Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery (10 page)

“
But, you must have seen him!” Archie gasped, trying to keep
the fear out of his voice. He didn’t want Edward to know just how
scared he really was, but the man’s sudden appearance, and equally
sudden disappearance had spooked him. Really spooked him. Digging
his heels in for a moment, Archie glanced back down the road toward
the corn mill to see if Mr Tompkins was still there, but the road
behind them was completely empty.

“
Come on!” Edward persisted, tugging at Archie’s
sleeve.

Archie
gasped as the first large drops of rain began to splatter around
them. They both knew that within minutes, during a heavy bout of
rain, the road would turn into a muddy slurry that was nearly
impossible to walk through without getting filthy.

A loud
rumble of thunder was enough to spur Archie into action, and he ran
after his friend. Their mad flight down the road turned into a
competition to see who could run the fastest, despite the rain, and
before long both boys were launching over the low stone wall
surrounding Archie’s house.

“
My house!” Archie gasped, as rain began to hammer
relentlessly down upon them. He pointed toward the back door of his
house where his mum was standing, beckoning them both
inside.

“
Edward, you too, dear,” Marjorie called, waving her hand
madly toward the open doorway behind her. “Both of you get inside,
now.” Her voice was almost drowned out by the seemingly relentless
noise of the thunder that continued to rumble directly
overhead.

“
My, what a terrible storm,” Marjorie gasped, closing the door
behind the boys, shaking water off her shawl and tutting at the
puddles growing on her newly polished kitchen floor.

Archie
shook rain off his hair like a dog and grinned at Edward, whose
hair was plastered to his head. He looked really funny with
rainwater dripping off the end of his nose like snot.

“
Archie, go and change now, and find some clothes for Edward,”
Marjorie instructed, bustling around the kitchen.

“
I really need to get home, Mrs Balfour,” Edward protested. He
was reluctant to leave Archie’s just yet, but knew his mum would
worry if she didn’t know where he was.

“
You mum has had to go and see your aunt again, Edward. She
isn’t very well, poor dear, and your dad has gone with her.” She
shot a quick, warning look at Archie. There was more to the issue
with Edward’s aunt, but she was clearly reluctantly to impart the
news to Edward herself. “You are staying here the night. Archie,
find some clothes for Edward.”

Archie
peeped into the sitting room, surprised to find it empty. A broad
smile lit his face at the thought of spending a bit of extra time
with his best friend without being pestered by Ben and Sammy.
Clapping Edward on the shoulder, they shared a conspiratorial grin
and headed toward Archie’s bedroom.

“
Where are your brothers?” Edward asked, peering under the bed
for the gruesome twosome.

Archie
shook his head. “I’m not sure, but I hope wherever they are they
stay there for a while,” he replied, pulling open a drawer and
tossing a clean pair of trousers and a shirt at Edward. “It’s all
I’ve got, I’m afraid. The others are in the wash.” In reality, he
only had one other change of clothes, and they were his Sunday
best; his spare shirt was being mended by his mum.

“
S’alright,” Edward grinned. Tying the laces on his own shirt,
Archie sidled closer to the protection of the shutters and peered
cautiously outside. Although it was gloomy, he could see enough.
There was no sign of either the stranger who had stopped him in the
middle of the road, or the murderer. With a shudder, Archie closed
the shutters and turned toward Edward, only then becoming aware of
his friend’s curious look.

“
What are you up to?” Edward demanded, settling back on the
bed and folding his arms. Archie knew that when Edward got that
mutinous look on his face, he wouldn’t be moved until Archie told
him everything. He sighed. If he was honest, he was really pleased
that he had finally got someone he could confide in.

“
I’m not sure,” Archie murmured, knowing he would tell his
best friend everything anyway, but wanting to at least appear
reluctant. He knew Edward was positively bristling with curiosity,
and wondered how long he could draw it out until Edward burst. He
didn’t have to wait long. With a grin, he sat down on the edge of
the bed, kicking his feet against the wooden boards beneath his
feet.

