The Serpent Pool Read Online Free Page B

pretty girl.’
    As you keep telling me, Hannah thought.
    ‘You think she was fibbing?’
    ‘Dunno, it just didn’t ring true. My guess is, she didn’t fancy a night out in a big crowd. She doesn’t strike me as a party animal.’
    ‘So, Cassie is like me?’
    He considered the question as he gulped down the last of his crumpet, and opted for vagueness. Or tact.
    ‘Um. Sort of.’
     
    ‘So, what’s the latest on George Saffell?’ Marc asked.
    They were in Hannah’s Lexus, driving through the darkness. Their destination was south of the Hawkshead ferry, a modern mansion hidden among the trees on the slopes above Windermere. Marc drove half as many miles in a year as she did, but he wasn’t a good passenger, and she never enjoyed chauffeuring him. When she’d owned a car with a manual gearbox, he twitched with every change of gear. Now she drove an automatic, he twitched all the time. She might have passed her advanced test, he might have picked up a couple of speeding tickets, but if she rounded a bend at speed, his intake of breath soundedlike a pistol shot. If she took too long to set off when the lights turned green, his heel drummed on the floor mat in reproach.
    ‘Still dead, last I heard.’
    ‘You know what I mean.’ The habitual impatience flared, quick as the strike of a match. Hannah blamed his mother for spoiling him. Even this Christmas, the old lady hadn’t been able to resist the urge to straighten his collar and brush imaginary bits of fluff from his coat at every opportunity. She’d been in her forties when he was born and she couldn’t stop treating him like a precious gift. ‘Has Fern Larter figured out if it was murder?’
    An old Beach Boys hit played on the in-car CD player. Smooth harmonies, a song about heroes and villains.
    ‘It’s for the coroner to decide, and the inquest was adjourned.’ She felt a flash of irritation. Why didn’t he show the same interest in her own investigations? But perhaps her reaction was unfair. After selling books to the man for years, he was bound to be intrigued by George Saffell’s bizarre demise. It wasn’t every day that one of his most valued customers was roasted alive. ‘Last time we spoke, Fern had pretty much ruled out an accident.’
    ‘Not surprised. Strange accident, huh? To incinerate yourself and your prized possessions. You think he killed himself?’
    ‘Funny way to do it,’ she said. ‘Burning yourself to a crisp, with no chance of second thoughts once the flames take hold.’
    Saffell’s boathouse had been built of wood. Luxurious enough to feature in glossy lifestyle magazines, but never meant for round-the-year occupancy. Why would Saffellwant to spend dark winter evenings there when he had a lovely place out at Troutbeck?
    ‘Books obsessed him,’ Marc said. ‘Perhaps he thought it was a fitting way to go.’
    ‘You’d have to be very unhappy to choose that ahead of an overdose of painkillers.’
    ‘Yeah, he hated pain. According to his wife, even a twinge of toothache made him whimper.’
    ‘You know her?’
    They hadn’t spoken much about Saffell when they first learnt of his death. After initial expressions of shock and dismay, Marc lamented the loss of business. Not so much callous selfishness, as naked human nature. The two men were acquaintances, not friends. When a customer died, there was usually the prospect of buying his collection from the widow at a knock-down price, once a probate valuation at a pittance had been agreed. But even that consolation was denied. Four thousand books worth a small fortune, reduced to ash. For Marc, the destruction of rare books was a crime worse even than murder.
    ‘Wanda Saffell?’ Was it her imagination, or was he weighing up how much to say? ‘I’ve met her a few times, haven’t I mentioned it?’
    ‘Doesn’t ring a bell.’
    ‘You probably weren’t listening after a long day at Divisional HQ,’ he muttered.
    ‘I’m all ears now.’
    ‘Wanda was his second