Read Murder in Mind for Free Online Page B

Kendra protested. 'Jamie wouldn't do anything like that and you know it!'
    'I didn't say he would. I just said he'd be the prime suspect.'
    Greening came in with a heated trolley, removed the soup bowls, and replaced them with plates for the next course. When he'd departed, leaving the diners to help themselves to a roast dinner of generous proportions, Brewer stated that nothing would surprise him about Mullin.
    'Oh, darling, that's not fair!' his wife said reproachfully, and Matt kept his temper with an effort, knowing that the businessman had disliked Jamie ever since the Irishman had told him, with debatable tact, that one of his most expensive horses would never make the grade. In Matt's opinion, Jamie would almost certainly be proved right in the long run, but, for the sake of a good working relationship, the opinion would really have been better left unaired.
    'I like Jamie,' Deacon said thoughtfully. 'Top bloke!'
    Kendra looked across curiously. 'Are you hungover, Deke?'
    'I hope not!' Brewer frowned heavily, and Matt caught Rupert looking from one to the other in surprise.
    Joy had evidently noticed as well.
    'Deacon suffers from migraines,' she explained to the newcomer. 'He's supposed to stay off the alcohol, aren't you, darling?'
    'Oh, bad luck, old boy,' Rupert commiserated, but Deacon merely shrugged, looking philosophical.
    'So, have the police spoken to Jamie yet?' Grace was like a dog worrying at a bone.
    'They're speaking to everyone who was there,' Matt hedged, helping himself to a modest helping of roast chicken and veg.
    'I heard they'd arrested him.'
    'They've taken him in for questioning, that's all,' Matt said, ruthlessly suppressing his natural honesty. 'It's just routine. They've already spoken to me, and I expect they'll be after you and Rupert before long.'
    'What for? We didn't see anything, we were only there about twenty minutes.'
    'Well, I don't suppose Jamie saw anything either.'
    Grace subsided, looking annoyed, and then, with a sweetly malicious smile, picked up the dish of crispy roast potatoes and offered them to Matt.
    He returned her smile with a sarcastic one of his own and shook his head. Potatoes, especially roasted or chipped, were one of the things he had to ration when he was racing, and to give in to temptation was to set foot on the slippery slope that would mean long, dreary hours spent in the sauna.
    'No? Oh – sorry, I was forgetting, you have to watch your weight, don't you? How silly of me.'
    'Grace, you're a bitch,' Frances said flatly, but her sister just laughed.
    'That's enough!' Brewer finally took a hand, apparently dismissing Sophie's demise as of no further interest. 'So what did the doctor say about your ankle, Matt? Will you be fit to ride Cheddah on Wednesday?'
    'Can't see why not. It's just badly bruised, that's all.'
    'You'd have done far better resting it last night, instead of going out partying,' he groused, balancing three Yorkshire puddings on the edge of his plate, out of the gravy.
    Matt didn't rise to the bait. Brewer had always been a little jealous of his enduring loyalty to Doogie McKenzie. He'd have been even less pleased if he'd been privy to Matt's nocturnal scramble to the riverside.
    'Yeah, you're probably right,' he agreed, evenly.
    Having had the wind effectively let out of his sails, Brewer subsided and applied himself to his meal.
    When Matt and Kendra got back to Spinney Cottage just before midnight, they found Jamie sitting at the kitchen table, head on arms, asleep. A mug of something that had once been hot stood in front of him, untouched. It seemed that he had slept through the commotion of the dogs' greetings, but he raised his head sleepily when Matt said his name.
    'Are you OK?' Kendra asked. 'When did you get back?'
    Jamie rubbed a hand over his face. He looked pale and there were dark circles under his eyes.
    'Absolutely shattered. Got back about . . .' he looked at his watch, 'an hour ago.'
    Kendra put a hand on his arm.
    'I'm so