Page 68 of New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn
The car park wasn’t too full, with people preferring taxis or a lift so they could drink and not worry. Snowflakes danced about in the dark skies but not settling, just drifting on the wind and, against the background of party noise, the sea murmured relentlessly below. The office block opposite was now empty,and on the market and, despite the fifty or so people partying behind her, the car park felt a very lonely place. Better security lights and cameras were definitely needed.
Livvy pulled out her phone and sent a text wishing Yolanda Happy Christmas. She added:
Miss you. Must find time to visit you in new year.
It was never easy to take holidays as a publican, but she must be able to find time for a long weekend in Washington in January? Scrolling through the messages on her phone, she was pleased to see one from her parents. They’d managed to connect to the ship’s wi-fi. Apparently, her father had spent most of his days at sea checking out all the bars. Livvy giggled. The man was obsessed.
Shivering, she’d just decided to go back in when the security lights flared on. Against the furthest most wall, the one which bordered the steep drop to the cliffs and the sea below, a figure emerged. Female, dressed in white and tottering on vertiginous heels. Simona.
Livvy reared back in disgust. Snogging in a freezing cold December car park with a married man was sordid. How could they? As her eyes adjusted to the harsh light, she saw a man appear. Her stomach heaved. It would have been one thing for it to be Darrell. But the man wasn’t the burly builder.
It was Mark.
Running back into the kitchen, she slammed the door shut, leaning against it. The noise woke Angel who began to bark and who then scrabbled at the door as it was pushed open to let in Simona and Mark. One look at their flushed, triumphant faces had Livvy reeling.
‘What’s the matter, Livvy? Don’t look at us like that, kitten. Oh angel, wait, it’s not what it looks like, darling.’
‘Livvy, wait, we’ve got something to tell you–’
She ran back to the sanctuary of the bar and poured herself a whisky, her hand shaking so much she couldn’t hold the tumbler to the optic.
‘Livvy,bella,are you okay?’ Fabio asked.
She shook her head and downed the spirit in one, hardly noticing as Mark ordered Eli to cut the music.
‘What’s going on, Mark?’ Karl asked. ‘It’s not kicking out time yet.’ There were one or two confused grumbles but some took the opportunity to sit down, hoover up some party food and finish drinks. Aggie sat down on Norman’s lap and Gerry lurched to the bar and ordered lager. Livvy found herself unable to move so Fabio flipped the bar hatch open and pulled him his pint.
Livvy watched through narrowed eyes and could barely breathe as Simona went to stand next to Mark. She clutched his arm to her, looking impossibly pleased with herself.
‘We’ve an announcement,’ Mark declared.
A few oohs and ahs and knowing chuckles rumbled through the party goers. He had their full attention.
Livvy covered her face with her hands, aware of Fabio’s arm coming round her shoulders. She shrugged his embrace off, desperate to get away from him, to get away from everything. She got as far as the end of the bar, her fingers biting into its wooden edge.
‘Wait, Livvy. Please wait,’ Mark said. ‘You need to hear this.’
‘I can’t.’ Distraught, she stared at him, shaking her head violently. ‘I can’t listen to this.’
‘Livvy, we know who’s been doing the vandalism.’ The sentence came out in a rush. White-faced, Mark waited for her reaction.
Livvy’s mouth fell open, Fabio gasped and someone, she thought it was Daisy, squealed. In Pete’s corner, Jason stood up.
‘Who? Who is it?’ Livvy could barely utter the words.
‘Darling, we’ve been out keeping watch on the odd occasion when we’ve been able, over the last week or so,’ Simona squeaked, bouncing up and down in excitement. ‘Your lovely Mark and me. Tonight we got evidence on our phones. It’s a bit hazy and my hands were shaking so much due to the cold, but we’ve got a photo of a man carrying a pot of white paint.’
‘And one of him hiding it in the skip that Darrell’s left out there,’ Mark added. ‘Darrell’s putting the pot of paint somewhere safe right now. It’s evidence. Probably circumstantial but evidence.’
‘Then who is it?’ Livvy’s voice was hoarse and barely more than a whisper. Too much was coming at her. Mark and Simona weren’t out there having an illicit tryst; they’d been stalking the vandal! She glanced at Eli who was shifting uneasily.
Mark turned towards Pete’s seat and the lean man standing there. ‘He was dressed as Father Christmas. It’s you, Jason. Isn’t it?’
More gasps from the crowd.
‘Jason?’ All the breath left Livvy’s body. She grabbed the edge of the bar again, this time to keep herself upright. To her left, she felt Fabio vibrate in shock. ‘I thought it was teenagers. I thought it was stupid, mindless vandalism.’
‘Oh no, Livvy,’ Mark said. ‘I’m afraid there’s been an orchestrated campaign of intimidation. And it’s all been led by Jason Lemmon here.’ He was his usual unruffled self, but Livvy sensed the fury which bubbled beneath. She’d never seen him so angry.
