Chapter 30
THIRTY
I paced the living-room floor in the flat, wearing a trail on the flammable carpet. Penn sat on the sofa, his elbows on his knees, hands steepled across his mouth. We’d decamped to my place after my discovery, not daring to have a conversation in earshot of Christa, never mind speak to her directly. At least not until I’d tried to make sense of it all.
‘Have you ever taken her back into the stock room?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I have. When we discovered the Liaison stuff. But I’ve seen her wearing the earrings since.’
‘And you’re absolutely sure it’s hers?’
It sat on the coffee table, gleaming even in the dim light.
‘Yes. I think so… It’s pretty distinctive. Plus it would be a mighty big coincidence, don’t you think?’
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘Yeah. It would.’
‘She has a unique style. The gemstones, her evil-eye coat… it’s not as if she buys her accessories from Claire’s.’
‘But I just can’t figure out why .’
My shoulders tensed, and my voice was quiet. ‘I don’t know. She’s my friend. Or at least I thought she was.’ The sting of potential betrayal was an unhappy reminder of my school days, and I felt like I was fifteen again, trying to hold my head up high in the face of rejection.
Penn looked at me, sympathy softening the indignant look in his eyes. ‘We can’t know for sure. I mean, couldn’t we just ask her?’
‘I suppose so. But if we’re wrong, that would be the end of our friendship forever. And I can’t imagine trying to make the shop work when I have a mortal enemy down the corridor.’
He nodded. ‘I know what you mean. We need to think about this really carefully – throwing around accusations without any proof would be a bit of a dick move. Can you think of any reason why she would want to hurt us? Or why she’d want the shop to fail?’
I stopped pacing and chewed my fingernail, remembering how she’d been so cagey with me that morning. ‘There is one thing. I’ve been in a bit of competition with her for the sustainable beauty products – only a little bit, so I thought. But she seemed to be in a funny mood when I told her I had some more left to sell. She’s always said it was okay before.’
‘How was she when she came to see you before Christmas?’
‘She was fine! Her normal lovely self. We ate Twiglets and drank wine, and she tried to cheer me up. That’s when I told her I was giving up the shop.’
‘And did she try to talk you out of it?’
‘No,’ I said miserably. ‘She didn’t. I just assumed she didn’t want to pressure me. Then when I told her I’d changed my mind, she had a weird look on her face.’
‘So let’s look at the whole picture. One, she thinks you’re competition. Two, she didn’t strongly object to you shutting up shop.’
I sat down heavily next to him and groaned. ‘Three, she isn’t very fond of you either – she can’t stand the whole shooting thing, and I never got round to telling her you don’t really take part. Or that you were the one who leaked the shoot location.’
‘This is becoming a bit of a list.’
I nodded sadly. It really was.
We gave up talking for a while, and Penn kept me occupied with kisses. Luckily, Neo had gone out, or I’d have worried he’d come out of his room and embarrass us, or worse, save the mental image for later. After a while, Penn’s lips became such an absorbing distraction that I started to relax and put aside my worries, just a little.
Then the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, my jaw dropped, and I shrank back. On the step stood Sophia and Bunny, handbags over their arms, looking for all the world like they were dropping in on another lady-who-lunches.
‘H-hello?’ I said, trying to unscramble my thoughts.
‘Hello,’ said Bunny in her cut-glass tone.
I stared at her, time seeming to stand still.
‘Annie, dear, the done thing is to invite us in.’
Since meeting Penn and his family, I never thought I’d see the day when Bunny Burton-Edwards would be sitting on my sofa drinking tea out of a Sports Direct mug.
‘Mum, how did you find me?’ asked Penn, still looking as shocked as when I’d ushered his mother and Sophia in.
‘Well, it was rather easy actually. We came to see if you were in your funny little shop, and you were just driving off in your car. So we followed you.’
‘I got a nifty little Audi for Christmas,’ said Sophia, jingling a set of keys. ‘So I don’t suppose you would have recognised us on your tail. We’ve been waiting outside before we ambushed you.’
