Page 53 of Christmas All the Way

‘And I suppose the cupboard unlocked itself at the same time,’ Grace said, with raised eyebrows. ‘And the key grew legs and walked away through the unbolted back door.’

‘All right, Miss Marple,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘When you put it like that, I agree it sounds bad.’

‘We’ll tell him he was caught on the CCTV,’ Keeley suggested. ‘There’s a camera over the front door.’

The electrician sighed. ‘Unfortunately, the hall doesn’t have CCTV. The camera is a dummy one I put up a few years ago as a deterrent. It doesn’t actually record.’

Keeley smiled. ‘Does Jesse know that?’

Back on the green, they split up to look for Jesse. Grace and Raff agreed to walk the light trail route, Paul preferred to keep an eye on the hall to ensure no further interference occurred, and Gavin returned to the pub. ‘Keep an eye on your phones,’ he instructed. ‘And if you find him, send a group message.’

Keeley was relieved to see the Christmas tree was still twinkling as she retraced her steps to the place she’d spotted Jesse. The crowd had thinned out, although there were still plenty of people admiring the lights. Some had made a beeline for the food and drink stalls, which appeared to be doing a roaring trade now that their power had been restored. Deke was no longer holding court from the stage. Keeley presumed he’d retreated to the pub in order to make the most of the free bar, but festive tunes were blasting out from the speaker system. She was unsurprised to see the queue at the kissing booth was longer than ever; next year they should have a stall selling bunches of mistletoe, she thought. Everywhere she looked, she saw people enjoying themselves and the sight warmed her heart. What she did not see was Jesse Bairstow.

He’s not on the green, she tapped into her phone, after a fruitless twenty minutes of searching.

A reply from Paul flashed up on her screen. All OK at the hall.

Not on the light trail either, Grace responded. Could he have left?

Gavin’s message arrived a few minutes later. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! He’s in the bar with Deke. And so is his dad.

‘Let’s get this over with,’ Keeley muttered under her breath. She was not a fan of confrontation but her outrage at the way Jesse had treated poor Ivy was still making her quiver with anger, and that was before she threw in the likelihood that he’d tried to ruin the switching-on ceremony. Even so, she couldn’t help feeling as though she’d stumbled into the middle of a cosy crime plot. She really hoped no one was going to turn up dead in the duck pond.

The pub was standing room only, as she’d known it would be. Craning her head from the doorway, she managed to catch Gavin’s eye as he served behind the bar.

‘Upstairs,’ he mouthed, jerking his head towards the stairs, up which there was a small room reserved for private functions.

Nodding, she edged through the throng. Gavin met her at the foot of the stairs. ‘I got Deke to invite Jesse and Jim to join his party up there. Do you want to wait for the others to arrive?’

At that moment, the door of the pub opened again. Raff and Grace squeezed inside, with Paul close behind them. ‘No need,’ Keeley said, waving to get their attention. ‘Can you slip away for five minutes?’

Gavin eyed the busy pub and huffed. ‘Not really. But needs must.’

Slipping behind the bar, he murmured something to Elsie, the barmaid. He returned just as the others reached Keeley. ‘Jesse and his dad are upstairs,’ he told the newcomers tersely. ‘Shall we go and do this?’

Paul’s expression was mixed but Grace and Raff both nodded. ‘Right, follow me,’ Gavin said.

Deke was sprawled across two chairs when they entered, apparently deep in conversation with Jesse while his entourage worked their way through the bottles of wine dotted across the tables. Jim Bairstow was standing by the window with his walking stick in hand, gazing out at the village green as though deep in thought. They all looked up as the door opened. ‘And here’s Gav,’ Deke said, beaming. ‘Have you brought the whisky I asked for?’

‘No,’ Gavin replied, stepping into the room to allow those behind him inside. ‘We’ve come to have a word with Jesse and his dad. Would you mind giving us a few minutes, Deke?’

The singer gave an incredulous laugh. ‘You what? Where am I supposed to go?’

‘Downstairs?’ Gavin suggested. ‘It won’t take long.’

‘Are you being serious?’ Deke folded his arms. ‘There’s an army of Boy Next Door fans down there, all wanting a piece of me. I’ll be mobbed.’

Keeley rolled her eyes. ‘You’ll be fine. Half of them are too young to have any idea who you are.’

Deke sniffed. ‘But what about the other half?’

Jesse’s gaze narrowed as it travelled over Keeley and moved on to Raff, Grace and Paul. ‘What’s this about?’

‘I think you know,’ Raff said stonily. ‘But it would be better for you if we discuss your actions in private.’

‘In that case, I’m going nowhere,’ Deke declared, and those around him nodded. ‘I like a good ding-dong.’

‘They can stay,’ Jesse said, with a thin-lipped smile. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide.’