Ryan's Christmas: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 15) by LJ Ross

Author:LJ Ross [Ross, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2019-12-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

The journey from Chillingham to Chatton was less than two miles, but to Ryan and Anna it might have been five times that distance. With snow piled high on the roads and no friendly tyre tracks to lend a hand, it took the pair much longer to cover the ground, eager as they were to make it to Chatton before nightfall. They knocked on the doors of houses they passed by, in the hope of finding one with a working telephone, but it was as though the village of Chillingham had been abandoned.

“It’s creepy, isn’t it?” Anna said, as they passed by empty houses, along roads with no footprints or tyre tracks.

“Maybe they’re all out of town, visiting relatives,” Ryan said, reaching out to hold her hand as the shadows lengthened.

“Maybe,” she said, doubtfully. “Ryan, look!”

Anna planted her feet in the snow and tilted her head up to the sky, which was blanketed with stars twinkling in the uppermost heavens. He did the same and they stood there for long minutes—two small, insignificant beings in a vast universe.

“Storms still coming in our direction,” Ryan said, pointing to the east, where the stars could no longer be seen.

They headed off again at a brisk pace, their feet crunching against the packed snow.

“Do you think anybody will be able to get up here tomorrow?” she asked. “I mean, even if we find a telephone, do you think anybody will be able to help?”

Ryan had been asking himself the same question.

“Honestly? I don’t know. It depends on whether the main road has been reopened.”

“At least you’ll be able to ask Jack or Melanie to do some checks for you,” she said.

“I will, but how will they let me know the outcome? We need to head back to the castle tonight, so they’ll have no means of contacting us with the results, if the phone lines don’t get back up and running again.”

“Do you have any idea who killed Carole?”

Ryan glanced across, but didn’t break stride.

“I already know who killed Carole Black. It’s just a question of proving it beyond a reasonable doubt.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they reached the outskirts of Chatton. It was a larger village than the one they’d left behind, and the roads had been partially cleared. Lights twinkled in the windows of the houses they passed by, and Christmas decorations hung around some of the doors and gables, lifting their spirits.

“The Promised Land,” Ryan muttered.

“Are you sure this isn’t a mirage?”

He grinned, and felt as though his face might crack, it was so cold.

“Power lines are still up and running. Let’s hope the telephone lines are running, too.”

“Do you want to try one of these houses?”

Just then, they spotted the welcoming lights of a country pub. With the stars shining overhead and its frontage decked out like a Christmas tree, The Percy Arms beckoned to them.

“That has my vote,” Ryan said.

“Mine too. Come on, I’ll race you there.”

The pair of them half-ran, half-slid across the snow-packed road, silly

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