She imagined showing these to Sid. Would he fall over from laughing, or slap her into handcuffs? If Trev was here, he’d take her seriously. After he’d told her off for putting herself in danger following a suspicious vehicle. And keeping secrets.
Yet that’s what she did best. Keep secrets. Err on the side of caution every time. At least now she did, after the mess she’d made of her life and her patient’s life in Queensland.
The phone went back in her handbag. There was nothing she could do. What proof was there that Veronica was involved in this anyway, other than by having some romantic relationship with one of the thieves.
You can’t even prove he’s one of them.
Her heart sank. All this excitement for nothing. It would take a lot more than a few photos and a statement to catch a criminal.
A car and trailer pulled into the carpark and after a family climbed out and went into the shop, Veronica kissed the man again and then followed them inside. He made a phone call and began walking back toward town.
Very carefully, Charlotte trailed him. She waited until he was almost out of sight, then drove at a crawl, hugging the kerb, until she had a clear view. This she repeated until the blue ute appeared from the other direction, did a U-turn, and picked him up. By the time she accelerated and got to where he’d been, the ute was gone.
Frustration sent Charlotte home after half an hour of fruitless searching the neighbourhood for a sign of the ute. She carried her purchases from Gisborne upstairs and left them on the sofa. She still had much shopping to do and worrying about Veronica and her friend was getting her riled up with no means of resolving it.
Bags in hand, she ran downstairs ready to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. She promised herself a picnic at the waterfall if she stayed on track now. Perhaps the kingfisher would show itself again.
The bookshop might be closed, but most of the other shops in town were open to capture the last of the Christmas shopping frenzy. Esther was busy with customers as Charlotte passed her shop but managed a quick smile and wave. A few doors along was a lovely little liquor store and to Charlotte’s relief, the assistance knew exactly what Esther and Doug liked to drink.
One down.
Was Trev really coming up here for Christmas?
Charlotte stopped outside the liquor store. If so, she really needed to have a gift for him, but what? Nothing that said, ‘I missed you’, or ‘there’s a future’. Nope. No false hopes being handed out. More along the lines of, ‘nice to see you, person-who-is-a-bit-more-than-an-acquaintance’.
How about, ‘Merry Christmas. I enjoy your company’.
Slightly better.
She headed for the homeware shop with no idea what she was searching for.
“Hello! You must be Rosie’s new assistant.”
The voice came from the back of the shop, but it wasn’t until Charlotte looked up that she found the source. At the top of a ladder against the back wall, a man grinned down at her. In his late sixties, he had a full head of white hair and white eyebrows above small spectacles.
Charlotte couldn’t help smiling in return as she made her way to the bottom of the ladder. He climbed down with surprising sprightliness and shot out his hand for her to shake.
“Greetings and welcome to Kingfisher Falls,” his voice had a distinctive English accent. “I’m Lewis, owner of this little shop of offerings”
“Nice to meet you, Lewis. And yes, I’m Charlotte and work for Rosie.”
“The way I hear it, you are working with her, not for.” His smile was genuine and his eyes sparkled over the spectacles.
How had she not met this lovely man yet? Charlotte gazed around. “This is such a nice shop! I’ve looked through the windows at night a few times but had no idea you have so much in here.”
“Then please spend as much time browsing as you wish. Do you have something in mind?”
“I do love the ceramic teapots.”
“For you, or a gift?”
“I thought for Rosie.”
“Indeed! Shall we take a closer look?” Without waiting for an answer, Lewis was off.
At the counter half an hour later, Charlotte’s mind was a whirlwind of patterns, colours, brands, and materials. Not just for the gorgeous teapot set Lewis was now gift wrapping, but for a couple of gifts she’d bought for herself. And one for Trev, which she still wasn’t sure about. It wasn’t for wrapping yet. Not until she’d decided.
“So, you mentioned earlier you’ve been window shopping at night?” Lewis unravelled a long piece of red ribbon with snowflakes and snipped the end.
“Yes, after work. I’m trying to find my way around. There are a few empty shops. Is that normal?”
He frowned. “No. But this past year there’s been people opening, shutting, opening, shutting all over the place.”
“What kind of shops?”
Lewis released the ribbon and it curled back on itself. “Excellent question, Charlotte. Have you seen the shoe shop?”
“Around the corner?”
“Yes. Another shoe shop opened next door to it.”
“Wow, that’s a bit close.”
He leaned toward Charlotte with none of the earlier sparkle in his eyes. “They are a good business and the intruder closed in weeks. We had a drink and sighed in relief for our fellow long-time trader. A week later, the same person moved in next door.”
“Next door, here? With the shoes again?”
“No, my dear. With giftware. Kitchenware. All kinds of things for the home.” Lewis gestured around his shop with both arms. “Not good products as mine are. Cheap stuff.”
Charlotte’s mind raced back to the garden centre. Those boxes piled along the far wall. What was scribbled on them? Shoes. Clothes. Saucepans. Books.
“Veronica.”
“How do you know
