Lindy laughed properly for the first time since the funeral.
‘Someone has to shout about it. If I left it to Simeon, our kombucha would never get sold. I’m already talking to some health food chains. We’re going to have to drastically scale up our production if I get a contract. That’s a big if.’ She passed them both a can. ‘I’m not knocking Simeon; it’s just his skillset isn’t selling and we need to sell more.’
Justine had never told Pia that she really didn’t like kombucha and she felt Simeon’s pain because he too didn’t seem to like kombucha whenever she’d seen him with a can. She hated the tartness and Pia’s kombucha was too vinegary. She didn’t know if they were all like that because she’d never tried any other brand but she had a duty to be positive for her friends and their businesses. She opened the can and took a sip. The zingcaught her nose and she sneezed. ‘Mm, lovely. I can taste the cherry.’
‘You know, everything is in it for a reason. My mum was sick towards the end and I know kombucha really helped her. It could have been worse. My view is though, we need to drink it now, eat more fermented foods if we’re to get protection down the line.’
Justine wondered how Lindy was taking all this after losing her mum so recently. She seemed okay. Maybe she appreciated the return of normality in her life following her mother’s death.
‘Who doesn’t want protection? Bottoms up.’ Justine glugged it all down in one and tried to avoid gurning at the taste. ‘I’ll tell you if I feel better when I’ve had my shower. I’ll meet you at the bar.’
As soon as Justine had changed, washed and dressed, she headed to the bar to meet the others. Lindy and Pia were chatting and laughing, like they’d been friends for years.
Justine watched Lindy glance at her phone. ‘Damn, is that the time? I’ve got to get home. I’ve got some work to do.’ Lindy grabbed her gym bag, then Pia pulled her ringing phone from her pocket.
So much for having time to chat. Justine really wanted to talk to her friends about Craig but that wasn’t going to happen today because Pia had just answered her phone to a potential customer and the charm had been turned on. Their little meet up was officially over. Justine’s phone pinged. She too said her goodbyes and as she went to leave, she read the message from a withheld number.
Do you really know where your husband is, who he’s with and what he’s getting up to? You suspect, don’t you? Never trust a man with betrayal in his heart. X
NINE
Gina knocked on the door of the old post office. While waiting for someone to answer, she admired the post-box-red ledges. The owners had restored the property beautifully.
‘I don’t think anyone’s in, guv.’ Jacob exhaled.
A car turned onto the drive and a woman stepped out.
‘What can I do for you both? Has something happened?’
‘May we come inside?’ Gina held her identification up. ‘I’m DI Harte, this is DS Driscoll.’
The woman’s pale face began to redden at the neck, her straight blonde hair damp and up in a messy bun. She led them into the snug. ‘It’s Kain, isn’t it? What has he done? Damn, I should’ve known something was wrong. I haven’t heard from him in days.’
As soon as Lindy was seated, Gina swallowed and began. ‘We found a body this morning. We have reason to believe it is your brother, Kain Pickering. We’re so sorry for your loss.’ Gina waited for her reaction but all Lindy did was stare into her lap.
‘How… I mean, what happened?’
‘That’s what we’re trying to find out.’
‘Was he drunk? Did he hurt himself or fall over? It wouldn’t be the first time. I sat with him for several hours in A&E once,waiting for him to have a cut on his head stitched up.’ Her eyes began to water.
‘No, I’m also sorry to tell you that we believe he died under suspicious circumstances.’
‘You mean he was murdered?’ Lindy’s breaths quickened.
‘Is there someone you can call, to be with you?’
She shook her head and wiped a teary trail from her cheek.
‘There’s something else we need to tell you. We also suspect that he died in your late mother’s house. Police and forensics are there at the moment.’
‘You mean there are people going through the house? Why did no one call me?’
‘Sorry, we didn’t know who to contact until we spoke to your late mother’s neighbour. Our investigation led us to the property and we suspected that there may have been someone else who needed help on the premises, which is why we had to enter. Also, the back door was already open. The house had been broken into.’
‘I should have gone over there and checked when I couldn’t get hold of Kain. I should…’ She let out a sob.
‘Again, please accept our condolences.’ Gina paused, giving Lindy a moment to take everything in. ‘Can you tell us a bit about Kain? The neighbour said there had been some conflict.’
