Page 6 of Murder in the Winter Woods
Walter reached over and took two. ‘Oooh, just like my mum used to make. Plates of little sandwiches for every birthday party,’ he said, neatly confirming Julia’s hypothesis. He put oneof the little triangles on a plate and the other straight into his mouth.
‘Crusts or no crusts?’ asked Flo. ‘Your mum’s sarnies, I mean.’
Walter swallowed and dabbed his mouth with a paper napkin. ‘Crusts. We weren’tmillionaires, you know. Waste not, want not, was Mum’s motto.’
Flo laughed. Julia, whose mother had cut off the crusts, kept her silence.
‘Right then,’ said Kevin. ‘So, Walter, before we start, is there any update on the investigation? Have you found the culprit?’
‘Not yet. Unfortunately, the incident happened in a place where there are no cameras. We’re looking at the footage from the surrounding area.’
‘That’s a pity,’ said Flo, shaking her head. ‘I hope you catch him and make sure he faces the full might of the law. I can’t believe anyone would be so cold-blooded. Imagine hitting another human being and not stopping to see if they’re all right!’
‘Actually, it seems like he did stop,’ Walter said. ‘The direction of the tyre marks and the footprint that Julia and Sean found indicate that he stopped, got out, and then drove off. It’s our thinking that he saw that Lewis was dead and panicked. He decided to leg it.’
‘Are there any leads?’
‘We were hoping to get a good tyre print, which we might be able to match to the make of car and then cross check against the cameras, but there was a bit of rain that night, so it looks like that’s not going to be possible. The same goes for the footprint. There’s no detail on the tread, so we can’t determine the type of shoe.’ Walter Farmer looked thoroughly glum.
‘Well, I’m sure you are doing everything you can,’ said Kevin.
‘We are, and we’ve got posters up everywhere, calling for information from that night. Hopefully someone saw something. An erratic driver. Anything.’
‘But for now, this road safety committee is looking forwards, right?’ said Flo. ‘To see what we can do to make sure Berrywick’s roads are safer for everyone. So, what are your thoughts?’
It was inevitable that Will Adamson would be the first to give his suggestions, and that his suggestions would be punitive: ‘We need a crackdown on bad driving and fast driving – more visible policing, more speed cameras, harsher fines.’
‘I can look into the cameras,’ said Walter. ‘There’s a procedure to request more. We’ll have to make recommendations as to where they are placed.’
‘I can do that,’ said Will. ‘I know where the problem areas are. I can get going on the application procedure, too. I have some experience navigating red tape.’
‘That’s very helpful, thank you. Perhaps someone can help you.’
Julia looked down at her hands. She didn’t fancy being paired off with Will Adamson. ‘I could do it,’ said Flo, to Julia’s relief.
Julia offered her own suggestion: ‘I was thinking that it might help to communicate with drivers more. Put up some signs with messages that make them think, or slow down.’
‘Like “Speed Kills”,’ said Will.
‘Well, I did some research online, and there’s quite some evidence that shows it’s more effective to take a positive approach,’ said Julia. ‘Something like “Help us protect our wildlife”, or “Our children use this road”. Rather than “You’re a terrible person”.’
‘That makes sense, actually,’ said Flo.
Will made a snorting, huffing noise. ‘You’ve got to soft-soap everything these days, haven’t you? Don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Couldn’t have that.’
‘Well, I suppose it makes sense to do what works best,’ Kevin said mildly. ‘Julia, how about you and I come up with some ideas for the signs?’ Julia nodded. ‘Will and Flo will look at where cameras might go. Walter can help with that, and investigate where the speeding and accidents take place. Then we’ll see about permissions.’
‘That sounds good,’ said Julia, pleased to be paired with Kevin, who was a decent chap. The others nodded in agreement.
‘I will get right onto it,’ said Walter, determinedly. ‘This should never happen again in our village.’
‘I’ll make a group and we can use that to share ideas,’ said Kevin.
‘Good work, everyone,’ said Flo. ‘Now if that’s all, I’d best be getting back. Tea time’s always busy with the school-run crowd. Hungry little footballers and their mums.’
Will looked at his watch and stood up. ‘Me too. I’ve got a site meeting to get to.’
Flo and Will left, but Walter didn’t budge. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked, gesturing towards the plate with the remaining sandwiches.
