by Rebecca Tope
‘Yes. The thing is, Elizabeth was nervous of them both, but Bert especially, even though she’s known him for years. And sometimes he gets a bit boisterous. I was outside, cutting up some firewood, when she shouted for me to come and get him off her. He was jumping up, because I think she must have taken the lead off its hook, so he thought they were going for a walk. I’m not sure if she did. Something set him off.’ She paused, reminding herself that she ought not to sound too lucid. But prattling was good. ‘And then Baxter must have joined in. He’s not so big, but he’s heavy and very dim. He just does whatever Bert does. But it was too much for Elizabeth. She wasn’t scared, really. Just cross with them. They never believe that anybody could dislike them, you see.’
‘So she called to you. Where were you?’
‘Out on the patio. You can see where I was sawing. It’s all still there, just as I left it. I came in holding the saw. Stupid. Ridiculous. Why did I do that?’ This was a genuine question, which she would continue to ask herself to her dying day. ‘I suppose she sounded quite urgent. I was worried they might push her over. So I came in, and Bert was being rather a pest, I must admit. I shouted at him, but he just kept on trying to lick her face, and get her to play with him. And then …’ her voice cracked, tears began to erupt ‘… then I hit out at him, with the back of the saw. The smooth handle part, not the blade. Not hard, just to get his attention. And I must have swung it back, towards Elizabeth, to clout him again, and the teeth got her neck. She was bending over, fending Baxter off. And Bert was dancing about, around our legs. They are awfully sharp, you see – the teeth of the saw, that is. I cut my own hand last week.’ She showed him the scab. ‘And it seemed to catch in her skin, right under her ear. She squealed, and the dogs still didn’t get away, and suddenly the blood started. That’s it, really.’ She wiped her cheeks with bloodstained fingers. ‘All my own idiotic fault. I will never forgive myself.’ This too was true. The truth smacked her hard, for the first time. She would have an enormous albatross of guilt around her neck for ever, now. ‘Sorry,’ she gasped. ‘I think I’m going to be sick.’
And she was, fifteen seconds later, having managed to reach the downstairs lavatory just in time.
When she dragged herself back into the kitchen, Higgins was sitting very still, not making notes or attempting to speak. He had gone pale, she noticed. What luck to get a man so human for her interrogation. He was on her side, she knew.
She did have to go to the police station, but no arrest was made. They requested that she stay in the village, and be prepared for further questions. They let her wash the dogs, and herself, eventually. The post-mortem on Elizabeth, the following day, comprehensively confirmed her story. Every detail fitted like magic. An inquest was opened, and then adjourned to some far-distant date. Detective Inspector Higgins told her that the verdict, when it finally came, was almost sure to be Accidental Death, on the advisement of the police. Her carelessness was reprehensible, and many people would believe that punishment was appropriate.
‘I believe that myself,’ she said humbly.
But Higgins pointed out that no good would be done by sending her to prison. They had bigger criminals to apprehend than her. She had smiled and thanked him, and hugged her maligned dogs.
Only Elizabeth’s ghost – which never materialised – knew the truth. How Sheila had heard the vacuum cleaner going, after she had explicitly requested Elizabeth not to do any cleaning. She had heard humiliation, criticism, even disgust, in that whirring engine. She had heard her friend thinking she was a slut, incompetent, lazy, slovenly. She, Elizabeth, would show her how it was done, gathering up the dog hair and dust with easy efficiency.
Sheila had paused for perhaps three seconds, during which a great rage swelled and blossomed within her. The very rudeness of it infuriated her, but bigger than that was the sense of shame and inadequacy that she had devoted her whole life to conquering. She ran through the kitchen, saw in hand, and struck out without any other thought but to make the woman stop.
It worked.
Key References to Novels in the Cotswolds Series
‘In Guiting Power’ Death in the Cotswolds
‘With Slaughter in Mind’ Slaughter in the Cotswolds and A Cotswold Ordeal
‘Making Arrangements’ A Grave in the Cotswolds
‘When Harry Richmond Sold His Cottage’ A Cotswold Killing
‘Little Boy Lost’ Trouble in the Cotswolds
‘The Stone Man’ Shadows in the Cotswolds
‘The Blockley Discovery’ A Cotswold Mystery
‘Ladies Who Lunch’ Deception in the Cotswolds
‘Humiliation’ A Cotswold Ordeal
‘In Which Thea Meets Tony Brown’ Guilt in the Cotswolds and the Lake District titles
‘The Moorcroft’ Malice in the Cotswolds and the Den Cooper titles
‘Blood on the Carpet’ Revenge in the Cotswolds
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Do you want to know about our other great reads,
download free extracts and enter competitions?
