Cherringham--Snowblind
Page 10
“Plenty of times,” he said. “But you know what really hurt? Ex-cop. That — was below the belt.”
And he stepped into the road to flag down an approaching car from the village.
17. It’s The Thought That Counts
Sarah watched Odelia blow out the candles on her birthday cake, then all the residents cheered.
She looked around at the happy faces — so different from when she and Jack had last been in the home.
The residents were gathered round the big dining table with party hats on, there was music playing and the food smelled delicious.
At least a dozen nurses and carers were involved and joining in the party. She could see Ania, face happy, joining in a group singing in the corner.
“Ninety-three today!” said Beth, giving her grandmother a kiss.
“Just seven more till your telegram from the Queen,” said Sarah.
She watched Jack raise his cup of tea: “Here’s to you Odelia, and thanks for your help when we needed it.”
“You want any more help with crime-busting, just give me a call, Jack,” said Odelia.
“Oh yeah?” said Jack. “As it happens … we might have an undercover job coming up, I’ll keep you in the loop.”
“You’ve been watching too much 24, Gran,” said Beth.
“Heck, we couldn’t have cracked it without her,” said Jack.
“And I am glad that you did,” said Shirley Woods, joining them at the table. “It certainly put a rocket up the management here.”
“Funny what a little bad publicity can do to a good investment,” said Sarah.
Shirley moved in confidentially to Sarah: “I still feel guilty that I didn’t know how bad things were. It was on my watch.”
Sarah saw Jack lean over: “You were in an impossible position Shirley and it wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have seen what Craig was doing with the drugs — and the nurses …”
“Forget Craig,” said Jack. “As well as the drugs charges, he’s on conspiracy to murder — he won’t be back.”
“So he helped kill Archy?” said Shirley.
“He bought the thermals so Reg could lead Archy into the woods,” said Jack.
“You think we should have been more suspicious at the beginning, Jack?” said Sarah.
She watched him consider this.
“I guess we all might have been. If we did make a mistake it was to assume that just because Reg was old and frail he was an innocent victim.”
“It gives me the chills to think he’d murdered before,” said Shirley.
“Don’t forget — so had Archy,” said Jack. “Alan Rivers told me he had three, maybe four alleged murders back on his file.”
Sarah looked around the room at the other twenty or so residents.
“It’s easy to forget that they’re all just … people. No different from people everywhere. Just older.”
“Too right,” said Shirley. “And now that nice Mr. Leacock has doubled the staff budget, I do believe we can treat them like that.”
Sarah lifted her cup of tea in a mock toast: “To Hearthstone Investments, Jack?”
He shook his head, raising his cup too. “No — to Ania and the staff — and a new start.”
And as Sarah raised her cup of tea, she thought how much her time with Jack had been a new start for her too.
END
Next episode
When Cherringham Drama Society invite a local TV celebrity to direct their Christmas show, they get more publicity than they bargained for. Someone's out to sabotage the event, and rehearsals spin into chaos. Jack and Sarah are asked to investigate and soon discover that there's a darker mystery taking place behind the scenes …
Cherringham — A Cosy Crime Series
Playing Dead
by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards
Cherringham — A Cosy Crime Series
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