Birds Of A Feather Episode 15
“He didn’t hang around, did he?” Elsie said. “The Hissing-Plucknoses only moved out this morning. I saw the removal van when I was coming back from church.
“And the place never went on the market. There’s something fishy going on there, if you ask me.”
“Oh, Elsie, you always think there’s something fishy going on.” Jess laughed. “You watch too many episodes of ‘Midsomer Murders’.”
“When you think how long it takes us ordinary folks to buy and sell a house, the sale of Billington Grange seemed to go through with indecent haste, if you ask me.”
A hundred questions chased through Rob’s head and Elsie looked as if she had a hundred answers, but a loud blast from Kevin Brigstocke’s Range-Rover reminded Rob of the job in hand.
Rob finished fixing the tow rope to his van, checked that Ed and Sam were ready and was about to pull away when Jess came up to his van’s window.
“Is it OK if I come up with you, Rob?” she asked. “It doesn’t feel right just to dump the van at Folly Farm.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Can I bring Alfie?”
He nodded, and as she opened the passenger door the dog jumped in and slipped between the seats into the back.
Jess got in and sat hugging her knees.
“Thanks for this,” she said. “I hope we’re doing the right thing.
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Ed and Sam, but Maggie and Tom are away, so I think it’s best if I stay at the farm until Frank gets here.”
“Frank?”
There was a little pause.
“Ed’s father-in-law. He’s a whizz with engines apparently and is on his way.”
“Let’s get this thing out of here before that Brigstocke fellow blows a gasket.”
He eased his van forward, concentrating as he felt the rope go taut.
To his relief, in his rear-view mirror, he saw the van begin to move forward.
Jess’s face was anxious as the convoy moved slowly up the road towards Folly Farm.
Rob had to concentrate to keep the tow rope taut between the two vehicles while, behind them, he could see Kevin Brigstocke’s Range-Rover kept a sensible distance.
When they reached Folly Farm, the entrance was quite tight and it took several goes to manoeuvre both vans.
While this was going on, Kevin Brigstocke sat revving his engine, obviously seething with impatience.
As soon as it could, the black Range-Rover rocketed past, sending a shower of gravel from the edge of the road all over them.
“He’s a charmer, isn’t he?” Rob remarked. “If I’d known he was going to act like that, I’d have gone further and left Ed’s van on the driveway of Billington Grange, leaking oil on his precious York stone paving slabs.”
Jess laughed.
“Thanks for this, Rob. You’ve saved the day and I’m grateful to you.”
Rob looked across to where Ed and Sam had climbed out of the van and were looking around them.
“Would you like me to stay until – what did you say his name was?”
“Frank.”
“Until Frank gets here? I’m not comfortable leaving you here with those two.”
“I’m fine. I’ve got Alfie. Paloma’s around somewhere, too.”
“Ah, the lady who looks after the goats?”
“Among other things,” Jess replied. “I don’t know how we’d manage without her. Don’t let us hold you up any longer.”
Rob didn’t argue. He couldn’t wait to get back to his flat, open up his laptop and find out as much as he could about Kevin Brigstocke.
Then he’d go through Alice’s notes with a fine-toothed comb.
For the first time since her death, he felt a glimmer of hope.