A Body in Seaview Grange by Dee MacDonald (jenna bush book club TXT) 📗

Nineteen

Denise, who organised holidays as well as manning reception, reckoned Kate had about ten days owing to her which, added to the surgery being closed for the public holidays at Christmas and New Year, meant Kate could probably stretch her holiday to at least two weeks. But it all depended on Sue, who, as the senior nurse, got first preference. As Sue had three teenagers at home the chances were she’d want to be with them over the festive season.

‘Leave it with me,’ Denise said next day, ‘and I’ll try to sort something out.’

When Kate mentioned about going to the States with Woody, Denise got excited. ‘I mean,’ she said, ‘you could go over there and get married!’

‘Married?’ Kate spluttered. ‘I am not going over there to get married!’

‘OK, OK, keep your hair on! But it’s so easy over there in Nevada and places, isn’t it? You just turn up at one of these little chapels and next thing you know, hey, you’re married! They have all these fancy themed weddings’ – Denise had a wistful faraway look in her eyes – ‘with Elvis Presley lookalikes and everything!’ This was a completely unexpected side to Denise’s character, who always came across as the no-nonsense type.

‘Denise, we are not getting married! He’s going over to see his old mum and thought it would be nice if I went along too.’

‘He’ll want his mum’s approval, I expect.’ Denise was unstoppable now. ‘If his ma approves he’ll whisk you off to one of those wedding chapels!’

‘Denise,’ Kate said loudly, ‘this man is sixty-one years of age and he has no more intention of getting married again than I do. We’re in the twenty-first century, remember? I value my independence, and so does he. We’ve got the ideal relationship and we aren’t about to change it. All I want is a couple of weeks in sunny California – so, is there any chance I can have some leave?’

Denise sniffed. ‘I’ll have to check with Sue later.’

Kate grinned. ‘You do that.’

‘I should know soon how much leave, if any, I can take,’ Kate informed Woody as they sat with their drinks in The Greedy Gull that evening. She decided it was not a good idea to relate the rest of her conversation with Denise.

‘I’ll arrange my dates as soon as I know yours,’ Woody said helpfully, sipping his pint of bitter. ‘It would be real fun to show you around my neck of the woods.’

The pub was half empty this evening. Most of the visitors had gone home, the nights were drawing in and Des, the landlord, had swapped his T-shirt and shorts for a jumper and jeans. He was leaning on the bar drawing up plans for darts matches and pub quizzes, which was a sure sign winter was on the way.

‘I’ve lots to tell you,’ Kate said.

‘You do? Fire away!’ he said with a wry smile.

‘I got myself an invitation into the Starkeys’ a couple of days ago – they live in what used to be the stables. It’s well away from the main building so there was no way they could have heard Edina’s warbling from there, but they didn’t like her much for all that. And Sharon vehemently denied having stretched that cord across the top of the stairs; in fact, she couldn’t even recall having left the vacuum cleaner out. Their money is on Cornelius Crow or Gloria Pratt.’

Woody sighed. ‘Poor Cornelius! Just because he looks and acts a bit weird! I’m guessing that’s all a big act anyway to match the crime stuff he writes – probably helps to sell his books.’

‘And Gloria,’ Kate repeated.

‘That seems unlikely,’ Woody said. ‘If her husband was driving her mad with his operatic arias why didn’t she kill him? Apart from anything else I should have thought it would have been a whole lot easier.’

‘And then yesterday,’ Kate continued, ‘I had coffee with Hetty Patterson. Now I know she wasn’t there at the time but she was very friendly with Edina and she too thinks it could be Cornelius or Gloria – or Sharon. But what was most interesting was that, when I mentioned the stepson, she strongly defended him. She said he was charming and would never do such a thing.’

‘Now, that is interesting,’ said Woody thoughtfully. ‘Maybe she fancies him?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous! She’s over eighty! And then of course there’s the old vicar upstairs,’ Kate said. ‘Edgar, that is. He idolised Edina but she didn’t fancy him. Perhaps he’d had enough of being rejected? And he told me that he often got her shopping and deliveries for her so he could have doctored the meals, couldn’t he? And remember I was the one who found out that his wife died of food poisoning.’

Woody grinned. ‘Perhaps we should arrest the lot of them and stick them all in jail!’

‘I get the impression that you are still not taking me seriously,’ Kate said, draining her wine glass.

‘So, who’s left?’ Woody asked. ‘Is anyone not likely to be the killer? Hetty, probably, since she wasn’t there, and the twins. Now, what sort of a motive might these two old gals have?’

Kate shrugged. ‘Only that they got fed up with her singing like everyone else. And, of course, they were miffed that she got the better flat. Violet, in particular, still seemed annoyed.’

Woody laughed. ‘Better stick both of them in jail with the others, just to be on the safe side!’

‘I’m only trying to help,’ Kate said, becoming cross.

‘Yeah, I appreciate that, Kate, but you’d do well to leave it to the police. You see we – they – act on facts and not on guesswork, and there’s bound to be a clue sooner or later.’

‘I’m doing my best to find the clues,’ Kate said.

‘I know you are,’ he soothed, patting her hand.

Kate bristled. He was being patronising and belittling her efforts. Much as she adored him, Woody was irritating her now.