Deadly Harvest-Carolyn Walker

5/25/2018 Deadly Harvest-Carolyn Walker

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CHAPTER ONE

Going south

It was early spring and the sun was pouring through thewindow of a small flat on the first floor of an elegant three-storey house. Out of the window a pair of swans ould !eseen flying o"er the ri"er whih passed through the west-ountry mar#et town of Pilton. A woman$ %ane Honeywell$

stood at the window wathing the swans& flight$ dressed inher night-lothes. A few days ago$ from her flat in themiddle of 'anhester$ she had seen the sun rise !etween therows of smo#e-!la#ened red!ri# houses$ up into thepolluted ity s#y. Here the sunlight was daning on the waterand the air was lean.

Pilton was a small town of some ()$))) inha!itants inthe south-west of England. There were a few fatories whihmade things li#e lothes$ shoes$ hemials and eletrialparts !ut$ more importantly$ Pilton was a mar#et town where

the farmers from the surrounding areas !rought their owsand sheep to sell e"ery Thursday. Howe"er$ these days therewas not muh money in farming$ espeially on the smalllonely hill farms.

*ortunately for the loal eonomy Pilton was a popular

part of the world for holidays. In the summer$ thousands ofpeople would !ring their money and their families to theloal !eahes and "illages$ whih$ with their old ottagesand pretty gardens$ seemed to !elong to times past.


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Compared to the ities of the north and entre of the ountry$here it was peaeful and +uiet and !eautiful. The "isitorswould return home and dream of esaping to a rural life ofhanging seasons$ of digging the soil$ planting and

har"esting.

At the moment$ though$ the woman was missing Alan$her e,-!oyfriend$ and his morning heerfulness. hat washe doing right now /he ould feel his a!sene in the weightof the silene around her. /he wondered how long it would

ta#e !efore her new en"ironment would no longer feel li#e aforeign ountry. Professionally$ she had done the right thing$there was no +uestion a!out that. 0ut the memory of Alan&se,pressionless fae as she had pa#ed her suitases filled herwith a sharp sadness.

&1ou&re mad$ %ane darling$& her mother had omplained.&hy don&t you 2ust marry him$ ha"e some #ids and settledown li#e e"eryone else&

&'y at&s +uite enough for me at the moment$& she had2o#ed$ uriously una!le to e,plain to her long-suffering

mother that the relationship was going nowhere$ that sheen2oyed her wor# too muh to gi"e it up for domestiity.Anyway$ Alan had refused to lea"e his own wor# and gowith her. /o that was that.

/uddenly she !eame aware of a loud hissing sound

and she loo#ed round$ alarmed. The mil# for her offee had!oiled o"er and there was a steaming pool of sti#y white


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li+uid on the oo#er. /he swore loudly$ simultaneouslynotiing the time. It was nearly 3.45 a.m.

&Oh$ my 6od$ I&m going to !e late7 Help7 %ulian$ youuseless animal$ where are my tights& %ane addressed this+uestion to her at$ whih was asleep on a hair !y thewindow. %ulian the at was disgusted !y his new home andhad already fought with the large !la# at ne,t door.

or#ing fast$ %ane pi#ed up a piee of toast and heldit in her teeth. /he resued what was left of the mil# andpoured it into a mug. /he loo#ed !riefly at the !urnt mess onthe oo#er8 she would lean it up later. ith one hand shedran# the mud-oloured offee and ate her toast while withthe other she searhed through se"eral open suitases on thefloor$ trying to find a pair of tights.

&%ulian$ I must get organised$& she told the at$ as pilesof lothes fell out onto the floor. %ulian too# no notie.

In fifteen minutes she was ready. /he lo#ed up the flatand went rapidly down the stairs. Outside it was hilly

despite the spring sun. There was a strong wind oming inoff the sea from the south-west and she wished she hadmanaged to find her winter oat.

hen she finally spotted her sil"er-grey 'a9da sportsar$ whih she had left in a pu!li ar par# round the orner$

she was unpleasantly surprised to see that around the doorhandle there were srath mar#s and the door was unlo#ed./omeone had learly fored it open.


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&Oh no$ I don&t !elie"e it7 The !astards7& she groaned.Inside the ar$ there was a !la# hole near the steering wheeland some wires were hanging loose from where the radioassette player had one !een.

&I thought I&d left this #ind of thing !ehind. O!"iouslynot$& she muttered angrily$ getting in and starting the engine.

It too# her more than twenty minutes to dri"e the four#ilometres to her new plae of wor#8 the town in whih shehad ome to li"e apparently had serious traffi pro!lems.

/he sat in the long +ueue of ars$ nose to tail as theyapproahed a rounda!out$ and a wa"e of ner"es !egan in herstomah$ made worse !y the fat that she #new she wouldha"e to wath out for what her former !oss had termed the

&dinosaurs&$ the people to whom a woman in a seniormanagement position was a foreign$ unwelome reature.The dinosaurs would !e wathing e"ery mo"e she made andwould lose no time in putting her to the test.

Arri"ing finally at her destination she glaned at her

wath8 it was almost :.)). Hurriedly she par#ed her ar andthen wal#ed as almly as she ould manage up to the mainentrane to the dull grey stone !uilding that was PiltonPolie /tation. /he pushed her hair !a# out of her eyes$pulled her 2a#et down and opened the door.

&ell$ here goes. 6ood lu#$& %ane Honeywell said toherself as she stepped inside.


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CHAPTER TO

Nothing exciting ever happens

&6ood morning$ madam$ an I help you& said thepolie onsta!le at the reeption des#$ loo#ing at %anearefully. ho was this woman He did not remem!erha"ing seen her !efore. /he was tall and her fae was prettywith short dar# hair neatly ut. The sharp lines of her dar#

suit$ together with the white sil# !louse and low-heeled!la# shoes$ ga"e her a !usinessli#e appearane. as she alawyer$ new to the area$ ome to "isit one of the !ad !oysarrested in the night for stealing a ar The poliemanguessed$ aurately$ that she was in her early thirties.

&6ood morning$ Consta!le. 1es$& %ane said$ holding upan identifiation ard$ &I&m ;eteti"e Chief Inspetor %aneHoneywell and$ as I e,pet you #now$ I&m !eginning wor#here today as head of the Criminal In"estigation;epartment. And your name is...&

&Oh$ er... yes$ ma&am. I&m Polie Consta!le ;i# Plum!$ma&am.& PC Plum! stammered$ loo#ing onfused. He hadheard a rumour that the new head of CI; was going to !e awoman !ut$ as he had not ta#en it all that seriously$ he hadforgotten a!out it.

&hat&s the matter$ Consta!le Plum! Is there apro!lem& %ane thought she #new what the pro!lem was.&Ha"e you ne"er seen a ;CI wearing a s#irt !efore&


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&1es... er... no$ ma&am. No pro!lem$ no pro!lem at all$&said Consta!le Plum! hurriedly.

&In that ase$& %ane said$ &do you thin# you ould tell the/uperintendent that I&m here$ please&

&1es$ ma&am$ of ourse$& said PC Plum!. &If you&d li#e togo through that door and sit down$ &I&ll as# him to omedown.&


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&Come on then$ ome and meet the gang. I&ll show youround and then lea"e you to get settled. 1ou&ll find se"eralreports on your des# waiting for your attention.&

They set off up the stairs and 6eorge opened the doorinto a room full of omputers and strange faes - mostly$though not +uite all$ male. E"eryone stopped wor# andturned to loo# at %ane as she ame in. All of a sudden theroom was +uiet e,ept for the sound of the omputers.

&I&d li#e you all to meet ;CI %ane Honeywell$& 6eorgeannouned. &As you #now$ she will !e ta#ing o"er therunning of this department as from today.&

&6ood morning$ e"eryone$& %ane addressed her newolleagues. &ell$ I&m delighted to !e here. I hope we&ll all

get along together. As the day goes on$ I&ll !e tal#ing to eahof you. I&m a hands-on #ind of manager so I don&t stay in myoffie with the door always losed.&

There was silene$ and no!ody mo"ed. After a shortpause$ a woman&s "oie murmured$ &Nie to meet you$

ma&am$ welome to Pilton.& *rom somewhere in the room$%ane ould 2ust hear a soft laugh. /he thought she aught thewords &Hands on what&$ though she ould not !e sure.

&All right$& she smiled. &I&ll !e seeing you all later.& Asshe and 6eorge went out$ !ehind her se"eral people started

tal#ing at one.

&They&re a good rowd really$& /uperintendent *ergusontold her. &;on&t ta#e them too seriously.&


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&No$ sir$& said %ane. &I won&t.&

&One they see they an trust you$ you&ll ha"e notrou!le$& 6eorge ontinued. &1ou&"e ome to us from a !igity !ut life mo"es slowly down here. People are used to theway things are and they don&t li#e hange$ as I&m sure you&llappreiate.&

After a tour of the !uilding$ they were !a# where theyhad started$ in the orridor outside the CI; offie$ whihould !e o!ser"ed through some internal windows. /ome ofthe oupants had notied her presene and stared unsmilingas she and 6eorge went into her new offie.

&ell$ this is where you&ll !e$& 6eorge said. &I&ll ome!a# a little later and we&ll go through a few !its and piees.

I e,pet you&ll find we do things differently down here.&

6eorge disappeared and$ with a sense of relief$ %ane satdown at her des#. /he was still in a sweat from ha"ing tohurry to arri"e on time. /he needed to try to rela,.

/he turned and loo#ed !ehind her through the e,ternalwindows. 0eyond the houses there were rolling hills andgreen fields$ and !etween the hills and the town$ the ri"erwound its way out to the Atlanti Oean$ only a few#ilometres in the distane. Away from the oast$ the landrose sharply up to the hills whih formed a national par#.

Here sheep fed on the rough grass of open moorland and hillfarmers wor#ed hard for a li"ing.

&Could !e worse$ I suppose$& she said to herself.


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/he had 2ust !egun to read through a long report on thereent wa"e of small rimes when she was interrupted !y a#no# at the door and a young woman in her twenties amein with a tray of offee. %ane remem!ered her fae from the

CI; offie.

