by M A Comley
“Heard what? What’s wrong with your face all of a sudden?”
“There was a murder up at the hall yesterday.”
Carolyn let out a yelp and dropped the paintbrush she was holding. “Really? Who?”
“Only the goddamn groom.”
“Keith, get in here. You need to hear this.”
Her husband appeared in the doorway, his face covered in sawdust. “What? I’m busy, you know that, Carolyn.”
“Ruth has something to tell us. It’s important, love.”
He came closer to them and crossed his arms. “Go on, you’ve got my attention.”
“Don’t be sarcastic and listen. Go on, Ruth, tell us how it happened?”
“How what happened?” Keith asked, confused.
“Shh, just listen,” Carolyn reprimanded sternly.
Ruth sighed and went over the events of the previous day which her sister and brother-in-law had missed due to their determination to get the renovations completed before the end of the year, doing most of the work while the good weather was still with them.
“That’s simply dreadful. Poor Geraldine, I bet she’s beside herself,” Carolyn said, resting against the bare wall behind her for support.
“She is. Actually, she’s in hospital right now.”
“What?” Keith asked. “Why?”
Ruth recapped the events that led up to Geraldine’s admittance to hospital. Her sister and brother-in-law were stunned again for the second time in as many minutes.
Carolyn shook her head. “Did she try and take her own life?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve mentioned it to numerous people now, and that’s the response I’ve received from most of them. The thing is, she cried out for help and was clinging on to the cliff when Ben and I arrived. If her intention was to throw herself off, wouldn’t she have gone the whole hog? Even if the cliff had broken her fall? Maybe that’s the investigator in me thinking along those lines.”
“Hmm, you could be right in that assumption,” Carolyn agreed. “Poor thing, she’s going to need your help more than ever at the moment, Ruth. That’s going to be a huge burden on your shoulders. Are her parents still around?”
“Yes, what use they’re going to be, I really can’t say. They constantly bicker. I had a chat with them this morning. Not sure if they’ll be able to put their differences aside for the sake of their daughter or not. They promised me they would, but words come cheaply to some people, you know that as well as I do.”
“Shame on them. They should be able to set aside their differences, especially at a time like this, for Geraldine’s sake. Thank goodness she has you as a dear friend who she can rely on. Do you have any ideas who would want Bradley dead?”
“Sadly, there are no clues at this time. I forgot to mention that my nemesis on the force is in charge of this investigation.”
“That’s a bummer. What’s her problem anyway?”
“I suppose she hates the fact that I’ve beaten her by solving more crimes in the past.”
“Egg-on-face syndrome perhaps?” Carolyn suggested.
“Possibly.”
“Right, ladies, as much as I’d like to hang around and gossip, I have pipes to bend and creepy corners I need to get into while the light is still with me.” Keith backed away from them and returned to the other room.
“He’s probably thankful that I haven’t murdered him during this renovation. The subject was probably too near the mark for him.”
Ruth laughed at Carolyn’s admission. “You’re probably right. You two are all right, though, aren’t you? I know how stressful it’s been over the last couple of months.”
The whole family, Carolyn, Keith and their two boys, Ian and Robin, had been living in the back garden in a caravan for the past six months since they’d sold their previous house. Carolyn often complained that caravan life was getting on everyone’s nerves, which was why she and Keith had started working extra hours on the renovations. Her heart went out to her sister. This was Keith’s dream, to have the quintessential cottage in a thriving community. He loved the character these buildings had and was supercharged with enthusiasm to bring that character to life in this beautiful building, no matter what the cost, either financially or emotionally.
“We’re fine. A few niggles as we get closer to the finishing line, nothing major.”
“Finishing line? Are you kidding me? This place looks like it has had a bomb dropped on it in the blitz.”
“You are funny. It’s not as bad as some renovation projects I’ve seen on TV. We’re sort of enjoying the process. The novelty is wearing a little thin now, but at least we can visualise the end result. I struggled with that aspect up until last week. I’d offer to show you around, but you’d get really filthy.”
“I’ll take your word for that. You don’t look that much further on than the last time I popped my head in a few weeks ago.”
“We are. It’s the heating that’s been the problem in the last few weeks. Keith is doing his best to hide the pipes—not always easy when you have cob walls that are sometimes a foot thick in places.”
“Ouch, I bet. All right, I’m going to love you and leave you. I need to write down a few notes before I start the investigation in earnest tomorrow. Give my love to the boys. Here’s a thought… You put them to work for their pocket money. Tell them if they want to live in a house with this much character you all need to go back in time to when it was built. Didn’t they use boys of around ten to do the dirty work back then?”
“You’re a harsh woman. They’d have a fit and probably report us to Social Services if the idea ever left my lips.” Carolyn laughed and waved her off.
Ruth chuckled and fastened the gate. “Take care. Don’t work too hard. I’m dying to see the results of all your hard work. When is that likely to be?”
“We’re hoping to be in before Crimbo.”
“Christmas? Ah, but which year?”
