‘Dad!’ she cried in excitement and relief.
The chief inspector’s jaw tightened as he pulled an irritated face.
Shane begged and pardoned and stepped around and between the officers to arrive in Derek’s now almost full-to-the-brim hospital room.
‘What are they charged with, please, chief inspector?’
‘Do you want a list?’ Quinn replied, his expression showing amusement.
Shane nodded. ‘Yes, please.’ He quickly turned to give me a wink and put an arm around Mindy for a quick hug.
Quinn held up his right hand and lifted his index finger. ‘Breaking and entering.’
Shane interrupted to ask, ‘Where?’
‘167 Mewhurst drive, Godmersham. The property of Mr John Ramsey who I still suspect Mrs Philips of murdering.’
‘Ah,’ said Shane with a nod as he put down his briefcase and extracted a sheaf of paper. ‘I believe you mean the home of Mrs Philips’ business partner. I am sure you will concur that there was no sign of any forced entry. That is because Mrs Philips has a key and a pre-existing agreement that she could enter the premises at any time of her choosing. Mrs Philips used to water his plants when Mr Ramsey went on holiday. Isn’t that right, Mrs Philips?’
I opened my mouth to agree with his lie, but Shane cut me off before I could.
‘You are under no obligation to answer any questions, Mrs Philips. Please refrain from speaking.’ Shane’s eyes were firmly locked on the chief inspector’s when he asked, ‘Anything else?’
Quinn extended his next finger and a smile the Grinch would have been proud of creased his lips. ‘Your daughter assaulted a police officer.’
Shane smiled back. ‘No, she didn’t.’
Quinn argued. ‘Yes, she did. I can produce the officer in question very easily.’ I felt for Mindy’s hand and gave it a squeeze. If she was arrested and I got to go home tonight, I would never forgive myself.
Shane drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Quinn’s smile only broadened.
When Shane’s eyes snapped open a second later, he demanded to know, ‘Did your officer identify himself?’ Quinn’s smile froze in place. ‘He was inside the home of a personal friend of Mrs Philips and failed to identify himself at any point. That being true, there was no way to know he was anything other than a burglar. Shall I continue, Chief Inspector? Or can we wrap this farce up now?’
The muscle in Quinn’s jaw looked like it might explode. I swear, if the top of his head had started emitting steam, it would not have shocked me one little bit.
Without a word, he turned to his left and stormed from the room.
The officers in uniform were all looking at each other, all trying to work out what they were supposed to do now.
Detective Sergeant Mike Atwell helped them out. ‘You can go now, chaps. Report back to the station. There is no crime to solve here.’
As they drifted away, the room emptied. It left me feeling like once again I was the centre of attention. I was mortified. Minutes ago, I had barged into the room with a head filled with daft ideas and used them to accuse an innocent woman of infidelity and murder.
‘I’m sorry,’ I mumbled, barely able to take my eyes off the floor.
I wondered who might speak first and wasn’t surprised that it was Joanne’s voice I heard.
‘I should jolly well think so!’ she snarled at me.
Derek stopped her from saying anything more. ‘This is not Felicity’s fault, love,’ he soothed her. ‘She got caught up in this and did her best to fight her way out. You saw all those police officers. They have been chasing her because they thought she pushed me. It’s all just a terrible misunderstanding.’
Joanne protested, ‘She accused me of cheating on you.’
Derek continued to defend me. ‘It was an obvious conclusion to draw, darling.’ I was not so sure it was; Derek was being very generous.
‘I think perhaps, I should go,’ I announced quietly. ‘I have done enough damage for one day.’
‘I should say you have,’ snapped Joanne, ignoring Derek and his thoughts on the matter.
‘But I want her to still be my wedding planner, mum.’ Tamara’s hopeful voice startled me. I looked across the room to find her still holding her mother’s hand but staring at me with trust in her eyes. ‘Can you stay on, Mrs Philips? Dad is going to get better, but I think Tarquin and I would like to keep to the same date if that’s possible.’
I looked at Derek and Joanne. Derek gave me a nod filled with warmth and respect. Joanne did not look happy, but she wasn’t going to go against her daughter’s wishes.
‘Oh, all right,’ she relented.
It still felt like it was time to go. To Tamara, I said, ‘Please call me when you are able to and I will rearrange this evening’s appointment.’
The bride-to-be said, ‘Of course. I will do that as soon as I have talked to Tarquin.’
There being no need to say anything else. I turned toward the door. Shane led the way, heading outside with Mindy on his heels. As I started to close the door, I could hear Detective Sergeant Atwell inside asking about what else might have caused the terrible symptoms Derek suffered if not the cream.
It was a question still troubling me, but I did not feel that I could involve myself further. Not now. Not after the embarrassment I had just suffered.
Mindy waited for me to catch up. ‘I guess we need to put Mr Bleakwith’s car back and rescue mine. What do we do after that?’
‘You can drop me at home, Mindy. That’s what you can do. Then please enjoy a well-earned weekend off.’
‘Don’t you need me to help with all the things we didn’t
