Free Indian Summer by Elizabeth Darrell Page B

down. It’s general knowledge that he went to the altar with one of Starr’s truckie brothers each side of him, and it’s no secret that she was determined to make him leave the Army.’
    He flipped through his notes. ‘Corporal Major’s wife beat Starr’s drum – she’s one of her close chums – and gave a different slant. According to her, Keane always had a bit on the side and put Starr down at every opportunity. She wants another kid – two more, actually – but he’s slept on the sofa since he got back here last week.’
    â€˜Another point of contention between them,’ murmured Connie.
    â€˜It’s not unheard of for guys to get back from a warzone and find they can’t hack it,’ said Max, trying to form a true picture of this couple’s relationship. ‘It sometimes takes a week or more, and it’s less stressful to keep out of the marriage bed until he relaxes enough to do the business.’
    â€˜There could’ve been another reason,’ mused Piercey. ‘The bathroom was full of bottles and jars of herbal gunge guaranteed to remove blemishes, unwanted hair, surplus fat – you name it. Maybe she did smell unpleasant.’
    â€˜Oh, come on!’ protested Connie. ‘I saw how tidy and clean the ground floor was. No woman who keeps a house looking so good with two infants in it would surely ignore personal hygiene.’
    â€˜As to that,’ put in Tom, ‘Frank Priest told me she went so far as to drape dirty nappies over Keane’s kit during her bid to drive him into quitting the service. She doesn’t sound too hygienic to me.’ He glanced at Max, who just gave him the nod to continue. ‘I asked him for a character ref. According to the Sar’nt Major, Keane was an excellent soldier who could handle the enemy but was putty in the hands of women. With an overbearing wife like Starr, if he had bits on the side who can blame him? Which bids the question, was he with another woman when he was killed? Did she kill him, or another lover who caught Keane with her? This is a definite line to follow.’
    â€˜It’s also a strong motive, whichever way you look at it,’ put in Max, relishing all this input and being unable to stay on the sidelines. ‘He was down to his underpants with this woman when someone turns up. Her husband, another lover, or Starr Keane? He’s been sleeping on the sofa for six nights instead of coupling with her and making her pregnant, yet he’s ready to shag another woman . . .’
    â€˜Who doesn’t need herbal remedies for improvement,’ inserted Piercey unwilling to drop his theory.
    â€˜Yes, a real looker,’ agreed Max. ‘Starr’s a large, domineering woman. She grabs him around the neck and shakes him in her fury until he suddenly grows limp. Substitute the other woman’s husband or lover, and where’s the snag in all three hypotheses?’
    â€˜The killer then has to get rid of the witness,’ said Connie.
    â€˜Precisely. Now, Starr Keane has taken the car and could drive the second body away fairly easily – we’ll put aside where her kids were during this slaughter. However, Keane ends up in the tank ten to twelve hours later. In my view that puts Starr at the bottom of the list. A husband or second lover is more likely to carry out the second part of Keane’s murder, and he has no need to dispose of the witness.’
    â€˜We assume the woman can be trusted not to reveal what she witnessed?’ asked Connie. ‘So she’s either a prossie who has no feelings for the men who use her, or she’s been rescued from rape by Keane and is a willing accomplice to his murder.’
    â€˜So she keeps the body at her place until he comes after dark to collect it,’ mused Beeny. ‘It works.’
    Heather Johnson spoke up at that point. ‘I had a long talk with two