The Fall Girl (33 page)

Lexy hesitated. "Probably won’t need to now.”

“Oh?"

“Yeah. I went up the hill with him this morning, and.

“You seem to go up that hill quite a lot."

In the background, the grumble increased. Kinky’s ears pricked up. Lexy saw Steve’s eyes flicker.

“It’s because it’s forbidden. I can’t resist it.”

“Is that right?”

“Anyway, I found out a lot. Tell you later." She indicated the Patersons. "How was court?" she murmured.

“Complicated." Milo’s ice-grey eyes were focused on Lexy. She didn’t notice because she was looking at Steve.

“You win the case?”

“Yup.”

“Good."

“So he’s fixing your car, is he?”

“Who, Steve? Yes. He’s a dab hand with sprockets.”

“I can imagine.”

The mechanical growl had now turned to a roar. It seemed to thicken the very air.

“Lotus
7
,
"
Steve said, absently.

Gabrielle put her head to one side with a small frown.

With a final, throaty growl, a low, green and yellow sports car burst into sight and slithered to a halt outside the cottage.

A round pink face gazed out at them and broke into a wide smile.

“Gabrielle! At last!”

The pink-faced being clambered out of the car, pushed his way through the gate and bounded along the path, oblivious to everything except Gabrielle, who was regarding him with a mixture of
delight and despair.

“Do you think that might be Russell?” Milo enquired.

“Gosh, I dunno.” Lexy shot him an exasperated look. “Of course it’s ruddy Russell.”

“Do you still want to... ?” Russell blurted.

“Yes! But what about the blonde woman?” Gabrielle shrieked.

Russell’s circular face regarded her with mystification.

“I saw you with her on the night before we left the shop. Leaving your house together.”

He frowned, then beamed.

“You never did meet Mummy, did you? She’s a bit eccentric, to be perfectly honest.” He lowered his voice. “Lots of work done. You know, on the face. I take after my
father, of course,” he added.

“Oh, Russell,” Gabrielle murmured, huskily.

“Oh, Gabrielle.” He clasped her to his chest.

“Oh, god,” remarked Milo. He inclined his head towards the gate. “Fancy another walk up this illicit hill?”

“Lot of sheep." Milo looked around him in surprise.

“Yup. The Gallimores have suddenly started putting them back up here. As of this morning.”

Lexy had Kinky back on the makeshift lead again, and the dog led the way, listening to the loud bleating with a lot more interest than he had shown earlier.

“This morning when you were up here with Steve.”

“Yes. Now listen to this. He’s got an alibi for the time Elizabeth fell.”

“Really?" Milo’s grey eyes narrowed.

“Might as well sit down. Over here, by the cliff edge, where it’s quieter. It’s a long story. Starts back in 1990."

Lexy told him Steve’s saga.

“God help that girl when he finally tells her who her real parents are," he said, when Lexy had finished.

And that’s not the worst of it, Lexy mused, thinking of Lola.

“He is going to tell her, I assume?"

“Think he’s realised he’s going to have to face up to it," Lexy said. "In fact, there was a horrible moment earlier in the garden when I thought he was going to blurt it out
there and then.”

“So how did you get him to tell you all this?”

“I guessed that Elizabeth was Rowana’s mother – from that photograph of her in the studio.”

Milo gave a short laugh. "Should have noticed it myself. They are remarkably similar.”

“And once that was out in the open, he told me the rest. I can’t get over the Archer Trevino bit. I mean, how would you feel if someone suddenly told you he was your
father?”

“I don’t even want to go there."

“Might not be so great for Rowana," Lexy pondered, "but you never know, the old bastard could be quite pleased to find he’s got a kid like her.”

“Especially a kid who paints.” Milo leaned back, shutting his eyes against the sun.

“That’s quite a cut you’ve got over your eyebrow,” said Lexy. He had a bruise on his cheek, and grazed knuckles, too. “Been beating up suspects again?”

“Police brutality,” Milo murmured. “The reason I joined the force.”

Lexy stared at him for a further minute, then exclaimed softly, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Me who what?”

“Knocked seven bells out of my husband.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“In the Jolly Herring. And it was you who brought Kinky back this morning.”

Milo was silent.

“Why didn’t you stick around?” Lexy demanded.

