Chapter 6
The weather, which had taken a dramatic turn at the Berrywick Residents’ Association meeting the previous evening, had returned to its pretty spring self. The sprinkle of rain seemed to have cleared the pollen from the air, which did wonders for Julia’s hay fever. What a relief!
Contemplating the options for her date with Tabitha, Julia came to the conclusion that it was just the day for a walk along the river, followed by lunch at the Riverside.
There would no doubt be the usual happy children and dogs for Jake to splash about with while she and Tabitha sat outside with a Scotch egg and a beer each and watched swans float by on the river.
She reached for her phone to text Tabitha with this proposal.
As she picked it up from the table, a sound announced the arrival of a message. It was from Tabitha.
The Riverside? Such a lovely day for it.
I was thinking the same! Great minds…
Julia and Tabitha had been practically telepathic when they had been best friends at school, and they still had a sometimes eerie connection.
Although, to be fair, given the sparkling day, one hardly had to be the Mentalist to come up with the idea of a walk along the river and lunch on its banks. Julia sent another message.
Shall we walk first?
Tabitha’s message came at the same moment.
And it’s nice and private.
That was rather a strange response, which presumably meant that Tabitha had something delicate to discuss. Ah well, all would be revealed soon enough. Tabitha messaged again.
I’ve got to pop in at the library on the way. See you at the bench at 12?
Perfect. We can walk and talk first.
And then to the Scotch eggs!
Xxx
As Julia and Jake approached the bench, Tabitha was advancing at it from the other direction. The two women caught sight of each other and laughed. As well as their eerie telepathy, they shared a devotion to punctuality. Julia looked at her watch: 11.58 a.m.
Jake hurtled towards Tabitha in surprise and delight. What were the chances? he seemed to be thinking. One of his very favourite people, right there? And walking towards him! Amazing!
She greeted him, patting him with one hand while using the other to try to shield her shins from his hard skull and wagging tail.
‘Let’s walk…’ she said, and they set off along the river. Julia let Jake off the lead, with firm instructions about the ducks.
‘Are you all set for the Ghana trip?’ Julia started, at the same moment that Tabitha said, ‘There’s something I need to talk to you about…’
‘Go on,’ said Julia, noting her friend’s worried expression. They continued their slow amble along the river, and Tabitha told her story.
‘Do you remember I told you about my neighbour?’
‘That nice Eleanor from the school, who brought you the chicken noodle soup last month when you had the flu?’
‘No, the neighbour on the other side. Grumpy bloke.’
‘Oh, the one who complained about the blossoms from your pear tree falling on the roof of his shed?’
‘That’s the man. And remember we had a few words about the cars and the parking in the lane?’
‘I do.’ Julia rolled her eyes. She remembered that the neighbour sounded like a rude, entitled sort of fellow.
‘Well, it got worse.’ Tabitha stopped and looked out over the river, as if to calm herself. Julia stopped, too, and waited patiently for her friend to continue. They watched a coot float gently by, the white blaze on its face stark against its glossy black feathers.
Tabitha sighed and went on. ‘He bought a bigger car, and the way he parked meant I couldn’t easily reverse out and angle forwards to get down the lane.
So I went to talk to him about it. In a pleasant way, honestly, just trying to sort out an arrangement where I could get out without having to reverse back and forth about ten times to get out of my spot. ’
‘What did he say?’
‘He said it’s a public road and he’s entitled to park there.
I don’t use the car every day, as you know.
I walk to work and the shops. And he’s often out.
So it hasn’t been a huge pain, but it’s annoying.
And over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting ready to go to Ghana – shopping for things my sister asked for, and gifts for the family, and a few things I need for travelling. ’
‘I know, you’ve been so busy, we’ve hardly seen each other!’
‘Right. And I’ve had to use the car for those errands. Which meant doing the annoying reversing manoeuvre.’
‘How infuriating. You’ve spoken to Prince Charming again, I take it?’
‘It did not go well.’
‘Oh dear. People do get very worked up about territorial disputes, don’t they?’
‘They do. He did. And when I couldn’t reason with him, I did a silly thing, Julia. I parked my car in a way that was legal, but it blocked his car in. It was childish, but I just wanted to make a point. To show him how it felt, you know?’
Julia couldn’t help but smile. This kind of tit-for-tat was not at all like Tabitha, who was generally kind-hearted and rule-abiding and conflict-avoiding. But, like everyone, she had her limits.
‘And what happened?’ Julia was fairly sure from what she’d heard about the grumpy neighbour that he wouldn’t respond to Tabitha’s actions with a pleasant attitude and a change of behaviour.
Tabitha rolled her eyes. ‘He came over in an absolute rage. He was so angry, I felt a bit nervous. I apologised and moved the car, and suggested that we discuss how we could make a better arrangement for both of us.’
‘And did you?’
‘He wouldn’t hear of it. From then on, it escalated. We both parked badly. He wrote me an awful note. Rude to the point of abusive.’
‘How horrible!’
