Page 54 of The Clockmaker's Cottage
‘With the weather like this, and the fact he’s headline news today, he’s most probably left the island.’
The logs caught quickly, and by the time they had finished their coffee, the room started to warm.
‘We should head to dinner soon, right?’ said Theo.
Pippa scrolled on her phone. ‘Yes. I’ve already taken a look at the menu and there are so many dishes I’d choose.’ She stared at her screen, a frown marring her face. ‘The Horace Vale interview is turning up on quite a few news and social media sites.’
Theo groaned. ‘I bet Horace wishes he’d never agreed to participate. Sebastian has got a lot to answer for… in many ways…’
‘What do you mean?’
Theo remained silent, staring into the flames, and Pippa could tell by the look on his face that there was something he didn’t want to get into. The fire crackled steadily, filling the moment of silence.
‘Oh, I forgot to tell you something. I found a book at lunchtime in The Story Shop.’
‘That’s a funny place to find a book, in a bookshop.’ He smiled as he sat down on the armchair.
Pippa rolled her eyes and reached for her bag. ‘This book is a little bit of a mystery. I took it to the till, and when Amelia, the shop owner, tried to ring it up, she found that it didn’t actually belong to the shop.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Possibly someone has planted it to make sure it was found and read?’
‘Why would someone do that?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine, but it’s a book about the Vale Brothers, and it’s written by A. Wetherby who was…’
‘Horace Vale’s apprentice,’ Theo finished off Pippa’s sentence.
‘That’s why you got a first and I got a second,’ she joked. ‘It took me a minute to realise who he was.’
He grinned.
‘Here.’ She took the book out of her bag and handed it to him.
‘There was a scandal around this man,’ said Theo. ‘I can remember a conversation taking place in my kitchen when I was a boy between my grandfather and my father, but obviously that would have been years later.’
‘Can you remember what it was?’
‘I know I shouldn’t have been listening,’ Theo said. ‘I still feel guilty about eavesdropping, but…’ He looked into the fire, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember. ‘You must remember this case. I know it was before our time, but you do call yourself a Vale fanatic.’
‘I was interested in their designs more than their personal life.’
‘There was some talk about a secret commission. A high-profile client.’
Pippa frowned. ‘What would that have to do with anything?’
‘I’m not sure,’ he admitted. ‘But Andrew Wetherby was accused of stealing and convicted for the crime. Items taken from the Vales’ workshop were found at his home, but the actual commission went missing and was never recovered. He always protested his innocence, though other stolen pieces turned up too, so people assumed he’d sold it on. After that, it was never mentioned again.’
‘What about Wetherby?’ Pippa asked.
‘Kept his head down, but looks like he self-published this book.’ Theo nodded towards it. ‘I wasn’t aware of that.’
‘Do you think this has anything to do with what Sebastian was implying? What he said about an innocent man?’
‘Wetherby wasn’t innocent. He did actually steal from the Vale Brothers.’
‘Why would Sebastian bring it up then?’
