MURDER AGAINST THE ODDS a totally gripping crime thriller full of twists (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 3) by JANICE FROST

Author:JANICE FROST [FROST, JANICE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Published: 2023-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Thea awoke on Monday morning to find herself alone and freezing cold, in stark contrast to the cosiness and camaraderie she’d felt the previous evening when she and her two tent buddies had snuggled up in their sleeping bags with hot water bottles and mugs of hot chocolate provided by well-wishers.

But no one had said it was going to be non-stop fun, especially at this time of year and with snow flurries still occurring every now and then. Aching bones from sleeping on the hard ground, a full bladder and hunger were the least of her discomforts — she’d never even been close to feeling this cold before. Despite the reassuring sound of traffic moving freely outside, she feared that a desolate arctic wilderness awaited her outside the tent.

She sat up, pulling Jane’s coat around her shoulders, the cold of the satin lining against her neck making her shiver. Her numb fingers struggled with the tent zipper.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Zara bent to help.

“Not such a good morning. I’ve got hypothermia.”

“Tell me about it. I was so cold when I woke up, I thought my fingers and toes had dropped off. Took forever to get the feeling back in them. Chrissie’s got someone bringing coffee and butties. They should be here any minute.”

Thea looked around. “Have you seen Rose?”

“She’s not in the tent with you?”

“No. Did you notice if she was there when you got up?”

Zara frowned. “I don’t know. I didn’t actually look. I just assumed she was. Weird. Maybe she went for a walk to warm herself up.”

“First dibs on her sleeping bag if she doesn’t come back,” Thea said.

Zara wasn’t having that. “No chance. We’ll share it.”

Thea patted herself down. “Damn. I must have left my phone in the tent.” She ran the zip up and crawled back inside. Nothing in her own sleeping bag, so she checked Rose’s, which was next to hers and half-unzipped. “Eeeugh! What the—”

Zara stuck her head inside the tent flap. “You okay, Thee?” Then, gasping, “Oh my God. What have you done?”

Thea held up a bloody hand. “It’s not my blood. It’s from Rose’s sleeping bag.”

“Maybe her period started and she’s gone off to get some tampons.”

“Seriously? Look at my hand, Zara. No one loses that much menstrual blood. The sleeping bag’s soaked through.” Thea regretted speaking sharply, but her initial revulsion was rapidly turning to fear. “I don’t like this.”

“Well, there must be some rational explanation,” Zara said. “I don’t remember anyone coming in and stabbing her in the night.”

“That’s not funny, Zara. Something must have happened to her. Look.” Thea pulled back the fold of Rose’s sleeping bag and felt vindicated when Zara let out a gasp.

“Okay. You’re right. I’m going to get Chrissie.”

Chrissie Temple seemed unruffled after inspecting the sleeping bag. “There’s not that much blood, you know,” she said, making Thea feel that she and Zara must have been exaggerating. “Did either of you hear anything?”

Thea, along with Zara shook her head, less sure now why she’d panicked.

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