Elizabeth Duncan - A Killer's Christmas in Wales

“I thought you’d never ask! I’m on duty so I can’t get away to my parents in Porthmadog. I’d love to come.”

She stood in the doorway breathing the cold, clean air and then lifted her eyes toward the top of the hills that encircled the town. The dark clouds shrouding the tops of the hills had become more ominous.

“I’m off to have a word with Florence now. I’ll let you know how we get on. And try not to worry too much.”

“I hope you’re not suggesting that I took the brooch!” Florence’s eyes flashed with indignation. She met Bethan’s eyes and then gestured at Mrs. Lloyd, who was seated on the sofa. “Now, Evelyn, I’ve been here with you for weeks now and have you noticed anything missing?” Realizing what she had just said, Florence tried to backtrack. “Well, not the letter opener; I didn’t have anything to do with that, either.”

“No, I’m not suggesting you took the brooch. I’m asking if you took it. There’s a difference,” said Bethan calmly. “And suggesting that if you did take it, or if you know anything at all about its disappearance, that things will go better for you if you tell me everything you know. But you are not under caution or anything else. I’m investigating a missing piece of jewelry and I have to ask questions.”

“Well, I most certainly did not take it,” Florence replied in a softer tone, “and I guess I can see why you have to ask. You think I had the opportunity because I stepped out of the little room for a bit on my own.”

Bethan nodded. “That’s right. Now, if you didn’t take it, let me ask you if you saw anything while you were out in the hall that can help us get Penny’s brooch back.”

Florence pondered the question and then shook her head slowly.

“No, I didn’t see anything, but now that I think about it, I felt something. It was cooler, as if the door had just been opened and a blast of cold air had come in. But it didn’t really register at the time and I went back to that little room where Evelyn and Penny were.”

“OK,” said Bethan, offering Florence her business card. “Call me if you think of anything else, no matter how unimportant or trivial it might seem. Let me be the judge of what’s important.”

“Yes, Officer, I will.” Florence looked at the card and then gave Bethan an honest, level look. “I like that Penny Brannigan. I wish I could help. If I could help her get her brooch back, I would.”

“Well, I believe you, Florence,” said Bethan, adding, “Don’t get up. “I’ll show myself out.”

A few moments later, while the front door was quietly being opened and then closed, Mrs. Lloyd turned to Florence.

“Well, Florence, I expect you’ll have had enough of us here in Llanelen and you’ll be more than ready to take up that offer at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. I’ve practically accused you of murder, and now the police are here suspecting you of stealing a valuable brooch.”

Florence almost smiled. “Leave? I haven’t seen so much excitement in years. How could I possibly leave until I see how all this turns out? It did seem a bit strange, though. I felt I was being grilled harder over the stolen brooch than I was over the murder.” She stood up and retied her apron. “Now, should we have a little chat about what we are going to do about Christmas? I expect we’ll be having a quiet little dinner here, just the two of us, unless you have some friends you’d like to invite. And I saw a poster in a shop window about a presentation of A Child’s Christmas in Wales and I’d very much like to go. I’ve seen that on the telly, but it would be a proper treat to see it for real. With proper Welsh voices as the poet intended.”

“Yes, we should go,” agreed Mrs. Lloyd. “Everyone will be there. And no doubt there’ll be refreshments afterward.”

“It’s good to see you getting back to being your old self, Evelyn.”

“Well, what choice is there, really? We must keep calm and carry on, as they used to say during the war.” She reached for the latest copy of Cheshire Life magazine. “I’d love a cup of tea, Florence, if you were thinking of putting the kettle on, and do you know, I believe I could do justice to one of those lovely scones you baked this morning.”

This time Florence cracked a small, brief smile.

For the second time that day Penny walked from her home to the spa, this time quickly and deep in thought. Surprisingly and suddenly, the sun had come out, adding a warm, welcoming touch to the day and, for the moment at least, pushing the rain clouds to one side. Although most of the snow had disappeared from the streets, some remained, brown and crusted, pushed up against the sides of the buildings. But the pavement was bare and dry, and quite a few people were out and about.

As she passed the old manicure salon, she glanced in the window and saw Eirlys, the young manicurist who had been hired a few months ago and who had done so much to bring in younger customers, bent over a large packing crate. Penny pushed open the door. The shelves were now bare, the furniture was gone, and the room held surprisingly few memories. Eirlys straightened up and ran her hands down the sides of her jeans.

“Hi, Penny. I’m almost done. Victoria was here for a while, but after you called, she rushed off to the spa and hasn’t come back.”

“That’s fine, Eirlys.” Penny looked around. “You’ve done a great job here with all this.”

“There were just a lot of small items to pack up, and Victoria helped with some of it,” Eirlys said as she put the lid on the last box. “Are you feeling sad to be leaving your salon?”

“No, surprisingly I’m not, considering how many years I spent building up the business and working here. I’m really looking forward to all the exciting things we’re going to do in the spa.” She smiled at her young assistant. “Well, you’re almost finished here, so let’s lock up. Have you taken a break today?”

Eirlys shook her head.

“Right, well, tell you what. Take the rest of the afternoon off, and we’ll see you at the spa bright and early tomorrow, all ready for our first day. Mrs. Lloyd is your first customer, and you know she’ll expect everything to be just so.”

Eirlys grinned. “What I’d like to do, if it’s all right with you, Penny, is eat a little something, take a bit of time to get cleaned up, and then come to the spa this evening and help you set up the new manicure space. I’ll need to know where everything is in the morning anyway, and Mrs. Lloyd isn’t the only one who likes everything just so.”

“Eirlys, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Shall we say seven P.M.? I don’t know where we’d be without you.”

“Lost?”

“That’s exactly the word I was looking for. Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

As Penny pushed open the door to the spa, a trim woman in a bright red hat who had been speaking to Rhian, the receptionist, turned around and gave her a warm smile.

“Oh, there’s Penny that I was telling you about, one of the owners,” Rhian said. “She’ll be able to help you.”

The woman thanked Rhian and took a step closer to Penny.

“Hello,” she said. “My name’s Dorothy Martin, and I just dropped in on the off chance I might be able to get a manicure. I’ve never had one in my life and I thought it’d be fun. But I didn’t realize that you haven’t opened yet, so I’ll just be on my way.”

“No, wait,” said Penny, intrigued by her soft midwestern American accent. “It’s true we aren’t really open until tomorrow, but if you don’t mind a bit of chaos, I can do you now, if you like. Most of our nail polishes won’t be arriving until later this evening, but I have a few colours here that might suit you, as long as you’re not too fussy.”