The Cipher Garden Read Online Free PDF Page B

lifting celebratory glasses at a table in a restaurant. ‘In happier times’, as the gossip columns might say. A painting of a crimson sunset above shadowy heights hung behind them; Hannah guessed at nightfall over the Langdale Pikes. A card propped up next to an empty bottle of Bollinger depicted popping corks and proclaimed Have a Wonderful Anniversary!
    Tina Howe’s equine appearance lived up to its advance billing, but her bone structure had a subtle elegance. Hannah understood why Nick had seen past the horsy jaw and tombstone teeth, and discerned a formidable spirit. Plenty of men would be attracted to such a woman, and not merely because her black top displayed a dramatic cleavage. Few would be a match for her.
    Sam was a more obviously handsome version of his father. His sister had laid a hand on his arm, as though trying to protect him from committing some faux pas. A mass of auburn hair tumbled on to her shoulders, and her features were unmistakably those of a Howe. She must have been about sixteen and her demure cocktail dress hinted at a figure that might one day rival her mother’s, but Hannah thought the smile was misleading. Everyone else was enjoying themselves, but Kirsty Howe had anxious eyes.
    Nick came in and glanced at the file. ‘Taken at therestaurant in the village, a couple of weeks before the murder. Warren and Tina’s china wedding anniversary.’
    ‘China?’
    ‘Twentieth.’
    ‘You know everything.’
    ‘I wish. Finished the file yet?’
    ‘Halfway through. Seems the team never got near to making an arrest.’
    ‘Spotted the name of the SIO?’
    ‘Clueless Charlie deceased? Yeah, explains a lot. The criminals of Cumbria were heartbroken when he suffered that coronary.’
    ‘It wasn’t brought on by overwork. He could have scuppered the force’s spidergram single-handed if he was still around. Charlie certainly lived up to his nickname during the Howe case. The inquiry was all over the place, we seemed to do nothing but thrash around in the dark. One thing about Charlie, he gave good PR, and the Press loved him for it. Did you ever work with him?’
    ‘No, but I gather I missed a treat.’
    ‘He was a throwback to the Fifties, Fabian of the Yard plus handlebar moustache. Rumours swirled that he might even dust off his old trilby for the cameras. Anything to divert attention from lack of progress to report. Before it came to that, the trail got cold and the media lost interest. So did Charlie. One more unsolved crime. You and I owe him a vote of thanks. For cold case work, he was a one-man job creation scheme.’
    Hannah laughed. ‘So he never came close to an arrest?’
    ‘I actually once heard him say cherchez la femme . At least I think that’s what he said. With a Geordie accent that strong, it’s not easy to tell. He liked women almost as much as food, did Charlie, but the female psyche baffledhim in a way shepherd’s pie and chips never did. When Roz Gleave confounded him with her alibi, he turned his attention to her mate Bel Jenner. Personally, I suspected it was an excuse to ogle her while sampling three courses of home cooking in her restaurant.’
    ‘And did you fancy Bel Jenner?’
    ‘A beautiful woman,’ Nick said carefully, ‘none the worse for being a wealthy widow still on the right side of forty. Her husband was much older and he’d died a couple of months earlier and the new young chef was drooling over her. For all we knew, they’d been having an affair while the husband was on his deathbed. Oliver, the chef ’s name was, Oliver Cox. The little boy who kept coming back for more, Charlie called him.’
    ‘Oh yeah? Tell me about the husband’s death.’
    ‘Don’t get too excited, it was natural causes. Brain tumour. As far as Bel Jenner was concerned, Charlie was pissing in the wind. She had no motive, and it was the same with Roz. Suppose Warren Howe tried it on with one of them, so what? Bel and Roz had grown up with him, they were ex-girlfriends