Body in the Woods (A Reverend Annabelle Dixon Cozy Mystery Book 3) (14 page)

“Actually,” Annabelle said, “I was rather hoping you would have time for a chat.”

“Oh,” Barbara said, as if greatly honored by the attention, “well, in that case, we should have a drink. What’ll you have?”

Barbara was already fixing herself a white wine when Annabelle responded.

“Just an orange juice would be fine.”

“Orange juice, it is. Let’s go over here,” Barbara said, as she sidled around the bar and carried the drinks to the booth in the corner.

“So what is it, Vicar?” Barbara said, after sipping heartily from her wine.

“Well it’s—”

“Don’t tell me, it’s Lucy. That was her body in the woods, wasn’t it?”

Annabelle considered the right response for a moment, but hesitation was all Barbara needed. She had a lifetime of experience reading faces.

“I knew it! Don’t worry, Vicar, I won’t tell anybody. Though there are a few people who’ve already made the connection. “

“Hmm, well I suppose it’s a fairly obvious one.”

Barbara shook her head sorrowfully.

“Such a sad story.”

Annabelle leaned forward.

“What is the story, exactly? I’ve heard so many versions of the tale, but I still don’t feel like I truly know what happened all those years ago between Lucy, Louisa, and Daniel.”

“Ah yes,” Barbara smiled, her blue eye shadow seeming to brighten as she recalled the memory. “The ‘love triangle.’ It went on for ages.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you have to go back very far to get the full story, Vicar. You see, they all grew up together. Louisa, Lucy, Daniel, and all the rest. They were all born within a few years of each other, and they were like a pack of wolves, I tell you! No, they were nice kids, really. Anyway, Louisa and Gary were both very quiet, intense kids. Both liked to read, both liked to be indoors. You could tell they would become a couple even before they knew it. Well, the thing was, Louisa grew up a real knockout. Oh, you should have seen her! Maybe one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen in Upton St. Mary. She could have been a film star! Everybody said she was destined for great things. You know when you can just see it in someone? She was smart, too. She was still quiet, but she could have a laugh. Still loved being indoors, but you’d see her at a dance every once in a while usually surrounded by boys. Oh, the boys loved her, for sure.”

“Including Daniel?”

“Especially Daniel! He ruled the roost! He was always a mischievous one, that Daniel. He was a bit older than her, but if any of the boys were going to have a chance, and in my opinion she was out of all their leagues, it was Daniel. The only problem was that she was still with Gary. He was a nice enough chap, don’t get me wrong, but let’s just say she made her choice before she even knew she had one.”

“So Daniel began courting Lucy, instead?”

“Right. Lucy was a gorgeous girl too, but next to Louisa… Well, even Marilyn Monroe would have competition.”

“Did Lucy and Louisa get along well?”

Barbara pursed her lips a little.

“Not really. It was a little strange, to be honest. Get either of them alone, and they were fine, but put them in the same room, and it was almost as if Lucy lost a little of her shine, and Louisa got a little more bossy. I think there was always a little jealousy between them. Lucy didn’t like it that Louisa was prettier and bossed her around. Louisa didn’t like it that Lucy was outgoing and loved by everyone for her personality and charm. I heard that they fought constantly behind closed doors.”

“Hmm,” Annabelle murmured. “That’s certainly similar to what I heard.”

“Oh, but that’s not even half of it, Vicar,” Barbara said eagerly, touching the Reverend’s arm to add emphasis. “It gets much more complicated.”

“How so?”

“Louisa fell in love with Daniel!”

“What?!”

Barbara nodded.

“She never said it, not to any of us, anyway, but it was obvious. You could tell by the way she looked at him, by the way she acted. You see, when Daniel began courting Lucy, he was suddenly always around Louisa too. Going to her house, asking Louisa where her sister was, having Louisa as their chaperone. Daniel was a handsome lad himself, and charming, too. It turns out all he needed was some time to work his magic. It was patently obvious that they both liked each other. Suddenly it wasn’t just Gary who was Daniel’s problem, it was Lucy too. Louisa started bossing her around even more, stopping her from going out with Daniel, asking her all these questions.”

“There’s one thing I just can’t understand though, if all you’re saying is true.”

“No word of a lie, Vicar!”

“But in so many years, since Louisa’s divorce and Daniel being single still, why have they never gotten together?”

Barbara shrugged.

“Beauty fades, Vicar, as does love. Plus, when Lucy disappeared, it affected everyone badly, especially their friends. They were never the same. No more regular Friday night dances, no more gatherings in the market square, no more parading through the streets like a marching band on its day off. Their group of friends broke up. Sure, they were still around, but they grew up the very night that Lucy disappeared.”

“It’s a tragic story.”

“That it is, Vicar. Louisa got married to Gary as soon as she turned eighteen, went to university, and came back to teach. She barely spoke a word to anyone about anything, let alone about the past. Nobody even knew she was getting divorced until Gary came in one night with his bags packed saying he was going to America. Daniel got himself an apprenticeship, despite being a lazy so-and-so, and worked his socks off every day. Lucy had been like a free spirit in the town. When she disappeared, it was like she took all the childhoods of the village with her. Even I ended up taking a job at the florist’s so that I’d have something to do during the summer. The dances and the company just weren’t the same when she went. It was such a shame, Vicar.”

“Thank you, Barbara,” Annabelle said, gratefully, “I can’t tell you how much of a help you’ve been.”

