The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

trousers, his belt hanging loose. “What’s that about my car?” As he approached he spied the water and tablets. “Oh, thanks,” he said. “How did you know?” Gratefully he helped himself to three tablets, and washed them down with the whole glass of water.
    “Just a good guess,” replied Meli, turning to go down stairs for another glass. “You’d best go and check your car. There’s a big scratch down the side.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she broke the news.
    “What?” Meli pressed herself to one side, as Roger pounded past her in his haste to get down the stairs. Seconds later, standing in front of the sink, with the cold tap full on, she heard his loud cursing. Cal and Myra arrived together just as Roger stormed into the kitchen. Myra, as usual, looked preened to perfection, her brunette hair gleaming as it framed her heart shaped, perfectly made-up face with gentle waves. For someone with such a petite frame, Meli wondered what her body had done with all the alcohol, as she certainly hadn’t held back yesterday. She seemed to be the only one who didn’t look as though they had just come back from a weeks basic training with the SAS, but rather someone who had just returned from a pleasant weekend at a luxury health farm. Meli didn’t know whether to be sick, or just accept that she was plain jealous.
    “It must have been your nutty neighbour,” Roger fumed, his complexion glowing like an over ripe tomato, his fists swinging like two heavy King Edwards at the end of his taut muscular arms.
    “We don’t know that for sure,” Meli tried to kid herself as well as everyone else as she put the kettle on. Maybe a nice cup of tea would help everybody to calm down and think clearer.
    “Oh come on, who else put a threatening letter on the car? It had to be her.” Roger began pacing the floor in his frustrated fury, his complexion changing to a deep purple as blood continued to be pumped into his head. Watching him, Meli thought that if he didn’t calm down soon his head would go pop, like a giant boil.
    Meli sighed. “I know it doesn’t look good, but we can’t prove anything?” Inside, thinking about the incriminating tooth, wrapped in a tissue in her pocket, she was feeling nauseas. If only they had remembered to tell Elsa about their visitors, this probably wouldn’t have happened. Paula and Adam shuffled into the kitchen, both dark eyed and decidedly green around the gills. Paula, spying the bottle of pain killers, threw herself on them. Cal, deciding that if he didn’t do the same, he wouldn’t get any, picked up the bottle and upended it. He gave it a shake. It was empty. Slowly he collapsed into a chair and wrapped his throbbing head in his hands.
    “What’s up, we heard raised voices?” Adam asked, his head lolling pitifully in the pit of his shoulders. As he listened to Roger, his head sprung up, instantly making him appear four inches taller, then, with a sudden spurt of energy, he rushed off to go and check his Primera. Having assured himself that his car was unscathed, and having inspected the damage to his friends car, he returned. “Sorry mate,” he commiserated with Roger, who only grunted in reply.
    “I’m really sorry to,” Meli said with feeling, as she poured hot water into the pot. “The whole weekends been ruined now.”
    “You don’t need to apologise, it’s not your fault,” Roger managed to force the words through tightly gritted teeth. His head was beginning to decompress and his complexion was gradually returning to normal as the blood drained back through the restricted arteries in his neck. “But I want something done.”
    “Like what?” asked Cal, lifting his head. “As Mel said, we can’t prove it was Elsa, it’s all circumstantial.”
    “They’re right,” Myra told her husband, wrapping an arm through his. Feeling his muscles still rigid with pumped up anger, her fingers began to gently massage them. “I’m sure it won’t be too difficult to get sorted.” Her voice was optimistic, although the look she cast Meli behind his back was much more cautious. “Come on, let’s go take a look together.” She led him away.
    Roger moped, all through Sunday lunch at the pub, and right through until they left to go home in the late afternoon. Meli was so relieved that they did not bump into Elsa, as she did not know if Roger would be able to contain himself. In some way, she felt that she and Cal probably owed Elsa an