&Hello$& she said. &1ou are... &

&;eteti"e Consta!le 'aggie Pinom!e$ ma&am.&

&Pleased to meet you$ 'aggie.& %ane smiled. Then$ after

a moment$ she as#ed$ &%ust out of interest$ how many womenare there in this station&

&ell.& 'aggie thought for a moment. &=et me see. Notmany really. There&s one or two new onsta!les who ha"e2ust started on the !eat$ whih ma#es half a do9en there$ plusa few in Traffi. Only men in /peial Operations and ;ogs.0ut there&s me and ;eteti"e /ergeant Penny >ingdom inCI;$& she finished heerfully.

&Oh$& said %ane$ &was that Penny I saw o"er !y thewindow in the offie tal#ing to someone&

&1es$ that was her$& said 'aggie. &ith ;I Pete *ish.He&s !een in harge till you got here. He applied forpromotion to ;CI$ you #now. ;idn&t get it$ though.&

&Really& %ane said.

&1es$& 'aggie went on. &If you an get Pete *ish onyour side$ you won&t ha"e any trou!le.&


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&Than#s for the tip$& %ane smiled$ with more onfidenethan she felt. &Oh 'aggie$ I&"e 2ust remem!ered. /omeone!ro#e into my ar last night and stole my radio assetteplayer. &I&ll need an inident report form.&

&Oh no$ that&s !ad lu#.& 'aggie was sympatheti.&There&s a lot of ar rime round here. Its !een on theinrease for the last si, months.&

&/o I see from this report$& %ane said.

&That&s what we spend most of our time on$& 'aggietold her. &Plus the oasional house !rea#ing. Nothing reallye,iting e"er happens.&

? ? ?

=ater$ !a# in her flat$ %ane stared hopelessly at thehaos on the floor in the sitting room8 she was too e,haustedto do anything a!out it tonight. /he pi#ed up a loth andstarted to ru! at the !urnt mil# on the oo#er.

hat if she had made a dreadful mista#e ould she

really !e a!le to win the trust of her new olleagues /houldshe 2ust pi# up her suitases and go !a# to 'anhester

%ust then the phone rang.

&Hello$ lo"e. ell$ how was your first day ;id you get

on all right& The northern aent was unmista#a!le.


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&Oh hello$ 'um$& %ane said$ wea#ly. &1es$ than#s$ fine.E"erything&s fine.& It was omforting$ after all$ to tal# to afamiliar "oie.

After spea#ing to her mother for a while$ she felt moreheerful. Tomorrow was another day and she had to ontinueher hats with eah of the mem!ers of her team. EspeiallyPete *ish$ who had somehow managed to a"oid her today.


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CHAPTER THREE

Time to wake up

A wee# later$ on 'onday e"ening at a!out 44 p.m.$%ane was sitting in her flat$ a glass of wine in her hand$ and%ulian the at urled up on the sofa ne,t to her. The suitaseshad gone from the sitting room and were piled in her!edroom$ and most$ though not +uite all$ of them ontents

were now in up!oards and drawers.

It had !een the first flat she had loo#ed at when shehad ome down for her inter"iew and she had li#ed itimmediately !eause of its ri"er "iew.


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&1ou #now it&s fi"e per ent of the population thatommits ninety-fi"e per ent of the rime& ;C Tony Reillytold her. &ell$ round here it&s one per ent. It&s 2ust a matterof wor#ing through the usual suspets. Easy7&

;espite the apparent simpliity of the ation needed$the rimes had remained unsol"ed for too long$ %anethought. /o$ while mindful of 6eorge *erguson&s warninga!out ma#ing hanges$ she deided that her departmentneeded to try a different approah.

Earlier today she had as#ed ;eteti"e Inspetor Pete*ish to ome into her offie. /he #new she ought to disussher ideas with him$ despite the fat that$ in their firstmeeting$ he had not !een espeially ommuniati"e.

&1es$ ma&am$ what an I do for you& he had as#ed thismorning$ as he leant against the door of her offie$ a largeman with !road shoulders and a slightly o"erweightstomah. He said ma&am in an Amerian aent for a 2o#e$and he was grinning in a way that was annoying. He hadloo#ed pleased with himself$ as if he #new something that

she didn&t.

%ust then the phone !y her el!ow rang$ !ringing her!a# to the present.

&1es& she said.

&/orry to distur! you$ ma&am$& said a "oie she thoughtwas PC Plum!$ &!ut a !ody has !een found.&


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&hat 6ood grief7 ho said nothing e"er happenedaround here O>$ I&m on my way. 6i"e me the details.& %anefelt herself swithing into a familiar routine$ one that she hadimagined she would not ha"e to use "ery often in this rural

loation.

&It&s at Chittleham *arm$ up on the moor. 1ou ta#e themain road out of Pilton and first left after 1arde 6ate Cross.If you&"e got a map$ you&ll see it$& PC Plum! told her.

&;on&t worry$ I&ll find it. Tell the rest of them to get outthere$ will you&

&The *i... I mean... ;I *ish is already out there. He wason duty this e"ening. He said to all you.&

Nie of him$ %ane thought. /he ould 2ust imagine hisgrinning fae.

Outside$ the usual south-west wind was whistlingthrough the +uiet streets and rain hammered on the roofs ofthe houses and par#ed ars. %ane found her ar and$ with hermap open on the seat ne,t to her$ she set off a little an,iouslyfor the moor. /he would not ha"e hosen this partiularnight to go dri"ing around in the dar# in an un#nown part ofthe ountryside.

hile she tried to onentrate on the tas# of finding

her way$ her thoughts #ept slipping !a# to her earlieron"ersation with Pete *ish.


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&O>$ Pete$& she had said. &Come in and shut the door.&/tanding in front of her des#$ she had notied that she was astall as he was.

&All these stolen ars$& she had !egun$ loo#ing himstraight in the eyes. &e really should do something a!outthem.&

&I thin# we&re doing all we an$ ma&am$& Pete *ishreplied. He stopped tal#ing in his Amerian aent andyawned slightly.

&I&m afraid I don&t agree$ Pete$& %ane told him !luntly.&=et&s see. hat do you usually do 1ou find someone whoyou #now has ommitted one of the rimes. Then youpersuade him to admit that he has done another fifteen

similar 2o!s. hih is fine. It ma#es life easy for e"eryone.0ut then how do you e,plain the fat that the rate for theserimes is inreasing&

&ell$& Pete *ish e,plained$ &the word on the street isthat it&s riminals from up north. They ome in on our nie

new motorway$ ta#e a ar and dri"e it out of the area as fastas they an. Then it goes onto the national omputer andthere&s nothing more for us to do.&

&Oh ome on$ that&s patheti. ;o you 2ust sit here andwait for it happen& %ane said. &How a!out setting up a few

road he#points Or some o!ser"ation posts&

&There are not enough people to do all that$& Pete said.


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&And why not&

&ell$& Pete said$ &as you&ll #now$ we&"e got a @9erotolerane@ sheme on street rime operating at the moment.All the drun#s$ thie"es and undesira!les that get arrested...well$ they ha"e to !e transported to prison$ to ourt... Thatuses up a lot of "ehiles and staff.&

&ero tolerane shemes don&t wor#$& %ane pointed out.&The !ad guys 2ust mo"e elsewhere.&

&Possi!ly.& Pete&s reply had !een short$ almost rude.

&=et&s get things straight right from the !eginning$ Pete$&%ane had said$ realising that she had to get tough. &1ou maynot li#e the fat that I&m your !oss$ !ut I&m here to stay$ soyou&ll ha"e to get used to it. I&ll disuss 9ero tolerane with/uperintendent *erguson. In the meantime$ I&m going todraw up plans for a ma2or ra#-down on ar rime and!urglaries. It seems to me that life is a !it +uiet round here.In fat$ it&s so +uiet I thin# you&re all asleep. ell$ it&s time towa#e up now.&

&1es$ ma&am.& Pete had not loo#ed happy. &0ut +uitehonestly$ I thin# it&ll !e a waste of time.&

&ell$ I&ll !e the 2udge of that$ than# you.& %ane turnedaway to ontinue wor#ing.

Pete went out$ shutting the door loudly. %ane ould seethrough the internal windows that he was tal#ing to some of


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the other men in the CI; offie. *rom time to time theyloo#ed towards her room$ laughing.

Now$ thin#ing a!out this inident as she was dri"ingalong in the dar# and the rain$ %ane would ha"e preferred notto ha"e to fae Pete and the others tonight. /he had notpartiularly wanted to ome into onflit with the men shewould ha"e to wor# with so soon after starting her 2o!. Andnow there was a serious rime to deal with$ she ould notafford to ma#e any mista#es.

Oh hell7 as that 1arde Cross 6ate /he would ha"eto wal# !a# to the signpost. /he stopped the ar and$ ta#inga torh$ wal#ed !a# to where she thought she had seen asignpost. /he reahed the rossroads and found that thesignpost no longer ga"e any useful information8 one arm had

fallen off and the other pointed !a# to where she had omefrom. Annoyed$ she went !a# to her ar and studied hermap$ though she ould ma#e no sense of it. /he would 2ustha"e to arry on until there was another sign. A!out three#ilometres further on there was a left turn$ and a small houseon the orner where there was a light in an upstairs window.

/he deided to #no# at the door.

&I&m sorry to !other you$& she said to the elderly manwho loo#ed ner"ously round the half-open door. &0ut I&mloo#ing for Chittleham *arm.& /he showed him her polieidentity ard.

He loo#ed arefully at it$ seemed satisfied$ andmum!led something in a strong loal aent. 0ut with the


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high wind and his strange aent$ %ane ould hardly ma#eout what he was saying. /he understood$ howe"er$ that shewas going in the right diretion.

&Than#s. I&m sorry to ha"e got you out of !ed$& she saidand set off again.

To her relief$ the old man was right. After a ouple ofminutes there were !lue flashing lights ahead$ and drawingnearer$ she ould see se"eral polie ars$ their yellow stripesglowing in the dar#. A !la# and white sheepdog appeared!ar#ing loudly as she dro"e down a narrow lane leading to alarge farmhouse. /he par#ed and wal#ed towards auniformed offier$ !ehind whom a group of people weretal#ing e,itedly. One of the figures mo"ed away from thegroup and approahed her. It was ;eteti"e Inspetor Pete

*ish.


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CHAPTER *O


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Inside$ se"eral /ene-of-Crime Offiers B/OCOs$dressed in white o"erall suits$ were mo"ing around an oldpi#-up tru#$ !usily olleting fingerprints$ filming thesene with a "ideo amera$ and loo#ing with great are

through the o"ered area for hairs$ fi!res$ !lood$ anythingwhih might pro"ide "ital lues.

