The Copse Corpse
Part seven
Back at the windmill, Jonathan was upstairs getting changed and Maddy was on the phone. In the car on the way back, Jonathan had asked Maddy if she could get a copy of the autopsy report from the police. When she rang the police they would not allow her to have one. That did not stop her. She called one of her contacts. She was on the phone to him still when Jonathan came back down. He looked at her, pointed to his watch and walked over to the oven. He grabbed the Lasagna, cold by now, and scraped it into the bin. It was nine o'clock and with all the rushing around they'd done, they had not had time for something proper to eat. Jonathan set about making a Spaghetti Bolognase.
When Maddy got off the phone, the Bolognase had nearly been finished. It was now nine forty-five. "How long have you been on that phone. Do you realise I have to pay the bill?" Maddy went all shirty. "Adam pays all your bills. He has to keep you on the pay roll. Without his money you'd be in America with your parents." Jonathan carried on stirring his sauce. Maddy marched over to the table and sat down. She snatched up the napkin and laid it over her knees. Jonathan grabbed two plates from the rack above his head and started to serve up their meal.
"Well?" Jonathan began to bring the plates over. "Are you or aren't you going to tell me about the report?" Maddy picked up a piece of bread from the basket and began to chew on it. She then used the remaining half to dip in her sauce. Jonathan sat down and began to eat. "If you want me to do something about Michael's death, I would recommend you tell me about the report." Maddy finished her mouthful of food. She thought for a while and then changed her mind.
"The reason I was on the phone for so long was because I wanted to know whether the report was at my house. I only hung up the phone when he dropped the report through my letter box. Does that answer your question?" "Yes. Thanks. But I suppose I'll have to cough up the money for an hour long mobile phone call?" Maddy just turned to him, gave him a sarcastic smile, and continued eating her meal. The rest of the evening was spent with Maddy watching the TV and Jonathan lying on the couch with thousands of ideas churning around in his brain. He had a realistic one and a very, very improbable one. But he knew that the improbable one would be more likely. In all the years he had spent around Maddy, everything had been improbable, even their relationship.
Suddenly Maddy got up from the chair and switched off the TV. "I better be going. It's ten to eleven and it'll take me ages to get home." She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair. "I'll see you in the morning, bright and early, and I'll bring the post mortem report with me." She descended the stairs. "See ya." Jonathan lifted his hand with a wave of acknowledgement. He thought it was unusual of her to leave when normally she would just take for granted that his bed would be her bed for a night. He was glad in one way as he was not looking forward to spending the night on the couch, but he was worried as her attitude had completely changed from this morning. He lay on the couch for another half an hour. He looked at the clock. Half eleven. He heaved himself and made his way upstairs. He could do with a lie in but he wouldn't get one, not with Maddy having evidence.
Part Eight
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