The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards

anyone else’s relationship, and he didn’t mean to start now. He was attracted to Hannah Scarlett, for reasons he couldn’t fully explain, even to himself. But she was out of bounds.
    ‘Stuart spends a lot of money with Amos Books. Hemust be one of Marc’s best customers. Especially since that man Saffell died.’
    ‘Saffell?’
    ‘The book collector, the man who died in the fire at Ullswater. I mentioned it on the way up the M6, weren’t you listening? It all sounds very mysterious, and I know how you love a mystery.’
    He scarcely remembered. After flight delays on the way back from Seattle, he’d been pretty much out of it. Happy to let her conversation wash over him.
    ‘Reading between the lines of the newspaper coverage, the fire didn’t start by accident. If an arsonist killed Saffell, his wife must be a suspect. She certainly has a temper.’
    Daniel frowned. ‘How do you know?’
    ‘She showed up at the party. Stuart invited her as a matter of courtesy, he’s known her for years. He didn’t seriously expect her to come. Let alone cause a scene.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘She and I were talking to Arlo Denstone.’
    ‘You met Arlo?’
    ‘Stuart introduced us. He’s dying to meet you, now you’re back in England.’
    ‘I just watched a recording of him on TV. Not only an evangelist for De Quincey, but quite a charmer as well.’
    ‘He’s an intense guy. Intelligent, a bit hyper. Might dabble in the odd bit of opium-eating himself, for all I know.’
    ‘Not your type?’
    ‘No, but I can see why some women might be smitten. Not that he and I had a long conversation. Wanda Saffell joined us and the look in her eyes said she wanted to speak to him on her own. I caught sight of Hannah chatting toStuart and made my excuses. A few minutes later, Wanda chucked a glass of red wine all over Arlo’s jacket and then flounced out of the room.’
    ‘Party-pooper, huh?’
    ‘Stuart discovered her sitting cross-legged at the foot of the stairs, sobbing her heart out. He had her taken home by one of his partners. Her nerves are in tatters, he said.’
    ‘Why did she attack Arlo?’
    ‘No idea. Stuart brushed it off, said she’d had a rough time lately.’
    ‘How could Arlo have upset her, a woman recently widowed in horrific circumstances?’
    ‘What are you getting at?’
    ‘He strikes me as a man who likes to provoke a reaction. Murder fascinates him. Maybe he suggested she knew something about her husband’s death?’
    Louise shook her head. ‘You still believe historians make good detectives?’
    ‘Why not? I got a book and a television series out of it.’
    ‘Before you threw everything away.’
    ‘I needed to escape.’
    ‘I don’t—’ she broke off as her brother’s attention strayed. ‘What’s the matter?’
    Daniel peered through the window. The rain was pounding harder. A dark figure in a hooded waterproof coat and hiker’s boots splashed through puddles towards the cottage from the tarn.
    ‘Someone has wandered into the garden.’
    ‘That will be Stuart. I told him about this place and he said it sounded fascinating. I dropped him off by the oldmill, so he could stroll along the beck. He could do with a breath of air, he didn’t sleep last night.’
    Daniel stared at the figure outside. The face was masked by the hood, but the man must have seen that he was being watched. He raised a hand encased in a black leather gauntlet.
    If Daniel hadn’t recognised Stuart Wagg, he’d have interpreted the gesture not as a greeting, but as a threat.
     
    ‘Louise tells me there was a bust-up at the party last night.’
    Sprawled over the sofa, Stuart Wagg drained his tumbler of whisky. He hadn’t bothered to wipe his feet properly and he’d left a trail of muddy footprints on the carpet.
    ‘Something and nothing.’
    ‘How did Arlo provoke her?’ Daniel asked.
    Wagg gave a shrug. ‘Christ knows. I invited him over because we’re sponsors of this Festival. Wanda’s as