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Emblyn wouldn’t show up until seven thirty that evening, so I had dinner with Christina and worked on the final rounds of edits before sending the book to my editor. It meant that I could focus on this murder for a while.
I had some time to spare, so I decided to knit on the sofa while the gentle tapping of raindrops on the window functioned as background noise. I really loved autumn. Of course, it also meant that it was likely I was about to venture out into the rain, but that was why people had invented umbrellas.
At exactly seven thirty, the bell rang and I opened the door. It was still raining and Alistair was holding a black umbrella.
“Alistair, hi,” I said, processing the fact that he was not Emblyn.
“A little birdy mentioned some sort of Stanley stake-out.” I could tell he was struggling to keep from smiling.
“You make it sound more exciting than what it is.” I stepped aside to let him in.
“Emblyn is supposed to be here. Did you see her on your way over?”
“No, sorry. I hope you don’t mind if I tag along. I’m sure you’ll not encounter anything dangerous, but you know, Pandora is out there.”
I winced. “Good point. And no, it’s actually a good thing that you’re here. The reason I invited Emblyn over is so that maybe I can get her to open up about this new guy that’s hanging around her. I don’t trust him.”
He frowned. “Who and why not?”
I told him about Elijah and what I’d overheard.
“It could be something, but it could also be harmless teenage stuff.”
“She doesn’t really have parents to talk to, so I am hoping she’ll open up to me. I mean, she likes mysteries and excitement and though I’m sure Stanley isn’t up to anything nefarious, there’s a possibility this will be a nice bonding moment for her and me.”
He had quirked his eyebrow at the word ‘nefarious’ but was back to his neutral detective-mode expression. He was always so hard to read when he was like that. Despite the fact that we were friends, it still didn’t feel as if he completely let his guard down around me. Or anyone else. But we had come a long way, and every time I saw a bit more of the real Alistair, I felt closer to him.
“Of course,” he said politely.
“Let’s wait outside Stanley and Olivia’s cottage while I text Emblyn.” I pulled open the door and we stepped outside. It was still raining and Alistair used his umbrella to protect us both, though his left shoulder was still getting wet.
“We should take my car, though. You don’t know where he’s going; it could be far.”
“I was going to take Nancy’s car, but okay. We can take yours.”
We stepped into his black VW Beetle that I had a crush on. Then again, Nancy’s Land Rover was also very nice. Old, but nice.
Alistair was quiet as I sent a message to Emblyn. She responded after a few seconds saying she couldn’t make it.
I scoffed.
“What?” Alistair asked.
“She just texted back that she can’t make it. Why didn’t she let me know sooner? This doesn’t seem like her. You don’t think she’s in trouble, do you?”
“Of course not. You’re forgetting she’s a teen.”
“Okay, Mr Cynical. She was excited about tonight and even said she’d bring snacks.”
“But you said a boy was involved. If romance is in the air, all bets are off.” Alistair shrugged. “Trust me.”
“Is that what you were like when you were a teen? You’d ditch your friends for a pretty girl?”
He grinned. “Definitely. Sadly, I never got that opportunity.”
“What? You were so popular. On Valentine’s Day you’d always get a heap of roses.”
“Never from the girl I like,” he said with a quick glance at me, but then his eyes were on the road. It took us two minutes to arrive at Stanley’s cottage.
“He’s talking about you,” Detective Black said from the back seat.
It’s not like he needed to say that. I remembered his confession a while ago.
“He also said ‘like’ and not ‘liked,’ Detective Black said.
I felt a flutter of something in my chest.
Alistair parked his car on the opposite side of the cobbled street. We weren’t directly in front of the cottage, but we still had a visual.
“I really wish we had snacks,” I said after four seconds.
Alistair’s chuckle was soft. “Check the glove compartment.”
I gasped in excitement and opened it. “Yes.” I clapped in joy, then took out the bag of salty crisps and checked out the variety of sweets he had in there. “I think we should get married.”
He laughed. “If I had known that was going to be your response, I would have done it sooner.”
“Definitely. Food is the way to my heart.” I opened a bag of Skittles.
Alistair watched me eat a handful of Skittles, then turned his attention to the cottage. The lights were on and their white van was parked at the side of the cottage.
“So did you have a nice meal with Miles?” he asked without looking at me.
