Page 11 of Murder in the Winter Woods (Julia Bird Mysteries #8)

‘Oh, Sean, look – the Christmas night market is still open!’

The evening at Hayley’s had been a great success, and by the time they said their goodbyes, Julia would have sworn that she had no energy left for anything and just wanted to go home. But the sight of the little field near the village centre, strung with lights, called to her.

‘Let’s stop and get some bread and cheese, please,’ she said.

‘You’ll do anything to go to another market,’ teased Sean, but he turned the car into the little parking area next to the main field. ‘You won’t let it stop you that it’s the middle of the night and most of the stalls will be closing up.’

‘It’s not quite the middle of the night.’ Julia smiled at him, then looked around the little car park. ‘Although perhaps you’re right; there aren’t a lot of people left.’

‘We’re parked now,’ said Sean. ‘Might as well pop in and see if we can get your bread and cheese. And no doubt jam and eggs and perhaps a strange knitted thing that you swear will make someone a perfect gift.’

Julia could not deny it – she had bought more than a reasonable number of strange knitted objects this festive season, at markets much like this one.

‘A good point,’ she said. ‘I haven’t yet found the perfect knitted object for your stocking.’

‘In that case, let’s hurry, all the good ones might be gone.’

The two of them were laughing as they walked across the boggy parking area towards the little gate that led to the market. They almost collided with Matthew, Julia’s next-door neighbour, carrying a box of honey.

‘Julia, Sean,’ he said happily, immediately stopping and putting the box down.

The thing about Matthew Shepherd was that he liked a chat.

His wife, Hester, was much shyer, and Julia knew her far less well.

But Matthew was one of the characters of Berrywick, known for his ability to make a short story long, and a boring story funny.

When you saw his white hair and bright blue eyes bobbing down the road in your direction, you knew to add a good ten minutes to your expected arrival time.

If they had a chat with Matthew now, there would be no chance of any of the stalls still being open by the time they got there.

‘Isn’t this a fine Christmas season?’ Matthew said, as his opener. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt that Julia knew was his favourite for attending the markets. ‘Makes people think of honey,’ he’d once told her. ‘It’s all in the psychology.’

‘Indeed,’ agreed Sean now. ‘I take it from this that you’ve had a good day at the market?’

‘Ah yes, we’ve had plenty of orders. We’ll be busy with deliveries the next few days, that I can tell you. People know where to come for the best honey in the Cotswolds.’

‘In the whole of England,’ said Julia, loyally.

‘There’s a good operation in Yorkshire,’ said Matthew, taking her somewhat literally. ‘They make a fine, fine honey. I think they might be as good as us.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind if I’m ever in Yorkshire,’ said Julia. ‘But tonight, it’s cheese I’m after.’

‘You’d better hurry, then,’ said Matthew, making no move to shift out of the path. ‘The cheese stall has done a roaring trade. And how are things in the doctoring business, Sean?’

‘Lots of seasonal colds,’ said Sean. ‘Keeps me busy.’

‘Well, I’m glad you’ve had a successful evening, Matthew,’ said Julia, wondering if she could just step around him. ‘I’d best be getting to the cheese.’

‘I’ve just got to pack up and then I’m off back to Hester,’ said Matthew. ‘She’ll be starting to worry. And wanting to know what the sales have been like.’ He sighed. ‘I can’t wait for the time that the honey isn’t our only source of income. That’ll be a fine day.’

Julia was wondering how to respond to this, given that Natthew and Hester were hardly of an age to expect another career opportunity to come knocking, when Matthew bent down and lifted his box. ‘Well now, I can’t be standing here chatting. Best I be on my way. Have a good night, then.’

‘You too, Matthew.’

‘He’s a good man,’ said Sean, once they were out of sight. ‘Always leaves me with a smile on my face.’

The market had mostly wound down, but twenty minutes later, they had managed to find some soft goat’s cheese, a strong brie, and the last of the loaves. Julia had also bought a bunch of early snowdrops – the last that the flower seller had.

