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  Wishing Well

  Chapel End Mysteries, Volume 4

  Anne Lown

  Published by Junobe Publishing, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  WISHING WELL

  First edition. April 4, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Anne Lown.

  Written by Anne Lown.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen.

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Other Books in the Chapel End Mysteries Series

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Jenny gasped awake, her supine body bolting upright at the disturbance going on outside. The explosion of rain hammering against the window challenged its drumming on the roof. Everywhere had been drenched these last few weeks, with water flowing through the streets and the drains bubbling up like hot springs. The sudden storm so early in the day was sure to make things worse.

  She lay back down and squinted at the clock on the bedside table. Her heart pounded, and her breath caught in her chest. Gloom shrouded her bedroom, suffocating her along with the endless days of blackened skies. Jenny moved her hand from her ribs to her throat, skimming over her nightdress. Finally, she inhaled.

  Since the Halloween murders, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Gone were the frosty mornings of crisp, crunchy grass and biting temperatures. Now the surrounding fields were flooding along with the streams and giving the water nowhere to go.

  She slid out of bed and stood at the window, the roughened edge of a fingernail snagging on the material as she nudged the curtain aside. A groan escaped her lips.

  Lowry’s painting of Sunderland couldn’t be bleaker.

  In the street below, people huddled under their overcoats and umbrellas, keeping their heads down while their feet slapped through growing puddles.

  Jenny released the curtain and traipsed into the bathroom, grabbing the sleeve of the waterproof jacket she wore when delivering the post. It’d finally dried out but wouldn’t stay that way for long. No doubt Tony Cazel, the colleague who’d replaced Adam, would be doing the same and checking he’d at least be dry before stepping out of the door that morning.

  She was now in charge of her walk from being the more experienced postperson. All she’d learnt from Adam was being put to good use in training her new sidekick. It was a relief to be so busy—she couldn’t ruminate and be on top of her job at the same time.

  Fleeting thoughts of Scott Harris, her ex-fiancé, graced her mind. He’d moved on and found himself a new love. After all he’d suffered in the wake of her leaving, his protests of affection didn’t live up to their promise. Since he’d taken those emotions away, she felt strangely bereft. Still, there was no point thinking about it. The day was beginning, and she was expected elsewhere.

  JENNY CRUISED THE BISHOP mail centre car park hoping for a spot to leave her vehicle. The thought of trudging from the overflow down the road didn’t bear thinking about. Tony was already there, sucking on his vape, his slight frame crouching near the office building to shelter from the rain.

  What was it with these men? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just stop smoking?

  “I hear those things will kill you,” Jenny shouted after she locked her car door.

  “Not if your driving does first.”

  Even on a miserable day, Tony had a sense of humour. It had surprised her because he loved to moan and made mountains out of molehills. His whinging could challenge a fishwife when he felt like it, but he still managed to elicit a smile from her.

  Tony put away his vape. “Let’s get a drink.”

  She nodded and followed him inside, along the walkway and into their nearest break area. Jenny held the hot cup of machine coffee in both hands, trying to absorb the warmth and hoping it could ward off the cold from the day to come. Without Adam getting the work ready for their route, the job had fallen to another member of staff. She’d hoped to get more hours to do the task herself, but the only extra on offer were the ones completed in the street delivering the mail.

  At their sorting frames, the work was already bagged up and in the york. Jenny gathered the equipment and special deliveries while Tony wheeled the trolley to the van for loading. He was a fast learner, but she’d needed to remind him to slow down when collecting from the postboxes. The first time he’d scanned the code behind the door too early, she’d been good enough to take the flak from their manager, although she wouldn’t do that again. Tony had apologised, of course. It’d been a transition coming from packet sorting in the mail centre where his fast movements were appreciated, to having to follow a procedure, but he’d get there.

  The journey back to her village was not without problems. Collections and deliveries tagged onto the front of their walk went without a hitch, but that all changed the farther they got into the countryside. Vehicles slowed to a crawl. The lane was awash with run-off water cascading from the fields, and a car in front became stuck in a deep puddle. Jenny groaned and put on the handbrake; it was anyone’s guess how long it would take them to get to the next park and loop point.

  “I’d better tell Anwar what’s happening.”

  She eased her mobile phone from her shirt pocket and dialled her manager’s number. He answered almost immediately. “I’m stuck on a lane close to Chapel End and don’t know when we’ll get moving again.”

  “How near are you? Could one of you walk?”

  Jenny winced at the exasperation in Anwar’s voice. The poor man must’ve been inundated with similar calls. It’d been the same most days, and he was doing his best to find solutions.

  She turned to Tony to ask, but he was already shaking his head. He’d clearly heard the question.

  “Please, just this once?” She fluttered her eye lashes at him.

