As Suzie allowed herself to start thinking about a future of untold riches, she saw Geoffrey take a sip of his coffee, cough once, then choke quite badly—and then cough much more violently—and then he fell off his chair and dropped to the floor, where he lay entirely motionless. Sophia was the first to react, crying out "Geoffrey!" as she dropped to his side. Marcus, Debbie, and Jeremy rose from their chairs in horror.
Sophia called out to the room, "Someone phone for an ambulance!"
Debbie was finally stung into action, and she pulled out her phone, jabbing at the screen in panic. As she did so, Suzie started to head down the stairs to help, but Jeremy stepped across to block her path.
"You can't come down here, it's for council officers only."
Suzie had the briefest impulse to push Jeremy to the side, but she could see that Debbie was already talking to the emergency services, and she realized her time could be used more profitably elsewhere. She headed back up the steps, pulling out her mobile and pressing speed dial as she went. It started ringing as she pushed through the door that led into the little corridor outside the debating chamber.
"Judith," she said as the call was answered, "it's me, Suzie."
"Hello," Judith said from the other end of the line. "How are you?"
"Oh, good, thanks for asking. Much better than the mayor of Marlow."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, there's no easy way to say this, but he's just died. I think it's possible he's been murdered."
CHAPTER TWO
Tanika Malik was reading her daughter Shanti a bedtime story when her mobile started ringing from elsewhere in the house.
"Shamil," she called out, "can you get that?"
Tanika turned back to her daughter, who was sitting on her lap. She smelled of biscuits, soap, and fresh laundry, and Tanika knew that these moments were the happiest of her life, even if the story her daughter insisted they read—about a forgetful fireman called Sam—was one that she'd read a hundred times before. No, a thousand times before. Knowing the words by heart at least allowed Tanika to concentrate on Shanti rather than having to look down at the page.
Shamil appeared at the door, Tanika's phone in his hand. She could tell from the look on his face that it was work. Tanika's stomach clenched. She'd recently started a new role at the police station, which meant she was "on call" twenty-four hours a day, even when she was technically off shift.
Hoping her smile didn't falter, she turned back to Shanti.
"Daddy wants to finish the story with you," she said.
"Daddy!" Shanti said, only now noticing Shamil in the doorway.
"What are we reading?" Shamil said as he came over, handing his wife's phone to her as she got up and left the room—although Tanika stole a last moment in the doorway. Her husband was by all accounts pretty useless. He didn't have a regular job, instead believing he'd one day be a hotshot DJ, and he wasn't the most punctual and reliable partner with whom to raise a daughter. And there was no point expecting him to do the laundry, or remember to get the car to the garage for its annual tune-up, but Tanika knew that his love for her was eclipsed only by his love for their daughter. And although it broke her heart to be wrenched away from Shanti's bedtime routine—once again—she knew that it didn't break Shanti's, and that's what mattered. It was all that mattered. And bringing murderers to justice—that was the other thing that mattered.
Tanika slipped along the corridor to answer the call.
Just under twenty minutes later, she drove up to the Marlow town council building and pulled up next to an ambulance and two police cars that had already arrived. As she got out of her car, she noted that Suzie Harris's dog-walking van was also parked nearby.
Tanika's eyes narrowed as a young detective constable called Antonia approached her.
"Thanks for getting here so quickly, boss," she said.
"Tell me Suzie Harris isn't here," Tanika said.
"Suzie Harris?"
"Looks like a small mountain, and dresses like she's about to climb one."
"Oh, Suzie Harris! You mean, one of the key witnesses."
"She witnessed the death?"
"She did, although you need to know, the other witnesses are saying the victim was poisoned. It's why I called for you. We could well be dealing with a murder."
"Is she on her own?"
"Who?"
"Suzie Harris?"
"Of course. Or she was when Mr. Lushington died. She's got two friends with her at the moment. For support."
"'For support,'" Tanika grumbled to herself as she headed over to the main door. As she passed the ambulance, Tanika caught a glimpse of Suzie off to one side talking nineteen to the dozen with Judith Potts and Becks Starling.
