Twelve
Lucy, Noelle and I, along with Sam and Alec, huddled around the dining room table the following evening to plan a schedule, as Marcus had suggested.
I’d made an executive decision to invite the men to join us, partly because I thought they might think of something we women couldn’t, and partly because, out of all of us, the men were the ones with more experience of weddings. Sam’s parents had been married several times – to different people, and Alec had actually been married.
True to Marcus’ word, and much to my surprise, he’d left a case of wine on my doorstep that morning, along with a note informing me that the credit card would arrive within a few days. Clearly the man knew what he was doing.
Lucy and Sam had brought three large pizzas from Sam’s favourite, Italian restaurant, for us to share, each with different toppings. Noelle and Alec had brought a selection of desserts. I supplied the wine. Well, technically, Marcus had. But as the case of it was in part-payment for my wedding planning services, as far as I was concerned, it was mine, and I was sharing it with my ‘team’. Oddly enough, they all raised their eyebrows when I informed them they were my team, even though they knew it was said teasingly.
‘I’ve made a list.’ I’d had it printed out from my phone and copied at the local print and photo shop in town. ‘Have I missed anything? I tried to remember everything Marcus told me last night.’
We ate and drank while they all scanned the list. I’d itemised each thing and added three columns. The first said, ‘agreed’, the second said, ‘ongoing’, and the third said, ‘completed’.
‘We can tick the agreed column for the wedding dress,’ Lucy said. ‘I’ll be designing and making that.’
‘Ah, but should we tick it now? Or should we wait until Adele has agreed your design? Ongoing will be ticked when you’re making it, and completed will be ticked when it’s finished and the bride has had the final fitting.’
‘Good point,’ she said. ‘Perhaps we need a fourth column for ‘proposed’, or supplier/provider appointed?’
‘Or we could put a half tick in the first column,’ Noelle suggested, as Sam and Alec rolled their eyes.
‘Let’s tick agreed,’ said Sam. ‘Ongoing can cover everything else.’
‘Fine,’ I said, ticking that column for the wedding dress.
‘Actually,’ said Lucy, ‘We can also tick the bridesmaids’ dresses. I’m assuming Adele will buy those from me, especially as I’ll be giving her a large discount. Same goes for the groom and the best man’s outfits. Our online business stocks all that, and Fairlight Brides also has some stock. In fact, all the stuff to do with clothing and accessories, can be supplied by me, Mum, and Tilly. We also stock a selection of wedding invitations online. We need to ask Adele and Marcus if they want to get all this from us or if they’d rather go elsewhere. I’m fairly sure I know the answer.’
‘Fantastic,’ I said, ticking the agreed column for all those items. ‘Some of these will have to wait until Adele and Marcus are back tomorrow night, like the guest list for example. But what about a photographer? Would Elliot consider the job?’
Sam nodded. ‘I’m sure he would. He knows Marcus, and he’s a good guy, so yeah. Providing he’s available that day. I’ll ask him and get back to you.’
‘Hair and make-up?’
‘I have a friend who does that,’ said Noelle. ‘I’ll check the date and confirm if she can do it. She’s top notch. She does my hair.’ Noelle swished her hair as if to prove how wonderful her friend was.
‘Tick. Florist?’
‘Got a friend for that,’ said Noelle. ‘She’s just opened her own shop in Fairlight Bay.’
‘Tick. The cake?’
‘Surely someone in Fairlight Bakes will do that, won’t they?’ said Lucy.
‘Tick, Erm. What else can we deal with now? What about table decorations?’
‘I can deal with those,’ Noelle said. ‘My own, still relatively small business, Midwinter Cottage Decorations, sells handmade decorations for all events and all seasons, including weddings, both online and on a stall I rent at the Fairlight Bay Market.’
‘Perfect. Tick. Next. Oh, wedding favours? Now Marcus wasn’t sure if couples still give these out to guests, and I haven’t got a clue. Anyone?’ I glanced around the table.
