Page 51 of Christmas All the Way

She’d barely finished speaking when disaster struck. The tree went dark, and so did the fairy lights strung in the trees. The lights above the food and drink stalls winked out. Groans of disappointment replaced the cheers, punctuated by the sudden thin wail of a crying child.

‘Don’t panic, everyone,’ Deke’s voice was cheerful in the sudden blackness. ‘I’m told it’s just a temporary blackout. Let’s get our phones out and have a magical moment while it lasts.’

Keeley wouldn’t have been surprised to hear him to break into ‘We’ll Meet Again’ or another wartime classic but instead he began singing ‘Step into Christmas’. Around them, phone lights began to dispel some of the gloom and she saw both Grace and Raff had their own torches on. ‘It’s probably the fuse board in the hall,’ Raff said, his face washed out by the half-light surrounding them.

Keeley sighed. ‘I thought Paul said he’d made sure it wouldn’t trip this year.’

‘He did,’ Raff replied, frowning. ‘And it was fine last night. I’d better go over there and see if there’s anything I can do to help.’

‘I’m coming too,’ Grace said, and Keeley thought she sounded upset.

‘I’m not staying here on my own,’ she said.

Raff nodded. ‘This way.’

They picked their way through the crowd, dodging between groups who had linked arms and begun swaying. ‘You’d think they were in the middle of the Blitz,’ Keeley muttered to Grace.

‘I suppose it’s better than them all going home.’

Which was a fair point, Keeley had to admit. She could only hope any competition judges in the crowd were similarly forgiving.

The hall was in darkness when they reached it. Beams of light flickered inside, suggesting efforts were being made to find the source of the problem. Raff pushed at the door, raising his phone to illuminate the room immediately in front of them. Gavin’s face swam into view. ‘Easy, mate. I’m half blind as it is.’

‘Sorry,’ Raff said, lowering his light. ‘Any idea what the trouble is?’

‘Paul says it’s the fuse box,’ Gavin replied. ‘He’s down in the basement, having a look now.’

No sooner had he finished talking than the overhead lights came on, causing everyone to wince and shade their eyes. Outside, a resounding cheer went up. ‘I think he might have fixed it,’ Keeley said, blinking in the brightness.

A door at the far end of the hall rattled and Paul appeared. He made his way over to the group. ‘Was it the fuses?’ Gavin asked.

Paul nodded, although Keeley thought he looked far from happy. ‘Yeah, the whole thing had tripped. Don’t ask me to explain how it happened, though.’

Gavin rubbed his stubbly chin. ‘Too much demand?’

‘What I mean is, it shouldn’t have happened,’ Paul said, his tone grim. ‘During the dry run yesterday, I systematically tested the electrical load, to make sure the circuit that powers the lights and the stalls wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Everything was fine.’

‘But that was yesterday,’ Keeley pointed out. ‘Maybe one of the stallholders plugged something else in. I don’t know – a kettle or something.’

‘The circuit should have been able to handle it,’ Paul insisted. ‘And even if there was a problem – if the item was old or faulty – I would expect it to only trip one switch in the fuse box. Not the whole lot.’

Keeley puffed out her cheeks. ‘But it’s not impossible.’

‘No,’ he replied. ‘What it means is that we’ve got a headache because I can’t tell you what happened. I’ve checked the load now and everything is fine but who’s to say it won’t trip again in ten minutes, or an hour, or a day?’

Gavin turned towards the door leading out to the green, where Michael Bublé could be heard crooning. ‘Sounds okay at the moment.’

The electrician listened gloomily. ‘Yeah. For now.’

‘Let’s think positively,’ Keeley suggested. ‘Maybe it was a blip – a one-off problem that won’t happen again. Is anyone in danger of being electrocuted?’

The look Paul gave her was affronted. ‘No! If I thought there was any danger of that, I’d close it all down. Like you say, it’s probably a one-off. Maybe a surge or something…’ He trailed off, looking thoughtfully at the door that led to the basement. ‘There was one other strange thing. When I went down to see what was wrong, the cupboard where the fuse box is kept was open.’

‘Open?’ Raff echoed. ‘Isn’t it usually locked?’

Paul nodded. ‘Yeah. I locked it myself when I finished up last night, and hung the key on a hook at the bottom on the stairs.’ He paused to gaze solemnly round at them. ‘It’s not there now.’

Grace frowned. ‘Are you suggesting someone’s taken it?’