I reluctantly came down the stairs at eleven a.m. the next morning, to overhear an argument between Pansy and Isabel in the lounge.

"No! She doesn't need to know, Pansy! She's dropped the case, she said so last night. Wait for her to hear it from around the village later on. By then, there'll be nothing she can do."

"Isabel! I never thought I'd have to say this, but you were wrong to say Allie can't look after herself! She may be your younger sister, and you may want to look after her, but this is what she does! This is her life! From what I've seen so far, this was what she was designed to do, and she does it better than anyone else I've ever met in my life!"

I raised my eyebrows. I'd never heard Pansy speak like that before. 

"She's reckless, and she's inexperienced, and she's never dealt with something like this before! There is a serial killer loose in this village, Pansy Price, and if she doesn't stay well away, she's going to be the next target!"

"Who's dead now?" I asked, poking my head through the door timidly. Isabel's mouth clamped shut, but Pansy had blurted it out before my sister could stop her.

"Jake Bentley, the butcher's boy. He was found this morning, locked in the ice room. He'd suffocated."

"You're not going anywhere, before you even think about it!" Isabel snapped. I shrugged calmly. 

"I don't want to. This isn't my case anymore. I'd like some breakfast, though. I'm starved."

Isabel visibly relaxed, and led the way into the kitchen, where she plated up a couple of slices of toast for me. I was relieved she had loosened her grip on my life a little, but sadly I hadn't been telling the whole truth. Only one of my earlier statements were actually true, and as I pounced hungrily on the toast, it was rather obvious which one it was.

Not wanting to alarm Isabel, though, I decided not to leave the house. There wasn't much going over to the butchers would actually tell me. It was a pretty simple murder. As I sat pensively in the lounge, watched closely by Isabel, it occured to me that perhaps this whole affair was a lot more planned and a lot less random than it first appeared. Pansy had gone out earlier to collect the bread from the bakery, and I  had persuaded her quietly to find out a little bit  of gossip, just to see what the general opinion was, and she had come back with stories of mass murderers and serial killers everywhere, which was the second reason why I didn't fancy leaving the house. I felt like once again I was looking through frosted glass at the real sequence  of events.

"You're thinking" Isabel said suddenly.

"I'm thinking" I replied coolly.

"About the murders?"

"You've told me not to."

"That won't stop you."

"Granted."

Isabel shuffled her position on the sofa, and I got the feeling she was expecting me to bolt for the door. I wasn't intending to, though.

"Does Pan have any books in this place?" I asked, looking around. I had finished Mystery Man earlier tthat morning, and Isabel pointed me over to the bookshelf next to the fireplace without looking up. I went over to look. There were some old maps, a couple of dictionaries, a few local history books, and a pile of ghastly romances I didn't fancy touching. I went for the local history, just because there really was nothing else, and began to flick through. It seemed that Lesser Farthing and Farthing House had been around for far too long, and soon enough I was bored. Really bored. I needed to get out.

"Izzy?" I asked sweetly.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Please can I go over to the butcher's? I'll be ten minutes."

"No."

"Izzy,please!" I begged. Isabel sighed.

"Are you willing to suffer the consequences?" she said seriously. "Because there will be consequences."

"I'm willing to suffer the consequences" I smiled gratefully. "Whatever they are."

Isabel gave me her infamous 'Oh really?' look as I slipped happily out of the door. Isabel could never stay angry at me long. I hurried across the street opened the door to the butchers, to be greeted with the typical butcher-smell of raw meat. There was a policeman standing in front of the till, looking very bored. His face lightened, though, as he saw me.

"We were all wondering when you'd show up" he smiled. "Bit late, aren't you?"

"My sister took some persuading to let me out of the house" I explained. He chuckled.

"Detective Inspector Smart's been busy" the policeman carried on. "He's delving into psychology for this one. Got the Village Hall to organise an outdoor lunch, so he can get to know the residents."

I laughed in awe.

"That man has a truly incredible mind" I sighed. "He's identified the facts he need to know and found a way to get them without raising too much suspicion. Perfect. I couldn't have done it better myself."

"I'm sure he'll regard your compliment highly, Miss Winter."

"Pfft!" I scoffed. "He must get it all the time. One more won't make any difference to him."

The policeman looked like he was about to say something, but then he decided against it. I took control of the conversation again.

"What  time does this lunch start?" I asked.

" Not long. About one."

I smiled.

"There's nothing I really need here. I assume the ice room door is on an outside catch? It would make sense if it was, since then it would be really easy to shut someone in."

