tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33984770232440452832024-03-08T00:34:11.206-08:00Too Many Cooks? The 5th village mystery in the Upper Grumpsfield seriesfaith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-2179657671270503952016-08-02T13:27:00.000-07:002020-02-26T03:02:12.346-08:00Episode 19 - Past, present and future (continuous)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoHeading9">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Still Thursday then Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The squad car Gary ordered arrived within minutes
and Jessie was bundled onto the rear seat to be taken to HQ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo got away from Mrs Coppins’ questions as fast
as she could. She would be able to see her daughter next day, but Cleo could
not promise that Jessie would remember what she had done, or, if she
remembered, that she had murdered Mrs Oldfield.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/08/eighteen-surprises.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-43395296929319413642016-08-02T13:26:00.001-07:002020-02-26T02:19:54.568-08:00Episode 18 - Boil and bubble<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Still Thursday</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At Huddlecourt Manor School the atmosphere was far from
jovial. Cleo hoped that Gary would arrive soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/08/seventeen-owning-up.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-60751448759677359222016-08-01T13:03:00.004-07:002020-02-26T01:53:13.541-08:00Episode 17 - Polly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday May 11th</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Gary Hurley’s newly-found attitude to Cleo’s way
of doing things, Jack’s confession at HQ was dealt with quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jack would be charged for leaving the scene
of what was now being referred to as an ‘accident’. That was not enough to keep
him in custody. Cleo took Jack to the garage and sorted things out with Jack’s
boss.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’ll be a witness at his father’s trial,” she told Mr
Edwards, Jack’s boss. “But that won’t be for a few weeks.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/08/sixteen-nailing-coppins.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-48091816862533682812016-07-31T03:03:00.001-07:002020-02-26T01:13:57.151-08:00Episode 16 - Not too hot to handle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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Wednesday cont. then Thursday</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was forced to admit to herself that the Tom
Crowe case was now too big for the Hartley Agency. Not only did she have no way
of locating Jack Coppins if he had gone to ground, but even if she found him
she could not persuade him to give himself up if he had decided not to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/07/fifteen-disclosures.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-37818172413675276092016-07-26T13:34:00.002-07:002020-02-25T11:56:20.744-08:00Episode15 - Nailing Coppins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wdnesday afternoon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Baines had not been forewarned of a visit, so Cleo
and Dorothy waited one the doorstep for
quite some time after banging the brass gargoyle that served as a door knocker.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/07/fourteen-catch-as-catch-can.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-21696309409368458792016-07-26T13:33:00.000-07:002020-02-25T06:17:51.933-08:00Episode 14 - Disclosures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday, May 9th<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo left early for HQ. She had made a list of
questions she wanted to ask Coppins. She thought she was on the verge of a
breakthrough with Jessie, but only Coppins could know the story. It remained to
be seen whether he would be cooperative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/07/thirteen-exkurs.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-16928386533405618422016-07-26T13:10:00.003-07:002020-02-24T10:00:21.284-08:00Episode 13 - Catch as catch can<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday cont.<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was quite relieved to leave the crime world for an
hour or two , thought it got later and later as Mr Morgan drove his old-timer at
a modest pace along the quiet roads, negotiating even slower farm-vehicles and occasional
tail-backs between Swansea in Wales and Upper Grumpsfield somewhere in Oxfordshire.
