‘I expect I am available,’ said Thea, glancing round the room. Everyone was there, frankly listening. Drew gave a groan. ‘You realise that if it is murder, whoever did it might be in Australia by now.’
‘We’ll know who to blame, then, if that happens. If it turns out to be Mrs Frowse, at least.’
‘Thanks. But gosh, Sonia – it’s going to make a huge story if he was murdered. The man knew Alan Sugar and Pippa Middleton and all sorts of celebrities. He was really somebody.’
‘So it seems. I keep imagining the funeral.’ Despite being a detective superintendent, Gladwin was seldom able to stay stern or solemn for very long. And Thea Slocombe was skilled at arousing her more frivolous side.
‘Which isn’t going to take place in our little burial ground, is it?’ Thea laughed. ‘I think Stephanie was already hoping it would be.’
‘I’ve got to go. I’ll keep you posted. Don’t go anywhere, will you.’
Thea ended the call and looked up. ‘She told me not to go anywhere,’ she said. ‘That nice Finch boy has really got things going.’
‘You can’t blame him,’ Jessica protested.
‘I wasn’t, really. Oh – there’s been some sort of accident not far from here. In the night, I presume. People must have died, because the pathologist has had to go in to do the post-mortems. At least, I think that’s what she meant.’
Drew cleared his throat. ‘Why don’t you just slow down and explain it all to me? I seem to have missed a lot more than I realised. Stephanie’s hoping for a burial? Pippa Middleton’s got something to do with it? And who in the world is the “nice Finch boy”?’
Jessica went first. ‘We met him on Sunday. He’s a detective sergeant. Finch Graham.’
‘How did you come to meet him?’
Thea spoke up. ‘I found him wandering around the village with a metal detector. Looking for treasure, apparently. He found some nails and an old shoe buckle. I already knew him by sight, from one of my house-sits, and I suppose he knew who I was, though he didn’t exactly say so.’
‘And?’ prompted Drew.
‘And I brought him back here and we got talking about Blackwood being dead, because he was off duty and hadn’t heard about it, and we said a bit too much about the Frowses, and now he’s told it to Gladwin, and she’s not best pleased.’
‘We knew he would,’ Jessica pointed out. ‘We rather hoped it would happen, didn’t we?’
‘Losing me,’ Drew interrupted. ‘It sounds as if you practically adopted him after five minutes’ acquaintance.’
‘He was instantly dazzled by my lovely daughter, and when they discovered they were both in the police, it all just started to flow. So to speak. It’s not exactly surprising, considering we’d just come back from hearing all their troubles from the Frowse men. We were already involved. It’s not as if we’re just ordinary members of the public having a gossip.’
‘More’s the pity,’ said Drew with a sigh. He hesitated as a new thought struck him. ‘Was Stephanie with you when all this was happening?’ He gave his daughter a worried look.
‘Obviously she was. So what? She hasn’t been upset about it. She’s used to people dying, after all.’
‘But not when they’ve been murdered,’ he shouted. ‘She’s been shielded from anything like that, ever since—’
‘Ever since her mother was attacked. Yes, I know. I get that. But this is – different. Tell him, Steph,’ Thea appealed.
‘I am a bit upset about Ant and his mother,’ Stephanie admitted slowly. ‘It’s horrible for them. But it’s been horrible for ages, with that beastly landlord, so now he’s dead, it might be better. Because we’re sure it wasn’t them who killed him. Aren’t we?’ She threw it back at Thea.
‘I certainly hope so. We’ll probably know a lot better by the end of today. It’s all still very unsure at the moment. The man might still have just died of heart failure or something.’
‘So now tell me what you expect to happen today,’ Drew went on, more and more like a magistrate or a counsel for the prosecution.
‘I have no idea, except that I want to speak to Ant, and I want to hear the results of the post-mortem. After that, it’s completely unknown territory.’
‘Right.’ Having it presented to him like that, Drew could find no reasonable grounds for objection. It was apparent to everyone that he wished passionately to stay out of the whole business, as he had more or less successfully done with nearly all of Thea’s previous adventures. He managed to conveniently overlook the fact that it had been a murder, less than half a mile from where they now lived, that had originally brought him and Thea together.
‘Isn’t there an exotic Russian wife?’ he remembered now. ‘Or widow, I should say.’
‘There is, and two equally exotic daughters. Three, in fact, but one of them seems to be out of the picture for the moment.’
‘Anything else?’
‘I don’t think so. You don’t want every detail, do you? I’ve told you the basics.’
‘Don’t forget the missing package,’ said Jessica. ‘The one Andrew told us about on Friday.’
‘Oh, I don’t expect it’s relevant,’ said Thea.
‘Remind me anyway,’ ordered Drew.
‘It’s just that the Blackwood man was accusing Beverley of stealing his registered parcel with some jewellery in it. It was just the latest in a whole string of rows between the landlord and the Frowses. We must have told you before that the Blackwoods have been terrible landlords, with harassment and intimidation going on for years. Just look at that ghastly fence.’
‘I don’t think I’ve seen it,’ said Drew mildly. ‘But I heard about it.’
‘They found him only a few feet away from it,’ said Jessica. ‘From what we could gather.’
Drew snorted. ‘He wouldn’t be stupid enough to let his own fence kill him – would he?’
‘I doubt if it’s powerful enough to kill anybody. That wouldn’t be legal. Although …’ Jessica grew thoughtful. ‘Now you mention it, it’s an idea.’
Ant and Digby, unlike
