Read Cat Among the Herrings for Free Online Page B

a half finished sentence, sadly sitting there on the screen. I was not holding out any hopes that it would be completed by the Rejection Letter Bunny. So, two guesses as to whether you were interrupting.’
    ‘I mean do you mind if I interrupt you?’
    ‘What do you think?’ I said.
    ‘Shall I come back later?’
    ‘I’ve no idea. You would know your intentions better than I do. If you mean do I want you to come back later … will you be bringing me some fatuous query from a writer that would have been easily dealt with had he or she just looked for a nanosecond at my website?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Will you be bringing some fatuous query from a writer that would have been easily dealt with had he or she just looked for a nanosecond at their contract?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Does it concern anyone currently under contract to us in any way?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘OK. Then you may try me with your question now, since you have already interrupted me and there’s not much point in your going out and coming in again.’
    ‘I’ve had an email from Ethelred. He says that he passed on your instructions to his friend, who is called Tom Gittings, and the manuscript will be with you shortly.’
    ‘And he actually thinks I want to know that?’
    ‘I assume so. He sent an email.’
    ‘Time must weigh heavy on his hands down there in Sussex.’
    ‘No, he seems to be very busy. He says that he is researching a miscarriage of justice that happened close to where he lives. Somebody murdered back in the 1840s. He thinks it might make a good book.’
    ‘True crime?’
    ‘I’m not sure. Do you want me to check exactly what he said?’
    ‘Nope. Life is much too short. Let’s just assume it’s more fictional time-slip rubbish. Somebody investigating a contemporary murder who makes important discoveries using parallels with a murder long past. Honestly, it’s the lowest form of mystery writing. Absolute crap. No publisher would be remotely interested.’
    ‘Contemporary murder? No, he says that he’s definitely having nothing to do with Catarina’s case. She’s asked him again but he’s refused.’
    ‘Catarina’s case? What is that?’
    ‘I was telling you about it the other day.’
    ‘No, you weren’t.’
    ‘You were rummaging around in your chocolatedrawer,’ said Tuesday primly. ‘I didn’t think you were paying attention.’
    ‘I was paying attention,’ I said. ‘But I was paying attention to chocolate . What is Catarina’s case, when it’s at home?’
    ‘As I told you before,’ she said in the same prim tones, ‘somebody called Robin died recently in a sailing accident. His fiancée, Catarina, thinks it was murder. She wants Ethelred to investigate it.’
    ‘She’s asked him to do that?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And he’s said no?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Twice?’
    ‘Yes. That’s why I said he’d refused again.’
    ‘Tell her to get breast implants and have another go at persuading him.’
    ‘Isn’t that just a little cynical?’
    ‘Yes, sorry. You’re right. It’s only a little cynical. Tell her to get breast implants and dye her hair blonde, then have another go.’
    ‘I can’t tell her. I don’t have her email. Just Ethelred’s. Unless that was irony, of course.’
    ‘What do you think?’
    ‘Was that irony too?’
    ‘No, that was sarcasm. So, why does she think it was murder?’
    ‘There’s a lot of money involved. The whole village hates her for a number of reasons – it doesn’t sound as if she needs breast implants, by the way. Some mysterious stranger visited Robin before he died. And there’s a naggingdoubt that Ethelred has and can’t quite put his finger on.’
    ‘Can’t he? No change there then.’
    ‘The coroner says it was an accident.’
    ‘Coroners? What do they know about murder, eh? So, does Ethelred say that he needs my help with the impending investigation?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘No in what sense?’
    ‘No in the sense that he doesn’t refer to needing help from anyone at