Eventually he was able to park his little black Morris Minor near St Peter’s
Parish Church. Mr Morgan was inordinately happy to be back again.. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2016/07/12-kismet.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-44303569289254177602015-11-29T23:43:00.000-08:002020-02-24T09:57:59.571-08:00Episode 12 - Gary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tuesday cont.<br>
<div class="MsoHeading9">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading9">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary had recovered enough after two hours pacing the streets
to get back to his office and call Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2020/02/9a-jessie.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-16693977765415911452015-11-29T15:11:00.001-08:002020-02-24T05:39:30.104-08:00Episode 11 - Kismet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday May 8th<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoHeading9">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was woken at six. Sybil had registered his
home number on her phone. They had found it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/11-kismet.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-11130398093858608192015-11-29T13:06:00.003-08:002020-02-24T02:58:37.948-08:00Episode 10 - Gone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday May 8th</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just after Robert had left for his usual visit at
the wholesaler’s, Clear got a distressed phone-call from Gary.<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo tried to say hello having read Gary’s private
cell phone number on the little red screen of her net phone, but Gary was not
into a preamble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/10-coppins.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-87732560006974339262015-11-29T12:25:00.002-08:002020-02-24T02:58:02.695-08:00Episode 9 - Dorothy's afternoon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday May 7th</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy spent Sunday afternoon showing Jessie how
to use a computer and thinking what it pity it was that the girl had had such a
troubled childhood and youth. Jessie gradually forgot to be the nitwit she
pretended to be. Dorothy was astonished how fast Jessie grasped the basics, and
even more impressed when the word game she opened to show Jessie how to play
games proved that her grasp of difficult words and tasks was normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why do you pretend to be stupid, Jessie?” Dorothy
could not resist asking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Everyone said I was stupid, so I was,” she
explained. “People left me alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But your father didn’t, Jessie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I just played dead with ‘im, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy phoned Cleo after Jessie had one to bed
early on Sunday evening, taking with her Dorothy’s new tablet because she
wanted to do some Sudokus, having been shown how.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I wonder if Coppins ran away with that barmaid
because he was taking a risk continuing to abuse Jessie,” she suggested. “It is
possible that Mrs Coppins had threatened to report him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We could ask her,” said Cleo, “but in the end, she
threw him out, didn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And we don’t know the exact reason why. Did she already
know about that barmaid?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Meaning that abusing her daughter was more
acceptable than him seducing an under-aged outsider,” said Cleo. “How cynical
is that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Coppins will need to find a way to stop Jessie
talking, won’t he?” said Cleo. “I’d better phone Gary and get security for the
girl.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll go and se how Jessie is getting on with her
Sudokus,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Her what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sudokus. Jessie has a high IQ, Cleo. As we
thought, she plays dumb. I think she sees it as a form of defence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll bear that in mind, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I hoped you’d phone,” said Gary, “though it’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very late. Is your spouse already asleep.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I don’t know where he is. I rather hope he’s in
Edith’s bed, but I doubt it,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Thoughts are not always things, my love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But this is not about us, Sweetheart. It’s about
Jessie and that bastard of a father.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do you think she’s she covering up some other big
secret?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I have that feeling, but I could not ask her. I
did not want to put her newly found trust in me at risk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You did a brilliant questioning, Cleo. No
criticism of that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Dorothy thinks Coppins is out to get Jessie
because she could talk, but whatever reason he has for getting at her, the girl
is in danger and needs protection.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You’re probably right,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s actually safer at home with her mother,
isn’t she?” said Cleo. “I gather that’s one place Mr Coppins will avoid like
the plague.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Always assuming Mrs Coppins is safe with Jessie,”
said Gary. “Jessie did threaten to kill her, after all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Can you try and trace the girl Coppins went off
with, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You know I’ll help out where I can,” said Gary,
wishing he had had that idea first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“All I know is that the girl Coppins went off with
is named Polly Spencer and was 15 years old at the time. Her family lives in
Huddlecourt Minor,” said Cleo. “You’ll need her as evidence that he absconded
with a 15 year-old. She was pregnant at the time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That guy should be behind bars, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Just one more question.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m listening.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What did you tell Dorothy?” she asked. “Something has
changed her attitude.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Attitude?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“To you and me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She asked me if we slept together and I told her
we did.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Wow!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Then she told me to fight for you with her
blessing, and I’m going to, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You’ll win in the end, Gary, but I don’t want to
hurt Robert. I’m waiting for him to find another partner.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do you have someone in mind?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Edith Parsnip, but it’s early days yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s a timid little church mouse. Why pick on
her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ve watched her looking at Robert.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Then get them together, for heaven’s sake.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Match-make? You must be kidding. Robert’s as thick
as a brush on romantic, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Tell her she’ll have to seduce him,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I love you, Gary, and that is never going to
change, but I can’t play cupid to Edith.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You know how I feel about us, Miss Hartley. We’ll
