mobile in his hand, which he switched off before the person on the other end could reply. He looked dead guilty. For of course he knew that where there was a dog, an owner wouldn’t be far behind.
We couldn’t exactly pretend we hadn’t been in the bushes. The only thing to do was make it look like we’d only just got there. I did a lot of rustling and then we both burst out, apparently out of breath.
“Have you seen Bertie?” I puffed, rushing across to Grant. “And the shih tzu? We’ve lost the lot!”
“Oh, there they all are!” exclaimed Graham, looking the picture of innocence. “Gosh! We were so worried. What would we have said to their mummies?”
“Bertie’s getting worse than Byron!” I realized as soon as the words slipped out that it wasn’t the most tactful thing to have said, seeing as Byron was the one who had discovered Gabbie’s body. A hot flush of embarrassment swept over me, but Grant didn’t seem to notice – he was too busy trying to catch Jessie, who was bounding around with Malcolm and Stanley while Bertie looked on, a superior expression on his face.
Graham and I had no control whatsoever over the shih tzu, so it took a while for Grant to grab his dog and clip her on the lead. Once he’d managed it, he stalked off angrily, throwing a menacing look at me and Graham over his shoulder.
The encounter had left us with lots and lots to talk about. And the first thing I asked Graham was, what did he reckon Grant had been going to say before Bertie interrupted him? “Nobody was supposed to get killed”?
mr x
“What on earth is going on?” I plonked myself down on the spot where Gabbie Robinson had breathed her last. “Do you reckon Grant was talking about his wife’s murder?”
“It’s possible,” said Graham, lowering himself onto a pile of dry leaves. “And if he was saying ‘nobody was supposed to get
killed
’, I think we can assume that the attacker was merely meant to rough her up a little.”
“But what would be the point of that?” I asked, before answering my own question. “As a warning, maybe?”
Graham nodded. “Maybe. And if that was the case, it would seem to suggest that Gabbie knew too much. Perhaps someone wanted to intimidate her to prevent her from finding out more about the dogfighting ring.”
“But how come her husband’s involved?” I asked. “It doesn’t make sense.” You only had to look at Grant with Jessie to see that he adored his dog – he was completely daft over her. A man who was that soppy couldn’t possibly want to stand and watch dogs dying for his own amusement, could he? But, as that phone call had just proved, he certainly knew something.
“This is all getting too weird,” I said. “If it
is
to do with dogfighting, Kyle’s got to be involved. Grant clearly knows something about it. But neither of them can have killed Gabbie. Kathryn Hughes could have, but she’s been in custody, so she can’t have had anything to do with Mumsiewumsie’s accident. The hit-and-run just has to be connected. But why would anyone want Mumsiewumsie dead? We’re missing something, Graham. Come on, think.”
I decided to start with Mumsiewumsie. All we knew about the car that had hit her was that it had a dog guard in it. So did Dermot’s. But he’d said that he didn’t keep a dog. He’d told us he didn’t even like them.
Suppose he was lying?
My heart started to thump against my ribs. “Why would you lie about keeping a dog, Graham?”
“I have no idea,” he said, looking at me closely. “I suppose if you lived in a flat or somewhere you weren’t allowed to keep pets.”
“Weren’t allowed?” I echoed. “Weren’t allowed … which would make it illegal. Like the dogfights. Dermot says he hasn’t got a dog, but maybe he has. Maybe he just doesn’t want to admit it because he’s using it for something dodgy… It could have been him hiding in the bushes!”
“No, no, no,” Graham said firmly. “The heat must
We couldn’t exactly pretend we hadn’t been in the bushes. The only thing to do was make it look like we’d only just got there. I did a lot of rustling and then we both burst out, apparently out of breath.
“Have you seen Bertie?” I puffed, rushing across to Grant. “And the shih tzu? We’ve lost the lot!”
“Oh, there they all are!” exclaimed Graham, looking the picture of innocence. “Gosh! We were so worried. What would we have said to their mummies?”
“Bertie’s getting worse than Byron!” I realized as soon as the words slipped out that it wasn’t the most tactful thing to have said, seeing as Byron was the one who had discovered Gabbie’s body. A hot flush of embarrassment swept over me, but Grant didn’t seem to notice – he was too busy trying to catch Jessie, who was bounding around with Malcolm and Stanley while Bertie looked on, a superior expression on his face.
Graham and I had no control whatsoever over the shih tzu, so it took a while for Grant to grab his dog and clip her on the lead. Once he’d managed it, he stalked off angrily, throwing a menacing look at me and Graham over his shoulder.
The encounter had left us with lots and lots to talk about. And the first thing I asked Graham was, what did he reckon Grant had been going to say before Bertie interrupted him? “Nobody was supposed to get killed”?
mr x
“What on earth is going on?” I plonked myself down on the spot where Gabbie Robinson had breathed her last. “Do you reckon Grant was talking about his wife’s murder?”
“It’s possible,” said Graham, lowering himself onto a pile of dry leaves. “And if he was saying ‘nobody was supposed to get
killed
’, I think we can assume that the attacker was merely meant to rough her up a little.”
“But what would be the point of that?” I asked, before answering my own question. “As a warning, maybe?”
Graham nodded. “Maybe. And if that was the case, it would seem to suggest that Gabbie knew too much. Perhaps someone wanted to intimidate her to prevent her from finding out more about the dogfighting ring.”
“But how come her husband’s involved?” I asked. “It doesn’t make sense.” You only had to look at Grant with Jessie to see that he adored his dog – he was completely daft over her. A man who was that soppy couldn’t possibly want to stand and watch dogs dying for his own amusement, could he? But, as that phone call had just proved, he certainly knew something.
“This is all getting too weird,” I said. “If it
is
to do with dogfighting, Kyle’s got to be involved. Grant clearly knows something about it. But neither of them can have killed Gabbie. Kathryn Hughes could have, but she’s been in custody, so she can’t have had anything to do with Mumsiewumsie’s accident. The hit-and-run just has to be connected. But why would anyone want Mumsiewumsie dead? We’re missing something, Graham. Come on, think.”
I decided to start with Mumsiewumsie. All we knew about the car that had hit her was that it had a dog guard in it. So did Dermot’s. But he’d said that he didn’t keep a dog. He’d told us he didn’t even like them.
Suppose he was lying?
My heart started to thump against my ribs. “Why would you lie about keeping a dog, Graham?”
“I have no idea,” he said, looking at me closely. “I suppose if you lived in a flat or somewhere you weren’t allowed to keep pets.”
“Weren’t allowed?” I echoed. “Weren’t allowed … which would make it illegal. Like the dogfights. Dermot says he hasn’t got a dog, but maybe he has. Maybe he just doesn’t want to admit it because he’s using it for something dodgy… It could have been him hiding in the bushes!”
“No, no, no,” Graham said firmly. “The heat must
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