Grave Matters (21 page)

‘Who can tell?’ said Patrick. ‘There was one other thing.’

‘Yes?’

‘Madge Bradshaw was very ill. She’d got to have an operation – it was critical. Denis knew, but she didn’t. I don’t know if that makes it better, or even worse.’

The others were silent. After a while Jane spoke.

‘Nor do I,’ she said.

‘She wouldn’t have died violently, nor so soon, if I hadn’t been so thick-witted,’ Patrick said.

‘There’ll be a post-mortem, won’t there? That will show just how ill she was,’ Michael said.

‘Yes. But to die like that – her head . . .’ Patrick’s voice trailed off. He had seen the photographs of Madge’s body. Perhaps she had felt only the first blow, when the stone hit her. But perhaps she had seen and recognised her assailant, before death came.

‘How did David hurt his head?’ asked Jane. ‘Did Carol bash him too?’

‘Yes. She couldn’t lug him upstairs. He thinks he may have moved around, but he doesn’t remember. She clobbered him with the door-stop,’ Patrick said.

‘Those books,’ Jane said. ‘Valerie’s. What’s going to happen about them now? You won’t want to cope.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Patrick. ‘Thornton’s would love to deal with them, I’m sure.’

‘You’d better write to Valerie and suggest it, then,’ said Jane. ‘The sooner you unload that chore the better.’

‘On the principle of plucking out the offending member. Yes,’ said Patrick. ‘I agree.’

‘That’s settled then,’ said Jane briskly. She would never meet Ellen now. ‘Oh, and stay the night, Patrick,’ she went on. ‘Michael’s doing a little painting job tomorrow, and he’d like some help. He’s going to do the baby’s room.’

Michael gaped at her. ‘Am I?’ he asked, and earned a glare.

‘So soon?’ said Patrick. ‘You mean to be prepared.’

‘I bought the paint this afternoon,’ said Jane.

‘I see you share your husband’s views on therapy,’ said Patrick. He got up and looked out of the window. It was quite dark now. ‘Very well, dear sister. You’ve just hired yourself a painter.’

(in order of first publication)

These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

Published by House of Stratus

Cast For Death Sam Irwin, actor, is found dead in the River Thames. It appears to be suicide. But why should he have taken his own life shortly before opening in a new play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon? Dr. Patrick Grant, a friend of Irwin, manages to link the seemingly unconnected occurrences of the death of a dog, a further suicide, and a series of art robberies in coming to an conclusion. That, however, is not what is seems, being only the prelude to a massive deception. Grant himself is threatened, and unless he can escape unscathed from a concert at the Festival Hall, the secret of Irwin’s death will die with him.

Dead In The Morning Imagine an old lady who was hated because of her arrogance and cruelty towards her children, and whose lives she dominated, becoming a murder victim. But it is the housekeeper who is found dead. Had a mistake been made and the wrong woman killed? Dr. Patrick Grant uses his powers of logic and deduction to determine this is not the case, but he can only prove it at the expense of incriminating an innocent person. How does he solve this particular conundrum?

Grave Matters Amelia Brinton, a retired headmistress of a top girl’s school, appears to have accidently fallen to her death in Greece. Her friend, a Miss Forest, also meets her death having been pushed down stairs in the British Museum. Dr. Patrick Grant connects the two events and his investigations lead him to a quiet backwater village in Hampshire. Yet more mysteries unfold; a dog drowns in shallow water, there is a case of food poisoning, and finally a house appears to be haunted. There is then another murder. What connects these events and why was Amelia Brinton killed. It takes Grant’s full powers of logic and deduction, with a little help from the police, to get to the bottom of what is a spine tingling mystery and ultimate crime story.

Mortal Remains Dr. Patrick Grant does not believe that Felix Lomax died accidentally. The unfortunate Lomax was thought to be lecturing on a luxury cruise liner, but is found washed ashore on a lonely beach in Crete. Grant’s investigations take him upon a trail which eventually leads to the tombs of Mycenae, where he ends up risking his own life in an effort to determine the truth.

Silent Witness The Austrian Alpine ski resort of Greutz is the scene of rivalry between an English party and some new arrivals. The tension mounts with the weather closing in, when blizzards envelope the resort and avalanches threaten. Dr. Patrick Grant’s particular powers of logic and reasoning are needed, however, when a member of the party is discovered murdered. Why should a seemingly insignificant individual become a victim?

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