Page 33 of A Village Theatre Murder
Instead of answering the teasing, Julia gave a stiff laugh and opened the envelope. She took out the little card, already knowing what she would find.
The large looping first letter – the J – told her that her instinct had been correct.
Julia,
Thank you for being a good friend.
Oscar
X
Julia took out a big stoneware jug and filled it with water. She pulled the twine off the flowers and plonked them into the jug without explanation. For the second time today she fluffed and fiddled unnecessarily with a bunch of blooms. She was playing for time while her mind turned over the events of the day, and what they all meant. The recipient of Oscar’s flower purchase was not, as she’d suspected, Jane, but Julia herself. They were nothing more than a generous thank you gift.
Did that change anything? She had seen Jane and Oscar, their familiarity, their intimate gestures. Her hand on his arm. The kiss. The odd statement.
‘So, are they from Sean?’
‘Actually, no.’
‘Well, who are they from? What does the card say?’ Hayley asked. She seldom asked personal questions, but her detective brain loved a mystery. She clearly couldn’t resist the question.
‘They’re from Oscar.’
Hayley didn’t say anything, just stroked the cat with a rhythmic gesture. Julia was reminded of the villain in James Bond, the one with the fluffy Persian onhis lap.
When the silence got too much, Julia said, ‘They’re only a thank you gift for helping him yesterday.’
She put the jug of flowers on the kitchen table.
‘The pie will be ready in about ten minutes,’ she said. And then blurted, because she couldn’t bear the silence and the stroking of the cat, ‘I saw Oscar and Jane together.’
‘You did?’
‘Yes. They were walking down the road. She had her hand on his arm. Linked, sort of. And they were talking. Quite seriously, you know. Heads down.’
‘I see. And how did they…?’
‘And then she kissed him.’
‘A long kiss? Like a smooch?’
‘I wouldn’t say a smooch. They were on a public road.’ Julia was aware of sounding like a Mother Grundy. ‘What happened was,,they were walking together, arm in arm, talking, and they got to the intersection. She was going one way and he the other, and they kissed goodbye.’
‘Ah, well, a kiss goodbye.’
‘That’s different, isn’t it? From akisskiss, I mean. That’s what I thought, too. But I thought I should mention it to you anyway. As the investigator.’
‘On the mouth or the cheek?’
‘The kiss? I don’t know. It seemed like mostly the cheek, but perhaps somewhere in between.’
‘But not lingering.’
‘No. Not lingering. But not a peck on the cheek, either.’
‘Her husband was killed just a week ago.’
‘I know. I was there. I’m sure it’s nothing.’
