Chapter 17
Alice
The last few days had been so lovely for Alice.
Christmas songs playing, and the last of her guests departing in full festive mood, assuring her of their return again one day.
The hearty lunches Demi served had people coming in from the cold for something warm and homely, and all of her aches and pains sat at a level two.
She grinned to herself as she unlocked the front door, knowing no more guests were due till New Year’s Eve. She could relax a little and perhaps get some Christmas shopping done.
Wondering what she could buy for Jamie, and so pleased she could get him anything that didn’t have to be approved by the authorities, she swung open the door to see the snow they were having on and off had left a thin covering on the pathway.
‘Oh, how beautiful is . . .’ She glanced down, spotting her door wreath on the floor.
At first, she assumed it had fallen off, but on closer inspection, she could see it had been ripped apart.
Alice looked around the front for signs of any other damage, but all was in order. She picked up what was left of the wreath and headed over to the desk. Jamie was making his way downstairs.
‘What’s happened to that?’ he asked, frowning.
‘I guess it fell off the door and some animal got its claws into it. Oh, what a mess, and the competition was today. We won’t be entering now.’
Jamie picked up what was left of the small gold bell that had been attached. ‘You sure it was an animal?’
‘Well, unless someone ripped it off the door and stomped on it, then yeah.’ Alice slapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Oh no, you don’t think that masked man is back, do you?’
‘One way to find out.’
Alice went straight out back to fire up Benny’s laptop.
Benny was slipping into his school blazer. ‘I was going to give you my Christmas list if you’re doing a bit of online shopping, but judging by your face, I’d say you’re on my laptop for a different reason.’
‘The door wreath has been torn apart,’ she told him. ‘Just checking to see if we can spot what happened.’
Benny took over, getting the footage up quickly. He sped through, stopping when the masked man came into view, tugged the wreath off the door, and placed it on the ground. They couldn’t see if he ripped it apart, as his back was to the camera at that point.
‘Who is that?’ snapped Alice. ‘And why is he picking on me?’
‘Another one for the file for the police.’ Benny tapped on the keys, getting everything ready.
‘I’m not sure they’re going to bother arresting someone for this kind of behaviour.’ Alice flopped to a seat and sighed. ‘If they catch him, he’ll just say he was pranking me or something.’ She turned to Benny. ‘Do you think it’s one of your mates thinking they’re funny?’
Benny crinkled his nose. ‘No, I don’t. My friends aren’t idiots, and this man definitely is, going by the stuff he does.’
‘This is classed as harassment. If he does think he’s being funny, he’s got a bit of a shock coming to him when the police nab him,’ said Jamie who had joined them.
Alice looked up to see Jamie studying the screen. ‘You don’t think this has anything to do with Shannon, do you?’
‘Not really her style.’
‘Would she pay someone to annoy me?’
He shook his head. ‘My sister’s too wrapped up in herself to spend that kind of energy on someone else.’
Alice waved a hand at the screen. ‘So, who the bloody hell is doing this?’
‘We need to lay a trap,’ said Jamie, eyes still on the footage.
Benny chuckled. ‘Ooh, booby trap.’
Alice gestured at the door. ‘You can get to school before you’re late.’
‘But I want to help trap the idiot,’ Benny moaned.
‘No one’s trapping anyone. We’re not getting into trouble with the police for snaring someone.’
Jamie glanced her way. ‘I wasn’t about to put down a bear trap.’
‘What were you thinking?’ asked Benny, looking keen to join in whatever it was.
‘School, Benny,’ said Alice.
Benny grabbed his bag. ‘Fine, but I want to know everything when I get home.’ He kissed Alice’s cheek, then headed off.
Alice turned to Jamie. ‘What have you got in mind?’
‘I’m thinking we could put up a new decoration out front, as he seems to like breaking anything cheerful out there, then I wait behind the door and pounce.’
She widened her eyes. ‘That’s your plan?’
Jamie shrugged, closing down the laptop. ‘I’d have a word with him. Make him see the error of his ways.’
‘Oh great, then you’ll end up back in prison.’
‘I’m not going to rough him up.’
‘What if he has a weapon? I’d rather the police dealt with him.’
‘Unfortunately, they won’t sit outside in case he strikes again.’ He grinned, then headed for the door. ‘And I know just the thing that will lure this dimwit out.’
