Tags:
Fiction,
Mystery,
cozy,
amateur sleuth,
Murder,
soft-boiled,
murder mystery,
mystery novels,
amateur sleuth novel,
regional fiction,
regional mystery
premonition that morning, the worst he had dreaded was disco-dancing and boredom.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Ducks in a Row
After conferring with the head of the crime scene detail, Detective Inspector Lucas wandered over to Rex and stuck out a speckled hand. âYour reputation precedes you,â he said. Up close, the freckles on his clean-shaven face merged in places to form patches of orange, matching his hair.
âThank you,â Rex said, pleased that the inspector had sought him out of his own volition. âHow are you getting on with the burglaries young Perrin said you were pursuing?â
âThere are, admittedly, peculiar difficulties with regard to the crimes.â
âSuch as?â Rex inquired politely.
âNo ruddy evidence. These burglars are pros. No one sees âem coming or going. Thereâs never any evidence of a break-in, never any mess. We thought the state of the economy was driving some of these wealthy people to commit insurance fraud and claim on items that had never been stolen in the first place, but that doesnât appear to be the case. A flat screen TV fitting the ownerâs description, down to a tiny scratch in the plasma, turned up at a pawn shop in Nottingham. But so far weâve been unable to get a lead on the individual who received cash for the item.â
âYou think the theft at Newcombe Court may be related?â
âNot sure. Two burglaries in two days hasnât happened before.â The inspector rattled something in his pocket; a tube of Smarties or Tic Tacs? âAnd only the antique snuff box collection seems to have been taken here. Why not the TVs and paintings? Some of them are worth a bob or two. Course, moving the big stuff unobserved at a wedding reception would be well-nigh impossible. Perhaps they were waiting until later to finish the job. Weâre searching the residence and vehicles right now. You arrived when today?â
âIn time for the church service in Aston. My fiancée and I, and two of the guests, came straight here afterwards with everyone else.â
âDid you notice anything unusual at the reception?â
âNothing, until Polly collapsed.â
âI take it you were the first person Jocelyn Willington notified about Mrs. Jonesâ death?â The inspector leveled shrewd blue eyes at Rex, taking his measure.
âThe constable was busy with the poisoning and theft. I did suggest she speak to him.â Wanting to keep a few cards up his sleeve, Rex decided not to mention yet to the inspector that the DJ had seen Roger Litton go up the tower steps with Gwendolyn Jones. And he doubted DJ Smoothie would volunteer the information himself and risk being detained any longer than necessary. He made a mental note to talk to the teacher next, to see if there was any truth in what the DJ had said.
âWell, first things first,â the inspector said. âWhen Polly Newcombe collapsed, what was your first reaction?â
âI thought her contractions had begun. Then, when her mother and the vicar succumbed to similar symptoms, I knew it had to be poisoning of some kind.â
âWere you able to pinpoint the source of the poisoning?â
âI suspect it was the wedding cake.â
âBased on?â
âFor one thing, after the ambulance took the three victims away, I returned to the reception room, and the miniature figures of the bride and groom had been removed from the top tier, which makes me think someone might have tampered with the evidence during my absence.â
âSOCO will bag up samples.â
âI doubt that will reveal much. The crumbs are gone from the top tier and the foil base was probably replaced.â
âYou believe the arsenic was confined to the top tier?â That unnerving dry rattle again in the inspectorâs pocket, which Rex found peculiarly distracting.
âThe bride, mother, and vicar were served
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