‘And you’re ambushing me… why?’
‘My dear, if you weren’t going to answer any more of my phone calls beyond our terse little chat on Christmas Day, then I thought the mountain ought to come to Mohammed.’
‘And I was just dying to see your romantic little bolthole with Annie,’ said Sophia, sounding surprisingly sincere. ‘It’s really rather lovely,’ she said, slightly less convincingly.
She and Bunny glanced around at the scuffed magnolia walls, the telly with cables sprawled out of it in each direction and Neo’s many, many figurines, both of the women looking as out of place as they would being held hostage in an abandoned multi-storey car park.
‘But mostly, we wanted to see if you both were alright,’ said Bunny, placing her mug on the coffee table. ‘After the burglary.’
‘How the hell did you find out about that?’ asked Penn, sitting back in surprise.
‘When Buns couldn’t get in touch with you, I rang Sam at your flat. He told me all about it,’ said Sophia.
‘Great,’ said Penn, grimacing.
‘I can’t understand why you didn’t tell us,’ said Bunny in a tone that suggested both concern and resentment.
‘I didn’t realise my “funny little shop” was of any interest to you,’ he replied lightly.
‘ You are of interest to me. Despite what you think, I love you and would never want to see you in trouble.’
There was a beat of silence as Penn considered this unexpected olive branch.
‘I can handle this myself, Mum. But thank you for your concern.’
‘Perry, don’t be such a cold fish,’ scolded Sophia. ‘Buns and Hugh were appalled when we found out. I don’t know why you’re so surprised we’ve come to see you.’
‘I was surprised,’ he said. ‘When we saw you outside the shop earlier, we couldn’t believe it.’
‘Why didn’t either of you come in?’ I asked.
‘I asked Sophia to go to the shop first and confirm what Peregrine’s friend had told her about the burglary. Then, as I said, after a spot of lunch, we came to see you and you were driving off. So, here we are.’
‘You were seen before,’ I said to Sophia. ‘One of the other shopkeepers saw you the day before the burglary. What was that all about?’
She smiled, at first tentatively, but it then spread into a wicked grin. ‘A little bird told me that you had some very exclusive items in stock. I was looking to… add to my collection.’
My mouth opened in shock. ‘You what?’
‘The only Liaison Secrète purveyor for miles around,’ she said with a sly wink in my direction.
Bunny rolled her eyes at Sophia. ‘If you think I don’t know what Liaison Secrète is, then think again. It was the talk of the under-thirties last polo season. Young women nowadays; I don’t know when it became so fashionable to talk about the secrets of the bedroom.’
Penn winced at the insinuation that his mother had ‘secrets of the bedroom’ herself, and I covered a smile with my mug of tea.
‘Well, I’m sorry, but it’s all gone.’
Sophia turned her pink face away from Bunny, looking both mortified and disappointed.
‘Now,’ said Bunny, patting her knees. ‘Down to proper business. What can we do to help?’
Penn gave a wry smile. ‘Well, the locksmith and joiner have already been and fixed the door, so I think we’re sorted.’
‘You know very well what I mean. You’ve both been through a terrible time. Can we help with any tidying up? Your father has some contacts in the wholesale industry, not to mention his associate, Nathaniel, from the arts project if you need some contacts on the music front. We can assist you with recovering your business. And yours too, Annie.’
I was stunned. From our pre-Christmas frostiness, this thaw was as unexpected as it was abrupt. What had changed in Bunny’s perception of the shop, let alone me?
‘What’s brought this on?’ asked Penn. ‘You’ve never approved of all this before.’
Bunny raised her chin. ‘I can’t say I’m thrilled about it. But when you chose not to come home for Christmas, I realised how deep the cracks were in our relationship. I don’t want the cracks to become crevices.’
Penn looked at his mother for a long time, and I was surprised to see Bunny’s eyes glitter with emotion.