have to find a way to bring them together.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Start looking, Mr Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The conquering hero comes,” said Cleo. “I’d better
ring off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary and Cleo turned up at Dorothy’s cottage on
Monday morning to partake of Jessie’s scrambled eggs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Now Dorothy had discovered the real Jessie, she
told Cleo and Gary that they had played computer games and enjoyed their time
together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Wow!” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jessie looked at Gary appreciatively. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You are free to go,” he said, slightly unnerved
after Dorothy telling him the girl had all her wits about her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jessie was to go home to her family. Mrs Coppins would
make sure that Coppins did not get anywhere near. Cleo would accompany the girl
and explain the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Thank you....Mr,” said Jessie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo and the girl made their way out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Thanks you for having me, .Dorothy,” Jessie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s been a pleasure, Jessie. Come again,” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I will.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Astonishing, thought Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Don’t you want me to drive you there?” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We need the exercise, don’t we, Jessie?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jessie nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary left for HQ. He thought he was leading a
strange life, dashing to Upper Grumpsfield for five minutes with Cleo and a surfeit
of scrambled eggs from Jessie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He loves you,” Jessie told Cleo. “I wouldn’t want
a man who loves someone else.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I love him, Jessie, and I would not let you have
him,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ll get my car, Jessie. You should go to work,
now. We can drive to your mother’s and tell her where you are and that you are
going to work.”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What shall I do if my father comes after me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Phone me when you finish work and I’ll collect you
and take you home, Jessie.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Thank you Miss. I need the wages.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why don’t you just call me Cleo, Jessie? I noticed
that you called Dorothy by her first name.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She said I should, Miss erm Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m sure Mrs Baines will be glad to see you,
Jessie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Even if that foreign guy is cooking?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He’s only helping out, Jessie. You could not
manage on your own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s true, Cleo. I’m not quite a cook yet, you
see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That was the understatement of the year, Cleo
decided, not merely on the basis of Dorothy’s description of the strange
hamburgers that the girl had concocted that had tasted as awful as they looked.
The students had sent back the hamburger meal and penned a communal letter
pleading with Mrs Baines not to let Jessie do any more cooking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That had forced Mrs Baines’s hand. It was fortunate
that she was on good terms with Molly Moss and fortunate that Molly was willing
to improvise pub lunches for a few days by lending the school her top chef, as
she called him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A few minutes later, sitting in her little car with
Jessie at her side, Cleo wondered if she could risk saying what was eating at
her, and risked it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You wanted Mrs Oldfield’s job, didn’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Oh yes. I’d have done anything to get it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And did you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Did I what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do anything?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The girl went on the defensive as quick as
lightning. Was the friendship already at an end?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Watcha bloody mean?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t know. It’s just that....”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Mrs Oldfield took a dislike to me. She stopped
helping me to be a better cook.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Dunno.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The girl bit her lip and put on a facial expression
that said ‘I’m closed for business’. That meant that any talk of Tom Crowe
would also be hampered by a stone wall that had sprung up between Cleo and the
girl. Cleo wondered if Dorothy had got it right with Jessie’s IQ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But now Mrs Oldfield has gone, the way is clear
for you to get the job, Jessie,” said Cleo, persevering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t bloody want it anymore,” Jessie growled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ll definitely pop in at your mother’s, Jessie.
It’s still early.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I should be in the kitchen now,” said Jessie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll phone Mrs Baines,” said Cleo, and did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">At the Coppins’ house, Betty Coppins made an effort
to turn over a new leaf in her relationship with her daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let’s have a drink to celebrate,” Mrs Coppins
proposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sorry Mrs Coppins. My husband will expect me home
to make lunch. I just wanted to check that Jessie will be safe here. I’ll drive
her to the school now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Safe from what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Your husband, Mrs Coppins.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can deal with him, the bastard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he won’t come here. He wouldn’t dare.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s what we think, Mrs Coppins, but you’ll have
to make sure that Jessie is safe until we catch him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Well, another time then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Yes. Another time, Mrs Coppins. I’ll wait in the
car while you change, Jessie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As Cleo walked down the path to the gate, she heard
Mrs Coppins shout “What’s all this about, young lady?”. She was tempted to run
back and intercede, but thought better of it. Mother and daughter would have to
come to terms with the situation in their own way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Is Dorothy at home this evening, Cleo?” Robert
asked when Cleo got home in time for elevenses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I think so.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll ask her to supper,” he said, picking up the
phone to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Have you got plans for this evening, Dorothy?” he
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll feed the cat and then feed me,” was the
reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Will the cat starve if you come to supper?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Goodness me, no. Cats can go for ages without
food. Am I being invited, Robert?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Is that a yes, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s nice of you to ask me. Will Cleo be at home?