Pete introdued %ane to a woman holding a torh. &Thisis ;r Pat %ames$ the pathologist.&

&How do you do& %ane said$ sha#ing hands$ "aguelyaware that she was pleased to find another woman in alargely male world.

&ant to ha"e a loo# It&s not a pretty sight$& Pat %amessaid$ pointing her powerful torh into the !a# of the pi#-up

tru# where a woman in her early forties lay on her !a# asif she had 2ust fallen asleep. 0ehind the woman&s head some!ags of animal feed were piled on top of eah other$ half-o"ered !y a ru!!er sheet. /he was wearing !oots$ thi#trousers and a hea"y 2a#et$ as if she had !een out wal#ing$perhaps aross the moor. In death$ her fae had ollapsed

inwards li#e a !alloon from whih the air had esaped$ !utthere was not muh !lood - 2ust some on the top of her head$where someone had made an ugly wound and pro!a!ly!ro#en her s#ull.

&ho is she& %ane turned to Pete.


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&Rose Carter. *rom /outh Heasley. That&s a "illage 2ustoutside Pilton$& he e,plained. &e got an I; from the ards inher wallet.&

&/o who found her& %ane as#ed.

&A loal lad$ apparently$& Pete answered. &0rian'illman. He helps the farmer during lam!ing time. As Ie,pet you #now$ lam!s are !orn at all times of the day ornight and the sheep ha"e to !e he#ed regularly.&

&Than# you for that e,planation$& %ane murmured.

&Not at all. Anyway$ 0rian&s a !it simple$ aording tothe farmer. The farmer&s 'er"in Pe#$ !y the way. He farmsthe plae on his own$ apart from the help that 0rian gi"eshim. =oo# at that...&

Pete pointed at a large wooden !o, on the groundlose to the pi#-up.

0ut %ane had already started to wal# towards the !o,$whih had legs and a sloping roof. &hat is it& she as#ed.

&Er... it&s a !eehi"e$& Pete said$ with some amusement.&Ha"en&t you e"er seen one !efore&

&Not li#e that$& %ane said sharply. &hat&s it doingthere&

&It was on top of the ru!!er sheet that o"ered the!ody$& Pete replied. He grinned with !oyish enthusiasm. &It&s


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li#e something out of a deteti"e no"el. @The !ee#eepermurderer@. 1ou #now$ the murderer&s @signature@...&

&ell$ perhaps$& %ane replied$ a little stiffly. &'ore li#elyThe !eehi"e was the nearest hea"y o!2et to hold the sheetdown. It&s "ery windy$ you #now. Come on$ we need to tal#tD the farmer and this !oy.&

In the farmhouse #ithen$ the farmer$ 'er"in Pe#$was sitting in a !rown armhair that was so old the insideswere falling out. Two uniformed polie onsta!les werestanding with their !a#s to a large$ old-fashioned oo#er. Ayoung man of around se"enteen or eighteen was seated on awooden hair$ resting an el!ow on a !ig s+uare ta!le onwhih stood se"eral empty mugs$ half a !ottle of mil# and a!ag of sugar. No!ody was spea#ing.

Although it was warm enough inside$ the impressionwas Df a house gi"en the minimum of attention. There wereno urtains at the windows$ and the anient$ worn arpet wasa#ed with mud. /piders& we!s hung in dar# orners. Theone-white walls and eiling were dusty and yellow with the

stain of to!ao smo#e. O!"iously the need of the farm andits animals ame !efore those of housewor# and homedeoration.

&6ood e"ening$ sir$& %ane said to the farmer. &I&m ;CI%ane Honeywell. I&m afraid we ha"e to as# you a few

+uestions.&

&1es$& said 'er"in Pe# in a dull "oie. &6o ahead.&


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&ell$ an you tell us what happened$ please& sheas#ed +uietly.

&I was asleep$& 'er"in !egan$ as if he wasunaustomed to spea#ing. &6one to !ed early. =am!ingtime$ see Ne,t thing I #now is the !oy there$ 0rian$ he&spulling at me$ shouting some nonsense a!out the polie.Couldn&t understand what he was on a!out. Anyway$ I had toget up$ go outside with him. Too# me up into the field withthe tru# in.&

&It is your pi#-up tru#$ then$ sir& Pete interrupted. &Isthat where you normally #eep it&

&Often lea"e it in the field o"ernight if it&s got feed inthe !a#. /a"es time in the morning$&

&hat time was this& %ane as#ed.

&A!out :.). Couldn&t understand what he wanted so Istarted to shout at him. He&s not +uite all there$ you #now.Ne"er #now what he&ll do ne,t sometimes.& 'er"in touhedthe side of his head with his forefinger. &e got to the pi#-up and he pointed at the !a#. At the !eehi"e. *irst I thoughthe 2ust wanted to show me the !eehi"e and I thought$terrifi$ wa#es me up 2ust for this. Then I realised he wantedme to loo# under the sheet. Pulled it !a# and there was apair of feet sti#ing out. I tell you$ it ga"e me a fright. Ain&t

ne"er seen a dead !ody !efore. I mean$ I seen plenty of deadanimals$ !ut not a human !eing. Tried pushing the feet$ 2ustin ase it was an old tramp or someone$ ha"ing a sleep. 0ut


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they didn&t mo"e. They loo#ed li#e a woman&s feet$ +uitesmall$ you #now$ neat-loo#ing.

&Anyway$ 0rian said he&d wanted another !u#et andame out here to get one from the pi#-up. I said we&d !etterget the polie and he said ould he dial :::$ li#e they do onTF.&

&;id you ha"e a loo# at the woman&s fae& %ane as#edhim. &1ou&re right$ it is a woman.&

&No. ;idn&t want to$& 'er"in said flatly.

&;o you ha"e any idea who she might !e&

&None at all$& he replied. &;on&t #now who she is or howshe got there. There&s only me li"es here and no-one omes

up here e,ept 0rian and my !rother. He #eeps his !ees outin one of the fields.&

&Her name&s Rose Carter$& Pete said.

&Ne"er heard of her$& said 'er"in.

&ill I !e on TF& as#ed 0rian.

&'ay!e$ son. 1ou did well$& Pete told him. &ell done.&0rian loo#ed pleased.

&;id you see anyone here today$ 0rian& %ane as#ed.

&1es$ I saw 'r Pe#.& 0rian seemed surprised !y the+uestion.


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&No$ I mean$ anyone else& %ane said. 0rian seemed to!eome suddenly shy. He loo#ed at the floor.

&hat time did you ome to wor# today$ 0rian& %anetried again. 0rian loo#ed at 'er"in.

&He&s no good at telling the time$& 'er"in e,plained.&He starts wor# at a!out fi"e in the afternoon. ;oes 5 p.m. to5 a.m. =i"es 2ust up the road with his grandfather$ old 'r'illman.& He must ha"e !een the old man I spo#e to$ %anethought.

Outside a "ehile ould !e heard arri"ing. %ane stoodup and went out of the house to wath the !ody$ nowontained in a !ody !ag$ !eing loaded into the !a# of theunderta#ers ar and ta#en away to the mortuary for a

postmortem.

*rom !ehind her Pete murmured$ &ell$ this is yourfirst ma2or inident$ ma&am.&

&I&m aware of that$ than# you$ *ish$& %ane said sharply. &Iwant an inident room set up immediately$ with e"eryone inthe department in"ol"ed. e may need to all in some helpfrom the other departments. I want e"eryone there at 3 a.m.on the door.&


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CHAPTER *IFE

The investigation begins

The ne,t morning$ the CI; offie was eletri withe,itement. hen %ane arri"ed 2ust !efore 3 a.m.$ peoplewere gathered together in small groups$ or else rushing allaround with piees of paper and answering endlesslyrinnging phones. 1ou&d thin# there had ne"er !een a good

lider !efore$ %ane thought to herself as Pete wal#ed inthrough the open offie door.

&6ood morning$ ma&am$& he said$ all smiles despite hisand her tired appearane. He needed a sha"e and there weredar# shadows !elow his eyes.

&I&d appreiate it if you would #no# !efore you omein$ Pete$& %ane said. &E"en if you ha"e !een up all night.&

&/orry$ ma&am$& he said. &Can you ome into CI; nowe&"e had to !oo# a news onferene for :.) as the loal

media ha"e somehow got hold of the story already.&

&O>$ we&ll tal# to the team first$ then I&ll deal with thepress$& %ane said. &=et&s go.&

In the rowded CI; offie$ people had found seats

where"er they ould$ on hairs and ta!les. E"eryone wahed%ane e,petantly as she wal#ed o"er to a large white!oard atone end of the untidy room.


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&Tal# us through what we&"e got so far$ will you$ Pete&she instruted him.

&O>$ well$ !esides the I; on the !ody$ not a lot as yet.IEO postmortem results should !e in around midday. 'rPe# says he left his pi#-up in the field at a!out G.) p.m.yesterday$ !efore the lad arri"ed. And he ga"e us his!rother&s name and address8 a 'r %a# Pe#. =i"es at (llford Terrae$ Pilton. 'arried$ no hildren. or#s at HunterProduts in Pilton.&

&hat a!out the /OCOs They get anything&;eteti"e /ergeant Penny >ingdom spo#e up.

&/ome fingerprints off the pi#-up tru# and the!eehi"e$ whih they&re running a omputer he# on now$&

Pete said. &Plus +uite a lot of !its and piees we an run;NA he#s on.&

&Right$ then$& %ane said. &e need to get as muh!a#ground as we an. ;id Rose Carter wor# ho wereher friends hat do the neigh!ours #now a!out her hen

was the last time she was seen and where hat was shedoing !efore she died and why 1ou #now the stuff$ I hope.&

%ane wathed as Pete wrote on the white!oard all the+uestions that she had 2ust listed. &%ust so we don&t forgetanything$& he said. /he loo#ed at him with raised eye!rows.

&It&s a while sine any of us ha"e had to do this$ you #now$&he said$ defensi"ely.


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&'m$ I an see that$& %ane said. &Anyway$ when I&"espo#en to the 2ournalists$ I&m off to Chittleham *arm again.I&d li#e to loo# around in daylight.&

&/hall I ome along too& Pete as#ed.

