Read Online No Stranger to Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 1 by Janet O'Kane - Free Book Online
Authors: Janet O'Kane
Ads: Link
when he finds him.’
‘It’s all right, he’ll know we’re here. A bell rings in the workshop when the front door opens.’
‘You’re very security-conscious.’
‘A house of this size, if someone wandered in it could be days before we found them. We keep the back door locked unless we’re loading stuff into the van.’
After mounting a further set of steps, Zoe found herself in the largest hall she had ever seen in a house that did not charge for admission. Eight doors led off it, and a balustraded gallery looked down from the first floor. Topping all this was an elaborate stained-glass skylight which took up most of the vaulted ceiling.
‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Business must be good.’
Neil laughed. ‘It’s not ours. We rent it off a bloke who lives abroad. He charges us next to nothing because we’re gradually renovating it for him.’
‘Does it need a lot of work?’
‘Nothing structural. We’re mainly restoring fireplaces and patching up floors. See that?’ Neil pointed to an ornate wooden fireplace. ‘One of the philistines who used to live here covered it in white gloss. Took months to get that muck off.’ He started to cross the hall. ‘I’ll give you a proper tour when we have more time. Let’s find Pete and the dog.’
He opened a door on the right, revealing a flight of uncarpeted stairs. The rubber soles of Zoe’s boots squeaked on the bare stone as she and Neil descended. She stopped to peer out of a narrow window; the grounds must have been impressive fifty years ago, but now it was impossible to tell where the lawns stopped and the flower beds started.
‘You’ve yet to tackle the garden, I see.’
‘That’s someone else’s responsibility. We don’t do green.’ Neil opened a door at the bottom of the stairs and warm air came out to meet them. The source of this was apparent as soon as Zoe entered the kitchen: an Aga so big it must have been custom built. On the floor in front of it was a basket containing two heaps of fur, one black, one ginger.
‘You didn’t tell me you had cats.’ Zoe walked over to the basket.
‘In a house as big and old as this you need them to keep the mice down. As you can see, those two are rushed off their feet.’
‘What are their names?’
The cats stirred and looked up at Zoe. She crouched down and started to stroke them, one with each hand.
‘Meet Bert and Tom.’ Neil shrugged at Zoe’s expression of disbelief. ‘It’s easy to shout when you want them to come in.’
‘Not that we have to do that because they never go far from their bed except to eat,’ added a voice from the other end of the room. Zoe looked round to see Peter, accompanied by Mac. The dog wagged his tail on seeing his owner but appeared disinclined to leave his new friend’s side.
‘Told you he’d find him, didn’t I?’ Neil said. ‘Pete, I bumped into Zoe on my way to the village and brought her back to look at some ideas for her kitchen. Is the workshop in a fit state for visitors?’
Zoe straightened up from the cats’ basket in time to see a scowl pass briefly over Peter’s face.
‘Sure.’
Neil, seemingly oblivious to his brother’s irritation, took Zoe by the arm and led her towards the door Peter had come in by. ‘Tea, Pete?’
As Zoe admired the kitchen under construction, Neil explained that two local men built the basic units while he and Peter did what he called ‘the fancy bits’, like the barley-twist carving on their current commission. Then he guided her to the desk where a set of plans lay, anchored down by a black leather belt. He slid the belt into a drawer, and described the process by which he had designed the kitchen’s layout.
Peter appeared, carrying a tray. He walked straight past them.
‘Looks as if we’re going to the showroom,’ Neil said, running a hand over his head. Zoe noticed for the first time a small mole above his left ear.
They followed Peter up to the ground floor via a different staircase to the one
‘It’s all right, he’ll know we’re here. A bell rings in the workshop when the front door opens.’
‘You’re very security-conscious.’
‘A house of this size, if someone wandered in it could be days before we found them. We keep the back door locked unless we’re loading stuff into the van.’
After mounting a further set of steps, Zoe found herself in the largest hall she had ever seen in a house that did not charge for admission. Eight doors led off it, and a balustraded gallery looked down from the first floor. Topping all this was an elaborate stained-glass skylight which took up most of the vaulted ceiling.
‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Business must be good.’
Neil laughed. ‘It’s not ours. We rent it off a bloke who lives abroad. He charges us next to nothing because we’re gradually renovating it for him.’
‘Does it need a lot of work?’
‘Nothing structural. We’re mainly restoring fireplaces and patching up floors. See that?’ Neil pointed to an ornate wooden fireplace. ‘One of the philistines who used to live here covered it in white gloss. Took months to get that muck off.’ He started to cross the hall. ‘I’ll give you a proper tour when we have more time. Let’s find Pete and the dog.’
He opened a door on the right, revealing a flight of uncarpeted stairs. The rubber soles of Zoe’s boots squeaked on the bare stone as she and Neil descended. She stopped to peer out of a narrow window; the grounds must have been impressive fifty years ago, but now it was impossible to tell where the lawns stopped and the flower beds started.
‘You’ve yet to tackle the garden, I see.’
‘That’s someone else’s responsibility. We don’t do green.’ Neil opened a door at the bottom of the stairs and warm air came out to meet them. The source of this was apparent as soon as Zoe entered the kitchen: an Aga so big it must have been custom built. On the floor in front of it was a basket containing two heaps of fur, one black, one ginger.
‘You didn’t tell me you had cats.’ Zoe walked over to the basket.
‘In a house as big and old as this you need them to keep the mice down. As you can see, those two are rushed off their feet.’
‘What are their names?’
The cats stirred and looked up at Zoe. She crouched down and started to stroke them, one with each hand.
‘Meet Bert and Tom.’ Neil shrugged at Zoe’s expression of disbelief. ‘It’s easy to shout when you want them to come in.’
‘Not that we have to do that because they never go far from their bed except to eat,’ added a voice from the other end of the room. Zoe looked round to see Peter, accompanied by Mac. The dog wagged his tail on seeing his owner but appeared disinclined to leave his new friend’s side.
‘Told you he’d find him, didn’t I?’ Neil said. ‘Pete, I bumped into Zoe on my way to the village and brought her back to look at some ideas for her kitchen. Is the workshop in a fit state for visitors?’
Zoe straightened up from the cats’ basket in time to see a scowl pass briefly over Peter’s face.
‘Sure.’
Neil, seemingly oblivious to his brother’s irritation, took Zoe by the arm and led her towards the door Peter had come in by. ‘Tea, Pete?’
As Zoe admired the kitchen under construction, Neil explained that two local men built the basic units while he and Peter did what he called ‘the fancy bits’, like the barley-twist carving on their current commission. Then he guided her to the desk where a set of plans lay, anchored down by a black leather belt. He slid the belt into a drawer, and described the process by which he had designed the kitchen’s layout.
Peter appeared, carrying a tray. He walked straight past them.
‘Looks as if we’re going to the showroom,’ Neil said, running a hand over his head. Zoe noticed for the first time a small mole above his left ear.
They followed Peter up to the ground floor via a different staircase to the one
Similar Books
