A Study in Stone by Michael Campling

Author:Michael Campling [Campling, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadowstone Books
Published: 2019-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Bovey Tracey

They said little during the drive back to Embervale, and for his part, Dan had no wish to discuss their departure from Knightsbrook House. As a grown man, he’d rarely been scolded, and to be dressed down by a groundsman and threatened with prosecution, all the while being fixed in the hungry gaze of an outlandishly large German shepherd, was a humiliation that he was keen to forget.

But when their route took them through the small Dartmoor town of Bovey Tracey, Dan sat upright in his seat. “This was the place you mentioned. The nearest church.”

“Yes,” Alan replied, his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead.

“Well, maybe we could stop by the church, visit the graveyard. Or is there a cemetery?”

Alan let out a sigh of frustration. “Yes, there is a cemetery and a nice little church, but do you really expect me to take you there after what we’ve just been through?”

“It wasn’t so bad.”

“Wasn’t so bad! I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my entire life. I’ve lived in this area for years; I have friends, acquaintances, people who know me. They know I’m a writer, and they know I was a teacher. How will it look if this gets out? And it probably will. A lot of people around here are connected.”

Dan let out a dismissive chortle. “You make it sound like they’re in the mafia.”

“No, I mean that they’re related or close friends. In these small towns and villages, people actually talk to their neighbours.”

“Talk about them, you mean,” Dan shot back. “Gossip—the last refuge of the small-minded. There’s nothing else to talk about, I suppose.”

A growl rumbled in Alan’s throat. “You are being deliberately insufferable. You know perfectly well what I mean, and don’t forget, we were the ones in the wrong. We were trespassing on private property.”

“Debatable,” Dan said. “There were no signs telling us to keep out, and we’d been told we could explore the grounds. I don’t think the police would’ve been interested.”

“That’s not the point.” Alan paused for breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was calmer, his tone more patient. “I have a reputation in the local community, and I don’t want to get sly looks and stupid remarks every time I return a library book. Do you understand that?”

Dan hesitated before replying. “Yes. I can see that. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. It was my idea to go into that garden, and I probably pressured you into it.” He paused. “Why do I feel like I’ve just been lectured to?”

“Years of practice,” Alan said with a wry smile. “Old habits die hard.” He paused, his expression softening. “Anyway, there’s no need to apologise. I made my own decision to go nosing around at Knightsbrook, and I’ll have to accept the consequences. I’m just frustrated by the whole thing.”

“So, does that mean you don’t want to go to the church?”

“Well, we could drive home that way. If we go through the town, we’ll get to the church, then there’s a lane that’ll take us straight to the cemetery.

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