Murder on the Tor: An Exham on Sea Cosy Mystery (Exham on Sea Cosy Crime Mysteries Book 3) by Frances Evesham Read Free Book Online

story?” Max tapped a foot, impatient. Mandy rolled her eyes at Libby and mouthed, “Men.”
    “I saw that,” Max said.
    Libby went on, “One day, the beads appeared on a golden platter at dinner. Guinevere, frightened one of her household knew of her secret love and planned to inform the King, made up a story about a child finding them at the foot of a great hill. King Arthur believed her and ruled they must be kept at Glastonbury for ever. Because Guinevere lied to her husband, the story goes, bad luck would fall on anyone who touched the beads.”
    Max looked from Libby to Mandy and laughed. “I wish you could see your faces. Anyone would think you believed all this mumbo-jumbo.”
    “Of course we don’t,” Libby said. “It’s just a legend. Good story, though.”
    Mandy interrupted. “So, who put the beads on the serving platter?”
    “Doesn’t say in the records. Someone knew about the affair with Lancelot and wanted to cause trouble. Even in Arthur’s court, there were arguments and jealousies. Maybe one of her ladies wanted Lancelot for herself. Rivalry’s inevitable, I think, where people live close together.”
    “Like Exham on Sea?” Mandy suggested.
    Max laughed, but Libby glanced at her bag, thinking about the beads. Trouble seemed to surround them, even now. “Libby, you’ve gone quiet.”
    “Sorry. I was thinking about jealousy and quarrels, and bad luck.”
    Mandy’s eyes were round. “What do you mean?”
    Libby gave a short laugh. “I’m not sure, really, except that John Williams took photographs of people wearing the beads and now, he’s dead.”
    ***
    Mandy pulled on a jacket, ready to leave for a shift at the bakery. “It’s so unfair. You two can carry on drinking coffee and sleuthing, while I’m slaving in the bakery. Those new girls Frank brought in are so-o-o slow.”
    “Help Frank train them up, so you can start that apprenticeship.”
    Mandy mounted her bike. “Can’t wait. Don’t uncover the murderer before I get back, will you?”
    “Tell you what,” Libby said. “We’ll invite Max for dinner and talk more, then.”
    Mandy wobbled in a circle, narrowly missing the trunk of an old ash tree as Bear tried to lick her ankles. “By the way, what’s on the menu?”
    “Sticky spiced chicken. It’s already in the fridge, at home. We’ll just need rice. Bring Steve, if you like.”
    “Young love,” Max murmured, hauling the dog indoors and kicking the door shut in one practised movement. “I wonder how long it’ll last.”
    “Steve’s leaving for music college in a few months. Things may fizzle out, especially if Mandy’s busy with the apprenticeship. I’d be sorry, though. They’re very happy.”
    “At their age, they’ll be changing partners every few months. Didn’t you have plenty of boyfriends when you were young?”
    Libby threw a ball for Bear, to hide hot cheeks. “Not really. Trevor sort of took me over, when we met. He was very persistent.”
    “And he bullied you?”
    “Not at first. A little, maybe, later,” she admitted. In fact, towards the end of their marriage, her husband convinced Libby she was stupid and ugly. He kept up a daily barrage of criticism: her clothes were too tight, her hair a mess and her legs ugly and fat. When he died, a weight lifted from Libby’s shoulders.
    She recognised, with hindsight, how Trevor had controlled everything she did. When he died, Libby vowed to take charge of her own future, and wasted no time in leaving London for Exham on Sea. As soon as she arrived in town, she set about building a new life, making cakes and chocolates.
    When she’d uncovered Trevor’s involvement in the series of financial frauds Max was investigating, Libby was mortified. “Talking of Trevor,” Max said, “which is a subject we try to avoid, I’ve got a meeting in London soon, to pull together the threads of money laundering in Leeds.” Libby giggled.
    “What?”
    “Sorry. Laundry. Threads. You know. It seemed