Page 262 of The Silent Appeal

Timeline of events during the opening night of the play, June 5, 2025

5:30 p.m. Issy arrives at Squires early for her meeting with Trina. She looks inside the envelope Nicky-Rose gave her and sees it contains drugs pressed into blotting paper and pages of The Hollow script.

6 p.m. Trina arrives and Issy exchanges the envelope for Trina’s bag of Barbadian dollars. When Issy leaves, David Lascelles speaks to Trina, then Lockwood Police arrest her for possession. Issy goes straight to meet Nicky-Rose, who puts the bag of money in her car, Kevin’s old Honda Civic.

6:30 p.m. The church hall opens. The Fairway Players arrive ready for the first night.

8:10 p.m. Curtain-up on Act One, but just prior, Lucas’s phone is dinging so Amelia climbs down from her stool and slips backstage to switch it off. She’s late getting back to her starting position, which accounts for the late start of the play.

Early in Act One, Amelia spots Nicky-Rose slipping out. She must look ill, as Amelia says she “looks like shit warmed up.” That is the last documented sighting of Nicky-Rose.

Just before the interval, Fran exits the stage and takes the Edwardian moletrap with her (a move not in the script) and the starter pistol, which is backstage, and slips them into a gardening tote.

No one can find the gun when it’s needed and Joel must improvise with planks of wood.

8:45–9 p.m. The interval. Potentially ten minutes late due to the delayed start of Act One.

Sarah-Jane leaves the church hall and goes home to Sammy. Denise takes over as host for the NADA judge.

Inspector David Lascelles speaks to Kevin and asks for Nicky-Rose.

Fran leaves the church hall via the door in the scouts’ kit cupboard, makes her way to the lane where she meets Father Josh as planned, but on fumbling with the starter pistol, stabs him to death with the moletrap. She then returns to the green room ready for Act Two.

9 p.m. (Possibly later due to the late start of Act One and therefore the interval.) Curtain-up on Act Two. Fran’s performance is described as a “whirlwind of energy and chaos, a free radical damaging every neutron it touches” by the newspaper reviewer. Kevin describes her as “eccentric” but that it suits the character.

Nicky-Rose tells Sarah-Jane she had to “nip out” and that’s the last message they exchange.

10:15 p.m. Curtain call. Audience files out.

10:29 p.m. NADA judge Bella Moretti makes the 999 call to report the discovery of Father Josh’s body in the lane between the church hall and the vicarage. She can’t tell how he’s been killed, but the amount of blood, and possibly having just seen a play in which the victim is shot, she thinks that might have been what happened.

Femi

Nicky-Rose uses Lucas to get hold of the drugs she intends to plant on Trina.

Charlotte

Nicky-Rose uses Issy to conduct the transaction.

Femi

Nicky-Rose feels central to the case but how?

Lockwood Murder Case WhatsApp group, September 13, 2025:

Roderick Tanner, KC

Mistaken identity does play a role but not in the way one might expect. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, but in the meantime, here are some further pieces of evidence.

To: Nicky-Rose Dearing

From: Stuart Kinsella

Date: June 5, 2025

Subject: Re: Hi

Sure, will be great to see you. Warning though, my spare bedroom is full of exercise equipment from the last tenant. This will inspire me to finally clear it all out. Let me know when your flight lands. I’ll send a car. Looking forward to it. Stu x