Page 1 of Murder in the Winter Woods (Julia Bird Mysteries #8)

Sean and Julia followed the ringing of a handbell and the sound of a deep, full voice intoning: ‘Hear ye, hear ye…All citizens of Hayfield and beyond are invited to gather in the town square…’

‘That’s the town crier you can hear,’ said Sean.

‘I thought town criers went out of business with the advent of the radio. If not the printing press.’ Julia smiled, aware that she might be showing her age by even remembering radios and printing presses. No doubt the younger folk might roll their eyes at her, but Sean wouldn’t.

‘There are quite a few who do ceremonial sort of things, and big community events like this one.’ His smile crinkled his face, in the way that made Julia want to hire a town crier of her own, to announce what a fine man she had found herself, so unexpectedly, this second time around.

‘I must say, he’s got the voice for it, and it’s much nicer than an announcement over a loudspeaker.’

The town square was full to bursting with people and with good cheer.

It seemed half of the inhabitants of the Cotswolds, as well as a good number of out-of-towners, had come to Hayfield for the switching on of the village Christmas lights.

Julia was pleased they’d decided against bringing the dogs.

They’d arranged to meet Sean’s son Jono and his girlfriend, Laine, but Julia doubted whether they would ever find the young couple in the crush.

She was just about to say as much to Sean, when they appeared in front of them.

Jono was in his usual attire – black jeans, grey (perhaps previously black) pullover, large shapeless over-garment, boots – but Laine had dressed up for the occasion.

She wore fitted green corduroy trousers and a thick, Christmas-themed jumper patterned with red reindeer leaping over a white background.

The cuffs were ringed with green holly leaves.

Silver baubles secured her dark hair in two high pigtails, and caught the last of the evening light.

Julia had dressed somewhere between the two, in jeans and a Christmas-ish Fair Isle jersey, with a warm jacket over.

The temperature was dropping, along with the sun, and she was pleased to have the layers.

‘Isn’t this fun?’ said Laine. ‘I do love Christmas. It’s so cheerful, isn’t it?’

‘Is it always this busy?’ Jono asked, sounding slightly anxious. It was Julia’s first time at the event, too, and she’d wondered the same thing. Like Jono, she had limited capacity for crowds and hoped this one would thin out a bit once the formalities were over.

‘I haven’t been for a year or two,’ said Sean.

‘It was a much more modest affair last time I attended, but then again, that was around the time that I had a full head of hair and perfect eyesight.’ Julia ruffled his hair which was, in fact, still quite thick and well-distributed.

‘It used to be more of a local event, but these days people come from all over,’ he said.

‘Well, it’s not every day you get to hear an actual town crier,’ Julia said.

She led the little group to the edge of the crowd, closer to the source of the calls, and stood on tiptoes to get a better look at the fellow who was ringing the bell and summoning the punters.

Fortunately, he was standing on a small platform and thus easily visible.

With him was the mayor for Hayfield, Colin Postlethwaite; a small woman in a sparkly dress; and a couple of other people who looked like local dignitaries or officials.

The town crier was perfect, just perfect.

Rotund and bearded and red-cheeked, and all kitted out in a red and gold coat, breeches, boots.

On his head, a tricorne hat. Julia was delighted: ‘Oh, look at him! He’s just the man for the job, isn’t he?

Isn’t it lovely when something or someone exactly matches all your expectations? ’

Before anyone could answer, the town crier began to announce the order of proceedings.

There would be a brief introduction from the mayor of Hayfield, and then the main event – the turning on of the Christmas tree lights, followed by all the other lights in the village.

Father Christmas would be in his grotto and looked forward to seeing any children who cared to visit.

Mayor Postlethwaite knew his audience well, and kept it snappy.

After a few thank yous to the many worker elves who had made the event happen, he said, ‘I am sure you are eager to see the Christmas lights go on and to get to the Christmas market and food stalls…’ A small cheer went up.

‘To help me, I’ve got a special celebrity guest…

’ A dramatic drumroll emitted from the speakers…

‘Maggie Pringle from the hit television show, Strictly Come Baking !’ At that, a louder cheer went up.

The tiny sparkly woman, who looked as if she’d never eaten a baked item in her life, advanced on the microphone. The mayor handed her something that looked like a television remote, which she waved around as she addressed the crowd.