&No. I&d li#e you to stay and loo# after things here$& %anereplied.

;idn&t he thin# she ould handle 'r Pe#$ or what

&ould you li#e a dri"er$ 2ust in ase&

&In ase what Oh all right$ I suppose I might get lost inthe depths of the ountryside and you might ne"er see meagain$& %ane said aidly. In fat$ it would pro!a!ly !e +ui#erto ha"e someone with her who #new the way. &Tony$ you

ome with me$ please.&

&;on&t forget your !oots$& Pete added with a grin. Awa"e of laughter sounded in the room.

? ? ?

Chittleham *arm$ ;C Tony Reilly par#ed the poliear while %ane got out and wal#ed up to the uniformedpolieman standing guard outside the farmhouse. There wasno sign of the !la# and white sheepdog today.

&'r Pe#&s out in the fields$ ma&am$& the polieman told%ane.


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Inside the house was deathly +uiet and the large farm#ithen did not loo# any !etter in daylight than it had atmidnight. If anything$ it was e"en more dirty and untidy. Onthe shelf a!o"e the oo#er there were some photos in dusty

frames of sheepdogs and pri9e sheep. Among them was aphoto of a small group of people8 'er"in loo#ing a!out tenyears younger. And the others were presuma!ly his motherand father and !rother

As %ane was studying the photos$ the door opened

suddenly and 'er"in ame in.

&Can I help you& he said in an unfriendly "oie.

&Oh$ hello$ I was here last night$& %ane said. &Perhapsyou don&t remem!er me&

&hat do you want&

&I&d li#e to loo# round a !it$ if you don&t mind$& %anesaid.

&;o I ha"e a hoie& 'er"in growled. &hy did that

woman ha"e to lie down and die in my tru# I tell you$ it&snot funny. 6ot enough to do.&

&I&m afraid some!ody #illed her$& %ane said.

&Oh$& he said. &;id they&

&Can you tell me what you did during the dayyesterday& %ane as#ed him.


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&No different from any other day. ent into 0u,ton fora few !its and piees from the agriultural supplies shop inthe morning. /pent the afternoon leaning sheep&s feet$feeding the animals$ he#ing the lam!s. As usual.&

&as anyone else here&

&No. I ha"en&t got an ali!i$ if that&s what you mean.&'er"in stared out of the dusty window. %ane wathed hislarge$ wor#-roughened hands$ whih were playing with apiee of yellow string and some small ru!!er !ands. His faewas reddened !y the wind and rain$ his hair greying anduntidy. He was pro!a!ly in his forties !ut he ould ha"e!een fifty$ she thought. /he had not understood !efore thatfarming was suh a hard life. /he !eame aware that he wasunomforta!le in her presene. 0ut then he must ha"e

realised he was a suspet.

&Is that your !rother %a#& %ane as#ed$ pointing to thefamily photo on the shelf.

&1es$& replied 'er"in.

&How often do you see him&

&Couple of times a month$ usually. He omes out atwee#ends to see to his !ees. It&s his ho!!y.&

&hat&s his 2o! e,atly& %ane as#ed.

&Oh$ the ompany ma#es agriultural produts. 0ut$ totell you the truth$ I&m not e,atly sure what it is %a# does.&


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&ould you mind showing me around& %ane as#ed.

=ea"ing Tony Reilly at the house$ %ane and 'er"inwal#ed down the muddy lane to the farmyard.

&This is the sheep shed$ where the lam!s and ewes are$&'er"in said$ leading %ane into a large$ ugly$ metal-roofed!uilding on one side of a onrete yard.

Inside$ the sound of the sheep !leating !eamesuddenly deafening as they aught sight of 'er"in$ who

usually !rought their food. All %ane ould see was an armyof woolly oats pushing and fighting to !e the first to reahwhat they must ha"e hoped was a food !u#et. In one innershe notied fi"e or si, sheep separated from the rest !y alarge sheet of metal. They seemed to ha"e open wounds on

their faes and their heads hung low.


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%ane wanted to go !a# to the murder site$ so theywal#ed up the hill to the pi#-up. *rom this high point therewas a good "iew o"er the whole farm$ and in se"eral miles%ane ould see lam!s running and 2umping while their

mothers fed peaefully on the rih grass. E"ery now Hidagain one lam! would !leat an,iously. A ewe would hii herhead and answer and the lam! would go running inwardsher.

=oo#ing around$ %ane notied in the distane a field

miuaining twenty or so of the same wooden !eehi"es shehad seen the night !efore !y the pi#-up.

&Those must !e your !rother&s !ees$& she said.

&1es$& 'er"in said. &He rents that field off me. 0ut it&s

not worth it$ as far as I&m onerned. Those !loody !ees ofhis are dangerous. 6o near them and they&ll ome after you$+ui# as anything.& He ru!!ed his arm.

/omething a!out the plae made %ane unomforta!le.Perhaps it was the idea that somewhere in this !eautiful

piture-postard sene a #iller was hiding. Perhaps it wassomething a!out 'er"in himself. /he ould not deide if hewas telling the truth.

On the way !a# to the house she said$ &There&ll !e ateam oming out shortly to searh the area for e"idene.&

&%ust as long as they shut the gates$& 'er"in growled.


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&That photo I was loo#ing at - I&d li#e to !orrow itplease. *or our reords.&

&All right$& said 'er"in in an unfriendly "oie$ &if youmust.&


35/133

CHAPTER /I

An ordinary respectable woman

0a# at the polie station$ %ane was eating a heesesandwih in her offie when Pete wal#ed in$ holding somepapers.

&Ah$ you&re here$& he said. &6et anything useful&

&I&"e already as#ed you one to #no# !efore you omein.& %ane said shortly.

&/orry.& There was a !rief silene.

Then %ane said$ &e&ll ha"e to go and see the !rother of'er"in. 0ut.& /he frowned.

&hat 6ot some ideas already&

&No. No$ it&s 2ust that farm ga"e me the reeps. That

'er"in ne"er loo#s me in the eyes when he tal#s ... I don&ttrust him.&

&He might 2ust !e shy. A lot of farmers are. They spendall the days with their animals so they forget how to tal#properly. They lose the power of speeh$& Pete e,plained. He

grinned suddenly. &Espeially when they&re tal#ing to li"eyoung woman.&


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%ane glared at him. &1ou don&t need to ma#e ommentsli#e that$ than# you$& she said.

&'ay!e not$ !ut it&s a fat.&

/he had 2ust opened her mouth to ma#e a suita!leresponse when there was a #no# at the offie door and ;/Penny >ingdom ame in with the postmortem results.

&Than# you$ Penny$& %ane said$ glaning through thereport. &ell$ ause of death was a se"ere !low to the head

with some #ind of !lunt instrument. Pure and simple. Nosuggestion of any #ind of se,ual atta#. Nothing in the!lood. Nothing else at all. An otherwise healthy indi"idual.Time of death was sometime during the afternoon$ !etweensi, and twel"e hours !efore 'er"ins ::: all. A reent

inset !ite$ around the same sort of time$ on the left hand.Pro!a!ly a !ee or wasp sting. hy ant they e"er !e morespeifi&

&'ust ha"e !een a !ee$& Pete said. &It&s too early in theyear for wasps.&

&I meant the time of death$ atually$& %ane said. as theguy !eing deli!erately simple

&hat else Aha7 They found some !its of s#in underthe fingernails. e&ll need a ;NA test done on those. That&s

a!out it. Anyway$ do you ha"e some more information$Pete&


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&ell$& he !egan$ &as we #now$ Rose Carter li"ed in/outh Heasley.& He paused$ loo#ing through his notes.

&1es$ and...& %ane said impatiently.

&%ust a minute$ hold on. Ah$ here we are. /he taughtmaths and statistis part-time at the seondary shool in0u,ton. I&ll "isit the shool this afternoon$ and I&ll also goout to /outh Heasley. Ta#e some people to loo# round herhouse. /ee what else we an find. At the moment$ it loo#s asif she was an ordinary$ respeta!le sort of woman. 0ut who#nows 'ay!e she had a seret life.&

&'ay!e$ Pete. Anything more from forensis$ Penny&

&Only that so far there&s no math on the nationaldata!ase for the fingerprints$& Penny replied.

&/o$ no-one we #now then. O>$ off you go$ and ta#ethis photo with you. As well as all this$ I&"e got to write anoperational order for a ra#-down on ar and house thefts.As I !elie"e I mentioned to you !efore.&

Pete groaned. &Oh that.&

&1es. That. How a!out alling it @Operation asp@&

&Fery amusing$ ma&am$& Pete said as he and Penny wentout of %ane&s offie.


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&How&s it going& /uperintendent 6eorge *ergusonas#ed %ane a little while later as they arried their trays of teaand !isuits to a seat in the polie anteen.

&O>. 0ut it&s early days yet$ sir$& %ane replied. &/hall we!e here It seems Rose Carter was #illed !y a single !low tothe head with something li#e a hammer or an iron !ar. I don&tthin# it&s the wor# of a mentally distur!ed #iller - moreli#ely someone with a more rational moti"e. /he&d alsoreently !een stung !y a !ee.&

&As far as I #now$ !ees sting people who ma#e themangry$& 6eorge said. &And what ma#es a !ee angry is !eingdistur!ed.&

&hih rather suggests that she was wal#ing around

'er"in&s farm$& %ane said. &His !rother #eeps !ees there$aording to 'er"in$ they&re partiularly !ad-tempered. 0utthe +uestion is$ what was she doing there 'er"in insiststhat Rose was a omplete stranger to him.&

&Is 'er"in a suspet& 6eorge as#ed.

&He has to !e$& %ane replied. &0y his own admission$ hehas no ali!i. He was on his own all afternoon. On the otherside$ there&s no o!"ious moti"e. Anyway$ I&ll go and see hislum!er later and Pete *ish should !e !a# soon from RoseCarter&s ottage. Plus$ the team loo#ing o"er the farm may

find something. Hopefully a murder weapon$ at least.&

&ell$ and how is *ish$ then 0eha"ing himself&


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&Oh well$ he&s a !it of a dinosaur !ut he&s all rightreally. Anyway$ now that he&s got a real murder to deal with$he hasn&t got time to annoy me.& %ane grinned. &0ut they&re a!it laid-!a# down here$ aren&t they&

&1ou&re out in the ountry now$ don&t forget$& 6eorgereminded her.

