Secrets and Lies: A Polvellan Cornish Mystery Read online

  Secrets and Lies

  A Polvellan Mystery

  Rachel Ennis

  The fourth in the warm-hearted Polvellan Mysteries set on the beautiful Cornish coast.

  On returning to Polvellan following a family bereavement – and having heard nothing from her sort-of-partner Tom during her time away – Jess Trevanion is shaken to learn that Tom’s ex-wife has moved back in with him. A macabre but welcome distraction soon comes when DI Clemmow asks for her help. Human bones have been found on local farmland, and the police think her skills in investigating family histories may prove useful in identifying the body …

  Meanwhile, Jess’s close friend Morwenna is finally taking the plunge and planning her wedding – with Jess’s help – while a troubled young woman moves in next door …

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Rachel’s Recipe

  Other Titles By Rachel Ennis

  Other Accent Press Titles

  Chapter One

  ‘Thanks so much, Viv.’

  ‘Get on. It wasn’t no trouble. P’raps Tom’ll be round later.’

  ‘He won’t know I’m back. Anyway, right now all I want is a cup of tea, a soak in the bath, something to eat, and a good night’s sleep.’ Climbing out of the little yellow car, Jess Trevanion leaned in to pick up her holdall and laptop case. ‘See you soon.’ She closed the door and started up the path as Viv revved the engine and drove up to the crossroads to turn around.

  Unlocking the door, Jess walked inside. Met by warmth from the woodburner she felt her heart lift. Tension that for two weeks had lain heavy on her shoulders slid off. Home.

  Her mail was stacked in a tidy pile on the table. Dropping her holdall and laptop case on the sofa, she crossed to the sink and filled the kettle. Switching it on, she opened the fridge, smiling as she saw a bottle of fresh milk, half a dozen eggs, a wrapped wedge of cheese, and a pack of bacon. The crisper drawer held tomatoes, lettuce, a cucumber, and celery.

  She flipped up the lid of the bread bin on the worktop, and breathed in the scent of a fresh crusty loaf.

  Recognising her neighbour’s knock, she called, ‘Come in, Elsie.’

  ‘I seen you come up the path.’ Her feet in comfy slippers, Elsie wore one of her pink-striped tabards over a grey jumper and trousers. ‘Here’s your key, bird. I put a match to the fire. Rained again this week, and it haven’t been all that warm.’

  ‘You are a treasure. How much do I owe you for the shopping?’

  ‘Don’t worry about that,’ Elsie waved a hand. ‘See me tomorrow. Go all right, did it? The funeral and all?’

  Jess nodded. ‘The chapel was full, and Craig gave a lovely eulogy. He’s taken Uncle Ken back with him to Vancouver.’

  ‘Best thing,’ Elsie nodded. ‘He’ll miss your Auntie Flo terrible. But he’d miss her far worse rattling round the place on his own.’

  ‘He’s coped really well. But he was half-expecting it. She’d had heart trouble for years.’

  Elsie touched Jess’s arm. ‘I know, my lover. You told me before you left.’

  ‘Of course I did. Sorry.’

  ‘No need for that. Looking tired you are.’

  ‘You’ll know what it’s like. At least Auntie Flo hung on long enough to see Craig and with no post-mortem we were able to arrange the funeral quickly.’

  ‘Your uncle will have been some glad you was there.’

  Jess rubbed her face with both hands, as if to erase memories together with her exhaustion. ‘He looked lost. Craig took Auntie Flo’s few bits of jewellery for his girls. Her clothes went to the charity shop. Uncle Ken said she’d have wanted them to go where they were needed. She never could abide waste. That was when he broke down.’ Jess’s eyes filled at the memory and she took a deep breath while Elsie stroked her arm. ‘He’d been marvellous at the hospital and at the chapel.’

  ‘Then ’twas good for him to let it out. Women do talk to each other about family worries. Men talk about football.’ Her eye-roll made Jess laugh. ‘When did they go?’

