sounded faintly hurt when she replied.
"It's all part of the job, dear."
"Part of being a writer or a dog lover?"
"Don't be so dense, Verity. It's all part of being a local celebrity."
"Oh! That job!"
KD looked on being a famous face as a necessary evil but it remained the one aspect of her work she liked least.
"Anyway, please say you'll come."
"Well, I am out this evening, I murmured."
"Ooh. A hot date, eh?"
I'd hardly describe dinner with Inspector Farish in that fashion so I ignored the comment.
"Go on. Where is it and what's the dress code?"
"Crofterton racecourse and posh frocks."
"OK. Where and when do you want me to meet you?"
"Thanks, Verity, I really appreciate it. Shall we say two thirty-ish in the VIP lounge at the top of the grandstand?"
"The VIP lounge? Will I be able to get in? I don't want to be thrown out for impersonating somebody important."
KD barked with laughter at the other end of the line.
"Oh yes, you'll be all right. As long as you're dressed decently and not in jeans and a tee-shirt, they'll let anybody in."
"Oh, I can impersonate an anybody," I assured her. "I do it all the time. OK I'll see you there."
I returned to studying my notes. Along with appointments with the dentist, the gym, her beautician and her mum, all of which I'd noted but now dismissed, there were six further entries. Assuming Holly Danvers' suggestion that 'JB' stood for John Brackett was correct, that still left five others unaccounted for. Thrush, Mr Smith, Spaniel, Dawn and Xmas Wreath. I fetched a fresh sheet of paper from the desk, making a separate list of these names and the dates they appeared. Despite having told Inspector Farish that the diary had been written in code, it was clear that this was no cipher. Surely, I thought, scratching my head with the end of my pen, JayJay had made the same connection I had and Thrush referred to Candida Clark. I felt hampered by not knowing the dead woman, not knowing how her mind worked. Without that knowledge, figuring out who she'd meant was well nigh impossible. I reached for my coffee in frustration. I had originally wondered if the entries were the dates JayJay had made with her lovers, but that idea went out the window with the inclusion of her producer. Unless she was bisexual, of course.
"Yes!"
I bounded off the settee, galvanised by a sudden bolt of inspiration. Could Xmas Wreath be Holly Danvers? Now I might be getting somewhere. I picked up the sheet of paper that had leapt to the floor at the same time I did. There was only one date for this entry, January 7th. I grabbed the phone, checked my notebook and dialled.
"Holly? Hello, it's Verity Long."
"Oh, hello, Miss Long. I was just about to go out."
The secretary's small voice, made tinny by the wires, came back at me.
"I shan't keep you, I just wanted to know when you started working for JayJay."
"Umm … it was in January, Sometime in early January. I can't remember when exactly. Is it important?"
"I don't know. I'm just working through the diary you brought me."
"Haven't you given it to the police?"
"Oh, yes, they've got it," I assured her. "But I made a few notes before I handed it over."
"I understand," replied Holly knowingly, before she added, "to help with your enquiries," which proved she didn't.
"Did you have a job interview beforehand?"
"Sorry?"
"Did you go to an interview with Jaynee, before you began to work for her?"
"Yes, that's right. I did."
"And can you remember when that was?"
"Oh, only the week before. She wanted someone who could start immediately, so I saw her on the Wednesday, or the Thursday I think it was, and started the following Monday."
"Would Thursday the seventh sound about right?"
A brief silence while she considered this.
"Yes, I think so."
I thanked her and put the phone down, then wrote 'Holly Danvers' next to 'Xmas Wreath' on my pad. I was making progress. Of a sort. I'd accounted for two names on my list, or three if I pushed the list up to the six
"It's all part of the job, dear."
"Part of being a writer or a dog lover?"
"Don't be so dense, Verity. It's all part of being a local celebrity."
"Oh! That job!"
KD looked on being a famous face as a necessary evil but it remained the one aspect of her work she liked least.
"Anyway, please say you'll come."
"Well, I am out this evening, I murmured."
"Ooh. A hot date, eh?"
I'd hardly describe dinner with Inspector Farish in that fashion so I ignored the comment.
"Go on. Where is it and what's the dress code?"
"Crofterton racecourse and posh frocks."
"OK. Where and when do you want me to meet you?"
"Thanks, Verity, I really appreciate it. Shall we say two thirty-ish in the VIP lounge at the top of the grandstand?"
"The VIP lounge? Will I be able to get in? I don't want to be thrown out for impersonating somebody important."
KD barked with laughter at the other end of the line.
"Oh yes, you'll be all right. As long as you're dressed decently and not in jeans and a tee-shirt, they'll let anybody in."
"Oh, I can impersonate an anybody," I assured her. "I do it all the time. OK I'll see you there."
I returned to studying my notes. Along with appointments with the dentist, the gym, her beautician and her mum, all of which I'd noted but now dismissed, there were six further entries. Assuming Holly Danvers' suggestion that 'JB' stood for John Brackett was correct, that still left five others unaccounted for. Thrush, Mr Smith, Spaniel, Dawn and Xmas Wreath. I fetched a fresh sheet of paper from the desk, making a separate list of these names and the dates they appeared. Despite having told Inspector Farish that the diary had been written in code, it was clear that this was no cipher. Surely, I thought, scratching my head with the end of my pen, JayJay had made the same connection I had and Thrush referred to Candida Clark. I felt hampered by not knowing the dead woman, not knowing how her mind worked. Without that knowledge, figuring out who she'd meant was well nigh impossible. I reached for my coffee in frustration. I had originally wondered if the entries were the dates JayJay had made with her lovers, but that idea went out the window with the inclusion of her producer. Unless she was bisexual, of course.
"Yes!"
I bounded off the settee, galvanised by a sudden bolt of inspiration. Could Xmas Wreath be Holly Danvers? Now I might be getting somewhere. I picked up the sheet of paper that had leapt to the floor at the same time I did. There was only one date for this entry, January 7th. I grabbed the phone, checked my notebook and dialled.
"Holly? Hello, it's Verity Long."
"Oh, hello, Miss Long. I was just about to go out."
The secretary's small voice, made tinny by the wires, came back at me.
"I shan't keep you, I just wanted to know when you started working for JayJay."
"Umm … it was in January, Sometime in early January. I can't remember when exactly. Is it important?"
"I don't know. I'm just working through the diary you brought me."
"Haven't you given it to the police?"
"Oh, yes, they've got it," I assured her. "But I made a few notes before I handed it over."
"I understand," replied Holly knowingly, before she added, "to help with your enquiries," which proved she didn't.
"Did you have a job interview beforehand?"
"Sorry?"
"Did you go to an interview with Jaynee, before you began to work for her?"
"Yes, that's right. I did."
"And can you remember when that was?"
"Oh, only the week before. She wanted someone who could start immediately, so I saw her on the Wednesday, or the Thursday I think it was, and started the following Monday."
"Would Thursday the seventh sound about right?"
A brief silence while she considered this.
"Yes, I think so."
I thanked her and put the phone down, then wrote 'Holly Danvers' next to 'Xmas Wreath' on my pad. I was making progress. Of a sort. I'd accounted for two names on my list, or three if I pushed the list up to the six
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