Clement agreed they had no choice but to take quick action, and they both ran pell-mell to his Rover, but his mind was racing even faster than his legs. It wasn’t until they were racing towards the Dewberry farm that Trudy realised that she still had the journal clutched to her chest, and that soon DI Jennings would be arriving at the house, expecting her to be there to give him her report!
But surely he’d realise why they hadn’t been able to wait for him?
Even now she felt herself watching the speedometer, willing the car to go faster.
Chapter 32
Duncan Gillingham had almost been caught napping as he’d sat in his car parked a long way down the road from the coroner’s Rover. He’d been absently reading a rival Sunday newspaper when he’d glanced up, and had seen Trudy and the old vulture actually running down the road, and all but throwing themselves into the car.
His own heart racing, he’d fumbled with the ignition key and had raced away to try and catch up with them. Hell, they were driving fast! Luckily, it was only a small village and he’d just been in time to see them turn off onto the no-through road that led to the Dewberry farm.
His mouth went dry. Why were they going back there, to the scene of the suicide? And what on earth had happened to make them move with such urgent speed? His heart racing in triumphant anticipation, he made the same turn-off and put his foot down. Whatever was going on, he sure as hell didn’t want to miss it!
Janet heard the car enter the cobbled courtyard and frowned. She hadn’t hurried getting the picnic assembled, lingering in the kitchen and talking with Ronnie, and even getting together a Thermos of tea, but now she wished she hadn’t dallied. Whoever was out there, she didn’t want them interrupting things now.
‘Is that your dad?’ she asked peevishly, peering over the sink and out of the window.
‘Doesn’t sound like Dad’s car,’ Ronnie said nervously. ‘And I think he’s out on the farm anyway.’ So saying, he walked to the window and pulled a rather dirty curtain further out of the way. He saw the familiar, white-haired figure of the coroner stepping out of his car, and the pretty girl who always seemed to be with him, just opening the passenger door.
Then movement further away caught his eye and he saw another car pulling to a stop and parking up on the edge of the farm track about two hundred yards back. He swore softly under his breath and felt his heartbeat kick up a notch.
Seeing his tension, Janet very carefully picked up a small but sharp-bladed kitchen knife and carefully and slowly moved her hand down so that it rested, all-but-hidden, against the fullness of her skirt.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked casually.
‘It’s that coroner again. The one who’s handling David’s case,’ Ronnie growled.
Janet’s lips firmed into a thin line. ‘What’s he doing here?’ she asked, almost accusingly.
Ronnie shot her a puzzled, slightly angry look. ‘How should I know? I suppose I’d better go and see what he wants.’
Janet nodded and quickly followed.
Trudy and Clement were walking towards the farmhouse when the door opened and Ronnie stepped out. Trudy almost wilted with relief when she saw Janet appear right behind him.
‘She’s all right!’ she murmured to Clement, who merely nodded. His eyes, calm but alert, went from the lovely young girl to the tense young man beside her.
‘Hello there,’ Clement said calmly. ‘We were hoping to find you here, Janet,’ he added amiably. With all the tension he could sense in the air, he wanted to try and calm things down a bit.
‘Me?’ Janet said, moving just a little closer to Ronnie, careful to keep the knife in her hand hidden. ‘Why?’
‘I’m afraid we have some bad news,’ Clement began. ‘We called in at your house after church and found your mother in her kitchen.’
Janet blinked. ‘I don’t quite see …’ She trailed off, turning to look at Trudy, then back to the older man, her eyes questing.
‘It seems she might have taken a fall,’ Clement clarified, not actually lying, but by no means convinced that he was telling the truth either. ‘She’s hurt her head. I’m afraid her injury might be quite serious.’
‘Oh no!’ It was, surprisingly, Ronnie who reacted first. ‘Janet!’ He looked at her, seemingly genuinely appalled. ‘I’ll drive you to the hospital. Has she been taken to the Radcliffe Infirmary?’ he shot at Clement.
Trudy shifted slightly on her feet beside her mentor, aware that she was beginning to get a very strange feeling. Things weren’t happening as she thought they would. She’d come here, half-expecting something really bad to have happened. Maybe to find that Janet, too, had been attacked, or to find Ronnie in the act of hurting her? But as she looked at the two figures in front of her, she wasn’t so sure anymore. Why wasn’t Janet more concerned about her mother? She was acting as if she’d almost forgotten her. Instead she seemed … excited? Wary? She couldn’t quite tell. But there was definitely something off about the whole atmosphere that she couldn’t quite pin down; something skewed somehow.
She sensed danger, yes. But she couldn’t quite understand what that danger was, or the source of it. Trudy glanced sideways at Clement, wondering if it was just her and could see that he too was very tense and alert.
In her chest, she felt her heart pounding.
‘Yes, she’ll be in the Radcliffe. If you like, Miss Baines, I can drive you,’ Clement answered Ronnie’s question, but kept his eyes on Janet. Trudy liked the way he sounded so normal and everyday, and she hoped he’d succeed in separating the two of them. She’d