There was no tone to be detected, but I still got the impression that maybe he asked because he was jealous. Not that he had anything to worry about.
“You sure?” Detective Black asked.
I turned around and glared at him. Alistair didn’t notice.
“Yes, it was quite nice. Did you have a nice dinner as well?”
“I just had a quick sandwich instead of a warm meal. I was busy checking out the crime scene again and going over the case so far.”
“Any news?”
“Nothing we didn’t already know. She died from asphyxiation and she was definitely killed with yo—a scarf. From behind. It could have been done by a man or woman. I also spoke with Brenda and Geoff again. Geoff didn’t seem to know that Valerie had told Brenda about being pregnant. Brenda swore she had no idea why she’d said that and seemed shocked when I told her she hadn’t been pregnant.”
“What if Valerie said it to mess with Brenda?”
“Why do you say that?” Alistair asked.
“Because Brenda and Geoff couldn’t have kids. Maybe she did it out of spite. To rub it in that she could have kids—well, pretend like she could—in order to make Brenda envious.”
“That would give Brenda a motive.”
“Yeah. But I’d definitely heard a man and woman talking. I mean, technically, there could have been more people, but it’s likely it was Valerie and the man who killed her.”
“Right,” Alistair said. “I’m more suspicious about the husband. We don’t have proof yet, but there’s something off about him.”
I nodded. “He does seem to have a temper. I hope it’s not him, though. Imagine the person you’re supposed to love and trust the most would do something like that.”
Alistair placed his hand on mine and squeezed. “I know. That’s why I get very obsessed with a case. I can’t stand the idea of someone getting away with taking someone else’s life. It doesn’t bring back the person, but at least the murderer is punished and can’t hurt anyone else when they’re caught.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re joining me on this case, which will probably turn out to be nothing.” I hoped. Otherwise I really was going to lose my faith in humanity. Stanley was one of the sweetest men I knew.
“Show time,” Alistair said as Stanley came out of the house and started walking down the street.
“He’s not taking his car,” I said.
“Okay, then neither are we. Let’s go.” Alistair was already out of the car before I could respond. I took my Skittles with me.
Alistair held the umbrella, and to protect us from the rain, I had to press myself up against him.
“Yeah, right,” Detective Black scoffed.
We followed at a safe distance. Far enough so he wouldn’t recognise our faces, but close enough that we could see where he was going.
“We should hold hands,” I said.
“What?”
“If he does look back, he’ll think we’re a couple and dismiss us. He wouldn’t look any closer or question why we are out walking.”
Alistair paused for so long that I thought he was going to dismiss it, especially since the umbrella already hid our features and we were already walking close together. But then I felt his cold hand around mine.
Play it cool, Maggie. Definitely don’t grin like an idiot or make happy noises.
Stanley walked briskly along in the direction of the church. My first thought was that he was going into the woods, which immediately cranked up the creepy factor, but instead he went into the church. We stopped on the corner as we watched him go in.
“Why would he go into the church? Do you think he’s having an affair with someone at the church? Isn’t that blasphemy?” I asked.
“You think that’s blasphemy? What about the murder that happened last summer?”
“Also blasphemy.”
A woman walked up to the church and headed in.
I gasped. “Eleanor is going to beat the crap out of Stanley. And so is Olivia. Actually, all the women from the book club will. Hell, I will even join in.”
Alistair squeezed my hand. “Let’s go check it out.”
I grunted. “I’m not sure we should go in. What if they’re naked?”
“I don’t think they’re doing what you think they’re doing. I mean, why go to the church? Why not a hotel or somewhere else?”
Alistair pulled me along towards the church.
“Where exactly? The Pembroke is no longer a hotel and the local B&B isn’t exactly the spot for a secret affair. If she’s married as well, they won’t be able to go to her place, so...you know, a church actually makes sense.”
Alistair stopped by the church’s gate and turned to me. We were still holding hands. “You make a good point.”
I waved my other arm. “I know!”
“Still. We will look and get the proof so that he can’t deny it and then he can break the news to Olivia himself.”
I let out a little whine at the thought. Poor Olivia. She’d already been through so much with that scumbag of a first husband.
Alistair petted my head. “Don’t worry. It will be okay.”
We walked up to the church and opened the door. Alistair went in first and I followed.
It took us a moment to process what we were seeing and then I screamed.