.

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Tegen had been wearing last night. A small size.

      She said, ‘Is it long ago that your father …’

      Tegen made a face. ‘Three years last spring. Sure, it was sudden, but you have to move on, you know. Mum can’t. She adores everything to do with Dad. You should see her bedroom. It’s just like a shrine, full of photographs and all. Nothing is all right now; it was all better in the past when he was still there. But I have to live now and make something of it. I don’t want to stay around this place for ever.’

      Guinevere looked her over. ‘How do you mean?’

      Tegen sat on her haunches now, rubbing Dolly’s back. ‘Well, Haydock was a pompous ass. But I did know he had money so I was nice to him for that reason. You never know when you might need a local connection. I thought this re-enactment could get me noticed. Now you’re from London. Do you think you could … recommend me to someone?’

      Ah. That was Tegen’s reason for being nice to her, inviting her in for scones and all. For rushing after her to talk to her, away from the B&B. It wasn’t about Oliver, as Kensa had suspected, but about a chance to get away from Cornisea, to London.

      Guinevere said, ‘The theatre where I’m at is undergoing renovations. We don’t open up again until after summer. I guess you’ll be back in school then.’

      Tegen scoffed. ‘Who needs school?’ She shot to her feet and stood with her weight forward, her youthful face tight with tension.

      Guinevere studied her. ‘Can you vouch for your mother that she was with you all of the time before the re-enactment began?’

      Tegen turned to the wall with the niche. ‘Sure.’ She pointed at the alcove and said, ‘Do you know who Ganoc is? Our very own patron saint. He’s all over the island, also at the castle.’

      Ignoring the distraction, Guinevere pressed, ‘Can you vouch that your mother didn’t go down to the dungeon to talk to Haydock? Or that she didn’t leave the castle for some time? There’s this new chap around, you know, an inspector, and a sharp observer. He saw things about the crime scene nobody else noticed.’

      Tegen looked taken aback. ‘A new police officer?’ she asked in a shaken tone. ‘An inspector even?’

      ‘Yes, brought in from the mainland.’

      ‘But why? It isn’t a big case or something.’

      ‘Haydock was an influential man, and the castle is part of your local heritage, I suppose.’ Guinevere hoped Tegen would offer some revelation at this point, but the teen just looked dejected. She turned away.

      ‘Tegen!’ Guinevere took two steps after her. ‘You better be sure that your mother and you were together all of the time. Because lying to a smart inspector could be a very stupid thing, you know. He’ll find out sooner or later, and then you could both be in major trouble.’

      Tegen held her gaze as if to determine if she meant this or had an ulterior reason for acting concerned for them. Then she made a dismissive gesture. ‘We told the truth. Bye now. See you later.’

      And she ran back to the B&B.

      Guinevere said to Dolly, ‘What do you think?’

      Dolly cocked her head.

      ‘Not sure, huh?’ Guinevere said with a sigh. ‘Me neither. I felt she was lying about being with her mother all of the time. She put too much stress on it. And hearing that LeFevre showed up seemed to spook her.’

      Guinevere sat on her haunches to scratch Dolly behind the ears. ‘But I don’t think she had an affair with Haydock. I think she likes Oliver. She watched us as we walked down from the castle together and she thought Oliver was also coming to the B&B. She didn’t know about him having to meet the lawyer.’

      Her stomach knotted a moment, thinking about this meeting and what the lawyer might say. How bad it could really look for her new employer.

      As if Dolly noticed her anxiousness, the dachshund threw herself on her back to be patted on her tummy. She wriggled all her four short legs in the air.

      Guinevere laughed, the heavy feeling fading into the background. ‘Silly girl. Shall we go see Meraud? And her bookshop? I’m quite curious what it will be like on the inside.’

      ***

      The words THE COWLED SLEUTH were inscribed over the window in curly golden lettering. The gold had faded a little over time, but the mere name put a rush of excitement in Guinevere’s stomach. Going through old books was like sleuthing, searching for clues and hitting on gold dust.

      The books on the rack beside the entry door were all leather-bound and old-looking, dealing with sea travel, local lore, and gardening. She ran her finger across the spines, spelling out the titles that were sometimes barely legible.

      Hey, Ganoc. The patron saint Tegen had just mentioned.

      Guinevere picked out the book and leafed gently through the dry, breakable pages.

      Ganoc was the patron saint of fishermen, revered all along the coast, but especially on Cornisea where he was supposed to have spent the last years of his life, as a hermit in a little shack on the beach. His only companions had been the gulls and the sea mammals that swam to the shore to greet him every morning.

      ‘I’d rather have you,’ Guinevere told Dolly as she put the book back in place. ‘Let’s go in, huh?’ She pushed down the door handle and stepped inside, an old bell ringing somewhere over her head.

      The hushed silence made her walk on tiptoe to the counter where a woman with greying hair was completely focused on repairing the binding of a book.

      Guinevere watched her gentle movements with admiration. There was precision and certainty in each step of the process, like she had done it countless times before, but still she held her breath to see if it was working, determined to have the best possible end result.

      Then Dolly yapped, and the woman looked up with a jerk. ‘I hadn’t heard you come in.’ She leaned over the counter to see Dolly. ‘Hello there, who are you?’

      ‘That’s Dolly.’ Guinevere perked up when she heard an answering bark from behind the counter. ‘And what dog do you have there?’

      The woman sighed. ‘I’m just taking care of him for the time being. I’m not keeping him.’

      ‘Of course not,’ Guinevere said, suppressing a smile at the emphasis put on the statement.

      The woman placed her tools on a clean sheet of plastic and reached down, to pick up a cute, fluffy golden retriever puppy. ‘Jago is trying to find a home for him on the island.’

      ‘I see. Tegen mentioned the other night that an ad for puppies was up at Emma’s Eatery.’

      The woman nodded. ‘Jago is trying to find homes for three puppies.’

      ‘Can’t Jago take on a puppy?’

      ‘Not really. He’s out on the water most of the time. He can’t take a dog. At least that’s what he said.’ The woman held up the puppy to look him in the eye. ‘That’s what he said, СКАЧАТЬ