Read Online Guilty Pleasures by Judith Cutler - Free Book Online

clashing something shocking with my fuchsia top, but to my amazement responded to Robin’s outstretched hand and brilliant smile with a huge and unbecoming blush, with which of course her hair clashed even more.
    â€˜Seems Griff activated your alarm system the moment he had a chance. His assailant fled the scene.’ It seemed to me she spoke more to Robin than to me; perhaps all police officers, even women, were somehow programmed to look up to men.
    â€˜So why didn’t he phone to say he was OK?’ I asked, scared, angry, resentful – all three and a few more.
    â€˜Because he isn’t quite OK. He’s in pain, but not desperate for death to put an end to it,’ she said with a smile, waiting briefly for me to recognize the quotation, which I didn’t. ‘So I don’t think he’ll be needing you yet awhile, vicar,’ she added, with a strange fluttery smile. Eventually, she tore her eyes from his and said to me, ‘He got hit about the head, and there’s quite nasty bruising to his arm and hands. He’s in A and E in the William Harvey, Ashford. One of our officers is babysitting him until you go and collect him, Lina. Hang on! Before you gallop off, we’d like you to take just a few moments to walk through the property with Mandy Aitken, one of our SOCOs, to see if anything’s missing.’
    â€˜The shop or the cottage?’
    â€˜Cottage. Seems he’d closed the shop for lunch – he insisted we put a little sign on the door apologizing for not opening it this afternoon. Said something about maybe calling Mrs Walker?’
    It would take ages to explain to Mrs Walker why we needed her, because she’d ask endless questions. ‘It’s easier to leave the shop closed,’ I said.
    â€˜Fair enough. Over here, Mandy! You’ll have to dress up too, Lina,’ she added, as Mandy produced an outfit like her own.
    Last time I’d struggled into one of these suits Will and I had burst into the Snowman song. And I’d had a few very bad moments. Now I might be about to have even worse ones.
    Mandy, the Scene of Crime expert, was a short blonde with killer spectacles – the sharply angled sort you see in optician’s windows but can’t imagine anyone wearing. With her protective suit, the effect was bizarre: a rectangular-eyed polar bear. She’d already put paper markers on the carpet. I didn’t need one of her arrows to show me a patch of Griff’s blood. Knowing him, his chief concern would be for the carpet itself, a lovely old Wilton, with muted colours and lovely sheen.
    â€˜Anything missing?’
    â€˜Not as far as I can see.’ I pointed to the shards of a Moorcroft vase. ‘But someone gave that a tidy whack.’
    â€˜Actually, someone used it to give someone else a tidy whack.’ Mandy pointed with a gloved finger. ‘Look – a bit of hair and skin, and some blood? I’d say Mr Tripp might have used it to repel the intruder. You see, he didn’t have the sort of injury that would result in damage like that.’
    So the blood wasn’t Griff’s. I sat down and swallowed hard. ‘You’ll be able to check our CCTV images,’ I croaked at last, hoping Griff wouldn’t be charged with assault. You never knew these days. ‘Hidden camera.’
    She pulled herself upright and stared. ‘Where?’
    â€˜See that ornate picture frame?’
    â€˜Tucked in all those twiddly bits? Wow, that’s neat.’
    â€˜I’ll get you the movie.’ Leaving her to it, I went through to the office. The safe gaped, half its contents on the floor. My voice strangled in my throat, just about I managed to call, ‘Have you been in here yet?’
    â€˜Oh, dear.’ She squatted on her haunches beside me. ‘Can you tell if anything’s missing? No, don’t move anything, not unless you have to.’
    â€˜Griff wouldn’t have opened