“You cheeky mare. You’ll be eating your words along with the turkey on Christmas Day when you’re sitting at our table eating all the trimmings with the rest of the family, you’ll see.”
“I’ll look forward to that. I’m going home now to mark it on my calendar.”
Carolyn’s mouth turned down at the sides. “Blimey, we’d better get back to it then. Ring you soon.”
Ruth chuckled and left her sister to return to the dust and disgusting paint fumes. She strolled down the rest of the quiet road, one half of her mind on Christmas and the other half with Geraldine. What kind of Christmas would it be for her this year?
James and Ben were sitting in the lounge when she arrived home.
“Crikey, I didn’t realise you were actually going to be playing around with the set tonight down at the club.” He pointed at her hair.
She tapped at her fringe and watched the dust fall in front of her. “No, this isn’t from the club. I stopped off to see how Carolyn and Keith were getting on.”
“Damn, I keep meaning to drop in and see if they need a hand. Just been up to my neck in work lately.”
“Well, if things die down for you over the coming weeks, they could sure use some help. They’re talking about having us all around there for Christmas dinner.”
“They are? How far along are they?” He patted the couch for her to sit beside him.
She dumped her bag on the floor and collapsed next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and Ben jumped up on the couch on the other side of her. She ruffled Ben’s head. “Cheeky, boy. Well, to me, it doesn’t look as if they’ve made any headway at all, not since I popped in a few weeks ago. Keith’s putting in the central heating. Carolyn said all the work is happening under the floorboards et cetera, so it’s hard to tell if they’ve made any great strides with the renovation. As you can see, it’s still dusty as hell in there. I dread to think what state their lungs will be in by the end of it.”
“Ah, the trials and tribulations of renovating a beautiful old cottage. We were lucky this pla
ce was already done when we moved in. Do you think they’re trying to emulate our cottage?”
“I’m not sure about that. They’re just trying to make it habitable for them and the boys. Carolyn said living in the caravan is beginning to take its toll on them all.”
He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “I know that tone. There’s something you’re not saying.”
Ruth smiled. “You think you know me so well. I was just wondering if we could offer them shelter during the autumn and winter. It might give them the impetus to get a wriggle on if they get a decent night’s sleep and they’re not riddled with guilt because of the boys.”
“Hmm…I would have thought the opposite. Living in the caravan would give them the impetus they needed to get the job finished earlier.”
She shook her head. “You’re a harsh man at times, James Winchester.”
“But you love me, right?” He lowered his mouth to meet hers.
After they’d shared a satisfying kiss, she withdrew and looked him in the eye. “Can I suggest it to them?”
His shoulders rose to meet his ears. “Do I really have a choice in the matter?”
“It might not come to that anyway. Knowing how independent Carolyn is, she’ll probably turn me down.”
She might, but the boys will jump at the chance to wreak havoc around here, teasing Ben and shouting while they play computer games on our TV.”
Ruth shuddered at the thought of their tranquillity being disrupted for months on end. “Okay, you win. I’ll only suggest it if we have a really snowy winter, how about that?”
He squeezed her to him and pecked her on the forehead. “That’s a deal.”
She flew out of the chair to collect her pen and paper from the sideboard. “Good. Now that’s out of the way, I need to make some notes about where my investigation should begin.”
“Do you need a hand? Unofficially, of course.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I want to draw up a list of possible witnesses.” She retook her seat and poised her pen ready.
“What? You do realise how many people were at the wedding, don’t you?”
“Yep, around a hundred. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the task in hand, but needs must. Now, who can you remember being there?”
Together, over the course of the next few hours, they managed to list over eighty names. That meant she wouldn’t be able to interview at least twenty people, not unless she got hold of the wedding list from the wedding planner. Now, why hadn’t she thought about that earlier? It had been a tiring weekend, and she’d been racing around from pillar to post in one way or another.
The final thing she did before she turned in for the evening was ring the hospital to see how Geraldine was doing. The ward sister said she was sleeping. Apparently, she had been extremely tearful during the day. Her state of mind would be reassessed in the morning before any further decisions would be made about whether she’d be discharged or remain in hospital under supervision. Does that mean the doctor thought she’d attempted suicide as well? Her heart went out to her old school friend. Between them, this was by far the toughest situation life had thrown at them over the years. Her only thought now was whether Geraldine was strong enough to pull through what was about to be thrown at her over the next week or so.
Chapter 7
Ruth woke up to the birds singing gaily and the warmth of the early morning sun. James had left for work hours before. She stretched out to find Ben lying on his side. He had replaced James on the bed.
She turned over and flung an arm over him and kissed him on the head. “Morning, sunshine, how are you today?”
He moaned and extended all four paws out in front of him.
After a few minutes of snuggling into his fur, she bit the bullet and got up, flinging back the quilt so it intentionally covered Ben. He jumped off the bed and sneezed with excitement, the way he always did in the morning when he was eager to go out.
Ruth slipped on her pink towelling robe and drifted down the stairs to let Ben out. She switched on the kettle and popped a few pieces of bread in the toaster while she waited for her four-legged companion to do his business in the garden.
