The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

cavity with a magnifying glass, she couldn’t detect any incriminating slivers of meat stuck between his yellowed teeth, and there were no bloodstains on his lips or muzzle. Then on Wednesday there had been flies in Cassie’s room; on Friday morning flies in Meli and Cal’s room. Their appearance just couldn’t be explained by logic or guesswork, although Meli’s personal conspiracy theory (one she knew was best kept to herself) was that Elsa was somehow responsible, however absurd it seemed.
    The following week, the list just got longer. On the Monday, Meli had had a scare when the boys went missing all day. It dawned on her about two o’clock, when her own stomach, which was being eaten away by its own acid, reminded her that there were no other hungry mouths to feed. Downing tools, she had checked the house, before frantically scouring the village, eventually finding them in their bedroom when she returned, and was on the verge of calling Cal. When questioned about their whereabouts, the boys had just said they’d been here and there. On Wednesday, Elsa and Tabby began stalking her. Every time she looked out one of them would be lurking somewhere, sometimes both, and in the afternoon a burned out wreck appeared in front of the trailer, a blackened, unidentifiable husk of tortured black metal. Friday, another bout of flies.
    Only two weeks into the holidays, and just over two weeks into her commission, and already Meli was on the verge of throwing her rattles from her pen! And it was showing, her work was suffering. After killing a room full of flies with one of six specially purchased cans of spray - which was a mammoth mistake she realised after annihilating them, as she then had to hoover up all the stiff little corpses - she noticed a strange smell in the boys room. Expecting to at least find one pair of rotting socks under the bed, a quick hunt revealed nothing.
    She rang Cal at work to sound off at him, then afterwards realised that she probably sounded like a deranged fool. She shed a couple of tears. She was tempted to call him back, but luckily sense prevailed and she heeded the tiny voice in her head, urging her not to risk condemning herself further!
    When Cal came home he insisted that she accompanied him to the pub after dinner, obviously thinking that a couple of very large house whites would restore her sanity and wash away all her problems. It helped, to a certain degree, although it did take three glasses of the magic nectar before she felt herself loosening up.
    While they were in the bar, Tim joined them. “Haven’t seen much of the boys since school broke up,” he threw in the casual comment during the course of the conversation, between sinking huge mouthfuls of his coal black Guinness and demolishing a steak and ale pie. “In fact, hardly at all, especially this week.” Meli didn’t think too much about it at the time, but it was another puzzle, which tossed and turned in her mind, disturbing her sleep that night. Where had they been on Monday, when they’d scared her half to death by their absence? When they had told her they’d been here and there, she had assumed that that would include time with Tim. And where did they go on the other days? What were they afraid to tell her? She would have to find out. She would have to do some investigative work.
    Thankfully there was no sign of Elsa or Tabby stalking her over the weekend, probably put off by Cal being home. She was a wily old vixen.

    On Monday, when the boys announced that they were off out, Meli was all set to follow them. Her amateur sleuthing was almost cut short though, when the boys unexpectedly doubled back on themselves before they reached the main road. Hearing their lowered voices getting louder, Meli was forced to run back down the trail, and clamber between the rusting hulk of the milk float and the trailer, stifling a curse when she caught her leg on a jagged protrusion of metal. Praying that the boys wouldn’t sense her, she watched them furtively scuttle passed between her and the lodge, as they headed down to the farm; a highly suspicious act, especially as they seemed to be masters at it, darting from wall to bush, bush to hedge, crouched low to the floor. What on earth were they up to? And why did they feel the need for such subterfuge? Keeping her distance, her trainers silent like the paws of a stalking cat, she was their distant shadow. Before the farmhouse came into view, the boys clambered over a