The Arms of Death by Maggie Foster

Author:Maggie Foster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: murder mystery books, medical murder mystery books, Scottish murder mystery books, women sleuths, Lonach
ISBN: 978-0-9989858-3-1
Publisher: Maggies Mysteries
Published: 2019-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Saturday

Ginny slept badly and rose early the next day. It was too rude to rouse the Craigs from their beds at such an hour, but she could at least drive by and see if she was right about the color of the car Mark Craig had been driving. Later, she could ring the doorbell and ask him about the rust-colored car. She finished her breakfast and hurried off.

She knew, before she turned the corner, that something was wrong. There were red and blue flashing lights on the street. She could see them reflected off the fronts of the houses and off the people standing on the sidewalk in their dressing gowns.

She pulled around the corner and saw the fire trucks, two of them, blocking her way. A policeman held up his hand.

“I’m sorry miss, you’ll have to go back.”

“What’s happened, officer?”

“Just turn here and go back the way you came.”

Ginny looked at his implacable expression, then did as told. She parked the car on the side street and came back on foot.

The fire had started in the office. That part of the house was gutted—the roof gone, the exterior wall scorched, the timbers dripping—but the flames were out, and the rest of the house still stood. Ginny glanced over in time to see Mark and Theresa coming around the corner of the yard to stand staring at the charred remains. She made her way over to where they stood.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“We’re fine.” Mark gestured at the wreckage. “But look at the house!”

“Do they know how it got started?”

He shook his head. “No one is saying anything, yet.” He turned and faced her. “Someone called it in and the firemen woke us banging on the door.”

“Thank God you got out in time.” She looked at the pair of them. “You need coffee, and something to eat.”

Theresa shook her head. “We can’t leave. All our things are in the house and they won’t let us back in.”

“We can handle that,” Ginny said. “Give me a minute.” She left them standing on the corner of the property and went to speak to the Fire Chief.

“No, miss, no one allowed in the house until after it’s been inspected for structural safety.”

Ginny explained that the occupants were from out of town and needed their driver’s licenses, keys, and phones. He looked at the Craigs, then motioned one of his men over and outlined the situation. “If it’s safe to do so.”

“Right Chief.” The fireman disappeared into the house through the undamaged front door and returned bearing several items.

“Is this what you wanted?”

Theresa had come over when she saw him exit the building. “Yes. That’s my purse. Thank you.”

“And I found these on the bedside table.” He handed over a watch, a wallet, a set of keys, and a cellphone to Mark.

“Thank you very much.” Mark smiled. “And thank everyone for the great work tonight.”

“You’re very welcome, sir.” The fireman waved and went back to the truck.

“What about the contents?” Mark asked.

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