be.’
‘I’m asking if you will come with me. Take me to the clinic.’
‘And help you kill yourself. Help you die.’
‘No. Watch me. You would do nothing but be with me while I take my own life. That’s all.’
‘That’s all ?’
‘Penny –’
‘A little thing like that? Hardly worth asking, is it?’
Pennystood up quickly and went out through the open conservatory doors into the garden, to stand at the end by the low stone wall and the raised flower bed, her back to Jocelyn straight and absolutely still. After watching her for a few moments, Jocelyn got up and took the tray of coffee pot and cups into the kitchen.
Ten
SERRAILLER CAME OUT of the station with an armful of paperwork. It was just before six and he had had enough of his office, the file stores and canteen coffee. He was going to drop into the farmhouse and hope for a beer and maybe an early supper before heading home to go through notes on the Lowther case. He would work in the flat tomorrow if he possibly could, to get more done in a shortertime. There was yet another drug offensive on, with a fancy operation name, dawn raids and a side serving of armed response. He would be glad to keep out of it.
Lights blazed from what seemed like every room in the farmhouse, and although Cat’s car was not in the drive the smell of braising meat reached him as he opened the kitchen door and Wookie the Yorkshire terrier came tearing towards him,barking and turning round and round in mad circles.
‘This dog is uncivilised.’ He bent down and let the puppy jump into his arms and lick his face. As he did so, Mephisto leapt off the sofa and banged out through the catflap.
‘Please don’t interrupt,’ Sam said, glaring at him. He was sitting at the table with a book open in front of him and Molly opposite, head down. ‘I’m testing her.’
‘Don’tblame me, blame the untamed beast.’ He put Wookie down.
‘He ghost-watches,’ Sam said. ‘He stands at the glass door onto the terrace at night and stares and stares. He did it for almost an hour last night. There’s deffo something out there.’
‘Why don’t you let him go and find it?’
‘We’ve tried. He just races round a bit and comes back inside to go on staring. Right, you ready, Moll? Next. Brachial.’
‘Runs from the shoulder to the elbow and –’
‘Where on the shoulder?’
‘What do you mean, where?’
‘I mean where on the shoulder.’
‘The shoulder’s the shoulder.’
‘No.’
Molly sighed.
‘This isn’t going well,’ Sam said. ‘The anterior of the shoulder. Next – carotid.’
‘Neck.’
‘Which side of the neck?’
‘Both.’
‘Correct.’
‘That’s all twenty.’ Molly jumped up.
‘Mum’s gone to supper with DrFinch.’
‘Oh.’ Simon pulled the cap off a bottle of lager.
‘Sorry,’ Molly said, ‘the casserole is for tomorrow and we’ve had egg and chips but I could easily do you some more.’
‘They were only oven chips,’ Sam said.
‘How’s the revision, Molly?’
‘I’d kill a lot of people if they let me qualify now.’
‘She needs to sort out the names of the major arteries. Talking of killing, how are the skeletons?Dug up any more?’ Sam looked round at him. He had done a growth spurt and his face was changing. He would be fourteen next birthday, a Serrailler in shape, long-legged and -backed. But the small boy lingered. ‘There could be a mass grave of skeletons.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Are you digging? With bare hands?’
‘I hate to put a dampener on things, Sam, but this isn’t something out of a horror film, theseare the remains of real people. They were probably murdered. Not a joke.’
‘Sorry. Doctors make gory jokes. Molly told me that when they were cutting up a corpse for practice, someone –’
‘Shut up.’ Molly threw a tea towel at him. ‘I told you, if you said anything you could get me into trouble.’
‘Why, it wasn’t you who took out the –’
Simon grabbed his nephew in an
‘I’m asking if you will come with me. Take me to the clinic.’
‘And help you kill yourself. Help you die.’
‘No. Watch me. You would do nothing but be with me while I take my own life. That’s all.’
‘That’s all ?’
‘Penny –’
‘A little thing like that? Hardly worth asking, is it?’
Pennystood up quickly and went out through the open conservatory doors into the garden, to stand at the end by the low stone wall and the raised flower bed, her back to Jocelyn straight and absolutely still. After watching her for a few moments, Jocelyn got up and took the tray of coffee pot and cups into the kitchen.
Ten
SERRAILLER CAME OUT of the station with an armful of paperwork. It was just before six and he had had enough of his office, the file stores and canteen coffee. He was going to drop into the farmhouse and hope for a beer and maybe an early supper before heading home to go through notes on the Lowther case. He would work in the flat tomorrow if he possibly could, to get more done in a shortertime. There was yet another drug offensive on, with a fancy operation name, dawn raids and a side serving of armed response. He would be glad to keep out of it.
Lights blazed from what seemed like every room in the farmhouse, and although Cat’s car was not in the drive the smell of braising meat reached him as he opened the kitchen door and Wookie the Yorkshire terrier came tearing towards him,barking and turning round and round in mad circles.
‘This dog is uncivilised.’ He bent down and let the puppy jump into his arms and lick his face. As he did so, Mephisto leapt off the sofa and banged out through the catflap.
‘Please don’t interrupt,’ Sam said, glaring at him. He was sitting at the table with a book open in front of him and Molly opposite, head down. ‘I’m testing her.’
‘Don’tblame me, blame the untamed beast.’ He put Wookie down.
‘He ghost-watches,’ Sam said. ‘He stands at the glass door onto the terrace at night and stares and stares. He did it for almost an hour last night. There’s deffo something out there.’
‘Why don’t you let him go and find it?’
‘We’ve tried. He just races round a bit and comes back inside to go on staring. Right, you ready, Moll? Next. Brachial.’
‘Runs from the shoulder to the elbow and –’
‘Where on the shoulder?’
‘What do you mean, where?’
‘I mean where on the shoulder.’
‘The shoulder’s the shoulder.’
‘No.’
Molly sighed.
‘This isn’t going well,’ Sam said. ‘The anterior of the shoulder. Next – carotid.’
‘Neck.’
‘Which side of the neck?’
‘Both.’
‘Correct.’
‘That’s all twenty.’ Molly jumped up.
‘Mum’s gone to supper with DrFinch.’
‘Oh.’ Simon pulled the cap off a bottle of lager.
‘Sorry,’ Molly said, ‘the casserole is for tomorrow and we’ve had egg and chips but I could easily do you some more.’
‘They were only oven chips,’ Sam said.
‘How’s the revision, Molly?’
‘I’d kill a lot of people if they let me qualify now.’
‘She needs to sort out the names of the major arteries. Talking of killing, how are the skeletons?Dug up any more?’ Sam looked round at him. He had done a growth spurt and his face was changing. He would be fourteen next birthday, a Serrailler in shape, long-legged and -backed. But the small boy lingered. ‘There could be a mass grave of skeletons.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Are you digging? With bare hands?’
‘I hate to put a dampener on things, Sam, but this isn’t something out of a horror film, theseare the remains of real people. They were probably murdered. Not a joke.’
‘Sorry. Doctors make gory jokes. Molly told me that when they were cutting up a corpse for practice, someone –’
‘Shut up.’ Molly threw a tea towel at him. ‘I told you, if you said anything you could get me into trouble.’
‘Why, it wasn’t you who took out the –’
Simon grabbed his nephew in an
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