Free Murder at Midnight by C. S. Challinor Page B

suppose he’s a suspect?” the medic asked in an attempt at levity when he re-joined Rex.
    “Well, if he is, he’s far down the list. But perhaps he heard or saw something the rest of us didn’t.”
    “Unlikely. His chair is facing into the corner.”
    “Wheelchairs are moveable.”
    “His is an old-fashioned one without much mobility other than forward and backward propulsion. When he wakes up, I’ll tell him he can hopefully get an electric one on the NHS.”
    “I don’t know how much time he spends in it,” Rex said. “I’ll have to ask Vanessa.”
    “Quite a bit, I suspect. His arms are strong for his age. I noticed that when I helped him into his chair when we arrived. Pushing yourself around in one of those requires some effort, since you have to propel them manually. That will build up your muscles.”
    Alistair came and put an arm around John. “You can look after me in my dotage.”
    “And I thought you were only after my body,” the young medic quipped.
    No doubt John’s flippancy derived from having seen too many casualties from traffic accidents and other everyday tragedies. Alistair, like Rex, a prosecutor of the most heinous crimes, was accustomed to death in all its forms too. However, it was worse when the deceased were guests at your party.
    Rex excused himself and went to build up the fire before he addressed the remaining guests. As he worked, he wondered who could have crept up to Catriona’s armchair and pricked her thumb as she slept in a drink-induced slumber. Had she gasped from surprise or pain before collapsing in the chair? How long had she been dead and not asleep at all? And who had closed her eyes? It was all rather sinister.
    “Of course, everybody’s horribly upset over the Frasers’ passing,” Helen commented when he had finished with the fire. “But they’re not panicking, fortunately.”
    “ The Frasers did not ‘pass,’ lass,” he said in a low voice. “They were murdered. ‘Passing’ implies some passive event befalling them, like death from natural causes, whereas evidence suggests someone was very active in their demise.”
    “Don’t quibble, Rex. Not now. What I mean is the guests are holding up pretty well under the circumstances.”
    “They’re in shock, and they probably think, if it was murder, the killer came in from the cold, so to speak. And that this intruder has since disappeared, having achieved his objective.”
    “What would that be?”
    “That of killing the Fraser couple, no doubt for monetary gain or revenge.”
    “But you don’t think so?”
    Rex led Helen aside, out of earshot. “I think it likely at least one of our guests is not concerned aboot anything except getting caught.”
    Helen drew in a sharp breath. “And who might that be?” It was getting cold in the room away from the fire, and she huddled in her cardigan. No doubt fear had something to do with the gesture as well.
    “I honestly don’t have a clue at this point.”
    “But it could be an intruder all the same,” Helen persisted, naturally preferring the alternative of a stranger who had long since disappeared from the property. “After all, we wouldn’t have heard a vehicle in the storm. A four-wheel drive would have managed the slope without too much trouble. Did you venture out far enough to see if there were any new tracks? Or they could have left the vehicle at the top of the hill and walked down through the trees. The knock at the door could have been a ruse while the culprit ran to the kitchen door and came in that way. Perhaps he hid in the broom cupboard.”
    “Aye, the kitchen door was unlocked. I’ll go and bolt it, though it’s a wee bit late now.” It was then he remembered the footprints in the slush. When was it he had gone out to fetch wood? It had to have been before midnight since he was about to get the champagne.
    “He could have come upon Ken wandering about in the dark,” Helen said. “And then snuck in the living room and killed