A Medal For Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

key and turned it. With a noisy creak, the door opened. They stood stock still. Lucy shuddered. ‘It’s black as pitch in here.’
    ‘That’s what I’m saying. You’re not going to like it. It will be scary at night . . .’
    She stepped inside. The beam from the lamp showed cracked floorboards, and a dark void beneath. He said, ‘Stop! The boards are giving way. There’s a ten-foot drop to nowhere.’
    She tugged at his sleeve. ‘Then let’s go up the stairs. Don’t look down.’
    Dylan sniffed. ‘That stench! This lower floor must have been used to store something that rotted. That’s why the floorboards are breaking, cracking.’
    A straight staircase with two missing treads led to the floor above.
    ‘Steady, Lucy!’
    ‘Don’t fuss.’
    A mullion window, its glass cracked, let in a smidgen of moonlight.
    When her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, Lucy saw that everything was in place, just as she had left it: blankets, bottle of water, biscuit tin with food, candles and matches. She struck a match and lit a candle.
    Dylan took a sharp breath. ‘This place would go up like a tinderbox. I wish I’d never . . .’
    ‘It will be all right.’ She lit a second candle and let the grease drip to the floor, then fixed the candle in its own wax.
    ‘It’s madness,’ Dylan moaned.
    ‘Sometimes madness is best. And you won’t say that when it’s all over. I’m only demanding my due. One thousand pounds might sound a lot, but not if you say it quickly. For heaven’s sake, if a fictional character like Anna Tellwright in the play can come into fifty thousand pounds . . . And there’ll be something for you, for helping me.’
    ‘I don’t want any money.’
    ‘Nothing bad is going to happen. Anyway, I can let myself out at any time, so stop worrying.’ She reached out a hand. ‘Let’s look at the moon. Let’s count the stars. Let’s dance on the battlements. Is that what they’re called?’ She led the way to a narrow spiral staircase. ‘Come up to the top. I’ve brought a compass. I’ll give you the lie of the land.’
    He followed reluctantly. ‘I know the lie of the land, and I don’t feel like dancing.’
    ‘You see, these stairs are quite firm.’
    They reached the top of the tower.
    ‘Isn’t it glorious?’ She flung out her arms. ‘You can see for miles.’
    The moon lit the surrounding fields. To the east, the blur of a copse formed a dark backdrop. Stars glittered for attention. Hay-making had been going on in a distant field and the scent still hung in the air. Dylan said, ‘Whoever built this tower came up here to look at the stars.’
    ‘Or to dance with his true love.’ She held out her arms and began to sing. ‘If you were the only boy in the world, and I were the only girl, nothing else would matter in the world today . . . Come on! Dance with me!’
    ‘I’m dreaming,’ he said, reaching out, one arm around her waist, another on her shoulder. ‘I shall wake up soon.’
    ‘Go on dreaming, but sing.’
    ‘If you were the only girl in the world . . .’
    They danced around the roof of the tower.
    ‘When I’m an actress, you must come to any stage door in the world and ask to see me. I’ll never forget my friend in need, Dylan. I feel I’ve loved you, like Anna loved Willie. Something true and forever.’
    ‘Then . . .’
    ‘Shh.’ She put a finger to his lips. ‘I’ll remember you forever, wherever life takes me.’ She laughed. ‘We gave old Milner the slip all right. He was determined to give me a lift . . .’
    ‘That’s not all he was determined about,’ Dylan said.
    ‘And your face!’
    ‘Don’t talk about him.’
    ‘He’s odious. If I were a man and a character actor, I would study him. As it is . . .’ She made a sound ofpretend vomiting. ‘Can you imagine that he and my granddad actually thought I would marry him?’
    ‘Yes, I can imagine.’
    ‘What century, what country in their mind are they living in?’
    ‘No one can force you to