Bones Under The Beach Hut

Chapter Nine

The picnic lunch that Jude had prepared was very good. A chicken salad with some nice crusty bread, suitably light for the hot weather. And, needless to say, being Jude, she'd brought a bottle of Chilean Chardonnay in a cool bag. Carole said she'd just have one glass, but somehow they managed to finish the bottle. And sitting outside Fowey in their director's chairs in the sunlight, both women found themselves dozing off. To Carole it all felt titillatingly decadent.

She hadn't slept for long when she woke with a start. There had been no sound, nothing to wake her but her Calvinist conscience. In the other chair Jude still slept, her large, sagging body as relaxed as a child's. Carole looked across Smalting Beach with half-closed eyes, the sunlight glowing red through her lids. And noticed to her surprise that the doors to Quiet Harbour were open.

Wide awake now, she saw Kelvin Southwest emerge from the hut with another man dressed in jeans and a worn T-shirt, who was carrying a clipboard and a tape measure. They had a little discussion on the sand, then the other man moved purposefully up the beach to the promenade. Kelvin Southwest didn't follow him. With trepidation Carole realized that he was coming straight towards Fowey. She straightened in her chair and picked up The Times crossword, unwilling to look as if she'd just woken up.

Reginald Flowers was still sitting on his wooden chair outside The Bridge and Kelvin Southwest had to walk directly in front of him, but neither man made any gesture of recognition or greeting.

The beach hut emperor of Fether District Council was dressed in the same uniform of polo shirt and shorts as he had been on Tuesday, but this afternoon he looked hot and bothered. He still greeted Carole with another of his roguish smiles, however, together with a hearty, 'Good afternoon, good afternoon.'

'Good afternoon, Mr Southwest.'

'Kel. Remember, you're Carole and I'm Kel.'

'Yes . . .' she forced herself to say it'. . . Kel.'

Their voices had woken Jude from her doze and she looked around blearily. Carole hoped her friend hadn't heard her using the word 'Kel'.

'And I am the bearer of glad tidings,' he went on. 'Because it's for you, Carole, that I have moved heaven and earth to get the repairs to Quiet Harbour done as soon as possible. In fact, I've just been talking to the contractor who's doing the job — someone local I've known for a long time. I put a lot of work his way and he . . . well, let's say we scratch each other's backs, just as I said it would give me great pleasure to scratch yours.'

Behind him Jude had clearly managed to identify

Kelvin Southwest from Carole's description, and she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Carole tried to avoid catching her friend's eye, fearful of starting to laugh.

'Well, anyway, my friend the contractor has had a look at the damage to Quiet Harbour. He reckons it's only three boards that'll need replacing and not much more than touching up the paint on the outside. So he's just going to get his tools and he'll be starting the job straight away.' He gave her a wink, which fortunately Jude couldn't see, or that would have really set them off. 'So who says Kel doesn't sort things out quickly for his favourites, eh?'

'I'm sure nobody's ever said that, er . . . Kel.'

'Well, let me tell you, Carole, having moved heaven and earth for you, I could do with a little break. How would you like to join me again at The Copper Kettle?'

'Well, that's very kind, but I have just had lunch. And then again I am here with my friend.'

He turned around to where Carole indicated, apparently noticing Jude for the first time. She rose from her director's chair, grinned at him and said, 'I'm Jude.'

'Kelvin Southwest,' he responded, almost brusquely, then turned straight back to Carole. 'So . . . do you fancy something in The Copper Kettle?'

'As I say, I've just had lunch. I really don't want anything at the moment, thank you.'

'Oh. All right. Very well. I'll see you soon no doubt, Carole.' And, clearly put out, the little man stumped on his little legs up towards the promenade.

Carole now dared to catch Jude's eye and both of them burst out laughing. And Carole was faced with the amazing fact that she had finally met a man who fancied her more than he fancied Jude.

But the thought didn't comfort her as much as it might have done. After all, the man in question was Kelvin Southwest.

The Times crossword was a particularly tough one that day. Or maybe the wine and the distractions of the beach prevented Carole from giving it her full concentration. She kept looking over to see what was happening at Quiet Harbour.

The contractor's van must have been parked nearby, because he was back with his toolbox and some planks very soon after Kelvin Southwest's departure. He went inside the hut, occasionally reappearing to prop up against its frontage the roll of carpet and the floorboards he'd removed.

Then he came out empty-handed and talked on his mobile phone. Shortly after this Kelvin Southwest returned to Quiet Harbour — maybe the contractor's call had been to him. The two men went inside. It was some minutes before they re-emerged. By now the little man from Fether District Council seemed very agitated. He paced up and down as he too made a call on his mobile.

It was less than a quarter of an hour before the police arrived. Two uniforms in a patrol car. They joined up with Kelvin and the contractor, and all four went into the hut.

It was half an hour before the other police vehicles, which must have been summoned, started to appear. Some of their occupants began erecting white screens around Quiet Harbour, while four polite but firm WPCs walked along the shoreline asking all the holidaymakers to leave Smalting Beach.