‘It’s late, but that was worth it,’ she observed, as they walked through the now almost completely deserted market.

The last of the stalls were packing up. Sean opened the small gate between the field and the parking area and Julia stepped through.

A light drizzle had started and Julia looked up, wondering if it would turn to snow.

As she looked around, her eye caught a flash of yellow on the far side of the parking area.

‘There’s something on the ground over there,’ she said to Sean, pointing.

Sean squinted through the rain, and then suddenly started running. ‘Julia, I think it’s a person!’

‘Who could it be?’ said Julia, following him quickly.

But she’d already seen the yellow, and she knew the answer to her own question.

Sean pulled up outside Julia’s house. She’d left a couple of lights on when she had gone out, and they glowed softly behind the curtains.

The house looked cosy and welcoming, and she knew that Jake and Chaplin would be waiting for her and delighted to see her.

The home she had made in Berrywick was a place she was always pleased to come home to.

But tonight, she was weighed down with what had just happened, and what she knew would be next.

As she stepped out onto the pavement, Julia was startled to see a figure lurking in the shadows just a few steps away.

‘Hello?’ she called sharply. ‘Who’s there?’

‘It’s me, Hester.’ Julia’s neighbour stepped out of the shadows, so that Julia could now see her better.

‘Oh, Hester! Gosh, I couldn’t see you properly in the dark.’ Hester looked so cheerful that it broke Julia’s heart to think of what she now had to tell her.

‘Hello, Julia. Sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I heard your car and I thought it was Matthew coming home from the Christmas market and came out to have a look.’

Julia didn’t know what to say. When they’d left the crime scene, Hayley had told Julia and Sean that she would be immediately behind them, to come and speak to Hester.

‘Hester…’ started Julia. ‘I think maybe we should all go in and sit down.’

Sean had climbed out of the car too. ‘Maybe we can put a kettle on while we wait,’ he said to Julia.

‘Wait?’ said Hester, looking from Sean to Julia.

‘For Matthew? Do you think he’ll need a cup of tea?

’ She smiled and then immediately frowned.

‘I mean no disrespect, but Matthew will be tired when he gets back. Maybe this isn’t quite the time for a midnight tea party.

He never stays at the market this late.’

‘Hester, something’s happened.’ Julia gently touched Hester’s arm. ‘To Matthew.’

‘Did you see him?’

Julia wasn’t quite sure how to answer this question. ‘We did, yes, but…’

‘Oh well then, he’ll be on his way shortly, won’t he? Thanks, Julia. Thanks, Sean. I was worrying for nothing. Silly me.’ Hester turned to go away, and Julia felt like the whole situation was slipping out of her control.

‘Hester,’ she said, slightly more loudly than she intended. ‘Matthew was in an accident.’

‘In the van?’

‘In the car park at the market. He was hit by a car.’

‘Oh, lord.’ Hester gave a weak smile. ‘Okay, I’ll just go in and pack him a bag. Then I’ll get a taxi to the hospital; I’ll just call…Oh no, I can’t call Lewis. How awful, I forgot. I guess I’ll have to find another taxi driver. Or maybe, Julia, you and Sean would be so good as to take me?’

‘Hester, there’s no need for you to go to the hospital.’

‘Oh, is he on his way back? Oh good. For a moment there, you had me worried!’

Julia took a deep breath. There was never an easy way to break this type of news to a person, and experience had taught Julia that sometimes the only way was to rip the plaster off. Certainly, she couldn’t let Hester carry on in this state of confusion one moment longer.

‘Hester, I’m so sorry. Matthew was killed at the scene. He was run over.’

It was at this pivotal moment that Hayley’s car came screeching up the lane. Julia was dimly aware of Hayley parking and jumping out of the car while Hester stared at her blankly.

Hester finally spoke as Hayley walked up to them. ‘Killed at the scene? Run over?’ she said, before gently crumpling into a heap on the path.

Hayley looked down at the unconscious woman. ‘I see you told her, then,’ she said with a sigh.