The one on the left pointed an arm. ‘At the back in the corner.’ It was a curt reply intended to make me go away.
That was what I did, finding three shelves of shoes arranged in pairs with an elastic band holding the left and right together. Men’s, women’s, and children’s were all jumbled in together, but I found a pair that would fit me quickly enough. They were a size too big and were cheap knock-off running shoes. They were better than what I had though which was nothing.
Behind me at the counter, one of the ladies was sniffing the air. ‘Here, Vera, what’s that awful smell?’
My cheeks flushed. I could no longer smell it and had managed to convince myself the scent of John’s kitchen waste had faded now that I was no longer wearing the clothes and boots it had mostly stuck too. Clearly not though, for now I was stinking out their store.
Vera wrinkled her nose and nudged her friend, ‘It’ll be that poor homeless woman, Violet,’ she said with a nod in my direction. They thought I couldn’t see them, but did they also think I was deaf?
‘Look at that coat she’s wearing,’ commented Violet. ‘Maybe the last owner died in it and that’s what we are smelling.’ Somehow that comment was funny to them as they both burst into a fit of giggles.
Ignoring them and their childish behaviour, I tucked the shoes under my arm and searched through the rack of ladies’ clothes until I found something I could wear. Then I went back and switched out the shoes for ones that matched.
‘Do you have a changing room?’ I called out while looking around.
‘Yes, love,’ sniggered Violet. ‘It’s at the back next to the champagne bar.’
Huffing wearily to myself, I bit down my desire to respond and simply stripped where I stood. The clothing rack had ladies’ designer label jeans. Too big, but not desperately so, they went on and tied around my waist with a belt. The shoes I found were also a size too big, but they were an elegant brown ankle boot that I might even have bought new had I found them in a store. I ditched the rainmac, snagged a three-quarter length red leather jacket from a hanger, and went to the counter.
‘How much do I owe you, please?’ I kept my tone polite.
‘That’ll be two pounds, love,’ said Vera, her nose twitching as I brought the stench closer to her nostrils.
I opened my purse and took out a twenty.
Both women eye me suspiciously. ‘Did you rob someone?’ asked Violet. ‘Whose purse is this?’
‘It’s mine,’ I assured them, digging a finger in to slide out my driving license.
Both women peered at it. Vera read my name, ‘Felicity Philips.’ She looked at Violet, the two women staring at each other. ‘Where do I know that name from?’ she asked.
Violet looked back at me. ‘Yeah. I know your name too. What’s going on?’ They were looking at me with accusing eyes. Enough so that I took an involuntary step backwards.
Vera clicked her fingers and gasped. ‘The radio!’ she blurted. ‘They said her name on the radio. The police are after her. Quick Violet! Get the bat!’
Before my disbelieving eyes, Violet, a grey-haired lady nearing eighty, hefted a cricket bat from under the counter and glared at me with malice.
‘Is there a reward?’ she asked. I wasn’t sure if she was asking me or Vera and I wasn’t hanging around to find out.
‘Hey!’ shouted Vera as I ran for the door, the money still clutched in my hand. ‘Hey, thief!’
Bursting out of the charity shop’s door and onto the pavement outside, I was already running. I felt like a criminal and had just been identified as a woman on the run. Now I was adding theft to my list of crimes. I might solve this case, clear my name, and still go to jail for the crimes I’d committed to prove my innocence.
‘Mindy!’ I yelled. She was waiting in the car with Buster, probably having a conversation with him and trying to hear his thoughts the way I did. ‘Mindy!’
I saw her look at me and then back along the street behind me to where Violet and Vera were now giving chase. Vera had a golf club above her head and while neither was going fast enough to ever catch me, they were making enough racket to attract the attention of everyone else in sight.
‘Stop that thief!’ yelled Violet.
Mindy’s car was ten yards away. I was going to make it, but as I closed the final yards, a young man stepped into my path.
‘Whoa there, lady.’ He held out both hands to stop me. ‘Did you just steal from a charity shop?’
‘Get out of my way!’ I screamed, trying to duck around him to get to the car. Mindy had the engine running and was ready for a fast getaway. Meanwhile, Vera and Violet were catching up now that I had stopped moving.
‘Keep her there!’ yelled Vera. ‘She’s a crazy killer woman. The police are after her!’
The young man’s eyes showed his surprise, and I used it to my advantage. ‘That’s right. So get out of my way or you’ll be next,’ I sneered.
He was half a foot taller than me and twice as wide, but with muscle not fat. He looked like he worked in a gym or something.
My threat startled him, but only for long enough for him assess our relative differences in height and weight. Then a smile flickered across his face. He thought he was being a hero and under other circumstances I would praise him.
I just didn’t need this right now.
I guess Mindy got bored waiting, because she leaned
