The Head is Dead by Tanya Landman

Author:Tanya Landman [Landman, Tanya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781406339543
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Published: 2011-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

the plot thickens

I didn’t even try to explain the odd sensation I’d had outside Mrs Plumtree’s, because I knew Graham liked to stick to Scientifically Proven Facts. Instead I said, “Mr Piper gave Pearl a really nasty look back there.”

“I can’t say I’m entirely surprised,” he replied. “I gather grown-ups don’t take kindly to having their financial affairs gossiped about. He must have been terribly embarrassed.”

I didn’t push it any further but changed the subject slightly. “Speaking of financial affairs… I don’t get it about Mr Edwards. Surely anyone clever enough to dream up a plot this complicated isn’t going to make a stupid mistake about money? If he did nick it, he wouldn’t have shoved it into his own bank, would he?”

“I agree,” said Graham. “That would be too obvious. The sensible thing would be to hide it in an offshore account. The whole thing is very puzzling.”

We walked back to the B&B lost in our own thoughts. When we got there we found DCI Swan waiting for us.

“You’re quite sure that Mr Edwards started doing the murder trail before you saw Mr Walters answer his phone?” she demanded.

“Oh, he did answer it, then, did he?” I said, a bit sarcastically. “He wasn’t dialling out?”

DCI Swan frowned. “No,” she admitted. “You were right about that particular detail. We checked the phone log and it seems that the call to Mr Walters was in fact made from Mr Edwards’ phone.”

I looked at Graham in a told-you-so sort of way. Mr Edwards had pretended to be Mrs King and lured Mr Walters to the spot to frame him for her murder. I was right!

Or was I? If I was honest with myself, I had to admit that Mr Edwards didn’t look like he’d be capable of imitating the head’s voice. Not convincingly, anyway. Perhaps the man had hidden talents. Or did he?

Fortunately I kept my mouth shut. If I’d spoken just then I’d have looked a complete idiot, because what DCI Swan said next blew my theory right out of the water.

“Mr Edwards’ phone is the same make and model as Mrs King’s. I admit I was a little puzzled by it, but the explanation is quite simple. We believe she picked up the wrong one by accident and called Mr Walters to tell him that his son would be permanently excluded.”

“So Mr Walters was telling the truth about her ringing him?” I asked.

“It seems so,” agreed the policewoman. “But then – finding her asleep – the temptation to silence her proved too much for him. He smothered her on impulse. And before you start going on about possible connections between the two incidents, let me state quite categorically that there isn’t one. They are two different cases entirely. Both quite simple. Both clear cut. To the professionals, at any rate.”

So there we were again with another open-and-shut case, and another suspect folded up nice and neatly inside it.

But as DCI Swan left the B&B I could see from Graham’s face that he didn’t believe it any more than I did.

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