The Biscuit Tin Murders #3 by Menna van Praag

Author:Menna van Praag [Praag, Menna van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

Half an hour later, with Olive up to her elbows in cake batter and Millie pulling two trays of lavender-honey biscuits out of the grumpy oven, the bell above the front door tinkled and both women looked up, eager for the appearance of Grace.

‘That was quick,’ Olive called out. ‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re an absolute marvel and-’

But her words evaporated on her lips as not Grace but Hugo strode into the kitchen.

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘It’s not - it’s you.’

‘Who were you expecting?’ Hugo smiled. ‘Whoever it is, consider me jealous. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so unwelcome.’

‘Sorry,’ Olive hurried over to him. ‘I didn’t mean… it’s just, we’re having a minor crisis here and, although you’re a top class detective and all-round delightful human, I’m guessing you’re not much of a baker.’

Hugo held up his hands. ‘Guilty, I’m afraid. I doubt I could even identify sugar from flour at a push. But,’ he added, before he rendered himself too redundant, ‘I do have something else to offer you. First thing this morning, I visited Mr Mayhew’s personal residence and took a copy of the fingerprint you mentioned. Young master Mayhew wouldn’t let me in the house till I showed him my badge and told him that I worked for you.’

‘For me?!’ Olive laughed. ‘Whatever did you do that for?’

‘Oh, just maintaining your street cred,’ Hugo grinned. ‘He was awfully impressed, I must say. Anyway, I’ve set Constable Numpty Cooper on the case, comparing it with every print we’ve got on file. It’ll take a while, but even he shouldn’t be able to mess that up. I hope.’

‘Really?’ Olive felt a flush of excitement, momentarily quelling her panic. The notion of comparing files of fingerprints was a thrilling one, even if Hugo regarded it as a job beneath him. It was far more exciting than beating eggs into butter and the result, if successful, might taste even sweeter. ‘When will you get the results?’

‘Two weeks, if his usual speed is anything to go by,’ Hugo said. ‘I’m joking,’ he added, at the sight of poor Olive’s horrified expression. ‘I impressed upon him the urgency and importance of the case - without mentioning the matter of a missing lizard, of course - and, given that our database isn’t huge, especially if we’re just focusing on the last twenty years or so, it shouldn’t take longer than a day at most.’

‘Okay,’ Olive exhaled. The idea of waiting more than a few hours for the chance of exciting news was painful, the idea of waiting more than twenty-four hours was unbearable. ‘And what do you think the odds are that you’ll find a match?’

‘Hard to say,’ Hugo admitted. ‘Depends if the thief has any priors - if we’ve caught him doing anything illegal before,’ he added, in case they didn’t understand him. ‘And since criminals tend to re-offend, then I’d say the odds are quite good. Although, that’s more likely for crimes like stealing bikes, shoplifting, drug dealing, assault or murder.

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