BLOOD IN THE COTSWOLDS An absolutely gripping cozy crime mystery full of twists (The Cotswold Cozy Mysteries Book 5) by TOPE REBECCA

Author:TOPE, REBECCA
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books cozy mysteries and crime
Published: 2024-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

‘So what did she say about the way he died?’ Thea was curious to know.

Phil shook his head. ‘Nothing unusual. A powerful blow to the head with something pointed, like your Bible woman and her tent peg.’

‘Oh.’

‘You sound disappointed.’

‘No. Only that I was sort of hoping there’d be something a bit more ritualistic. Something out of one of Janey’s saint stories. Take no notice. I’m just being fanciful.’

‘You don’t like Gladwin so much now, do you?’ he noted. ‘And after she tried so hard, poor lass.’

‘Too hard. That’s the problem. She’s not genuine. The first time, I fell for it completely. But now she just trots out the same spurious sympathy for me having to put up with you being so distracted. She doesn’t really mean it at all. It’s something she’s taught herself to do.’

‘I really don’t think that’s right. I’m much more inclined to think it’s more that she’s under a lot of strain. She might simply be following the training, because she’s too nervous to be herself.’

‘What training? The bit that teaches you how to gain the public’s confidence by showing them you understand how they feel? I don’t think Jess has done that module yet.’ Thea had been conscientious in keeping up with her daughter’s police training, as well as unable to resist arguing with much of it.

He closed his eyes briefly. ‘If she had, I doubt if she’d tell you. She’d know what your reaction would be. It’s only common sense, after all. Gladwin’s going to be keen to keep me sweet, since we’re sure to be working together a fair bit. I vote we give her the benefit of the doubt for a while longer.’

‘Well I abstain from voting at all. The election’s rigged, if you ask me.’

‘Very funny.’

‘We could go out for supper?’ he offered, a few minutes later. ‘Somewhere a bit swanky. So long as their chairs aren’t too low, I think my back could cope.’

‘Do you have somewhere in mind?’

‘Well, there’s Winchcombe not far away. We could see if there’s a place there.’

Thea went to her car and extracted a map. As she turned it to the right section, she sighed. ‘Look at all these woods and footpaths and ruins. Hailes Abbey. Breakheart Plantation. Sudeley Castle. Even a Roman villa in Spoonley Wood. A person could spend months just exploring all this.’

‘Breakheart Plantation? Sounds like Brokeback Mountain. Show me.’

She pointed out a patch of green to the south-west of Winchcombe. It had quarries on every side, with steep contours rising and falling crazily all around. ‘Looks dramatic,’ he agreed. ‘We’ll go there one day, I promise. There’s plenty of summer left for jaunts like that.’

‘Yes, but I’m here now,’ she complained in frustration. ‘At least, for another two days.’

‘Two days?’ He looked at her in alarm. ‘Is that all it is? I thought you were having two weekends.’

‘Tomorrow and Saturday. Archie arrives on Sunday. I’ll have to be out of his way sometime during the afternoon. He’ll be wanting my bed.

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