Peter Lovesey: The Case Of The Dead Wait

Colin’s shoulders sagged. All the fight had gone out of him.

In all the excitement, Laura hadn’t given a thought to her main reason for being in the house. Over supper that evening, she dropped her knife and fork and said, “The orchids. I’ve completely forgotten about them.”

She had visions of dead and drooping plants in their dried-up trays.

“What am I going to say to Mike?” she said as she raced to the conservatory.

But the orchids were doing fine, better than when she’d taken over. The droopy ones were standing tall.

“They benefited from being left alone,” Rosemary said. “He’s a novice at this. The roots of an orchid are covered by a spongy material that holds water.”

“Like a camel’s hump?”

“Well… I’m saying he must have overwatered them.”

That evening Wilbur was rewarded with a supper of chopped turkey and baked ham. After he’d curled up in front of the fire, Rosemary and Laura slipped out of the front door to make a call on a neighbour.

Gertrude invited them in and poured large glasses of sherry.

“I’m so grateful to you both,” she said. “I must have had calls from half the village saying how sorry they are for all I’ve been through. I kept telling them you two are the heroes.”

“Far from it,” Rosemary said with modesty.

“But you are. And you, Laura, being mistaken for a thief and wrestling with the vicar.”

“That wasn’t so bad.”

Rosemary said, “He’s rather dishy. She enjoyed getting into a clinch.”

They all laughed.

“And now,” Gertrude said, looking happier than they’d seen her, “another Christmas tradition. To ensure good fortune for us all in the new year, I insist that you have a slice of my homemade Christmas cake. You can make a wish.” She went out to the kitchen.

Rosemary said in confidence, “I’m going to wish that I survive this.”

Laura said, “I’m so glad I wore this cardigan. It’s got pockets.”

Peter Lovesey, one of Britain ’s finest mystery writers, will be signing Headhunters Wednesday, April 30 at 7 pm. He began his Diamond series in 1991 featuring the modern policeman, Peter Diamond, which has now spun off into the Henrietta Mallin mysteries. His novels have been translated into 22 languages, and ten of them have been seen on film or television. The Headhunters, published in May 2008 will be his 30th novel.

Peter Lovesey won the Gold Dagger Award with The False Inspector Dew and in 2000 joined the elite group of people awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for lifetime achievement. His short story, Needle Match, won the 2007 Crime Writers' Association Short Story Dagger Award. And this April, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malice Domestic Mystery Convention.

Don’t miss the chance to meet this fascinating author. As a bonus Soho press has sent us 3 bookbags which we will be raffling off during the evening.