* * *
It was only later that it came to her. She was sitting in the relative cool of her living room, in her favourite wing-back chair, thinking about the afternoon’s events. Teddy was having a lie-down before supper, recovering from a day’s hot driving. Snaffles the cat was lying drowsily on the arm of the sofa, semi-alert to the smells and sounds of the deepening evening. In Thelma’s hand was the unopened letter now retrieved from her desk drawer.
Father, give me courage, she said. She sighed, set the letter down unopened, and instead took out the scrap of paper she’d found at the Snuggery from where she’d safely stashed it in her purse. She looked at that curious symbol again. What on earth was it? Why that feeling of familiarity?
Her phone rang. It was Jax. Again. This was the fourth time she’d rung since that awkward, tense drive back from Hollinby Quernhow. For the fourth time, Thelma rejected the call. For the moment she had too much on her mind to speak to the woman, not after all the embarrassment of the afternoon.
She suddenly frowned.Jax.
Thelma sat upright in her chair. She’d heard Jax tell Ffion she’d been in the flat the whole time – but she hadn’t. When Ffion had appeared, Thelma had been alone in the Snuggery.
So where had Jax been?
Chapter Nine
Wednesday 16th July
From the Twitter feed of Rainton Farm Shop:
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‘So where did she go?’ Liz frowned perplexedly.
‘There’s only one place I can think of,’ said Pat, fumbling for the coral-pink handbag fan. ‘The main house, right?’
Thelma nodded. ‘It was the only logical place she could’ve gone,’ she said. ‘If, of course, she had a key.’
‘But why?’ Liz frowned.
Thelma shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’ Grimly she swilled ice cubes round the remnants of her iced mango. ‘I thought she simply wanted moral support. But now … well, I can’t help wondering if there was more to it?’
‘Like what?’ said Liz.
Thelma shook her head. ‘Again, I don’t know,’ she said. ‘And for the moment I don’t plan on finding out.’
Once again, it was almost as hot inside the garden centre café as it was outside, despite the presence of several large floor fans racketing away. Virtually every customer had ordered a cold smoothie or iced coffee. Outdoors a pink-faced employee could be seen watering the various ranks and stands of plants; almost as soon as the water hit the ground the stains began shrinking and fading in the relentless sunshine. They’d been there an hour, were on their second lot of iced drinks and were getting to the end of their ‘debrief’.
‘Maybe Jax knows something?’ said Liz. ‘About Ffion?’
Thelma shook her head. ‘If she did, I’m sure she would have told me,’ she said. ‘She had plenty of opportunity. And there’s certainly no love lost between her and Ffion.’
‘You were lucky not to be caught!’ said Pat. ‘I’m telling you, if Madame Shally dares show her face anywhere near me, she’ll get her cleaning brush shoved where the sun don’t shine. Landing you in it like that.’
Liz cast an uneasy glance to the café entrance. ‘Do you think she will?’ she said.
‘I wouldn’t put anything past that woman,’ said Pat, reaching down into her bag and getting out her phone.
Liz opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it. Not whilst her friends were in this bullish mood. Yes, Jax was all the things they were saying, but she remembered those tears in her eyes when she spoke about Neville. There never had been anyone else in her life. Surely the woman was bound to be upset, and in her considerable experience upset people did all sorts of silly things.
‘As I say,’ said Thelma again, ‘I didn’t answer her calls, nor did I ring back, so I’m hoping she’s got the message.’
Pat snorted. ‘You could spray-paint it on the walls of FountainsAbbey and she’d still get the wrong end of the stick if it suited her, that one.’
She stole a surreptitious look at her Instagram – or more accurately Ms T.J. Rox’s Instagram feed. The latest post was showing her and Justin sat in the garden brandishing sludge green drinks at the camera.Enjoying some together time in the sun with these delicious organic O2H smoothies!the caption read; already the post had had over seven hundred likes. Allseemedto be well.
‘Anyway, these rumours about Neville.’ Liz’s voice recalled Pat to the moment. ‘Do you think Chris Canne has any idea who was spreading them?’
‘If he did, he wasn’t saying,’ she said. ‘But he seemed pretty bothered about the whole thing, which makes me think not.’
