A Tale of Two Bodies Read online

  “I’ll be back at work as soon as I can, I promise, lady.” Derrick said. “If you still want me, that is?”

  “Of course I do!” Sandy exclaimed. “Although the shop’s closed at the moment.”

  “Yeah, we heard about that. Terrible business. She shot herself?”

  Sandy nodded, remembering the gunshot and the thud of a body hitting the ground. As desperate as she was to return to work, she was nervous about seeing her beloved first floor again.

  “Poor woman,” Derrick mumbled, and his words brought Sandy back to the present.

  “Poor woman? She tried to kill you, Derrick.” Mrs. Deves said, keeping an eye out of the glass-fronted wall for their taxi.

  “I know. Imagine how mad you have to be to do what she did. She needed help.”

  Sandy nodded.

  Pritti had been doing the right thing, in her head. And that was the danger. Nobody seeks help to talk them out of doing something they know is right.

  “Well, I wanted to come and see you.” Sandy said. “We’ll leave you guys to it. See you soon, Derrick.”

  “See you, lady,” Derrick called, lifting his hand to give a weak wave.

  **

  “Shall we go to The Tweed?” Sandy asked as she climbed in the passenger side of Tom’s car.

  “The Tweed? Don’t you want to go somewhere more, private?” He asked.

  “Not really,” Sandy admitted. “I’m happy to let you show me off.”

  Tom burst into a grin and drove back towards Waterfell Tweed, parking the car outside the pub. He held the car door, and the pub door, open for Sandy and she thought to herself how she could get used to being spoilt by him.

  The pub was quiet, and they took a seat in a booth closest to the roaring log fire.

  “What do you want?”

  “I’ll have a glass of white wine,” Sandy said. It was rare that she drank alcohol, but this felt like a special occasion.

  “Perfect,” Tom said. He went to the bar and ordered the drinks from Tanya, the barmaid, who looked between Tom and Sandy and burst into a smile. Sandy shook her head and smiled to herself, sure the gossip would spread around the village in no time, and not minding one bit.

  “Here we go,” Tom said, placing her wine in front of her and his own pint of beer in front of himself. “I hear this place does food but I don’t know if I’d risk eating it.”

  Sandy laughed. “I’ve eaten in worse places, there’s a really dodgy cafe just a few doors up.”

  “Ah yes, I heard about that. Didn’t Health and Safety shut it down?”

  Sandy descended into laughter, feeling the tension of the recent experiences disappearing. She looked across at Tom and raised her glass to him.

  “To new friends.” She suggested.

  Tom raised his own pint and chinked her glass. “To new beginnings.”

  **

  Tom turned out to be easy company.

  He was interested in her, asking lots of questions and giving her his full attention as she answered. Not once did he take out his phone or appear distracted.

  Sandy allowed herself to feel content, to enjoy the afternoon for what it was, and not over think what it may mean.

  “Tom, tell me something very important.” She asked, leaning in close to him. “Where’s the best place to curl up with a book?”

  Tom roared with laughter. “Are you kidding? Come with me!”

  He stood up and pulled her - actually pulled her - by the hand after him, to the door that led to the private area of the pub. His home. He turned to the staircase, raised an eyebrow at her, and led her up the stairs, into a room that overlooked the village square.

  “Oh my goodness!” Sandy exclaimed. The room was a library. Every wall was covered with bookcases, which were full to the brim with books of all colours and sizes. On the far wall stood an ornate fireplace, with a leather armchair on either side of it. A small coffee table stood in front of the chairs, with a selection of coffee table books arranged on it.

  “You like?” Tom asked, turning in a full circle to display the whole of the magnificence of the room.

  “I cannot believe this!” Sandy cried. She approached one bookcase and scanned the titles hungrily; her eyes falling on some familiar titles but many she had never heard of.

  She had no idea how long she spent in the room, but Tom finally noticed the time on the old grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room.

  “I need to get down there, Tanya’s shift’s finishing.” He said. “You can stay up here if you want?”

  “Oh no, I couldn’t do that,” Sandy blurted, placing the book she had been looking at back on its shelf. “But I’d love to come and see it again.”

  “Good,” Tom said, flashing his dimple-revealing smile again.

  She followed him down the staircase, giving one last longing look at the library room. What a surprise the man had turned out to be.

  As they appeared in the public part of the pub, a toast erupted, and Sandy thought it was people noticing that she had just emerged from the private section with Tom Nelson.

  In front of her, however, stood a crowd of people, none of whom were paying attention to her and Tom. The two looked at each other quizzically, until a young dark haired man stepped back and trod on Sandy’s foot.

  “Ouch! Be careful.” She exclaimed, making the man turn to look at her.

  “Sandy Shaw!” The man exclaimed, grabbing her in a hug. He was tanned and very handsome, but young.

  “Do I know you?” She asked, extracting herself from the man’s grip.

  “Ha! How quickly I’m forgotten!” He laughed, revealing a glass of Champagne in his hand.

  “You do look a bit familiar.” She admitted, but she was unable to place him.

  “It’s me, Sebastian!” He said, with a grin.

  “Sebastian? Oh my! It’s so good to see you!” Sandy said, allowing him to grab her into another hug. “Where are your parents?”

  “Mingling somewhere, you know what they’re like.” Sebastian said, gesturing off towards the crowd in a distracted way. Sandy peered past him and spotted Benedict and Penelope a few feet away, encircled by villagers eager to welcome them home.

  “So…” Sebastian said. “What have I missed?”

  Honey For My Honey

  Honey Cake Recipe

  Ingredients:

  250g clear honey, plus 2 tbsp extra to glaze

  225g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

  100g dark muscovado sugar

  3 large eggs, beaten

  300g self-raising flour

  Method:

  1.Preheat the oven to gas mark 3

  2.Take a 20cm cake tin - butter and line

  3.Place a medium pan on the heat and add the butter cubes, honey and sugar. Allow mixture to melt over a low heat. When the mixture is all liquid, increase heat and allow to boil for 1 minute.

  4.Leave honey mixture to cool for 15-20 minutes so the eggs don’t cook when added in

  5.Sift the flour into a large bowl

  6.Beat the eggs into the honey mixture when it has cooled

  7.Add the egg and honey mixture to the flour, beating to make a smooth, runny batter

  8.Add mixture to the cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until cake has risen and springs back when touched. Cake should be golden brown.

  9.Remove cake from tin and place on a wire rack.

  10.Warm 2 tbsp honey and brush or drizzle over the top of the cake to create a glaze

  Variations:

  Try adding crushed nuts or poppyseed to the glaze or the cake mixture itself.

  Thank You For Reading

  As an independent author, my success depends on readers sharing the word about my books and leaving honest reviews online.

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon or GoodReads.

  I know that your time is precious, and I am grateful that you chose to spend some of your time entering the world of Waterfell Tw
eed with me.

  To keep up with the latest releases, visit:

  http://monamarple.com/the-series/

  About the Author

  Mona Marple is a mother, author and coffee enthusiast.

  When she isn’t busy writing a cozy mystery, she’s probably curled up somewhere warm reading one.

  She lives in the beautiful Peak District (where Waterfall Tweed is set in her imagination!) with her husband and daughter.

  Connect with Mona:

  www.MonaMarple.com

  [email protected]