Page 21 of Forgive Not Forget

“Sorry, I thought it would be good publicity,” Anna said.

“I’m sure it was,” Katherine reassured her. She must have been feeling an unfair weight of responsibility for the spin the newspaper had put on their opening.

“Did you call the police, Katherine?” Carrie asked.

“They said they would send someone over.”

Carrie lifted her eyebrows. “When exactly?”

“When resources would allow, whatever that means. They said they needed to see it to make sure it wasn’t someone’s tag.”

“It doesn’t look like a tag; it’s very amateur. Though who am I to know what constitutes art?” Carrie said with a chuckle.

Katherine crossed her arms. “We need this gone before Sunday’s event; the site needs to be presentable.”

“Shall we have a backup plan in case they don’t come anytime soon? I can see if I can find something to put in front of it or cover it?”

“Great idea, Carrie.”

“What about the holes?” Carrie asked, poking at one with her foot.

“We can fill them in. The police weren’t really interested,” Katherine replied. “They said it was likely the two were connected, which was unusual.”

“Unusual how?” Anna asked.

“Metal detectors — ”

“Detectorists,” Anna corrected her.

“Detectorists… aren’t usually graffiti artists and vice versa. They said it was more likely they would find the culprit through the graffiti, and then they could look to prosecute for the detecting if they found the graffiti artist owned a detector or if they could place them with someone who had one at the time of the vandalism. Without catching them in the act, it’s difficult to place them here, and the police don’t have the resources to sit on-site waiting to catch someone.”

“We have to hope they didn’t find anything before Sophie’s team had a chance.”

“Agreed. They also suggested we hire some site security. I pointed out that we can’t afford that. They suggested some form of deterrent instead.”

“Shall I get some signs made up to say there is twenty-four-hour on-site security?” Anna shrugged. “It might deter people.”

“That’s a great idea,” Carrie replied. “Did you two not hear anything last night? Like a car? Or beeping?”

Katherine and Anna’s eye’s locked as they both shook their heads. Katherine hoped Anna was also thinking back to what had kept them distracted until late the previous evening.

“I suppose with the car park locked, they would have parked in the village and entered the site on foot,” Carrie continued to surmise.

* * *

Katherine reread the sentence she’d already read twice. It was no use; she needed a break and a cup of tea. As she passed the meeting room on the way to the staff room, she spotted Anna through the glass window.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked.

“Sorting the signs for Sunday’s event. There’s no room in my office to do it, and the barn is in use.” Anna checked her watch. “Aren’t you supposed to be in there for Pilates?”

“I hardly think this is the time for Pilates, do you?”

“Yes, I think it is exactly the time that you should take an hour out to relax.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Well I don’t have time anyway; I need to send the report off to the trustees by the end of the day. Do you want some tea?”

“No, thanks, I’m nearly done here. Then I have to do some prep on-site.”