&I&m not allowed to forget it$ either.& %ane laughed.&Oops7 Tal# of the de"il... Pete *ish ame into the restaurantand wal#ed straight to their ta!le. He seemed to !e in ahurry.

&I&m sorry to interrupt$ ma&am$& he said. &I&"e gotsomething you should see immediately. ;o you mind&

&Not at all. E,use me$ sir$& %ane said to 6eorge$ gettingup with her mouth full of !isuit.

They went to the CI; offie$ where ;C Tony Reillyand ;/ Penny >ingdom were sitting at a des# piled highwith papers.

&I thin# we&re really !eginning to get somewhere$ma&am$& Pete !egan$ loo#ing pleased with himself.

&6ood$ let&s hear it then$& %ane said.

&ell$ we went to Rose&s shool in 0u,ton. /he was

well li#ed !y the staff and pupils there and they&re "eryupset. Penny spo#e to a teaher alled *reda /weeney$ whosaid she was +uite lose to Rose. Apparently$ Rose was "ery


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#een on animals and she - that is *reda - thought that she -Rose -&

&6et on with it$ Pete. 6et your pronouns sorted out$&said %ane.

&'y what Oh$ I see what you mean$& said Pete$ slightlyem!arrassed. &Rose had 2oined some #ind of loal animalrights group.&

&;o we ha"e a name& %ane as#ed.

&No$ unfortunately.&

&Also$& Penny !ro#e in$ &*reda ame out with the fatthat Rose had !een ha"ing an affair with a married man$only no one&s supposed to #now a!out it. I as#ed her if she

#new the name and she said that Rose one alled him-&

&'er"in&s !rother&s name is %a#$& o!ser"ed %ane.

&Pete raised his eye!rows. &1ou wait$& he said. &There&smore. At /outh Heasley$ Tony and I spo#e to the ouple in

44u - house ne,t door to Rose&s. =i#e e"eryone else$ they aresho#ed !y what&s happened. Can&t !elie"e it. They said Rosewas a wonderful woman who did a lot of wor# in theommunity. O!"iously "ery respeta!le. Anyway$ I as#edthem if they&d notied if she&d had many "isitors. Anyoneregular. In small "illages$ you #now$ e"eryone #nows whate"eryone else is doing.&


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&;o they really How useful$& %ane remar#ed. &herewould we !e without your e,pert #nowledge of rural ha!its&

He loo#ed offended. &I&m trying to !e helpful here.&

&6o on.&

&ell$ I said she pro!a!ly had a seret life$ didn&t I Theneigh!ours said that a man used to ome to "isit herregularly$ a!out one a wee#$ sometimes more$ usually in theafternoons. They didn&t #now who he was$ !ut he was well

dressed$ usually wore a suit. 'iddle-aged. ;ro"e a white*ord Esort estate with J registration num!er plate./ometimes they&d wa"e to him !ut he always ated as hedidn&t notie. e showed them the photo with %a# in it$ andthey said they thought it was the same man.&

&Time to pay a "isit to 'r %a# Pe#$ then.& %ane said.

&1es$ ma&am. /ure is$& Pete said$ doing his Te,an aent.6od$ I hate it when he does that$ %ane thought.

Penny said$ &e also got this from Rose&s house.& /he

held up a diary.

&ell done$& %ane said. &I&d li#e to loo# at that. Right$then$ it&s nearly 5.) now. %a# Pe#&ll !e finishing wor#soon$ I imagine. e&d !etter go straight to his home.&

&Oh yes$ so he will. 6ood idea$& Pete said.

&Than#s$& said %ane aidly.


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%ust then ;C 'aggie Pinom!e 2oined the group.&Thought you might li#e to #now they&"e found a !i#e$& sheannouned.

&here& /e"eral people said at one. &On 'er"inPe#&s farm$ some way from the house.&

&Any sign of a murder weapon$ 'aggie& %ane as#ed.

&No$& said 'aggie. &Not yet.&


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CHAPTER /EFEN

The beekeeper

At a!out K.G5 p.m. a polie ar pulled up outside thesu!ur!an house in Ilford Terrae$ Pilton$ in the dri"eway ofwhih a white J registration *ord Esort estate ar waspar#ed. %ane and Pete wal#ed up to the front door throughthe tidy garden planted out with sweet-smelling roses and

soft grass.

The door opened almost !efore they had #no#ed$ anda tall man in his middle forties stood loo#ing at them. Hewas dressed formally in a suit and tie$ and his dar# hair$greyin at the sides$ framed a fae that was oldly handsome.

&6ood e"ening$ sir. CI;$& %ane said$ as she and Petedisplayed their identity ards.

&1es& The man did not mo"e.

&Are you 'r %a# Pe#$ !rother of 'er"in Pe# ofChittleham *arm&

&I am.& The "oie was autious and not "ery weloming.

e ha"e a few +uestions to as# you. As you may #now$

hunman was found dead on your !rother&s farm yesterday.'ay we ome in for a !it& %ane as#ed.


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&lt&s a little inon"enient. I ha"e to go out soon$& %a#Pe# said. &0ut... well$ all right$ !ut I don&t #now what help Ian gi"e you.& He showed them into a well-furnished$omforta!le room$ filled with o!2ets from foreign outinies8

Persian arpets$ Ara!i offee pots$ Chinese "ases andpaintings. The ontrast with his !rother&s house was stri#ing- the furniture was polished$ the ushions smoothed$ therewas no dust to !e seen$ and a sweet smell of flowers filledthe air.

&1ou ha"e some lo"ely things here$& %ane remar#ed$loo#ing around.

&Oh$ olleted on my tra"els$& %a# Pe# replied.

&;oes your wor# ta#e you a!road$ then&

&It used to. Not any more unfortunately.&

&;o you mind me as#ing what you do& %ane en+uired.

&I wor# at Hunter Produts. In the researh department$&%a# told her. &e ma#e agriultural hemials and animal

"aines. Not "ery e,iting$ I&m afraid.&

&Nie painting$& Pete said$ pointing to a largewaterolour of an attrati"e woman on the wall. &Is that yourwife&

&ell$ it is$ as a matter of fat$ !ut I don&t #now what ithas to do with you. ;o you ha"e something partiular to as#me& %a# sounded impatient.


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&1es$ sir.& %ane frowned at Pete. &;o you #eep !ees onyour !rother&s farm&

&1es. It&s a ho!!y of mine. I an&t #eep them here as wedon&t ha"e a !ig enough garden. ;o I understand that youthin# 'er"in&s onneted with this horri!le !usiness&

%ane ignored his +uestion. &How often do you "isitChittleham *arm& she as#ed.

&It depends... depends on the time of year and what the

!ees are doing. Not a lot in the winter. 0ut they&re wa#ing upnow$ so a!out one or twie a month$ I suppose$ at themoment.&

&That is your ar outside$ I imagine$ sir& Pete said$indiating the white *ord Esort.

&It is. =oo#$ what&s all this a!out I hope you don&t thin#I had anything to do with it.&

&e ha"e to he# e"erything$ sir$& %ane said. &ouldyou mind telling me where you were yesterday afternoon&

&I was at wor#. 1ou an onfirm that at the fatory.&

&1ou didn&t lea"e the !uilding&

&No$ I was there all the time$ I told you. 1ou an he#

!eause all arri"als and departures of staff and "isitors arereorded.&


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&;id you #now the dead woman$ Rose Carter& Peteen+uired.

*or a moment$ %a# appeared a!out to lose ontrol ofhis emotionless e,terior.

&1es$& he said +uietly.

&How well& %ane as#ed.

&Through my wor#. /he does... I mean she did a !it of

part-time statistial wor# for us so I used to see her fromtime to time to gi"e her the material. ;ata analysis stuff. I&msorry she died in suh...unfortunate irumstanes.& He spo#ewith diffiulty.

&hen did you see her last$ sir& %ane as#ed.

&=ast Thursday$ atually. I went to ollet some figuresfrom her !ut she hadn&t +uite finished the wor#.&

%ust then$ a dar# green '6 sports ar drew up outsidethe house. As the dri"er got out$ %a# said$ &That&s my wife.&

/usan Pe# ame into the front room$ arrying somelarge !ags from loal department stores. =i#e her hus!and$she was elegantly dressed$ gi"ing an impression$ not ofwealth e,atly$ !ut ertainly of !eing "ery omforta!le.;efinitely a mem!er of the towns pri"ileged lasses$ %ane

thought.


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&;arling$ these are the polie. *rom the CI;$& %a#e,plained.

&Oh$ good e"ening$& /usan Pe# said. &I suppose you&rehere !eause of that poor woman on my !rother-in-law&sfarm I heard a!out it on the loal news. How terri!le.&

&1es$ madam$& %ane said. &e&re 2ust going. %ust for thereord$ where were you yesterday afternoon&

&E,use me...& A loo# of alarm appeared on /usan

Pe#&s fae.

&1ou were out shopping$ weren&t you& %a# Pe#addressed his wife. He seemed to want the inter"iew to !eonluded as rapidly as possi!le.

&ell ... yes ... I was$ !ut...& /usan stammered.

&If you&ll e,use us$ Inspetor$& %a# turned to %ane$&we&re due to meet some friends at the theatre "ery soon...&

&Of ourse$ than# you for your help$& %ane said.

%ane and Pete wal#ed down the garden path$ while!ehind them the raised "oies of %a# and his wife ould !eheard$ apparently ha"ing an argument.

&/he&s !een out spending all his hard-earned money$ I

re#on$& Pete said.


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&Possi!ly$& %ane replied$ una!le to stop herself !eingannoyed !y Pete&s typially male remar#. &0ut I don&t thin#we #now all there is to #now a!out 'r and 'rs %a# Pe#yet.&


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CHAPTER EI6HT

A head full of bees

Perhaps it was a rime of passion %ane thought toherself. Perhaps 'er"in was 2ealous of his !rother$ %a#%ane stepped out of the shower$ wrapped a towel round herand went into the #ithen to ma#e some offee. It was a!eautiful morning$ the spring sunshine filled the flat.

&0rea#fast$ %ulian& she as#ed her at$ pouring himsome mil# while he miaowed with pleasure. &hat do youthin#$ %ulian& she said out loud. %ulian dran# his mil#. &Ofourse$ there&s /usan$ his wife$ as well. If she #nows a!outthe affair she would ha"e a moti"e. ;oes she ha"e an ali!i&she as#ed the at.