‘Well hello, Hayfield and surrounds, and merry Christmas season!’ she said, in a voice that rivalled the town crier’s in its volume. The sound system gave a shriek, as if in surprise, or perhaps pain. ‘Oops, sorry,’ she said, at more modest decibels. The crowd cheered again, good-naturedly.

‘Maggie, please do the honours and turn on the festive lights!’

A little boy in front of Julia leapt up and down, the pointed elfin ears attached to his head bobbing in eager anticipation.

‘Come on, everyone, count me down!’

The crowd didn’t need further encouragement. Together, they roared:

‘Three…Two…’ And on the count of ‘…ONE!’ Maggie hit the switch and the huge Christmas tree in the centre of the square lit up, to a communal, ‘Oooooh!’ Baubles and tinsel sparkled, and a big golden star flashed on top.

Moments later, she hit the switch again and the whole village was ablaze with twinkling light.

Every shopfront was festooned with strings of fairy lights.

More lights picked out the outlines of the little trees that lined the square.

The roads leading into the square were strung across with lights and baubles.

The elf boy shrieked in astonishment and delight.

‘Mamma, look!’ His chubby little finger stabbed the air, pointing first at the reindeers pulling Father Christmas’s sled, then at the snowmen outlined on the stationery shop, then towards the glittering curtain of lights hanging on the front of the church.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of magnificent things, he put his hand down and just sighed.

‘What a sight. Oh, I do love Christmas,’ said Laine, snuggling happily into Jono’s shoulder. ‘Don’t you?’

‘Ah, well, this is very nice,’ Jono said. ‘Let’s go and have a look around.’

‘Meet back here in an hour, shall we?’ said Sean.

‘We can find a place to sit and have something to eat. My treat.’ His face was bathed in reflected light, red on one side, green on the other, and over it all was spread a gentle smile.

Julia felt a stab of love for him, this kind man she’d fallen for so unexpectedly.

She put her arm through his. ‘Good idea. Come on, let’s explore. ’

Sean and Julia wound their way through the crowd, which had spread and thinned out, as people walked the village.

The two of them were on no particular mission or schedule.

They strolled arm in arm, stopping every now and then to admire a particular display.

A fellow came by on stilts, which seemed very brave given the throng.

‘That there’s an orthopaedic disaster waiting to happen,’ muttered Sean grimly.

‘He looks steady enough. I reckon he’s done it before.’ The chap tipped his red bowler hat at Julia and loped on.

The smell of roasting chestnuts drew them to the market. ‘Oh, that smell reminds me of my childhood,’ said Julia. ‘Every year, we would go into London for the Christmas pantomime, and Daddy would buy us a little paper bag of chestnuts from the seller.’

‘Come on, I’ll get you a bag,’ said Sean.

They joined a short queue at the chestnut seller’s brazier near the entrance to the market and watched as, with one efficient movement, he scooped up the nuts, deposited them into a packet and handed them over to the customer.

The customer dropped two pounds in a bowl next to the brazier and went on their way.

Next customer, likewise. And then a packet for Julia.

Sean dropped a note in the bowl and wished the seller a merry Christmas.

The chestnuts hot in her hands, Julia strolled beside Sean along the lines of stalls selling festive treats and gifts, many of them handmade.

Julia waved to her neighbours, Matthew and Hester, who were selling honey and honeycomb.

She called a hello to Angela, from the florist shop, Blooming Marvels, who was selling beautiful Christmas wreaths made of silver-green leaves and tasteful red baubles.

On they walked, the night darkening by the minute, with a million tiny lights like fireflies all around them.

They were stopped by the sight of a huge dappled Great Dane in a beautiful jumper, a fiery red embroidered with white and gold stars.

‘Aren’t you a glorious fellow?’ said Julia.

‘That he is,’ the stallholder said, her hands on her hips and a proud smile on her face. The dog gazed modestly into the distance.

‘Lovely jumper, too.’

‘Thank you, I have all sizes, and lots of different designs. Like our logo says, “Stylish Togs for Every Dog!”’

