The Fall Girl by Kaye C. Hill Page A

skirting board with a thud.
    “Elizabeth comes hurrying in to see what the noise is. She goes straight over to the window, puzzled because it’s open, hears a sound behind her, turns to see a figure advancing on
her, then before she’s had a chance to draw breath, let alone scream – quick shove, over she goes.”
    Kinky was unable to comment on this theory.
    “Say,” Lexy pressed on regardless, “for argument’s sake, it was one of the Gallimore sons who sneaked in that morning...” Why did an image of Ward pop into her
mind? “... and shoved Elizabeth over the balcony for reasons of his own. Who could know it was anything other than an accident? There wouldn’t be a murder weapon. Unlikely to be any
witnesses. Could almost be a perfect crime.”
    She fell into silent thought, picking up the binoculars from the dressing table. What were they doing here, so out of place in a bedroom? Then Lexy remembered Tyman mentioning the barn owl
Elizabeth had pointed out to him. She must have been a bird-watcher. Lexy took a squint through them.
    Forget the birds – they showed Pilgrim’s Farm in unexpectedly good detail. Lexy had a clear view of the front door, the stables in the yard, and an open hayrick, in and around which
cows were munching. Perhaps Elizabeth had still been keeping an eye on the animals, despite the misunderstanding over the pigs.
    Perhaps she had discovered something going on down there.
    Lexy frowned. All roads of speculation seemed to lead to the Gallimores. But then their behaviour at the mention of Elizabeth had been almost a caricature of guilt. No wonder the people in the
village were talking.
    She went into the guest bedroom and repeated her search. The blanket chest contained... blankets. The chest of drawers contained winter woollens, and in one lower drawer she found a couple of
swimming costumes.
    Lexy removed all the clothing and checked the drawers inside and out. Nothing. She replaced everything with a sigh.
    She went over the carpet on her hands and knees. No goose-grass burrs in here, or any other scraps of vegetation. Whoever had tramped it up here had only brought it into the front bedroom. Lent
further weight to her ambush theory.
    It was a similar story in the two back rooms. The sofa bed in the third bedroom yielded no secrets, nor did the clothing on the rail in the boxroom.
    Thoughtfully, Lexy returned downstairs. She wondered whether she dared confide in Milo about her theory of a murderous intruder. He wouldn’t be best pleased that she was querying the
official investigation. Lexy didn’t doubt that the police had done all they thought necessary in a case like this, but she knew how busy Lowestoft CID had been during the summer. Milo had
told her himself. Trouble was, when the investigation had taken place, Elizabeth’s bequest hadn’t come to light.
    She yawned. The day had turned into a real scorcher. She still had the studio to go through, and she ought to do a proper job on the living room, to say nothing of the kitchen.
    She opened the back door and breathed in the enticing scent of the hillside. What was the rush? She was going to be here for a couple more days. Plenty of time to investigate to her
heart’s content.
    “Why don’t we cut ourselves some slack, Kinkster?”
    The dog gazed anxiously up at her.
    “R&R, mate. You look like you need it, and I certainly do.”
    Lexy nipped back upstairs and helped herself to one of the swimming costumes. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom, made sure she had locked up everywhere, and minutes later she and Kinky were
heading up the forbidden hill.
    She might be trespassing but what the hell, she was good at keeping a low profile. Just have to make sure Kinky didn’t take off after any sheep. Not that she’d seen any up there yet.
Probably keeping in the shade on a day like this. Lexy followed the track up the hill, then carefully descended the steps to the beach.
    It was a particularly deserted stretch –