‘Thank you,’ said Penn eventually, his voice a little hoarse. Sophia caught my eye and made a soppy face, fingers making a heart shape over her chest. I couldn’t help but smile. She then turned her full attention to Penn.
‘You must let us help in some way. There has to be something we can do. For you, and for the other shops. God knows, small businesses need every boost they can – my friend Fenella’s silver jewellery business went down the pan, and she ended up working for an accountants’ firm.’ She shuddered. ‘All that maths, so bloody dull.’
‘Actually, the other shops weren’t burgled,’ said Penn. ‘It was just us.’
‘How dreadful,’ said Bunny. ‘Not for them, of course, but isn’t that a little odd?’
Penn and I exchanged a look.
‘We thought it was strange too,’ I said. ‘In fact, we’re not sure, but we think there might be an enemy in the ranks.’
‘Well, that’s simply awful,’ breathed Bunny. ‘How did you come to this conclusion?’
We explained our thinking about Christa, showing Bunny and Sophia the earring.
‘I think that’s rather damning,’ said Sophia. ‘What a nasty cow.’
I raised my palms. ‘Like we said, we can’t be sure. We just need to find a way to prove it, and then we can inform the authorities.’
‘Then I think we’ve hit upon a way in which we can help,’ said Bunny decisively. She retrieved a small notepad and pen from her handbag. ‘We need to brainstorm ideas.’
‘Ideas for what?’ I asked.
She met my eye, a steely expression in hers. ‘A sting operation, my dear. It won’t be my first. I’ve had plenty of supposed friends over the years who’ve attempted to undermine me at charity events and galas, and I never let one of them slip through my net.’
‘Oh God,’ said Penn, burying his head in his hands. ‘Mum, this is mad.’
‘It is not. I won’t allow some jumped-up hippie to ruin your livelihood. Besides, it just isn’t good PR to show weakness. Now, I presume you haven’t any security cameras, since she hasn’t already been apprehended.’
Penn and I shook our heads.
‘Right. That is job number one.’ She scribbled on her pad. ‘You need it to be very discreet so you’ll know if this Christa character tries anything else.’
‘But why would she?’ Penn asked. ‘If it is her, then there’s nothing else to take.’
‘That’s true,’ I said. ‘But I’ve told Christa we’re restocking and we’re refusing to close.’
‘Then you must restock – and quickly. We need bait. I can help you there, since I assume your suppliers won’t be delivering for a while yet. But how can we tempt her further?’ She drummed her pen on the paper.
‘Ooh!’ squealed Sophia. ‘We could make up some kind of event. A promotional thing… one which she might want to sabotage.’
I remembered how rammed the shop had been when I’d staged something similar and nodded slowly. ‘That could work. If she thinks we’re bouncing back so quickly, she might feel like she needs to try again.’
We sat in silence for a while, all of us thinking hard.
‘I’ve got an idea,’ said Penn. ‘What is it that’s been driving the sabotage so far? Other than her hating me for the shooting.’
‘Competition,’ I said. ‘Her business is struggling too, and if we open again, it might get worse for her.’
‘Exactly. So what if we create something that pits us against each other even more? A small business award. If all of us at the arcade are “nominated”, then that might be the motivation to spoil things for us again.’
‘Bravo, Perry,’ said Sophia. ‘That’s bloody brilliant.’
‘It is,’ I agreed. ‘I think it could work. We’ll create a “prestigious award” that’s being judged soon. Maybe straight after New Year?’
‘But, dear, isn’t that very short notice?’ asked Bunny.
‘It doesn’t have to be. We could pretend that Mike entered everyone and forgot to tell us with all the burglary hoo-ha. Besides, I don’t think we should let this go on a minute longer than it needs to.’
Sophia sat up straighter. ‘I have some friends in the media who could share it around on socials, make it seem like a big deal.’
‘And I know someone who could create us a legit-looking website and ads.’ I glanced at Neo’s door, knowing he’d love an opportunity to flex his considerable IT muscles.
‘Then we set up a hidden camera in your shop and see what happens,’ said Bunny. ‘I’ll help you restock your shops quickly, so you are ready for the “judging”.’