‘Yes. I’ve got the notes. In one of them, I think the last one, he says, This might be how they do things in Kenya…’
‘Kenya?’ Julia couldn’t help but snort a little laugh.
‘I know, right? I’ve lived next door to him for ten years. I had even told him that I was shopping for my sister’s daughter’s wedding in Ghana. But still. Ghana, Kenya. I mean, same thing, really.’
‘Give or take a few thousand miles.’
They had reached the Riverside. Without even discussing it, the two women walked through the restaurant and across the soft lawn to one of the outside tables. They sat down, overlooking the river. Jake collapsed with a sigh, and settled down for a rest.
‘So what’s the situation now?’ Julia asked. ‘Did you manage to sort things out?’
‘No. No I didn’t.’ Tabitha sighed. She looked pained, even nervous, as if she couldn’t face going on with the story. But she rallied and said, ‘I lost my cool, Julia. I wrote him a stinker of a note in return.’
‘You did?’
‘I did. I told him I was sick of his bullying and his racism. I said if he didn’t make another plan with his car, I was going to take further action.
I can’t remember the exact words, but it was something like I wouldn’t be responsible for what came next, it was all on him, because I’d tried to be a decent, reasonable person and he wouldn’t meet me halfway. I said I was done playing nice.’
‘Done playing nice?’ Julia raised her eyebrows at that turn of phrase.
‘I think I got it from a movie,’ Tabitha said with an embarrassed grin.
‘Well, it sounds to me as if you were appropriately assertive under the circumstances.’
‘I was angry. You know I’m not generally very confrontational, but I was stressed with all the wedding arrangements. The dress I had made was too long, and I had to have it altered, and then it was too short…’
‘So annoying for you. And you had to go to London.’
‘Yes, twice, to do the special shopping for Luanne. It’s time-consuming, running around all over. And I do have a job, which certain people in my family seem to have forgotten. So I was stressed, and maybe I shouldn’t have been quite so angry about the car thing.’
She reached for the menu that had been left on the table and glanced at it, even though they had both said they wanted the Scotch eggs.
Julia reached over and patted her hand. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Tabitha. It sounds as if your anger was justified. From what you’ve told me about that neighbour of yours, he has been behaving like a right idiot and a bully. What happened next, after the note? Did he buck up?’
‘No. No, Julia, he did not buck up. He did not buck up at all.’ Tabitha’s voice wavered.
‘Don’t tell me things escalated?’
‘Well, I suppose they did, in a manner of speaking.’ Tabitha swallowed hard and said softly, ‘In fact, he died.’
‘Died?’ Julia saw that her friend’s eyes were brimming with tears.
‘Killed,’ whispered Tabitha. ‘Julia, Basil Crow, the chap from the Meadow Murder, was my neighbour.’
Julia was silent for a moment, taking in this unexpected turn of events.
‘What a bizarre coincidence. How could I not have known that? And then, I mean… it’s just so odd that I should have found his body… And then you…’Julia was grappling to come to terms with what this information meant, and how it fitted together with what she knew.
‘I feel terrible,’ Tabitha said. ‘His last day on earth, he got a horrible letter from a neighbour.’
‘Well, you weren’t to know he’d be gone that day. And he probably wasn’t thinking about the letter when he went.’
‘Maybe he was? Maybe he was distracted by the hurtful letter, and that’s why he didn’t see whoever it was who attacked him.’
Jake sat up abruptly and gave a sharp bark.
Julia recognised it as a friendly little bark, of the sort reserved for friends, and sure enough, there across the lawn came DC Walter Farmer, heading directly for them.
He seemed to be approaching with some reluctance, as if the spring grass was covered in glue, and each step was difficult.
Julia tried to read his face. Was that sadness? Dread? Embarrassment?
‘Good afternoon, Julia, afternoon, Tabitha,’ he said, when he finally arrived at their table.
Jake got to his feet to give the young man a proper welcome. ‘Good chap,’ Walter said sadly, patting Jake in a distracted sort of way. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I heard you were here.’
‘You did?’ Julia wondered what he might want from her that it warranted a visit rather than a message or phone call. And who would have told him where she was?
‘Actually, I was looking for…’ His eyes were on Tabitha. ‘I asked at the library. I was looking for you, Mrs Fullergood.’
The use of her full name was startlingly odd and official-sounding.
‘For me?’ Tabitha frowned. ‘Why me?’
‘I’d like to ask you some questions about your neighbour, Basil Crow.’
‘Oh, all right, I see.’ She spoke shakily, her face pale and worried. ‘I didn’t know him very well, but I’ll do my best, of course. What is it that you want to know?’
‘Um, I’d like to have this conversation at the station, if you don’t mind.’
‘You want to question her at the police station?’ Julia asked, astonished. ‘Are you being serious, Walter?’
He spoke sternly. ‘Mrs Bird, I’ll have to ask you to let me do my job, please.’
Julia felt herself gaping at him like a fish.
Walter continued. ‘Mrs Tabitha Fullergood, you do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’