Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
We had no time to waste, so that evening was a flurry of activity. Bunny set to work, calling some contacts, ordering goods that I’d insisted on paying her back for. Thanks to Bunny’s formidable influence, they would be delivered the very next day. In order to spur Christa on, we made sure to source as many ethical, natural, homeopathic and sustainable products as we could.
Penn arranged a meeting with Nathaniel, the arts project guy, who promised to meet him the following day at a music contact’s warehouse, where he could literally load a van with gear to sell on his side.
Sophia called in some friends to create an aesthetic for the logos and paperwork, claiming to offer a ￡1500 cash prize, which would be printed within twenty-four hours. Then we enlisted Mike, who was appalled when we told him what we suspected. He agreed to approach the rest of the tenants and apologise for ‘forgetting to tell them about the award’.
Then, when I asked Neo to help with the fake website, he immediately sat down at his desk and cracked his knuckles. Within an hour, we had a classy-looking site that appeared to have existed, to the untrained eye, for months.
As for me, I wrote a list of things I would get to decorate the shop and began the process of steeling myself to act natural with Christa when the time came to move our final chess piece. I would need to convince her that the business award would be make-or-break for us.
We kept a low profile the next day at the arcade, pretending that the shop was on hiatus until the New Year. Then, in the dead of night, all of us worked to set the scene for our plan, stocking the shelves with brand-new products, decorating the room to within an inch of its life and making sure it looked as enviable as possible. The pièce de résistance was a small collection of disturbingly realistic faux-fur items from Bunny’s collection, which we hoped would rattle Christa enough to spur her on.
After a few hours’ sleep, Penn and I turned up as if nothing was amiss. As soon as we opened up, the shop full to the brim with new stock and decorated like a carnival, we saw Christa through the front window, her mouth hanging open. She came in and looked around, and, recovering from the surprise, wished us good luck, saying that she and the other tenants would have to up their game. Then, after narrowing her eyes at the fur items, she left.
Penn and I let out deep breaths. Then he came over and rubbed my shoulders.
‘You did so well,’ he said. ‘I don’t think she suspected a thing.’
‘This is horrible. She’s supposed to be my friend, and now I’m having to treat her as an enemy. I never thought I’d be standing there lying to her face and being so fake.’
‘Christa’s the fake one,’ he said, pulling me in for a hug. ‘We just need to get the evidence on camera and then we can carry on with our lives.’
I nodded, my head rubbing against his shoulder, then a light cough came from behind us. We whipped round, my heart spiking. Melissa stood in the doorway looking awkward.
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to overhear… I was just popping in to let you know the dress code for New Year’s Eve. It’s black and white.’
Penn and I looked at each other and then back to Melissa.
‘What exactly is going on?’ she asked. ‘What do you mean by evidence?’
I sighed. We had no choice but to tell her now.
‘Please, Melissa. I’ll explain, but can you promise to keep this to yourself?’
‘Of course , darling. Discretion is my middle name.’ She mimed zipping her lips.
‘Okay. We think that Christa might have been trying to shut us down.’ I explained about the repeated targeting of the shop and the earring. Then I admitted that the business award was a fake, and that we planned to place a hidden camera to see if she tried anything before the judging.
‘I can’t believe it…’ she said. ‘I mean, I know that Christa can be rather militant, and she seems to be quite unpleasant when it comes to standing up for her opinions. But a criminal ? I’d never have imagined it.’
‘We still don’t know for sure,’ Penn interjected. ‘That’s why we need the proof. The “judging” is supposed to take place on the second of January, so if she does want to sabotage the shop, we think it might happen during your party. The coast will be clear, and everyone will be distracted.’
Melissa nodded slowly. ‘I see. Goodness. Well, if there’s anything I can do, I’d like to help.’
‘Actually, you probably can,’ I said. ‘We’ll all keep a watch on her, but if you see her leave the party, could you let us know? The camera is there as backup, but if we can catch her in the act, that would be even better.’
‘Absolutely. You can depend on me.’ She came to us and took our hands. ‘You poor things. Something like this should never happen to such lovely people. We’ll get to the bottom of it, I’m sure.’
She gave us a look of deep sympathy and left again.
‘Well, there’s one plus point,’ I said. ‘At least everyone else doesn’t hate us.’
Penn shook his head and laughed. ‘You know, I don’t really care either way. As long as you don’t hate me anymore, then that’ll do for me.’
In the spirit of keeping ourselves distracted, Penn had reluctantly agreed to come ice skating with me. Even with everything going on, I was still very amused at the sight of him staggering and slipping around the ice rink like Bambi, if Bambi had a penchant for oversized sweatshirts and beanie hats.
The night sky was black and clear, stars twinkling above, our breath like puffs of smoke against the dark backdrop. Even though the rink was in the centre of Newcastle and was busy, the traditional lantern lighting and a nearby brass band playing a belated round of Christmas songs gave it the air of a jolly Victorian pastime.
Penn clambered out of the rink to get us a giant pretzel each, and I leaned against the fence, enjoying the atmosphere.
My phone buzzed, and a text popped up; it was Olivia with another selfie from Dubai. This time she was standing on a bridge with skyscraper hotels in the background.
