Free Murder in the Dark - A Libby Sarjeant Murder Mystery (Libby Sarjeant Murder Mystery Series) by Lesley Cookman Page A

Steeple Cross?’ asked Edward.
    ‘I’ve not seen one, but that doesn’t mean to say there isn’t,’ said Libby, and went to fetch her laptop. ‘Here, look.’ She turned the screen towards Edward. ‘St Mary’s.’
    ‘Where exactly?’ asked Fran.
    ‘Well!’ Libby looked triumphant. ‘About five minutes from Carl Oxenford’s house. No wonder Ramani found out about it!

Chapter Ten
     
    ‘How do you make that out?’ asked Fran.
    ‘Well, she was bored, wasn’t she? I bet she just wandered in and …’ Libby stopped.
    ‘And just happened across a document about Roland’s house?’ Fran shook her head.
    ‘What religion was she, Edward?’ Libby turned to her guest.
    ‘She was an atheist,’ said Edward. ‘She broke with her family in Birmingham and more or less ran away to go to university. When I met her, she was determined to throw off all the shackles, as she put it. And she did.’ He smiled with reminiscent fondness.
    ‘Might she have gone to St Mary’s with Carl?’ asked Fran.
    ‘I’ve no idea, but I don’t think it’s so silly to think she would have gone to St Mary’s to see if she could find any trace of Dark House or its owners. She was a historian, and she’d been a researcher for a firm of heir hunters at one time, so she knew the value of church records.’
    ‘So, can we go?’ asked Libby.
    ‘What, now?’ Fran’s eyebrows rose.
    ‘No, not now. But can we go – perhaps Monday? Not a good idea to go at the weekend is it, with weddings on Saturdays and services on Sundays.’
    ‘I’m sure we could,’ said Edward. ‘Are you sure you want to be involved in this?’
    ‘Adelaide has asked us,’ said Libby, conveniently forgetting to mention that so had the police. ‘Anyway, before we go any further along that route, you said you wanted to see us. What about?’
    Edward looked uncomfortable. ‘This is going to sound weird,’ he said. ‘Adelaide said you were friendly with the police in charge of the investigation.’
    ‘Yes?’ Libby was wary.
    ‘I wonder if you could find out if I’m a serious suspect?’
    Fran and Libby looked at each other.
    ‘I’m not sure the police would divulge that sort of information,’ said Fran. ‘It’s not as if we’re involved in the case, we simply came in to it by accident.’
    ‘But Adelaide told us she’d asked you to tell the police something – after we’d seen you at Carl’s house.’
    ‘Yes, because she couldn’t face it,’ said Libby, ‘and because the DCI will accept what we say even if it is hearsay. That’s all. Why are you worried?’
    Edward sighed and sat back in his chair. ‘It’s difficult.’ He looked down at his hands. ‘It’s being black, you see.’
    Libby and Fran exchanged looks.
    ‘Go on,’ said Fran. ‘Are you talking about discrimination?’
    ‘Yes.’ Edward looked up. ‘I know it sounds ridiculous, but I got so used to the stop and search routine when I was younger, and even now, occasionally, I will be pulled over by traffic cops who don’t believe that a black man would be driving an expensive car.’
    Libby gasped. ‘That can’t be true!’
    Edward gave a wry smile. ‘Oh, it is, believe me. And I’m afraid I was convinced that was why I was pulled in so quickly when I arrived on Carl’s doorstep. I didn’t even know Ramani was dead.’
    Libby was pink with outrage. ‘Ian would never behave like that!’
    ‘Who’s Ian?’ asked Edward.
    ‘DCI Connell,’ said Fran. ‘No I’m sure he wouldn’t. At least not for a racially-motivated reason.’
    ‘It was a uniformed sergeant and a detective constable who took me in,’ said Edward. ‘I was questioned by the DC – Robinson, I think he said.’
    ‘Robertson,’ said Libby. ‘Surely he didn’t bring you in off his own bat?’
    ‘The sergeant did, but the DC called someone.’
    ‘So what happened when he questioned you?’
    Edward shrugged. ‘Not a lot. He just asked me what I was doing there, how I knew Ramani, where