Page 4 of Murder in the Winter Woods (Julia Bird Mysteries #8)

Kevin had booked a small function room for the first meeting of the road safety committee, and was already there with a tray of tea, as promised, and a very nice-looking plate of sandwiches – egg and cress, cheese and tomato, and cucumber – cut into quarters.

Julia’s mouth watered at the sight of them.

Why were little triangle sandwiches so much more delicious than regular sandwiches?

Probably because everyone’s mums had made them for childhood birthdays. The nostalgia was delectable.

Flo came in, followed a minute later by Will. Kevin was pouring the tea when DC Walter Farmer arrived, slightly pink and puffing. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ he said. ‘A lot going on.’

‘By less than two minutes,’ said Kevin, consulting his watch. ‘Don’t worry, mate. Come and sit, catch your breath. Tea?’

‘Yes, please, I’m parched. I had to rush to an appointment. Didn’t even have time for lunch.’ He eyed the sandwiches.

‘Help yourself,’ said Kevin, nudging the plate towards him. ‘The Swan’s finest sarnies.’

Walter reached over and took two. ‘Oooh, just like my mum used to make. Plates of little sandwiches for every birthday party,’ he said, neatly confirming Julia’s hypothesis. He put one of the little triangles on a plate and the other straight into his mouth.

‘Crusts or no crusts?’ asked Flo. ‘Your mum’s sarnies, I mean.’

Walter swallowed and dabbed his mouth with a paper napkin. ‘Crusts. We weren’t millionaires , you know. Waste not, want not, was Mum’s motto.’

Flo laughed. Julia, whose mother had cut off the crusts, kept her silence.

‘Right then,’ said Kevin. ‘So, Walter, before we start, is there any update on the investigation? Have you found the culprit?’

‘Not yet. Unfortunately, the incident happened in a place where there are no cameras. We’re looking at the footage from the surrounding area.’

‘That’s a pity,’ said Flo, shaking her head. ‘I hope you catch him and make sure he faces the full might of the law. I can’t believe anyone would be so cold-blooded. Imagine hitting another human being and not stopping to see if they’re all right!’

‘Actually, it seems like he did stop,’ Walter said. ‘The direction of the tyre marks and the footprint that Julia and Sean found indicate that he stopped, got out, and then drove off. It’s our thinking that he saw that Lewis was dead and panicked. He decided to leg it.’

‘Are there any leads?’

‘We were hoping to get a good tyre print, which we might be able to match to the make of car and then cross check against the cameras, but there was a bit of rain that night, so it looks like that’s not going to be possible.

The same goes for the footprint. There’s no detail on the tread, so we can’t determine the type of shoe. ’ Walter Farmer looked thoroughly glum.

‘Well, I’m sure you are doing everything you can,’ said Kevin.

‘We are, and we’ve got posters up everywhere, calling for information from that night. Hopefully someone saw something. An erratic driver. Anything.’

‘But for now, this road safety committee is looking forwards, right?’ said Flo. ‘To see what we can do to make sure Berrywick’s roads are safer for everyone. So, what are your thoughts?’

It was inevitable that Will Adamson would be the first to give his suggestions, and that his suggestions would be punitive: ‘We need a crackdown on bad driving and fast driving – more visible policing, more speed cameras, harsher fines.’

‘I can look into the cameras,’ said Walter. ‘There’s a procedure to request more. We’ll have to make recommendations as to where they are placed.’

‘I can do that,’ said Will. ‘I know where the problem areas are. I can get going on the application procedure, too. I have some experience navigating red tape.’

‘That’s very helpful, thank you. Perhaps someone can help you.’

Julia looked down at her hands. She didn’t fancy being paired off with Will Adamson. ‘I could do it,’ said Flo, to Julia’s relief.

Julia offered her own suggestion: ‘I was thinking that it might help to communicate with drivers more. Put up some signs with messages that make them think, or slow down.’

‘Like “Speed Kills”,’ said Will.

‘Well, I did some research online, and there’s quite some evidence that shows it’s more effective to take a positive approach,’ said Julia. ‘Something like “Help us protect our wildlife”, or “Our children use this road”. Rather than “You’re a terrible person”.’

‘That makes sense, actually,’ said Flo.

Will made a snorting, huffing noise. ‘You’ve got to soft-soap everything these days, haven’t you? Don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Couldn’t have that.’

‘Well, I suppose it makes sense to do what works best,’ Kevin said mildly.

‘Julia, how about you and I come up with some ideas for the signs?’ Julia nodded.

‘Will and Flo will look at where cameras might go. Walter can help with that, and investigate where the speeding and accidents take place. Then we’ll see about permissions. ’

‘That sounds good,’ said Julia, pleased to be paired with Kevin, who was a decent chap. The others nodded in agreement.