She thought about the day ahead of her and groaned. Ben sauntered in through the back door just as the toast popped up. She poured the water over her coffee granules and buttered her toast, then she took ten minutes out to eat her breakfast. It was only seven-thirty, after all.
Breakfast eaten, she ventured upstairs again to shower and dress. Half an hour later, she was ready to leave the house, her constant companion by her side. He went everywhere with her and loved riding in the car—it was the highlight of his day.
Ruth unlocked the office door and settled down behind her clutter-free desk. Tidy desk, tidy mind, as the saying went. She’d always adhered to that, not only for her own well-being but also in case any clients walked in off the street. It was far better to work on one file that she could flip shut at a moment’s notice than work with several different cases open at the same time.
She felt daunted. So many people to interview she really didn’t have a clue where to begin. Whilst she waited for a bright idea to spark, she made herself her second coffee of the day. Always far wiser to contemplate the mammoth task ahead of her with a double dose of caffeine coursing through her veins.
Suitably invigorated, she took out her pad and ran a finger down the list she’d created with James the previous evening but then paused. “Nope, the first job is to seek out the wedding planner. Did Geraldine even have one?” She had her doubts as Geraldine had told her that she’d arranged everything herself. But there must be a list of sorts lying around, for the wedding dinner perhaps? She picked up the phone and called Lady Falkirk, hoping she could shed some light on what was troubling her.
“Lady Falkirk is indisposed at the present time. May I help you at all, Miss?” Lady Falkirk’s butler asked her.
“You probably can, Mr Wells. I was hoping to get my hands on a list of the people who attended the wedding.”
“I’m not sure there is such a thing. I can ask Lady Falkirk once she’s finished her meeting and call you back, if that would help?”
“Perfect. I know Geraldine arranged most things but I would’ve thought she would have handed over a list or some form of seating plan for the guests. Or am I wrong about that?”
“Possibly. I wouldn’t like to say. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve found out. Good morning, Miss Morgan.”
“You’re very kind. Thank you, Mr Wells.”
Feeling disappointed, her enthusiasm dashed, Ruth sat back in her chair and tapped her pen on the desk. This little problem needn’t delay her. After all, she had the list she had created with James that she could use for now.
The next hour consisted of Ruth looking through the phone book, obtaining the numbers of the people she needed to call. She then worked her way through the list, asking those she spoke to whether they had either seen or overheard anything suspicious during the wedding that she should know about, specifically before Bradley’s death. Although, she was willing to listen to anything anyone said they’d heard after the incident, too. Grasping at straws there, girl. She might have been, but what else was there on the table for her to use?
Getting nowhere fast, her spirits had dropped to rock bottom, but a call she received halfway through the morning lifted her mood once more.
“Miss Morgan? It’s Timothy Wells from Carmel Cove Hall here. I have the information you need. It’s a little tatty around the edges but it’s still decipherable. Would you like to collect it?”
“Thank you. That’s wonderful news. I’ll be right there.”
“See you soon in that case.”
The butler ended the call first. Ruth grabbed her handbag and Ben’s leash from the nearby chair. Ben was on his feet in a flash, spinning in circles all the way to the door. “All right, boy, I suppose we’ll be able to fit in a run at the park on the way back if you’re super good in the car.�
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After hearing the two most popular words in his vocabulary, park and car, Ben woofed excitedly.
She laughed and ruffled his head then stepped out of the office. He ran to the car and bounced on the spot while she opened the door. She placed him in the harness and laid his leash on the seat beside him, then she jumped behind the steering wheel and drove up to Carmel Cove Hall.
Mr Wells must have heard the car approach because he appeared on the steps of the hall before she had the chance to get out of her vehicle. He strode across the gravel and motioned for her to open the window.
“Hello, there. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Mr Wells. Thank you so much.”
“All part of the job, Miss. Good luck with your investigation.”
“Thank you. I know Geraldine will be super grateful, too, when I let her know what you’ve done for us.”
His stern, officious face softened slightly. “Ah, how is Miss Geraldine? Did I hear she was taken to hospital yesterday?”
“You did. They’re taking good care of her. I think she’ll be home in the next day or two.”
“Glad to hear it. Please send her my regards and best wishes.”
“I will.” She waved the list in her hand and smiled. “Thank you again for this. I’m sure it will come in handy.”
“I hope it helps.” The stern expression reappeared on his face. “I hope you find the person responsible for the murder.”
“I’m sure I will. I have a reputation to uphold in the community, Mr Wells.”
“Indeed. So long for now. You know where I am if you should need any further assistance, Miss Morgan.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you, sir.”
He nodded stiffly and strode away from the car and in through the grand entrance to the hall.
“Right, that’s work out the way. It’s playtime now, Ben. Just a quick one, though, all right?”
Ben moaned and paced the back seat until they reached the large park close to the centre of town. She trusted Ben off-lead and watched him sniff the ground ahead of her. She threw his ball once she got his attention, and he galloped after it, his tail doing a great impression of a helicopter’s blades.
