Liz didn’t seem convinced. ‘I think it will take more than a few paint charts and an order from Wayfair to make that place a dream home. But that’s just my opinion.’
Matt had barely got his front door key in the lock when Will Stonebridge’s car drew up behind theirs. One look at his face told Matt that his friend was far from okay. His smile seemed forced, and his eyes definitely weren’t smiling.
‘Come on in, I’ll get the kettle on.’ Liz hurried off in the direction of the kitchen, while Matt ushered Will into the lounge.
‘We’ll wait for Liz and the coffee. You look like you need to offload a bit, Will.’ Matt smiled somewhat anxiously at his old friend. ‘You’ve got that look we used to have when a crappy case got really exasperating.’
Will gave a humourless laugh. ‘I recall the feeling well. Life is a bit like that right now, but the thing is, I’m not sure if it’s me and I’m reading too much into things, or whether I have every right to be bothered.’
‘Well, we were coppers for a long while, and we do tend to see the negative side of things. And you were one of the most intuitive detectives I ever worked with, so if there is a rat, you will definitely have smelt it.’
‘A while ago I would have agreed with you, but since I had to give up the job and we moved here, I just don’t feel like that man any more.’
‘Why don’t you talk to Liz, Will? After all, she went through exactly the same thing. She too was retired out of the job she loved. She might be able to help, and if nothing else, she’s a damned good listener.’
‘Oh, I’m not going to lay all this on her, she’s got her health problems to contend with. And the two of you are happier than I’ve ever known you to be. Take no notice, I’m probably just feeling sorry for myself. Anyhow, it’s got nothing to do with what I want to talk to you about.’ Will lowered his voice. ‘I’m starting to realise that I don’t think I ever came to terms with how ill Kate became after losing the baby, and the effect it still has on her. She’s so vulnerable, Matt! And so mercurial — she changes in the blink of an eye.’
Matt nodded. That couldn’t be easy to cope with. He was about to respond when Liz arrived carrying a tray of coffee and chocolate biscuits.
‘I thought this sounded serious enough to hit the Hobnobs.’ She placed the tray on the coffee table and flopped into a chair.
Will chuckled. For a fleeting moment Matt caught a glimpse of the old Will.
Matt handed his friend a steaming mug. ‘Okay, Will. What’s bugging you?’
Deliberately, Will set the mug down on the coffee table. ‘Actually, I want to hire your professional services.’
Matt sat up straight. ‘What? As investigators? Why?’
‘Something is not right on Whisper Fen, and I’m a bit too close to start digging around myself. Added to which, Kate is on a deadline and working all hours, which means I’m running the home, shopping, feeding us and trying to work on the house at the same time. I’m run ragged.’ He raised his hands. ‘Oh, I’m not complaining, honestly. What Kate is doing is amazing, and I fully support her, but I don’t have the time, or the inclination, to embark on an unofficial investigation.’
Absentmindedly nibbling on a biscuit, Liz had her gaze fixed on Will.
‘So, what do you think is going on?’ she asked.
Will took out a small notebook from his inside jacket pocket. ‘Several small, seemingly unconnected incidents. It’s possible that they mean nothing, and I’ve blown them all out of proportion, but listen to this.’ He looked down at his notes. ‘Whisper Fen is only a few miles from Tanners Fen and having lived here all your life, you might know a couple of the people concerned. Have you heard of a woman called Emilia Swain?’
Matt nodded. ‘The German lady, lives quite close to you. Husband died quite a while ago. Nice woman, as I recall. I had some dealings with her husband way back, after his business was broken into.’
‘Ah, good, that could make life easier. Well, recently, someone has been aiming a series of malicious acts at her. I only found this out last week. She has put them down to prejudice, but I don’t believe that for one second.’ Will sipped his coffee. ‘The thing is, she doesn’t want to bother anyone, and she certainly won’t make an official complaint, so I wondered if we could engineer an accidental meeting with you both, so you can get her to talk about it.’
‘What kind of malicious acts?’ asked Liz, offering the biscuits to Will.
‘For starters, someone killed her cat.’ He pulled a face. ‘Disgusting. Then someone snapped the lock off her shed and trashed everything inside, and . . .’ He paused, frowning. ‘And I think there is something else, but she clammed up on me.’
‘Well, you certainly don’t need to hire us, Will.’ Matt looked at Liz and raised an eyebrow. ‘We’ll see what we can find out, but as your friends.’
Liz nodded vigorously. ‘Of course! And we’ve just concluded the case we were working on, so we can pitch in immediately. Tell me, how do you propose to set up this “accidental” meeting?’
‘She’ll be going to the farmers’ market in Fenfleet tomorrow. Her old car has packed up, so she’ll take the bus from Whisper Corner. If you were to bump into her and give her a lift home . . . ? I know the bus times, and she never misses market day, so you’re sure to find her there. Sound okay to you?’
‘Yup,’ said Liz. ‘And if she already knows Matt, that should work well. We’ll tell her we were on our way to see you.’
‘I’m happy with that,’ Matt said. ‘So, what else is bothering you?’
‘A man named Gerald Grove. Ever heard of him?’
Matt frowned. ‘The name doesn’t ring a bell. How about you, Liz?’
She shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
‘I have seen him before, I know I have. It must have been to do with work.’ Will’s expression darkened. ‘And I don’t like him.’
‘Ah, we might need a little more than that,’ Matt said.
‘I don’t recall anything he actually did, he just gives me the creeps. He lives a quarter of a mile away from here in a lonely, ramshackle old place on the edge of the marsh.’ Will looked at them both. ‘You guys know that feeling, don’t you? The one that screams out “not to be trusted.”’
They did.
‘He turned up about eighteen months ago, and he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time wandering alone along the sea bank and marsh paths. Which brings me to the other thing.’ Will frowned. ‘The pain from my elbow and my arm sometimes keeps me awake at night, and I’ve taken to getting up, trying not to disturb Kate. Some nights I go for a walk. I’ve seen a vehicle heading down the marsh lanes — as you know, they go nowhere other than the marsh and the estuary, or that old mill that’s waiting for demolition. No one lives out there, so where is it going, and why? Add to that the lights right out in the Wash, in the area around the Fenfleet Deeps, and I’m getting pretty twitchy.’ He munched thoughtfully on a Hobnob. ‘Thing is, I’ve asked around, and it seems I’m the only one who has ever seen the vehicle or the lights.’