“It was five-thirty, I was in a hurry and I didn’t have time for explanations.” Milo looked shifty. “As it was, I’d had him with me all of yesterday because I
didn’t have a chance to get him back to you. Had to take him to Norwich Crown Court and back.”

“Bloody hell, Milo – why didn’t you tell me you’d got him? I was going out of my mind. And as for Edward and Peter...”

The detective gave her a sideways look. “For one thing, your phone wasn’t switched on. And for another, I didn’t want you knowing it was me who laid into Gerard. Doesn’t
exactly look good, does it?”

“Looks good from where I’m sitting.” Lexy considered him. “But how did you know Gerard had Kinky in the first place?”

“Edward called me when you and I were in the pub the other night – told me Kinky had gone missing.”

Lexy bit her lip. So much for Milo’s hot date.

“I went round there and got the rest of the story,” Milo continued. “And put two and two together, just like you must have done. I knew Gerard was staying at the Herring. I
told Edward not to report it, and I went over to the pub to persuade Gerard to hand Kinky over. Nicely. But he was such a...”

“I know,” said Lexy.

“He was drunk, too. He swung at me, and I... kind of lost it. Not my usual style, but there it is. He won’t have any lasting damage, and frankly, he had it coming.”

Lexy regarded him in admiration. “You got my dog back and you ran my husband out of town. That’s pretty impressive, Milo. I’m...”

“Think nothing of it,” the detective interrupted. “What’s up with these sheep, by the way?”

The beasts were milling anxiously around the summit, filling the air with aggravated baaing.

Lexy stood up, causing further consternation among them. One headed in their direction just as Milo was rising. It barged into the back of his legs, and would have knocked him clean over the
cliff if Lexy hadn’t grabbed his arm.

He clutched at her jacket. “They’ve turned into Fair Isle killing machines.”

Lexy’s eyes widened. Something had jumped up from the steps, straight into the middle of the flock.

“It’s the black dog!”

“Eh?”

“The black dog,” she yelled. “Y’know – Old Shuck. In among the sheep!”

With a sudden snarl, Kinky jerked the string lead clean out of her hand. He pelted towards the flock.

“Stop!” Lexy raced after the chihuahua.

Milo stared after them.

A piercing whistle resounded across the cliff top. All the sheep looked up as one. Kinky dived into their midst just as Bruce and Tyman Gallimore appeared over the ridge of the hill. Tyman
wasn’t wearing the bandage any more, but he looked pale. Didn’t stop him shouting at the top of his lungs, though.

“Oi – what the hell are you doing?”

Lexy supposed it didn’t look good – her up the outlawed hill yet again, this time running like a berserker at his precious lambkins. She hoped they’d missed the sight of Kinky
disappearing into the flock.

They certainly wouldn’t miss the frenzied growling and snapping. Kinky must have caught up with Old Shuck at last.

“Is that your dog in our flock?” Bruce shouted.

“No,” she yelled back, crossing her fingers. “This one’s a bit bigger.” And blacker.

“What are you...?” Milo had caught up with her.

“Stay with me on this,” she hissed.

The Gallimores pounded over to join them.

“Whose is it, then?” Tyman squinted at the flock.

Bruce was pulling a shotgun from a holder on his back.

Lexy hesitated. The barking had stopped. She found herself clutching Milo’s arm.

“You said it was a big black one,” said Milo. “Old Sugar, or something.”

“Old Shuck? The ghost dog? Didn’t sound like a ghost to me.” Bruce shouldered his gun.

Lexy frantically scanned the brown and white sea of wool. “Look – he’s in there. Towards the back – facing the cliff edge. Black and shaggy, big shoulders.”

She tried to see whether the beast was gripping anything small and caramel-coloured in its jaws.

“Bugger me – that’s Satan,” said Bruce.

Lexy and Milo stole a glance at him.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far...” Lexy began.

Tyman swore. “And there’s us thinking he’d been... consumed.”

“Yet ’ere he is, alive and kicking.” Bruce began to move towards the flock.

“I’ll keep them talking, you go and start the car,” said Milo to Lexy.

“It’s all right. Satan’s a...” Tyman began to move in the opposite direction from Bruce.

“... long-’aired Greek.” Bruce finished.

