To Kill a Queen by Alanna Knight Page A

silence. 'About the dogs, I mean?'
    'One is at a considerable disadvantage not to have had a sight of the bodies. The murdered girl and the dogs all neatly buried. Having to take it all on hearsay is very inconvenient. And irritating.'
    'Taken that all we were told of the discovery of the dogs was correct,' said Vince. He had concluded that Brown would be a reliable witness and, in common with his stepfather, a man who could be guaranteed to miss little. 'It has just occurred to me-might not slaying the Queen's pet dogs rate as a treasonable crime?'
    'Indeed, yes. Damage to her personal property, lèse-majesté and so forth would undoubtedly merit a heavy jail sentence.'
    'And one she would see to personally, I don't doubt, and the Royal displeasure is enough to strike terror into the heart of any prospective dog-slayer,' said Vince.
    'That makes sense, lad, but let's consider what doesn't. Why go to all that trouble, leaving the bodies around? Why not just bury them, throw them into the river, or carry them across the river in that excellent and convenient cradle? Dispose of them well away from the scene of the crime as no doubt was the case with the murdered girl?'
    'That thought had occurred to me, Stepfather. Perhaps their killer was interrupted in the act—'
    Faro made an impatient gesture. 'Do not let us miss the real point. We have built up a picture of what we think might have happened. But why? For if the dogs' deaths are coincidental and unconnected with the girl's murder, although the timing would seem to indicate the contrary, what else could they have done to merit death?'
    'Not everyone is fond of dogs. Perhaps they made a nuisance of themselves. Took nips out of the servants,' Vince suggested.
    'Vince, these are the Queen's pets. For the servants, having nips taken out of their ankles would be an occupational hazard.' Faro sucked in his lip. 'There was only one reason. A threat to the murderer's safety. That is the only logical reason why anyone would go to the extent of incurring Her Majesty's extreme displeasure—and we can all guess the consequences of that. Remember. You cannot blackmail a dog,' he continued. 'Perhaps they knew their killer and he panicked.'
    Vince thought for a moment. 'Let's suppose that a farmer had shot them for sheep worrying, for instance. Then he wouldn't have carried them back here, Royal collars and all, as a mark of defiance, would he?'
    'Any farmer who had marauding dogs on his land, Royal or no, would have a legitimate cause for indignation and the assurance that right—and the law—was on his side. But we have Brown's word that these King Charles spaniels were the most docile of animals.'
    'Of course, one dog shot could have been an accident.'
    'Got in the way of an indifferent gun? True, there are many around at this time of year.'
    'That would be a possibility, Stepfather. Especially if he was afraid of the Queen's wrath.'
    'But not two dogs, lad. Not shot through the head at point blank range. We are dealing with a much more complex situation here than an irate but scared farmer who didn't see the Royal collars until too late. Or an unlucky sportsman.'
    The hospital gates were in sight. As he stepped down, Vince said suddenly, 'Isn't this all a bit far-fetched, Stepfather? After all there could be another simpler, quite coincidental explanation.'
    'Then I'd like to hear it. Go on.'
    'Well, they could have been sniffing about that mill regularly after rats and scared a poacher who panicked. Nothing to do with Morag Brodie's murder.'
    'Let us hope you are right, lad,' said Faro fervently. But he was unable to stifle the growing fear that the murder of Morag Brodie was but a prelude to something much more important their killer had in his sights. And that the dogs had somehow been in danger of revealing all.
    As they entered the hospital, approaching them from the direction of the wards were two uniformed policemen and one in plain clothes.
    Faro stopped. 'Detective