Free Framed in Cornwall by Janie Bolitho Page B

hand.
    ‘Don’t.’ He jerked it away as if she’d struck him. ‘Don’t. Just leave me alone.’
    Startled, she drew back. Peter had never spoken to her in such a way.
    ‘Oh God,’ he muttered as he staggered to his feet. ‘Oh, God, what have we done?’ All the guilt rose up. ‘We never went to see her, she hardly knew her grandchildren.’
    No, Peter, what have I done? Gwen thought, ignoring his outburst. Visiting her more often wouldn’t have prevented what had occurred on Thursday. ‘Peter, wait.’ Gwen watched in horror as he left the house, slamming the door behind him. It was the first time he had rebuffed her and it hurt all the more because her tactility had not been sexual. Suddenly the future was uncertain. This was a time she should be sharing with her husband but it seemed he did not need her.
     
    ‘Is anything the matter?’ Louise Hinkston whispered to her husband as she served the cheese course after dinner. They had guests again. Louise was very fond of entertaining and Bradley could usually be relied upon to ensure they were entertained. He had a fund of amusing anecdotes but he had been quiet throughout the meal.
    He winked at her but did not reply. At the time, perhaps because of the influence of his surroundings, the oddly captivating atmosphere of a county where anything seemed, and often was, possible, he had not given much thought to the requests made of him. Only when he was back in familiar territory did he start to feel concerned. Bradley was not a man to worry unduly, his philosophy was that problems were simply there to be solved. Monday would be time enough to sort it out. And sorted out it must be. He was still unsure what Mrs Pengelly’s motives had been and he could not afford to damage his reputation. What had happened could not be undone. He hadn’t wanted to hear all the details but she did not spare him. If they find out, if they find out, he kept thinking.
    ‘Bradley?’ Louise was talking to him with her eyes, she was good at that. The message was, we have guests. Feeling more than one pair of inquisitive eyes upon him he forced himself to grin and began to charm his dinner guests.
    Louise relaxed visibly and got up to bring in the coffee and brandy.
    On Sunday he and Louise had lunch with their son and his wife who had just produced her second baby. It did not seem appropriate to closet himself in their library and make long-distance telephone calls when he was expected to make a fuss of the new child, but there were certain things he needed to verify. In the long run a weekday was better, he decided as Louise unobtrusively squeezed his arm. The bundled-up baby was passed to him. He smiled fondly at his grandson, wishing he had listened more carefully to what Mrs Pengelly had muttered as she had unwrapped newspaper from around a porcelain figurine. And how had a woman like that come to possess so many valuable items? The baby started to cry. Temporarily Bradley was distracted.
     
    DI Jack Pearce decided to speak to each member of the Pengelly family. Just a casual chat, a few simple questions as to why Mrs Pengelly might have taken her own life. Although he usually trusted Rose’s sixth sense, it seemed more likely that Dorothyhad decided to end her life before she could no longer manage on her own. Rose had said her eyesight was failing. But she wasn’t ill, Jack reminded himself. The pathologist had been surprised at how fit she had been. Martin was a strange boy and he drank. No, if alcohol had made him violent he’d have hit her or strangled her – and, according to Rose, he loved his mother. Peter, then. Had he got tired of waiting for his inheritance? There were few other people in Dorothy’s life but he would have a quiet word with each. He was risking his neck. There was no evidence of any description, no suspicious circumstances at all, the verdict at the inquest would be suicide or death by misadventure if the old lady had swallowed more pills than she