Page 112 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘No, of course not. It was all a long time ago, and if these pictures can help old Stan in his twilight years, then good luck to you.’
‘You’ll give us your picture then?’ I ask, surprised she’s agreed so easily.
‘Well, I would if I had it,’ Lou says sadly.
‘What do you mean? I saw it hanging on your wall not that long ago.’
‘Yes, indeed it was. It’s been there for many a year. But I took it down when I decorated, and when I went to hang it up again it was gone. I’ve looked everywhere around my house, but nothing.’
‘That’s very odd,’ Jake says. ‘Lou, are you missing anything else?’
She shakes her head. ‘Nope, just that.’
‘Has anyone unusual been at your house?’ I ask, my senses beginning to tingle. ‘Anyone who wouldn’t usually be there?’
‘No, not that I can think of. I don’t have many visitors. I always go out to meet people. St Felix is a lovely place for meet-ups, you know.’
I sigh, it seems we’ve no sooner found one picture than we’ve lost another.
‘Wait a minute,’ Lou says, ‘the Women’s Guild held their committee meeting at my cottage a few weeks ago. You might say that was unusual – we normally go to Caroline’s or someone with a bigger house than mine. It was a bit of a squeeze.’
Jake and I turn to each other with the same look on our faces.
‘Caroline!’ we say in unison.
Thirty-eight
Marsh Marigold – Desire for Riches
We arrive at Caroline’s house. It’s completely enclosed in its own grounds, surrounded by a high red-brick wall, and as we walk cautiously up the drive, it’s all I can do to remain calm.
‘It’s her, isn’t it?’ I seethe, as our shoes crunch along the gravel. ‘She’s the one behind all this!’
‘We don’t know that, Poppy,’ Jake says. ‘It might just be a coincidence.’
‘Yeah, right, and I’m Claudia Schiffer.’
Jake grins at me. ‘You may have changed since you’ve been in St Felix, Poppy, but notthatmuch!’
‘You know what I mean. I’ll tell you what, Jake, if it’s not Caroline behind these missing pictures then I’ll… I’ll… I’ll promise you never to wear black again, and you’ll see me forevermore in all the colours of the rainbow!’
‘Blimey, you are confident,’ Jake says as we approach the house. ‘I have to say, I like the thought of seeing you forevermore. I’d half thought you might disappear at the end of the summer and head back to London.’
Jake’s words throw me completely off kilter. ‘I can’t say the thought never crossed my mind, at least not when I first came here,’ I tell him honestly. ‘But now… things are different. There are things…peoplehere I care about.’
‘Good,’ Jake says as we arrive at the front door. ‘I’m very pleased to hear it.’
We’ve agreed that while Jake goes to the front door, I’ll nip out of sight with Miley so neither of us will antagonise Caroline any more than necessary. So while he does just that, I hurry around the side of the house carrying Miley in my arms, so whoever answers the door can’t see us.
I hear Jake ring a doorbell, and then Johnny, Caroline’s rather wet husband, answers.
‘Evening, Johnny,’ Jake says companionably, ‘is Caroline in?’
‘You’ve just missed her, Jake. She popped into the town for a few provisions for dinner. But she’ll be back shortly. Why don’t you come in?’
Jake glances towards where I’m lurking.
I give him a quick nod.