‘I can also do something for those,’ Noelle said. ‘If it’s decided to have them. But Lucy probably could too.’
Lucy tipped her head from side to side. ‘We do sell a few items of clothing, hats, and some accessories in the online store, many of them leaning towards the jokey side. But I’m not really a fan of wedding favours, are you, Noelle? Should you really need to give your friends and relatives gifts to thank them for coming to your wedding?’
Noelle shook her head. ‘Not really. I do like little things such as a packet of flower seeds that has some connection to the couple. Or those grow your own Groom, or Bride, packets of sunflower seeds. They’re amusing. Assuming guests have gardens. But personally, I’d rather spend a couple of pounds more per guest on food or drink than on a small gift that the guest might not like, or want, or from my own experience, may end up leaving on the table.’
‘Did you have them at your wedding, Alec?’ I queried. ‘If you don’t mind me asking.’
Alec shook his head. ‘I don’t mind. And no. We didn’t. But my wife’s parents did send out a biro with our names and the wedding date on, along with the invitations. The idea was that guests would use the biros to RSVP.’ He shrugged.
‘That’s rather nice,’ I said.
‘Unless one of them leaks or something,’ Alec added. ‘And the invitation ends up covered in ink splotches. Not so nice then.’
That sounded as if that had actually happened but I thought it best not to ask.
‘Right. I’ll tell Adele and Marcus that we feel they’re not really required. Wow. This wedding planning lark is easier than I thought.’
Sam laughed. ‘Except you haven’t got a church, or a Register office, or a celebrant, or whatever, yet. Or a venue for the reception, a caterer, music, or transportation. I’d offer my bikes, but I can’t see Adele arriving on the back of a Honda Gold Wing Tour bike, however comfortable it might be. I’ll ask my parents who they used for all their weddings.’
‘Perfect,’ I said. ‘I’ll start looking onto all the other stuff tomorrow. More wine?’
By the time Lucy and Sam prepared to leave, along with Noelle and Alec, we’d managed to tick off quite a few things. There was a long way to go, but we had four weeks.
‘Shall we share a cab?’ Noelle asked Lucy. ‘I’m staying at Alec’s tonight. His dad dropped us off, but it’s a bit late to call him to come and get us.’
‘Yeah,’ Lucy said. ‘We walked here tonight, because we knew there’d be wine. And it was such a lovely evening.’
We all hugged, and kissed each other’s cheeks, and I stood in the doorway and waved them off when the taxi picked them up from the car park. It was only when I closed the front door, that realisation dawned.
Noelle and Alec were spending the night at his place in Fairlight Bay, and Lucy and Sam were going to Sam’s house. Marcus and Adele were spending the night at a Spa Hotel several miles away. Which meant, I was the only person who would be sleeping up here, in the cottages on Midwinter Lane.
I wasn’t scared of being alone, but I’d never been quite so alone as I felt at that moment, and I’ll admit, a shiver ran through me.
‘Don’t be such a girl,’ I said, laughing at myself as I turned off the lights and made my way upstairs.
As if anything was going to happen in such a sleepy little place like Midwinter.
Even so, I tossed and turned for about an hour. Every creak and every animal noise, made me feel less and less like sleeping. Especially when a vixen screamed. Yes, screamed. That’s the only way I can describe the awful sound.
I sat bolt upright in bed and turned on the light.
Except it didn’t turn on. The room was pitch black.
I ran my hand along the bedside table for my phone but it wasn’t there.
Damn it. Had I left it downstairs?
I got out of bed and used my hands to feel my way to the window and then I peeped out through the curtains.
The sky was like black velvet sprinkled with gold dust as myriad stars twinkled above. There was no moon tonight and I’d never experienced such complete and total darkness. Nevertheless, it was beautiful.
Wait. Even the street lamps on Midwinter Lane were off.
Had there been a power cut?