"It...is" the policeman said slowly, still looking quite puzzled. "You know" he added. "That was the first thing the Detective Inspector said when he walked in here, too, you know. You're very similar, you two."

I shook my head.

"We're really not. We're like two different sweets in the same wrapper. Trust me."

The policeman kept a secret smile to himself as I left again, back across the road to Isabel, who hadn't moved from the couch.

"Well?" she asked. "Are you happy now?"

"There's an outdoor lunch up at the hall today" I said. "Are you coming?"

Isabel shook her head.

"I'm happy here. You can go, though, providing you stay with Pansy and stay out of trouble."

"Thanks, Izzy" I beamed,as my whole day opened up before me. "I'll go and help out a bit, setting up and stuff. Bye!"

Hurrying back outside before Isabel could change her mind, I met Pansy in the square, which was decked out with tables, each covered with a white tablecloth, and helped her set out knives, forks and spoons along the tables.

"Allie?" Pansy whispered,  as we passed each other, still laying tables.

I waited until we passed again before replying.

"What?"

We finished the tables and crossed over to where wine glasses were being kept. Taking a tray each, we began to set them out as well.

"Are you back on the case?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know" I replied. "I guess I am, but I feel a bit awful coming back after dismissing it."

"You never did dismiss it really, Allie" Pansy replied. "You only told me and Izzy you'd given it up, and we both think you're right back on it now. Ooh, hello!"

Pansy's friend Lewis had just come up to greet us.

"Helping out, I see, Pansy?" he teased, and Pansy giggled.

"Just a bit. Are you going to help too?" she asked, twirling her hair with her free hand.

"I'll put up some decorations, if that's what you need me to do" Lewis replied, smiling flirtily at my friend. I felt slightly redundant and slightly sick, so I left them talking, continuing to put glasses on the tables.

"Can I help you, Miss Winter?"

It was Quincy Black. He reminded me a bit of Fisher in face and hair colour, but he was a lot more filled out than the Deputy Inspector, and his eyes were a dull brown. He was also taller, as Fisher was more my height, while I barely reached his shoulder. I smiled up at him.

"Of course. Do me a favour and start setting glasses up, will you?"

He obliged, insisting on doing the opposite side of the table to me, chatting all the time. It appeared I had become a bit of a celebrity in the village, as within minutes a very pretty young lady who must have only been about 20 or so insisted on helping as well, offering to take my job if I kept an eye on her baby Melody. She introduced herself as Lilly Butterfield, but I had worked that out already. I didn't like babies, so I politely refused, so she followed me and Quincy around, chatting all the while, pushing Melody along in her pram and generally getting under our feet. I was pleased to have talked to them at least briefly, as usually this was such a sleepy little village there was no conversation really in it. This would be the first time I had gotten to talk to anyone since Waters was murdered, and so it reallywas the first time I could start thinking about suspects. I assumed Smart had gone through the processes of asking the whole village where they were at the time of the murders,  but really this village was so quiet I assumed everyone had been in their houses, at least for the second one.

I realized I had been standing still, motionless in my thought, and had now been dumped with Melody, as Lilly and Quincy continued setting up tables. With a slightly forced smile at the infant, I absent-mindedly pushed the stroller back and forward, while Melody gurgled and squeaked. I hoped they were happy baby noises, as I really had no idea. Time seemed to drag on, until finally the tables were finished and Lilly came back, relieving me of Melody and telling me that her little girl loved me very much, a fact which I highly doubted.

I wandered over towards the village hall, only to hear someone call my name. I turned.

It was Smart. He was walking up from the butcher's shop, looking suitably unimpressed at the decorations adorning the village square.

"I'm led to believe this was your idea?" I asked politely, as he came up to me.

"It was" he replied, squinting up at the sky from under his hat. "I'm starting to wish I'd picked a different day. The weather's been so nice lately. I think there's going to be a storm."

I bit my lip.

"Let's hope not."

At that point, someone must have said something, as the general crowd of villagers milling around began to take seats at the long tables. Pansy and Lewis flagged us down, and we sat together, Lewis next to Pansy, then me, and then Smart. Pansy gave me a sneaky 'I-told-you-so' look, and I delicately but forcefully trod on her toe.

Lilly and her husband, Dr. Butterfield, sat down on my other side, with Melody in her stroller pushed around and left next to Lilly on the end. An old couple sat down opposite us, along with the hook-nosed woman, who introduced herself as Kiera Newton, and Edna Black, village gossip and Quincy Black's mother, bustled her way over and plonked herself down next to Mrs. Newton. 

