Free Small Town Christmas (Some Very English Murders Book 6) by Issy Brooke

great deal of
coffee, and sallied out into the world. In spite of her bleary eyes and foggy
thinking, having a prancing and happy dog by her side did help to cheer her up.
And she liked the fact that she was wearing Drew’s hat and gloves.
    She took the long way around town, heading first to the
north and then around the town to the east, following a footpath that ran
between some houses and the flat fields. Most of the agricultural land was
lying fallow now, but she was surprised to find herself walking alongside a
vast, flat expanse of bright green growth. What on earth would start growing
just as the winter clamped down on them all? It looked like particularly
luscious grass, but in regimented rows, so it was clearly a crop. She made a
mental note to ask Drew about it.
    Kali, with her thick-set Rottweiler body, was not very good
at climbing over stiles. She tried, because she trusted Penny and would do
anything for her, but she was clumsy and heavy. This restricted Penny and she
tended to follow familiar, well-worn paths. She had been caught out too many
times by a promising start only to be turned back within a few hundred yards by
an impassable fence and stile.
    So they ended up approaching the slipe again, although they
came at the meadow from the far eastern side. There was a quiet patch of grass
which was empty of people and dogs, and Penny let Kali off for a good
run-around.
    “Yoohoo!”
    Kali stopped running and turned to face the source of the
calling voice. Penny glanced up and saw two people, a tall female figure and a
lean man. She didn’t go towards them, but instead she went straight to her dog,
clipping her back onto the lead. The woman was waving her hands and approaching
in a manner that seemed expressly designed to unnerve the most placid of dogs.
The man trailed behind.
    Some people had no sense at all.
    It was Linda, and with her was Edwin from the rambling
group.
    Penny plastered a polite smile onto her face, but said,
“Please don’t wave like that. You are startling my dog.”
    “He needs better training, then!” Linda barked, looking
with distaste at Kali.
    Kali was looking back at Linda with much the same
expression.
    “She,” Penny said. “Not he. Her name’s Kali.”
    Linda ignored her. “We need to talk to you about the
footpaths, don’t we, Edwin?”
    Penny’s eyes met Edwin’s. He smiled but his eyes were
scowling, and she knew that his annoyance was aimed at Linda.
    “Hi Edwin. How are you?” Penny asked.
    He was given no time to answer. “I’m talking about the
footpath that runs from the industrial estate to the fields,” Linda said loudly.
“It’s been used for generations and we need to get it open once more.”
    Edwin shrugged helplessly.
    Penny frowned. “Good luck,” she said.
    “And it’s exactly that type of defeatist attitude which
would have lost us the war!” Linda exclaimed. “Now then. I hate to speak ill of
the dead, and of course he was my brother I suppose, but he was one of the
prime objectors and I think now is the time for us to move on regarding this
issue. There’s nothing to be gained from shilly-shallying.”
    Penny gaped at Linda. “Are you talking about Clive
Holdsworth?”
    “Of course I am,” Linda said in surprise. “What did you
think I meant? Goodness me, do keep up. The utility company that he used to
work for owns the land, you know. And when we applied to have the path
officially recognised, he put in a call to someone he knew, and got it blocked.
He had retired and he still meddled. Utter rubbish. He did it to spite me. Terrible
man. Now he’s out of the way … I mean, obviously, great tragedy and all that …
but, well, now is the time to get on with the footpath.”
    Penny was still staring. Could anyone be so callous?
    Obviously, yes – they could.
    Would Linda have pushed her brother off a ladder so that
she could get a footpath re-opened?
    Surely not. That was deeply unrealistic petty spite.
    Even so, Penny took a step