I slowly made my way to the main light switch, banging my knee on the bed frame, and stubbing my toe on a chair leg, but eventually I made it. I flicked the switch on and off.
Nothing.
Okay. This was the sort of thing that happened in horror movies.
Should I go downstairs and get my phone and call Lucy and ask if I could go and stay with her and Sam?
I checked the time on my watch and even the luminous glow from the dial of that was somehow eerie. It was almost midnight. They’d be fast asleep.
My heart thumped in my chest.
And then I heard it. It sounded like someone was rattling chains, or something.
Oh.
My.
God!
I hurried back to bed, adding more bruises along the way, and I dived beneath the duvet.
But not for long.
What on earth was wrong with me?
I was a police officer.
I saw a flicker of light from outside through a crack in between the curtains where I’d peered out earlier. I jumped out of bed again and made my way back to the window. I was just in time to see what looked like someone carrying a ladder, but it was difficult to tell in the blackness of the night. Whoever it was did have a torch though and it was angled towards the ground, lighting the way to wherever they were going.
Oh thank heavens. Someone had come out to deal with the power cut. The street lamps at least should be back on soon.
Except the person carrying the ladder, who seemed to blend into the darkness, so must be wearing all black, or dark clothes, wasn’t near the street lamps. He was heading in the direction of End Cottage. Marcus and Adele’s home.
There was only one thing that made sense. Someone knew they’d gone away. And possibly, also knew that the cottage next door was empty tonight. I knew what criminals were like. I’d arrested enough burglars in my time.
And clearly, I was about to arrest another.
I threw on my dressing gown and crept downstairs, feeling my way as I went, using the banister and the wall. I gingerly made my way into the dining room where I’d left my phone, and I ran my hands over the table.
Nothing.
I tried again. I even knelt on the floor and felt around the chair on which I’d sat.
Still nothing.
Had I dropped it somewhere?
I closed my eyes for a second and tried to think.
I had it on the table beside me. I saw it there as Lucy got up to … oh no. Lucy had taken my phone. Why had we been foolish enough to buy identical phones? She must have assumed it was hers, even though hers was probably in her handbag all evening, and picked mine up when she left.
Now I really was alone, with no way to contact anyone.
I heard the rattling noise again and realised it was the ladder. Probably being placed against the wall of End Cottage.
Without another thought, I hurried as fast as I could in the darkness, and made my way into the hall. I found my sandals by stretching out my toes, and slipped my feet into them. Then I threw open the front door and charged outside. It didn’t seem quite as dark out here as it had inside, although I stumbled once or twice.
But the beam of the torch the burglar was holding, as he began to climb the ladder, helped me find my way. Wet grass stuck to my feet and sandals and I realised it must have been raining. I ran into the front garden of End Cottage, surprised the burglar hadn’t turn to look at me. I wasn’t exactly being quiet.
‘Hey you!’ I called out.
The man completely ignored me.
‘Hey!’
He still ignored me.
Was he deaf?
I reached out and banged my hand on one side of the ladder, and then tapped him on the leg, as that was the only part of him I could reach at that moment because he was a few rungs up.
I’m not entirely sure what happened next. The ladder wobbled, as did the burglar, and he sort of twisted on the rung, and caught his other foot on his calf, and then as if it was happening in slow motion, I leant back, taking the ladder with me and the man on it. I tumbled to one side, having let the ladder go but the man continued falling backwards, towards me.
I tried to get out of the way and almost managed it, but the thud against my shoulder made me realise that the man had landed on me so I twisted myself out of the way and flipped myself over as best as I could.
The splat and splash as the man hit the ground were followed by a prolonged, ‘Arghhhhhh!’ And then a deep voice shouted, ‘What the hell…?’
The man had landed face-down in what appeared to be a muddy puddle and when he turned over, his face was covered in mud. He pulled out ear buds from his ears, which explained why he had ignored me. He hadn’t heard me.
