This excerpt is from the book entitled The Goat Parva Murders an English Murder Mystery book set in the countryside, starring two policemen who have been working together for a few years and get along really well. There’s lots of dialogue and banter with some humour thrown in amongst the murders and suspects.
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Mrs Hills dragged Bingo out of the house and put him on a lead. Their normal walking route around Doggett’s Field would still be blocked off by the police investigation so Mrs Hills thought they’d go through Culpepper’s Woods for a change – they hadn’t been through there in three months or more.
Once into the thick woods Mrs Hills let Bingo run free. Mrs Hills stopped for a rest against an ancient oak and saw Claude Avon taking a picture of a tree silhouetted against the sky. He was using a tripod with a long lens.
“Hello, Claude,” said Mrs Hills, “having fun?”
“Of course, Mrs Hills, I’m always having fun – the woods are quite thick here and I have to use a long lens to isolate just one tree’s branches against the sky.”
“My husband, Henry, was interested in photography before he died, “ said Mrs Hills with tears welling up in her eyes, “he loved landscapes especially in Africa and the Sahara Desert – which is where he was killed.”
“I am sorry to hear that – how did it happen?”
“He was taking a picture of the sunset at the Merzouga Sand Sea and was concentrating on that so much that he failed to notice that the camel had stopped and was going down on its haunches to let us off – he fell off head first and hit a stone.”
“Oh look, Mrs Hills, your dog’s got something in its mouth.”
Mrs Hills looked and saw that Bingo was carrying a felt hat in his mouth.
“A walker has lost this in the woods, good dog for finding it, “she took the hat and then looked at Claude, “this would suit you I think.”
Claude tried on the hat as Bingo headed back into the woods.
“This feels really comfortable to me, “he said, “I wonder if I should keep it??”
A look of sudden horror shot across Mrs Hills’ face.
“I’d wait for a moment to see what else he brings back.”
Bingo soon returned carrying a pair of binoculars.
Julian Worker Fiction Writing 