Death at Rainbow Cottage by Jo Allen (book club books txt) 📗

thought about it for a moment. Was it possible that Maisie had killed him and her hostility was intended to point the blame elsewhere? ‘It might be worth checking where she was on Sunday. She said she was at the Sun at Pooley Bridge.’ He laid down his pen. ‘That’s easily confirmed.’

‘It would be good if it was her,’ Chris said, adding that to his list. ‘Because that would make it neat and tidy. One person killing one other person for a particular reason. Much less messy than dealing with some nutter who's going to start bumping off anyone who looks a bit camp.’

Beside him, Ashleigh drew in an outraged breath and Doddsy allowed himself a cough but Chris, unaware, merely drew a line underneath the list and smiled at them.

Jude shook his head in irritation. Faye’s workshops would give Chris something to think about in terms of unconscious bias. ‘So that’s where we are. I don’t know if there’s anything more we can do until we hear back from the tech guys and see if they come up with anything. But I really want to find the man Len met on Sunday lunchtime. I’ll let you all get off. And some housekeeping. I’ll be at a diversity session on Monday morning.’ And he smiled at Chris, the reminder he shouldn’t have needed. ‘I think we’re all scheduled to attend at some point.’

 They drifted off, leaving him with only Ashleigh in the half-lit incident room. It had been a tough week, and he welcomed the chance of sitting down and talking about something other than work, knowing that if he was at home he’d be worrying on about it late into the night when there was nothing he could realistically hope to achieve.

‘Are you coming to the pub?’ Ashleigh picked up her jacket.

‘I’ve something to finish. Tammy wanted a word. She’s going to pop down here at the back of six. But I don’t imagine I’ll be very long after that.’

No-one who worked in the office could possibly be unaware of the mood that Tammy had been in recently, and Jude probably wasn’t the only one with a sneaking suspicion what it was about, but if he was right it was nothing to do with him. Quite what Tammy wanted, then, was a mystery.

‘Intriguing.’ Ashleigh picked up her coat. ‘Do you think Chris is on to something? About Maisie? Or rather, about not Maisie?’

‘He’s certainly right that it’ll be a lot easier to solve if it’s her.’ But they could rule nothing in and nothing out on the available evidence. ‘Time will tell. We’ll keep working on it.’

‘Text me when you’re done. Or I’ll see you there.’

When she’d gone, he went back up to his office, turning away from Len Pierce’s death to one of the many other matters that strove for his time and attention, ticking off the ten minutes it took for Tammy to turn up. ‘Jude.’ She hovered in the doorway.

‘Hi, Tammy.’ Neither her voice nor her attitude was any friendlier than it had been earlier on, but he knew how she worked. She was dedicated and sensible and she didn’t respond well to confrontation, so it would be interesting if she chose to provoke it. ‘How are things?’

‘Things are very difficult just now.’ She came in, closing the door behind her and stopping just inside it, as if reluctant to commit herself to a seat. She had her coat on, a clear message to him that the meeting was to be short and to the point and that she was on her way elsewhere.

If that meant the interview was over sooner rather than later, that suited him. ‘Sorry to hear that. Anything I can help you with?’

‘Yes. It’s Doddsy.’

‘What’s he done?’ As if he couldn’t guess.

She looked at him with the exasperation of a mother towards an unresponsive teenager. ‘You know exactly what he’s done. He’s carrying on with my boy.’

‘Okay.’ Tyrone Garner, Tammy’s son, was a grown adult and a fully-fledged police constable more than capable of looking after himself. Steeling himself, Jude set out to deal with Tammy’s prejudices. ‘Just before we go any further. You might want to choose your words carefully.’

‘I’ve been careful what I’ve said and careful what I’ve thought. I’m not homophobic in any way. You should know that.’ Her lip wobbled in injured innocence, but emotion got the better of her and she didn’t stop. ‘I knew Tyrone was gay before he knew it himself and it doesn’t bother me one bit. Don't you dare suggest otherwise.’

‘Then that’s fine.’ If he’d had any sense, he’d have trusted his instincts and told her he was too busy to see her. He wasn’t her line manager and he didn’t want to be involved. ‘Is that all?’

‘It isn’t fine at all. Doddsy—’

‘Stop right there.’ He held up a hand, and either that or the sudden recollection of a disparity in rank brought her to a standstill. ‘This isn’t a workplace issue. What my staff get up to, or what my staff’s families get up to, in their own time isn’t any of my business as long as it’s legal. And you aren’t suggesting anything illegal, are you?’

‘No, of course not.’ She got control of herself with three, quick deep breaths. ‘It’s like I said. It’s not because Doddsy’s gay, Jude.’

‘I should hope not.’

‘Dammit. It’s coming out wrong. It’s the age gap. I’d be the same if he was a woman, or if Tyrone was.’ She folded her fingers in front of her, agonised. ‘He’s more than twice Tyrone’s age. That’s what worries me.’

He regarded her, thoughtfully. Tyrone was just twenty-one and Doddsy the wrong side of forty-five. If he was in her position, would he have been bothered? ‘The point stands. I understand why you’re uncomfortable about it, but it’s nothing to do with anyone but