%ane had spent part of the pre"ious e"ening loo#ingthrough Rose Carters diary. In among the shopping lists$appointments$ reminders to go to the dentist$ dotor and soon were some entries whih needed further in"estigation.%ane had notied$ for e,ample$ that one a month sine lastNo"em!er$ the name of a farm appeared in the diary$ suh as=adywell *arm$


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/ome of the other entries were also interesting$ !utpro!a!ly e,plained !y Rose&s &wor#ing& relationship with%a# Pe#. At least one a wee#$ the initials %P and a time$suh as &(.)& or &G.))&$ had !een written. On the Thursday

!efore Rose died$ the entry read8 %P - .)) 777

There was also the +uestion of the relationship !etweenRose Carter and %a# Pe#. It was shool gossip that Rosehad !een ha"ing an affair$ presuma!ly with %a# Pe#.

/itting in the daily traffi 2am$ she planned the day. /hewould go to %a#&s wor#plae herself to he# out his ali!i$and send Pete or one of the others out to /outh Heasleyagain. Although Rose&s neigh!ours had seen his arregularly$ or a ar li#e his$ had %a# atually !een there on'onday afternoon

After gi"ing instrutions in the CI; offie$ %ane set offfor Hunter Produts. It was situated on an industrial estateon the other side of the ri"er. As usual$ the +ueue of traffiproeeded slowly o"er the !ridge and %ane loo#ed withannoyane again at the !la# hole !y the steering wheel of

her ar.

'ust get that fi,ed sometime$ she thought. /ine herarri"al in Pilton$ there didn&t seem to ha"e !een a spareminute to attend to the little things that were neessary torun her life outside wor#. /he promised herself that when

this ase was o"er$ she would ele!rate !y going out and!uying the !est ar stereo system she ould find.


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At the automati !arrier at the entrane to HunterProduts& ar par#$ %ane spo#e into a mirophone$ &;eteti"eChief Inspetor %ane Honeywell$ Pilton CI;.&

The word &hief& still felt a little strange to her$ !uto!"iously not to anyone else as a faint "oie replied$ &Allright$ madam$& and the !arrier lifted. ;ri"ing in$ she notiedthat se"eral losed-iruit TF ameras were positionedaround the ar par# and high up on the fatory !uilding.

Inside the fatory$ the reeption area was spotlesslylean and there was a hint of hemial in the air. A fo,y-faed female$ half hidden !ehind a high reeption ounter$as#ed %ane$ &Can I help you&

%ane showed her I; and as#ed to spea# to the person in

harge. &This is a murder en+uiry$& she added +ui#ly in asethe woman had any idea of putting her off.

&I&ll see what I an do$& the reeptionist said$ and pi#edup a phone. /he tal#ed +uietly into it for a minute or two andthen told %ane$ &'rs >eane will !e down in a minute. Please

ha"e a seat.& /he gestured in the diretion of a large redleather sofa.

After a!out fi"e minutes$ a tall woman dressed in awhite sil# suit ame through the only door leading from thereeption area.

&%o >eane$ 'anaging ;iretor. hat an I do for you&/he smiled. Her lear !lue eyes were set a little lose


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together in an otherwise attrati"e fae framed !y soft dar#urls. %ane thought they must !e around the same age.

/he shoo# the e,tended hand. &;CI %ane Honeywell$&she said. &I&m loo#ing into the murder inident out atChittleham *arm$ whih you may ha"e heard a!out. I!elie"e Chittleham *arm !elongs to the !rother of one ofyour employees. I wonder if you ould spare me a minute ortwo&

%o >eane loo#ed !riefly at her Role, wath. &I&"e got aouple of minutes$ !ut that&s all$ I&m afraid. How an I help&

&Than# you$& said %ane. &Can you onfirm that 'r %a#Pe# wor#s here&

&He does$& replied %o >eane. &He&s one of our #eypeople. He&s a researh sientist in the animal "ainedepartment.&

&Has he wor#ed here long&

&Oh$ I&m not sure e,atly without he#ing. A few

years. 0efore he ame to us he was with a hemialompany !ased in Afria. I !elie"e they were wor#ing on a"aine for malaria.&

&as 'r Pe# at wor# last 'onday& %ane as#ed.

&As far as I #now. If he went out$ it&ll !e in the reord.I&ll ha"e it !rought down for you.& %o >eane turned to the


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reeptionist and as#ed her to feth a opy of 'onday&sreords.

&ould it !e possi!le for someone to lea"e the !uildingwithout anyone #nowing$ say$ for an hour or two& %aneas#ed while they waited for the reeptionist to return.

&No$ I don&t thin# so. e&re a small ompany here. eall more or less #now what eah other is doing.&

The reeptionist reappeared and handed %ane se"eral

sheets of omputer paper. &1ou #eep "ery areful reords$&remar#ed %ane$ loo#ing through the papers. There was noindiation that she ould see of %a#&s ha"ing left the fatoryafter his arri"al at wor# at 3.G5 a.m. on 'onday.

&ell$ we li#e to #now who omes in and out$&e,plained 'rs >eane.

&ould you mind if I !orrowed the "ideos from thelosed iruit system& %ane as#ed.

&ell...&%o >eane hesitated.

&I&m 2ust interested in the ar par# and the entranes ande,its to the !uilding$& %ane said. &I&ll only need them for (Ghours or so.&

&ell$ O>. I&ll ha"e them sent round to the polie

station$& %o >eane said finally$ with a stiff smile.

? ? ?


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=ater$ as %ane sat at her des# staring at the omputerprint-outs from Hunter Produts on one side of her des# anda half-written operational order for Operation asp on theother$ there was a #no# at the door and Pete ame in.

&1ou #no#ed$ whih is an impro"ement$ !ut you&realso supposed to wait until I say ome in$ you #now$& %aneremar#ed.

&/orry$& said Pete$ not really listening. &I&"e 2ust got !a#Irom /outh Heasley. That family photo$ I showed it toanother of Rose&s neigh!ours$ 'ary 0rady$ who wasn&t athome the first time we went. Not only did she reognise %a#!ut she also saw a white Esort estate outside Rose&s houseearly 'onday afternoon. /he didn&t see the dri"er !ut shewas positi"e it was %a#&s ar. /o$ he&s !een lying to us. That

means he has something to hide. I thin# we&"e got a primesuspet here.&

&Erm... unfortunately for us$ he has a perfet ali!i$& %anesaid. &He was at wor# all afternoon. It&s all in there.& /heindiated the papers on her des#. Pete&s grin hanged to a

loo# of some disappointment. &Anyway$ why would he wantto #ill Rose&

&Easy$& said Pete. &They had an argument$ may!e shesaid he should lea"e his wife$ he lost his temper$ he hit heron the head with... I don&t #now$ a hammer$ then he got rid of

her !ody on his !rother&s farm.&

&hy there&


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&I don&t #now$ people do odd things. Perhaps he had togo there anyway to he# his !ees& Pete soundedunon"ined himself.

&0ut I told you$ he didn&t lea"e the fatory allafternoon$& %ane said.

&Are we sure& Pete as#ed.

&'ore or less !ut I&m going to he# the losed iruitTF "ideos at home tonight. %ust to !e a!solutely ertain.&

&ant any help& Pete offered. %ane loo#ed at him$notiing that his resistane towards her had softened. /hewondered why.

&I don&t thin# so$ than#s.& /he "alued her pri"ay. In any

ase there was a large pile of washing-up in the sin#$ and the!athroom needed leaning$ and last night&s dinner thingswere still on the sitting room ta!le. &0ut if you needsomething to do$ you ould see if you an get some names ofanimal rights groups operating in the area.&

&1es$ ma&am$& Pete said with an ironi smile.

0a# at her flat$ %ane went straight to the fridge. As shehad thought$ there was nothing to eat for dinner. /he triedthe free9er. A fro9en lasagne. That would do. /he put it inthe mirowa"e$ poured herself a large glass of red Rio2awine and settled down in front of the TF to wath se"eralhours of "ideo film of the ar par#s and e,its and entranesat Hunter Produts =td.


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The film ran silently on and on for what felt li#e alifetime. %ane found herself thin#ing that Hunter Produtsseemed to !e "ery seurity onsious. hat were theyworried a!out Industrial spies /he was !eginning to feel

sleepy when suddenly she thought she ould see a figurewho loo#ed li#e %a# Pe# wal#ing aross the ar par#. Theperson was getting into a P registration '6 sports ar. /heplayed the film again$ to !e sure. There was no dou!t a!outit. It was definitely him. The time on the "ideo said 4L.4).Of ourse7 hy hadn&t she thought of that !efore The Pe#s

had two ars. /o$ if %a# Pe# had used his wife&s ar last'onday to go to wor#$ his wife ould ha"e ta#en his ar$ theEsort estate. And the ar had !een seen outside >ose&sottage on 'onday afternoon...

That night %ane slept !adly. One she wo#e$ sweating$

and realised she had !een dreaming. /he had !een runningand running$ through fields and streams$ lim!ing o"er gatesand hedges. On a road a motorist stopped and she got intothe ar. It was Pete.

&Are you all right& he as#ed.

&No$& she answered$ &I ha"e to get away from theswans.& /he loo#ed out of the !a# window and saw$following the ar$ a small !la# loud whih seemed to !egetting larger and larger as it aught up with them. The loudturned out tD !e a swarm of !ees. /he wo#e up when !ees

started appearing inside the ar.


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CHAPTER NINE

The good news and the bad news

At 3.) the ne,t morning$ %ane was sitting in/uperintendent 6eorge *erguson&s offie. Of the two thingsshe needed to disuss with him$ reporting on the Rose Carterase would !e$ she thought$ a fairly easy tas#.

&I thin# we ha"e three possi!le suspets$& %ane told6eorge. &There&s the farmer 'er"in Pe#$ who li"es onChittleham *arm and had plenty of opportunity$ !ut noo!"ious moti"e. Then there&s %a# Pe#$ his !rother$ and hiswife /usan. They !oth ha"e ali!is$ !ut I ha"e the feeling oneof them is hiding something.&

&hat a!out forensi e"idene& 6eorge as#ed.

