The storeroom door swung open and Sergeant Reynolds stormed out of the shop, completely ignoring me.
Moments later Mary emerged from the storeroom with her signature cheerful smile plastered across her face.
I needed to talk to someone about this. Fast. I bought the stamps and left in a hurry. I knocked on the door of the guesthouse but nobody answered. So I tried Lydia’s shop. I could hear The Cure blasting out from the speakers before I even opened the door. The workshop curtain was pulled back, and Lydia was at the sewing machine. She looked up, and must have seen the worried look on my face, because she turned off the stereo straight away.
‘Jacki, are you OK?’
‘No, I’m not really,’ I said. ‘I just heard something really upsetting.’
‘What’s wrong?’ said Lydia, hurrying over and putting her arm round my shoulders. I felt like I was going to faint. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. It took me a few seconds before I could get the words out.
‘Did Des Butler kill somebody?’ Saying it out loud made me feel even worse. ‘Who told you that?’ Lydia sounded kind of angry.
‘I overheard Sergeant Reynolds say something.’
‘Some people think he did,’ said Lydia. ‘But not everyone thinks so.’ She pulled out a stool from under her desk and offered it to me. I sat down, but still felt faint.
‘Why do they think that? Who did he kill? He’s working on my house. My mum has been on dates with him!’ I couldn’t understand why nobody had told us this.
‘He was a main suspect for Beth’s murder,’ said Lydia. ‘But no one in my family believes it. He would never have hurt Beth. Michael Reynolds’s opinion is not everybody’s opinion.’
‘Beth Cullen…?’ I couldn’t believe that Des was a suspect.
‘Yes.’ Lydia sat down on her swivel chair, weaving a piece of blue fabric between her fingers.
‘If he was a main suspect, then there must have been some reason -’
‘The partner is often a main suspect.’
‘Des and Beth were… together?’ This was too much. I just couldn’t believe it.
‘They were childhood sweethearts.’ Lydia smiled when she said this. I couldn’t understand why she was so calm. Surely, in this instance, a police officer’s opinion would be a good one to take? I didn’t particularly like Sergeant Reynolds, but he must have had a reason for suspecting Des.
This was crazy. Des was going out with my mum. I was pretty sure she really liked him. I just couldn’t understand why nobody had told us this sooner.
‘If he didn’t do it, then who did?’ I asked.
‘The killer hasn’t been found,’ said Lydia flatly. ‘But I know Des isn’t capable of murder. You and Rachel have nothing to worry about. He didn’t do it.’ She sounded so sure.
Nevertheless I couldn’t just ignore what I’d heard. I would have to tell Mum. How on earth was I going to tell her that the guy she really likes and has been dating was a suspected murderer?
I made the walk back home last as long as I could. I wanted to let Mum have a few more carefree minutes. Also, I had to decide the best way to tell her. She might think I was overreacting, exaggerating whatever I’d heard because I didn’t want her to go out with Des any more. She thought I didn’t like him. But the truth was I’d got to like him a lot and thought he was a really nice guy. I didn’t want Mum to go out with anyone, but I guess, if she was going to date, it might as well be someone like Des. That was before I’d gone into the shop of course. Before I’d overheard Sergeant Reynolds. I put in my earphones and played some music to help me focus. To help me figure out what I was going to say.
When I got back to the caravan Mum was crouched down, rooting through the cupboard.
‘I’m making pancakes,’ she said. ‘Want one?’
‘No, thanks,’ I answered. I took a deep breath.
‘Is there something up?’ she said, abandoning her search and standing up. She must have known there was something wrong as pancakes were a favourite of mine.
‘There’s something I have to tell you…’ The details all came pouring out: what I’d overheard in the shop and what Lydia had said. Mum’s eyes widened, and for a few seconds she said nothing. When she eventually spoke her reaction was pretty much the same as mine.
‘Why did nobody tell us this?’ she said, sitting down at the table and shaking her head in disbelief. She didn’t sound as angry as me – just really upset.
‘Not everybody thinks he did it,’ I said. ‘But Sergeant Reynolds seemed pretty sure he’s guilty. I think you should be careful, Mum.’
‘I will be,’ she answered. She went back to making pancakes and didn’t say anything else about it for the rest of the evening.
Chapter 18
Candy floss – possibly one of the greatest foods in the world. A delightfully fluffy little cloud of sugar. Sticky and sweet and wonderful. Colin and I walked around the fete with two huge helpings of it, struggling to protect it from the crowds of people milling down the main street. The road had been closed to cars for the day and stalls now spanned its length, selling everything from handmade jewellery to chocolate-chip muffins. At one table you could get a henna tattoo and at another you could learn how a bodhran is made. You could get your fortune told or your tealeaves read; you could buy a friendship bracelet or a patchwork quilt, a crystal to hang in your window or a framed photograph to put on your wall. The fete didn’t have one particular theme: it was a wonderful mish-mash of all kinds of different things.
Multicoloured bunting joined the buildings and helium heart and star-shaped balloons were tied to each stall, trying to break free into the overcast sky. Mary stood in the middle of the crowd, staring up at a grey cloud hovering overhead, with a look that said
A stage had been erected in front of the hall. Music was to be played there all day and a list of acts and times was written on a chalkboard beside the steps. Upcoming performances ranged from a string quartet to a gospel choir to a group of guys doing Metallica covers. The headliners were the highly respected Avarna Ceili Band, and I was really looking forward to seeing them. Right now a swing band was treating the crowd to a rendition of ‘I’m All Shook Up’. Huge speakers ensured they could be heard throughout the village.
To the left of the stage there was a mini fairground. Little kids lined up to go on the carousel, the swing boats moved to and fro to the beat of the music and little twinkling red lights illuminated the sign for the funhouse. There was a ghost train too, and as the train came out of the little tunnel I could see Emily and David sitting in it, squashed together and not looking frightened at all. And behind them were Nick and Simon, laughing loudly, hanging out of the side of the train. I still found myself as attracted to Nick as ever, even though I hated him for kissing that girl. I couldn’t help still wanting him.
‘Let’s go back to the stalls,’ I said, before Colin noticed them. I didn’t really want to be near Nick, even if I did still have feelings for him. We headed back down the road, and Colin’s eyes were drawn to the cake stand. We surveyed the eclairs and chocolate cakes and Colin decided to buy a caramel square.
‘So much for my diet,’ said Colin, mid chew.
‘Would you shut up? You’re so skinny,’ I said.
‘I’m two double cheeseburgers away from full-on love handles.’
I breathed in all the different smells – corn on the cob, crepes, hotdogs, but didn’t eat anything. My stomach was unsettled, just like it had been during those strange incidents in the forest and in the Cupcake Cafe. This time I wasn’t frightened though. I felt strange, but weirdly calm at the same time. There was an edge to this sickening feeling that was almost addictive. I welcomed it. It meant she was back.
I looked for any signs, any clues that I could add to the collection I already had. Colin wanted to find Jane too, but he wasn’t thinking about her now. He wanted to help her, but he could just as easily have forgotten about her. For me she was a continual concern.
People flocked to the centre of the village – locals and tourists, former residents and relatives of current ones.
