Cherringham--Blade in the Water Read Online Free Page B

I should talk to?”
    Michael shrugged. His face scrunched up thinking over the question.
    Then: “Look, the local boat people are a clannish lot. But they share stories among themselves. I’d talk to them. Maybe someone saw something. Kent arriving from London, for example. Start there …”
    Jack stood up. “Good idea.” He put his cup on the tray atop the piano stool, removing the cookie. He took a bite.
    “You know Helen, I get these from Huffington’s as well. Positively addictive …”
    Sarah’s mum smiled at that. An amateur chef who liked exploring the outer limits of what passed for cuisine, she loved any compliment, even if it was for someone else’s biscuit.
    Then, back to Michael. “The local boat people. I know a few of them. I’ll do just that. And now if I could borrow Sarah for a moment …”
    Michael nodded.
    Helen touched his arm as he got up. “Come round for dinner soon, Jack. Been exploring Indonesian recipes lately.”
    “Sign me up,” he said.
    Then he walked out of the sitting room, leaving the miniature Cherringham Regatta behind, with Sarah walking beside him.
    *
    “Those two …” Sarah said.
    It was always fun to see Jack with her parents.
    When Worlds Collide.
    But actually they got on so well.
    He just may be edging ahead of me in popularity, she thought.
    “I love ’em,” Jack said. “Sorry I had to rain on Michael’s parade, or his Regatta.”
    “It is important to the community. And these days every pound counts.”
    “I know that.” He took a breath, and smiled at Sarah. “So, I’m interested in what you think about all this?”
    About a missing person. Or a murder?
    Either way, a mystery.
    Sarah looked away for a moment, then turned back, her thoughts now coming so fast …

5. Missing, Presumed …
    “What do I think?”
    Jack had stopped by his car, dug out his sunglasses, looking every bit the American detective.
    “Yup. You’re getting — got — instincts. Love to hear them.”
    Sarah turned, looking across her parents’ immaculate lawn down to the river in the distance. She knew how important this Regatta was to her father; any talk of a scandal, of murder even … it would not sit well.
    Still, Sarah had learned that hidden things, buried secrets, didn’t usually stay buried or hidden for long.
    “Since you asked, it does all sound a bit weird. Boat coming loose. That alone is odd, though I suppose it could happen.”
    “People usually take better care of their expensive toys.”
    “ Precisely . But the blood on the railing, the knife — in Alan’s hands by now I imagine?”
    Sarah knew that her one-time schoolmate Alan Rivers, Cherringham’s local cop, would never forgive Jack for holding back evidence.
    “Joan took it right over. No fan of Alan’s but she knows the law.”
    Sarah smiled at that. “Bet she does. So we could wait until we get a report on the blood.”
    “Wait?”
    Jack was not one to wait.
    Not exactly an impatient person, but he had delivered more than one lecture on how trails go cold.
    “Or, I suppose we could look into it. You wanted my gut instinct? I think something bad — one way or the other — has happened to Martin Kent.”
    “Me too. Glad we are on the same page.”
    “So — what do we do?”
    “Your dad had a good idea. Talk to the boat people down on the river.”
    “And how about I see what I can dig up on Kent? Whether he did something that might have made him enemies?”
    “Perfect. Late bite after?”
    “If I can get Daniel and Chloe sorted. Last few weeks of school they pile on the projects and exams. But the kids are getting pretty independent.”
    That was true, Sarah thought.
    Both of her kids seemed to be changing daily. Chloe already a full-on teenage girl with all the wonder and baggage that brings. Daniel racing behind her.
    They’ll be fine, she thought.
    “Great,” Jack said. He opened the door to his Sprite. “And one other thing. Tell your Dad that we’ll do everything we can to