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“Hi!” Maggie said brightly. “It’s Polly, isn’t it?”
Polly gave Maggie a filthy look and tried to step around her.
Maggie anticipated her move and went the same way. “We met at the café in Roundhay. Don’t you remember? You were talking to Toby.”
“I don’t recall seeing you,” Polly said curtly. She stepped the other way.
Once again, Maggie moved with her. “I’d like to talk to you about Harvey Chester.”
Polly stared at her silently for two seconds. Then she quickly blinked, and roughly shoved Maggie out of the way. “I don’t want to talk to you.” She tottered off along the street in her high-heeled boots.
Maggie had her sensible shoes on and didn’t need to totter. She soon caught up with Polly.
Maggie said, “Harvey’s sister has asked me to look into his death. When I was doing some research on Harvey, I saw you on some group photos. And then I found your social media posts.”
“So?” Polly sped up.
So did Maggie. Taking a chance, she said, “Do Elliott and Toby know you refer to them as dogs in your posts?”
Polly came to a sudden stop. Colour infused her face. “Dogs? I don’t refer to them as dogs!”
Maggie persisted, “I think you do. The thin one is Elliott, and the smaller one is Toby. It didn’t take me long to work that out. I’m sure Elliott and Toby have come to the same conclusion. Were they mad with you?”
Polly’s chin dropped. Her voice was quieter as she said, “No, they don’t know. I don’t think so anyway. If they do know, they’ve never said anything to me.”
“It isn’t a kind thing to do, is it? Referring to them in that way.” Maggie pressed her lips together. It wasn’t her place to be judgemental.
A sad smile came to Polly’s face. “I’m not a kind person. I’ve forgotten how to be kind.” The smile suddenly left her face. “Being kind doesn’t get you anywhere. I learned that a long time ago. Why is Harvey’s sister asking you to look into his death? It was an accident.”
Maggie noticed passersby giving them curious looks. She said, “We can’t talk here. There’s a vintage café not far away. They do lovely scones. Or are you too full from your salad and sorbet?”
“How do you know what I’ve been eating?”
Maggie held her phone up. “Sorry. Just a bit of stalking.”
Polly sighed. “It’s not stalking if I’m posting my activities for all the world to see. It’s become a habit. This vintage café, do they have proper cream on their scones?”
“What do you mean by proper cream?”
“The full-fat stuff. And do they come with proper jam? I haven’t had jam in years.”
Maggie gave her a smile. “Yes, they do. And they never run out of scones. It’s a magical place.”
Polly relented. “Okay. I suppose I can have a little talk with you.”
Ten minutes later, they were seated in the lovely café. Maggie loved coming to this little building with its antique posters, mismatched plates and cups, and old-fashioned tablecloths. It was like walking into her grandma’s house.
Maggie gave their order to one of the friendly staff, and then turned to Polly. She asked her, “Are you in love with Elliott or Toby?”
Polly let out a laugh of surprise. “That was a direct question. But no, I’m not in love with either of them. I like them a lot, but I don’t love them. I do enjoy the attention I get from them. And they never judge me by what I’m wearing or how I look that day.” Sadness flickered in her eyes.
“Do other people judge you?”
Polly nodded. “It’s been this way all my life. People take one look at me, see my beauty, and assume I don’t have any brains.” She grimaced. “Sorry, that sounds so big-headed. But it’s how I was brought up. My parents were forever introducing me as the pretty one. Mum said I didn’t need to worry about school grades because my looks would always get me by. And I believed her. But being pretty doesn’t get you friends. Not female ones.”
Maggie cast her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Is that why you take so many photos and post them online? Is it your way of connecting with the world?”
“I suppose it is. Even though the online world can be very cruel sometimes, I keep posting. I’ve created an image of myself, and I can’t stop posting updates. It’s like a drug.” Polly frowned. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. My online life has got nothing to do with Harvey.”
The scones arrived loaded with thick cream and jam.
Polly’s eyes widened, and she clapped her hands together like a child. “I haven’t had cream for years and years.”
Maggie smiled at the young woman. Such a simple pleasure to bring such joy. “Polly, what was your relationship with Harvey? Did you have much to do with him?” Maggie recalled the look of admiration she’d seen on Polly’s face in a group photo.
Polly scooped up a blob of cream using her finger. She put it in her mouth, closed her eyes, and grinned. She opened her eyes, and said to Maggie, “I think I just went to heaven for a moment. Harvey? I didn’t have much to do with him. I joined in treasure hunts with Elliott, if they weren’t too extreme. And with Toby sometimes too. I did admire Harvey. He was so intelligent, and so organised. I liked that about him.” She looked back at her scone with delight.
“Before you start eating, can I ask you about the recent extreme hunt which Elliott planned?”
Keeping her eyes on the scones, Polly said, “Which extreme hunt?”
“The one in a tree. The tree which Harvey fell out of.”
Polly looked at Maggie. “Oh. That tree.” She fell silent as if mulling something over. “That was weird. Elliott said he wasn’t going to do any more extreme hunts because he thought Harvey was onto him. Every time Elliott sent out details of a new hunt, Harvey would find out about it.”
“Why was that a bad thing? If Harvey didn’t want to do extreme hunts, then why was he so bothered about Elliott doing them?”
“Because Elliott was taking members from Harvey’s group. Harvey had taken years to build his group up, and he didn’t like people going on Elliott’s hunts instead of his.” She shrugged. “That’s what Elliott said anyway. I really don’t know why Elliott did that treasure hunt with the tree. And I don’t know why Harvey would have climbed that tree.” Polly scooped up more cream and put it in her mouth. “Have you finished with your questions?”
“A few more, please. Did you go treasure hunting with Elliott and Toby at separate times? Or did you go on the same treasure hunts but with different men each time?”
Polly gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
“Did Elliott and Toby know you went hunting with the other one?”
“Yes, they did. But they didn’t know I was dating the other one. I was very careful about that.”
“Maybe you weren’t careful enough.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Maggie waved Polly’s question away. “Ignore me. I’m getting ahead of myself. I haven’t got any more questions for you.”
Polly shot her a swift smile before tucking into the scone.
Maggie picked her tea up and gazed out of the window. She suspected Elliott and Toby knew Polly was dating both of them. Had Elliott’s last treasure hunt been for Toby’s benefit? Had Elliott intended to lure Toby to the tree on some sort of modern-day duel? If Toby had been brave enough to climb the tree and find the treasure box, would Elliott step out of Polly’s life? And if Toby failed, would it be Toby who had to leave Polly alone?
If that were the case, then Harvey Chester had not been the intended victim.
Toby was.
Was he still a victim?