Page 28 of Whispers of Sweetwater

Molly had returned and, completely oblivious to Brianna’s arrival, she sat at one of the small tables, the cup of tea in front of her untouched as she stared out of a shattered window.

‘Hey, Molly, I brought us some lunch,’ Brianna said gently, setting the bag down then placing a hand on Molly’s slumped shoulder. ‘Figured we all needed a minute to breathe and regroup.’

‘Awesome, thanks, Brianna.’ Approaching them, Gavin cracked a grin. ‘I always breathe better with flaky pastry in my mouth.’

Hayden didn’t say anything as he pulled up a seat. He just offered a small nod of thanks.

As they each settled with food in hand, the silence between them swelled. Molly left her food untouched, instead picking at the edge of a serviette until it unravelled in her lap.

‘I didn’t tell the police everything,’ she said suddenly, her voice thin.

The room shifted. Even Gavin, mid-bite, stilled.

Hayden set down his sausage roll. ‘What do you mean, Moll?’

‘I wanted to,’ she said quickly, as if expecting an accusation. ‘I was sitting there, ready to just, you know, let it all out. But then I thought, what if it makes things worse? What if they retaliate?’

‘Retaliate?’ Brianna echoed, her chest tightening. ‘What do you mean?’

Molly looked between them all, her usually radiant eyes bloodshot but determined. ‘I’ve been getting notes. Threats. For months now. Always the same. I have to put cash into a certain account or suffer the consequences. And now this.’ She gestured around the shop.

‘Jesus,’ Gavin muttered, sitting up straighter. ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone?’

‘Because I don’t know who it is,’ Molly whispered. ‘And I’ve been so scared. What if it’s someone here? Someone I’ve served tea to? What if I open my mouth and they do worse next time?’

Hayden took a breath, then exhaled, long and slow, as though considering what to say, what to do. ‘Molly, you can’t handle this alone. You shouldn’t have to.’

Brianna reached out, her hand closing over Molly’s. ‘And you didn’t recognise the name on the account?’

‘No name. Just the initials. J. J. But that could be anyone. And there’s no address. Just a bank number, probably opened under a fake name.’ She pulled out her phone and showed them a screen with a transfer history.

Regular payments, always to the same account.

Molly placed her phone back to the table and looked down into her tea, her fingers tightening around the chipped mug as if it was the only thing anchoring her to the room. The silence was thick, stretching between the four of them. Sherlock shifted at Brianna’s feet, sensing the tension, ears pricked.

Finally, Molly said, her voice barely above a whisper, ‘It’s Jack. It’s all because of my brother.’

Gavin frowned. ‘How can it be Jack, he’s not …’ He stopped short. ‘It’s been almost eight months now.’

‘He’s still stirring trouble from the grave, Gavin.’ Molly shook her head slowly, still staring at the swirling tea. Her eyes brimmed but didn’t spill. ‘I thought he was getting his life back together. I thought he was on the straight and narrow, and then the accident, and then, well, I lost him, way too young. And to be honest, when he passed away, I was a bit, dare I say it, relieved, because it meant I didn’t have to bail him out of trouble anymore.’ She paused, shaking her head. ‘I’ve been bailing him out of trouble my whole life.’

‘Oh, Molly, forgive me for asking, but …’ Hayden leant forwards, and his voice was steady but gentle. ‘What makes you think his wrongdoings have anything to do with this?’

Molly swallowed hard. ‘Turns out he’d racked up a serious gambling debt. Fifty-five thousand dollars. God knows how long he’d been hiding it, or who he was involved with. After he died, I thought the worst was over. Then, five months ago, I got the first note in the mail. No signature. Just a message that I owed what he owed, and if I didn’t pay, I’d regret it.’

Gavin’s eyes darkened. ‘And you’ve been paying it?’

‘Yes, eight hundred dollars each time, like I showed you. Quietly. Transferring to that account every month. It’s all I can afford. And at that rate I’ll be paying it for almost six years.’ Molly’s voice cracked. ‘I thought maybe if I stayed quiet, it would stop there. But it hasn’t.’ She shuddered, paused, stared into her lap. ‘I missed my payment last month because I simply didn’t have the money. I had every intention of catching up on payments when I could, though. And I couldn’t bring myself to tell the police today, even though I wanted to, because what if it makes things worse?’

‘You don’t even know who it is,’ Brianna said softly.

‘That’s what terrifies me the most.’ Molly finally looked up, eyes pleading. ‘It’s someone who knows things. About Jack. About me. Maybe even about this place. They haven’t shown their face, but they know when I’m alone. They’ve called the shop phone before, and my house phone. The cowards never say anything. Just silence, maybe some heavy breathing, then a click.’

Hayden swore under his breath. ‘We’ll figure this out,’ he said firmly. ‘We’re not letting you deal with this on your own anymore.’

Sherlock gave a low growl then, his eyes trained on the corner window. Hayden immediately moved to check, but there was nothing outside but drifting leaves and a pair of kids cycling past on the footpath.

‘He’s been on edge all day,’ Brianna said quietly, stroking Sherlock’s head. ‘He knows something’s not right.’