  ‘Yesterday. I stayed on to strip the beds and do the last bits of washing before turning off the water and electricity. After I took the spare key to his neighbour, I managed to catch the National Express coach. Viv picked me up from the turning.’

  ‘You’ve had some time of it, bird. Be glad for a bit of peace you will.’ She turned towards the door.

  ‘Thanks so much, Elsie. Before you go, how’s Tegan?’

  ‘Going on all right, dear of her. I won’t say no more now. You’re wore out and she’ll be wondering where I’m to. I’ll see you d’reckly.’

  ‘In the morning,’ Jess called. ‘I want to know how much I owe you.’

  Elsie raised a hand without looking round and closed the door quietly behind her.

  Jess picked up the phone to ring Tom then put it down again. The last time they had spoken was the day after she left. That was two weeks ago. Despite the messages she had left on his voicemail he hadn’t called back. She would follow her plan: a cup of tea and a soak in a scented bath. She longed to hear his voice. There would be a reason he hadn’t phoned. But she’d be more receptive when she wasn’t so tired.

  Leaving her tea on the worktop, she quickly unpacked and put her washing into the machine. She unzipped the case and removed her laptop and the folder containing Dr Jelbert’s family tree. Taking her laptop had been automatic. But her only access to the Internet had been through a Wi-Fi connection at a local coffee shop.

  She had spent an hour there on two separate occasions while Craig and Uncle Ken visited the registrar then his solicitor. She had already completed most of the research before she left. But while on-line she discovered additional details that would certainly intrigue the doctor.

  She had been glad of the respite. Dealing with the practical details of Auntie Flo’s passing had brought back vivid memories. Alex’s sudden death while abroad had left her destitute and shattered as revelation followed shocking revelation.

  Enough. She had survived. No, she had done better than that. She had triumphed, building a very different life on the wreckage of the old one.

  She opened the woodburner door and slid another log onto the glowing embers. Then, topping up her tea, she carried the mug and her holdall upstairs.

  An hour later, warm and relaxed, comfy in a blue sweatshirt and jogging pants, she slipped her feet into fleece moccasins, pulled a comb through her drying curls and went downstairs. Putting her empty mug in the sink, she picked up the phone and, feeling her heartbeat quicken, dialled Tom’s number.

  It rang once. Before she could speak there was a click then the dialling tone. She tried again with the same result and replaced the receiver. If there was a fault on the line, surely he must be aware of it? Why hadn’t he had it fixed? The landline was vital for his business. Then again, reporting a fault was the easy part. Getting someone out to mend it might take days. Perhaps he was waiting for the engineer. Could he not have found somewhere with a strong signal to call from his mobile?

  She went to the kitchen and made herself a cheese sandwich. Just as she sat down to eat it, the phone rang. Swallowing quickly, she crossed the space in two strides and snatched up the receiver.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Jess, it’s Bev Clemmow.’

  ‘Oh, hi, Bev.’ Jess fought crushing disappointment. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Overworked, underp
aid. Will you be at home in the morning?’

  ‘Yes. You’ve timed it well. I’ve been away and only got back this afternoon.’

  ‘Holiday?’

  ‘Funeral. My great-aunt died.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘It was sudden but not unexpected. She was eighty-two and her heart was failing. So what do you want to see me about?’

  ‘Do you mind if we leave it until tomorrow? Would ten thirty suit you?’

  ‘I’ll see you then. Give my best to Nic.’

  ‘I’ll tell her. ’Night, Jess.’

  ‘’Night.’

  Jess spent an hour typing up notes then printed them out.

  ‘What if I discover a black sheep?’ she had asked before accepting Dr Jelbert’s commission. People’s reactions to discovering something shocking in their family’s past was divided between those who relished it and those who definitely didn’t.

  ‘My father and grandfather were both doctors,’ he’d told her. ‘Father was a coroner, Grandfather a GP. Both were excellent men, dedicated, with high standards. A black sheep in the family would be rather fun.’

  Jess smiled as she added the pages to Dr Jelbert’s folder. They would make him very happy.

  Chapter Two

  ‘Hi, Bev, come in.’ Jess stood back. ‘Coffee?’