  Tony sighed and opened his door. “You owe me.”

  Jenny smiled. She would’ve done it herself if her partner could drive. She spoke into her phone. “He’s on his way. I’ll let you know when I reach him.”

  Another car driver knocked on the glass, prompting her to wind down her side window.

  “The police and rescue have been called to get the traffic going. Won’t be long.”

  At least that was something. The back of the van resounded with a bang. Tony had slammed the door and was now trudging off down the lane in front of her, skirting the puddle. He was going to deliver the first mail bag, and she’d catch him up when she could.

  Before long, cars behind were reversing and driving off on another route. Jenny followed suit and joined the convoy. When she got to the village Tony was waiting, leaning against a garden wall and enjoying a quiet smoke.

  She pulled up alongside him and called through the gap in her window. “How about a bite to eat, warm you up a
bit?”

  Tony smiled and got in the van. There was nothing like a bacon roll to start the day.

  Chapter Two

  The café was always busy, regardless of the weather. Workmen from a local building site sat inside, too washed out to carry on. Jenny spotted a vacant table at the back of the room and claimed it quick in case anyone else entered. She left Tony sitting sideways on his chair, slumped against the wall. With his eyes closed, an expression of relief hung upon his water-speckled face.

  Service was fast—the staff were used to dealing with ravenous men eager for a hot meal. Jenny soon had bacon rolls and coffees in hand. She placed them on the table, one set in front of Tony, who didn’t seem to notice her return, and one for herself. She clicked her fingers to get his attention.

  His lips moved, but nothing else did. “Does it get any better than this?”

  Jenny shrugged, not that he saw her do it. The conditions were the worst she’d encountered so far, and there hadn’t been any snow yet. That would be an entirely different kettle of fish to cope with.

  “Do you regret leaving the late shift?” she asked, then bit into her bacon roll.

  She thought back to her own escape from the night shift on secondary packets, sorting the local postcodes where she handled similar work to what they were dropping off that day. Jenny had been surprised when he’d made the change, and maybe he’d tell her why he’d done it in his own good time.

  Tony didn’t answer the question. She hadn’t expected him to, letting it go as they ate their food. The coffee was far better than the pitiful excuse for a drink the machines at work delivered. They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The next time Jenny glanced up, he was smiling at her.

  “I got married last week.”

  “You what? Congratulations. Who to?” She grinned back.

  “Yeah, funny,” he said, “Olga, of course.”

  Jenny waited for him to rummage in his pocket for his phone, showing her a picture of the two of them standing on the registry office steps. Olga smiled at the camera, while he stared longingly at her. The woman was beautiful, clothed in a draped silver dress and shoes. Jenny had never seen Tony in a smart suit, his usual attire being jeans and a jumper until he’d had to don his uniform. They looked radiant together.

  “I’m so pleased for you. Was Roman there?”

  Roman was Olga’s teenage son by her previous marriage. He was in Edinburgh for his first year at university but had lived with Tony and developed a close bond with him.

  “No, he’s got exams, so he couldn’t come down.”

  “Teenage boys aren’t interested in that kind of thing anyway.”

  “Yeah, but he’s happy for us. We’re going to celebrate once he gets home for Christmas.”

  The news cheered Jenny. Tony had been in love with Olga for a long time. They’d become friends upon working together on the sorting belts, and things had developed from there. The romance hadn’t been plain sailing, but that was to be expected with any relationship starting later in life. They’d got through their issues, and considering Tony had never married, he’d lucked out on his first time.

  Refreshed from their stop, they left the café and got on with the work. Each did their part, moving on from one park and loop point to the next, determined to get the job done. The manor house was on her route that day. Jenny decided to take Tony with her to meet Sarah Rake. He would need to know what to do when Jenny was on annual leave, and it was a chance to get that sorted.

  The gates stood ajar. It was unusual because security was important to Sarah’s partner, Giles Perritt, with her home all day and him going away on business. Jenny drove through, not bothering with the intercom, and followed the driveway around the windbreak of trees that shielded the house from the road. The manor came into view, eliciting a gasp from Tony.

  He let out a slow wolf whistle. “Olga would love this. She has a thing for photography, especially taking pictures of old buildings.”

  “Then let me introduce you to Sarah,” Jenny said.

  I bet they’d get along, both being artistic and intelligent.

  Jenny killed the engine and stepped out of the van in time for the front door to swing open. She smiled, expecting to be greeted by the housekeeper, Dawn, and her daughter, Ellie-Mae, but a woman Jenny didn’t recognise blocked the threshold and stared at her with an air of suspicion. A black cat curled itself around her feet. She glanced down with a grimace and swiftly kicked it away.

  Sarah must have visitors.

  “I have a parcel for the lady of the house,” Jenny said, feeling guilty for no apparent reason, her cheeks flushing in response.

