … don’t laugh at me,
but maybe the attacker will have another go at me, and then the police can
catch them.”

“The police? They’ll have to drag me off him first,” Drew
said.

Penny quivered, but in a good way. They walked briskly down
the road, although their hips bumped and they made awkward progress. “When I
was a teenager, walking like this was very easy,” she complained. “What’s
happened?”

“Age,” Drew said shortly.

“Huh.”

“Oh, by the way, you know that plant that Cath brought to
me?”

“Oh yes, do you know what it is?”

“Yeah, I knew as soon as she showed me. It’s wolfsbane,
also called monkshood. It’s native to Britain.”

“Is it a common garden plant?”

Drew laughed. “No. It’s a horrible weed and it doesn’t
really grow around here. It’s more of a mountain plant. I think some varieties
can be grown in gardens but it’s not that common on our soil.”