Page 71 of A Curious Ending

‘You think?!’ Lara muttered, clearly unconvinced.

Kate slapped her on the shoulder. ‘We’ll be grand!’ she said. ‘You’ll see.’

Despite feeling this was going to end up with them all in prison or at the very least doing community service, fifteen minutes later Lara, dressed in black jeans and a black jumper, was stealthily making her way down the alleyway beside Honeybourne Antiques. She had insisted on the precaution of carrying a pair of secateurs. When Abby had asked if she planned on snipping an assailant to death she had sworn at her.

Lara hid behind a large hedge of pine and holly and even cut a few branches in case she was found hiding there and needed an excuse for being out so late. She thought it was a pretty ridiculous story, but she hoped the police would be more likely to believe the local florist was cutting holly late at night rather than trying to break into her neighbour’s shop.

With an efficiency that drew praise from Abby, Kate smashed one of the windows at the side of the building, where there were no security cameras and set the alarm blaring. She and Sarah then hurried around to the front of the shop and tried to look like two revellers walking home from the party. Kate slung an arm around Sarah’s shoulders and ran a hand through her hair, bringing down a few tresses from the diamanté clasps. She then got her phone out from her bag. A few curtains twitched and a couple of doors opened around the square. Kate waved in their general direction, holding her phone to her ear. ‘Calling the police,’ she mouthed. This seemed to satisfy most people, and doors were shut, and curtains redrawn.

However, one gentleman from three doors down was more persistent and came to join them. Sarah tried to reassure him and said she thought she had seen some kids running off. Pulling his dressing gown around him, he dived into the alleyway beside the shop before they could stop him. He was just emerging back into the square when the police car arrived. ‘Seems to be a broken window, but I can’t see anything else,’ he said. Sarah and Kate exchanged glances. They had half expected him to have discovered Lara, and they thought even less of her ‘gathering holly’ story than she did.

PC Rod Doherty was first out of the patrol car as it drew up close to the shop. He was a tall young man who moved with athletic ease. He was built on generous lines and looked as if he could have been a rower. He winked at Kate when he saw her. Quickly and competently, he reassured the householder and sent him back to his home before turning to Kate. ‘So you’ve been breaking and entering now?’ he grinned at her.

‘That’s it,’ she said with perfect truth, smiling up at him.

Rod’s colleague was still in the car on the radio, but leant out and threw Rod the keys to the shop. ‘Can you turn that bloody alarm off,’ he instructed.

Rod made his way to the back of the shop with Kate following a few paces behind. He held his flashlight aloft and told Kate to stay back. Having opened the back door, Rod slipped inside. From her hiding spot behind the hedge, Lara could see his flashlight skimming around the walls and shining out of the windows. The alarm cut out as suddenly as it had started. A minute later Rod was joined by his colleague and Lara was beginning to wonder how she was ever going to get inside. Sarah clearly felt the same way she did. She was in the alleyway peering towards the policemen while occasionally casting helpless glances in Lara’s general direction.

Abby was nowhere to be seen. Lara realised she had not seen her for the past ten minutes or so, and for some reason this gave her hope.

Telling Sarah and Kate to stay outside, the two police officers made a search of the premises, checking the locks on the remaining windows and doors. ‘We’ll have to call the owner so he can get this boarded up,’ Rod observed.

‘Kids, you think?’ his colleague asked.

‘Yep, I should say so. Good we got here so quickly before they could get in and do more damage,’ he glanced around, ‘or nick anything.’ Rod went back to the back door and leant around the frame looking towards where Sarah and Kate were huddled at the end of the alleyway, deep in conversation. So far neither of them could think of a good way to get the police out of the shop with the door still open.

‘You said you saw some kids?’ Rod asked Sarah. ‘Could you describe them?’

‘No,’ she said, ‘it was just an impression I—’

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off mid-sentence. She looked around sniffing the air. Turning back towards the square she said, ‘I can smell smoke!’

Rod’s colleague was out of the door at a sprint, pushing Sarah unceremoniously out of the way. ‘Bloody kids!’ he roared. ‘If they’re messing with my car!’

Lara, who was watching from the hedge, imagined him trying to explain to his sergeant why he had left his car unattended, with the doors open, so local kids could then set light to it.

Now she too could definitely smell smoke. It had the acrid, carrying properties of old pipe smoke.

Kate looked about her in confusion, but not one to miss an opportunity she grabbed Rod by the arm and pulled him after her towards the square, bundling Sarah along with her as she went.

Lara saw her chance and took it.

Meanwhile the patrol car was parked just as the two police officers had left it. Doors open, interior light on. Rod’s colleague leant over the bonnet panting, ‘Thank gawd for that!’ Rod slapped him on the back consolingly then turned his head towards the open car door and sniffed. ‘Bloody hell, mate, she’s right, it’s definitely smoke,’ and he peered into the interior.

Abby felt it was a great shame that no one who was now surrounding the car could see herself and Thomas in pride of place in the front seats. Thomas was in the driver’s seat looking as pleased as his perpetually grumpy faced allowed. He was puffing away contentedly on his noxious pipe (but maybe in deference to the police he refrained from spitting). Abby told the reluctant Thomas that it was time to leave and they clambered out and turned towards Gillmore House. Thomas gallantly offered Abby his arm as they made their halting progress across the square. If anyone had been able to see them it would have been hard to tell who was holding up whom.

Rod was now inside the car. ‘Nothing missing, but I can smell smoke all right. Those bleeders have been smoking fags in here.’ He sniffed again. He couldn’t quite place the smell. ‘Or is it something else?’ He looked in horror at his colleague. ‘Is that dope?’

‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ his colleague exclaimed.

‘Right,’ Rod said decisively, ‘I’ll go and secure the back of the shop and you get all the windows open. It’s going to be a cold ride back to the station.’

Lara watched from her spot behind the hedge as Rod re-entered the shop. The black rucksack she was carrying was decidedly bulkier than it had been three minutes ago.

Kate joined Rod as he was securing the back door and unceremoniously pulled him into her arms by the stab vest – an embrace that he returned with enthusiasm. ‘Now, get out of here, and get home safely,’ he said, eventually letting her go. She was just about to turn away when he added, ‘Oh, and Kate, I think you’ll find things are moving on... well, on your Lady P.’

Kate spun back to him and Lara froze. ‘What do you mean?!’ Kate exclaimed.