‘I will get right onto it,’ said Walter, determinedly. ‘This should never happen again in our village.’

‘I’ll make a group and we can use that to share ideas,’ said Kevin.

‘Good work, everyone,’ said Flo. ‘Now if that’s all, I’d best be getting back. Tea time’s always busy with the school-run crowd. Hungry little footballers and their mums.’

Will looked at his watch and stood up. ‘Me too. I’ve got a site meeting to get to.’

Flo and Will left, but Walter didn’t budge. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked, gesturing towards the plate with the remaining sandwiches.

‘Not at all, help yourself!’ Kevin slapped him on the shoulder on his way out. ‘I’ve got a few things to see to, but you finish them off!’

Julia, who had nothing more pressing than a dog walk ahead of her for the rest of the afternoon, stayed with Walter.

‘Want one?’ he asked.

‘No thanks. I had lunch just before I came.’

Walter picked up a cucumber sandwich and bit it in half. ‘I didn’t. I was at a meeting. A doctor’s appointment actually, with Amaryllis.’

‘Oh, I hope she’s all right.’

‘Yes, yes, she’s fine. More than fine, actually.’ Walter hesitated, and then leaned in towards Julia with a funny smile on his face. ‘The thing is…’ He lowered his voice, although there was no one else in the room. ‘The thing is, we’re expecting.’

‘A baby?’ asked Julia, redundantly. ‘Amaryllis is pregnant? Oh, how wonderful, Walter!’

‘We haven’t told anyone yet. We will be visiting her mum and dad this weekend to give them the good news. We wanted them to be the first to hear. But I just wanted to say it, out loud. We’re pregnant! I’m going to be a dad.’ He looked proud of himself.

‘Oh, Walter, how lovely. And of course I won’t say a word to anyone until you’ve announced the news to the family. And what good news it is! You are a good man and I’m certain that you’ll be a marvellous dad. And Amaryllis will be a lovely mum. That’s one lucky baby.’

Walter beamed. ‘Really? Do you think so? I really want to be a good dad…’

‘No doubt in my mind.’

‘Thank you. It’s just…’ A series of microexpressions chased each other across his face – Julia thought she saw delight, confusion, fear. ‘I mean, it’s a lot, isn’t it? Being a parent. Like, it’s huge. I mean, it’s everything…And the world, it’s so unpredictable…So dangerous.’

‘Well, there are dangers, of course, but it’s also a good and kind place, Walter.’

‘I suppose that, being a policeman, I see all sorts of things. Difficult things.’

‘That’s true. I felt the same as a social worker. It’s hard to come face-to-face with the dark side of humanity, and even just the random awful things that can upend people’s lives.’

‘Like this hit-and-run accident with Lewis. It’s so horrible and sad, and so random.

I mean, at least it’s an accident, but still: the man was walking through the woods in the evening, minding his own business, just getting a breath of fresh air after a good day’s work and dinner with his wife.

Just taking an evening stroll before turning in, and the next thing he knows, BAM!

A car hits him and he’s dead. And Coral is a widow. ’

‘I hear you, Walter. It was a horrible, tragic accident.’

Walter hesitated, and then said, ‘And there’s something else, Julia. Something I can’t get out of my mind.’

Julia waited.

‘The car that hit Lewis? It reversed back over him.’

‘What? My God, I didn’t know that.’ Julia felt slightly sick thinking about this. Perhaps Lewis might have lived if the car had only hit him once.

‘We didn’t release that yet; it’s still part of the confidential information. It looks like the driver hit Lewis, felt the impact and reversed to see what he’d hit. He didn’t see Lewis lying on the ground, stunned. The post-mortem says that’s what killed him.’

‘How utterly appalling.’

‘You see what I mean? The world, Julia. It’s just…

so dangerous. So random. And you never know what’s coming your way.

And soon I’ll have a kid. I don’t know how I’ll sleep at night.

Or go to work and leave him. Or her. And then they’ll want to go and play with friends.

And go swimming. And ride bicycles…’ Walter shuddered at the very mention of bicycles.

‘I know that feeling. When I had Jess I felt so vulnerable in the world; I didn’t know how I would survive having something so precious.

But I knew I had to try to manage that anxiety, if I was going to bring up a child who felt safe and independent.

All you can do is love your child, and prepare them for the world, Walter.

And, if you can, try to make the world a little bit of a better, safer place. ’

He nodded, solemnly. ‘That’s good advice. I’ll try to do what you say, to manage my worries. As for the world…’ He stood up, and straightened his shoulders. ‘Well, I am going to do my bit to make the woods and lanes of Berrywick safer, for a start.’