&ell$ that would pro"ide the #ey$ I thin#$ if we ouldget some ;NA samples$ some hair or s#in. If none of thesuspets will gi"e samples willingly$ we&ll either ha"e to

ma#e some arrests or do something a !it le"er.&

&I&ll lea"e it in your hands$ %ane.& 6eorge smiled at her.

The seond matter was a little more tri#y8 in order toha"e suffiient staff and money for Operation asp$ %ane

needed to get 6eorge&s agreement to a redution in the 9erotolerane ati"ities.


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&The thing is$ sir$& %ane e,plained$ &a lot of ar rime and!urglaries are ommitted !y people from out of town. I&dli#e to try an e,periment for a month or two with some road!lo#s and o!ser"ation teams - 2ust to see what happens$ see

if we an redue the ar rime and !urglaries.&

&ell$ O> then. 6i"e it a try for two months$& 6eorgesaid relutantly. &0ut remem!er$ the pu!li li#e 9erotolerane - it gets the drun#s off the streets for one thing.&

After her meeting with 6eorge$ %ane set off for (Ilford terrM. The green '6 sports ar was outside thehouse.

/usan Pe# ame to the front door and frownedslightly when she saw who her "isitor was.

&I&m sorry to distur! you$ madam$ !ut I need to spea# toyou for a moment$& %ane said. &Can I ome in$ please&

/usan Pe# turned wordlessly and wal#ed !a# intoher #ithen. /he swithed off the radio and loo#ed at %anee,petantly.

&On Tuesday$ you told us you were out shopping thepre"ious afternoon$& %ane !egan.

&That&s right.&

&here did you go&


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@6D the supermar#et$ and may!e one or two otherplaes.&

&here e,atly& %ane insisted.

&I don&t remem!er. I had one or two alls to ma#e.hy&

&;id you use your hus!and&s ar to do these things&%ane as#ed her.

&1es. I always use it when I go to the supermar#et. 1ouan&t get muh in the '6.&

%ane too# a !reath. &'rs Pe#$ why did you "isit RoseCarter last 'onday There&s no point denying it$& she addedas /usan Pe# seemed a!out to protest. &1ou were seen !y

the neigh!ours.& This was not ompletely true !ut it wasworth trying. It wor#ed.

/usan Pe# sat down suddenly$ her head in her handsand her shoulders sha#ing. /he appeared to !e weepingsoundlessly.

&O>.& /he loo#ed up$ tears welling up in her eyes. &Isuppose I ha"e to tell you. I went to see Rose Carter !eauseI was sure that my hus!and was ha"ing an affair with her.They&"e #nown eah other for years$ and shortly after shemo"ed down here a ouple of years ago$ %a# !eame "ery...I don&t #now$ distant towards me. He seemed to !e spendinga lot of time at her house$ wor#ing or so he said. 0ut her


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perfume was on his lothes...& At this point$ the tears startedto run freely down her reddened hee#s.

&I&m sorry$& /usan Pe# said after a little$ managing toreo"er her self-ontrol. &=oo#$ I didn&t #ill Rose. e 2usttal#ed for a !it. /he told me that she had lately made adeision to stop the relationship. Then she rode off on her!i#e saying she had something to do. /he used to ylee"erywhere$ I !elie"e.&

&hat time was this& %ane en+uired.

&A!out p.m.$ I thin#.&

&;id Rose gi"e a reason for !rea#ing off therelationship with your hus!and& %ane as#ed.

&No$& /usan Pe# said. &/he wouldn&t say.& After a pause$she said ner"ously$ &;oes this ma#e me a suspet&

&ell$ 'rs Pe#$ so far it loo#s as if you were the lastperson to see Rose ali"e$& %ane pointed out. &Howe"er$ if youagree to pro"ide a ;NA sample$ we ould ta#e you off the

list.&

&Oh...& /usan Pe# loo#ed alarmed.

&e 2ust ta#e a sample of your sali"a. It&s not painful.I&ll send someone round$ then&

/usan Pe# nodded. &All right$& she murmured.


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???

%ane Honeywell&s team of deteti"es was all presentwhen she wal#ed into the CI; offie a little while later.

&ell$ would you li#e the good news& she as#ed them.&'rs Pe# has agreed to gi"e us a ;NA sample.&

&hat&s the !ad news then& Tony Reilly as#ed.

&The !ad news is that we still ha"e nothing that&s really

any use$& %ane said. &Nothing that adds up to anything. %a#Pee#&s ali!i seems to stand up$ and I don&t really thin# /usanPe#&s a li#ely suspet.& %ane sat down hea"ily at one of thedes#s. &O>$ who&s going to go and get a ;NA sample from'er"in Pe#...&

They were sa"ed from ha"ing to "olunteer !y thetelephone.

&;eteti"e Chief Inspetor Honeywell$& %ane said intothe phone. &hat an I do for you&

&Oh$& a female "oie said. There was a short pause.&


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&ell$ Rose !elonged to our organisation$ PA$ Pro2etor Animal elfare& Elisa /ott e,plained. Her "oie was+uiet and gentle and without the loal aent.

&And what&s that e,atly& %ane as#ed.

&ell$& ame the reply$ &mainly$ we go around loo#ingfor ases of animals !eing !adly treated and reporting them.e do a lot of the legwor# for the R/PCA and... er... it&s alittle ompliated...& The pleasant "oie hesitated.

&%ust tell me a!out Rose$ then$& %ane said.

&O>$& Elisa ontinued. &Eah mem!er in the !ranh isresponsi!le for a partiular area. hat you do is you goround the farms in your area he#ing up that the farmer isloo#ing after his animals properly. Chittleham *arm was inRose&s area and she went there a!out a month ago. /hereported after her "isit that she was worried a!out some ofthe sheep there and that perhaps she should go !a# againsometime. Then I saw her last *riday and she said she wasgoing to go out to Chittleham *arm for another loo#. 'ay!e

the farmer found her and...& Again the "oie paused.

&'s /ott$& said %ane$ &I ha"e to go out to Chittleham*arm in a!out half an hour anyway. ould you li#e to omewith me 1ou ould show me e,atly why your group is soonerned a!out the animals on 'er"in Pe#&s farm.&

&Of ourse$ whate"er you want$& Elisa /ott replied.


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%ane put the phone down and turned to her team. &O>$&she said. &I&ll ha"e a go at persuading 'er"in Pe# to supplya ;NA sample while I&m at the farm. And Pete$ an youorganise the ;NA test for 'rs Pe#$ please&


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CHAPTER TEN

The suspect's got a gun

&How long had Rose !een a mem!er of your group&%ane as#ed Elisa as they dro"e towards Chittleham *arm.

&ell$ not long atually. /ine a!out last Oto!er$ Ithin#. I met her at a party and we got tal#ing. Then one day

she 2ust wal#ed in and said she wanted to !e in"ol"ed.&

&Tell me more a!out PA$& %ane said.

&ell...& Elisa !egan$ a little hesitantly.

&Are you one of these groups whih employ what Iwould all @dou!tful methods@&

&1ou mean illegal /ometimes$ I suppose we&re a littleaggressi"e$& Elisa said. &1ou wouldn&t !elie"e some of thethings that go on. There are puppy farms where they #eep

little dogs in ages in !uildings far away from anywherewith no food or drin# or daylight. e don&t warn anyonewe&re oming so we an ath them doing things to animalswhih they shouldn&t.&

%ane loo#ed +ui#ly from the road to Elisa with some

surprise. The soft "oie had suddenly filled with the passionfelt !y someone for whom the end ompletely 2ustified themeans.


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&1ou mean that you !rea# in& %ane as#ed.

&Er... well$ I shouldn&t say so to you$ I suppose$ !ut yes$we do if we thin# we ha"e to.&

&I didn&t hear that7& %ane told her. &/o is it possi!le thatthe farmer at Chittleham *arm had ne"er seen Rose Carter!efore the afternoon she was #illed&

&1es$ it&s +uite li#ely. e prefer to go in and out without!eing seen.&

%ane wondered how Elisa had learnt her s#ills in this#ind of wor#.

&I was in the army$& Elisa said$ answering %ane&sthoughts. &0riefly.&

At Chittleham *arm$ there was no sign of thesheepdog. %ane deided 'er"in must !e out in the fieldssomewhere.

&All right$& she said to Elisa. &=et&s see if we an find out

what was !othering Rose a!out the sheep.&

&ell$ we won&t miss it if there&s anything wrong$& Elisasaid. &The sheep&ll loo# terri!le. Thin. ool hanging off.They may ha"e wounds on them$ or they may !e lying downand not get up when you go near them.&

They passed the small wooden !uilding in whih'er"in had said there were orphan lam!s. &=et&s ha"e a


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+ui# loo# in here while we&re passing$& %ane said$ openingthe door. &


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an old ar par#ed in the yard. %ane followed !ut stoppedwhen 'er"in pointed the gun at her again.

&;on&t mo"e or I&ll shoot$& he shouted. /he had nooption !ut to wath as he lim!ed into the anient "ehile./urprisingly$ the engine !urst into life and he dro"e +ui#lyaway up the lane.

Elisa$ who had !een e,amining the si# animals morelosely$ reappeared in the yard. &Come on$& %ane shouted.

&I&m going after him.& They ran to %ane&s ar and 2umpedin. At the top of the lane they saw 'er"in turn left down aroad that led towards 0u,ton.

&I #now a short ut$& Elisa said. &6o down this lane. ean ut him off.&

&e need some help$& %ane said$ holding the steeringwheel with one hand while trying to operate her mo!ilephone with the other. The ar was mo"ing rapidly towardsaidith.

&ath out$& Elisa ried. &6i"e me that thing. I&ll do it.1ou wath the road.&

hile Elisa held the mo!ile phone$ %ane sreamed intoit a!o"e the noise of the ar engine8 &I need assistaneurgently. ;on&t as# me to e,plain$ 2ust get some armed arsout here fast. The suspet&s got a gun.& /he told them wherethey were and swithed off the phone.


