Page 71 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

‘Yes, but she didn’t take anyone else in for questioning. Only me.’

‘Don’t let it get you down, Heather. She’s only being thorough. What did she ask you?’

‘She wanted clarification over my statement. I’d forgotten to mention the stolen book. That was all.’

An expression of horror came over Lydia’s face. ‘One of our precious volumes was stolen?’

‘Yes. The one poor Ronald was studying.’

‘How horrible!’

What was she referring to as being horrible? The book being stolen, or Ronald being killed for the book? Perhaps both. ‘I hope the police catch the killer soon,’ I said. So they would leave me alone.

‘I’ll put up a sign offering a reward for the safe return of the stolen book,’ Lydia said. ‘You never know. We might get it returned that way.’

No, we won’t. It’s too valuable.

New visitors entered the house, and Lydia turned to help them with tickets. I wandered to the great hall and found it busy. Three couples were checking out the portraits, coat of arms, suits of armour, weaponry and furniture in the room. I forgot about my encounter with the inspector and fell into a routine of answering the tourists’ questions, pleased for the distraction.

Chapter 24

THE AFTERNOON PASSED by, and by the end, my feet ached and I needed to rest. But my fitness was improving every day. Especially from having to go up and down that bloody staircase. Before long, I’d be back to my old self and I wouldn’t get so worn out.

I said goodbye to my workmates and headed for the car. I was about to turn the key when my phone rang.

‘Hey, Heather. How are you? Had a great day?’ It was Elvis.

‘Not really, Elvis. It’s been pretty stressful, to tell the truth.’ I didn’t know his real name, so I had to call him Elvis. It didn’t sound strange, though. Who knows, maybe he was such a fan he’d changed his name to Elvis, anyway. ‘Why are you calling? Did you remember something important?’

‘No, it’s not that. I wanted to offer you my help.’

‘Your help? With what?’

‘With your investigation. How’s it going? Getting anywhere?’

‘I’ve gone down a few dead ends, that’s all.’

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