The day dawned bright and chilly, the sky a clear, pale blue as if thoroughly washed by the storm of the night before. Alys had been startled when the alarm woke her. She’d actually slept well, far better than she’d expected, despite all the unanswered questions hanging over her when she had gone to bed.
As she headed downstairs, one question was answered, though. Moira hadn’t come home. Alys smiled to herself, seeing humour in the reversal of roles between aunt and niece. She’d be able to tease her later in the café. It was a shame that Moira refused to have a mobile, or she could have started the teasing now, by text.
She had further reason to wish Moira had a mobile when, by ten in the morning, she still hadn’t shown up at the café, and Alys was eager to get off to Nortonstall. Her new assistants, Dee and Sandy, would have opened up the café when she hadn’t appeared, but Alys had appointments booked in to discuss the work to be done to the flat. She fought down a sense of rising irritation – Moira was never unreliable. In fact, now she came to think of it, perhaps she should be worried, simply because this was so out of character?
The door opened and Alys looked up, expecting the first customer of what looked like being a very quiet day.
‘Morning,’ said Rob cheerfully. ‘Just thought I’d let you know in case you hadn’t heard? We’re marooned here at the moment. The storm brought down trees on both the top and bottom roads. Until they send out cutting equipment from Nortonstall, we can’t go out and no one can get in.’
Alys felt a sense of relief. ‘At least that explains what’s happened to Moira. I’d better give them a ring over at Nortonstall to let them know I’ll be even later than I thought.’
‘Can’t do that either, I’m afraid,’ said Rob. ‘The landlines are down too – the exchange was flooded. I think you’re in for a quiet day. You’ll only be seeing walkers for a while yet, and then only from the valley. And from what I hear, with the river in spate after the storm, it’s not easy walking either. Well, better get off now – I’ve got a few trees down to deal with myself.’ And with that, he was gone.
Alys felt a mounting sense of frustration, then sighed. There was nothing to be done about it. She called Dee on her mobile to check how things were in Nortonstall, reassured by her new assistant’s calm and capable manner. Dee was big, blonde and motherly while Sandy, young enough to be Dee’s daughter, was slender and petite with cropped dark hair, huge eyes and a preference for goth-style fashion. They made an odd contrast behind the café counter but the customers loved them. She knew she could trust them to get on with the daily routine so she settled herself at the counter with a cup of coffee, then let her thoughts drift back to the night before. Could she solve the puzzle and unravel the mystery behind Alice’s death?
When Julie called in to the café a little later, she found Alys frowning fiercely and gazing at the ceiling while she chewed the end of a pencil.
‘Tough crossword?’ asked Julie.
‘Nothing as simple as that,’ said Alys, with some feeling, and she explained the events, and her discovery of the night before, to Julie, and how difficult it was to make any sense of it, with so little to go on.
‘Hmmm,’ said Julie, once she’d absorbed the information. ‘There’s an awful lot of speculation going on here. But there’s a bit of research you could do that might cast some light on one aspect of it.’
‘What’s that?’ Alys sounded hopeful. ‘I haven’t been able to think of anything.’
‘Elisabeth’s birth certificate,’ said Julie. ‘That should tell you who her father was.’
‘Of course!’ exclaimed Alys. ‘I’m an idiot! Why didn’t I think of that? But how do I find it?’
‘Easy,’ said Julie. ‘Like everything these days – you can do it online. I can give you a hand, if you like?’