Page 4 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘It’s hard to imagine,’ said Sean. ‘Perhaps a scared one. Or possibly a drunk one.’
‘A coward, either way.’
‘It would be tempting. Alone on that lane through the woods, no witnesses. You can see how it might cross their mind.’
‘Sean O’Connor! You would never do something like that, and you know it.’
Sean sighed. ‘You’re right. I wouldn’t. But it doesn’t mean that I can’t imagine someone else being tempted to just flee the scene.’
Julia handed him a cup of steaming tea, and they sat down at her table. Neither was quite ready to end the evening, after the trauma of finding Lewis’s body.
‘I’d hate to be the one having to phone his wife,’ said Julia, sipping from her cup. ‘Poor woman. And so close to Christmas.’
‘It’s a terrible shock. And a loss to the village.’
They both fell silent, each caught up in their own memories of rides with Lewis.
‘I bet it will turn out to be a tourist,’ said Julia. ‘They really are a scourge at this time of year.’
‘Spoken like a true local,’ smiled Sean. ‘But you’re right. There’s going to be a few people who agree with you on that one.’
This would, indeed, prove to be a most accurate prediction.
3
The meeting of the Berrywick Residents’ Association was well attended. Julia hadn’t done a head-count, but she suspected it was the biggest gathering of the Association since the referendum on whether to paint the park benches black or a very dark green. That was a year ago – black had won the day. The mood this time was a good deal more sombre, which was hardly surprising, given the circumstances.
Kevin Moore stood up. It was only his second meeting as Chairman of the Association, and he looked pale and serious, and somehow younger than his age, which Julia estimated to be about forty. His wife, Nicky, smiled encouragingly at him and whispered to Julia, ‘Poor Kev, he’s nervous. And I don’t blame him. It’s a sad time for Berrywick.’
It was indeed.
Kevin cleared his throat, and thanked them all for coming. He looked down at his hands and then raised his face to the room. His eyes seemed to glisten with unshed tears when he spoke: ‘This is no ordinary meeting of the Residents’ Association, because it comes in the wake of a terrible tragedy. First and foremost, I’d like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Lewis Band. Lewis was a well-known and respectedmember of our community, a trusted driver for many of us, and a regular participant at these meetings. As you no doubt know, he was hit by a car on the road through the woods on Monday night, and died on the scene from his injuries.’
There followed a quiet chorus of tuts and clicks and sighs, reminiscent of spring rainfall on a shed roof. The quiet observations from the audience gathered force.
‘Too sad.’
‘Bless his soul, dear Lewis.’
‘Ah, poor Coral, losing her husband like that. It’s a tragedy.’
‘It’s a crime, is what it is.’
That last statement was issued firmly and loudly by Will Adamson, and it was addressed in the direction of DI Hayley Gibson and Walter Farmer, who were attending to represent the police. Hayley didn’t respond.
Kevin interjected, trying to keep the meeting on course – and civil. ‘Now, I know that we’re all very distressed about what happened to Lewis, and concerned about road safety. And we will be looking at ways to?—’
Another voice piped up from the back: ‘Will’s right. It’s a crime, the way people drive around here.’
More voices joined in:
‘Everyone in Berrywick knows that bend. We know to slow down as we go through those woods. It must have been someone from out of town.’
‘Of course it was! It’s those tourists.’
‘True. You know what they’re like. They don’t know the roads, and they speed around like they own the place.’
‘Some maniac in a Range Rover nearly ran over my Rover on Ranger Road,’ said Yvonne. This statement confused Julia, until she remembered that Yvonne’s Great Dane was indeed called Rover, and there was indeed a road in Berrywick called Ranger Road. ‘Came round that sharp bend near the school and thebumper actually touched his tail. If I hadn’t tugged him away, he wouldn’t be here, poor dear Rover.’ She looked so sad, it was almost as if she’d forgotten that Rover was alive and well and chasing ducks at the Big Pond, which was where he’d been that very afternoon when Julia had taken her Jake for his walk.