"Hello, Miss Winter!" she chattered. I smiled politely.

"So, how is the investigation going? I mean, have you got any suspects yet? Well, I suppose we're all suspects really, aren't we? It's frightful to think there's a murderer in the village, isn't there?"

My smile bacame decidedly more forced as Edna Black carried on.

"I mean, it's all so mysterious! If it hadn't been for you, my dear, we would all have thought they were accidents! Mr. Smart was very noble, you know, admitting his success was all down to you..."

I nearly spat out my drink. Smart cleared his throat awkwardly next to me, turning away and trying not to meet my eyes. Not that I wanted to. Edna Black was essentially an older, wrinklier, skinnier version of Pansy, with a bigger mouth and a smaller helping of tact, and she had just made the whole lunch an extremely awkward affair.

"So what can you tell us?" Edna asked expectantly. My brain chose that exact moment to freeze up and stop working. I bit my lip, trying to delay time.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Black, but all information concerning the case is strictly off limits for civilians. Don't bother pressing her for answers."

Smart had stepped in to save me, and Edna apologised and of coursed and excused her way out of her conversation with us.

"Thank you" I muttered. Smart looked out of the corner of his eye at me, and I could have sworn I saw a hint of a smile touch his lips.

Lunch came, and we ate. I was spared any more awkward questions,  and I talked to Pansy and Lewis over Smart, who wisely kept out of the conversation and dealt with everyone else on the table, who pestered him constantly, and I felt like he took all of his questions and all of mine too. As the lunch plates were taken away, the talking ceased, and I caught Smart looking up at the sky again. I looked up also. The sky was a lot less blue and a lot more grey than it had been.

"Three, two, one" Smart counted under his breath. As soon as he reached one, the rain started falling. Slowly at first, but then heavier, and heavier, and heavier, until we could barely see. There were screams, and yells, as the rain bucketed down on all of us. There was a general surge towards the village hall, but my dress had caught up on the bench, so I was one of the last people in the square.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw the familiar shape of Smart's hat and overcoat through the rain.

"Come on!" he shouted, through the downpour.

"I'm caught up!" I shouted back. We were both already drenched through with the water, and by the time my dress came free my hair was plastered to my face, and the water was pouring off Smart's hat like a waterfall. We looked at each other, both soaked through, and both our faces cracked into a huge smile.

"Run!" I heard Smart yell, and I quickly followed him across the square, up the steps and into the village hall. He held the door open for me as we both piled in. I was shivering with the cold, but I was also laughing so hard my shoulders were shaking. Smart too, it seemed, had shattered his cold, cutting demeanour and was laughing too, his eyes sparkling with fun.

"You're so cold!" he exclaimed, grabbing my hands. "Let's get you closer to the fire!"

Someone had lit the log fire in the little hall, and put chairs around it. The crowd around the fire parted like the Red Sea, and I was seated down right next to it, on quite a comfortable little settee. Smart pulled up a chair opposite.

"Better?" he asked.

I looked appreciatively at the fire, roaring away next to me, before nodding. Smart sighed, sitting back on his chair, and becoming more like his usual self again. He took off his hat, and slung his coat over the back of the chair he was sitting on. I rubbed my frozen hands together, and attempted to brush my sodden hair out of my eyes. I could feel Smart still looking at me, and I kept my eyes fixed on the fire, as the people around us jostled and bumped and tried to get closer to the heat. I felt like I needed to start some sort of conversation.

"I'm soaked" was all I could think to say. Smart, thankfully, took up my olive branch.

"I'm sorry about that" he said. "I should have waited until tomorrow. Do you think you've got a cold?"

I shook my head.

"No. I don't catch cold so easily. You've got nothing to worry about" I reassured him. He smiled a little.

"If you're sure."

I looked up at the window, where the rain was hammering at the glass. It made me laugh.

"I've never been caught in a rainstorm before" I explained, as Smart looked curiously at me.

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" he joked, and I laughed.

"I just can't quite get over...this!" I smiled, indicating my sodden dress and hair.

"Like I said, I can't apologise enough" Smart sighed. "It's my fault."

"You weren't to know it was going to be like this!" I said seriously, shaking my head. "Don't worry."

As I said that, the door swung open again, and two more sodden figures came in, a man and a woman. The woman I recognised as Isabel, and she was drenched, although she was wearing her coat, so she was marginally drier than I was. The man...

My stomach dropped. Isabel had mentioned consequences, but I had never dreamed she would do anything like this . The man was Newham.