Next to him, Claire rolled over and stretched out a hand to rub Rufus behind the ears. The purring vibrated the bed. ‘See,’ she said, ‘he does like you.’
Dan turned over to face her, forcing Rufus to slide down onto the duvet between them. The cat signalled his displeasure by washing his bottom. ‘I’m tempted to say you should ban him from the bedroom, but I reckon I’d lose the argument. That cat is out to get me. He doesn’t like me at all.’ He poked a finger into the cat’s fur, ‘and I’m not that struck on him.’
Claire giggled and snuggled in closer. ‘Let’s encourage him to go elsewhere for a while. I’ll get him some breakfast, and you can make up for all the evenings you’ve had to cancel recently. Deal?’
Dan grinned and lay back with his hands tucked behind his head. ‘Deal,’ he said.
Acknowledgments
Writing this book has been an education in many ways. I am indebted to Dr Laura Evis from the Department of Archaeology at Exeter University for her help on the excavation of dead bodies; any mistakes in procedure or terminology are all mine. Thanks to Andrew Vernon for his invaluable help with police procedure and for sorting out the difference between a Timberland and a Timberlake. Thanks to the team at Bloodhound for allowing me the space to get to here in my own time. Finally thanks to Liz and Tony for first reads and feedback, and to Stuart for tea, biscuits and the occasional curse or ‘encouragement’. Especial thanks to lovely editor, Clare Law, whose attention to detail and thorough background research has smartened up this book considerably.
Death on Dartmoor Page 29
