only doubly making sure he wasn’t breathing as you said earlier. Which of course he isn’t, and I found this piece of cloth in his mouth. Strange.’
‘ Only ! Honestly Di you’ll get us in trouble. But yes, I do agree with you. It is strange.’
‘Very strange. Take another look at his mouth and around it. It’s bruised isn’t it? Don’t you agree?’ she asked.
‘Mmm. Maybe.’ Steve paused, as if he was not sure of what she was getting at. His look was very disturbed. He squatted down again on his haunches beside Diana.
‘He has marks on his wrists too. They’re bluish and tinged with red, just like the bruising around his mouth,’ she whispered. ‘Oh Steve, I don’t like this. It’s creepy.’
Di stood up. Her heart was hammering in her chest; she felt a weird feeling like an ice-cold hand creeping all over her body. Her face was devoid of colour. She looked around her, terrified. There was not a sound to be heard. No birdsong, or cicadas, or a whisper in the trees. It was all perfectly still.
Steve straightened up and put a protective arm around her shoulders. ‘Creepy is not the word I would have used in the circumstances.’ She gave a little moan and Steve tightened his grip on her. ‘It’s all right, darling. It’s just a dead body. He can’t hurt you. He can’t hurt anyone.’
She swayed and moaned again.
‘Sssh. It’s okay,’ he murmured into her hair.
‘I-I know that. It’s just - well to be out and have an accident and nobody to help you is one thing. But to have some madman come along and do this. It's horrific, revolting. And why does he have those bruises? He must have been tied up, tortured even,’ she raised her face to his, a horrified expression in her eyes.
‘We can’t be sure. That’s not our job. But he was fairly old and the elderly bruise easily. Look, I don’t think it’s healthy to try and guess what happened. It’s bad enough us finding him in this state. It would be much more sensible to let the police do their job when they get here. They’ll surely know what happened,’ he rubbed the back of her neck to soothe her.
‘Okay. Okay. But what if the murderer is still hanging around?’ she took a deep breath in before answering her own question. ‘I’m probably letting my imagination run away with me as you said before; I expect he’s long gone. But what about Sonja?’
Neither relished the thought of talking to Leslie’s wife about what they had found, but there again would the authorities use enough discretion and compassion?
~~~
The evening light was fast receding when the police arrived in their four-wheel drives.
Steve need not have worried about notifying Sonja as she accompanied them down to the accident scene. Sonja jumped out of the car and hurried over to where Leslie’s body lay.
In the dim light, Steve and Diana couldn’t read her face. She gazed down for a long time at the body that had once been her husband. She looked across the short gap to where they both waited silently. Diana’s hand was held tightly in Steve’s warm one.
Sonja’s face looked old and gaunt, far older than her fifty three years. She stared hard at them before saying in her slight Scottish accent. ‘What time did you find him? Was anyone else with you?’
Steve answered giving the time as a little after four o’clock.
Sonja nodded. ‘Typical. Wouldn’t die in his own bed would he? As usual, it always had to be something dramatic for him. Even up to the end,’ her voice sounded odd across the clearing, thin and gravely. ‘He’s lost his ring,’ she muttered.
‘What?’
‘His ring, it’s missing. The blue and gold lapis lazuli scarab. I bought it for him when we first got married. I got it from a goldsmith in Cairo. He’s not wearing it. He always wore it,’ her voice sounded as if she was annoyed; put out. She turned away with an exclamation. Without another word she walked towards the Cypriot policeman who was standing to one side
‘ Only ! Honestly Di you’ll get us in trouble. But yes, I do agree with you. It is strange.’
‘Very strange. Take another look at his mouth and around it. It’s bruised isn’t it? Don’t you agree?’ she asked.
‘Mmm. Maybe.’ Steve paused, as if he was not sure of what she was getting at. His look was very disturbed. He squatted down again on his haunches beside Diana.
‘He has marks on his wrists too. They’re bluish and tinged with red, just like the bruising around his mouth,’ she whispered. ‘Oh Steve, I don’t like this. It’s creepy.’
Di stood up. Her heart was hammering in her chest; she felt a weird feeling like an ice-cold hand creeping all over her body. Her face was devoid of colour. She looked around her, terrified. There was not a sound to be heard. No birdsong, or cicadas, or a whisper in the trees. It was all perfectly still.
Steve straightened up and put a protective arm around her shoulders. ‘Creepy is not the word I would have used in the circumstances.’ She gave a little moan and Steve tightened his grip on her. ‘It’s all right, darling. It’s just a dead body. He can’t hurt you. He can’t hurt anyone.’
She swayed and moaned again.
‘Sssh. It’s okay,’ he murmured into her hair.
‘I-I know that. It’s just - well to be out and have an accident and nobody to help you is one thing. But to have some madman come along and do this. It's horrific, revolting. And why does he have those bruises? He must have been tied up, tortured even,’ she raised her face to his, a horrified expression in her eyes.
‘We can’t be sure. That’s not our job. But he was fairly old and the elderly bruise easily. Look, I don’t think it’s healthy to try and guess what happened. It’s bad enough us finding him in this state. It would be much more sensible to let the police do their job when they get here. They’ll surely know what happened,’ he rubbed the back of her neck to soothe her.
‘Okay. Okay. But what if the murderer is still hanging around?’ she took a deep breath in before answering her own question. ‘I’m probably letting my imagination run away with me as you said before; I expect he’s long gone. But what about Sonja?’
Neither relished the thought of talking to Leslie’s wife about what they had found, but there again would the authorities use enough discretion and compassion?
~~~
The evening light was fast receding when the police arrived in their four-wheel drives.
Steve need not have worried about notifying Sonja as she accompanied them down to the accident scene. Sonja jumped out of the car and hurried over to where Leslie’s body lay.
In the dim light, Steve and Diana couldn’t read her face. She gazed down for a long time at the body that had once been her husband. She looked across the short gap to where they both waited silently. Diana’s hand was held tightly in Steve’s warm one.
Sonja’s face looked old and gaunt, far older than her fifty three years. She stared hard at them before saying in her slight Scottish accent. ‘What time did you find him? Was anyone else with you?’
Steve answered giving the time as a little after four o’clock.
Sonja nodded. ‘Typical. Wouldn’t die in his own bed would he? As usual, it always had to be something dramatic for him. Even up to the end,’ her voice sounded odd across the clearing, thin and gravely. ‘He’s lost his ring,’ she muttered.
‘What?’
‘His ring, it’s missing. The blue and gold lapis lazuli scarab. I bought it for him when we first got married. I got it from a goldsmith in Cairo. He’s not wearing it. He always wore it,’ her voice sounded as if she was annoyed; put out. She turned away with an exclamation. Without another word she walked towards the Cypriot policeman who was standing to one side
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