  ‘You’re a lifesaver. Black, please, no sugar.’

  Three inches taller and nine years younger than Jess, Detective Inspector Beverley Clemmow had the lean build of a regular jogger and looked smart in a navy trouser suit, her fair hair drawn back in a French braid revealing small gold studs in her earlobes.

  Passing her a mug, Jess sat beside her on the sofa. ‘You sounded very mysterious on the phone last night.’

  ‘It wasn’t intentional. I wanted to talk face to face, that’s all.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong is there? You and Nic –?’

  ‘Are fine. No, this is a professional matter. I want your help.’ She sipped her coffee.

  ‘Mine?’

  ‘Unofficially.’

  ‘Ah.’

  ‘Your family has lived in the village for generations. You’re known here and you’re popular – no false modesty,’ she said before Jess could speak. ‘I don’t have time.’

  Closing her eyes, Bev rubbed her forehead. ‘Sorry. That was appallingly rude.’

  ‘Have you got a headache? I can fetch some paracetamol –’

  ‘No.’ Bev waved Jess back to her seat. ‘I’m OK. It’s – Before leaving the office I had words with a senior officer. All these diversity courses they go on and they still come out with …’ She shook her head. ‘I should have more sense than to let it get to me.’

  ‘Easier said than done when you’re dealing with a dinosaur. Isn’t he due for extinction – I mean retirement?’

  Bev spluttered into her coffee, pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth, and nodded. ‘Next year. I’m not alone in counting the days. Anyway, what I was saying? Everyone in the village knows about your genealogy research. So people are more likely to talk to you.’

  ‘Is this about the bones?’

  Bev nodded. ‘It’s obvious the death was deliberately concealed. It happened a long time ago and questions may bring back painful memories. But someone in the village knows something.’

  ‘So you’re asking me to be a grass? A snitch?’

  Bev’s lips tilted in a dry smile. ‘They’re called confidential informants now, Jess. Much more up-market. No, I simply want to find out who the dead man is. Dr Burton – the forensic anthropologist – tells me the bones are from a man aged between twenty and forty who was buried in that dung heap for between sixty and eighty years.

  ‘He’d had a head injury that might have killed him. It may or may not have been inflicted deliberately. But someone buried him deep in the muck pile. Which means at least one other person knows what happened, and that person may still be alive.’

  ‘You’re not calling it murder.’

  Bev moved one shoulder. ‘Without proof of intent it’s simply an unexplained death. He was someone’s son, maybe a brother, possibly a husband. After all this time he’s been found. But until we can identify him we can’t tell his family.

  ‘I’ve got a DC looking through reports of missing persons for anyone of that age in that time frame. Unfortunately many of the paper records stored in HQ basement were lost when a water main burst.’ She raised the mug to her lips.

  Jess could not deny she was intrigued. She looked up from her coffee. ‘Why me?’

  ‘In an ideal world this enquiry would receive the same resources as a present-day murder. But because the likelihood of identifying the remains and whoever put them there are remote, this case isn’t high priority. I’m already dealing with another major enquiry and have lost several key staff to an investigation in another force. I simply don’t have enough officers.’

  Jess nodded. ‘Fair enough. But this isn’t like one of my usual investigations where someone has asked me to compile their family tree. What if I uncover things people might prefer to remain hidden? I have no official standing. If they don’t want to talk to me, I can’t make them.’

  ‘Just do your best.’ Bev raised her hand. ‘Ignore that. I know you will. That’s not flattery,’ she added. ‘It’s hearsay from the yard and the village.’ She gave a tired smile. ‘Not admissible in court, but true just the same. According to Nic you’re very well thought of.’

  The compliment warmed Jess. ‘I don’t want to jeopardise that.’

  ‘Of course you don’t. Nor do I.’

  ‘OK. If anything comes up that I think you should know about, do you want me to phone?’

  ‘I’d appreciate it.’ Bev opened the flap of her navy shoulder bag, took a card from one of the pockets, and passed it to Jess. ‘This has my office, home, and mobile numbers.’

