Page 33 of Sun, Sea & Strawberry Shortcake
‘I beg your pardon! Correct me if I’m wrong but I think itwasyourdesire for rumpy-pumpy that broke the bed in the first place.’
‘Rumpy-pumpy?’ He snorts. ‘Exactly how old are you, Ruby? Ithink they used that term back in the Seventies.’
‘Nothing wrong with a bit of vintage. I’m going out withyou,aren’t I?’
‘Hey, I’m notthatmuch older than you,’ he protests.
I’m about to reply when the doorbell rings. I sit up,staring at Hudson. ‘Who will that be?’
‘There’s only one way to find out.’ Grinning at me, he givesthe headboard a final shake to make sure it’s not going to collapse again.
‘Okay, okay.I’llgo, then, shall I?’ I grab my robe,pull it on and run down the stairs.
On the doorstep is Bee.
I stare at her in horror. It’s clear from her red and puffyeyes that she’s been crying.
‘Bee? What’s wrong? Come in, come in.’
‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’ Tears spill down her cheeks. ‘I justdidn’t know who else to turn to...’
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
‘I’ve had another letter. And this time, they’rethreatening that unless I leave the village, Jodie will suffer.’
‘Oh, no. Youhaveto tell the police now. Where’s theletter?’
‘Here.’
With a hand that shakes, she passes it over and I read it.
Hi Bee! Hope you’re still enjoying life in the villageand that your lovely daughter, Jodie, isn’t too scared by all the fancy dressnonsense going on right now. A warning: It’s likely to get a lot scarier as thesolstice gets nearer!
Yours truly
A well-wisher
I look at Bee in confusion.
‘I know,’ she says. ‘How can I go to the police sayingsomeone’s out to get us? All I have is a couple of letters that aren’tthreatening in the slightest – unless you know what’s already happened.’
‘But that’s the point. Youdoknow what’s happenedand you can tell the police about it. You can tell them about Jodie beingscared out of her wits by a horrible bloody doll staring in at her through herbedroom window.’
Bee looks less than impressed. ‘But it could have been aprankster just having a laugh. There’s plenty of them around at the moment.That’s probably what the police would think.’
I shake my head. ‘You still need to tell them.’
‘But what if something else happens while they’reinvestigating?’ She shakes her head. ‘No, Ruby. Jodie’s already prettytraumatised by the bleeding doll and this latest letter seems to suggest we’rein for more of the same – or even worse! I can’t risk having Jodie more upsetthan she already is.’ She gives a heavy sigh. ‘I think we need to leave.’
I stare at her in horror. ‘But you love it here! You can’tlet them win.’ A thought suddenly hits me. ‘Bee, is your ex a dark-haired manwith a black car?’
She frowns. ‘Carl? No. He’s blond and last time I saw him,he was driving a silver-grey car. Why?’
‘It’s just there’s this bloke in a black car who alwaysseems to be parked in our lane. And he never seems to leave the car. He justsits there. And he wears dark glasses even if it’s cloudy.’
‘How strange.’
‘I know. I had a horrible feeling he might be Carl spying onyou and Jodie. Thank goodness it’s not.’
