“Oh? Doing what?”
“A bit of everything, really, but mainly helping with the machinery—maintenance, that sort of thing. In return, he gets free bowling and a bit of cash-in-hand. He’s been struggling a bit since he lost his job. Graham’s a mean bowler too. He’s been runner-up to Bill in the North of England Cup for the last three years. Is it true what I heard—that Chris Jardine murdered Bill?”
“He’s been charged with the murder, but we don’t believe he did it. That’s why I’m investigating, and why I’m here today. Jack said you had CCTV.”
“Yeah, inside and out.”
“Is there any chance of burning me a DVD of the footage from that night, so I can study it properly on my laptop?”
“Sure. Why don’t you help yourself to a drink while I’m doing it?”
***
Now, whenever I arrived home, I had to do a quick scan of the street for clowns.
What? No, of course I wasn’t afraid of them. I just—err—well, I just had better things to do than get caught up in conversation with someone wearing a red nose and ridiculously long shoes.
Fortunately, today, the street was a clown-free zone, but I did notice someone at the house next door to Breezy and Sneezy. A woman was struggling to carry something from her car, so being a good neighbour, I made my way over there to help.
“Do you need a hand?”
She looked up, and I could see now what she was carrying: A large reel of cable.
“Thanks. That would be great. This is much heavier than I thought.”
I grabbed one end, and between us, we easily got it into the house.
“Thanks, you’re a life saver. I’m Pauline Maker.”
“Jill. We live just across the road.”
“Nice to meet you. Shawn was supposed to collect the cable, but he had to visit his mother.”
“Shawn?”
“He’s my husband.”
“I live with Jack. We’re getting married on Saturday.”
“Really? Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“Have you met the clowns next door?” She blushed. “Oh dear. I hope you don’t think I was being mean. They really are clowns.”
“It’s okay. I’ve already met Sneezy and Breezy.”
“Would you like a cup of tea, Jill? It’s the least I can do.”
“Thanks. Maybe another time. I really should get going.”
“Okay. Thanks again for the help.”
“No problem.”
Jack was already home.
“Hello, Gorgeous.” He welcomed me with a kiss. “Had a good day?”
“Not bad, Shirtz.” I grinned.
“Who told you?”
“Tommy at Wash Bowl. He burned me a copy of the CCTV from Tuesday night. I thought we could look at it together after dinner.”
“Okay. Did I just see you across the road at the new neighbours’ house?”
“Yeah. Their names are Pauline and Shawn. Hopefully these two turn out to be okay. We’re overdue some normal neighbours, what with the clowns, the cosplayers and Mr Ivers.”
After dinner, Jack and I sat at the kitchen table with the laptop, to watch the CCTV from the bowling alley.
“Tommy was really helpful today.”
“He’s a good guy.”
“He told me that he’d paid for his holidays last year with the profit from your bowling shirt purchases.”
“You’re so funny.”
“This is the view from the camera that covered your lane.” I pointed to the screen. “There you are.”
On screen were four figures: two standing on the far lane, two on the near one.
“Look at Bill, laughing,” Jack said. “That was after I’d missed a spare in the first frame.”
To ensure we didn’t miss anything, we watched the recording at normal speed. It was pretty boring—not helped by the fact that Jack insisted on describing every shot in detail.
“Chris did well to make that spare. That was the turning point in the match.”
“Really?” Yawn. “Where did Graham just disappear to?” I pointed to the screen.
Jack thought about it for a few seconds. “Oh yeah, I remember. The balls got stuck so Graham went around the back to clear them.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“More often than it should. The equipment at Wash Bowl is really old. They could do with getting it all replaced, but I doubt they can afford it. It’s not so bad when Graham is with us because he can go and sort it out. Otherwise, we have to press the ‘call’ button and wait until someone gets around to doing it.”
I restarted the recording, and after a few minutes, we saw Graham Hardy go over to the seats, and take his phone out of his jacket pocket. Moments later, he spoke to the others and then left.
“I assume that’s when Graham told you he had to leave, to go and see his brother?”
“Yes.”
When the on-screen match was over, I switched to the second CCTV recording, which covered the car park.
“That’s us.” Jack pointed at the image of three men walking into view.
“Look,” I said. “Chris is giving Bill a cigarette.”
The Jack on screen climbed into his car and drove away. Moments later, Bill and Chris went their separate ways. It was eerie to think that only a few minutes after that, Bill would be dead.
“It’s so sad,” Jack said. “Bill had been so happy when I left him. Did you spot anything on that footage?”
“No, but I think I’m going to give it another run through.”
“I have an early start in the morning, so I’ll have to leave you to it.”
We kissed, and Jack went up to bed. I grabbed a couple (that’s my version of a couple, obviously—snigger) of custard creams and a cup of tea, then settled down to view the footage again.
This time, I spotted a few things that warranted further investigation.
Chapter 16
The next morning, by the time I’d dragged myself downstairs, Jack had already left for work. The sausages were calling to me, but I had a wedding dress to get into on Saturday, so I ignored them, and settled for a bowl of cereal.
I was just about to sit at the kitchen table when I heard what sounded like a lorry in the street outside. Being naturally curious (no, not nosey), I went through to the lounge and opened the curtains. Pauline, whom I’d met for the first time the day before, and a man, whom I assumed was her husband, but whose name I’d already forgotten, were guiding the lorry onto their drive. Moments later, two men climbed out of the vehicle and began to unload their delivery. From what I could make out, it appeared to comprise of a number of steel panels of various sizes. I was intrigued (no, still not nosey), but I couldn’t think of a good excuse to go over there and ask what they were up to.
By the time I left the house, the lorry had gone, and there was no sign of Pauline or her husband.
“Morning, Jill.”
Oh bum! I’d been caught by the Ivers.
“Morning, Mr Ivers. I’m just on my way to work.”
“Me too. The home-movie rental business won’t run itself.”
“I guess not. See you later, then.”
“Did you know your brother-in-law has signed up with Have Ivers Got A Movie For You?”
“So I heard.” Sucker.
“If he recommends a friend or family member, he and they both get a free month.”
“Right.” Who cares?
“Has he been in touch with you about it yet?”
“Err—no. Anyway, I’d better get—”
“You should have a word with him. Maybe he’s forgotten.”
“Yeah, okay. Bye, then.” I dived into the car.
Sanctuary.
***
When I arrived at my offices, there was a note pinned to the outer door, which read:
There are no jumpers being made on these premises. None at all.
I tore it down and went inside.
“Phew.” Mrs V sighed. “It’s only you, Jill. I thought it might be the counterfeit squad.”
“I’m not sure there is such a thing.” I held up the scrap of paper. “I assume you stuck this to the door.”
“I thought it might put them off the scent.”
“Do you think maybe you’re over-reacting a tad?”
“I don’t want a criminal record. What would Armi think?”