“
I know you saw Mr Harriman get killed,” Edward burst out,
shifting to kneel in the middle of the bed. He was practically
bouncing up and down with impatience to know everything. “What was
it like? What did he say? Did he see you?”

Archie
held his hands up to ward off Edward’s relentless
questions.

In
minute detail, Archie told his best friend everything. Every detail
of that fateful afternoon when his life - when he - had changed,
ending with a brief description of the Justice’s visit, and the man
who had appeared in the road that very afternoon.

“
But I didn’t see anyone with you,” Edward said, staring at
Archie with a frown.

Archie
couldn’t understand it. “He must have hidden in the hedge or
something. He was definitely there.” His voice was just a little
bit defensive.

Edward
immediately understood Archie’s frown for what it was, and was
quick to appease his friend.

“
So what do you plan to do?” Inwardly, Edward knew there had
been nobody in the road that afternoon. Edward had seen Archie
leave the corn mill and had hastily said his goodbyes to Mr
Entwhistle at the bakery before tearing after his friend. Although
there had been a brief moment when he hadn’t seen Archie in the
road, Edward was certain that nobody would have been able to appear
and disappear again without anyone but Archie seeing them. In
deference to Archie’s recent experiences, Edward remained quiet and
studied his best friend. He could tell from Archie’s sudden
wariness that he wasn’t going to like what he was going to
say.

Archie
took a deep breath, knowing there was no gentle way to tell
him.

“
I’m going to go to Mr Harriman’s house tonight to see if I
can find any clues,” Archie said quietly, casting a furtive look at
the door.

Edward’s
gasp turned into a squeak of surprise when Archie’s hand slammed
over his mouth, silencing his instinctive outburst. Outside the
door, heavy footsteps climbed the stairs. Both boys turned to stare
at the closed bedroom door, listening carefully as the footsteps
moved past the door and into Archie’s parents’ room
opposite.

“
I think Dad’s home,” Archie whispered, glancing furtively at
the door and edging closer to his friend. “Keep your voice
down.”

Edward
scowled at his friend. “I haven’t been given the chance to say
anything yet,” he muttered chidingly with a shake of his
head.

Archie
grinned and ruefully dropped his hand.

“
You are mad, do you know that?” Edward gasped, casting
another furtive glance at the bedroom door. “Do you realise how
much trouble you will be in if you get caught? Besides, my dad said
they don’t know who did it yet,” he swallowed. “You know, killed Mr
Harriman, so you are daft if you go out there in the night, all
alone. You have no idea what you are looking for. You could get
killed.”

Archie
shuddered, turning solemn. “I know, but -”

Silence
settled between them for a moment while Archie tried to decide
whether to confide in Edward about the hand Mr Harriman held out to
Archie. He knew though that if he had any chance of getting Edward
to help him, he needed his friend to understand –
everything.

“
When he died, Mr Harriman held a hand out to me, but I
daren’t move. I thought at the time that he was asking me to help
him, but the more I think about it, the more I remember that he was
holding something in his hand. Something I think he wanted me to
have.”

This
immediately captured Edward’s interest, whose eyes suddenly grew
wide as he waited for Archie to continue.

“
What was it? Did you see?”

Archie
reluctantly shook his head. “It was clenched in his fist.” He
watched Edward’s excitement disappear like a puff of smoke, leaving
his friend looking almost deflated. “I need to go and see Mr
Harriman and take a look at his fist.”

Edward
gasped and stared at his friend in horror.

“
You’re going to -” Edward swallowed. He studied Archie
closely, trying to decide if his friend was joking with him,
shaking his head when his friend gazed solemnly back at him while
nodding slowly. “Oh, God, you
are
mad, Archie. Absolutely barking.” Edward jumped
off the bed, and began to pace up and down. “You want to go and see
-”

“
Ssshhhh!” Archie glanced warningly at the door to the
hallway, holding a hand up to listen to the heavy footfall of his
father descend the stairs. “Keep your voice down.”

