Murder in Midwinter

MURDER
IN MIDWINTER

LESLEY COOKMAN

First published by Accent Press Ltd – 2007

This edition printed 2012

ISBN 9781908917058

Copyright © Lesley Cookman 2007

The right of Lesley Cookman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, The Old School, Upper High St, Bedlinog, Mid Glamorgan, CF46 6SA.

Cover design by Sarah Ann Davies

More titles in the Libby Sarjeant Series

For Gus

Acknowledgements

This book owes its existence to my “music hall musical”
Summer Season,
written at the suggestion of Max Tyler, the archivist for the British Music Hall Society, who also provided me with valuable research material. My thanks to him, and to the Lindley Players, the original cast of
Summer Season,
who gave it life.

WHO’S WHO IN THE LIBBY SARJEANT SERIES

Libby Sarjeant
Former actor, sometime artist, resident of 17, Allhallow’s Lane, Steeple Martin. Owner of Sidney the cat.

Fran Castle
Also former actor, occasional psychic, and owner of Balzac the cat.

Ben Wilde
Owner of The Manor Farm and the Oast House Theatre.

Guy Wolfe
Artist and owner of a shop and gallery in Harbour Street, Nethergate.

Peter Parker
Ben’s cousin. Free-lance journalist, part-owner of The Pink Geranium restaurant and partner of Harry Price.

Harry Price
Chef and co-owner of The Pink Geranium and Peter Parker’s partner.

Hetty Wilde
Ben’s mother. Lives at The Manor.

Greg Wilde
Hetty’s husband and Ben’s father.

DCI Ian Connell
Local policeman.

Adam Sarjeant
Libby’s youngest son. Works with garden designer Mog, mainly at Creekmarsh.

Lewis Osbourne-Walker
TV gardener and handy-man who owns Creekmarsh.

Sophie Wolfe
Guy’s daughter. Lives above the gallery.

Flo Carpenter
Hetty’s oldest friend.

Lenny Fisher
Hetty’s brother. Lives with Flo Carpenter.

Ali and Ahmed
Owners of the Eight-til-late in the village.

Jane Baker
Chief Reporter for the
Nethergate Mercury
. Mother to Imogen.

Terry Baker
Jane’s husband and father of Imogen.

Joe, Nella and Owen
Of Cattlegreen Nurseries.

DCI Don Murray
Of Canterbury Police.

Amanda George
Novelist, known as Rosie

Chapter One

‘
B
LOODY AWFUL
,
AREN
’
T THEY
?’ muttered Peter Parker, as Libby Sarjeant returned to her seat in the auditorium to pick up her script and basket, having dismissed the cast of
Jack and the Beanstalk
after a fairly dismal rehearsal.

‘No worse than they were for
The Hop Pickers
. They’ll be all right.’ Libby crossed her fingers.

‘Sure we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew?’ Peter wound a scarf round his neck as they went into the foyer.

‘Oh, I expect so. After all, we don’t do things by halves, do we?’ Libby went to switch off the lights. ‘Our first play, written by you in a theatre owned by your family and converted by your cousin Ben was somewhat marred by a murder, so in a spirit of reckless abandon, we decide to do a pantomime, also written by you, with musicians we’ve never worked with and an inexperienced cast.’