Page 16 of A Village Theatre Murder

‘I’m a sucker for them,’ said Pippa, with a rueful grin and a roll of her eyes. ‘I don’t know why. They are a lot of work, and after the last lot, I said I’d stop. I swore I’d never do it again.’

There was an awkward moment while they both recollected that her last lot had included Jake, and that he had been known as the Naughtiest Puppy in Berrywick and had nearly driven Pippa mad before Julia had taken him off her hands. Neither of them referred to that,but they both laughed.

‘Anyway, I relented. And here they are, the darlings. I’ve only had them a week or so, and look how good they are.’

Jake sniffed at the puppies, his tail going like a windscreen wiper in a rainstorm.

‘Ah, isn’t he sweet with them?’ Pippa said. ‘Sit for a minute, it’ll be good for them to be with another dog. Cup of tea?’

Julia refused a drink but sat down. She reached down to stroke the head and ears of the nearest puppy. It was delightfully warm and silky under her hand.

‘I thought I’d go and visit poor Jane this afternoon,’ said Pippa. ‘Terrible business, isn’t it?’

‘It really is awful. I saw her yesterday; Tabitha and I dropped by with a loaf, but didn’t stay. But I think she appreciated the pop-in. I’m sure she would be pleased to see you. Do you know her other than through book club?’

‘We’re not close, but I’ve known her for years. She was friends with my aunt Margaret, my mother’s youngest sister. Jane was always very pretty. I would remember her better than she would remember me, from that time, of course. She and Margaret were in their final year at school and I thought they were very glam and grown-up. Margaret moved away for a long time and so they drifted apart, but I remember Jane so clearly from those days.’

‘That’s a strange coincidence. She told me she and Oscar were at school together too, and of course Oscar is the one who…’

‘Yes, indeed,’ Pippa cut in, nodding. ‘Oscar’s the one she went out with at high school. We all thought that they would get married until Graham came along. It was all very sudden.’

‘Oh?’ Julia was stunned. That was not at all how she had planned to end the sentence, although she supposed it did tally with what Jane had said the day before, about choosing Graham.She paused. ‘That must have been very upsetting for Oscar.’

‘He was devastated,’ said Pippa, matter-of-factly.

‘I see,’ said Julia, slowly, trying to decide if this was important, all these years later.

‘Oh, don’t read anything into this. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s all ancient history. And I don’t mean to gossip, especially under these awful circumstances.’

Pippa looked quite shamefaced. It was true, she wasn’t a gossip. There were some world champion gossips in Berrywick, and no one ever counted Pippa amongst them.

‘Please forget that I said anything,’ said Pippa. ‘People might jump to conclusions, you know.’

‘Of course,’ said Julia, flapping her hand, ushering the thought away as if it were a bothersome insect. ‘Out of my head already! Let’s talk about something else. Tell me all about these puppies.’

10

The trouble was, despite the flapping of her hand, the thought hadn’t gone away. Like a bothersome bumble bee at a summer picnic, it kept coming back, disturbing Julia’s peace of mind with its buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. In her years as a social worker, Julia had learnt to pay attention to what didn’t seem right. She knew to listen to her instincts. They weren’t always spot-on, but they were always worth a second thought and further investigation.

She allowed the insect thought to buzz around in her brain, as she walked along the pavement through the main road of Berrywick, past the hardware shop and the butcher, past the post office and the grocery shop, with Jake loping happily at her side.

Oscar and Jane had been high school sweethearts forty years ago. That meant nothing. There was no reason to think there was any connection between their teenage relationship in the distant past and the terrible events of Saturday. In fact, it was quite unlikely. And besides, it was none of Julia’s business.

But Julia also knew that people had a way of harbouring resentment. Forty years ago, Graham had won Jane and brokenOscar’s heart. Was it really a complete coincidence that Oscar was the one who had pulled the trigger, causing Graham’s death? If it was, there was a certain poetic karma to it. But was it more than that?

Jake stopped to sniff at a particular spot on a hedge that looked no different from any other they’d passed. Julia wondered idly what information he got from his sniffing. Did he recognise other dogs that had been there before him? Did he smell rabbits? Maybe a fox? Did he know how long ago they’d passed by? If he did, he didn’t fret about it, or make judgements or take decisions, or feel the need to intervene in any way. He just absorbed whatever information there was and moved along. No wonder he was so cheerfully untroubled by life.

Unlike her chocolate Labrador, Julia’s lot in life was to be forever trying to make sense of the world – questioning, deliberating, seeing how she might make things a little better.

The question in Julia’s head was whether to tell DI Hayley Gibson about the connection between the shooter and the victim’s wife. Hayley didn’t welcome Julia’s interference in her investigations, and Julia would prefer not to have to go to her with information and look like some village gossip. Lord knows, there were more than enough of those about. In fact, it was more than likely that someone else had already told Hayley about Oscar and Jane, Julia thought, hopefully. The people of Berrywick loved a bit of a story, even if that story was older than the teller. That would mean Julia wouldn’t have to tell her. She was off the hook. Problem solved.

Jake tugged sharply at his lead, pulling Julia out of her deliberations and along the road. She soon saw why. He had recognised Hayley Gibson, walking towards them as if summoned by Julia’s pondering.

‘Hayley! I was just thinking about you.’

‘You were, were you?’ Hayley said, bending down to pat Jake who could not getoverthis surprise arrival. You’d havethought she’d been raised from the dead, the way he fell upon her in delight.

Hayley’s response had been more of a statement than a question that invited a reply, but Julia forged on nonetheless.

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