Hard To Grasp | Death in Paradise

The Aftermath

Neville and Jane were finally in the jeep, the smell of petrichor still lingering as they drove across the Caribbean roads to the shack.

One by one, everyone's phones had pinged with the exciting news - the roads were okay to drive on. The PCS (the Paradise Cleaning Squad, which the team and a few strangers who had joined in had decided to call themselves) cheered and threw their brooms into the air to celebrate. They had never been so happy to return to their homes, an indescribable feeling that reminded them how good an actual bed felt.

But for Neville and Jane, the dread had suddenly dawned upon them.

Jane looked to her side to look at her boss, finding it hard to ignore the worry on his face. The silence was deafening during the car ride; millions of questions shot through their aching heads, in case they drove up to the worse possible situation.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to make the journey pass quicker, until she heard a small gasp from Neville. "Sir?" Her eyes were now wide open.

"The shack... it's... it's... completely fine!" Neville exclaimed, fumbling around to rip his seatbelt off.

Jane looked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief. She spotted the Detective Inspector run out to the shack with his hands up, unable to hear what he was saying until she opened the door herself.

"I can't believe it! That's incredible! It's like nothing ever happened. How is that possible?" He shrieked. "It's just a shed!"

Jane tried not to laugh at how exacerbated he was. "I wouldn't question it. Something terrible might happen just because you dared to!" She joked as she went to join him. "If it's lasted this long, there must be something special about it."

"Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to anger the shack gods." He laughed back. "I'm going to look for Harry. Care to join me?"

"Of course, we need to make sure the little guy is alright." She agreed, but was quickly distracted by her phone ringing. Jane looked at the name on the phone and smiled, the light illuminating her face. "Hang on, I need to take this." She shouted over, putting the phone to her ear and asking the usual hello.

"You finally answered!" The familiar voice cried out. "I heard there was a hurricane in Saint Marie! I've been trying to contact you for hours! Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Debs. I just had no signal." Jane giggled over the phone. "We all took shelter in the police station and played some games, nothing to worry about!"

Debby exclaimed dramatically over the phone. "Thank GOD! Everyone at the met police sends their hugs and kisses."

Jane grabbed the railing to the shack a little harder at the thought. "It's nice that people care. I send the love back! It's lovely to hear from you, by the way. I've missed you." She mused.

"Ah! You're so soppy, Jane!" Debby joked. "I'm kidding, and I miss you, too. Keep me updated, yeah?"

"Of course." Jane replied. She looked to her side and noticed a green figure scuttling across the pole of the shack. "I've got to go. I just found Harry!"

"Who's Harry?"

"My boss' pet lizard!"

"You're boss has a pet lizard called Harry? Now I've heard it all!" Debby laughed at the thought. "Okay, talk to you later?"

"See you!" Jane replied and hung up the phone, leaning against the railing a little more to greet her scaley flatmate. "He's been very worried about you, you know? She smiled, fully aware she was talking to a lizard. "Come on, let me take you to him." Jane said, putting out her hand for Harry to crawl onto. "He'll be pleased to see you."

In all honesty, Jane shuddered at the thought of a creature crawling onto her, considering the last time that happened, it wasn't exactly the best of times. But the idea of seeing Neville's happy face at the sight of Harry made her overcome that fear.

**

After much excitement from the pair, the night had completed its duty of engulfing the evening sky. It invited the cicadas to chirp throughout the night amongst the stars. And it was truly beautiful, the way that the pale crescent moon reflected on the gentle waves. The combination of familiar soothing sounds cooed to the island as they drifted off to sleep.

Neville and Jane's respective beds had never felt more comfortable. Although it was already hot in Saint Marie, they didn't care, choosing to cover themselves with the soft material of their duvets that covered their skin, giving them the extra warmth and security they desperately needed.

Their sleep-deprived minds appreciated their fluffy pillows. It felt like their heads were on a cloud in the sky, unlike the hard floor they had to endure.

They came to admire their precious mattresses, too. They were firm and thick, springy and bouncy... lovely and lovely. That's all they could think - how lovely it was compared to their previous conditions.

Jane opened her eyes to a dark room, only the moonlight creeping in from the window to her side. She felt annoyed that her slumber had been disrupted by only herself, but alas, she had to go. Jane tapped her phone to peak at the time, nearly blinding her. "4 AM?" She muttered to herself, releasing a big sigh from her mouth.

She reluctantly left her sanctuary and tip-toed to the central part of the shack, incredibly aware that one wrong move could wake up her sleeping roommate. She looked like a burglar; she thought to herself - ironic considering she's a police officer.

Unfortunately, the bathroom was located right next to the Inspector's head. Jane gritted her teeth at the regrettable placement. She edged closer and closer to the room, completely unable to see in the dark. Maybe she should have bought some night vision goggles from the market. It definitely would have been handy in this situation.

Only one more step, that was it, and she would be there.

CRASH

Neville jolted awake and promptly turned on the light on his bedside table. "Jane?"

The officer was on the floor with a bookshelf on her.

"...Ow." Jane yelped.

"What happened?" Neville said with concern as he rose from his bed.

"I tripped." She confessed, infinitely embarrassed. The culprit was a black wire connected to the standing lamp that had wrapped around the leg of the bookshelf. Thankfully, the shelf wasn't too heavy - or had many books on it. But the shock would have lasted a lifetime. "Sorry to wake you, I just wanted to go to the bathroom." She winced.

Neville couldn't help but laugh as he tried to pull the bookshelf off her. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live I suppose."

As he continued to lift the furniture, a thought passed his mind. He paused as he looked at the shelf with wide eyes.

"Sir?" Jane spoke. She was confused why he had stopped as the shelf was still half-on her. Jane looked at Neville's face and studied it intensely. He was clearly deep in thought - but why?

"That's it!" He shouted. Neville stopped lifting the shelf in his panic, letting it fall back onto Jane. "That's how the killer did it! That's genius, my god!" He continued with his rant, prancing around the room.

Jane raised a brow. "You know who did it?" She tried to buy into his madness, but it was hard to grasp the situation due to her still having an object on her after all.

"Yes! I do!" Neville said happily. "I'll need you to gather all the suspects first thing tomorrow, Jane!"

"I'm glad you've solved it, Sir, but..." Jane gestures towards herself. "Could I maybe get a little help?"

Neville stood there for a second, still a bit manic from the solving of the case and suddenly realised what he had done. "Oh!" He shrieked as he ran over. "Yes! Sorry... right away."

The Detective Inspector couldn't wait to finally show Jane his favourite part.