‘And I can give you some interior design tips to make the shop look stunning,’ said Sophia, clapping her hands.
Penn shook his head. ‘That’s Annie’s job. She’s amazing at that stuff.’
I grinned at him. ‘Are you going to let me do your side too?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself. No fairy lights. But I might agree to a couple of balloons.’
‘Do you think we can really do this?’ I asked, feeling a spark of excitement in my belly.
‘I do,’ he said, squeezing my hand.
‘Of course you can,’ said Bunny brusquely. ‘You’re a Burton-Edwards – you can do anything you set your mind to. And you, dear.’ She looked at me. ‘I had you down as a determined little thing, and I think I’m right.’
My smile froze. I remembered our conversation in the bedroom about my position in Penn’s life. The suggestion I was a passing phase and shouldn’t get ideas above my station. The effervescent feeling of planning the sting together began to grow flat.
I jumped to my feet, my cheeks scalding, and gathered up the empty cups. ‘I’ll, er… I’ll just see to these.’
I stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing at the cups, my hands as agitated as my mind. Bunny’s words still stung. Even though she seemed to have meant ‘determined’ as a compliment today, the implication that she’d noticed my boldness before struck a chord. I’d been perceived as a ‘hanger-on’ and I still imagined I wasn’t what she’d envisaged for her son. After a minute, the kitchen door opened. I turned to see if it was Penn, but it was Bunny herself.
‘Let me help you,’ she said, reaching for a tea towel. Her perfectly manicured hands looked like they’d never seen a drop of dish detergent in their lives.
‘It’s fine!’ I said with all the brightness I could muster.
She ignored me and started drying a mug.
‘I stand by what I said. You are determined.’
My shoulders tensed. Had she come in here to have another private conversation where she warned me off?
‘But you’re also more than that. I can see now why Perry cares for you so much.’
I turned to her, shocked.
‘You make a good team,’ she continued, rubbing at the ceramic. ‘And he is different around you. My son has, in the past, kept girlfriends at arm’s length. A commitment-phobe, I suppose you could call it. Even with Sophia.’
‘I’m sorry…?’ My voice was barely audible.
‘Maybe I was wrong to want to bring him home. It seems he’s perfectly at home here, with you.’ She glanced around at the shabby kitchen, with its one missing cupboard door and grubby gas hob. ‘Although, it could stand to have a bit of a spruce-up.’
I was still too stunned to explain that I wasn’t fond of my living arrangements either. After a moment, I found my voice again.
‘I thought you hated me.’
She regarded me for a few seconds, her eyes appraising me. ‘I never hated you. I was unsure of you, I’ll admit. But even before we came here, I’d learned a little more about you, and you went up in my estimation.’
‘Oh?’
‘A certain gamekeeper came to me with some “intel”, as he called it. He was very pleased to tell me that Peregrine’s new girlfriend was an animal rights fanatic and had been one of the paint-throwing rabble at our last shoot.’
‘I was,’ I said, pushing back my shoulders. ‘And I’m proud of it. I can’t imagine where this is going though – I thought you said I’d gone up in your estimation.’
‘Mm. Gus certainly thought it would have the opposite effect. He went to great pains to run you down, and knowing his attitudes to women, I suspect I can guess why. And I’m sure he was quick to tell you about Peregrine’s poor shooting record, in order to puff up his own chest.’
I nodded. ‘He did. But… it didn’t win him any favour with me. I… I know how Penn really feels about shooting.’
She smiled. ‘So do I. And I’ll let you into a little secret, dear. On the rare occasion I’m pushed into attending a shoot, I make sure I “miss” every time too. Now hand me that Newcastle United mug. Football’s a very proletarian sport – you should consider watching rugby; far more of a gentleman’s game.’
I handed her the black-and-white mug, shaking my head in wonder. I guessed that Bunny might always give with one hand yet take with the other. But the unexpected gift she’d just given me was a step in the right direction.