I don’t want people to talk, Robert.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Robert was used to Dorothy sending him up. In
retaliation he asked her if he should drive over and collect her to drive her
the hundred yards from her cottage to Cleo’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy assured him that she could still manage that
distance with her walking frame and armed with her father old pistol. Should
she bring some ice-cream, assuming she could fasten it to the frame?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">At the dinner table, Robert satisfied the two
sleuths’ curiosity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I have an ulterior motive, Ladies. I don’t seem to
be up to date with all your investigations and I want to hear all about what is
happening.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Which bit do you want to hear first?” Dorothy
asked, hoping that bit would not be questions about Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The bit you were most shocked about,” said Robert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll have to think about that,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Robert stored Dorothy’s promised ice-cream in the
freezer and then ransacked the fridge to make a big fry-up while the Ladies
(Gary’s terminology) laid the table. Very soon they were tucking into mounds of
fried food and Cleo was counting the calories, an action that by no means
influenced the amount she ate. The only reason she was not as round as a keg
was that she was constantly on the go and therefore burning up calories at a
rate of knots. Dorothy was sinewy and had the appetite of an Irish navvy, Robert
maintained. Her metabolism di not leave room for spare tyres.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So you think Joseph Coppins is hiding out
somewhere near, do you?” Robert said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can’t think of another explanation. He has a
hold over Jessie,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I thought that, too,” said Dorothy. “What could it
be, apart from his sexual aberrations, and it would then be Jessie who has a
hold on him, wouldn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let’s wait for the forensic reports before making
judgments,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m sure that’s a good idea,” said Robert, who was
far from sure and had not liked to ask what an aberration is. “Whatever has
happened can’t be undone. Keeping a low profile might help to solve some of the
problems,” he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do you mean waiting for something else to happen,
Robert?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t really know what I mean, but if Coppins
has done something illegal, he’ll want to get rid of anyone who knows about it.”
said Robert. “The man is on the loose and he wouldn’t be if he had nothing to
hide.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m impressed, Robert,” said Cleo. “I almost
thought it was Gary talking<span style="text-transform: uppercase;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And he came back to this district for a reason,”
said Dorothy, jumping in because she thought that was a slip of the tongue from
Cleo. “It might be a good idea to find out why.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Can we have a Gary-free evening, Ladies?” said
Robert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The evening passed without further speculation. At
10 p.m. Dorothy announced that it was time to leave and Robert volunteered to
escort her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Well, spit it out!” said Dorothy, who was astute
enough to realise that the whole point of inviting her to supper had been to
talk to her rather than just feed her and the escort home was where he always
asked question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s about Gary Hurley,” he said finally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I thought as much.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I think he’s keen on Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You might be right,” said Dorothy, and had a
feeling she was about to say something untrue to comfort Robert. “But she is
not keen on him, Robert,” she fibbed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy found it hard to lie to Robert, but it had
to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Cleo finds Gary rather irritating, especially as
he is putting on an act of indifference to the case we are trying to solve at
the moment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Meaning Jessie?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And Mrs Oldfield’s death. He’s relying entirely on
Chris Marlow’s forensic report to tell him who did it. He thinks it’s a common
or garden killing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Is there such a thing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“There is if you don’t look for the motive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So what about that young man, Tom Crowe? Why did
he have to die?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Gary has decided that Crowe was killed in a fight
by thugs looking for thrills.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And you don’t agree, do you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Certainly not. In fact I have hunch about who did
it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Want to tell me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“All in good time. Gary does not approve of the
Hartley Agency finding things out before he does, so we’ll keep a low profile
until we are certain who the murderer is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Gary doesn’t approve of the agency, does he? Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We are too successful, Robert. Recent cases in
which we have been involved have ended in the Hartley Agency finding the
wrongdoers. Gary needs successes and isn’t getting any.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“If he isn’t bothering about his job, it’s no
wonder.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He lacks empathy with the victims. Even his
colleagues have noticed that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Robert was no sure that Dorothy basically
disapproved of Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Their reactions are revealing, Robert. I’ve never
heard Gary say he was sorry about someone’s death. He even laughed at Nigel
yesterday for being afraid to go down in the crypt. It’s as if he limits