If so, visit our website www.allisonandbusby.com.
Sign up to our monthly newsletter (www.allisonandbusby.com/newsletter) for exclusive content and offers, news of our brand new releases, upcoming events
with your favourite authors and much more.
And why not click to follow us on Facebook (AllisonandBusbyBooks)
and Twitter (@AllisonandBusby)?
We’d love to hear from you!
If you enjoyed A Cotswold Casebook,
read on to find out about more books
by Rebecca Tope…
THE WINDERMERE WITNESS
THE FIRST LAKE DISTRICT MYSTERY
Following a personal tragedy, florist Persimmon ‘Simmy’ Brown has moved to the beautiful region of the Lake District to be nearer her charismatic parents. Things are going well, but the peace she has found is shattered when, at the wedding of a millionaire’s daughter, the bride’s brother is found brutally murdered in the lake.
As one of the last people to talk to Mark Baxter alive, Simmy gradually becomes involved with the grief-ridden and angry relatives. All seem to have their fair share of secrets and scandals. When events take another sinister turn, Simmy becomes a prime witness and finds herself at the heart of a murder investigation. The chief suspects are the groom and his closely knit band of bachelor friends. They are all intimidating, volatile and secretive – but which one is a killer?
A DIRTY DEATH
THE FIRST WEST COUNTRY MYSTERY
When irascible farmer Guy Beardon meets a very dirty death in his own farmyard, at first it seems like an accident – despite the fact that he was widely disliked. Only his daughter Lilah is prepared to defend his memory. And when, slowly, she begins to suspect foul play, no one is eager to help her investigate. Suspicion becomes certainty when two more deaths occur – both of them are unmistakably murder.
The difficulty lies in discovering who, among Guy’s many enemies, hated him enough to want him dead – and who went on killing to conceal the truth. There is certainly no shortage of suspects and it falls to local policeman Den Cooper to investigate the mysterious deaths …
MORE COSY CRIME AT ALLISON & BUSBY
KILLED IN CORNWALL
JANIE BOLITHO
DI Jack Pearce is investigating a series of burglaries and brutal attacks on young women which have broken out in Cornwall. Once again his on-off girlfriend Rose Trevelyan finds herself at the heart of the investigation.
With her intimate knowledge of the private lives of those connected to the case, Rose must work hard not to jump to conclusions about the innocence of those she knows. As the crimes become more serious, both newcomers to the area and familiar faces become suspects. But who should Rose – and Jack – believe?
BURIED IN CORNWALL
JANIE BOLITHO
Rose Trevelyan lives peacefully in Cornwall after the death of her husband, working as an artist and photographer.
But when she hears terrified screams as she paints the rugged Cornish countryside, and a local woman is reported missing, Rose finds herself suddenly caught at the centre of a police investigation.
With so many people who trust her, Rose is – reluctantly, at times – privy to the secrets of many. When the things she is told in confidence appear connected to the investigation, Rose must decide how far the bonds of friendship reach.
CAUGHT OUT IN CORNWALL
JANIE BOLITHO
When Rose Trevelyan sees a young girl being carried away by someone who appears to be her father, she thinks nothing of it. Until, that is, the appearance of a frantic mother who cannot find her child. Beth Jones is only four years old, and her mother is adamant that the man Rose saw taking her away must be a stranger.
Wracked with guilt for not intervening, Rose once again finds herself entangled in a criminal investigation. As time passes, it becomes clear that the chances of getting Beth back unharmed are very bleak indeed …
By Rebecca Tope
THE COTSWOLD MYSTERIES
A Cotswold Killing
A Cotswold Ordeal
Death in the Cotswolds
A Cotswold Mystery
Blood in the Cotswolds
Slaughter in the Cotswolds
Fear in the Cotswolds
A Grave in the Cotswolds
Deception in the Cotswolds
Malice in the Cotswolds
Shadows in the Cotswolds
Trouble in the Cotswolds
Revenge in the Cotswolds
Guilt in the Cotswolds
A Cotswold Casebook
THE WEST COUNTRY MYSTERIES
A Dirty Death
Dark Undertakings
Death of a Friend
Grave Concerns
A Death to Record
The Sting of Death
A Market for Murder
THE LAKE DISTRICT MYSTERIES
The Windermere Witness
The Ambleside Alibi
The Coniston Case
The Troutbeck Testimony
The Hawkshead Hostage
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
12 Fitzroy Mews
London W1T 6DW
allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2016.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2016.
Copyright © 2016 by REBECCA TOPE
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7490-2009-5