Slaughter in the Cotswolds
Page 26
With surprising grace, he complied, and her mother came on the line. ‘Thea?’ she asked.
‘Mum, I want you to come here, and spend the next few days with me. Things are looking bad for Emily – they’re questioning her now, but the whole story has come out, really. I can’t talk about it on the phone—’ her voice thickened as she imagined the effect of the truth on the whole extended family. ‘But we’ll deal with it together. And, Mum—’
‘Yes, yes,’ interrupted Mrs Johnston energetically. ‘I understand. I’ll come as soon as I can. You’ll have to give me directions, of course. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Lower Slaughter.’
The echoes of Emily, the weekend before, were too acute to ignore. ‘Just come to the middle of the village, and I’ll be waiting for you,’ she said weakly. ‘And – thanks, Mum.’
It was true, she realised, as she ended the call. Together, the family would survive this crisis, because people always did survive. Worse things had happened, after all.
In need of comfort before her mother arrived, she fetched the sheepskin that Henry Galton had given her, and laid it on the sofa. Inviting Hepzie to join her, she curled up on the warm wool, and thought about Emily and Bruce and Sam Webster and how Emily’s lies had made no real difference to anything. And would she see Phil again sometime soon? Probably, she concluded. He too would need a degree of debriefing, after a misguided murder investigation that had turned out to be so close to him personally. Precisely where it would leave their relationship remained to be seen.
‘Lock the doors, Daddy!’ shouted Ignatius. ‘Lock the doors.’
AUTHOR’S NOTE
As in previous titles, this story is set in a real village. However, the farms, houses and characters are all the products of my imagination. The Manor Hotel is an amalgam of a number of establishments in the area.
The lines on page 13 are from a hymn by John of Damascus.
About the Author
REBECCA TOPE lives on a smallholding in Herefordshire, with a full complement of livestock, but manages to travel the world and enjoy civilisation from time to time as well. Most of her varied experiences and activities find their way into her books, sooner or later. Her own cocker spaniel, Beulah, is the model for Hepzibah, but is unfortunately ageing much more rapidly.
www.rebeccatope.com
By Rebecca Tope
IN THE COTSWOLD SERIES
A Cotswold Killing
A Cotswold Ordeal
Death in the Cotswolds
A Cotswold Mystery
Blood in the Cotswolds
Slaughter in the Cotswolds
Fear in the Cotswolds
A Grave in the Cotswolds
Deception in the Cotswolds
OTHER TITLES
The Sting of Death
A Market for Murder
Grave Concerns
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
13 Charlotte Mews
London W1T 4EJ
www.allisonandbusby.com
Copyright © 2009 by REBECCA TOPE
First published in hardback by Allison & Busby Ltd in 2009.
Published in paperback by Allison & Busby Ltd in 2010.
This ebook edition first published in 2010.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–0883–3