Cold Case in Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 10) by Harriet Steel

Author:Harriet Steel [Steel, Harriet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-06T05:00:00+00:00

**

Prasanna was just putting down the telephone when de Silva came into the station. He and Nadar both looked pleased with themselves.

‘I take it you’ve had a successful morning.’

‘Yes, sir. The matter of the goats is all sorted out,’ said Prasanna. He held out a piece of paper. ‘And the postmaster in Ella confirms that the Pelham family still live there. He gave me their address and telephone number.’

‘So, I may as well retire,’ said de Silva.

Briefly, Prasanna looked chastened, but then he must have noticed the twinkle in his boss’s eye for he smiled. ‘Not yet I hope, sir.’

De Silva took the piece of paper. He was glad to hear that the Pelhams owned a telephone. The road from Nuala to Ella was rough and winding. The journey was more pleasantly accomplished by train, where one could enjoy the magnificent views of hills covered by tea plantations, but the train journey was a slow one, and he was keen to find Rosamund Collins as soon as possible.

His call was answered by a servant who went to fetch Mrs Pelham.

‘Miss Collins left us almost four years ago,’ she said when de Silva had explained what he wanted to know. She sounded puzzled. ‘May I ask why you want to contact her?’

‘We think she may have information relevant to an inquiry into events that happened in Nuala while she lived here. I hasten to say, there’s no suggestion that she is implicated except as a witness.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. I always found her a very respectable lady. It wasn’t through our choice that she left.’

‘What was the reason for her going?’

‘She’d come to us to act as a companion to my mother who became very fond of her, but when my mother died, Rosamund decided that she wanted to enter a convent. We weren’t surprised. She was a quiet, gentle person and her faith was clearly very important to her. We heard from her from time to time after she left us, and I had the impression that she had at last found the life that was right for her.’

De Silva reached for his notebook and pen. ‘Is the convent here in Ceylon?’

‘Yes. St Ursula’s in Colombo.’

He thanked her and rang off. Mrs Pelham had seemed like a kindly lady. From her description of Rosamund Collins, she had been far better suited to the Pelham family than to the acerbic Isobel Moncrieff. He went out to the public room. Prasanna and Nadar looked up from their work.

‘Good work, you two,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve tracked Miss Collins down. She’s living in Colombo at St Ursula’s convent. I’d like to conduct the interview in person, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I want to go up to the Moncrieff plantation tonight. I want to have a look around Flint’s office.’

‘Do you mean follow the money, sir?’ asked Prasanna when de Silva had outlined the idea of examining the plantation’s accounts that he and Jane had discussed.

‘Well done, sergeant. Yes, that’s often where the answer’s to be found.

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