Page 18 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘Oh, Sean, look – the Christmas night market is still open!’
The evening at Hayley’s had been a great success, and by the time they said their goodbyes, Julia would have sworn that she had no energy left for anything and just wanted to go home. But the sight of the little field near the village centre, strung with lights, called to her.
‘Let’s stop and get some bread and cheese, please,’ she said.
‘You’ll do anything to go to another market,’ teased Sean, but he turned the car into the little parking area next to the main field. ‘You won’t let it stop you that it’s the middle of the night and most of the stalls will be closing up.’
‘It’s notquitethe middle of the night.’ Julia smiled at him, then looked around the little car park. ‘Although perhaps you’re right; there aren’t a lot of people left.’
‘We’re parked now,’ said Sean. ‘Might as well pop in and see if we can get your bread and cheese. And no doubt jam and eggs and perhaps a strange knitted thing that you swear will make someone a perfect gift.’
Julia could not deny it – she had bought more than a reasonable number of strange knitted objects this festive season, at markets much like this one.
‘A good point,’ she said. ‘I haven’t yet found the perfect knitted object for your stocking.’
‘In that case, let’s hurry, all the good ones might be gone.’
The two of them were laughing as they walked across the boggy parking area towards the little gate that led to the market. They almost collided with Matthew, Julia’s next-door neighbour, carrying a box of honey.
‘Julia, Sean,’ he said happily, immediately stopping and putting the box down. The thing about Matthew Shepherd was that he liked a chat. His wife, Hester, was much shyer, and Julia knew her far less well. But Matthew was one of the characters of Berrywick, known for his ability to make a short story long, and a boring story funny. When you saw his white hair and bright blue eyes bobbing down the road in your direction, you knew to add a good ten minutes to your expected arrival time. If they had a chat with Matthew now, there would be no chance of any of the stalls still being open by the time they got there.
‘Isn’t this a fine Christmas season?’ Matthew said, as his opener. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt that Julia knew was his favourite for attending the markets. ‘Makes people think of honey,’ he’d once told her. ‘It’s all in the psychology.’
‘Indeed,’ agreed Sean now. ‘I take it from this that you’ve had a good day at the market?’
‘Ah yes, we’ve had plenty of orders. We’ll be busy with deliveries the next few days, that I can tell you. People know where to come for the best honey in the Cotswolds.’
‘In the whole of England,’ said Julia, loyally.
‘There’s a good operation in Yorkshire,’ said Matthew, taking her somewhat literally. ‘They make a fine, fine honey. I think they might be as good as us.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind if I’m ever in Yorkshire,’ said Julia. ‘But tonight, it’s cheese I’m after.’
‘You’d better hurry, then,’ said Matthew, making no move to shift out of the path. ‘The cheese stall has done a roaring trade. And how are things in the doctoring business, Sean?’
‘Lots of seasonal colds,’ said Sean. ‘Keeps me busy.’
‘Well, I’m glad you’ve had a successful evening, Matthew,’ said Julia, wondering if she could just step around him. ‘I’d best be getting to the cheese.’
‘I’ve just got to pack up and then I’m off back to Hester,’ said Matthew. ‘She’ll be starting to worry. And wanting to know what the sales have been like.’ He sighed. ‘I can’t wait for the time that the honey isn’t our only source of income. That’ll be a fine day.’
Julia was wondering how to respond to this, given that Natthew and Hester were hardly of an age to expect another career opportunity to come knocking, when Matthew bent down and lifted his box. ‘Well now, I can’t be standing here chatting. Best I be on my way. Have a good night, then.’
‘You too, Matthew.’
‘He’s a good man,’ said Sean, once they were out of sight. ‘Always leaves me with a smile on my face.’
The market had mostly wound down, but twenty minutes later, they had managed to find some soft goat’s cheese, a strong brie, and the last of the loaves. Julia had also bought a bunch of early snowdrops – the last that the flower seller had.
‘It’s late, but that was worth it,’ she observed, as they walked through the now almost completely deserted market. The last of the stalls were packing up. Sean opened the small gate between the field and the parking area and Julia stepped through. A light drizzle had started and Julia looked up, wondering if it would turn to snow. As she looked around, her eye caught a flash of yellow on the far side of the parking area.
‘There’s something on the ground over there,’ she said to Sean, pointing.
Sean squinted through the rain, and then suddenly started running. ‘Julia, I think it’s a person!’
‘Who could it be?’ said Julia, following him quickly.
But she’d already seen the yellow, and she knew the answer to her own question.
