THE COUNTRY INN MYSTERY an absolutely gripping whodunit full of twists

by Faith Martin

  ‘But how could she afford that?’ Franklyn demanded. ‘Her parents aren’t wealthy. Of course, she might have had a sugar daddy.’

  ‘We haven’t found signs of him so far if she had, sir,’ Lucy warned him. ‘I’ve seen the collated reports from the PC’s interviews, and if she had an older, richer man in tow, I think someone would have known about it.’

  ‘Oh, almost certainly, I’d have said,’ Jenny put in. ‘From what I knew of her, she wouldn’t have been too shy to boast about having hooked herself a rich lover.’ The cook shook her head with a brief smile. ‘She wasn’t the most tactful of women. She had no scruples in dropping Ion Dryfuss rather brutally, and she couldn’t have cared less about Matthew’s broken engagement. And she made no bones about making a play for Silas Buckey when she learned he’d recently sold his company and had money to burn. No,’ Jenny shook her head again, ‘if she was getting her money from a rich suitor, it wouldn’t even have crossed her mind to be discreet about it.’

  ‘So where was she getting the money for all this high living and expensive, career-boosting extras?’ Lucy said.

  Jenny glanced across at Franklyn, one eyebrow arched, and the inspector whistled through his teeth. Slowly, he began to nod his head.

  ‘The good old standby,’ he said, making Lucy, who wasn’t following this, flush resentfully as the Junoesque cook also smiled conspiratorially at her boss.

  ‘Exactly,’ Jenny said succinctly.

  ‘What?’ Lucy demanded.

  ‘Blackmail,’ Franklyn said flatly.

  Jenny sighed. ‘Well, as we’ve said, Rachel was the sort of woman who liked to indulge herself — the best clothes, make-up, what have you. And she had very little empathy for anyone else — and if that isn’t the psychological profile of a blackmailer, I don’t know what is. And then there were all those arch little throwaway lines she used to give off. Once or twice, when the am-dram people were here and she was giving a performance, afterwards in the crowd, she’d be talking to someone about something apparently innocuous, but all the time I’d get the feeling that she was actually talking to someone else. Or rather, directing her message to someone else. And that “little chat” she had with Vince, when she asked him about a person’s duty to inform the authorities if they knew of any illegal activity, was a prime case in point.’

  ‘Yes, I picked up on that too,’ Franklyn said, not wanting the cook to think that he hadn’t.

  ‘So someone around her, someone in the group this weekend, had done something bad, and she knew all about it — probably from some felon she’d met at work,’ Lucy said, picking up the baton. ‘And she’d been blackmailing that person for some time?’

  ‘Right,’ Jenny said. ‘She’d been spending money on making sure that her star was rising for quite some time. At least a year, if not longer.’

  ‘So why mention it in public at all?’ Lucy said, then quickly held up a hand. ‘Sorry, that’s obvious. She was piling on the pressure, wasn’t she?’

  ‘Exactly,’ Jenny said. ‘I think her blackmail victims were getting restless. Perhaps they were beginning to cut up rough — threatening to stop making the payments. And they needed a timely reminder of what would happen if they did.’

  ‘So who was it,’ Franklyn said flatly. He’d had enough of all the background information, and wanted to get down to the nitty gritty. ‘Who killed her?’

  Jenny sighed sadly. ‘Well, who had access to the inn, and the changing rooms? Who was in a position to kill her and plan the whole charade we witnessed? Who do we know who are a solid couple, working together for the same goals, and feeling sure enough of each other to kill?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ it was Lucy who said it, the frustration clear in her voice. ‘We seem to have eliminated everyone!’

  Jenny shook her head. ‘Who owns the inn?’ she asked quietly. ‘Who always seems to be grubbing for money, as if it was a vital commodity? Who arranged the Regency Extravaganza and booked the am-dram players? Who has a business reliant on them being “morally above reproach?”’

  ‘The Sparkeys?’ Franklyn said, looking over at the empty bar automatically. ‘But . . .’ In truth, he hadn’t considered the landlords of the inn. They hadn’t even been on his radar. ‘Run it by me,’ he said heavily.

