Murder in the Neighbourhood: A Diane Dimbleby Cozy Mystery Read Online Free PDF

murderer’s attempt to make it look like an accident… or suicide.”
    Darrell goes on to reveal that he’s quite sure he and his sergeants found the murder weapon. They found a grab-rail, meant to be installed on the bathroom wall, in Carys’ bedroom. It had traces of her blood and hair on it.
    Diane gasps. Carys had just bought some grab rails to have installed in her upstairs bathroom. Carys had said they were to help her on her “less energetic days.” Apparently, Richard was going to install them but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
    “Richard…” whispers Diane to herself.
    “Sorry Diane, did you say something?” asks Darrell.
    Diane shakes her head. “You know, I only heard her scream once,” she says, changing the subject. “I assumed she screamed when she fell. If only I had heard her before that… if I had known she was being attacked, I would have been there. I could have stopped it.”
    Darrell smiles gently. “Diane it’s not your fault. There is nothing you could have done differently to change this. All of your neighbours report the same thing: they only heard one scream, if anything at all. And you did not hesitate when you heard that scream. You ran right there. That’s a true friend in my books!”
    The inspector says his goodbyes and tells Diane he’ll be by in the morning to pick her up.
    Lying in bed that night, a constant thought keeps Diane from sleeping for the first hour or more. Did Carys make that dreadful scream a split second before she was fatally whacked on the head?
     
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    By the time Darrell arrives to pick up Diane, she has already had three cups of tea, done two loads of laundry and started cleaning the windows. This is not how Diane usually spends her Sunday mornings – she normally listens to the radio while leisurely reading the paper before diving into her writing.
    But this is no ordinary Sunday. They are heading to the bank of her recently departed friend who has left ( who? them? ) a clue ( for what? to help bring clarity as to who was after her? to who wanted her dead? ).
    Before Darrell even has time to exit his Range Rover to knock on Diane’s front door, she has already slammed her door shut and is waiting outside the passenger door to his vehicle.
    “So you’re a morning person!” says Darrell jovially.
    “You could say that.”
    Leaving Apple Mews, they drive over the metal bridge constructed above the river. Darrell would much prefer sitting next to a river, fishing with his father’s mates like he had originally planned for today. But he would never be able to enjoy himself, knowing that there is a potentially strong lead that needed to be looked into immediately.
    “How are you coping?” he asks Diane.
    “ The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning ,” she says, putting on a slight smile.
    “And who said that?” asks Darrell.
    “Sherlock Holmes,” she says, smiling a tad brighter.
    When they arrive at Carys’ bank in Shrewsbury, Sergeant Webster and a man, wearing a grey business suit along with a grimace, are waiting for them outside.
    “Someone does not look too happy with being called here on a Sunday,” Darrell chuckles.
    “I’m impressed you arranged this so quickly,” says Diane.
    They exit the Range Rover and Sergeant Webster introduces them to the bank manager whose scowl quickly disappears whilst standing next to the much taller and fitter Inspector Crothers. Darrell hands the bank manager a warrant indicating their authority to open Carys’ safety deposit box.
    “Right, this way,” the manager says. They follow him inside, behind the counter and to the back of the bank. He unlocks a door to the vault which reveals a room with hundreds of safety deposit boxes. Diane shows him the key and tells him it should open box 2914.
    The bank manager points out the corresponding box into which Diane inserts the key. She struggles for a moment to twist the key. She dries her clammy hands on