  The woman, short in stature with a grey pixie hairstyle, flitted her gaze from Jenny to Tony and then back again. Jenny cringed. It was like she’d been caught stealing. She shook it off and tried to remain composed, waiting to be allowed entry.

  “Follow me. She’s in the living room,” the woman said with a northern Irish accent, then pursed her lips.

  They were escorted through the hallway, their guide turning her head randomly and glaring in their direction. She seemed to be trying to catch them touching something they shouldn’t. It wasn’t the introduction Jenny had wanted for Tony. In contrast, Sarah treated everybody well, be they friend or tradesman.

  How the hell does Sarah know this person?

  The woman gestured for them to wait while she opened the living room door and went inside, leaving it ajar. She introduced them, her accent even more pronounced.

  I hope she’s not here too often.

  Other voices escaped from the room through the gap, in particular Sarah’s, telling her to let them in.

  The woman graced the doorway again, distaste clear in her expression. “In you feckin’ go, then.”

  Jenny flinched at the unexpected expletive. She slipped past, trying not to brush against their chaperone, and took in the surroundings. The usual comfortable quietness was replaced by a heaving mass of industry. Everywhere she glanced, foliage and decorations were being manipulated into something to adorn the house. It appeared Sarah was preparing for a celebration. A group of women Jenny didn’t know were busy making the ornaments and chatting amongst themselves. She had to look to find Sarah, who was sitting in her wheelchair with her legs enclosed in the fishtail of a pink mermaid blanket. Although there was a small pile of leaves and branches on the table in front of her, she wasn’t joining in the activity but watching the efforts of her friends.

  “I hear you’ve brought me something,” Sarah said. The lightness in her tone was reflected in her face. She’d always been welcoming, something the other woman had yet to grasp.

  “I have a special delivery for you,” Jenny replied, “and I need a signature.”

  She held the parcel, scanning the barcode on the silver label with the PDA handset and then passing that to Sarah to sign the screen. The item itself Jenny placed on the table, pushing a portion of the greenery aside to make room for it.

  Sarah nodded towards the other postman in the room. “Who’s your companion?”

  “This is Tony. He’s replacing Adam, so I thought you two should meet because he’ll cover my annual leave. He got married last week.”

  “Congratulations.” Sarah gave him a broad smile.

  “Thanks,” he replied, shifting from one foot to another.

  Jenny nudged her elbow against his arm. “Show Sarah the picture.”

  He retrieved his phone from inside his coat and raised the image he’d shown Jenny in the café. Sarah cooed with delight and commented on how lovely they both looked.

  Jenny’s gaze wandered to the activity going on around them. “Are you having a party?”

  “We’re welcoming in the Winter Solstice and having a celebration. Would you like to come?”

  “When is it?”

  “December twenty-first, but we’re starting at three p.m. because I can’t get up in the morning, so we’ll watch the sunset instead.”

  “It’ll
have to be after work, if that’s all right? I’d love to join in.”

  “Your friend, too, and his wife.”

  Tony beamed at the invite. “Olga will love it, thank you.”

  Jenny was irked that their chaperone felt the need to escort them from the building and again tried to catch them out. She huffed and would’ve rolled her eyes, but something caught her attention in the hallway mirror. Jenny turned her head enough to sneak a better view of the movement in the corner of her vision. Colette was watching them leave from a doorway off the hall, a sour expression on her face.

  I wonder what’s got her goat?

  Jenny put Colette out of her mind. No doubt she’d find out in time, but it was always good to be prepared where that woman was concerned.

  Chapter Three

  Back on the road, Jenny ruminated over the encounter. The introduction should’ve gone better, but that woman had set the tone from the start. “Huh!” she huffed. Their escort hadn’t told them her name. Sarah hadn’t either. Maybe she thought it’d been done on the doorstep and didn’t need to do so herself.

  Jenny gripped the steering wheel.

  I bet she’s at the party. Maybe that’s why Colette was skulking in the shadows.

  The thought that Colette’s displeasure was nothing to do with her gave some comfort. Still, she wouldn’t be turning her back on her adversary any time soon.

  In contrast, Tony radiated joy. He grinned through the next leg of their work, whistling cheerfully to match the spring in his step. His excitement at telling Olga was evident to see. Then Jenny had a thought; it stopped her dead in her tracks.

  How’s Olga going to get time off to go?

  Tony’s wife still worked the late shift. There hadn’t been a vacancy on deliveries for her to change her duty, so she’d stayed sorting packets on the belts. Jenny considered the woman’s options. Annual leave wasn’t allowed during the Christmas Pressure weeks they were now in, so maybe she would have to go sick for the day. Jenny pushed the thought from her mind and considered what they were doing next.