“Now I’m really worried.” Milo was still trying to see the creature.

Lexy closed her eyes. “Satan’s a rare breed, isn’t he?”

“Aye, that’s what we’ve been trying to tell you. Easy does it. Hang on... he’s pushing those sheep towards the cliff edge.”

Everyone stopped dead.

Satan was clearly visible now. A big, burly male goat, with a shaggy coat and horns that curled tightly back against his head.

“Yes,” said Milo, squinting. “From a distance, in the mist, it could almost be mistaken for...”

“Thank you,” Lexy muttered.

The goat was advancing towards a small group of sheep that had split from the main flock.

“We’ll lose them, Dad.” Tyman, his face white, bent low and started running towards them.

But someone beat him to it. Kinky. He struggled out from under one of the cliff top sheep and ran directly at the black goat. It bunched its legs. Was it going to toss the chihuahua clean over
the cliff? No – it pirouetted, and raced off, Kinky at its shaggy heels.

They were heading straight for Bruce.

The farmer lunged forward and grabbed the goat in capable arms, pushing it to the ground.

Kinky trotted back towards Lexy, snorting and shaking his head. He had wool trailing from his collar.

“So you thought he was the legendary Black Dog, did you?” Tyman, panting from the run, was grinning all over his face now.

“I’ve seen your ruddy Satan here, there and everywhere,” admitted Lexy. “Thought I was losing my marbles.”

Tyman drew closer to her. “You haven’t...?” He jerked his head at Milo, who had moved out of earshot to congratulate Kinky.

“Told him about Lola? No.”

“After the... Elizabeth incident, when things got desperate, Dad tied Satan up here as bait for Lola.”

“Bit drastic,” said Lexy.

“I know. He wasn’t thinking straight. He didn’t tell me until afterwards – he knew I’d have stopped him. Didn’t work, anyway – good old Satan must have
got loose. Er... Lexy...”

“Yes?”

“If... if... we decided to go to the police...”

Tyman had always been the one with the pricking conscience.

“... would it be best to talk to Milo first? He is a policeman, isn’t he?”

Lexy saw Milo quietly pull a hank of black wool from the chihuahua’s mouth. Kinky obviously hadn’t been able to resist a quick nip.

“Yes,” she said. Milo would be sure to thank her for that. “But leave it a while. The Patersons are going to have some other complications to deal with first.”

Tyman nodded, hurrying after Bruce.

Lexy, Milo and Kinky followed the flock down the hill, quietly peeling off when they reached the cottage.

Rowana and Gabrielle were sitting together on the kitchen doorstep, golden head against black. “I mean, I’m still going to do this job,” Lexy heard Gabrielle say. “I want
a career in fashion. I’ve already told Russell that.”

Lexy let Kinky loose, and he ran straight over to the hydrangea bush.

Steve was standing by the Panda, talking to Russell. He smiled over at Lexy, pointing to the car and giving her the thumbs-up.

Milo leant on the gate. “Purely out of interest,” he said, “is there something going on between you and Steve Paterson?”

Lexy perched herself on the garden wall beside him. “My golden rule, Milo. Never get involved with a client’s father.”

“I’ll bear that in mind. That your only rule?”

“No. I’ve got others – just can’t think of them at the moment.”

They relaxed in friendly silence for a moment.

“So what are you going to do now?” said Milo. “Now that Steve isn’t a suspect? Hey – you’re not going to start looking at the Gallimores again, are
you?”

“Nah. I think I was on the wrong track with them. Like you said, I’ve been making a mountain out of a molehill.”

Milo raised his eyebrows. “Wonders will never cease.”

“So, I think I’m going to call it a day and head on back to Clopwolde, seeing as Gerard appears no longer to be there.”

“Yes, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t mention that incident to anyone.” Milo inspected his grazed knuckles. “What are you going to do about Rowana and the magic...
thing, by the way?”

Lexy shrugged. It was a good question. She’d done what she’d set out to do, and discovered what happened to Elizabeth Cassall. Found out that it was more to do with a lioness than a
goddess.

But she wasn’t going to tell Rowana. It was up to the Gallimores to do that.

“I’m going to tell her that as far as I can establish, Elizabeth fell by accident.”

The truth, in other words.