Page 38 of A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3)

TWENTY-SEVEN

Feeling increasingly shaken by what had just taken place, Ally was glad of Ross’s supporting arm around her.

He, too, looked a little shell-shocked, but neither of them was as badly affected as poor Morwenna, and even Penelope’s stiff upper lip appeared to be a tad wobbly.

Ally realised that neither of her remaining guests were in any fit state to drive south that afternoon, particularly Morwenna.

If Morwenna planned to go all the way to Penzance in one go, it would certainly take her a good twelve hours because Penzance was as far away from Locharran as it was possible to get without falling into the English Channel.

‘You are both staying another night,’ Ally instructed them firmly, ‘and if you feel strong enough, you can set off tomorrow.’

Neither of them argued, just thanked her profusely.

‘I shared that room with her!’ Morwenna kept repeating, still in shock and disbelief. ‘And she had killed two women !’

‘Well, just be grateful you weren’t the third!’ Penelope snapped, plainly considering this remark to be of some comfort – which, of course, it wasn’t – and caused Morwenna to start wailing again.

‘And they’ve taken my phone !’ Morwenna added, blowing her nose.

Filming the funeral for her ex-husband, she was the only person to have captured the incident, and Amir had wanted a copy for the records, promising her that he’d return it later in the day.

Ally was beginning to wonder just how much Morwenna’s ex-husband – whose desire to see Jodi again was the reason she was here in the first place – was really going to enjoy watching this horrendous video from his hospital bed.

The four Rigbys – weren’t George and Brigitte now really Rigbys too? – approached. Brigitte gave Ally a big hug first. ‘Thank you so much, Ally, for everything! I still can’t get my head round what’s just happened. Au revoir !’ Her eyes were full of tears.

George gave her a bear hug too and added, ‘Thank you for your help in all this, Ally. I now know who my real parents were, even my father, who was just a lad in her class in school. Sadly he died in a motorbike accident a couple of years later. I’m not going to try to contact any of that family.

No point now. But we’ll be coming up here more often now to see my uncle ! And we’d love to see you again.’

Even Rigby himself was in hugging mood. ‘Thank you, Ally,’ he said. ‘Thank you for everything, and particularly for telling Kandahar about my relationship to Jodi. It was the wisest decision, and now I can have some closure on my sister Joanne’s tragic death.’

As they were making their way towards their car, Desdemona joined them.

‘At least,’ she said sadly, ‘poor Jodi has ended up in this peaceful spot where I can come from time to time with some flowers.’

‘It’s certainly peaceful now,’ Ally agreed, looking around at the damp, windswept moor.

‘So that murdering guest of yours turned out to be Harper’s ex-wife?’ Desdemona asked as they walked towards where their vehicles were parked.

‘Yes, but we were unaware of that because she registered everywhere in her maiden name,’ Ally said, ‘and she certainly gave no clue. Didn’t talk about her personal life at all.’

Desdemona frowned. ‘Did I tell you that Jodi came to see me on the day she arrived in Locharran?’

‘No, you didn’t,’ Ally said, not entirely surprised. Desdemona wasn’t one to share her secrets if she didn’t have to.

‘She stayed for about an hour and we had quite a chat. According to what Jodi told me, Harper left his wife about twenty-five years ago. Wouldn’t you think she’d have got over it by now?’

‘They never divorced?’ Ross asked as he unlocked his car.

‘No,’ Desdemona replied, ‘she refused to divorce him. Not that Jodi was bothered because she wasn’t divorced either.’

‘So, the only person really affected by this was Millie,’ Ally said.

‘But Harper isn’t dead, thankfully. Millie came up here purely to get rid of both him and Jodi, but had to kill Joyce too, most likely because poor Joyce found her passport or some item with her married name on it.

’ And Morwenna might well have been next , she thought.

‘I’m going to see Hamish and meet his boys now,’ Desdemona said as she opened the door of her old Land Rover and, after folding up the pink umbrella, climbed into the driving seat. ‘I only hope that woman swings for what she’s done!’

With that, Desdemona did a three-point turn, scattering mud in every direction, and was gone.

Back at the malthouse, the cases were dragged upstairs again, with only Millie’s standing in isolation near to the door until Amir appeared to pick it up later, as promised.

Ross had taken over and ushered them all into the sitting room to recover, offering tea, coffee, wine, whisky or whatever they fancied.

Everyone wanted tea, except for Penelope of course, who wanted ‘coffee with a good shot of brandy in it’.

‘I wish now I’d knocked her right out!’ Penelope said, taking a large gulp of her coffee. ‘If only I’d known…’

‘If only any of us had known,’ Ally remarked.

‘Yes, but I could perhaps have saved that Harper fellow too,’ Penelope continued. ‘If only I’d hit her harder.’

‘Then she might never have been caught,’ Morwenna said.

‘I think Detective Inspector Kandahar had his suspicions,’ Ally said. ‘He must have known, of course, that Millie’s real name was Harper. It just seems so sad that a third person had to suffer. At least she didn’t kill him.’

‘ Yet ,’ said Penelope ominously. ‘There’s no guarantee he’ll survive.’

