‘It was back in the garden on Boxing Day – because Stephanie saw it and worked out the implications.’
‘He must have gone back for it before they found Rufus’s body, to try and cover up the truth of what happened.’
‘More than likely,’ said Thea, feeling sad.
‘If that’s so, he’s an accessory at best. He’ll get ten years in gaol.’
‘And what’ll you and Ant do?’
‘Get on with our lives.’ Beverley lifted her chin and stared at a corner of the room. ‘Which won’t be before time. All we’ve done for years is live like people under siege. If it’s not too late, I want to do something constructive. I was thinking I might offer myself to the Citizen’s Advice people.’
‘Good idea,’ Thea approved.
‘And Ant can finally grow up.’
Stephanie was even more taken with little Kim than expected. Within an hour she was besotted. The child was chunky, with rather thin, colourless hair like her mother. But she had greeny-grey eyes that glowed with an intelligent interest and a very advanced vocabulary. Drew and Thea watched in helpless wonder as the two settled down on the hearth rug with a collection of plastic toys and lost themselves in a game of fantasy involving a cow, a camel, a small house and five dinosaurs. Timmy had presented the last as his contribution to the game.
But Timmy had chosen Damien as his preferred member of the visiting family. It transpired that they shared an interest in exotic freshwater fish.
Jessica had gone, after a brief conversation with her mother out in the lane. ‘Another murder solved, then?’ she said. ‘I assume Beverley tied up all the loose ends for you?’
‘More or less,’ Thea said.
‘No thanks to Detective Constable Graham, apparently.’
‘He wasn’t even on duty. What did you expect?’
Jessica smiled. ‘I’m glad, really. I managed to stay out of it rather well, don’t you think?’
‘Was it deliberate?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘And are you staying in touch with him?’
‘I might. It’s a long way from Manchester. I wouldn’t get too excited. As far as I can see, relationships are pretty difficult even when you’re in the same house. If it’s three hours’ drive away, it might be impossible.’
‘Or it might be a darn sight easier,’ laughed Thea. ‘But don’t go away with the idea that there’s anything wrong between me and Drew.’
‘Even if you insist on going off to that woman in Northleach?’
‘Even then. We’ll be fine, honestly. You can trust Stephanie to make sure everything stays on track.’
‘Stephanie’s a marvel. You don’t know how lucky you are to have her.’
‘Oh, yes, I do,’ said Thea.
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About the Author
Rebecca Tope is the author of three bestselling crime series, set in the stunning Cotswolds, Lake District and West Country. She lives on a smallholding in rural Herefordshire, where she enjoys the silence and plants a lot of trees, but also manages to travel the world and enjoy civilisation from time to time. Most of her varied experiences and activities find their way into her books, sooner or later.
rebeccatope.com @RebeccaTope
By Rebecca Tope
The Cotswold Mysteries
A Cotswold Killing • A Cotswold Ordeal
Death in the Cotswolds • A Cotswold Mystery
Blood in the Cotswolds • Slaughter in the Cotswolds
Fear in the Cotswolds • A Grave in the Cotswolds
Deception in the Cotswolds • Malice in the Cotswolds
Shadows in the Cotswolds • Trouble in the Cotswolds
Revenge in the Cotswolds • Guilt in the Cotswolds
Peril in the Cotswolds • Crisis in the Cotswolds
Secrets in the Cotswolds • A Cotswold Christmas Mystery
♦
A Cotswold Casebook
The Lake District Mysteries
The Windermere Witness • The Ambleside Alibi
The Coniston Case • The Troutbeck Testimony
The Hawkshead Hostage • The Bowness Bequest
The Staveley Suspect • The Grasmere Grudge
The Patterdale Plot
The West Country Mysteries
A Dirty Death • Dark Undertakings
Death of a Friend • Grave Concerns
A Death to Record • The Sting of Death
A Market for Murder
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
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London W1F 8AN
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This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2020.
Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca Tope
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–2637–0
