Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery (9 page)

“
I’ll check it out later, Archie. Meantime, off to bed with
you and try to get some sleep.”

“
But it will soon be time to get up. There isn’t any point in
going to bed now,” Archie argued. He thought longingly of the warm,
soft sheets currently occupied by his brothers, and wished he
hadn’t been so hasty to leave the bed. Tiredness drew him down, and
he smothered a yawn.

“
Take today off, Archie. I am sure Mr Tompkins will
understand,” Jack suggested reluctantly. In reality they needed
every penny they could get, but the last thing he wanted was for
anything to happen to Archie because tiredness had made him clumsy.
So many children died working in mills these days. The last thing
Jack wanted was for any of his children to be one of
them.

Archie
was already thinking along the same lines. The family couldn’t
afford to lose another day’s wages. They had already lost one day
waiting in for the Justice. It would make life very difficult to
lose two days’ worth of money. Still, the draw to climb between the
soft sheets upstairs was so strong that Archie seriously
contemplated sending his apologies to Mr Tompkins for a second day
running. Reluctantly, he shook his head, sending his dad a tired
smile.

“
I’m fine. I’ll get an early night tonight, that’s all.” He
jumped when his mum appeared beside him. He had been so lost in
thought he hadn’t heard her come downstairs. Rubbing a weary hand
down his face, he pushed to his feet.

“
I’ll go and feed the chickens,” he muttered around a
yawn.

“
No you won’t.” Jack’s voice was stern. “You will stay here
and get some breakfast. I’ll do the chickens.” Jack shot his wife a
warning look. “Archie heard someone in the night, and hasn’t had
much sleep. He isn’t to leave until he has had some rest and a good
breakfast inside him.”

Archie
almost groaned as his mother immediately launched into a flurry of
fussing and fluttering. Ushering him back down into the chair, she
disappeared into the kitchen and began banging plates and
pots.

Smothering a yawn, Archie listened to the blessedly familiar
sounds of his mum making breakfast and lay his head down on the
table for a brief rest.

Within
seconds he was sound asleep.

Outside,
Jack paused beside the back door. Studying the ground for a moment,
he couldn’t see anything amiss on the cobbled path that ran from
the back door to the small gate at the back of the house. It was
the window that drew his attention. At the bottom corner, the wood
had been scratched away, leaving bare wood open to the morning air.
Beneath the window was a small pile of the wooden scratchings.
Although there was no sign of the tool that had been used, someone
had definitely tried to break in by trying to get the window out of
the frame. Making a mental note to repair the window at the first
opportunity, Jack donned his cap. His eyes scanned every nook and
cranny of the garden as he headed toward the pig pens to feed the
animals.

Lost in
thought, he missed the shadowy figure that slipped silently back
into the trees and vanished.

Later
that day, Archie was practically weaving on his feet. He was so
tired, he was beyond yawning and had taken to simply rubbing his
eyes and trying hard not to growl. He had just had probably the
worst day of his entire life, and couldn’t wait to get home so he
could get to bed. The few minutes’ sleep he had managed to snatch
that morning had done little more than make him tireder. He had
been woken by his mum holding a plate of eggs and toast over his
head, and the abrupt arrival of Ben and Sammy who were loudly
squabbling over who had run down the stairs the fastest.

His dad
had reappeared briefly to escort Martha and Emilie to work, warning
Archie to be on his guard and tell Mr Tompkins if he got too tired.
Knowing he wouldn’t risk causing the family more worry, Archie
merely nodded, having no intention of telling Mr Tompkins anything
of the kind. He was paid to do a day’s work; and a day’s work he
would do.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t realised just how bad his day would
get.

Dark
storm clouds had gathered with increasing determination throughout
the day, causing everyone’s mood to darken with it. The harvest had
only just begun and would have to be suspended for several days to
allow the corn to dry out if it rained too heavily. Nobody was
looking forward to the prospect of sitting around for a few days
and, desperate to get as much of the crop in before it rained,
everyone worked twice as hard. Unfortunately, that meant that more
carts appeared at the mill faster, as the workers tried to get the
grain under cover. There was money to be earned, and grain to be
harvested. The welfare of not only their families, but the
livestock, was at risk if the crops were ruined by heavy storms,
and that thought alone was enough to ensure everyone who was able
bodied was working as frantically as possible.

Dropping
the empty sacks at his feet, Archie stood and stretched his back,
yawning widely as he stared out of the window. In the far distance
a bright flash of lightening lit the sky, warning of an impending
deluge. Wrinkling his nose at the thought of the soaking he would
get walking home in the pouring rain, Archie took a moment to study
the area. From three floors up, the top of the corn mill was as
high as the old oak tree in the spinney. Located at the furthest
corner of the village, it gave an unhindered view of the
surrounding countryside that couldn’t be seen from the oak
tree.

Oblivious to the low rumbling of the millstones beneath him,
Archie studied the long line of trees running across the horizon.
Ambleton woods, they were called, and bordered the main road out of
the village toward the larger town of Hampton four miles away.
Running his gaze along the treeline, Archie paused at the sight of
the run-down shack sheltered, barely visible, to the far left of
the woods.

“
Mr Harriman’s house,” Archie whispered, frowning at the
ramshackle, single-storey building with a shudder. Even from a
distance the house looked old and haunted. Archie frowned
thoughtfully at the building. It wasn’t too far away, and would
only take a couple of minutes to get there. There were no trees
lining the road, only tallish hedges that could be used for
protection from prying eyes.

If he
could get to Mr Harriman’s house, then he could take a look inside
and see for himself if there was anything amiss that could give him
a clue about what had made Mr Harriman so happy on the day he had
died.

