‘Sort of,’ said Simmy. ‘She’d be watching out for a man working in a garden. Hadn’t Travis just knocked off, after doing something for the garden at the Mortal Man?’
‘Had he?’ frowned Angie.
‘He had,’ confirmed Russell. ‘Before leaving the boy there to go for his walk.’
‘There we are then,’ sighed Simmy unhappily. ‘What a very sad story. I can’t forget how much I liked Valerie. I can’t believe we had such a nice little chat in the graveyard.’ Then she gave a watery smile. ‘But at least we can assume Corinne will take on the dog.’
For some reason, both her parents seemed to find this amusing.
The next day, less than a week after the fateful Bank Holiday Monday, Simmy was once again at the Mortal Man. Outside it was raining, so she and her companion were in the untidy wood-panelled bar, eating a ridiculously substantial roast lamb Sunday lunch.
‘Better than my cooking,’ said Ninian ruefully.
‘I prefer your gravy,’ said Simmy. ‘It was noble of you to come,’ she added with a smile.
‘I hiked five whole miles for this,’ he boasted. ‘In the rain.’
‘You did. And in return you can spend a long lazy afternoon in my warm, dry little cottage.’
‘Only the afternoon?’ He stopped chewing, a worried frown on his face. ‘I thought I was staying all night.’
She smiled again. ‘You’re welcome, if that’s what you’d like. I can drive you home in the morning.’
‘Thank you. That would be lovely,’ he said primly.
‘’Ello there,’ came a voice. ‘All right, then?’
It was Vic Corless, of the beard and the dog snares and the anonymous letter. He stood awkwardly, sideways on to their table. ‘Thought I should say something,’ he went on.
‘There’s nothing at all to say,’ Simmy told him coldly.
‘Yeah, but there is. You were a real lady, through all the trouble there’s been. Corinne and Bonnie think you’re their hero, for all you did. It’ll be the making of Bonnie, working for you. That’s all I wanted to say. Just that it’s good to know you, Mrs Brown. You’re one in a thousand.’
Ninian looked up at him, wide-eyed. ‘What are you saying, man? She’s one in ten million, at least.’
‘Stop it.’ Simmy was blushing. Suddenly springtime and romance and sweet-scented flowers were all she could think of.
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About the Author
REBECCA TOPE 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
By Rebecca Tope
THE LAKE DISTRICT MYSTERIES
The Windermere Witness
The Ambleside Alibi
The Coniston Case
The Troutbeck Testimony
THE COTSWOLD MYSTERIES
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
THE WEST COUNTRY MYSTERIES
A Dirty Death
Dark Undertakings
Death of a Friend
Grave Concerns
A Death to Record
A Market for Murder
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
12 Fitzroy Mews
London W1T 6DW
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
Copyright © 2015 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 978-0-7490-1838-2