“
Sorry,” Edward offered, sitting down on the bed with a thump.
“You want to go and see a dead body?”

“
No, I don’t, but I can’t see any other way of finding out if
Mr Harriman still has whatever it was still in his hand.” Archie
could see the gnawing horror on his friend’s face and knew he
wasn’t convinced.

“
It could be a handkerchief,” Edward pointed out, hating to
state the obvious. “You are risking an awful lot for something so
mundane.”

“
But it could also be a clue, Edward,” Archie declared. “It
could lead us to the man who killed Mr Harriman.”

“
Lead us? What do you mean, ‘lead
us
’?” Edward turned wide eyes to his
friend and thumped his chest in disbelief. “You want
me
to come with
you?”

“
Well, it isn’t like you are doing anything else tonight, now
is it?” Archie reasoned, knowing Edward would come with him. Edward
was already staying the night. Archie knew that he had to go and
see Mr Harriman’s body tonight, and Edward was intensely curious
about everything. There was no possibility at all that he would
quietly remain at Archie’s house and wait for his friend to
return.

“
I don’t want to see a dead body,” Edward gasped, feeling a
little queasy at the thought.

“
But they are going to bury him the day after tomorrow. The
ladies are going in tomorrow to prepare him for the funeral. They
could find the clue and then hand it over to the Justice. The
murder may never be caught then. I have to do this tonight.” Archie
turned imploring eyes to Edward. “I don’t want to do it, but it may
be the only opportunity we have to find a real clue that could lead
us to the killer.”

“
Why don’t you just tell your dad and let him go and take a
look. He’s a grown up, he’s used to seeing dead things. Let him go
over there. He isn’t going to get in serious trouble if he gets
caught.”

Archie could hear the desperation in his friend’s voice and
rolled his eyes. “Because Dad would have to explain
why
he wants to see Mr
Harriman, and we cannot let the murderer know we are on to him. We
don’t know if the murderer is someone in the village. If he gets
any idea what we want to do, he could remove the clue and our only
chance of capturing the man responsible for murder.”

“
B-but, he may already have it,” Edward blustered. “Mr
Harriman lay in the spinney for a long time before the men found
him. It was enough time for the murderer to return to the body and
search it.” Edward shuddered at the thought of patting a body in
search of clues. “God, you’re mad, Archie.”

“
Are you coming, or not?” Archie asked, knowing from the look
on Edward’s face that, despite his initial horror at the thought,
he was definitely going with him.

“
No, I’m not,” Edward shook his head fervently and hopped off
the bed. “I am not going anywhere near dead bodies, not even for
you.”

“
Alright,” Archie chirruped, jumping to his feet.

“
Alright? You mean, you’re still going?”

“
Of course,” Archie reasoned sneakily. “You can stay here and
wait until I get back. I’ll go over to the tavern and check Mr
Harriman’s hand for myself, and tell you all about it tomorrow.” He
cast his friend an off-hand look. “Maybe.” He turned away before
Edward spied his grin and headed toward the door. “I’m hungry,
let’s go and see if we can have tea yet.”

“
Wait!” Edward ordered, lunging toward the door and slamming
it shut before Archie could disappear. With a sigh, he shook his
head and glanced at his friend. “Alright, I’ll come with you.” He
knew he had been conned when Archie’s thin face immediately split
into a wide grin. Edward rolled his eyes, unable to be angry with
his friend. If he was honest, he was quite looking forward to their
adventure – as long as they didn’t make a habit of it. “But, if
there is any sign of anything, or anyone else, we leave.
Understand?”

Archie
nodded, grinning at his friend. Tugging his friend’s cuffs, he drew
him toward the window. “I think we need to go when everyone has
gone to bed. Last night someone was standing beneath the trees over
there.” Archie motioned to the long line of trees and shrubs
opposite the house, ignoring Edward’s gasp. He could positively
feel Edward’s astonished gaze on his face. “He came from the trees,
approached the house and then went back in. As soon as Dad had gone
to bed, he waited until everyone was asleep and tried to scrape the
frame away from the window.”