Page 60 of The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge
It took a moment to adjust her eyes to the gloom, then several horizontal strips of daylight with views of the Broad came into focus. Beneath these ran long benches, partly occupied by several birdwatchers leaning with their elbows on the sills, silently intent behind binoculars or high-tech cameras. Stef, whispering instructions, ushered the twins over to join Livy and Aaron, who had already laid claim to a vacant bench. Somehow she found herself sitting next to Aaron, with Livy to his other side and the twins standing beyond Livy with their arms resting on the sill. Aaron showed a restless Livy where to look and the child shifted onto his lap and leaned forward to peer out. Jack and Jess seemed rapt.
‘Wish I’d brought my binoculars,’ Aaron whispered in Stef’s ear.’
‘I don’t even have any,’ she whispered back, enjoying their closeness, but the peace didn’t last for long. The birds were a long distance away and the children were quickly bored. When they began to chatter, a twitcher shushed them. It was time to go. Soon, they were filing back outside, the kids jumping about with relief at their freedom.
‘Ice cream, ice cream,’ Jess started to chant. ‘You promised, Auntie Stef.’
‘I did indeed,’ Stef smiled and looked at Aaron. ‘Shall we? My treat.’
Back at the visitors’ centre, the rush had slackened and Josh was sitting at a picnic table outside, going over some paperwork and eating a sandwich. He didn’t notice them as they passed, and when Stef went in with the children to buy the ice creams it was to find that Jackie was on duty. When they came out again, Aaron was standing chatting to Josh.
Stef ambled across and passed Aaron his ice cream.
‘No chocolate, I’m afraid, so I got strawberry. Hi, Josh.’
‘Hello there.’
She glanced down at the papers he’d been examining. They were held together on a clipboard and the top one appeared to be a bill of some sort. Just then a gust of wind blew, the papers fanned upwards and the bill tore off and flew away. Josh dived to retrieve it, leaving the clipboard on the table.
Something about the page now visible caught Stef’s eye and she edged forward to inspect it. It was a list typed in an unusual italic font and she frowned. It appeared to concernstock for the shop. At the bottom was a handwritten addition in biro and a sign-off: ‘J’.
Josh returned with the torn page and, leaving him to his sandwich, she and Aaron led the children to a far-flung table in a patch of sun. What, she wondered, as she peeled the lid off her ice cream tub, was it about the typed stocklist that was bothering her? Then it came to her.
‘D’you know Josh well?’ she asked Aaron.
‘Not really. He just wanted to know about Tabitha…’
‘Is he okay?’
‘What do you mean by “okay”?’
‘I don’t know. This is probably a ridiculous thought, but could he be Nancy’s letter writer?’
Aaron looked up sharply and his eyes searched hers. ‘Why would you think that?’
She recounted her conversation with Josh from the day before and described the likeness of the font on the stocklist to the font on the latest letter. ‘What would his motive be?’
Aaron ate a spoonful of ice cream, then licked his lips thoughtfully. ‘I can’t think of one. He’s always been very protective of my grandmother. No, it doesn’t wash with me.’
She glanced over at Josh, who was still frowning over his paperwork. It was indeed puzzling.
‘I hope giving Livy ice cream hasn’t spoiled her lunch,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘You’re going to the Ilex Tree, or somewhere else?’
‘The Ilex Tree. Nancy doesn’t want to go far.’
‘And then you’re leaving.’
‘Yes.’ His smile was thoughtful as his eyes raked her face. ‘London for a couple of days, then Cornwall.’
She swallowed. ‘I hope Cornwall goes well for you. And… everything.’
‘Everything…’ he echoed.
‘You have my number if you need it.’ She felt her face grow warm. ‘I’ll definitely be going back to London this week – I’ve so much to get on with.’
‘Those recordings to transcribe.’
‘Among other things, yes. It’s not just you who’s busy!’