‘This one would look lovely on Leo, with his golden colouring,’ Julia said, holding up a green coat with red edging. ‘I think I’ll get a Christmas gift for the dogs. What do you think would look nice on Jake? Come on, help me choose.’

Sean gave her a wry look, but went along with her mad idea.

They rejected the outright ridiculous options – a Santa suit with a hat, which Jake would tear to shreds in seconds; an outfit with a hood and antlers for Leo – and opted for a nice red and black tartan for Jake, and the green edged with red for Leo.

Julia handed over her credit card. Dog clothing was surprisingly expensive, but fortunately, unlike humans, the animals didn’t require an extensive wardrobe.

Jono was waiting for them. ‘Come on,’ he said, as soon as he saw them. ‘By some miracle we got a spot in one of the pubs. Laine is keeping our seats.’

They squeezed through the crush at the Wig and Whistle, towards Laine’s waving hand.

‘I’m glad you’re here!’ she said. ‘People were giving me the evil eye, taking up a whole table to myself. I was beginning to think I might have to fight off invaders.’

‘I reckon I could take that fellow,’ Jono said, jerking his head towards a huge man with a ruddy face atop a badly drawn neck tattoo of a dragon. Or perhaps it was an alligator.

‘I’m off duty, so let’s try not to give or receive any injuries, shall we?’ said Sean.

‘If we do, Dad, you could heal them and Julia could counsel them. It would all work out.’

Julia grinned. It was good to see Jono in fine spirits. He could barely be persuaded to say a word when he’d come down from London some months ago, and now here he was, joking and chatting, and with the lovely Laine by his side.

‘Let’s order quickly,’ said Sean, catching the waitress’s eye. ‘We’ll likely wait a bit for our food.’

When the waitress had taken their drinks and food orders, Julia spoke to Jono: ‘How is work going? Are you still enjoying working at the vet’s?’

‘Oh yes. Dr Ryan is a good vet and a good boss. Of course, I love all the animals. And most of the humans are all right. It’s interesting. There’s never a dull moment. You won’t believe the things we see. Goodness, just yesterday, a cat came in who’d swallowed a?—’

‘Eating,’ Laine said, gesturing to the bread and butter the waitress had brought to the table. Clearly she’d already heard what the cat had swallowed, and the results thereof, and didn’t judge it to be dinner table fare.

‘Right,’ said Jono, with a laugh. ‘I tend to forget. Like you, Dad, and your surgery stories.’ He turned to Laine. ‘We’d be sitting down to a nice dinner and Dad would launch into some horrible story about someone’s bunions…’

‘He does like a good war story,’ said Julia, putting her hand over Sean’s. ‘But it’s wonderful that the work suits you so well, Jono.’

The waitress arrived with their drinks, and talk stopped while she handed them out. Beers for the passengers, sparkling water for Laine and Sean, the designated drivers.

When she left, Jono answered. ‘Working at the vet does suit me. And now that I’m permanent, Dr Ryan is giving me more to do, training me up on the computer system, ordering the pet food stock and the medicines.

He likes me to help him with the animals, too.

Calm them down, hold them still, pass him things.

It’s nice to have more to do, more responsibility, more stimulation, and I do like working with the animals.

In fact, I’ve been thinking that I might like to study veterinary science… ’

Sean jumped in, all eager: ‘Study? That’s an excellent idea…Have you thought about where? I know a chap who works at the college…’

Julia could see that Sean’s eagerness annoyed Jono.

It reminded him of how at sea he’d been the past year or so, and how worried his father had been.

He spoke a little sharply. ‘I’ve thought about a lot of things, Dad, and I’ve done some investigation.

First things first, if I’ve got any chance of getting in, I need to do A-level Biology, and to improve my maths grade.

I can study online, and I can start in January. ’

‘Excellent!’ Sean beamed. ‘Well, I can probably remember enough to help you with the Biology.’

‘Actually, Laine did Bio for A levels and at uni, so we’re cool.’

Interesting. Clearly they anticipated this relationship continuing into the new year and beyond.

Julia felt a warmth that went beyond her snug winter coat at the thought of Laine and Jono staying in Berrywick, and staying together.

There was something heartwarming about the idea of young people making a permanent home in the little village.

And who could ask for a better and safer place to settle and, maybe one day, raise a family?