The Cornish Castle Murder by Fiona Leitch

Author:Fiona Leitch [Leitch, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008647278
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Nathan and I went for a walk in the grounds, to get away from everyone else. It was a beautiful day; the sun was out and it would’ve been quite hot, but for the gentle breeze that rustled the trees and shrubs planted around the formal garden we found ourselves in.

‘Perfect day and perfect place for wedding photos,’ I said, and Nathan nodded. He took me by the hand and led me over to a stone bench that overlooked another – thankfully corpse-free – ornamental pond. We sat and looked at the water for a moment without speaking.

‘I think we need to—’ ‘I think we should⁠—’

Nathan stopped and looked at me. ‘You first.’

‘Do I have to?’ He nodded. ‘I think we should postpone the wedding.’

‘Oh thank God for that,’ he said. ‘That’s what I was thinking, but I didn’t want to upset you, if that wasn’t what you thought.’

‘No, and to be honest it’s not just this thing with Craig,’ I said. ‘I was talking to Carmen about it earlier. It feels really wrong to get married after someone was murdered here. I know she wasn’t really part of our group, but we’re the reason she was here. And it just feels heartless to carry on, regardless of how many best men you’ve got.’

Nathan heaved a big sigh of relief. ‘Yes, that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling. I know we said life goes on and everything, but… My mum’s going to go spare.’

‘I know.’

‘What do we do?’

‘We can’t send everyone home, can we? We talked about that before. Your lot have all come from miles away, which makes it awkward. And of course we’ve paid for everything already – the reception, the cake, all the food…’

Nathan took my hands. ‘I was looking forward to seeing you in your dress.’

‘You’ll still get to see that. We’ll still get married, just not today. And not here. We’re not forking out all that money again.’

Nathan laughed and put his arm around me. ‘Always the romantic.’

‘You said it yourself, we could’ve bought a new car with the money.’ I reached up to kiss him. ‘Not that we need a new car. And we have had some fun in that big posh four-poster bed…’

‘That’s true… Expensive fun, though.’

I laughed. ‘I’m worth it.’

We sat in silence for a while, watching the insects buzzing around the pond.

‘I think we should still have the reception,’ I said. ‘We’ve paid for everyone to stay another night, and for the dinner. I think rather than a wedding, we should celebrate having all our family and friends around us, because the events of this weekend have proved you never know how long you’ve got with them.’

‘That’s a cheery thought,’ said Nathan. ‘I do like that idea, though. It feels a bit more respectful of Kelly than a big knees-up.’ He laughed. ‘Although with Danny and Ben around, it will probably still turn into a big knees-up.’

‘That’s okay. We will get married, and soon, and this way the only members of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in the photos will be off duty.

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