Death on the Downs

Thirty-Four

Jude was ringing at her doorbell as soon as Carole got in the following morning. She’d just taken Gulliver for his walk on Fethering Beach. Her neighbour must’ve seen her go past the window and rushed round straight away. Carole was prepared to be embarrassed about the previous night’s uncharacteristic lapse into weakness, until she saw the expression on Jude’s face.

“What on earth is it?” Carole had never seen her friend’s serenity so shot to pieces. The cheeks were red, the brown eyes wide with excitement and anxiety.

“Come back to my place. I’ll show you.”

“What?”

“I videoed it. Quick!”

“What are you talking about?”

“The local news. They had a headline about it, so I switched the video on straight away. I got most of the report.”

“Look, I’ve got to take my coat off and give Gulliver a drink and – ”

“Come on!”

Carole perched on the swathed arm of a chair while Jude fiddled with the video control to wind back the tape. The playback wheezed into life.

“…a terrible tragedy,” said a reporter’s voice. “The fire, which is believed to have started on the ground floor, spread very quickly.”

The screen filled with a blackened shell, from which wisps of smoke still rose. It took Carole a moment to recognize Heron Cottage.

“Because Weldisham is so far from the main road and because the fire had taken such a firm hold before the alarm was raised at four o’clock this morning, the emergency services were able to do little. By the time they reached the cottage, it was already virtually demolished. ‘One body, that of an elderly woman, was found on the premises in an upstairs room. She has yet to be formally identified.’