‘Who can tell? Battered wives get more sympathy nowadays than they used to. She claims, and the aunt confirms, that Foss had bullied and abused her for years. He seems to have considered it his right, in return for providing her with every luxury. The beating he gave her when he thought she’d betrayed him to Holland was the final straw. On the other hand, the killing wasn’t done on the spur of the moment and that will almost certainly count against both of them.’
‘And have they both admitted all this?’
‘Brenda has. She started to crack once she was told that barbiturates had been found in her husband’s blood. His consultant was quite positive they hadn’t been prescribed for him, so the drug had to have been administered deliberately.’
‘And what about Rick?’
Jim gave a slightly cynical laugh. ‘He’s trying to throw the blame for the whole scheme onto Brenda. Says she threatened that if he didn’t do everything she told him, she’d tell her husband who he was and he’d lose his job on the spot. I don’t believe that for a moment and I doubt if any jury would, either.’
‘He sounds a real chip off the old block,’ said Sukey in surprise. ‘And I always thought he was such a pleasant young man.’
‘You’d have seen a very different side of him if you’d been there during the interview. Look, I really must go… we all need to catch up with some sleep.
‘See you tomorrow afternoon,’ he called to Fergus as Sukey was showing him out. ‘Sleep well, you,’ he added in a low voice, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She closed the front door behind him and went into the kitchen where Fergus was rinsing out the coffee mugs. There was a glow of pleasure on his face as he said, ‘Fancy Jim remembering about the match, with all this going on. D’you think he really will come and watch?’
‘If he says he’ll be there, he will,’ Sukey assured him with complete confidence. ‘He’s that sort of person.’
Epilogue
Brenda Gwendoline Foss and Richard Foss Palmer pleaded not guilty to the murder of Charles Frederick Foss, but were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Arthur Edwin Chant pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lorraine Chant and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. With the death of Charles Foss, the police file on the armed robbery which took place at the Willesden Branch of the Regional Bank in April 1990 has been officially closed.
The Regional Bank has instituted proceedings against the estate of Charles Frederick Foss for the recovery of the stolen money. The Inland Revenue has filed charges of submitting falsified tax returns against Arthur Edwin Chant. Both actions are being contested.
Did you love Sukey Reynolds’ first case? If so, don’t miss the addictive Melissa Craig mysteries. Crime writer Melissa is enjoying a quiet life, until human bones are discovered just behind her cottage… Can she put her detective-writing skills to use on a real murder?
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage is available now!
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
A Melissa Craig Mystery Book 1
Get it here!
Meet Melissa: cat lover, caring mother… daring detective?
Melissa Craig is absolutely delighted with her new life in an old crumbling cottage, spending her days pruning the primroses and getting to know Binkie, the ginger cat next door. She only wishes she had made the move to the countryside sooner.
But when a knock at the door brings news of a shocking discovery, she suddenly finds herself thrown in to the middle of a baffling mystery: the bones of a young woman have been found in the woods just behind her new home.
Perhaps the little village of Upper Benbury is not as idyllic as it first seemed?
Strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree, so she can’t resist doing a little digging of her own. From the bingo hall to the beauty salon and beyond, her search ruffles a few feathers and uncovers many of the village’s most scandalous secrets, but gets her no closer to finding the culprit…
The discovery of a tatty old photograph in a drawer is the final piece of the puzzle she needs, but as a newcomer in this close-knit community, does Melissa have what it takes to get to the bottom of this extraordinary murder mystery alone?
A joy to read! An absolutely unputdownable whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, P.D. James and Faith Martin.
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Books by Betty Rowlands
THE SUKEY REYNOLDS SERIES
Death at Hazel House
Death at Dearley Manor
Death at Beacon Cottage
Death at Burwell Farm
THE MELISSA CRAIG SERIES
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
Murder in the Morning
Murder on the Clifftops
Murder at the Manor Hotel
Murder on a Winter Afternoon
Murder in the Orchard
Murder at Larkfield Barn
Murder in Langley Woods
Murder at Benbury Brook
Murder at the Old House
Murder in the Dining Room
Murder in a Country Garden
AVAILABLE IN AUDIO
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder in the Morning (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder on the Clifftops (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder at the Manor Hotel (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder on a Winter Afternoon (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder in the Orchard (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder at Larkfield Barn (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder in Langley Woods (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder at Benbury Brook (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder at the Old House (UK listeners | US listeners)
Murder in the Dining Room (UK listeners | US listeners)
A Letter From Betty
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Death at Hazel House, I hope you enjoyed it! If you’d like to stay in touch with news about my future publications, then please sign up to my newsletter here:
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After I had written half a dozen or so Melissa Craig mysteries it occurred to me that there might come a time when it would be difficult to devise feasible situations when an amateur sleuth might become involved in murder. Also, I felt like a change from the traditional village mystery. My editor at the time was not keen on the idea, despite my assurances that I wasn't abandoning Melissa altogether.
But I went ahead anyway and created Sukey Reynolds. She is a Scene of Crime Officer in her thirties with a rapidly maturing teenage son, a boyfriend in the CID and an ex-husband in the background who causes problems from time to time. Naturally, her work routinely brings her into direct contact with crime at various levels and her official remit is limited to the collection of evidence.
However, before her marriage, Sukey was a police officer with ambitions to join the CID, and when it comes to murder she finds herself irresistibly drawn into the hunt for the killer. This tendency leads her into dangerous situations and incurs the active disapproval of DI Jim Castle. I do hope you’ve enjoyed Sukey’s first case – there are more to come!
If you really loved the book and would like to spread the word to other readers, I’d be so grateful if you would leave a review. You can also follow my fan page on Facebook and Twitter via the links below.
All very best,
Betty
Published by Bookouture in 2019
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Betty Rowlands, 1997, 201
9
Betty Rowlands has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
Originally published as An Inconsiderate Death by Severn House Publishers Ltd, 1997
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-986-4
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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