Free A Cotswold Ordeal by Rebecca Tope Page A

instructions. Thea understood how odd it had been that Hollis had utterly ignored the fact of a second car coming into the yard. She understood that something was happening that she could not for a moment have predicted. Something was tugging, sucking at her insides, urging them towards the man who stood there, giving her the distinct impression that the same thing was happening to him.
    ‘This is my sister, Jocelyn,’ she introduced. ‘Joss, this is Superintendent Hollis. He’s a policeman.’ She turned back to the man. ‘I haven’t explained to Joss about what happened here this morning. Let’s go in, and try and get it all sorted out.’
    She led the way into the living room, and then let Hollis take control. He glanced around the room at the hurriedly squared-off piles of toys, comics, CDs and videos. ‘Nice and homely,’ he muttered.
    ‘They’re lovely people. Did you get hold of them?’
    ‘Mr Phillips has his mobile turned off. We left a message for him. You’ve no idea where they are, I take it?’
    ‘A day or so’s drive from Cork, is all I know. Nearly two days by now, I suppose. Are you going to bring them home?’
    ‘We’ll have to see about that. One thing at a time.’
    In the ensuing pause, Thea glimpsed how this must look and sound to Jocelyn, who was sitting on an upright antique chair close to the window, abjuring the comfortable sofa and armchairs in the middle of the room. ‘Gosh, Joss, this is dreadful timing. The thing is, I found a chap hanging in one of the sheds this morning.’
    The words echoed ludicrously in her own ears. Had she really just made such a bald statement as if it was a comment on the weather?
    Jocelyn went even paler than before, and put a hand to her mouth. ‘I don’t believe it! My God! Why aren’t you screaming and running for home? What is it with you?’ The final question was uttered with a profound exasperation which Thea recognised as familiar. As children when a knee was cut or a head bashed during some wild outdoor game Thea would be the calm one, cracking ludicrous jokes and refusing to join in the generalhysteria. ‘Come on, you’re not dead,’ was a refrain she was famous for in the family. Her nephews and nieces had learned of her reputation, and once experienced it at first hand when Jocelyn’s little Roly had fallen spectacularly off a toboggan and Thea, who had charge of them for the afternoon, had merely scooped him up, dusted him down and plonked him right back on the sledge. ‘Wow!’ Noel, the eldest, had breathed. ‘Mum would have really freaked at that.’
    ‘Well, he’s not dead, is he?’ Thea had grinned, causing delight and hilarity all round.
    ‘Thea,’ Jocelyn tried again. ‘We’ll have to leave.’ She glanced nervously out of the front window. ‘You mean, just out there somewhere? Right here ? Somebody hanging – I assume dead?’ She was growing incoherent with the shock.
    ‘For heaven’s sake.’ Thea rolled her eyes. ‘It’s horrible, I know. But let’s not panic, okay.’
    She turned back to the police detective. ‘We don’t need to panic, do we?’
    He kept his eyes on her face, appraising her for several seconds. ‘If I remember rightly, you’re not the panicking type.’
    Jocelyn guffawed at that. ‘Ten out of ten for insight,’ she applauded him. ‘She’s like a rhinoceros, not scared of anything.’
    Thea briefly considered a sharp retort involving the catastrophic death of Carl and the way such ahappening altered your perspective, but she wasn’t sure Jocelyn would let her get away with it. The trouble with sisters, she thought crossly, was they knew too much about you.
    ‘Well, I hope I’ve got the sense to make a proper assessment of the risks,’ she said. ‘If you tell me there’s a maniac on the loose and there’s reason to think I’m his next target, then I’d be scared. As it is, I’ve promised to look after this place for two weeks. I can’t just bale out at a moment’s notice.