Read Online Murder in the Neighbourhood: A Diane Dimbleby Cozy Mystery by Penelope Sotheby - Free Book Online Page A

record, clean driving record. Former address: 128 Wilbury Lane, Shrewsbury.
    “Why do I know that address? Bob, can you look up an address for me?” Darrell asks.
    “Sure thing, sir.”
    “Look up 128 Wilbury Lane, Shrewsbury, please.”
    After a minute, Sergeant Webster comes back with, “It’s the address for Safe Refuge, the men’s homeless shelter sir.”
    “A homeless shelter?”
    Darrell suddenly remembers Diane telling him that Carys worked a lot with the homeless charity here in Shrewsbury. Carys might have met Richard at the shelter, and then hired him for a proper job to get him off the street.
    Yet Darrell does not like where his mind is heading. He does not like to judge a man just because he had once had a bad string of luck, but he cannot help wondering: Richard hit rock bottom once… has he again? And has he taken Carys down with him?

Chapter 6
     
    Without letting another second pass, Darrell picks up the phone to call Diane. Although she knows about Carys’ so-called cousin, the shady Mrs. Thomas, Darrell wouldn’t put it past Diane to invite her in, should Mrs. Thomas come knocking at her door.
    And then there’s the question of Richard. Darrell is pretty sure Diane is already suspicious of the man, but if he is the killer, he could probably, at the very least, intimidate a woman 15 years his senior.
    Darrell doesn’t like to hover, but he has to make sure Diane is safe.
    “Hello!” Diane answers cheerfully.
    “Diane, I need you to promise me you’ll stay inside, at least until I can ensure your complete safety.”
    “But Rufus and I couldn’t resist. We just had to get outside to enjoy this beautiful day.”
    “You’re outside right now? Bloody hell!”
    “Darrell, calm down. What is it?”
    Darrell has let his worry, albeit disguised by his temper, get the best of him. After counting to ten in his head – isn’t that what all the experts tell a person to do to keep their wits about them? – he explains that there are two plausible suspects: Richard Butler and Rosalyn Thomas. Both could easily get to Diane, in one way or another.
    “I’m not usually one to give ultimatums, but if you do not stay inside your cottage, at least for the day, I’m going to have to take Rufus to the RSPCA.”
    Diane bites her lip to keep from laughing – she’s not used to hearing the inspector talk so sternly to her. Then it hits her: he’s right. She is putting herself in a precarious position every time she steps out the door.
    “Not to worry, Darrell,” she says. “I’m quickly going to run to the shops to buy some doggie pee pads for Rufus. That way neither he nor I will have to leave the house for the rest of the day.”
    “Thank you Diane. We’ll chat soon. Stay safe.”
    Darrell hangs up the phone and heaves a sigh of relief. He then flips open the folder on his desk that he’s recently labelled ‘Carys Jones’. On top, he notices a business card that says ‘Henry Taylor, Solicitor.'
    Darrell suddenly remembers that they haven’t tracked down a possible will of Carys’. He dials the number on the card and leaves a message on the voicemail for the solicitor to call him back as soon as possible.
    He looks over to see Sergeant Webster, who is on the phone and furiously taking notes.
    “Find much on Mrs. Thomas, Bob?” Darrell asks after the sergeant hangs up.
    “She’s not as angelic as she might appear, sir.”
    Darrell walks over to Sergeant Webster’s desk to hear what his man has found out. The sergeant tells him that he’s confirmed that Mrs. Rosalyn Thomas is from Aberystwyth, Wales, and that her mother and Carys’ mother were sisters.
    What’s more, Mrs. Thomas has a chequered past. Sergeant Webster pulls up her criminal record on his computer. Darrell immediately notices the mugshot. He’s positive it belongs to the same woman he met last night. The cold glare he had witnessed while she watched him from her car is staring at him again from Sergeant Webster’s