Page 12 of Murder in the Winter Woods
Julia popped a humbug into her mouth and waited.
‘Yes, an unfortunate thing that was,’ said Dora, not looking especially upset. But then she frowned and added, ‘Poor Coral.’
‘Did you know them?’ Julia asked, casually.
‘A little. I knew him quite well when he was younger. He was the same age as my little sister, Janice. That was a long time ago. And people change, don’t they?’
This struck Julia as a rather odd observation, although a true one. ‘They certainly do. What was he like?’
Dora glanced down at her hands, and then looked at Julia, her blue eyes wide. ‘If I have to be honest, Julia, I didn’t like himback in the day. He didn’t do right by Janice. In fact, he did her wrong. But I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, and it was a long time ago. And things change, don’t they?’
‘They do indeed…What sort of things do you mean?’
‘Ah, well. Men and women. Boys and girls. If a chap got a bit handsy, a bit pushy, you didn’t make a thing of it back then. Not like today, with all the #MeToo.’
‘Well, I’d say it’s probably better these days, wouldn’t you? Hopefully people have learned to behave with kindness and respect. And face the consequences when they don’t.’ Julia wondered if the wrong that Lewis had done Janice was of the face-the-consequences variety, or of the things-were-different-then variety. Admittedly, it was often one and the same.
‘Oh, yes. Back then, you’d warn off your girlfriends if a chap wasn’t good with being told no. Make sure you weren’t caught in a tricky situation alone. But you didn’t say anything, not in public.’
Dora looked uncharacteristically pensive – sad, even – and then she said: ‘Ah, well, he was thirty-five years with Coral, a good husband, an upstanding member of the community. So he did all right, I suppose. Everyone deserves a chance to change and to do better.’
‘Yes, yes they do.’ Julia spotted the Walnut Whips on the shelf behind Dora. ‘Could I have two of those, please?’ she said, pointing. ‘You don’t often see them these days, and they’re Sean’s favourite.’
‘A classic,’ Dora said, reaching for them.
‘We’re going to see a film this weekend. In an actual cinema, if you can believe it. I’ll bring these along as a treat,’ said Julia. ‘Now, what do I owe you?’
7
‘You look lovely,’ said Sean, giving Julia a good old up-and-down look. ‘I like that dress.’
She blushed. She didn’t have a lot of call for smart clothes, living in Berrywick, and she hadn’t worn this dress in a year or two. When she’d put it on, she’d wondered whether it was too smart, or too tight. But the look on Sean’s face told her it was all right. More than all right.
‘Why, thank you. I seem to have been in my gardening clothes all week. All the winter chores, the hen house, the wood pile – you know what it’s like this time of year. I felt like dressing up for a change when I finally left the house.’
‘Tights, too! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in tights.’
‘Hmm, maybe once or twice. At Peter and Christopher’s wedding, for instance. It’s chilly in a dress at this time of year, though. I needed the warmth.’
‘Well, you certainly do scrub up nicely, Ms Bird.’ He took her arm, and they steadied each other along the garden path on their way to his car. ‘Laine told me to enjoy “date night”.’ He made little air quotes with his fingers to emphasise the ridiculousness of the term. ‘Date night! Have you ever? I must say, that’s nota term I expected to hear applied to myself,’ he said in a tone somewhere between grumpy and amused.
‘Whatever you call it, it is very nice to be going out, just the two of us.’ She squeezed his hand, marvelling again at her good luck in having met him.
Sean cleared his throat awkwardly and said, ‘Things have been different the last few months, with Jono living with me. I know it’s not as easy for us to be as spontaneous, or get time alone. I’m sorry.’
‘Oh, Sean, no!’ said Julia hastily. ‘I didn’t mean it like that at all! I think it’s very good for you and Jono that he’s here with you, and he’s so much happier. And I like having him and Laine around, I really do.’
‘Ah, okay. Well, I like it too.’ Sean looked relieved. He opened the passenger door for her, and she slid into the passenger seat, noting again how neat and clean he kept his car. It helped that Leo lay down obediently on a blanket in the back seat and went to sleep, unlike certain other canines.
They left early enough to get to Hayfield with time for a drink and a snacky supper at the little bar in the cinema where they would be watching a screening of Ian McKellen in a National Theatre Live production. Julia was in an excellent mood – she’d been wanting to go to the Hayfield Electric Picture House since she’d read about it in theSouthern Timesages ago. And now here they were, heading out of Berrywick at an easy pace, enjoying the sun setting over the village, the way the stone of the walls and the houses glowed golden. The light dropped suddenly when the road cut through the woods, entering the long shadows of the trees. Sean put his headlights on. Julia felt a shiver, remembering that this was the stretch of road where they had found Lewis’s body. She was about to mention it, and remind Sean to drive cautiously, but she thought better of it. No point inspoiling ‘date night’ with a gloomy topic. And besides, he was a good and careful driver.
But when they reached the curve in the road, Julia found herself compelled to speak. Perhaps, she thought somewhat cynically, she was looking for closure.
‘Sean,’ she said, ‘could we stop at the accident site?’
Sean was not the type of man to ask too many questions, or object. He slowed down even more. As they reached the woody bend, something fluttered on the side of the road, catching the edge of the headlight’s beam. A thin flash of yellow, flapping in the breeze.
‘It’s the police tape,’ said Julia. ‘That bit must have been left behind when the police cleared the scene.’
