The Submerged Village: A DI Rowan Penhallow Mystery (The Moorland Shadows series Book 4) by Wendy Cartmell

Author:Wendy Cartmell [Cartmell, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Costa Press
Published: 2026-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine: The Forensic Evidence

Friday morning brought genuine rain, not the tentative drizzle of yesterday, but proper Devon rain, steady and persistent. The reservoir would be rising now, inch by inch, the drowned village beginning its descent back into the water. In a few weeks, the Victorian ruins would be submerged again, hidden beneath the surface, visible only to divers or those who knew where to look.

Rowan stood at her window watching the rain, coffee in hand, while Buddy circled her feet with the restless energy of a dog who wasn't going to get his usual morning walk. The moorland would be muddy, the trails treacherous, and they had too much work to do anyway.

"Sorry," she told him. "Short walk today, then you're at the station all day. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

He gave her the look that said he'd heard that promise before and had learned not to trust it, but he'd accept the situation with his usual stoic patience.

Her phone rang. Marcus.

"Morning. You see the rain?"

"Everyone's talking about the rain. It's all over the news 'Drought finally breaking, reservoir levels rising, drowned village to be submerged again.'"

"Poetic timing. The case solves, the village drowns. Like the universe has a sense of narrative structure."

"The universe has a cruel sense of humour. Listen, we've got a development. James Hartwell's new solicitor, one of the criminal lawyers Douglas Penrose recommended, wants to discuss a plea arrangement. Says James is willing to plead guilty to manslaughter rather than murder, claims it wasn't premeditated, that things escalated beyond his control."

Rowan felt her jaw tighten. "Manslaughter. After he sent a fake email luring Ashford to a trap, after he hit him, restrained him, and held him underwater until he drowned. That's not manslaughter, that's textbook premeditated murder."

"Agreed. But the CPS will consider it. If James pleads guilty to anything, it saves the cost and uncertainty of trial."

"We're not negotiating down from murder. The evidence is too strong. James planned this, executed it, and covered it up. That's murder, and that's what he'll be charged with at trial."

"I thought you'd say that. I'll inform the CPS. But James's lawyer is expensive and good Edmund Carstairs, QC. He's defended high-profile murder cases before, got verdicts reduced, secured lenient sentences. He'll make James sympathetic, argue about family pressure and protecting legacy, play on jury emotions."

"Then we make our case airtight. Show the planning, the surveillance, the fake email, the violence. Juries understand premeditation when it's laid out clearly."

"We also need to deal with Margaret's defence. She's hired her own barrister now, separate from James, which is interesting. Ruth Blackwood, specialist in conspiracy and accessory charges. She's arguing Margaret didn't know James planned to kill Ashford, that she only helped clean up afterward out of maternal loyalty."

"The DNA evidence contradicts that. Margaret's DNA was under Ashford's fingernails. He scratched her during the struggle, which means she was present during the murder, not just after."

"Blackwood will argue it happened during the cleanup, that Margaret moved the body and Ashford's fingernails scraped her skin post-mortem.

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