Both men were grimly silent. Then Rycroft stirred. ‘But how did you figure out what she did next? Even as fit as she is, she wouldn’t have had the strength to drag his dead body out of the butt and cart him to your cupboard. Not quickly, anyway.’
Jenny smiled. ‘Ah, there I had the advantage over you,’ she admitted. ‘When Mrs Leigh first came on board, Brian O’Keefe was carrying a block and tackle over his shoulder, and Mrs Leigh admitted that she knew what it was. She explained that her father had worked on a building site all his life and that she, like so many fond daughters, as a child had loved to visit him and watch him work. It was obvious that she would know how a block and tackle was used. Then, when we were out on the starboard deck, we both observed Brian O’Keefe use the equipment box. Which, incidentally, is conveniently situated right next to the freshwater butt. And, as a final cherry on the cake, your own forensics man, when giving you a rundown on the condition of the ship, told you that the life-belt ring above the equipment box and right next to the water butt was hanging on a particularly strong bracket.’
Graves smiled. ‘So you knew that Dorothy Leigh would be able to use the strong bracket to set up the block and tackle to haul Olney out of the water butt and . . .’ He trailed off, not yet quite sure of his ground after that.
Jenny happily came to his rescue. ‘She would have put the plastic sheet onto the trolley and lowered the body onto it. Remember, she’d be at pains to keep the deck, and the trail to my galley, totally dry to cover her tracks. Then it was just a question of wheeling the body to the cupboard, upending the trolley — those railway-porter type trolleys are so good for that sort of thing — and shutting the cupboard door quickly, before he could fall back out. Not forgetting to take the plastic sheeting back to the engine room to dry off, of course.’
‘But why hide the body in the cupboard at all? Why not use the block and tackle to put the body over the side?’ Rycroft asked suddenly.
But Jenny was already shaking her head. ‘No time. She’d have had to winch the body sideways, swing him out, and drop him overboard. It would take much longer, and besides, with both Jasmine Olney and David Leigh in their rooms above her, one or the other of them would be bound to hear the splash as his body hit the water and look out. On board a boat, a big splash would be a dead giveaway that someone had gone overboard. And how would she be able to explain then what she was doing out there, with the block and tackle all set up? No, silence and speed were her main requirements.’
‘So she hid the body in the only place she was sure it wouldn’t be found too soon.’ Graves nodded. ‘Your cupboard.’
‘Right. There aren’t many places on a compact boat where you can hide a corpse, after all. And she knew I was out on my walk at the time,’ Jenny reminded them. ‘Of course, during all this time, Dorothy was supposed to be upstairs in the bathroom, suffering the pangs of morning sickness.’
‘Faked, I suppose?’ Graves said.
Jenny shrugged. ‘Perhaps. But perhaps not. I think the thought of what she was about to do probably did make her feel genuinely ill. And the shock and strain she showed afterwards was certainly real enough. She was not a natural-born killer, after all. Just desperately in love with her husband and terrified of losing him.’
‘She’ll get prison, of course,’ he said, but didn’t sound at all happy about it.
‘But not for life,’ Jenny said matter-of-factly. ‘That husband of hers is no fool. And that fancy QC he’s retained won’t be either. Together, they’ll arrange for her trial to start just when she’s heavily pregnant. And they’ll have no shortage of witnesses to testify what a bad lot Gabriel was. And what jury, when faced with a pretty, fair, petite, heavily pregnant woman will go hard on her, when she murdered a man who threatened to destroy her life? Who threatened to have her husband dismissed from his job and — far worse — who threatened to tell her husband, quite untruthfully, that the child she carried wasn’t his?’ Jenny shook her head. ‘No. Gabriel’s attempted blackmail of Lucas will come out, and David Leigh will be at pains to point out that Gabriel Olney was a coward, a deserter, and a murderer himself. He as good as murdered Arnold Leigh, after all, and the jury will see it the same way. Maybe the QC will even put forward temporary insanity as a defence. Any man can argue that a pregnant woman is prey to depression. No, they’ll pull out all the stops and get it down to manslaughter I should think.’
Graves found himself hoping that the cook was right. He had no desire to see Dorothy Leigh spend the rest of her life in jail for doing away with Olney.
‘I think you’re right,’ Rycroft agreed. ‘If ever there were mitigating circumstances, this case is full of them. Well . . .’ He rose to his feet and stretched. ‘We have to get back to the station. Can we give you a lift, Miss Starling?’
But the cook shook her head, and explained how she needed to get back to her van. Best to call a taxi. She waved the two policemen goodbye, giving the burly, handsome sergeant a slightly wistful final look. Then, when the car was out of sight, she lifted her case and walked slowly down the deck.
The sun was just beginning to redden as she stepped onto the lush green river bank and started towards the village and a telephone.
Suddenly there was a loud squawk, and a scarlet and blue flash shot past her to land on the limb of a nearby tree.
Jenny looked at it fondly. ‘So long, featherbrain,’ she called cheerfully.
‘Goodbye, sweetheart,’ the parrot said, and gave her a long, low, flattering wolf whistle.
THE END
ALSO BY FAITH MARTIN
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JENNY STARLING SERIES
Book 1: THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY
Book 2: THE WINTER MYSTERY
Book 3: THE RIVERBOAT MYSTERY
Book 4: THE CASTLE MYSTERY
DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES
Book 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
Book 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
Book 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
Book 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE
Book 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY
Book 6: MURDER AT HOME
Book 7: MURDER IN THE MEADOW
Book 8: MURDER IN THE MANSION
Book 9: MURDER IN THE GARDEN
Book 10: MURDER BY FIRE
Book 11: MURDER AT WORK
Book 12: MURDER NEVER RETIRES
Book 13: MURDER OF A LOVER
Book 14: MURDER NEVER MISSES
Book 15: MURDER AT MIDNIGHT
Book 16: MURDER IN MIND
Book 17: HILLARY’S FINAL CASE
DI HILLARY GREENE BOOK 1
MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
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MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.
Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.
Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.
Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?
DI HILLARY GREENE BOOK 2
MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
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A pretty French student is found dead in her room at an exclusive Oxford college. Everyone thinks it is another tragic case of accidental drug overdose.
But Detective Hillary Greene has a nose for the truth. She quickly discovers that the student was involved in some very unusual activities.
&
nbsp; With a shocking cause of death found, the case becomes a high-profile murder investigation.
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First a shooting, then a grisly discovery on the common . . .
Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to track down a killer before the whole area erupts in violence. Their boss thinks it’s all down to drug lord Ray Fallon, but Calladine’s instincts say something far nastier is happening on the Hobfield housing estate.
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Shocking family secrets come to light when a young woman is murdered
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A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER
Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmo
ther
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: a truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop
Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie
MOD: ministry of defence
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area