Murder At The Book Club by Betsy Reavley

Author:Betsy Reavley [Reavley, Betsy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

* * *

At the station, Pauline was shown to a cell. She’d never been inside a police station before, let alone locked up in one. Not only was she terrified that she was going to be sent to prison, but her pride had also taken a knock. She was an upstanding citizen, not some ruffian who belonged behind bars. Sitting awkwardly on the squeaky blue mattress, she tried to think. Why were they so quick to arrest her? She wondered if they knew more than they had let on. Racking her brains, Pauline tried to think if there was anything that could link her to the crime. Yes, she had been angry with Toni, but not enough to kill her. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of her neck, making her shiver – like someone had walked over her grave. How could she prove she was innocent? Her mind whirled, around and around, trying to come up with the answer. She knew she wasn’t responsible, but that wasn’t enough. She’d heard stories of innocent people being sent to prison. What if that happened to her? How would Roger cope on his own? It didn’t bear thinking about. They’d been married for thirty-five years and had never spent more than a night apart.

Roger retired from being a teacher when they decided to start the business together. He’d been so enthusiastic about the project and it had put a spring back in his step. She was the brains behind the idea and he was going to be the driver. They thought they had everything worked out, everything except a proper, legally binding agreement with Toni. Pauline had overlooked that aspect because of their friendship, a decision she now bitterly regretted.

After leaving Pauline to sweat for a few hours, Barrett ordered her to be brought to an interview room for questioning. She sat in the chair, looking like a broken woman, and Palmer wondered if she might just confess, saving them all time.

‘Pauline.’ Barrett cleared his throat and arranged some papers on the table in front of him. ‘I would like you to take us through what happened on the evening of June twenty-first.’

Pauline turned and looked at the duty solicitor who sat on her left. The young man gave her a small nod.

‘No comment,’ she said quietly.

‘How long have you known the deceased?’

‘No comment.’

‘You were friends, weren’t you?’ Palmer queried.

‘You wanted to go into business with her, is that right?’ Barrett asked.

Pauline knew then that they knew everything.

‘She was going to be your business partner in a mobile library venture, wasn’t she?’ Barrett’s gaze did not falter.

Pauline looked at her solicitor again. He was young enough to be her son.

‘Well, if you know everything, then what’s the point?’ She shrugged and folded her arms.

‘I’d say it is a motive for murder.’ Palmer leant in.

‘I didn’t kill her.’ Pauline’s voice was higher than normal. ‘Why would I kill her?’

‘Revenge. Money. Plenty of reasons I can think of.’ Palmer stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.