Shilpa wondered if it was plausible to claim she was just passing if she lingered outside the police station long enough, waiting for Danny to finally appear. Unlikely story. He would see right through her, especially as the police station was in a cul-de-sac in Glass Bay, miles from Otter’s Reach. She rubbed her hands together and stepped out from behind her stall to get a hot chocolate from the neighbouring stallholder. The morning still had a chill in the air, and she didn’t really want to be there. She could tell it was going to be a slow one. It was supposed to be scorching later on, so she imagined the tourists were up and out early, choosing to breakfast at the cafés at Blackpool Sands or Slapton before their day at the beach. The Otter’s Reach locals hadn’t yet woken up.
‘These Saturday mornings come around quick, don’t they,’ Derek said in a West Country accent as he ladled hot chocolate into a Styrofoam cup. She nodded, handed him two pounds and took the drink from him. The hot liquid relaxed her as it slipped down her throat. She thanked Derek and realised that he was the first person she had spoken to since she had woken up. She wondered if she was lonely. Was that why she was becoming increasingly fixated on Danny? Was she just alleviating boredom, or did she really fancy him? She decided to pick the latter. This was no time for a poor-me pity party. She had known it was going to be tough uprooting and moving to Devon; leaving her best friends behind to start over in a small town. But today it felt like hard work. She looked back at her stall and the two customers that had just entered the market square. They were heading towards a stall selling flowers, so she walked over to Olivia’s.
‘So, did you get a date with that chap you’re stalking then?’ Olivia asked, before she even said hello.
Shilpa grinned. ‘Not yet,’ she said. On a particularly wet afternoon last week at Leoni’s she had shared her feelings for Danny with Olivia. She had kept the details to a minimum, only sharing that she had her eye on someone that she quite liked. She knew what gossip could do to a relationship, especially in a small place like Otter’s Reach. If Olivia knew who she was after then Leoni would soon know, and it would get back to Danny, and who knew what would happen. Although would that be such a bad thing? If Danny knew she liked him would he look at her differently?
Shilpa asked Olivia if she was ready for the funeral and thanked her again for helping out. Olivia waved her comments aside and pushed a few stray blonde curls away from her face.
‘I’m glad I could help. It’s so sad. I’ve never heard of a murder happening around here. And at a party too. I went to school with Mason.’ Shilpa was surprised that Mason hadn’t been privately educated, but Olivia informed her that his father thought he would be better rounded if he stuck it out with the local kids.
‘Mason was a charmer,’ Olivia continued. ‘A bit angular, but he had a dark, brooding look that caught girls’ attention.’
Shilpa glanced back at her stall and then turned towards Olivia.
‘And have you heard Harriet is now dating Evan White?’ Olivia said. She didn’t wait for a response before giving Shilpa the low-down on Harriet’s new boyfriend. According to Olivia, he was a quiet introvert but better-looking than Mason, and he owned White Water, the stand-up paddle-boarding empire in Devon. ‘A self-made man. Much better suited for the daughter of Steven Drew,’ Olivia said.
‘Harriet had an interest in Evan even before he made his money,’ Olivia said. ‘Which is saying something. I’m surprised they didn’t get together sooner. I spotted them last night in the bar at the top of the hill. There she was, Harriet, all legs and red lips. Evan had his hand on the small of her back and was whispering something in her ear. It looked quite intimate. And to think Mason isn’t in the ground yet. I don’t know how that woman gets away with it.’
Shilpa didn’t say anything about her conversation with Leoni or that she had seen Evan and Harriet together at the café. She looked back towards her stall again. Two customers had stopped to talk to Derek. They would be at her stall next, but then again, Derek could talk. She reckoned she had at least five minutes.
‘So, who do you think bumped off Mason Connolly?’ Olivia asked, offering Shilpa a mini sausage roll.
Shilpa shrugged.
Olivia smiled. ‘Keeping quiet on who you think it is, I see. Everyone has a suspect in mind. It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened here. My money’s on Harriet. She didn’t love him and wanted to be with Evan. Goodbye, Mason.’
‘She could have just called it off with Mason. To have two fiancés die isn’t something anyone wants.’
‘Unless the death of one gave you the taste to get rid of the second,’ Olivia said. ‘I know a copper at Glass Bay. My brother-in-law. It’s not his department. He’s keeping tight-lipped about the whole thing, but I bet he knows a thing or two.’
Shilpa considered asking Olivia if she knew Danny but then thought better of it.
‘Do you think Evan could’ve done it?’ Shilpa said, throwing her empty cup in a bin close to Olivia’s stall. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had killed out of jealousy.
Olivia didn’t think so, even though she knew he had been at the engagement party. She had grown up with Evan and couldn’t believe he would do something like that. ‘He’s got a brain,’ she said. ‘And he uses it. He’s never been the sort to use his fists.’
There’s always a first time, Shilpa thought as she walked towards her stall. She knew from her own experience with a possessive ex that the rich liked getting their way. They were not good at rejection. They usually got whatever they wanted no matter who they hurt in the process. Shilpa dug her hands into her pockets. It was a big generalisation. And she liked Olivia. The woman was warm and genuine. She trusted her opinion. If she thought Evan was innocent, then maybe he was.