Read Online Shadows in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rebecca Tope
Ads: Link
and Thea began a brisk walk down the path towards the woods. Fraser kept alongside her, his long legs betraying the early signs of shambling that overtook tall old men sooner or later. ‘I don’t really understand,’ he repeated in a low voice. ‘I can’t begin to grasp what’s happening.’
‘I’m really very sorry. It’s all been a complete shock for me as well. I only met your daughter last night, and now she’s … out here. Well, you’ll see. It isn’t too ghastly, really. Not compared to some.’ She stopped herself. This was no sort of consolation for a man who was about to set eyes on his dead daughter. She must have been the child of his declining years, if he was as old as he looked. Although she thought her mother had said he was younger than her. This man seemed closer to eighty than the seventy-five she had expected.
‘Here we are,’ she announced, superfluously. ‘This is Detective Superintendent Gladwin. She and I are friends, in a way. She’ll take over now.’
Gladwin had been talking to a pair of black-suited men by the door of the hide. She turned and smiled sympathetically at Fraser Meadows. ‘Hello, sir. I am so very sorry about this. I hope we can make it as quick as possible. It’s just for an initial identification at this stage. Of course you’ll have a chance to visit her again in the chapel at the undertakers.’ She flapped a hand at the two men, who suddenly became obvious as the men summoned to remove the body. ‘They’re from Maltby and Salmon, in Stow-on-the-Wold. Youdon’t have to engage them for the funeral, but they’re available if you do want them. I can give you their number in a little while.’
Fraser blinked and opened his mouth to speak. But Gladwin was ushering him towards the gazebo, where a young uniformed officer stood guard. ‘In here, sir. If you’d just tell me …’
Thea could not see what happened next, but it all seemed to be over in seconds. Fraser stooped towards the ground, only his head and shoulders inside the tent. Gladwin had disappeared from sight, presumably to lift a cover from the dead face. Then the deep voice of the old man rang loud through the clearing.
‘This is not my daughter. I’ve never seen her before in my life. This woman bears no resemblance at all to my daughter.’
Chapter Seven
Everything instantly changed. The first sensation was relief. It was no longer necessary to feel solicitous for the old man. His expected horror and grief, potential collapse or even worse, had all receded. From a precious daughter to an unknown stranger was a giant leap.
And then confusion rapidly followed. If not his daughter, then
who
? ‘But she
said
she was,’ Thea insisted. ‘Why would she say that?’
Nobody could suggest an answer to that. Gladwin kept her expression studiously neutral, her brain plainly whirring as she ran through the procedures for establishing identity. Find the handbag and the car. Examine the clothes. Publish a picture. Check missing persons records. Thea could readily guess much of the list, from her long-timeassociations with the police. Was the woman’s name even Melissa? She had obviously told at least one lie – there were likely to be others. But why? She couldn’t have known she was about to be murdered; she had shown no hint of fear. Thea braced herself for yet another run-through of everything that had been said the previous evening, with a new twist. This time it would be in search of clues as to who this cold, stiff body had been.
‘Well … thank you, sir,’ Gladwin remembered to say. ‘That’s obviously come as rather a big surprise. You’re quite certain this is not a member of your family?’
The implication seemed to hit Thea and Fraser simultaneously. ‘I think I would know my own daughter,’ he said, huffily.
But would you?
Thea thought. How many men were there out there with offspring they knew nothing about? Thousands, at least. Would Gladwin order a DNA test, to establish
‘I’m really very sorry. It’s all been a complete shock for me as well. I only met your daughter last night, and now she’s … out here. Well, you’ll see. It isn’t too ghastly, really. Not compared to some.’ She stopped herself. This was no sort of consolation for a man who was about to set eyes on his dead daughter. She must have been the child of his declining years, if he was as old as he looked. Although she thought her mother had said he was younger than her. This man seemed closer to eighty than the seventy-five she had expected.
‘Here we are,’ she announced, superfluously. ‘This is Detective Superintendent Gladwin. She and I are friends, in a way. She’ll take over now.’
Gladwin had been talking to a pair of black-suited men by the door of the hide. She turned and smiled sympathetically at Fraser Meadows. ‘Hello, sir. I am so very sorry about this. I hope we can make it as quick as possible. It’s just for an initial identification at this stage. Of course you’ll have a chance to visit her again in the chapel at the undertakers.’ She flapped a hand at the two men, who suddenly became obvious as the men summoned to remove the body. ‘They’re from Maltby and Salmon, in Stow-on-the-Wold. Youdon’t have to engage them for the funeral, but they’re available if you do want them. I can give you their number in a little while.’
Fraser blinked and opened his mouth to speak. But Gladwin was ushering him towards the gazebo, where a young uniformed officer stood guard. ‘In here, sir. If you’d just tell me …’
Thea could not see what happened next, but it all seemed to be over in seconds. Fraser stooped towards the ground, only his head and shoulders inside the tent. Gladwin had disappeared from sight, presumably to lift a cover from the dead face. Then the deep voice of the old man rang loud through the clearing.
‘This is not my daughter. I’ve never seen her before in my life. This woman bears no resemblance at all to my daughter.’
Chapter Seven
Everything instantly changed. The first sensation was relief. It was no longer necessary to feel solicitous for the old man. His expected horror and grief, potential collapse or even worse, had all receded. From a precious daughter to an unknown stranger was a giant leap.
And then confusion rapidly followed. If not his daughter, then
who
? ‘But she
said
she was,’ Thea insisted. ‘Why would she say that?’
Nobody could suggest an answer to that. Gladwin kept her expression studiously neutral, her brain plainly whirring as she ran through the procedures for establishing identity. Find the handbag and the car. Examine the clothes. Publish a picture. Check missing persons records. Thea could readily guess much of the list, from her long-timeassociations with the police. Was the woman’s name even Melissa? She had obviously told at least one lie – there were likely to be others. But why? She couldn’t have known she was about to be murdered; she had shown no hint of fear. Thea braced herself for yet another run-through of everything that had been said the previous evening, with a new twist. This time it would be in search of clues as to who this cold, stiff body had been.
‘Well … thank you, sir,’ Gladwin remembered to say. ‘That’s obviously come as rather a big surprise. You’re quite certain this is not a member of your family?’
The implication seemed to hit Thea and Fraser simultaneously. ‘I think I would know my own daughter,’ he said, huffily.
But would you?
Thea thought. How many men were there out there with offspring they knew nothing about? Thousands, at least. Would Gladwin order a DNA test, to establish
Similar Books