‘We’ll have a takeaway Italian tonight from Concetti’s,’ Ross interrupted. ‘Cannelloni OK?’

‘Yes, fine,’ Penelope confirmed.

At that moment, the front doorbell rang, and there was Amir. He’d come to collect Millie’s suitcase, to return Morwenna’s phone, and to tell them that Harry Harper was now in hospital and expected to make a full recovery.

‘He had no idea that Millie was there,’ Amir said, ‘so cleverly was she disguised. And now Millie herself is already in a police cell and is unlikely to ever be free again. She’s confessed to us that yes, she did kill Jodi, but that hadn’t been her intention, but she did plan to harm her physically or confront her in some way.

Then she and Jodi were in the bathroom at exactly the same time that afternoon, resulting in an altercation, during which Jodi sneered at her, causing Millie to go completely haywire and strangle her.

Not premeditated perhaps, but murder whichever way you look at it.

’ He studied Ally for a moment. ‘I must congratulate you on your quick thinking and action, which saved Harper’s life.

More than ever now, I look forward to working with you in the future. ’

After the women returned upstairs, the doorbell rang once more, and there was the earl, bearing a bottle of his finest malt whisky.

‘I’ve just heard the ghastly news,’ he said. ‘Desdemona called in on her way back from Brodale.’

‘Yes, she told me she would,’ Ally replied.

‘Well, I thought this might provide some comfort.’ He deposited the bottle on the kitchen table.

‘Thank you so much, Hamish,’ Ally said. ‘This is more than generous of you.’

‘Life has not exactly been dull for you, has it, since you came to live in this neck of the woods?’ Hamish said to Ally with a rueful grin. ‘But let’s hope there are no further incidents like this.’

‘Why don’t you and Magda come down and join us for a Concetti takeaway tonight?’ Ross asked.

Hamish rolled his eyes, smiling. ‘I’m afraid Magda’s too busy. She’s walking around, organising the kitchen, with two baby slings attached, and helping to make some concoction for tonight’s supper. But why don’t you both come up and lunch with us tomorrow? Twelve noon, for lunch at one, what-ho ?’

‘Thank you, Hamish, that would be lovely.’ She looked at Ross, who nodded. ‘How are the babies?’

‘Oh, incredible. Magda carries them around in those sling things, one on each side.’ He sighed. ‘Life has changed, rather – but it’s wonderful, of course.’

The cannelloni was delicious, and Penelope remarked about how similar – and yet so different – this evening was to when they’d first arrived, two weeks previously, and had eaten pasta in the malthouse kitchen.

‘You and I,’ she said to Ally, ‘are the only two from that dinner who are still here. Poor Joyce has gone, bloody Millie is off to jail, Jodi’s six feet under, Brigitte’s in Inverness and Morwenna was still at the Craigmonie that first night.

’ She turned to Ross. ‘And you weren’t here either! ’

They all drank wine, they all relaxed and they all went to bed early, either to sleep soundly – Penelope and most likely Ross too – or to toss and turn and relive the day’s events – probably Morwenna and very likely Ally.

When it came to it though, Ally did sleep deeply, due in no small part to exhaustion – and relief that this incident was finally over.

Breakfast was a subdued affair, without much conversation.

Both women wanted an early breakfast at eight so that they could get on the road.

Morwenna was going to see her ex in Wales and drive back to Penzance the following day.

She had a lot to tell him, and Penelope had a lot to tell her neighbours, her sons and the local paper.

‘They frequently ask me for some input,’ she said airily.

‘And, boy, haven’t I got some input this month! ’

There was more hugging and more tears as they both finally headed towards their cars, Ross gallantly carrying the suitcases and helping stow them away. There followed much waving and tooting as Penelope and Morwenna drove their cars down towards the village, and eventually to the road south.

Before they went back inside, Ally looked around at the stunning view.

The sky was clear today, and she could see right down beyond the river and the grey stone buildings in the village.

She could even see lambs frolicking in the field on the far side.

She realised, again, just how much she really loved it here.

Looking up at the heather-clad hill leading to the castle, she said, ‘Well, now we have lunch with Hamish and Magda to look forward to.’

‘And then,’ said Ross, ‘a lovely, quiet evening.’

‘Oh yes,’ Ally agreed, ‘a lovely, quiet evening. Thank goodness the events of the past fortnight are over, and yet I have a feeling it isn’t entirely over.’

‘What do you mean?’ Ross asked.

‘Well, I think I can almost guarantee that at least one of the literary ladies will be writing the entire episode into a book.’ She smiled.

‘Bound to be a bestseller then!’ said Ross. He looked at her anxiously. ‘After all this, I hope you don’t have any regrets about coming to live in Locharran?’

‘None at all,’ Ally assured him, taking his hand. ‘None at all.’

* * *

If A Very Bookish Murder had you flipping the pages late into the night, you’ll love Ally’s next puzzling case!

In Murder at the Highland Games , a fun day out turns fatal when a competitor at the Locharran Highland Games dies in the middle of tossing the caber.

Ally’s first on the scene, and first to spot that this was no accident, this was murder!

Can she uncover the truth, or will this game be her last?

Get it here!