Page 57 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

Wordlessly, Yanni slipped on gloves and handed me another pair. She edged a little closer. ‘It’s difficult to tell from the blood loss, but those look like claw marks on Angelica’s chest,’ she said as she crouched down.

Dove agreed. ‘It’s the way they’ve cut through the fabric. There are five gashes, four long and one shorter. Do you know what type of animal claw leaves marks like that?’

I didn’t know if Dove’s question was rhetorical, because Yanni and I certainly knew. It was a bear. Just like she was. And like Toby.

‘How do we think Toby died?’ Yanni asked, avoiding having to respond.

‘A bullet wound,’ Dove replied grimly. ‘Looks like a silver bullet, possibly the same type that killed Warren.’

I took in a moment to process her words. Maybe I hadn’t been so wrong with my first assumption that one of the pair had killed Warren. Only maybe it hadn’t beenoneof them, maybe it had been both of them. ‘Hold up. Are we thinking that Toby swiped at Angelica, probably with the intention of killing her, but she fired off the shot before she bled out?’

‘That’s certainly what it looks like,’ Yanni said. ‘But why?’

I remembered what Gilbert had said in Jennifer’s house about Angelica liking younger men. Pei had sensed that Toby was seeing someone again, someone whom he loved so much that he could resist a siren’s advances – well, a half-siren, at least. And while Jennifer had only been five years older than him, maybe Gilbert was right in thinking that he liked older women.

‘Could it be…? Do you think they were together and Warren found out about their relationship?’ I mused. ‘And that was why they killed him? Maybe there was an altercation.’ Although Angelica and Warren were in the middle of their divorce, it wasn’t final. I could imagine Warren would be upset to discover the relationship, particularly as Toby had dated Jennifer.

‘It’s possible.’ Yanni nodded slowly. ‘Very possible.’

As I stared at the bodies, another thought struck me. ‘Wait! Mrs D is still at the station, right? She wanted to keep herself in custody?’

‘She is,’ Yanni confirmed.

‘So she has to be innocent because there’s no way these deaths aren’t connected to Warren’s. Theyhaveto be. Dove already said it looked like the same type of silver bullet.’

‘I said it waspossiblythe same type,’ Dove corrected. ‘We can’t know that until the forensics come through. But I agree, these deaths are connected to Warren Storcrest’s and Mrs D couldn’t have had anything to do with them.’

‘It does look that way,’ Yanni agreed.

‘We can let her go?’ I asked, desperate to have one positive from all this mess.

Yanni nodded. ‘We can let her go.’

I waited for the bolt of relief to hit me, both my own and a mirroring one from Yanni, but after a moment I realised they weren’t coming.

Itturns out that good news isn’t so good when there are already three dead bodies on the ground.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mrs D’s eyes filled with tears as I opened her cell door. ‘Have you caught whoever did it?’ she asked.

‘We think so.’ I couldn’t tell her that the evidence was pointing to Toby and Angelica working together, not until it was confirmed by forensics. Letting her know she could go and that she was no longer a suspect would have to be enough for now.

‘Poor Jennifer.’ Mrs D was still wiping her eyes. ‘First her father and now Toby. And she’s such a lovely woman. She works so hard. Honestly, I think the way her father raised them, without any handouts was the making of her. She’s dedicated her life to being a nurse. No one should have to go through loss like this, but especially not someone as kind as she is. And young Rory, losing both his mother and his father days apart. It breaks myheart.’

‘I’m sure Yanni will do everything she can to give them as much support as possible,’ I said. ‘But you should get yourself home. Go and relax.’

The old woman shot out a rheumaticky old hand to clutch mine. ‘Thank you so much, Beatrix. Thank you for believing in me. It really helped knowing you were on my side.’

‘Everyone believed in you, Mrs D, but we had to follow the evidence.’ God, I sounded like Yanni; next I’d be telling people to ‘trust the process’ and keeping a colour-coded case file.

Given that Yanni was still at the crime scene, there was something else I knew I had to tell Mrs D. ‘We’ll need you to stay in Witchlight Cove until we’ve got everything wrapped up, just in case we need to ask you more questions.’ With Warren dead, the likelihood of Mrs D being charged over the pasty incident was low but it was still possible. Still, I trusted Yanni’s better judgement to let sleeping dogs lie.

‘I understand.’ She dipped her head slightly. ‘And don’t worry. You know I never go away, not unless I’m taking the kids on a trip somewhere. And talking about staying put, I hope you will too, Beatrix. It might not have been the best of circumstances but it’s been wonderful having you back.’

I didn’tneed to feel a rush of emotions from her to know she was telling the truth. ‘I figure I’ll be here for a little while longer, at least,’ I admitted, only for an image of Fraser Banks to flash into my mind. Fingers crossed it was because I was thinking about stopping him getting into the house. Yup, that was it.

Even though Mrs D was free to leave, it took her a while to gather herself and her things. As she finally left, Yanni was walking into the office. Their exchange was brief – smiles and a handshake – before Mrs D disappeared through the doors.

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