Close to Death: A DC Cat McKenzie Murder Mystery (The DC Cat McKenzie Series Book 4) by Susan Handley

Author:Susan Handley [Handley, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

21.

That night McKenzie slept fitfully. The fact the missing woman was possibly pregnant played heavily on her mind. She woke early to the sound of rain lashing down on the roof tiles above her head. Thankfully, by the time she finished her tea and toast the downpour was beginning to ease. She donned her raincoat and wellies and grabbed Harvey’s lead from the understairs cupboard and headed for the door.

‘Come on Harv. Walkies.’ Harvey looked up from his bed, his droopy eyes communicating his lack of interest. ‘Come on Harvey.’ She rattled his lead. Ordinarily that would rouse him. Not this time. ‘Harvey. Come on!’

The dog lifted his head, sluggishly moved into a sitting position and eyed the lead. She rubbed a hand around his ears and flabby jowls. ‘You alright? Still a bit dozy, hey?’ Finally, he clambered to his feet.

Stepping out of the door and into the cold drizzle, McKenzie hiked up her collar and started to walk. The outing was really only for the dog to relieve himself but it also gave her time to think, and this morning her mind was working overtime and the slow pace dictated by Harvey’s barrel-shaped body and short legs proved ideal. At the end of the lane, she turned right onto a long, sloping street called Orchard Rise — a row of blocky modern terrace houses fronted by a postage stamp of garden behind a short wall. If it had ever been an orchard, there was little evidence of it now. Cars and vans were parked cheek by jowl against the kerbside, turning the pavement into an enclosed path that corralled pedestrians along it like herded cattle, whether they wanted to go that way or not. As she ambled along, her thoughts turned to Fern Marshall. Did she feel penned in by her perfect life? For many who envied her life of luxury, the question would be risible, but given what she’d learned about Fern Marshall so far, McKenzie wasn’t so sure. And if she did feel trapped, was it too big a leap to imagine her having deserted her husband? Perhaps not, especially if you considered it wouldn’t be the first time.

And it would all fit too, if it wasn’t for that phone call. If Fern Marshall had simply escaped her domestic drudgery, why would she have phoned her husband in such a bizarre way? And if she hadn’t made the call, who had, and why?

With her thoughts travelling so fast, it was a while before she realised that her feet weren’t travelling at all. She had come to a complete standstill, anchored to the spot by Harvey, who was sitting on the pavement, the full reach of his lead pulled taut behind her. The drizzle was rapidly turning into a downpour. Harvey hated the rain. Given that he’d stopped to personalise every lamppost they’d passed, she was content to head back home and turned to walk back the way they came. Unfortunately, it was raining in that direction too, so Harvey remained stubbornly resolute in his pavement protest.

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