Quickly
running his eyes over the rolling fields before him, Archie frowned
absently as his mind raced with possibilities. A flurry of movement
directly below him snapped him out of his thoughts, and his eyes
dropped down to the ground several feet below.

“
Oh, no,” he whispered, his eyes meeting those of the Justice,
who was staring up at him. Archie wondered if Lord Brentwood had
come to ask more questions, and glared down at the aristocratic man
defiantly. His heart thumped heavily in his chest as the image of
the cloaked figure standing at the side of the cart track beside
his house flew into his mind. The size of the man was very similar
to the Justice. Even from three floors up, his eyes met and held
the Justice’s for several long moments until, just as quickly, the
Justice broke eye contact and walked away.

Quickly
moving toward the window, Archie peered sideways as far as the
window would allow, trying to see if the Justice had entered the
corn mill, but couldn’t see anything. With a frown he moved away,
stumbling as he fell over the pile of sacks he had dropped earlier.
Sitting on the floor, he rubbed his sore bottom and contemplated
what to do next. Although it was unlikely, the Justice could be the
one responsible for killing Mr Harriman. There was certainly
something hauntingly familiar about the Justice that Archie still
couldn’t put a finger on. Until he realised what it was, he
couldn’t take any risks and had to evade more questioning from the
Justice whenever possible.

Unfortunately, he now had another problem. He had to figure
out a way to get to Mr Harriman’s house without being caught –
either by his father, or the murderer. Sighing deeply, he wished he
could talk to Edward. He missed his friend and wanted desperately
to share this with him. Edward was always calm in a crisis. He
would know what to do.

“
Archie!”

Archie
winced at the loud bellow, knowing Mr Tompkins was going to be
angry with him for the amount of time he was taking. He wondered if
the Justice had called at the corn mill to ask more questions, and
felt his stomach dip nervously. Slowly, he began to climb down the
ladders to the ground floor. The last thing he expected when he got
to the bottom was for Mr Tompkins to send him home
early.

“
Go on now, Archie, get you and your brothers home before the
storm hits. I know it’s early, but we are now full to bursting with
grain and can’t take any more. The field workers have all gone home
for the afternoon. Nothing else will be arriving for a few days, so
we can leave it all today and make a start on it tomorrow. I think
we have all done enough hard work for one day, so you may as well
go home.”

Mr
Tompkins didn’t tell the young boy that he was worried for his
health. He had never seen Archie look so pale and tired, and was
worried the young lad would have an accident. The last thing he
needed was that on his conscience. Besides, he was being truthful,
everyone was exhausted with the sheer volume of work that had
appeared over the course of the day. To prevent anyone having an
accident, they all needed a good rest before they began to work
their way through the huge mounds of grain that now sat in the
grain sheds.

“
Are you sure?” Archie asked hesitantly, reluctant to question
the decision too much in case Mr Tompkins changed his
mind.

“
Aye, off you go now, all of you.” He waved toward Sammy and
Ben, who sprinted out of the door, calling goodbye as they tore
down the lane toward home.

Archie
still hesitated. He wasn’t sure why, but something made him pause.
He turned to Mr Tompkins.

“
Go on now, off you go, Archie,” the older man urged, nodding
toward the lane.

Archie
glanced at the rapidly disappearing backs of his brothers, suddenly
realising that if he let them get too far ahead, he would have to
walk home all alone. Without hesitation he took to his heels,
tearing after his brothers.

Halfway
down the lane, he slowed down to a walk, taking a moment to look
behind him to see if Mr Tompkins was still watching. He lifted a
hand to wave at his boss, surprised to find him still watching from
the doorway of the corn mill.

Archie
turned toward home, and ran straight into a solid figure that
refused to budge.

“
Hello, Archie.”

Archie
swallowed, his eyes wide with fear as he stared into soulless black
eyes.

CH
APTER FOUR

Archie
gasped and stared up in confusion at the face of the tall man
blocking his path. The first thing Archie noticed was that the
man’s teeth were straight and white, not brown and half broken like
the murderer’s. The problem was, Archie had never seen the man
before in his life, and had no idea how the man had come to learn
his name.

“
Archie;” the low, whispered growl made Archie shiver in fear.
Long fingers bit into the soft flesh of his upper arm, holding him
steady.

“
Archie! Wait, I’ll walk with you!”

Archie
gasped and he almost wept with relief at the sound of Edward’s
familiar voice behind him. The man before him didn’t look up, or
show any sign of having seen Edward approaching. His eyes met and
held Archie’s for several moments in silent warning. Archie had no
idea what this stranger wanted with him, though he knew from the
look on the man’s face that they may have been interrupted, but the
man wasn’t done with him yet.

Glancing
over his shoulder, Archie wondered briefly if he should warn Edward
to go and fetch help, only to immediately become aware that the
pressure on his upper arms had vanished.

Turning
back around, he gasped to find the man had gone. Glancing around
him, Archie scanned the trees and shrubs along the hedgerow beside
him, but couldn’t see any sign of anyone lurking in the bushes. He
hadn’t even heard the man move.

Archie
frowned and turned to Edward, who came to a halt beside
him.

“
Where did he go?”

“
Who?” Edward stared at Archie in puzzlement.

“
The man.” Archie waved the air before him absently, scanning
the area around them in confusion. How had the man managed to
vanish so easily; so silently? Where had he gone?

“
What man?” Edward glanced around him.

Archie
turned to his friend, barely holding onto his impatience. “The tall
man who was standing in front of me. He was right there, you must
have seen him!”

Edward
stared at Archie for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
“Sorry, didn’t see anyone.” Glancing at the ominous-looking thunder
clouds now directly above, Edward nudged his best friend into
movement. “We’d better move before we get soaked.”