22- Making ends meet

Tuesday cont. then Wednesday Oct 10

Gary thought it would be a good idea to talk to Knowles without the presence of Phillis Cartwright so he, Dorothy and Cleo went down to the room in which Knowles was being asked to wait. Nigel went with them to record everything.

“We’ll need to talk to you again, Miss Knowles,” said Gary, “but if I’m not mistaken, Miss Cartwright made a fool of you and she was tryng it on with us.”

21 - The white witch

Tuesday cont.

Gary thought it would be a good idea to talk to Knowles without the presence of Phillis Cartwright so he, Dorothy and Cleo went down to the room in which Knowles was being asked to wait. Nigel went with them to record everything.

“We’ll need to talk to you again, Miss Knowles,” said Gary, “but if I’m not mistaken, Miss Cartwright made a fool of you and she was tryng it on with us.”

“It looks very much like it,” said Knowles. “Aren’t you going to charge me with anything?”

20 - A litte Deus ex Machina

Tuesday October 9

Cleo phoned the hospital first thing to see how Lisa Keys was getting on.

Dorothy made sure that the chorus rehearsal had been cancelled for that evening, but she was going along to the church hall anyway to make sure that everyone who came not knowing about the chorus director’s appendix operation went home.

19 - Knowles

Monday cont.

Gary’s little chat with Knowles was delayed until Cleo arrived. He was relieved when she turned up in his office after an uncomfortable few minutes alone with someone he could not fathom at all. Knowles was not pleased to see Cleo, but at least she had not made a pass at the Chief Inspector.

“What the hell is she doing here?” she sniped.

18 - More about Eve

Monday cont.

Gary’s day included letting Ed Fargo stew in his arrest cell, probably trying to convince a defence lawyer that he had not done anything wrong. Staying at home was a luxury Gary appreciated. Monday mornings did not really allow for it, but Chief Inspector Gary Hurley was the boss of his department, after all, and there was the admin to see to.

17 - Fish 'n chips

Monday cont.

Gary rang the cottage doorbell and stood behind his rose bouquet waiting. Cleo was already home and came to the door without delay.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset Dorothy.”

“Then you’d better take her the roses,” said Cleo.

“I’ve been there. These are for you, my love.”

“Wow! You are an attentive bridegroom.”

“I’m a chastened man,” said Gary.

16 - All about Eve

Monday, October 8

Cleo was anxious to get on with the Fargo case, so she left the breakfast table to the auspices of her husband and drove to HQ, determined – with Gary’s blessing - to talk to Sally Fargo as soon as possible. Gary phoned Greg, and asked him to get Mrs Fargo to attend a questioning with Cleo and record everything.  He would himself go to the hospital and interview the chorus director of the Finch Nightingales who had been admitted with appendicitis, the Hartley Agency had informed him.  He would then go home for lunch.

15 - Keys

Saturday cont.

A breakfast brain-storming was an unusual feature of the Hartley Agency business practice. Normally, Cleo and Dorothy had a second breakfast together early in the week to talk over agency cases and procedures, but Saturday had revealed the urgency of getting things done, especially for Dorothy, who had created quite a stir with her report on Eve Bates.

14 - The Effigy

Saturday, October 6th

It would be too easy just to have a crime or two to solve. A phone-call from Greg woke the Hurleys very early on Saturday morning to say as much.

“Didn’t you mention a corpse in the freezer at the villa at some point, Gary?” he started.

13 - Mission accomplished

Tying up Friday 

 Mr Crighton greeted Dorothy like a long lost relative when he met her at Oxford station.

“Nice of you to come, Miss Price,” he said. “I’m quite glad we don’t live in the city centre, but it’s quite a long drive to our house.”

12 - Visiting

Still Friday

Gary’s morning had been stressful, not least because he had had to go to the hospital to ask questions about the two deceased women.

11 - In remembrance?

Friday cont.

