Read Online Trouble in the Cotswolds (The Cotswold Mysteries) by Rebecca Tope - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rebecca Tope
Ads: Link
astonishment. ‘Hollis was so right about you,’ he crowed. ‘You’re like a magic talisman – always at the scene of a crime ten minutes before it’s even happened. That’s what he said.’
‘Rubbish,’ she snapped crossly. ‘That’s a horrible thing to say about me. It just so happens that they’re friends with the people who own the Stanton house. The daughter’s not quite right – whatever you’re supposed to say these days. Schizophrenia or something.’ She slurred the word drunkenly, hearing it rebound inside her foggy brain. ‘Gets into very complicated arguments. She likes the rats. The cousin died. Cystic fibrosis, apparently.’
‘And do you know who stole the flowers?’
‘Of course I don’t. Besides, isn’t it slightly beneath your pay grade?’ she wondered. ‘Aren’t you’re an inspector?’
He cocked a cautionary eyebrow at her. ‘Yes, I am. The fact is, this is Kevin’s shout. I’m just along for the ride. Where he goes, I have to follow, at least for today.’
‘Here we are,’ she pointed to the Shepherds’ house. ‘It’s called Woodside House, officially, in case you need to make a report. Not sure which wood it’s supposed to be beside, but there you go. Most house names are daft when you think about them.’ She was rambling. She could feel her own voice drifting along with scarcelyany conscious thought behind it. ‘You can leave me now.’
‘I’m not sure we can.’ Higgins was suddenly showing serious concern. ‘You’ve got a temperature, that’s obvious. Your car’s going to be out of action for at least the rest of today, so you’re stuck here.’
‘How will I get it back?’ she wondered. ‘Will they bring it for me, when it’s mended?’
‘The AA won’t, but the garage might. Keep an eye on your phone. There’ll be a text any time now, I shouldn’t wonder, telling you where they’ve taken it.’
‘Oh, Lord,’ she wailed. ‘How could I have done such a stupid thing? Will it need a new engine, do you think?’
Kevin snorted and gave an exaggerated look at his watch. Higgins made reassuring noises, but was obviously losing patience, as well as his colleague. Thea opened the door and started to climb out of the car. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, more to herself than to the men. It was extraordinary how heavy her arms and legs had become. ‘I don’t have to do anything or go anywhere. The dogs can make do with the garden for today. I’ll be much better tomorrow. Thanks, Jeremy. I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
‘Given your germs to the AA man,’ Kevin muttered with ill-concealed resentment.
Higgins continued to look concerned, as he had done since he’d first found her. ‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘I’ll just pop next door and tell them the situation, get them to keep an eye on you. They’re neighbourlypeople round here, especially at this season of good cheer. You’ve got to have some sort of safety net. Unless you’ve got somebody who’ll come and stay with you?’
‘My daughter’s scared of rats,’ said Thea. ‘And Drew’s got children. And my sister …’
‘Yes, I know about your sister,’ he said gently.
‘No – not Emily. The other sister, Jocelyn,’ she corrected earnestly.
Higgins waved the subject aside as irrelevant. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’ He was addressing Kevin, who sighed theatrically.
‘Not that side,’ Thea told him, pointing to the house where the funeral party had gathered the previous day. ‘That’s where the dead man’s girlfriend lives.’
See
, she wanted to boast
I’m still keeping up with everything.
‘Okay.’ He gave the house a long slow examination that surprised Thea. Then he trotted to the door of the one the far side and rang the bell. Thea stood unsteadily beside the car, aware that her dog was scrabbling at Gloria’s net curtains in the living room.
A man came to the door, listened gravely to Higgins’ explanation and threw a somewhat
‘Rubbish,’ she snapped crossly. ‘That’s a horrible thing to say about me. It just so happens that they’re friends with the people who own the Stanton house. The daughter’s not quite right – whatever you’re supposed to say these days. Schizophrenia or something.’ She slurred the word drunkenly, hearing it rebound inside her foggy brain. ‘Gets into very complicated arguments. She likes the rats. The cousin died. Cystic fibrosis, apparently.’
‘And do you know who stole the flowers?’
‘Of course I don’t. Besides, isn’t it slightly beneath your pay grade?’ she wondered. ‘Aren’t you’re an inspector?’
He cocked a cautionary eyebrow at her. ‘Yes, I am. The fact is, this is Kevin’s shout. I’m just along for the ride. Where he goes, I have to follow, at least for today.’
‘Here we are,’ she pointed to the Shepherds’ house. ‘It’s called Woodside House, officially, in case you need to make a report. Not sure which wood it’s supposed to be beside, but there you go. Most house names are daft when you think about them.’ She was rambling. She could feel her own voice drifting along with scarcelyany conscious thought behind it. ‘You can leave me now.’
‘I’m not sure we can.’ Higgins was suddenly showing serious concern. ‘You’ve got a temperature, that’s obvious. Your car’s going to be out of action for at least the rest of today, so you’re stuck here.’
‘How will I get it back?’ she wondered. ‘Will they bring it for me, when it’s mended?’
‘The AA won’t, but the garage might. Keep an eye on your phone. There’ll be a text any time now, I shouldn’t wonder, telling you where they’ve taken it.’
‘Oh, Lord,’ she wailed. ‘How could I have done such a stupid thing? Will it need a new engine, do you think?’
Kevin snorted and gave an exaggerated look at his watch. Higgins made reassuring noises, but was obviously losing patience, as well as his colleague. Thea opened the door and started to climb out of the car. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, more to herself than to the men. It was extraordinary how heavy her arms and legs had become. ‘I don’t have to do anything or go anywhere. The dogs can make do with the garden for today. I’ll be much better tomorrow. Thanks, Jeremy. I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
‘Given your germs to the AA man,’ Kevin muttered with ill-concealed resentment.
Higgins continued to look concerned, as he had done since he’d first found her. ‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘I’ll just pop next door and tell them the situation, get them to keep an eye on you. They’re neighbourlypeople round here, especially at this season of good cheer. You’ve got to have some sort of safety net. Unless you’ve got somebody who’ll come and stay with you?’
‘My daughter’s scared of rats,’ said Thea. ‘And Drew’s got children. And my sister …’
‘Yes, I know about your sister,’ he said gently.
‘No – not Emily. The other sister, Jocelyn,’ she corrected earnestly.
Higgins waved the subject aside as irrelevant. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’ He was addressing Kevin, who sighed theatrically.
‘Not that side,’ Thea told him, pointing to the house where the funeral party had gathered the previous day. ‘That’s where the dead man’s girlfriend lives.’
See
, she wanted to boast
I’m still keeping up with everything.
‘Okay.’ He gave the house a long slow examination that surprised Thea. Then he trotted to the door of the one the far side and rang the bell. Thea stood unsteadily beside the car, aware that her dog was scrabbling at Gloria’s net curtains in the living room.
A man came to the door, listened gravely to Higgins’ explanation and threw a somewhat
Similar Books
