‘Barney?’ Kate opened her eyes fully.
‘Your dog. He found you really,’ Woody said.
‘He did? How… why…?’ Kate struggled to sit up. She felt pain in every bone in her body. ‘Woody, I’m so sorry for ignoring your warnings. You must have gone through hell. Can you forgive me?’
‘Of course I can! But don’t worry about that now; I’m just so glad you’re alive.
Can you please confirm – you did say it was Hetty who did this to you?’
‘That’s right. Hetty Patterson. She killed Edina and Sharon.’
‘Unbelievable!’ He adjusted her pillow. ‘Hetty Patterson? Edina Martinelli’s friend?’
‘She had her reasons, believe me! Ouch!’
‘You’re lucky, nothing is broken,’ Woody said, ‘but you’re a mass of sprains and bruises. Now, tell me what happened.’
‘I will, but first tell me how you found me?’
‘OK,’ Woody said. ‘First of all I didn’t get back from London until nearly midnight, thanks to an accident on the 303, just this side of Stonehenge, on the single carriageway. Hours and hours it took to clear; no escape route; no phone signal. Bloody awful! I decided it was far too late to phone you when I got home, but now I wish I had.’
‘There was no signal in the cellar,’ Kate whispered. ‘Besides, Hetty took my phone.’
‘No, but I’d have wondered why you weren’t available, particularly if I couldn’t get you on the landline either, and I’d have gone straight across to your place to see what was going on. It was around seven thirty this morning before I strolled over there, hoping you’d be up so I could cadge a cup of coffee.’
Kate was beginning to feel weepy. ‘But I wasn’t there.’
‘No, you weren’t there, and Angie wasn’t there, and your car wasn’t there. I couldn’t work it out, and then I heard Barney howling.’
‘Oh my God! Did you have a key with you?’
‘Fortunately I did, and found a frantic Barney in the kitchen.’
Kate wiped a tear away with a tissue. ‘The poor dog! He must have been shut in there since Friday.’
‘He was pleased to see me, I can tell you! So I cleared up the mess, gave him some food and water—’
‘Oh, Woody!’
‘And then I phoned Angie, who was in Plymouth. What the hell was she doing there? She said something about seeing you on Friday before she left, and you were heading for Seaview. So then I tried to lock Barney back in the house again but he wasn’t having any of it and started this awful howling, so I took him with me, running all the way from your place to mine and then we drove up to Seaview.’
‘And then Barney found me?’
‘First, I found your car in the layby. What was it doing there?’
‘It’s a long story…’
‘And then,’ Woody continued, ‘I went to see Stan Starkey but he hadn’t seen you and knew nothing at all about any visit, like Angie had told me. But, all the time, Barney was straining on the lead. I guess he was trying to tell us something and it took a few minutes to sink in. Then I let him lead us across the grounds and round to the rear of the garden shed. At first we couldn’t see anything because the cellar door had been cleverly covered over with leaves and stones and was hardly visible. But Barney was pawing away at the cover and Stan remembered it was there, so that’s how we found it. And you.’
‘What a great dog he is!’ Kate wiped away some fresh tears. ‘And thank you so much for bringing him with you when you went up there. I’m so sorry…’
Woody took her hand. ‘Hey, don’t get upset! Anyhow, Stan said the old ice cellar hadn’t been used for years but it was still mighty airtight, so I guess we got to you just in time.’
‘Oh Woody!’ The tears were flowing freely now. ‘I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through! I thought I’d died!’
‘You damned nearly did! Now, tell me everything.’
Thirty-Five
Kate arrived home the following morning, accompanied by Woody, welcomed by a relieved Angie and an ecstatic Barney. The dog had spent the previous evening being praised and thoroughly spoilt with an enormous steak dinner.
Bill Robson, of course, had wasted no time in making an appearance, complete with voice recorder.
‘I’ve been told not to tire you,’ he said. ‘But I thought you’d like to know that Miss Patterson has been arrested in Bournemouth.’
Kate nodded. ‘She killed them both, you know, and she had a bloody good try at killing me. How did you know where to find her?’
‘Fortunately, David Courtney had the sister’s address, although he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to question dear little Hetty,’ Bill Robson said drily. ‘We’d have found her eventually anyway.’
Kate felt a sudden surge of pity for David Courtney. It was inevitable that Hetty’s motive for killing Edina would eventually come out. He’d discover his real mother, and then lose her to what would almost certainly be a life sentence…
‘He’s got some shocks coming to him,’ she said sadly.
‘He has indeed,’ said the detective inspector, ‘but now, in your own words, can you tell me exactly what happened?’
And so she did.
‘I’ve been given two weeks’ leave over Christmas!’ a beaming Kate informed Woody a few days later. ‘They said they couldn’t possibly refuse me after what I’ve been through!’
‘Thank God some good’s come out of it all,’ Woody said, ‘and I’m delighted. Do you think we can get to California and back without you getting involved in some murder or other?’
Kate grinned. ‘I can’t of course promise because you just never know! I shall have to start watching more American crime programmes!’
Woody sighed. ‘I’m not going to let you out of my sight when you get over there because, God knows, there’s plenty of crime in LA.’
‘I’m only feeling a little nervous at meeting your mother,’ Kate confessed, ‘although I’m sure she’s lovely.’
‘She is lovely and she’s going to love you. Now, I’m
