A Cotswold Ordeal (28 page)

‘Luckily for us, his wife feels rather the same. We had to involve her, to make it work.’ He shivered. ‘The capacity women have for treachery never ceases to appal me.’

Thea laughed. ‘What did she do?’ She realised she’d almost forgotten about Julia, the bumptious, high-flying, careless stepmother.

‘She set him up in the simplest way. Told him she’d have killed Nick Franklyn herself if she’d realised what had been going on with Flora, and Desmond got so sucked in, he openly admitted it to her. What he didn’t know was that there were two plain-clothes officers listening to every word.’

Thea hugged herself, wondering why she didn’t feel happier. ‘And that counts, does it? It’s proper evidence?’

Hollis held up a finger. ‘Belt and braces,’ he said. ‘Remember? Our people approached him there and then, replaying the tape recording they’d made, and scaring him so badly he went along to the station
and made a full confession. That was what Jack just called to tell me.’

‘And Julia—’

‘When she heard the whole story, and caught up with Flora, she couldn’t do enough to help us.’ His face grew serious. ‘To be honest, she scared the life out of me. I’m still not sure what made her so enraged. I’ve never seen anything like it.’

‘He ruined everything for her, humiliated her, embarrassed her,’ Thea supplied. ‘And committed a murder because of what he thought was happening to his daughter. Her reaction sounds fairly normal to me.’

Hollis made a thoughtful face, sucking in his lips as if tasting the argument. ‘Am I missing something?’ he said eventually.

‘Jealousy,’ Thea explained. ‘Julia’s jealous of Flora. If Desmond had killed to defend
her
honour, she’d feel completely different.’

‘I see,’ he said doubtfully.

Hollis stayed for lunch and then suggested to Thea they go out for a drive. ‘I’ve got an idea I’d like to run past you,’ he said. ‘And I think we’ve already exhausted your sister’s patience, hogging the kitchen for so long.’

She agreed with enthusiasm, the heady sense of relief at Desmond’s capture colouring everything. The air felt sweet and balmy, the future a sunny
landscape. Only Jocelyn’s predicament tainted her sense of optimism, and even that could yet turn out to be salvageable. Already her sister was making references to Alex which seemed to imply some mellowing.

With Hepzie on a lead, she followed him out to his car. Only then did she realise it was already occupied. On the back seat sat a large black and tan dog, with a domed head and floppy ears. Peering closer, Thea saw a smaller yellow dog flopped beside the first one.

‘You left them out here in the sun,’ she accused. ‘Poor things.’

‘I parked in the shade, and the windows are open,’ he defended. ‘They’re fine. Let me introduce you.’

He opened the car door, saying ‘Stay!’ in a firm manly voice. The dogs looked at him, then at Thea, then at Hepzie who had jumped onto the seat and was cavorting seductively around them. ‘Claude and Baxter,’ said Hollis. ‘Baxter’s the big one.’

Thea watched the well-trained setter and corgi turn with total dignity away from the undisciplined spaniel. ‘Hello boys,’ she said. ‘Come here, Hepzibah, before you make a bigger fool of yourself.’

Settled in the front seat, the spaniel in her usual place on Thea’s lap, they drove off. ‘Where are we going?’ Thea asked.

‘To the nearest beach that allows dogs. I think I know the very place,’ he said. ‘It’ll take forty minutes or so.’

‘Plenty of time for you to explain this big idea, then,’ she said comfortably. ‘And don’t try to put me off until we get there. I want to know this minute what it is.’

‘Well…’ He kept his attention firmly on the road, not venturing the briefest of glances at her face. ‘I’ve got a week’s leave in October. And it so happens that an aged aunt of mine died at the beginning of this year, leaving me as her last surviving relative in this country. She had a cottage in a village called Cold Aston, not far from Stow-on-the-Wold, and I’ll have to go and sort out the contents and then sell it. I should have done it ages ago, but it kept getting put to the bottom of the list. It’s quite a task – she was a real old hoarder, poor thing. Now, what I was wondering – and tell me if this is out of order – is whether you’d like to come with me? I think the place will still be habitable – a local woman goes in and airs it now and then. I had the electricity and phone disconnected, that’s the only thing. And I would insist on taking my dogs. It’s their holiday as well.’

Thea laughed. ‘So we’ll need the camping gaz. But October – that’s ages away.’

‘I imagine we can snatch a few mutually agreeable encounters between now and then.’

‘I hope so.’

‘So do I.’ He reached out a hand, and she took it and squeezed it before he needed it back for a gear change.

If you enjoyed this, you might like to read more in the
Thea Osborne Cotswold series.

Read on to find out more …

R
EBECCA
T
OPE
lives on a smallholding in Herefordshire, with a full complement of livestock, but manages to travel the world and enjoy civilisation from time to time as well. Most of her varied experiences and activities find their way into her books, sooner or later. Her own cocker spaniel, Beulah, is the model for Hepzibah, but is unfortunately ageing much more rapidly.

www.rebeccatope.com

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

Grave Concerns

The Sting of Death

A Market for Murder

Duntisbourne Abbots is a quintessentially English village nestled in the stunning Cotswold hills. Recently widowed Thea Osbourne fears three weeks of house-sitting there may prove a little dull, but her first night’s sleep at Brook View is broken by a piercing scream… When a body turns up, Thea knows she shouldn’t get involved, but in questioning neighbours she uncovers more tragedy and intrigue than she thought possible.

Thea Osborne’s relationship with DI Phil Hollis is going from strength to strength. The couple retreat to a cottage in Cold Aston, where they look forward to some peace and quiet. Preparations for Samhain, the pagan origin of Halloween, are well underway when a very tangible reminder of the season of death is discovered: a body laid out like a sacrificial victim on Notgrove Barrow. It soon becomes apparent that the cosy village has more than its share of secrets. But just how far will some go to keep them hidden?

The Montgomerys ask Thea Osborne to look after their house in the charming village of Blockley while they take a much needed holiday. But trouble seems to follow Thea, and when a body is discovered in the house next door, she finds herself in the midst of village secrets. From mystical local legends to celebrity sightings, the erstwhile quiet area turns out to be a place of mysterious contradictions – with very serious undertones.

Thea Osborne has taken on another house-sitting assignment, this time in the quiet village of Temple Guiting. Detective Superintendent Phil Hollis is looking forward to visiting, but a bad back soon puts an end to their romantic weekend. A few days into their stay, human bones are discovered in the base of an uprooted tree. With no evidence as to the identity of the body, wild theories and rumours abound. Thea and Phil find there is a strong connection to the Knights Templar in the village, but could that have any bearing on the case?