Bedfordshire Clanger Calamity by Steve Higgs

Author:Steve Higgs [higgs, steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-13T06:00:00+00:00

Dead in the Gutter

The rain was beginning to come in sideways by the time Albert made it back to the B road that ran through the centre of town. It was late afternoon and the sun had all but set, making the temperature drop yet further. At the edge of the road, he had to wait for a gap in the traffic before he could cross and got even wetter from the rain being splashed up by the passing cars. Heavy trucks and vans were among the cars going past, reminding Albert of back home before they built the Kings Hill bypass. This town clearly needed a ring road too.

Both dogs had their heads down, hiding their faces from the rain and powering on to wherever they were going while hoping it would be somewhere dry. Periodically, one of the dogs would pause a step to shake their coat, ejecting a shower of water onto the pavement all around them but also onto Albert’s legs so he now had one very wet left ankle from Hans and one very wet right outer thigh and calf where Rex’s superior height and coat length had ejected water that hit everything on the side up to and including his eyebrows. Discouraging Rex from shaking himself seemed to just make the dog do it more as if he were purposefully lining himself up to get Albert wet.

Rex was muttering under his breath. It was the second day in a row he’d been taken for a walk in driving rain. Once was bad enough; the second time was just an insult and it came on top of a bevy of insults already delivered. At least the rain was getting the dachshund too who was having a devil of a time trying to avoid the puddles which were over the top of his paws in places.

Wishing he had timed things a little better, Albert pressed on. The option to seek refuge in a public house until the rain passed or eased was no longer viable – he was just too wet. He would have to drop Hans back with Victor and carry on to his room in the Leather Bottle. There he could get dry and find a change of clothes. The investigation was supposed to be a welcome distraction, not a chore, and that was how it was beginning to feel. Rex was soaked he could see and that meant he would have to beg the landlord for some old towels once they got inside. He dared not take the shaggy-coated dog up to his room until he was dry; the mess Rex made in the café yesterday stood a stark warning.

The light in the café was off when they turned the final corner and could see its frontage. In fact, there was no sign of life at all. Albert skewed his lips to one side in thought; he might have to call Victor. Had the man gone home after his day too tired to

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