I scrambled to my feet, as the man tried to sit up, the ache in my shoulder sending a bolt of pain shooting through me.
‘I’m an off-duty police officer and I’m arresting you on suspicion of attempted burglary. You are not free to leave. 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.’
‘You’ve broken my sodding nose, Erin! And you are not arresting me, because I haven’t committed a sodding crime.’
‘Wh …what? How do you know my name? Who are you?’
He was gingerly wiping the mud from his face and screwing up his eyes in pain, but when he shone his torch so that I could see his face, I felt nauseous.
‘It’s … it’s you,’ I said. ‘From Fairlight Bakes café.’ For some reason, my eyes shot to his feet. He was wearing black trainers. ‘Wh…what are you doing here, climbing a ladder to break into someone else’s house if…’
Oh god. He’d told me he was an electrician. Had he come here to mend whatever had caused the power cut, after all?
‘I wasn’t breaking in,’ he said, wincing as he slowly got to his feet.
Even so, I stepped back to keep some distance between us. The last time I’d arrested someone, I’d been stabbed. And I didn’t have a phone or any way to communicate with anyone.
‘What were you doing then?’
He met my eyes and fixed me with a stare. ‘I was doing a favour for my cousin, Marcus. As you know, he owns this cottage.’
I swallowed hard. ‘Marcus is … your cousin?’
‘He is.’
I’d just made a terrible mistake. I might not have to decide if I wanted to remain in the police or not, the decision might be made for me if this man reported me for assault. And he had every right to do so. I shouldn’t have touched the ladder.
‘How … how do I know you’re who you say you are?’
He lifted his arm and reached into the pocket of his black jeans, pulling out a phone, which, after pressing his thumb on the screen, he handed to me.
‘Two options. Call Marcus and ask him. Or check out my social media to verify it’s really me and that I haven’t also stolen someone’s phone. You’ll see my name is Jasper Lord. Then look at the texts between me and Marcus. One of which is thanking me for agreeing to be his best man when he and Adele get married, and one of which is from tonight, asking me if I could come here, if I got a chance, and close his front bedroom window which he’d left wide open by mistake. Funnily enough, you’ll see he was more concerned about the rain getting in than he was about any prospective burglars. He thought Adele had left a key under one of those flowerpots near the door, but she hadn’t. I had ladders, so I got one and was about to climb in and close the window, when you put paid to that.’
I knew he was telling the truth, but I checked it out anyway. And there were the texts just like he’d said.
‘Oh no! I’m so, so sorry, Jasper. I thought … Well, you know what I thought. Are you hurt?’
‘Yes, I’m hurt. So don’t just stand there,’ he said. ‘You’re going to have to drive me to the hospital. I can’t set my nose myself in case I do more damage, and I can’t drive with an injury. It’ll invalidate my insurance.’
‘Right. Yes of course. Erm. I don’t have a car. Oh. You do, don’t you? Obviously.’
‘It’s a van. It’s parked over there.’ He nodded towards the car park and then grimaced, the movement clearly causing him pain.
‘Erm. I’ve been drinking and I’m over the limit. I’d make a call, but I don’t have a phone. I need to think what to do.’
‘What’s that in your hand? Frozen pizza?’
‘Oh. This is your … Yes. Sorry. Not thinking straight.’
‘Take a deep breath, Erin.’
There was a softness in his voice now and when I met his eyes, I could see he was trying to smile. A little difficult with a broken nose.
‘I’ll call an ambulance.’
‘I don’t need an ambulance. I just need a lift to the hospital. Call a cab. Or call my dad.’
‘Nope. It’s going to be an ambulance. You’ve just fallen off a ladder. You might’ve broken more than your nose.’
‘I think you mean that you might’ve broken more than my nose. Fine. Call an ambulance. Is there any chance you could get me some water, please? I’d like to wash this mud off my face. And … I’m feeling a bit queasy.’