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A Crowded Coffin(62)

By:Nicola Slade


‘Don’t say break,’ Rory groaned, and shifted uneasily. ‘Ugh, I think I have got a cracked rib after all, that bastard kicked me when I fell. He was aiming at my balls, I’m sure of it. Good job I managed to hunch up just as I passed out, otherwise I’d be singing soprano for the rest of my life.’

The feeble joke made them both feel better and Harriet fished out her key ring again. ‘Here, there’s a torch on it,’ she grunted. ‘Stupid little pencil light but better than nothing. Let’s have a look at where we are.’

‘Swiss Army knife? Torch? Harriet, if I had to choose who to be thrown in a gloomy hole with, you’d always be my first choice!’ He rubbed his sore knee. ‘I suppose you were a Girl Guide?’

‘And a Brown Owl,’ she added, thoughtfully shining the sliver of light around the shaft above their heads. ‘Useful motto: “Be Prepared”. Unfortunately I forgot to pack a gun and a picnic tonight, let alone a JCB to dig us out of here.’

‘God, I’m stupid.’ He was feeling very gingerly in a pocket. ‘I forgot all about my phone. It’s got a light and we can—It’s gone.’ He sounded aghast and she patted his arm.

‘It probably fell out of your pocket while they were giving you a good going-over,’ she consoled him. ‘I’m just surprised they didn’t search us as a precaution. Just as well.’ She held up her own mobile triumphantly. ‘It’s not one of those state-of-the-art gadgets like yours, just a bog-standard basic model, but it’s better than nothing.’ She peered at it and shook her head. ‘Just as I thought, there’s no signal down here.’ She shrugged, settling herself more comfortably as she tried to ignore the rank smell that pervaded the place; nothing mattered now she knew Rory was more or less in one piece.

‘Let’s take a breather before we start worrying about signals or trying to get out of here. I shouldn’t think that makeshift cover would take much pushing, but it’s ten or more feet up, so you’d certainly have to give me a bunk up (which you’re in no state to do) and I’ve no head for heights anyway. But we’ll keep that as a last resort. We’re safe enough down here for now.’ She held out her key ring. ‘Here, you have this and I’ll use my phone and pray the battery holds up.’

‘Safe? If you say so.’ He shone the light round. ‘What I’d really like to know is, what the hell is going on?’

‘None of it makes sense,’ Harriet declared. ‘I thought it looked as though John Forrester had something to do with Dr Sutherland’s death, though I don’t see what he could possibly gain by that. Even if it was John whom your Canadian lady saw in the cathedral, it doesn’t mean he killed the old man, though it’s a tad suspicious that he didn’t mention anything to you or Edith at the party. I also thought he must be involved with the missing items from the archives and with Colin Price; maybe that he knew where Price had gone.’ She shook her head slowly looking bewildered. ‘I just don’t see how. The police interviewed everyone at the time and as far as I know, word round the village was that John never actually saw Price. Besides, according to Sam’s mole in high places, nothing’s been stolen since Price disappeared.

‘Another thing I don’t get,’ Harriet paused, before continuing, ‘is what any of it has to do with oil, which is where you might expect Brendan to be involved, or at least Brendan and his boss. And none of it has anything at all to do with looking up ancestors, as far as I can see.’

‘I think you’re right about that,’ Rory added his two-pennyworth. ‘I think the whole ancestor thing could be a cover and that Mike Goldstein was brought over here to act as a dowser.’ He explained about Sam’s discoveries. ‘I know Sam’s friend said he wasn’t up to date on techniques, but maybe there’s still a place for a kind of human sniffer dog. Though it might just be that he’s connected with the oil industry anyway.’

‘Hmm.’ Harriet digested this snippet of information. ‘It’s a bit tenuous, isn’t it, solely based on the fact that he’s from Texas. Might be lying, after all. And what about the business with Walter Attlin? The vicar has a cast-iron alibi for that, but it could have been Brendan, or Mike Goldstein. But why would they want to do that?’

‘Maybe Walter saw something. Or it might be that they thought he could have seen something. Sounds a high-risk strategy, though, so maybe it was blind panic.’

‘And then there’s me.’ Harriet’s voice sounded very small and she was grateful when Rory reached out to clasp her hand. ‘Who was it who pushed me over the quarry? Someone on his way to the village via the short cut, no question, but who? The vicar’s car had a dent on the wing, but Edith spotted that before I went through the fence.’ She thought it over. ‘He dropped Edith home by ten that night, she told me. I suppose he could have gone out again later.’