  Jenny sighed. ‘Like I said, I think if you check Rachel’s place of work you’ll find a driver who did some time in prison, and that he knew Muriel in her younger days. And I also think you’ll find, when you check, that she had a bit of a wild childhood. I noticed that she has some sort of a tattoo on her arm — and not the pretty little butterfly kind, but a large, maybe ugly or violent image. I think Muriel must have grown up far from this lovely place, and in rather under-privileged circumstances. At some point she fell in with a bad lot. In short — I think you’ll find that she has a criminal record.’

  ‘Which will blow her deal on this place if the trustees of that old lady get to hear about it,’ Franklyn caught on at once.

  ‘Right. Think about it. The Sparkeys have worked hard for years to own this place — it’s their dream. But then along comes Rachel, and demands payment to keep silent. And then bleeds them dry until they finally snap and come up with the plan to kill her.’

  ‘So they come up with the plan and arrange the Regency weekend, and once Rachel has changed into her costume for her final performance, one of them kills her,’ Lucy said.

  ‘I think that must have been Richard,’ her boss put in. ‘It makes sense — he’s the stronger of the two.’

  ‘Yes, I think so too,’ Jenny put in firmly. ‘Yesterday afternoon, whilst we were waiting about after lunch, I saw Richard leave the bar for a while, then come back a little while later. I think now that he’d just gone upstairs and killed the poor girl. Then he took over the bar from his wife, and Muriel went upstairs to do her part, and change into a costume identical to Rachel’s. Don’t forget, they’d have had a few days to either rent one or make it up, assuming they’d seen the dress shortly after Rachel first arrived at the inn. They must’ve found some excuse to see it, or had gone into the dressing room to take a closer look. And they’d have known it would be the black gown, given her final scene.’

  ‘And whilst his wife dressed as Rachel did her bit, he . . . what?’ Lucy mused.

  ‘Gathered up his peasant costume with the comical floppy hat that almost hid his face,’ Jenny said, ‘took his spider in a matchbox with him, put Rachel’s body in his car and drove to the back of the pond. And all the time he was doing this, his wife was stretching out her performance to give him as much time as possible. It did seem to take us longer to get to the pond than it really should have done.’

  Jenny shrugged. ‘And then . . . well, we know how it all played out. Richard would have left some dry clothes and “civvies” behind the weeping willows for Muriel to change into after she got out of the pond,’ Jenny said, ‘and all the pair then had to do was come back to the inn and prepare to hear the sad news.’

  For a second the two police officers were quiet. ‘Well, it all hangs together. And makes sense,’ Franklyn said. ‘But can we prove it?’

  Jenny shrugged. ‘Surely forensics will find something in his car? And Old Walter may be able to help you confirm what the Sparkeys’ movements were that day, if you ask him. After the procession left for the village pond, the inn was left unattended. And Old Walter would have been hanging about as usual, hoping for free drinks. Then the divers will find the recording device, but whether or not it will have survived its dunking, I don’t know. But if they can recover Rachel’s voice from it, that’ll help.’

  ‘And we might be able to find Muriel’s costume. Even if she’s dumped it or burnt it by now, at least we know what we’re looking for,’ Lucy said optimistically.

  Jenny looked out of the window and sighed heavily. ‘And to think, all they wanted was to own a piece of this,’ she said sadly. ‘To be the hosts of this lovely old inn and live their dream. It wasn’t much to ask, really, was it? Just as a
ll Rachel wanted was to live her own dream, and become a star.’

  For a moment, there was a heavy silence. ‘The things we do in pursuit of dreams, eh?’ Franklyn finally said morosely.

  Jenny Starling nodded. ‘I’m so glad that all I want to do is cook. And that there are plenty of people willing to let me do it,’ she said simply.

  * * *

  The next couple of hours passed in a frantic haze of activity for the two police officers. Warrants were obtained, searches were made, as were arrests. The Sparkeys were taken away, Muriel tearful and protesting their innocence, Richard white-faced and shocked into silence.