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The lane was 2ust wide enough for one ar. On eahside was a high !an# with a thi# hedge on top and$ at its!ase$ a dith. The lane twisted and turned$ up and down hillsand it was impossi!le to #now whether or not there was a

"ehile oming in the other diretion. %ane ould not seefurther than a few metres ahead and was a!le to dri"e at only) #ph. At e"ery !end in the road she 2ust hoped for the !est.

ithout warning$ the lane suddenly opened out onto arossroads. 0efore %ane realised what was happening$

'er"in&s ar shot aross the road 2ust in front of them. Toa"oid hitting 'er"in&s "ehile$ she had to !ra#e sharply. Thewheels of the 'a9da hit the stony edge of the lane and thear turned through ninety degrees$ slid sideways and ame toa omplete stop with one front wheel in the dith. The!ottom of the engine was resting on the road surfae while

the other front wheel spun uselessly in the air.

&Are you all right& %ane as#ed Elisa. Elisa nodded. %anethen turned off the engine and ursed$ &0loody hell7& /he gotout to e,amine the ar. As she stared in frustration at theri"er of oil flowing out from underneath the ar$ the sound of

polie sirens suddenly filled the air. They seemed to !eapproahing from all diretions$ inluding 0u,ton$ where'er"in was now headed. %ane realised that there was astrong li#elihood that at least one ar would meet 'er"inhead on$ oming the other way.

%ust then a polie ar appeared on the road that 'er"inhad ome along$ its !lue light flashing and the sirensounding$ %ane wa"ed it down and 2umped in as it slowed.


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&ui#$& she shouted. &He&s gone down there.&

A little further down the road they turned a orner andame aross 'er"in&s ar. It was positioned at an angleaross the narrow lane$ its nose !uried in the high !an#.

&ell$ well$& %ane remar#ed to her dri"er. &=oo#s li#ethey&"e got him.&

0la# mar#s on the surfae of the road showed wherethe ar had slid to a stop. 0y the side of a par#ed polie ar$

a uniformed polie gunman was holding a gun aimed at'er"in&s ar. As %ane wathed$ 'er"in got out$ his sha#inghands held high.


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CHAPTER E=EFEN

The confession

;eteti"e Chief Inspetor %ane Honeywell wal#ed intothe inter"iew room and felt suddenly ertain that the mansitting at the ta!le was the one responsi!le for the death ofRose Carter. There was something a!out the loo# of themusular shoulders$ the way the large rough hands played on

the ta!le$ and the deadness in the unfoussed eyes whihstared !lan#ly towards the floor.

Pete followed her in and stood !ehind her as she too# ahair and faed 'er"in Pe#$ who was aompanied !y alawyer.

&This inter"iew is !eing tape reorded...& %ane repeatedthe re+uired words as she had done so many times !efore. &Iam inter"iewing... would you please say your full name&/he loo#ed at 'er"in and waited.

E"entually 'er"in muttered at the floor$ &'er"in;onald Pe#.&

Then %ane stated the time and date and finished !ysaying$ &This inter"iew may !e gi"en in e"idene if yourase is !rought to trial. 1ou do not ha"e to say anything. 0ut

it may harm your defene if you do not mention when+uestioned something whih you later rely on in ourt.Anything whih you do say may !e gi"en in e"idene.&


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As she spo#e$ %ane was wathing 'er"in losely. Heloo#ed pale$ and sweat appeared on his nose and forehead.

/he !egan her +uestions. &'r Pe#$ when you werearrested earlier$ you refused to e,plain why you threatenedm with a gun. ould you are to tell me now& 'er"in didnot respond.

%ane tried again. &'r Pe#$ I thin# you may ha"e someinformation onerning the death of Rose Carter.& Againthere was no answer. Instead 'er"in suddenly gripped hisarm as if in pain.

&'r Pe#$ you&re in serious trou!le. 1ou will !e hargedwith threatening a polie offier. e will then !e in aposition to ollet a ;NA sample from you$ whih we an

ompare with samples we ha"e ta#en from the sene of therime. If there is a positi"e math$ then you will also !eharged with her murder. It would sa"e e"eryone a lot oftime and trou!le if you would tell us what we need to #nownow.&

'er"in loo#ed at his soliitor$ who nodded. &All right$I&ll tell you what you want.& 'er"in&s "oie sounded rough$li#e !oots wal#ing o"er moorland stones. &I ha"e this temper./ometimes it gets the !etter of me... It was a!out G.) in theafternoon. I was in the shed doing the sheep as usual$ you#now$ feeding and watering and hat. Came outside and

thought I heard someone shout. ent round the side of the!uilding and she was there loo#ing at her hand and ru!!ingit. /he must&"e !een stung !y a !ee or something$ I don&t


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#now. /he said she was going to report me for not loo#ingafter my sheep properly. Told her to get off my land. /he 2ustlaughed at me. I went towards her and she pi#ed up an olda,e that was lying around. /he must&"e thought I was going

to do something to her. I tried to pull the a,e away from her./he was sreaming at me and I went wild. 'y arm was !ad$see.

The ne,t thing I #new I&d got the a,e from her and hither with the side of it. /he fell immediately and was +uiet.

Hadn&t meant to hit her. %ust seemed to lose ontrolsomehow. It was an aident$ really it was. ;idn&t mean todo it...& The words died away.

&6o on$ 'r Pe#$& %ane told him.

&;on&t remem!er too learly$& 'er"in ontinued. &I#new the !oy was oming soon so I&d ha"e to hide her.Thought of the pi#-up tru#$ whih I&d left in the top fieldearlier. Carried her up there and o"ered her with a tarpaulin.And I put an old !eehi"e on the top that was lying a!out inthe field. To stop the tarpaulin !lowing off$ see as going

to ta#e her up to where there&s an old tin mine on the moorlater$ after dar#.&

/weat was !y this time pouring down 'er"in&s ash-oloured fae. He as#ed for some water and dran# it rapidly.%ane !eame aware of a strange$ unpleasant smell oming

from him.

&And what did you do after that& she as#ed him.


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&The !oy arri"ed and we had a lot to do$ with the eweslam!ing and all. =ater I went !a# in the house forsomething to eat and a !it of a sit-down$ !ut I must ha"efallen asleep. The ne,t thing I #now is the !oy is pulling at

my arm saying I had to go outside with him.&

&'r Pe#$ would you please spea# up Now$ are youertain you had ne"er seen Rose Carter !efore& %ane as#ed.

&No$& 'er"in said. &0ut I #now who she is now.& Helaughed in a ra#ed$ !ro#en fashion. &/he&s my !rother&sfany woman$ that&s what. He phoned me the day after theytoo# her away and it was on the loal news. He was upset!eause it was his girlfriend that had !een found on myfarm. Told him he should !e grateful.&

&hat do you mean$ 'r Pe# 6rateful&

'er"in loo#ed onfused for a moment. &I mean ... Imean$ my !rother&s got a wife. It&s not right to arry on withother women$ is it& he stammered.

&I guess you&re right$ 'r Pe#$& %ane said. &Tell me$ if itwas an aident$ why didn&t you all the polie&

&;on&t #now. I pani#ed$ ouldn&t thin# straight. 'yarm was gi"ing me trou!le$ see$ and I&d !een up all the night!efore with the sheep. /&pose I thought that no-one had seen

me$ no-one would #now. /eemed easier to get rid of the!ody$ less trou!le...&

&here is the a,e now&


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&At the !ottom of the hole where I throw dead lam!sand that #ind of thing.& 'er"in fell silent. He gripped his armand ga"e a groan of pain. %ane realised suddenly that theman was pro!a!ly +uite ill. His eyes were o"er-!right and he

was plainly fe"erish. He stared up at her and she saw in hiseyes the same e,pression as she had seen in his si# sheep./he didn&t #now if it was the loo# of a trou!led onsieneor of fe"er. Or !oth.

&'r Pe#$ are you feeling all right&

&No$ as it happens. Can&t stand this pain in my armmuh longer$& he whispered.

'er"in&s lawyer glaned at %ane and opened his mouth!ut she spo#e first. &All right then$ we&d !etter stop for a !it

so a dotor an ta#e a loo# at you$& she said.

&ell$ that was all rather strange$& %ane remar#ed toPete a little while later$ after the polie dotor had e,amined'r Pe#. The dotor onfirmed that he was indeed not wellenough to !e +uestioned and arranged for him to !e admitted

to the loal hospital.

&hat do you mean& Pete as#ed.

&ell$ he&s o!"iously +uite ill for one thing. 0ut that&snot what I mean$ really$& %ane said. &*rom what he says he

has an unontrolla!le temper and he&ll use "iolene$ and he&s+uite prepared to throw a dead person into a hole li#e one ofhis sheep. 1et he disappro"es of his !rother ha"ing an affair.The man has a rather twisted sense of right and wrong.&


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&=isten$& Pete said. &*armers wor# with animals. They&reused to "iolene. Nature is "iolent.


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&1ou don&t need to worry a!out that$ either. It&s alreadyin the garage for our mehanis to loo# at$& Pete smiled. %aneloo#ed at him in some surprise. How thoughtful of him toha"e arranged that for her.

???

It was well after K o&lo# when %ane ordered a redwine in the pu! and found a ta!le. Pete followed !ehind herwith a large glass of !eer.

&Er...& Pete !egan as they sat down. &This ase$ ma&am.It&s #ind of hard for me to say this !ut I&m impressed with theway you&"e handled it. 1ou #now$ I was hoping for your 2o!myself$ so I wasn&t too pleased when they ga"e it to someoneelse$ espeially...&

&Espeially what& %ane said$ #nowing what he wouldsay. /he ould read him li#e a !oo#.

&ell$ you #now we&re a !it old-fashioned aroundhere...&

&And&

&And well$ I guess I shouldn&t say this #ind of thingthese %ays$ !ut I really didn&t thin# it was a woman&s 2o!.0ut$ um$ I an see I was wrong. Pre2udied... & There was apause in the on"ersation.

&here&s a good plae to get a ar stereo& %ane saidsuddenly.


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He smiled at her$ showing a row of e"en white teeth.&ell$ as it happens I #now someone with a shop. If youneed ad"ie on stereos$ you an rely on me...& He was learlyrelie"ed to !e tal#ing a!out a familiar su!2et.

%ane loo#ed at him losely for the first time sine theyhad had their differene of opinion last 'onday morning.

He was +uite attrati"e$ really. He had a nie smile anda pleasant fae$ though he somehow reminded her of areptile. Perhaps it was the slightly hea"y eyelids. Also heould do with losing a !it of weight.

&1ou must !e 2o#ing$& she e,laimed. &Rely on you I&das soon rely on a

Documents

Deadly Harvest-Carolyn Walker