MURDER IN PEMBROKESHIRE an absolutely gripping crime mystery full of twists (Tyrone Swift Detective by GRETTA MULROONEY (free reads .txt) 📗

‘Yeah, after the event!’ Bryn shook his head.

Kat wailed, ‘But this is my home! You can’t do this to us! I can’t leave my lovely home!’

Heads turned, mouths open. Jasmine sank down onto her stool. Her husband finally roused himself to get up and go to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. She shook him off.

Bryn took charge. ‘Right, everyone. It’s been a shock but better that it’s out in the open. Let’s have those refreshments. We could all do with a bracer at this point, and the redcurrant wine is particularly fortifying.’

Swift extricated himself from Kat. ‘Go and get a drink, Kat. I need to speak to someone.’

Kat dabbed at her eyes, the picture of misery. Swift drew DS Spencer aside as the audience filtered through to the refreshments.

‘Are you here on duty?’

His heavy-lidded eyes were sleepier than ever. ‘Yeah. The boss asked me to come and make sure Caris Murray hadn’t turned up.’

‘I spoke to Gwyn Bowen. She hasn’t heard from Caris. Any news of her?’

Spencer shook his head and ran a finger around his tight collar. ‘She’s not in Cardiff. Morgan Callender said she left just before nine this morning, to catch the train. He said she always texts him to confirm she’s home and when he didn’t hear from her, he rang her but she’s not answering.’ He scratched his neck. ‘Morgan Callender in Cardiff! He’s a sly one all right, pulled a blinder there, leaving that note about going to London.’

Swift thought about Spencer’s local connections and his boss’s opinion of his abilities. ‘You do understand that you mustn’t mention Morgan’s whereabouts to anyone? He’s terrified that his brother might track him down.’

Spencer sounded wounded. ‘Yeah, the boss said to keep my lip zipped. I do know when I’m not supposed to say stuff! How come you managed to find that house in Cardiff?’

‘I asked around. It’s called detective work. Have you spoken to Ms Murray?’

‘I called in to her just before I came here. She’s in a terrible state, bawling her eyes out. My mam’s in with her.’

‘Is Caris a missing person?’

‘Not as such. We’re checking the hospitals for now. Boss said we’ll give her till ten o’clock, see if she appears. Bloody hell, it’s warm in here! I’m parched, I could do with a glass of water, and I need to go around everyone and ask if anyone’s heard from Caris today. Boss wants me to report back by nine thirty.’

‘Is DI Weber still in hospital?’

‘No, she’s back home with medication. I hope it improves her mood. She nearly chewed my ear off earlier.’

In the refec, Swift grabbed a slice of quiche and a bottle of beer. The Merchants were nowhere to be seen. There was a babble of excited conversation as people discussed Bryn’s revelation. Elinor had been home to fetch Frankie and came through the door cradling him. She was ashen and tearful. Bryn was in the middle of a group, talking animatedly. Bruno stood alone by a window, sipping a glass of wine. Swift joined him.

‘Hello, Bruno. Quite an evening.’

Bruno glanced at him and went back to window gazing.

‘Bryn told me last night that there was going to be a big reveal soon. It was dramatic in there. I’d guess that was Bryn’s idea, making the news into headlines.’

Bruno’s mood seemed flat, his face immobile. ‘We decided to tell people tonight so that the Merchants had nowhere to hide. Force their hands. They’ve been planning this behind our backs. Bryn said he’d told you about Uncle Davey.’

‘Did Afan know that this farm used to be in your family?’

‘I told him not long ago,’ Bruno said, ‘and about our suspicions regarding the Merchants. I asked him if he’d loan Bryn and me some money if the place went up for sale. We plan to buy Tir Melys — and at a knock-down price, the way the Merchants got it from Davey. What goes around comes around, ain’t that the truth?’

‘What makes you think they’ll sell it to you at less than market value?’

Bruno looked out at the hazy shadows of the gathering dusk. He pressed his palm to the window. ‘We’ve been doing our homework behind the scenes. The Merchants aren’t the only ones who can conceal their plans. They’re desperate to sell. Their son’s in deep financial doodoo. We want to keep the community going. If people want to chip in financially, they can, but we wanted to be in a position to buy it anyway. We outed the Merchants tonight so that they’d face as much embarrassment and hassle as possible, from both the tenants and the local community. Bryn’s got the local news onto it tomorrow. We’re going to put a deal to them tonight. No putting it on the market, a fast sale to us and we’ll call off the dogs. Good news story, people get to keep their homes and the community stays intact.’

It might well work. ‘And you get your old homestead back.’

‘Not mine, but near enough.’

‘Did Afan agree to lend you money?’

Bruno traced a pattern on the moisture his hand had left on the glass. ‘He hadn’t decided, he said he’d let me know. We plan to get people to buy their houses where they can afford it, so that we have a community of owners, not tenants. So I told him we’d be able to repay him pretty quickly. It wasn’t the money that bothered him. He wasn’t sure about our tactics regarding the Merchants. Him and his high principles. He didn’t like us being underhand and said we should all have an open discussion about it.’

‘Can you afford to do it without Afan’s loan?’

Bruno grew tetchy. ‘Enough, now. I’m fed up of