  Min and Silas Buckey departed for their next destination of Stratford-upon-Avon, looking rather pale and unusually quiet. Ion set off for Wales without a word to anyone. Dr Gilchrist was at the police station making out his statement before departing for Oxford, and Jenny Starling, with the inn closed, had taken the time to clear up in the kitchen, conscientiously putting the perishables away in the fridge and the leftover food in the freezer.

  She had just finished packing and was hauling her case downstairs when Franklyn pushed through the door.

  ‘Oh. Are you off?’

  ‘Yes. But you have my home address and contact details if you need to speak to me again,’ Jenny said, walking over to the bar and hoisting herself onto a stool. She looked decidedly glum.

  ‘Cheer up! Why are you looking so down?’ Franklyn tried to jolly her along. ‘The Sparkeys have already cracked by the way. And you were quite right — the dead girl’s growing demands were driving them mad. And they’d finally realised that they’d never be free of her. They were getting desperate, and were convinced they were going to lose everything — their home, their livelihood and their dream. They say they had to kill her — it was almost self-defence.’

  But Jenny wasn’t even thinking of the Sparkeys.

  ‘It’s not that,’ she said miserably. ‘I’m just wondering how I can tell my friend Patsy that she might not have a job to come back to! With her employers in clink and the inn closed, I didn’t exactly do a stellar job of holding her post for her, did I?’ she wailed.

  THE END

  ALSO BY FAITH MARTIN

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  JENNY STARLING SERIES

  Book 1: THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY

  Book 2: THE WINTER MYSTERY

  Book 3: THE RIVERBOAT MYSTERY

  Book 4: THE CASTLE MYSTERY

  Book 5: THE OXFORD MYSTERY

  Book 6: THE TEATIME MYSTERY

  Book 7: THE COUNTRY INN MYSTERY

  DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES

  Book 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL

  Book 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY

  Book 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE

  Book 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE

  Book 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY

  Book 6: MURDER AT HOME

  Book 7: MURDER IN THE MEADOW

  Book 8: MURDER IN THE MANSION

  Book 9: MURDER IN THE GARDEN

  Book 10: MURDER BY FIRE

  Book 11: MURDER AT WORK

  Book 12: MURDER NEVER RETIRES

  Book 13: MURDER OF A LOVER

  Book 14: MURDER NEVER MISSES

  Book 15: MURDER AT MIDNIGHT

  Book 16: MURDER IN MIND

  Book 17: HILLARY’S FINAL CASE

  DI HILLARY GREENE BOOK 1

  MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/MURDER-OXFORD-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B0763RXLRV/

  https://www.amazon.com/MURDER-OXFORD-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B0763RXLRV/

  MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.

  Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.

  Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.

  Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?

  DI HILLARY GREENE BOOK 2

  MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY

  UK: www.amazon.co.uk/MURDER-UNIVERSITY-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076CQSYMM/

  USA https://www.amazon.com/MURDER-UNIVERSITY-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076CQSYMM/

  A pretty French student is found dead in her room at an exclusive Oxford college. Everyone thinks it is another tragic case of accidental drug overdose.

  But Detective Hillary Greene has a nose for the truth. She quickly discovers that the student was involved in some very unusual activities.

  With a shocking cause of death found, the case becomes a high-profile murder investigation.

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  Shocking family secrets come to light when a young woman is murdered

  Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears.

  Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale.

  If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.

  DEAD SECRET is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is a fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is a single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.

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  A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER

  Glossary of English Slang for US readers

  A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital

  Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression

  Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets

  Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers

  Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)

  Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings

  A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18

  Auld Reekie: Edinburgh

  Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.

  Barm: bread roll

  Barney: argument

  Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids

  Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle

  Benefits: social security

  Bent: corrupt

  Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)

  Biscuit: cookie

  Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town

  Bloke: guy

  Blow: cocaine

  Blower: telephone

  Blues and twos: emergency vehicles