Elderberry wine

A lone figure staggered through the kind of darkness found only on moonless nights in the remote countryside. The weather was windy and wet which didn’t improve his temper, while the large suitcase he was carrying slowly seemed to get heavier and heavier.

That afternoon he’d made enquiries locally in a small town.

“I’m looking for accommodation up on the moors, so that I don’t have to spend hours getting out into the open for my walking holiday.”

He’d been told about a bed and breakfast house that had seemed ideal at the time. It was run by two old sisters and the local bus ran three times a day past the end of their road. Unfortunately his informant hadn’t told him that the road up to the house was apparently endless.

Brian stopped for a moment to wipe the rain from his glasses and take a breather. The case clinked slightly as he put it on the ground. ‘Damn’, he’d have to muffle that as soon as he got indoors, otherwise awkward questions might be asked. A gust of wind parted the trees lining the narrow road for a moment. It lasted just long enough for him to spot a glimmer of light not too far away, before the night closed in again.

Five minutes more and he’d left the tree line and could see a large house 400 yards or so in front of him. The light he’d seen was in a downstairs room and appeared to be the only one turned on in the whole building. 10 minutes later he struggled up to the front door and rang the bell. Doddery footsteps slowly approached and then an old fashioned sliding hatch opened at eye level and an elderly lady’s eyes looked out at him.

Best manners were an obvious requirement here, so with many ‘pleases’ and ‘would it be convenient’ he asked if there was a room was available for rent.

A few moments later the door closed behind him and at last he was out of the wind and rain. Another old lady joined the first and after much discussion between them they agreed to take him in for as long as he wanted at a very reasonable rent. Taking great care not to let his bag clink as he went up stairs, he was shown to a small but comfortable room. It seemed he was too late for dinner that night, but was given a ‘nice hot cup of cocoa’ and told that breakfast would be at eight o’clock in the morning ‘if that was not too early for you sir?.’

Next morning after breakfast he set out wearing his walking boots and with a knapsack on his back began to explore the moors. He’d explained the small trenching tool strapped to his knapsack, saying that he might see fossils and would then be able to dig them up.

He found the highest point on the moor then walked across to a nearby outcrop of rock and began to dig. Once the hole was to his satisfaction, he unpacked the well wrapped gold cup in his knapsack and replaced the earth as naturally as possible.

Brian wandered about for the rest of the day thinking happily of the life he was going to lead on the proceeds from his latest burglary. Once he’d buried the rest of the contents of his suitcase and let the hue and cry die down for a few months, he would come back here again for another quiet walking holiday.

At the house that evening the sisters gave him a very nice, albeit simple meal and asked a lot of questions about his work and situation in life. In turn he found that they were living out their last days in this beautiful spot and enjoyed the company of the strangers who stayed with them.

Next morning after breakfast he went up to his room to unpack the next treasure to be buried. Wait a moment; the contents of the case had been disturbed. He was always very careful with the arrangement of his loot and someone had been snooping. There wasn’t any doubt as to who the culprits had been and that rather complicated matters.

At breakfast he fended off a lot of questions about his movements the previous day. He’d explained the earth on his spade as an attempt to dig up a suspected fossil, but could see that the old ladies were growing suspicious.

Still they were very old and frail and he could see no problems in dealing with them in the future. So he retraced his steps of the previous day and came back to his lodgings that evening one more gold cup lighter.

As his suitcase became emptier, the two old ladies appeared to become more and more suspicious. It was becoming clear to him that once he’d gone they would contact the local police and report their suspicions. Well he couldn’t have that; the old dears would have to disappear. He brought down his knapsack containing the last of his loot, on what he intended to be his final morning with the sisters. After breakfast he would belt them over the head with his spade, drag their bodies out and bury them in the overgrown garden before leaving for home. With a bit of luck no one would find them for weeks and he’d be long gone.

He was looking round the breakfast room checking out one or two ornaments that he could take to make their deaths look like a burglary that had gone wrong, when one of them came up to him.

“Before you go young man, we’ve agreed that you really must try our very special vintage elderberry wine. We normally keep this for special friends, but we’ve taken such a liking to you that we thought that you might like to join us in a glass as a thank you for the gentlemanly way you have behaved while you’ve stayed with us.”

Her sister came into the room a moment later carrying a tray, with a large bottle labelled ‘Vintage Elderberry’ and three glasses on it.

Brian got up from the table and laughed as he undid the straps holding his spade in place. Two rather soggy thumps later, he dragged the frail old bodies out into the garden and began digging a deep hole in the middle of the shrubbery.

Once he’d finished, he went back into the breakfast room to remove all evidence of his stay in the house. It had been thirsty work, but the vintage elderberry wine was still sitting on the table, so he took one of the glasses from the tray; it seemed such a pity to waste it.

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