I heard about the business award… OMG.
I smiled. She was such a pet, keeping in touch. But then something occurred to me. Sophia’s social media campaign hadn’t started yet, so beyond Pilgrim Street and Neo’s little-known website, our fake competition currently didn’t exist.
I know, exciting! But how did you find out?
Christa! We swapped numbers when she helped me home. After mad Neil kicked off.
I paused, my heart rate ticking up a notch. What was Christa doing texting Olivia?
Great! I replied, careful to sound casual. I bet she’s as excited as we are.
Yeah, she is. I just wanted to ask… she said not to say anything, but…
I waited, my mouth dry as the three dots flickered on my screen.
She said you’re going to close down. Even if you win. She offered me a holiday job when I’m back for Easter.
An awful tingling chill spread through me. The conniving, back-stabbing…
She’s made a mistake, I typed, my fingers trembling. I’m not going anywhere, and I’d love to have you back with me!
Oh! That’s great.
I hope I see you at Easter then. Have a great holiday!
I ended with a smiley emoji and stared into space until Penn came back. I told him what Olivia had said.
‘Well, at least we know for sure it’s Christa,’ he said, taking a bit of his pretzel.
I looked glumly at my skates.
‘I know it sounds difficult,’ he said, ‘but you need to harden your heart to her. If she’s doing this to you, she’s no loss.’
I nodded. He was right – but it was more difficult than he could imagine. My heart was resistant to hardening when it was so occupied with my feelings for him. Despite all the problems we were dealing with, I felt closer to Penn every minute. We were a team in the shop, and in our mission to find the truth, but most of all, we were bonding on a deeper level. I looked up into his dark, soulful eyes, and he held my gaze as if the city was fading away around us. I was falling for him so hard, which terrified me. I was feeling things I’d never felt before and, with everything else going on, I couldn’t process my emotions enough to keep up with the breakneck speed at which they were developing.
He raised my chin and kissed me deeply, until a gang of teenagers shouted at us to get a room. We broke away, foreheads pressed together, smiling.
‘Come to Ashcliffe with me tomorrow,’ he said.
‘I didn’t know you were going,’ I said.
‘I felt like I should. After not going up for Christmas, and being here for New Year, I thought I’d better show my face. Especially now Mum seems to have had a personality transplant. But I’d still rather have your face to look at while I’m there,’ he said, breaking into a grin.
‘Very suave,’ I said. ‘And very persuasive too. Are you sure they would want me tagging along though?’
‘Of course. Now that you’re my mum’s anti-shooting ally, she’ll be laying down the red carpet.’
I laughed. ‘And what about your dad? He’ll be less than impressed now he knows I took part in ruining his day.’
He shook his head. ‘What Bunny says goes in our family. Dad wouldn’t dare disagree, even if you are a meddling townie. Besides, I think he likes you.’
I raised an eyebrow, thinking Penn was being a little optimistic with that opinion. But the more I considered it, the more I thought getting out of the city altogether would be good for taking my mind off things. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘But please, for the love of God, give me very specific instructions on the dress code this time.’
‘Shall we go shopping for a lunch outfit before we go? Get you some jodhpurs and a riding crop?’
‘Even I’ve read enough Jilly Cooper to know you don’t wear jodhpurs to lunch.’
‘I tried. You could have made another bold style move. But no, it’ll be casual. Jeans and a nice jumper.’
‘That I can do. Well, count me in.’
We stood back against the fence, finishing our pretzels and looking at the sky beyond the imposing sandstone buildings around us. The smell of hot chocolate and cinnamon drifted from nearby cafes, making me feel like the cosiness of Christmas hadn’t faded away just yet.
‘There is another reason I’m going home,’ he said, and I noted the word ‘home’. He’d always been at pains to keep Ashcliffe Hall at arm’s length until now. ‘Yesterday, Nathaniel offered me a job. The arts foundation are opening up a new music centre in Northumberland – he mentioned it in passing at the ball – and he wants me to consider being the director. I’d run the place, hiring music teachers, booking music acts, getting the community involved.’
‘Wow,’ I breathed. ‘That’s incredible. Penn, I’m so happy for you.’ I meant it entirely, but in the moment it left my lips, I considered the implication of what he’d just told me. Penn would move back to Northumberland and out of our shop. He wouldn’t be worlds away, but he and I would be leading very different lives.
‘I’m not going to take it,’ he said abruptly.
‘What? Why not? It sounds amazing.’
‘I…’ His brow creased. ‘I don’t want it. I’m happy where I am, in the shop, with you. When Nathaniel comes for lunch tomorrow, I’m going to say thanks for the opportunity, but no thanks.’
He smiled, but I thought I saw a glimmer of uncertainty in it.
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, my heart sinking. The little pulse of happiness that he wanted to stay with me was fading with the realisation he was giving up his dream.
‘I’m sure. Now, come on. Let’s do another lap of the rink. I’m not going to make it unless you hold my arm.’
He gently pulled me from the fence and linked his arm through mine. As we made our way unsteadily across the rink, my heart sank at the symbolism. Every time I felt like we were on a steady course, something else came along to shake the ground beneath us.