Poppy Blake - The Windmill Café

‘Yes, I knew,’ she whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks.

‘And had you spoken to either of them about your suspicions?’ asked Rosie, taking a seat beside Nadia. She reached for her hand and was unsurprised to find her fingers were trembling and freezing cold.

‘No. To be honest, I was hoping it would fizzle out, but if anything, they seemed to grow closer. I knew William was going to dump me. Actually, I was surprised he didn’t do it before we came up to Norfolk.’

‘How did you feel about your best friend and your boyfriend being in a relationship?’

‘Matt!’

Rosie recognized the hurt in Nadia’s eyes and her heart squeezed with empathy. After what had happened with Harry and Heidi she understood exactly how Nadia felt. Taking a few moments to shove her emotions back into their box, Nadia’s habitual spark emerged from the shadows of her pain and she met Matt’s eyes with a challenge.

‘How do you think I felt? Angry, worthless, sad. I loved him. I still do. But I did not try to poison my best friend! If you want to know who did, maybe you should look at the other person scorned! I’m not staying here any longer to be accused of something I had nothing to do with!’ Nadia stalked from the clearing, every muscle in her body clenched in anger.

‘Matt, why did you have to bring up the affair?’

‘Rosie, someone poisoned Suki, and that same person couldn’t have cared less about the effect their actions would have on the Windmill Café’s future, or yours! And before you say anything else, think about it. Nadia not only had the opportunity to tamper with Suki’s throat spray when she changed her outfit, but also a reason for wanting her to suffer discomfort and either cancel her performance or sing badly. There’s not only the motive of professional jealousy, which, I might add, was instigated by William, but Suki has also stolen her boyfriend who she’s just confessed she still loves.’

Rosie watched Matt stride off towards his office to catch up with Nadia. Would she have spiked Heidi’s drink if she had been presented with the opportunity? Of course not, it was Harry she held responsible for the termination of their relationship, not Heidi. Matt was way off course. She had seen the genuine affection in Nadia’s eyes when she spoke of her best friend and her flourishing music career and she knew Nadia was another suspect they could strike from the list. They were running out of options and if they didn’t find out the truth soon, Rosie suspected the finger of accusation may very well swing back in her direction when Felix discovered her background in floristry.

However, before she could dwell on that scenario, her mobile sprang into life and she knew she had much more pressing matters to deal with. The environmental health inspectors had arrived at the Windmill Café.

‘Thanks for coming with me, Matt. I owe you.’

Anxiety gnawed at her abdomen as they headed back to the café. She had known the inspectors would be arriving at some point that day but it didn’t make the fact any easier to accept. When they pulled into the car park at the Windmill Café, her heart lurched as she saw not only Dr Bairstow’s Range Rover, but a shiny black 4X4 with blacked-out windows in one of the other spaces. Rosie knew she was being ridiculous, but she had never seen a more ominous vehicle.

‘Graham should have made the effort to be back in the UK by now. He could have caught a flight as soon as you called him. It’s really not fair to leave you to deal with this on your own! It would be a tragedy if Willerby lost its landmark café and anyone who has ever enjoyed a meal from its kitchen will have been left in no doubt how pristine the place is. You have nothing to worry about, Rosie. We know the cause of Suki’s illness was someone spiking her throat spray which was probably carried out before your guests even arrived in Norfolk. All you have to do is meet the inspectors, answer every question they ask, and they’ll move on to the next business more deserving of their time and expertise.’

‘Thanks, Matt.’

A surge of confidence washed over Rosie. With Matt at her side she felt like she could conquer anything – look how she’d handled her very first attempt at field archery under his careful instruction – although there was a lot more at stake this time. She jumped down from the passenger seat of his SUV and strode across to the café with purpose, keys in her hand.

The day was well into its third act, the sky strewn with bruised clouds threatening a repeat of the earlier rain that had left a slick coating of moisture on the lawns and puddles dotted across the terrace. Rosie pushed back the French doors to let as much light and air into the kitchen as possible.

She took comfort in the fact that whilst she wasn’t responsible for the cleaning of the lodges – Graham employed a local business to do that – she had personally checked each lodge before Suki’s party had arrived and they were all spotless. Matt was right, she should have more self-belief.

‘Okay, I’ve just been over to Suki and Felix’s lodge. Dr Bairstow is there with the two environmental health inspectors,’ said Matt, arriving in the café’s kitchen and snatching up a slice of cherry flapjack. ‘I’ve told them we’ll be waiting for them in the café. I hope they’ve brought their gas masks because this place stinks of bleach!’

Apprehension swirled around Rosie’s body whipping her breath from her lungs. She needed something to do with her hands but there was nothing left for her to clean. She gave Matt a weak smile, grateful for his support and not wanting to give him the impression that she was anything less than confident in the outcome of the investigation. Sadly, she would never be worthy of an Oscar in the Best Actress category and she knew her fake bravado hadn’t fooled him.

‘Rosie, I know how stressful this is for you, but you have a lot of friends here who…’

‘Are you open? I could murder a cup of tea!’

Dr Bairstow’s ruggedly handsome face appeared at the French doors, the bump in his nose testament to his enduring hobby. His shoulders were so broad and muscular, Rosie was surprised his presence didn’t block out all the natural light. Her spirits edged up a notch when she saw he was smiling as he rubbed his palm over his bristly beard.

‘No problem, take a seat. Dr Bairstow…’

‘Philip, please. Suki’s still giving her statement to the environmental health guys but it seems she has no idea how the substance could have got into her spray. She makes it herself from a recipe she got off the internet which of course does not include aconitine! We’ve tested each of the ingredients separately and there’s no trace of poison in any of them, including the honey you gave Suki from the kitchen, Rosie. By process of deduction, we now know that the poison was in the bottle itself before she filled it.’

‘Does that mean the Windmill Café is in the clear?’ asked Rosie, so overwhelmed with relief that she struggled to prevent tears from forming along her lashes.

‘Yes, but the inspectors will still want to take a look around before they leave, just as a formality, then I’ve advised Suki to call the police. Understandably, she is struggling to come to terms with the confirmation that someone intended to cause her harm, someone who knew about and had access to her throat spray.’

‘Thanks for coming to tell us,’ said Matt, holding out his palm as Rosie put down a pot of Earl Grey and a slice of flapjack in front of Dr Bairstow.

‘Ah, Rosie, you’re a lifesaver. Would you believe that this is the first food to pass my lips since yesterday lunchtime? My partner is on holiday with his family in Provence and I’ve been on call for the last week without a break. Mmm, this flapjack is delicious, could I take a couple of pieces with me?’