Murder Most Royal — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

She tried not to rush through the box of Government memoranda, notes from the Foreign Office and other assorted paperwork, but an objective observer would have noticed that she read it faster than usual – starting as always with the papers at the bottom, on the basis that these were the ones the Cabinet Office least wanted her to see.

She was done with it all so quickly that there was time to fit in a ride. The first one she had the energy for since she arrived. She asked Rozie to accompany her. The Queen had always been impressed that a young woman who had grown up on a council estate in the middle of London had somehow found the resources to ride.

Not only that, but Rozie had competed for the army. The girl had grit, which was good.

They met up at the stables before setting off together across the paddocks, where a light blanket of snow was marked with the tracks of hares and rabbits. The Queen thought it might be nice to bring little Prince George here later. But now she was grateful to have the opportunity to talk to Rozie undisturbed.

‘How did it go yesterday?’ she asked.

Rozie was equivocal. ‘Katie showed me where the hit-and-run happened. Either it really was an accident, or it was very cleverly staged.’ She explained about the crossing place.

‘So it would be difficult to do it deliberately?’

‘Yes, ma’am. You would need at least two people and some decent planning. Even so, it’s hard to see how you could get the timing right. I did wonder,’ Rozie added, ‘whether there might have been an accomplice standing by the edge of the road, ready to give Judy a nudge if necessary.

’

The Queen nodded gravely. The scenario seemed to fit, in an odd sort of way, with the nature of Ned St Cyr’s murder as she understood it: sudden violence, masked by the careful impression that nothing unusual had happened at all.

‘Can you ask Katie to find out if Judy is being safely looked after in hospital? I assume she doesn’t know what it was that Judy was writing about?’

‘Not yet, although it might well have been drugs-related.

Judy was definitely worried about drugs in the area. Katie’s going to make some discreet enquiries. She’s checking Judy’s social media accounts, too. It’s possible she mentioned something on Facebook, for example.’

It astonished the Queen that so many people, even sensible middle-aged ones such as Judy Raspberry, chose to live their lives online.