Cleo did not want to have any contact with Robert. One reason was his continuing resentment of Gary and the children, though he had not wanted any. Once Cleo knew why, she had decided that he felt some silly kind of humiliation since fathering children was normal, and being rendered infertile after an accident was not. He seemed unable to get his life straightened out. Even the veneer of a happy marriage had been stripped off and replaced by humiliation in the form of Edith’s blatant sex drive and his fear of it.

10 - More speculation

Thursday cont, Friday 5^th October

Dorothy made rather a fuss when Jane Barker was discovered unconscious on her sofa, TV blaring, artificial electric fire full on. That was in truth partly because she had recently rather neglected her neighbour, who went on and on about ‘dear Jim’ although her husband had most of the time been referred to as ‘that dratted man’ when he was alive.

9 - Toni

Thursday cont.

As Gary stood waiting for the London Intercity, which was late and had in retrospect made the dash to the car and back rather superfluous, it also occurred to him that he had no idea whether the person he was meeting was male or female.

8 - Speculation

Thursday cont. 

Cleo's phone call from the new au pair was a surprise. 

"It's Toni. I can't be in Middlethumpton till five oh four, Mrs Hurley. Is that all right?"

"Sure," said Cleo. "I'll let my husband know. He'll be there."

"I'm sorry about arriving late," said the girl.

"That's OK, Toni, but don't be surprised if my husband is expecting a guy. I'm not going to tell him."

".A guy?"

"Yes. We've been speculating about your name. See you later."

7 - Soup

Thursday, 4th October

It was the link Dorothy eventually made between the tramp’s poisoning and the lethal soup that made it all even more awful. She and Cleo had definitely been in danger. Chris’s newest report was credible. Even if only small amounts of toadstool poisoning were consumed, it would cause severe illness and possibly death. Who could have done such a thing deliberately?

6 - Deathcap

Wednesday cont.              

It was no wonder that Cleo’s trip to Middleton library to look at back numbers of the Gazette did not reveal much. Bertie Browne, editor in chief and owner of the twice weekly freebie, published all sorts of stuff that was long on padding, but short on information and mostly independent of accuracy. Hot air and fake news were good enough to fill the pages that were not devoted to price-slashing (if you can believe that) offers of cars, cats and cucumbers. The Fargo family did not merit a single mention.

5 - The tramp

Wednesday cont.

Wednesday cont.

Cleo decided to find out more about the Fargo family herself before regaling Gary with Dorothy’s advice. It was just possible that the tramp had genuinely been mistaken for the deceased relative. 

4 Night Rider

Tuesday cont. then Wednesday 3^rd October

Edith Parsnip had allowed Robert to leave and was getting was ready for a lonely night when Brass banged the vicarage gargoyle against the solid oak front door, so she answered the door in her negligée, a flimsy garment that revealed more than it hid.

3 - Marigolds

Tuesday 2^nd October

Fred Bradley, known to everyone as Brass, was one of a rota of cops who ran the local constabulary in Upper Grumpsfield. It was really only a room with a counter and IT equipment, a coat stand, a loo and a tiny kitchen, but it served the purpose admirably and was a welcome addition to village life, since many residents regarded it as a sanctuary where they could air their grievances.

2 - Lisa calls the tune

Monday October 1 cont. into Tuesday

Cleo Hartley/Hurley wondered how Gary would take the news that she was planning a project that was a far cry from what he used to call snooping but now knew better. She would probably have less time to air her theories on the current cases that beset the Chief Inspector who had, despite himself, become quite reliant on his wife’s Agency and her wise comments, and been put on the straight and narrow more than once by Dorothy’s hunches.

1 - Old and New

The day Lisa Keys came to introduce herself to Dorothy Price in Upper Grumpsfield should have been one of rejoicing and gladness. At least that’s what Mary Baker, who was now established at St Peter’s parish church as its lady curate, said later when she realized how crestfallen Dorothy had been. There was nothing diplomatic about getting Lisa to take over the chorus.

But the moment Dorothy, chief musical cook and bottle-washer in the village, set eyes on the woman, she was worried that it would make Lisa’s task difficult if not impossible. Dorothy dreaded the use of the word ‘reincarnation’ in connection with the new chorus director, and she wasn’t far wrong.