  She stood up and Jess rose with her. ‘Thanks, Jess. You’ll have your own way of working. But it might help if you talk to Nic. She’ll show you the site and tell you what happened the day the bones were found.’

  ‘I guess that means she’s expecting me.’

  ‘I hoped you’d agree so I warned her you might call in.’

  ‘Good job for you that I’m curious.’

  ‘You’d be a useless investigator if you weren’t.’

  Opening the door, Jess laughed. ‘Cheers, Bev.’

  ‘Good luck.’

  ‘Finished Dr Jelbert’s family tree, have you?’ Gill asked as Jess laid two large brown envelopes on the counter then reached into her shopping basket for her purse.

  ‘Just about.’ Jess pulled out a note and pushed it under the toughened transparent screen that separated the post office from its customers.

  ‘Missus was in last week. She said the doc was hoping you’d find something shocking.’

  Jess smiled.

  ‘Well? Did you?’ Bright with curiosity, Gill’s blue eyes matched her fine wool cardigan.

  Jess leaned towards the screen. Gill did the same. ‘Next time she comes in, ask her.’

  Sighing, Gill sat back in her chair. ‘You’re no fun.’ She leaned forward again. ‘Did you know Elsie’s grand-daughter Tegan have moved in with her?’

  Jess nodded.

  ‘’Course you would, living next door. It’s all round the village about Tegan being in the family way. Elsie’s daughter Carol have washed her hands of the poor little maid. Annie was passing and even from the road she could hear Carol yelling at Tegan about all they’d done for her and how she’d let them down. She’d forgotten Elsie always leave her front door open. Well, Annie marched up the path and straight in. She told Carol if she wanted to keep her family business private she should stop shouting for the village to hear.’ Gill’s voice held admiration.

  ‘That’s our Annie.’

  ‘Carol started on about the disgrace, but Annie wasn’t having that. She said of course it would have been better if it had happened when Tegan was married with a loving husband. But g
irl’s only fifteen. Annie said a baby is a precious gift, and if Carol didn’t have the sense to see that, she’d better get on home.’ Gill shook her head. ‘Annie don’t take prisoners.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Carol stormed out. Annie stayed and talked to Tegan while Elsie made tea. The way Carol had gone on had upset both of them something awful. Then next day a taxi come. No one in it. Just a load of cardboard boxes filled with all Tegan’s clothes and bits and bobs from her bedroom.’

  Jess winced. ‘Talk about rejection. I suppose this means Tegan will be living with Elsie full-time?’

  ‘Looks like it. Elsie and Annie have been in touch with the school about work for Tegan to do at home. I tell you what, Jess, though Elsie wouldn’t have wished this trouble on the little maid, she’s mad as fire over how Carol have behaved. In just these few days she’s changed. Having someone to look after have given her a new lease of life.’

  ‘It’s a lot to take on.’

  ‘Thinking of your gran, are you?’

  Jess nodded. ‘It was only after I had the twins that I realised what an upheaval it must have been for her and Grampy when they took me in after Mum and Dad died.’

  ‘But think if you had been in that coach as well.’ Gill shook her head. ‘You gave them a reason to keep going.’ She pushed Jess’s change under the barrier. ‘’Tis sad what’s happened. But Tegan will have more love here with her gran than she ever got from Carol.’

  Jess tucked the receipt into her purse. ‘See you on Thursday?’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

  ‘I thought I’d invite Claire Griffin to join us.’

  Gill’s smile widened. ‘Wait till Tina sees that mop of hair. She do love a challenge. Don’t forget to ask Claire to bring a plate for supper. She’ll feel bad if you don’t and she sees everyone else has.’

  ‘Savoury or sweet?’

  ‘Whatever’s easiest.’

  As Jess left the shop, tucking her purse down the side of her basket, she almost bumped into Amy Terrell.

  ‘Sorry.’ She side-stepped and started to walk on but Amy grabbed her arm.

  ‘You leave my Colin alone.’

  Jess stared at her, not sure she’d heard correctly. ‘I beg your pardon?’