for aggravated burglary and assault. He stabbed his last victim in the stomach with one of their kitchen knives.’
Relief made Melissa’s legs weak. She leaned over and put her head in her hands.
The kids were off the hook!
‘Are you okay?’ Detective Crawford asked, sitting down beside her while Detective Powell stayed where she was.
‘Just so relieved we’ve found the person who did this.’ Melissa looked up at the detective, tears in her eyes. ‘I presume he’s not someone we know?’ she asked, just to make sure.
‘Unlikely,’ Detective Powell said.
‘Is he in custody?’ Melissa asked.
The detectives nodded.
‘And he’s been charged with Patrick’s attack?’
‘Not yet,’ Detective Crawford admitted as he looked at Patrick. ‘But we have him for the next twenty-four hours, and can apply for another twelve if he remains tight-lipped. We’re pretty sure he’ll crack. We know this has been incredibly difficult for you, Melissa,’ he added, putting his hand on her shoulder. ‘But we have the fucker, excuse my language.’
She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Thank you. Thank you so much.’
‘We just need your husband to wake now so he can confirm what happened,’ the other detective said as she regarded Patrick with hooded eyes.
Melissa followed her gaze. The detective was right, of course. In the end, Patrick would be the one to tell the truth about what had happened, a truth Melissa dreaded hearing. She’d just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. But there were still a lot of questions that needed answering . . . and wounds that needed healing.
But it was good news. Finally, things felt like they were working out.
Melissa walked through the forest the next day, heading towards the Forest Grove Shopping Courtyard with Lewis and Grace to meet Lilly at the village’s annual book fair. Though she’d considered not going, especially in light of the raffle Andrea was holding and the awkward Facebook argument the evening before, Melissa decided the kids deserved some normal time, especially now an arrest had been made. Not to mention Grace was desperate to go and Lilly had volunteered a while back to work the tills.
It was busy as they entered the courtyard. Several rows of bookshelves had been wheeled out into the centre and residents wandered around among them, checking the blurbs of over-priced tomes while discussing how chilly it had got after the glorious Easter weekend. Hanging above them all was a banner announcing the Annual Forest Grove Book Fair 24–28 April in looping letters the same colour as the school’s gold-and-green uniforms.
Around the shelves were the courtyard’s shops, all open and enjoying the increased trade the book fair always brought. There were only eight shops, all adhering to the same colour scheme as the village’s houses: muted greens and browns to mix in with the forest. Daphne had painted the exterior of her shop a bright emerald blue, though, and conveniently kept forgetting to book a decorator to paint it back after being told off.
The idea was that everything a resident should need was covered in the courtyard, from essentials such as a small library (Grace’s favourite) and doctors’ surgery, the tiny chemist’s and quaint Forest Foods organic store. There was also the Into The Woods beauty salon (Lilly’s favourite), the Neck of the Woods pub (Patrick’s old favourite) and a gorgeous bakery (Lewis’s favourite). There wasn’t a newsagent (‘We don’t want to encourage use of paper’ was how Jackie put it) or a sweet shop.
On a wooden table nearby, Lilly took payments from people, eliciting a rare smile from Belinda Bell. Melissa grimaced. Belinda was one of the people she’d had a go at on Facebook the night before. Next to her was Graham Cane, Charlie’s dad.
A wind whipped through the late-afternoon air. Melissa wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the coldness seep into her bones as Lewis and Grace strolled over to see Lilly, leaving her alone. She noticed people watching her, some whispering. People she would usually expect to come and talk to her kept their distance.
Maybe she really had taken it too far this time by confronting Charlie then having a go on that Facebook post?
‘Bloody freezing, isn’t it?’ a voice said. Melissa turned to see Daphne beside her.
‘It sure is,’ Melissa said. ‘I texted you last night.’
‘Oh yeah, sorry, I went to bed early.’ Daphne put her hand on Melissa’s arm. ‘Don’t worry about those stupid rumours, by the way, I don’t believe all that shit about you and Ryan.’
Melissa sighed with relief. ‘You shouldn’t, it’s all