“I don’t know why you’re asking about all of this, Vicar,” Barbara said, downing the last of her wine, “and for once, I’d rather not know. Some things belong to the past and are better left to rest there.”

CHAPTER 7

ANNABELLE LEFT THE pub with her head spinning. So much so that she failed to notice the sight of Dr. Brownson carrying what looked like paint, an easel, and palette into the pub. He nodded warmly, but Annabelle decided not to stop and chat. She had far too much to think about, and a distraction was the last thing she needed.

Once again, her impression of what had gone on between Louisa, Daniel, and Lucy all those years ago had been completely turned around. Now she had a complex tale of fate, unrequited love, passion, and jealousy to chew over as she got inside her Mini.

Annabelle paused before starting her engine. Despite the huge amount of information she had gathered, there was still simply not enough for her to come to a conclusion. The more she learned, however, the more enigmatic Louisa became, and thus the more Annabelle wondered what Louisa kept in her allotment shed. It was, of course, entirely likely that there was nothing of any consequence in there, that Louisa had merely gone to the shed to gain some respite from the village she seemed to find so tiresome. Many a man would understand her sentiment entirely! But Annabelle felt that she had seen something in the manner of the teacher as she made her way toward the allotment. A strange atmosphere of grim determination and loss.A hurrying gait.Signs of a person who has an important thing to do or see.

She brought the key up to the ignition but hesitated once again.

The Inspector was right. There could be an entirely rational explanation. The shed could be filled with nothing but gardening tools and bags of seeds. Annabelle thought of herself as very much a rational person, but her instincts were inflamed with curiosity concerning the shed. Barbara’s story had only made her more intrigued by the teacher and her erratic behavior, and Annabelle felt there had to be some side of her that she had not yet seen. Some secret that would not be revealed lightly.

She turned the key and fired up the engine with an air of purpose. The engine roared into life as if agreeing with her decision. She would find Inspector Nicholls, and they would discover the shed’s secret, even if there weren’t one.

As she puttered slowly toward the Upton St. Mary police station, she caught sight of Constable Jim Raven walking in the opposite direction. She gave a cheery beep to grab his attention and slid the car into a nearby parking spot.

“Hello, Reverend. Heard you had a successful sermon today,” the officer said as she exited the car.

“Oh, thank you, though I doubt it will persuade you to attend in future.”

Constable Raven laughed to hide his embarrassment.

“Well, I’m so busy… And I do like my Sundays…”

Annabelle waved away the Constable’s weak excuses as she drew close.

“I’m looking for Inspector Nicholls. Is he in the station?”

Constable Raven sighed as if exhausted at the mere mention of the Inspector’s name.

“Yes, he is, which is why I’m outside. He’s getting worse, if anything.”

“You mean his temper?”

The Constable nodded. “I still have no idea why.”

“I think I might,” Annabelle said.

Constable Raven’s eyes almost doubled in size as he leaned forward.

“Well, tell me!” he pleaded.

Annabelle shrugged a little to indicate her lack of confidence in what she was about to say.

“I heard him shouting down his phone. About a woman, I think. I can’t be sure.”

“What did he say?” asked the Constable, with none of the methodical detachment one would expect from a police officer.

“‘I want her back.’ ‘She’s mine.’ ‘You can’t take her from me.’ Various things to that effect.”

Raven folded his arms and looked to the side with a furrowed brow as he digested this information.

“That’s rather strange. The Inspector spends all his time either sleeping or at work. He barely meets any women. Hmm, let me think. There’s the female officers at Truro, of course, but all of those are either taken or much too young… The girl in the canteen… but she’s covered in tattoos and piercings. Not his thing at all. He practically recoils when she hands him a plate of her Chicken Alfredo. There’s the office cleaning lady but she’s sixty if she’s a day… They’re all the women I can think of. And Harper Jones, of course.”

Suddenly it was Annabelle who leaned in with keen interest.

“Harper Jones?”

Constable Raven stared confusedly at the Reverend for a few moments before laughing off the idea.

“Give over! Harper Jones isn’t that kind of woman. Plus she’s married!”

“I wasn’t insinuating anything!” declared Annabelle.

“Though Dr. Jones is a bit of a closed book. I mean, what do we know about her really? Have you ever met her husband?”

Annabelle found herself too deep in thought to speak, prompting the Constable to ask, “Reverend? You alright?”

“Oh, yes. I was just thinking. The Inspector wouldn’t be the first man I’d met recently who was fighting for the attention of Dr. Jones. Perhaps there is something to it…”

Constable Raven chuckled away the thought.

“I think we’re trying to explain the unexplainable, Reverend. Better not to know than to have the wrong idea. We’ll just have to wait for it to pass, I suppose.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“Well, see you around, Reverend.”

“Bye, Constable.”

Annabelle hurriedly made her way into the police station, and after exchanging pleasantries with the desk sergeant, she was shown into the office the Inspector had adopted as his own since the investigation in Upton St. Mary had begun.

True to recent form, the Inspector was slumped over, head in hands. She saw he was immersed in the examination of various documents that were frayed and brown from years of being stuffed in gloomy cabinets, no doubt cases that had been filed around the time of Lucy’s disappearance.

She knocked gently on the door and waited for the Inspector to raise his head and notice her. It took one more knock, but eventually he huffed, looked at the Reverend, rolled his eyes, and then leaned back in his chair.