Page 21

Arthur

On Thursday morning, Arthur arrived at the community center at ten for his weekly Carers Support Group coffee morning. He’d been coming every week since Esi first started losing her eyesight and was always grateful for the hour spent chatting with others who understood the challenges, frustrations and rewards of being a full-time carer. But this morning, as he walked into the center, he found his fellow group members milling round the lobby.

“Morning, Arthur, how are you?” asked Dill, another regular. “How’s Esi?”

“I’ve left her listening to a Beverly Jenkins audiobook so she’s grand. How’s Mick?”

Dill smiled and shrugged, an expression familiar to anyone in the support group, and one that held a hundred emotions. Arthur nodded.

“What’s going on here?”

“They’re running late setting up. Understaffed, apparently.”

Arthur put his head through the door of the main hall and saw it was empty.

“Sorry, excuse me, coming through.”

He turned round to see Nova staggering down the corridor, carrying the tea urn.

“Sorry for the delay, we’ll be ready in a tick.”

“What’s going on?” he asked her, following her into the hall.

“Sandy hasn’t turned up.”

“That’s unlike her, is she ill?”

“I don’t know, I can’t get hold of her.” Nova put the tea urn down and plugged it in. “I’m not even meant to be working today; I’ve been suspended.”

“Suspended! But why?”

“Long story. Do you mind helping me get the chairs out?”

“Of course.”

Nova gave him a grateful smile as they headed toward the store cupboard. “How did it go with the private investigator yesterday? Sorry I didn’t call you back, but I had a full-on day.”

“It was interesting. Ash found a file on his computer labeled ‘Michael Watkins.’?”

“Oh, wow! What’s in it?”

“Turns out it’s password protected, so we can’t open it. Ash is trying to get in though; that boy is a whiz with computers.”

“I wonder why Pierce had a file on Michael?”

“My guess is Phyllis was right and Cynthia employed him to do some digging into Michael. Maybe that’s how she found out he was having an affair?”

“I suppose,” Nova said, but she didn’t sound convinced. “Either way, we need to stop our investigation into Michael and Cynthia.”

“Why? We’re just getting somewhere, especially if Ash can hack into this file.”

“It’s too risky. Cynthia made a formal complaint to Sandy about us; that’s why I’ve been suspended. Plus, yesterday Craddock was really sick, and Phyllis thinks Cynthia poisoned him.”

“What?” Arthur almost dropped the chair he was carrying. “Why would Cynthia poison Craddock?”

“Phyllis thinks she was trying to warn her off and she’ll be coming for us next. Personally, I’m not so sure. You know what Craddock’s like, he’ll steal any food he can get his paws on, so he might have poisoned himself.”

“But still, if Cynthia’s complained about us then we’ve obviously spooked her. She’s clearly trying to hide something, which is all the more reason to keep investigating her.”

“No, Arthur. Whatever’s going on, we need to leave it to the police. I’ve promised Sandy I’ll stop.”

Arthur wanted to argue, but Nova had a determined expression on her face, so he kept quiet. Still, if they backed off now then Cynthia would elope with her lover, and they might never find out what had happened to Michael and the missing money.

“Is Nova Davies around?” a voice called out from the lobby.

“I’m in here. Hang on a…Oh, hi Yusaf.”

Arthur looked round to see PC Khan and another uniformed police officer walking into the hall.

“Is this about the stolen money?” Nova asked. “I’m afraid Sandy isn’t here yet so—”

“This isn’t about the money,” Yusaf said. “I need you to come down to the station with me and answer a few questions.”

Nova’s face had gone pale. “Is this about the data protection breach? I swear, I didn’t realize it was illegal, it was a genuine mistake.”

“Data protection? No, it’s not that either,” Yusaf said, looking impatient. “This is about Sandy.”

“Sandy? Why, where is she?”

Yusaf took a moment before he answered. “She’s in the hospital. She was attacked last night at her home.”

“What? No!” Arthur had known Sandy for more than twenty years, and she always seemed like a nice woman: overly emotional and frequently stressed, but popular with everyone. Who on earth would want to attack her?

“Is she okay?” Nova asked.

“She’s shaken, but she’ll be fine.”

“My God, poor Sandy. Was it a robbery?”

Yusaf shook his head. “It doesn’t seem so. But if you can come to the station with us, we’ll discuss this further.”

“I’d love to come and help but now’s not a great time,” Nova said. “Sandy isn’t here, obviously, and Lauren isn’t in yet. Can I wait until—”

“No, I’m afraid I need you to come with us now,” the other officer said, in a tone that stopped any argument.

“Why do you want to talk to her?” Arthur asked.

“One of the victim’s neighbors said she saw an individual running away from Sandy’s house around the time of the attack.”

“So, I still don’t understand what that has to do with Nova.”

“The neighbor said the person was wearing a bright red coat.”

For a second, none of them spoke and Arthur saw Nova’s eyes go wide.

“You think it was…me?” she stuttered. “I’d never hurt Sandy.”

“Where were you between 10:50 and 11:20 p.m. last night?” the second officer asked Nova.

“I was at home, asleep in bed.”

“And do you have an alibi for that time period?”

“No, Craig and his parents were at the pub quiz.”

“And why weren’t you with them?”

“I left early, I had a headache,” Nova said, her voice rising in panic.

“Nova, we need you to come to the station with us,” Yusaf said, his tone gentle but insistent. “It would be much easier if you came willingly, please .”

“Okay, fine.” Nova looked around her, flustered. “I just don’t know what to do about this place, I can’t leave everyone here unsupervised.”

“Don’t worry, I can hold the fort until Lauren arrives,” Arthur said.

“Are you sure? She should be here soon.”

“Come on, let’s get going,” the second officer said, taking Nova’s arm.

The young woman allowed herself to be led toward the exit, but as she reached the door, she turned back to Arthur.

“You need to speak to Phyllis. Tell her that her theory might be correct after all.”