Page 8 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘Time for decking the halls, is it?’ Julia bent down to help her. The box slid more easily with two.
‘Fa-la-la-la-la, la la la la,’ said Diane. She gave a little jump and made jazz hands, for reasons that were inexplicable to Julia.
Wilma straightened up with a big smile. ‘I want to have a look at what we’ve got, and start our Christmas display,’ she said. ‘I do love Christmas.’ This was not news to her colleagues. They had both had first-hand experience of Wilma’s Christmas Fever. It had taken Julia until March to get rid of the Christmas carol earworms, and to find and remove the last bits of glitter from about her clothes and person. ‘It’s so cheerful,’ Wilma continued. ‘So good-spirited.’
‘Also, there’s cake,’ said Diane. ‘And mince pies.’
‘Oooh, here’s an idea. How about we give the first three customers of the day a free mince pie?’ said Wilma. ‘I’ll supply them. My treat.’
Diane’s eyebrows raised imperceptibly, along with Julia’s own. Wilma didn’t eat sweet things, on account of always watching her figure, and she was not known to give something for nothing. She had clearly been touched by the Christmas spirit.
‘I love that. I’ve got another idea,’ said Diane. ‘How about we curate a special arrangement of Christmas gifts for different categories of people? Presents for kids. For dads. For teachers. For foodies. And so on. To help people do their Christmas shopping.’
Wilma looked delighted. ‘Excellent idea. We can get working on that this week. It’s only five weeks until Christmas. People are shopping already.’
‘Nice idea, Diane,’ said Julia. ‘I was thinking we could spread the message that pre-loved gifts from places like Second Chances are the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible gifts you can buy. Buying used means cutting down on packaging waste, and the money they spend in the shop goes to the charity.’
‘That’s a very good idea. But how do we spread the message?’ said Diane. ‘We could just tell people, of course. But maybe put up a notice outside the shop?’
‘We could call it “Feel-Good Christmas”,’ said Julia, who was getting very enthused by her idea.
‘Excellent idea!’ said Wilma. ‘Why don’t we see if one of the local papers or radio stations can run something for us?’
‘I could ask Jim McEnroe from theSouthern Times. He’d be a good place to start.’
Their planning chatter was interrupted by the tinkle of the bell on the front door of the shop. They turned to look, and all three women started to laugh.
‘What’s up?’ said Jim, looking rather unnerved to find himself the unwitting provider of such mirth.
‘Speak of the devil,’ said Wilma.
‘We were just talking about you,’ said Julia. ‘Literally, before you walked in.’
‘Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good.’
‘Don’t worry, there was no scurrilous gossip, Jim,’ Julia reassured him. ‘I was wondering if you might be interested in writing something about having a greener Christmas? Buying pre-used gifts, and so on. We’ve got some ideas, and it would help us too.’
‘Actually, that’s not a bad idea. To be honest, it’s a slow time of year news-wise. Other than the accident, of course. Every year, I interview the fellow who plays Father Christmas in the village. Every year. Same bloke. Bill Jenkins. Same questions.’ He held out his hand as if clutching a microphone, ‘“So, tell me, Bill. How did you get started as Father Christmas…?” “Well, it was back in 2003. Ho ho ho…”’ He made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. ‘So yeah. I’m always keen to talk if you’ve got an idea for something different at this time of year.’
‘Julia’s the one to talk to; it was her idea,’ said Wilma.
‘Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about too, Julia,’ said Jim. ‘Can you take a break? Coffee at the Buttered Scone? We can kill two birds with one stone.’
‘Now?’ Julia looked at Wilma. There was a lot to do in the shop.
‘Go, go,’ said Wilma, making shooing motions with her hands. ‘Diane and I can hold the fort.’
‘Well, if you’re sure…’ Julia said, already lifting her handbag to her shoulder.
Ten minutes later they were seated at a table with a coffee, waiting for their cheese toasties. ‘Might as well. It’s pretty much lunchtime,’ Julia had said, not entirely accurately. It was 11.15, but Jim seemed quite happy to go along with the toastie plan.
Jim sipped his coffee while Julia told him her Feel-Good Christmas idea – the pre-loved presents, the environmental advantages, the money saved, and the proceeds going to good causes.
‘So Jim, what do you think?’
‘Well, it’s a win-win for sure,’ said Jim. ‘Great idea.’
‘Would you be able to help us promote the idea? Not just for Second Chances. The principles apply everywhere.’
