Page 51 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘That is very kind. Thank you, Julia,’ said Hester, quickly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
The two women walked briskly towards their respective homes as the storm gathered force behind them.
25
Clarissa.
Julia could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the name on one of Hester’s list of honey orders. It was an unusual name – in fact, Julia couldn’t remember ever meeting a Clarissa before – and oddly enough one she’d heard just yesterday, from the lips of DI Hayley Gibson. Clarissa was the name of Anthony Ardmore’s girlfriend, the one he’d apparently been at home with when Lewis died.
The address on Hester’s delivery list was in Berrywick. It seemed unlikely that there were two Clarissas in a small village. Much more likely that they were one and the same.
‘I’ve got errands to do around the village, so I can drop off whatever needs to be delivered in Berrywick. And you can deliver to Edgeley. How does that sound?’ Julia offered, her curiosity piqued.
‘That would be so helpful, thank you, Julia,’ Hester said, her voice wobbling a little. ‘I just feel so overwhelmed.’
‘Of course you do, you’ve experienced a traumatic loss,’ said Julia. ‘Your whole world has been turned upside down.’
Julia gave Hester a quick hug, which the other woman returned, saying, ‘You’re a kind friend and neighbour.’
Julia felt a little flash of guilt that her kindness wasn’t entirely selfless. She reminded herself that she had offered to help before she’d seen Clarissa’s name. Shehadbeen kind, and now she was the lucky beneficiary of a stroke of good fortune.
‘It’s no trouble,’ Julia said. ‘Now, let’s check the Berrywick orders. There’s Clarissa, she has four jars…’
It wasn’t that she expected to unearth anything that Hayley Gibson and Walter Farmer hadn’t already found out, Julia thought, as she drove to the address on the list Hester had given her. It wasn’t in the very poshest area – the smartest houses were mostly owned by ‘old’ families who had lived in Berrywick for generations, or they were owned by rich solicitors down from London – but it was on a nice street on the edge of the village.
With each curve of the pretty road, the honey jars clinked musically in the back seat. Julia was pleased she had decided to leave Jake at home – the combination of large jars of sticky honey and a boisterous chocolate Labrador in a small Fiat would have made her nervous. She would take Jake for a nice walk in the afternoon.
Julia drew up at a low stone wall, checked the address, and got out with the four large jars of honey Clarissa had ordered, clinking in a sturdy paper bag. She walked up the garden path to a house that was more modest than she’d expected, having seen Anthony Ardmore’s huge new car, but neat and trim.
The door was flung open before she reached the doorstep, and a woman appeared, walking and talking at speed. Hester had messaged to say that the honey would be delivered, and Clarissa had clearly been waiting. She was much younger than Julia had been expecting – and certainly a great deal younger than Anthony Ardmore.
‘It’s so kind of you to come and deliver,’ Clarissa said. ‘I was so sorry to hear about poor…Gosh! Doesn’t that honey look lovely? We’re doing a Secret Santa at work, and when I saw the stand at the Christmas market, I thought, well, what’s nicer than a big jar of honey? Anyone would be delighted with it. And then I thought, my boyfriend, Anthony might need gifts for his family, or for staff or, I don’t know, clients perhaps, so I bought a few extra.’
‘What a clever idea, it makes a lovely gift for anyone,’ said Julia, when Clarissa paused for breath and she was able to get a word in. ‘Where should I put them?’
‘Follow me,’ said Clarissa, turning back to the house. She spoke over her shoulder while leading the way. ‘I didn’t want to carry them all around the market all afternoon, so the honey man said he’d deliver. I wasn’t sure if I would get the honey at all, when I heard what happened to the poor man. Terrible, wasn’t it? Imagine that. Horrible. And he seemed so nice. I would have quite understood if the honey hadn’t been delivered.’
Julia followed Clarissa, speaking to her back as she bustled down the passage. ‘He was indeed very nice. A very decent fellow. His wife is making sure all their customers are getting their orders, as he would have wanted. I’m their neighbour. I’m giving her a hand with the deliveries.’
‘Well, that’s very kind.’ They entered a drab little kitchen with yellowing wooden counters and a sooty patch behind the stove. ‘Here’s a funny thing – I mean, notfunnyfunny, but quite a strange thing, really – it turns out that the honey man was a client of my partner’s, I discovered afterwards. Imagine that?’
Julia, who had been wondering how she would manage to seamlessly bring the conversation round to the subject of Anthony Ardmore, wondered no more. ‘Well, there’s a coincidence,’ she said.
Clarissa nodded. ‘Isn’t it? In fact, himandthe other man who died. Both clients of Anthony’s. They were two of three who were in a group, like a syndicate of some sort. Would you like to have a cup of tea?’
‘I won’t have tea, but I’d appreciate a glass of water if you’re not in a hurry.’
‘Right you are. Have a seat.’
Julia put the honey jars on the table and sat down.
‘’Scuse the kitchen,’ said Clarissa, holding a glass under the cold tap. ‘We’re going to be doing a full renovation of it next year, knock through to the scullery, open it all up. My boyfriend plans to sell his place and move in with me – he spends so much time here anyway. But we need to fix it up, if this is going to be our forever home.’
She handed the glass of water to Julia and sat down opposite her at the kitchen table. ‘You know these businessman types, always waiting for a deal to go through or cheque to clear or what have you. Promises, promises. But finally, it’s going to happen! Imagine that.’
A fancy new caranda new kitchen…Business must be good for Anthony Ardmore.
‘That’s very exciting for you. It’s a nice big space, I’m sure with a bit of love and paint it will be lovely.’