Alice followed him to the foyer. ‘What?’
‘I saw it at the supermarket yesterday. Won’t be a sec.’ And with that he was off.
Alice frowned as she went back to the destroyed wreath. All she wanted was a peaceful life. She hoped that if Jamie did somehow manage to grab the harasser, none of the trouble was connected to Shannon. She was sure it would sting Jamie, even if they weren’t the best of friends.
Demi came in, losing her smile as soon as she saw the wreath. ‘What happened to that?’
Alice explained the situation, including Jamie’s cunning plan to capture the criminal.
Demi’s mouth gaped for a moment. ‘And I only popped in to double-check we had no guests till after Christmas. Now I feel like I’m part of a detective ring.’
‘It would make more sense if he was stealing our things, but all he seems to do is break stuff. I’m not sure what he’s gaining from doing that, but it’s starting to make me feel a bit ill, Demi.’ She reached across the desk. ‘Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want my mum worrying or Jamie.’
‘I won’t say a word, but you need to talk to the police again. Let them know how badly this is affecting you. We can do it together now if you like?’
‘Okay, let’s give them a call.’ Alice closed the front door, then went out back with Demi to speak to the police.
Luckily enough, the nice officer who had helped before was available to talk, and Alice gave her as much information as possible, including how the whole thing was starting to rattle her nerves.
After the conversation, Demi suggested a coffee in Ginny’s Tearoom as a little treat, which was nice, as Ginny was inside working a shift.
The three women happily chatted away about Sophie’s wedding and how much they were looking forward to the big day, and Alice started to relax, forgetting about her worries for a while.
Demi stayed behind in the tea shop to help Ginny because a staff member had just called in sick, so Alice headed back to the B&B alone. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the new Christmas decoration Jamie had purchased for the front.
‘Who’s your friend?’ she quipped, pointing at the six-foot inflatable snowman swaying in the cool breeze.
Jamie grinned. ‘I’m calling him Buffy.’
Alice laughed. ‘A vampire slayer?’
‘I reckon he’ll do the job.’
She walked up the pathway to stand by its side. ‘Its face looks a bit creepy.’
‘I thought that, but I still think this dude will be like a flame for our moth boy.’
Alice wasn’t so sure. ‘Can’t see him legging it down the road with this under his arm.’
Jamie raised an index finger. ‘Let’s think about this logically.
We know he doesn’t steal, just wreck, and we know he waits till dark, and if you check the footage, he only strikes between the hours of four and ten in the evening.
He’s given us a time slot. We haven’t got any guests to think about, so we can keep the front door closed, and I’ll sit behind it on stake-out with the laptop. ’
‘You make it sound so simple.’
‘It is.’
‘A million things could go wrong, Jamie.’
Jamie headed back inside. ‘Nothing will go wrong. I’ll have the element of surprise on my side, and he’ll get a stern warning when I unmask him.’
‘This isn’t Scooby Doo. Someone could get hurt.’
‘Well, it won’t be you, because you’ll be safe and snug back there.’ He gestured to her quarters.
‘I spoke to the police earlier, so if you do catch him, I want you to just try and get a picture of his face. I want them to be the one to give him a warning, if they don’t arrest him that is. Just getting caught might scare him enough to stop him being stupid.’
‘Okay. I’ll do it your way.’
She wasn’t sure whether to believe him. One thing she knew about Jamie was how protective he was of her. She just prayed he didn’t fight the man.
‘It’ll be over soon, Angel. Don’t you worry.’
Easy for him to say. She was worried and annoyed. It was all a bit too much and ridiculous in her opinion.
‘With a bit of luck, he won’t come back.’ She hoped.
‘If he does, it’ll be within the next few days, for sure. It won’t take him long to notice Buffy out there.’
Alice raised her brow. ‘It won’t take anyone long to notice that thing out there.’
‘We could use it for Halloween as well.’
‘If it lasts that long. I kind of get the feeling that Buffy’s nemesis will come armed with a pair of scissors.’ And she’d just had the most awful thought! She shot her now terrified gaze Jamie’s way. ‘What if he brings a knife?’
‘Let’s not overthink things. So far the only aggression he’s shown is towards the front garden.’
Alice’s stress levels were sky high again.