Read The Troutbeck Testimony for Free Online Page B

not. The fact of a man in her life would force her to divide her attention; worse than that, it would invite the biggest decision of all – whether to risk another pregnancy. She had always been of the opinion that forty was the absolute upper limit for such a venture, which gave her alarmingly little time. It was also preferable to choose a father for the baby who would provide at least a degree of support and involvement. The way things stood with Ninian, it made her head hurt simply to try to imagine how he might fit himself into such a role.
    The big funeral on Friday should by rights be filling hermind. The van could not contain all the tributes at once, which meant a very early start that morning and at least two journeys to deliver them all. There was the challenging central tribute from Valerie Rossiter, which would have to be constructed later the next day, then kept moist and fresh throughout Thursday. Other orders had come from an array of friends, colleagues and relatives spanning the globe. The dead woman had enjoyed a variety of roles locally, and had apparently been popular with everyone she encountered. The big church in Windermere was the venue both for the service and the subsequent interment. Traffic might find itself held up and media reporters were likely to put in an appearance. Florists from Ambleside, Bowness and beyond were sure to find themselves almost as overwhelmed as Simmy was. There would be friendly competition and a determination to avoid the slightest mistake.
    But everything was under control, and further thinking about it threatened to prove both tedious and unproductive.
    It dawned on her that there were rather too many subjects that she preferred not to think about. Her mind had grown accustomed to an automatic shying away from a long list of painful topics. Babies, boyfriends, any suggestion of crime, how she would manage without Melanie, what had happened to poor little Bonnie, and how her business and finances might work out in the coming years – not one of them brought anything but negative thoughts.
    Crime was the worst. Since the autumn, she had ended up in the middle of some serious violence and personal damage. The sight of two police cars in a gateway half a mile from her home had sent shivers of dread through her. That specific glimpse was yet another avenue her thoughts struggled to avoid.
    So she concentrated on Bonnie, as something new and intriguing. Then Ben, who despite his deplorable enthusiasm for the minutiae of murder, was endearing and amazing and highly entertaining. And finally, the sweeter points of Ninian, who, she supposed, was officially entitled to call himself her boyfriend after what had happened between them in February and a few times since then.
    The landline phone was ringing, she noticed lazily. Probably one of her parents, since hardly anyone else ever used it these days. Tempted to leave them to the message-taking facility, she suddenly changed her mind and caught it on the last warble before it cut off.
    ‘Mrs Brown?’ came an unfamiliar male voice. ‘It’s the Windermere police here. We had a call from a Mr Russell Straw early today, about something he overheard yesterday. He said you could corroborate it if necessary.’
    Her head swam in disbelief. Surely her father hadn’t really reported a half-heard conversation that could be interpreted in a hundred different ways? Why hadn’t her mother stopped him? ‘I didn’t hear anything,’ she said.
    ‘But you saw two men and a boy in a car.’
    ‘Briefly. So what?’
    ‘We’ve been working on a series of crimes in the area for the past several weeks, and there’s a chance that you and your father stumbled on something relevant to our enquiries.’
    ‘Series of crimes?’ she repeated. ‘What sort of crimes?’
    ‘We call it dognapping. Stealing valuable animals for resale down south. Sometimes overseas as well.’
    She almost laughed. ‘And that’s serious, is it?’ she demanded.