feelings to those he has himself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That also means that if he’s decided to get Cleo
from me, he’ll go ahead and not take me into account or even whether Cleo
really wants him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You said it, Robert, though I doubt whether Cleo
can be persuaded to do something she does not want to do. Thanks for walking me
home. Tomorrow will probably be dramatic for the Hartley Agency if Chris’s lab
results come through.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Assuming Gary tells you about them,” said Robert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Chris phones Cleo<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>directly,” said Dorothy. “No nonsense about Gary forgetting to relay the
findings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sleep well, Dorothy,” said Robert, satisfied with
his chat with Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Robert watched her go into her cottage and close
the front door before walking around for a bit and wondering if Coppins was
anywhere near. Back at the cottage he went all the way round the grounds. Cleo
was safe with him, but were they safe from Coppins?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-47952963425095475732015-11-29T05:45:00.004-08:002020-02-22T13:40:24.797-08:00Episode 8 - Cleo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Saturday cont.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gary reluctantly tore himself away from Cleo in
time not to encounter Robert . He hated having to make room for a guy Cleo only
tolerated, whatever kind of an act she put on in public and self-delusion she
relied on in private.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
</div></div></h3></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/8-weekending.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-3354727926632481282015-11-29T01:57:00.004-08:002020-02-23T12:35:10.085-08:00Episode 7 - On the run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saturday May 6th</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Cleo’s surprise, Mrs Coppins rang her very early
on Saturday morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Jessie didn’t come home last night,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course I’m sure. Her bed wasn’t slept in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/7-tom.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-36542046370811853972015-11-28T23:26:00.003-08:002020-02-22T09:12:45.758-08:00Episode 6 - Getting at truths<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday cont.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo finished her coffee at the Huddle Inn and drove
to the school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On the way she phoned Gary to tell him the identity
of the dead man and that she would break the news to Jessie. He said thanks,
but inside he was smouldering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/6-supper.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-24067421702480027242015-11-28T21:36:00.003-08:002020-02-22T08:15:48.516-08:00Episode 5 - Facts and Figures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br>
<div class="MsoHeading9">
<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thursday cont.
then Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo’s realised that she would have to talk to Molly
again, since Molly was well informed about what went on in her village, so she
drove back to the Huddle Inn. Molly was wiping tables and generally tidying up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/5-joe.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-44933743659019072082015-11-28T12:51:00.004-08:002020-02-22T08:12:55.158-08:00Episode 4 - Ali et al<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday May 4th</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy had been too busy to call on Cleo on
Wednesday evening, though her curiosity nearly got the better of her. But she
had been promising to go to the vicarage for supper for simply ages and thought
Edith would be offended if she refused again. So on Thursday morning Cleo and
Dorothy had plenty to tell one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/4-ali-et-al.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-14248221702239163892015-11-28T12:28:00.003-08:002020-02-22T00:30:43.518-08:00Episode 3 - Mrs Coppins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday May 3rd<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On Wednesday morning Chris Marlow delivered the
initial forensic report to Gary Hurley. It stated categorically that the stab
wounds had been delivered soon after death but were not the cause of death.
Though they had made a lot of mess, they were relatively superficial and
probably only meant to mislead. The police were to believe that Kitty Oldfield
had been stabbed to death by an intruder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
</div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/3-mrs-coppins.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-39131260519851279612015-11-28T05:01:00.001-08:002020-02-21T13:13:45.294-08:00Episode 2 - Jessie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday cont. then Tuesday May 2nd<br>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Monday evening Robert Jones delivered the usual
order to the school. Cleo had phoned him and told him what had happened. He
wondered how everyone would be fed that evening and in the near future. Mrs
Oldfield's gormless assistant would do nothing
to ease the situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/2-jessie.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398477023244045283.post-19790918360175222602015-11-28T03:10:00.000-08:002020-02-21T12:06:11.169-08:00Episode 1 - Prelude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Monday May 1st</span><br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">She was lying on the kitchen floor; motionless
because she was stone dead; face down because she had been attacked from
behind; bathed in blood because she had been stabbed. The murder weapon lay on
the floor beside her. It was her own favourite kitchen knife, one of those
smart Japanese knives chefs use in smart kitchens: long, sharp, lethal and
glistening, except that this blade was now dulled by congealed blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
</div></h3></div></div></div><a href="https://toomc.blogspot.com/2015/11/1-murder.html#more">Read more »</a>faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0