CRIME IN CARTON HALL a fiercely addictive mystery by CATHERINE MOLONEY

Author:CATHERINE MOLONEY [MOLONEY, CATHERINE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller and mystery
Published: 2022-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

8. The Toils of Passion

The Grapes was the team’s favourite pub in Bromgrove, despite being resolutely unfashionable with its array of brasses and knick-knacks and décor that had somehow stayed stuck in the 1970s, not to mention swirling patterned carpets and psychedelic motifs that seemed almost calculated to make visitors feel that they were coming down from an acid trip.

Not that the owner Denise, with an embonpoint and beehive to make Bet Lynch proud, would have any truck with shenanigans of that sort. She ran a tight ship — quite literally, given the predominance of nautical instruments and seafaring paraphernalia among the curios crammed into every available space — and was proud to count Markham’s gang of four among her favoured patrons for whom a booth in the cosy back parlour was always readily available. Although the uneven wooden floor imparted a flavour of seasickness and the crimson flock wallpaper dotted with Prince of Wales feathers (Denise being a huge fan of royalty) clashed horribly with the dark oak wainscoting, Markham had always relished the pub’s quirky charm and its motherly proprietor who, Olivia griped, ‘spoiled him shamelessly’.

The DI suggested to Kate Burton that they should enjoy a coffee before Claire Mawdsley joined them so Thursday afternoon saw the two colleagues nursing cappuccinos in the back room over a plate of home-made cookies which, in Denise’s words, would ‘put them on till lunchtime’.

Kate enjoyed the glow of the crackling wood fire and, even more, the feeling that her boss found it soothing to sit like this with her away from the controlled chaos of the incident room at Carton Hall and out of reach of their superiors back at the station.

Out of reach only up to a point, of course, since DCI Sidney had announced his intention of attending Isobel Farquhar’s interment the following day ‘when they could bring him up to speed on developments’. That word ‘developments’ as delivered by Sidney invariably carried a menacing undertone . . .

But for now, this was her idea of heaven.

Increasingly secure in her relationship with Nathan Finlayson, she no longer hankered for the moon with mad fantasies of seducing Markham away from Olivia Mullen. But she knew there existed a special affinity between herself and the man she still thought of as her boss. She still held him dear — and maybe the feeling was mutual. Maybe one of the chambers in his heart had her name above the door; a place totally distinct from the rooms that belonged to others — maybe even just an attic room tucked out of the way — but reserved for her alone. Burton knew her handsome, melancholic guvnor had to draw a prize in life’s lottery — in this case, willowy, witty Olivia rather than her plain, dumpy self — and therefore had the common sense to keep a tight rein over her behaviour where he was concerned. Nonetheless, she relished the unspoken sympathy and undercurrents of feeling that flowed between them. There was always

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