Martin Edwards - The Frozen Shroud

At last, the tractor turned off down a muddy farm track. Daniel put his foot down. Optimism surged inside him. At last he was making progress. The truth about the Ravenbank murders wouldn’t stay hidden much longer.

Hannah savoured the last of her shortbread. The caramel and chocolate gave her a buzz. It wasn’t only outdoors that the fog was lifting. Links between Terri’s death and Shenagh’s were starting to connect in her brain.

‘Let’s take Knight first. I hear his wife is very attractive. Yet still he strayed?’

‘Leopards don’t change their spots, do they? There are no kids — Melody told Mum that she can’t have them, and presumably they never considered adoption. Oz is a super guy, don’t get me wrong, but he needs to be the centre of attention. An ego that size needs constant feeding.’

‘And Quinlan? I thought he was gay?’

‘With a civil partnership certificate to prove it. But Quin swings both ways. And he’s not faithful. Not long after he arrived in Ravenbank, he tried flirting with me.’

‘But he didn’t get anywhere?’

He gave her a chilly smile. ‘It’s women who turn me on. Attractive women, like Terri. But I’m sure Quin leads Jeffrey Burgoyne a merry dance.’

‘Are you positive that Shenagh had a … dalliance with Quin?’

‘Hey, I wasn’t lurking in the undergrowth with a long-lens camera like some paparazzo hoping to catch a celebrity with her top off. Ravenbank is such a tiny place, it’s hard to keep secrets, however much you try.’

He sighed, as if he had cause to regret it.

‘How did that particular secret leak out?’

‘Melody Knight overheard a quarrel between Jeffrey and Quin one afternoon when she popped round to their cottage for something.’

‘And Melody told you? You’re good friends, I take it?’

He’d just said how much he liked attractive women. Was it possible that he’d had something going on with Melody? Surely all the residents of Ravenbank couldn’t be shagging each other? The Lakes’ long dark winter nights had a lot to answer for, but there were limits.

‘Hey, don’t get the wrong idea. We get on fine, we even indulge in some mild flirting every now and then, but there’s nothing in it. In fact, it was Mum she told. And Mum mentioned it to me.’

Hannah pictured an elderly crone, outwardly good-natured, inwardly gleeful at any chance to spread a scandal, even if only as far as her own son. Robin seemed to read her mind.

‘You mustn’t get the wrong idea about Mum. She’s no blabbermouth. In her book, people should keep themselves to themselves.’

Hmmmm. Maybe.

‘That’s why she agonised over what Melody told her. Much as she liked Shenagh, she was outraged, on Francis’s behalf. I think she even contemplated grassing Shenagh up, but in the end, she decided there was no point. Shenagh would deny everything, and Francis would take her side. It might even have wrecked her relationship with Francis, and she wouldn’t have wanted that. So she just hoped the affair would blow over.’

‘Perhaps Quinlan took it more seriously?’

‘Not as seriously as his boyfriend, if you ask me.’ Robin grinned nervously. ‘At least it entertained Terri when I told her about all these shenanigans.’

Leopards don’t change their spots. Hannah remembered wondering if Terri had become romantically entangled with her new boss. ‘I don’t mean to be tactless — but there’s no chance that Terri and Oz Knight might …’

‘What are you implying?’ His colour rose. ‘That Oz was shagging her behind my back?’

‘He’s a leopard, isn’t he? You said so yourself.’

‘You don’t get it, Hannah, do you? Terri and I had something very special. Over the years, we’d both gone down enough blind alleys to recognise the real thing when we saw it. There’s no way she’d have messed about with Oz. Anyway, she worked for him, it would have been unprofessional.’

Unprofessional working relationships, oh dear. Hannah didn’t want to go there.

‘Were you planning to get married?’

For once, he seemed unsure how to answer. ‘Mum was keen for that to happen. I hear she said something at the party about us getting hitched. But we had no need to jump the gun. She was only just settling herself into the Ravenbank community. Everything in good time.’

Now for it. Hannah leant forward. ‘In the course of settling into Ravenbank, did Terri stumble onto something which identified Shenagh’s killer?’

He opened his eyes very wide, and she saw the thought had never crossed his mind until now. He blinked hard, as if calculating odds in his head.

‘You think that’s what happened? That she came across some sort of clue, and she was murdered by someone desperate to keep their guilt secret?’

‘It’s possible.’

‘I suppose … but Terri never said anything to me.’

‘Perhaps she only found out on the day of the party, perhaps after you were taken ill.’ Hannah took a breath. ‘How about you, is there any gossip in Ravenbank about your secrets? Or don’t you have any?’

‘Me?’ He sat bolt upright. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You were a young man, roughly the same age as Shenagh Moss. Not bad looking, and unattached. A musician, presumably with a relaxed lifestyle. Didn’t the two of you …?’

He mustered a grin. ‘Thanks for the kind words. At least — I think I’m flattered. And if that’s a dig about my lifestyle, I can promise I’m no dope fiend. Weed gives me a headache. Though …’

‘Yes?’

‘Terri smoked the occasional joint. That surprises you? It was one of her darkest secrets, given your job. She said you were a puritan when it came to drugs.’

Hannah gritted her teeth. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’

‘I liked Shenagh, and she liked me. That’s as far as it went, you’ll have to take my word for it. I’m different from Oz. I was lucky enough to grow up with two parents who were happily married. Mum and Dad were polar opposites in personality, but they were a couple who believed in till death do us part. I don’t believe in breaking up other people’s relationships, and I wasn’t interested in muscling in on Francis Palladino’s territory.’

Quite a speech. Hannah couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

‘Very commendable.’

He didn’t seem offended, even allowing himself a sliver of a grin. ‘Besides, she wasn’t my type.’

‘Okay, what is your type? An extrovert like Terri?’

‘She was nothing like my previous girlfriends. Apart from anything else, she’d been married three times before. Until now, I’ve steered clear of women who want long-term commitment. Most of her predecessors have been in their early twenties. I guess I was just looking for the right person to settle down with.’

She wanted to keep pressing him, see if he faltered. ‘And Terri was that person?’

He hesitated, as if searching for the right form of words. ‘I hoped so. She was easy-going, someone who believed in live and let live. I can’t bear neurotic, frigid women, or predatory types. I don’t wish to be unkind, but women like Melody and Shenagh scare the pants off me. But not literally.’

In the last few minutes, despite her intrusive questions, he’d seemed calmer, and more candid. No more table-tapping; for whatever reason, he’d relaxed. As if he’d accomplished his purpose in arranging this get together. Had he simply been curious to meet her? He leant back in his chair, curiously pleased with himself. Hannah decided to risk wiping the smile off his face.

‘Your mother received a legacy when Francis Palladino died. Such a generous bequest that she could afford to buy you a cottage.’

Robin’s face darkened. ‘Hannah, please. I’m really disappointed. You are seriously implying that the money gave either my mother or me a motive to get Shenagh out of the way?’