Our gardening columnist Ciar Byrne was inspired to write her first murder mystery by the gardens of the Bloomsbury Group's leading womenRodmell, East Sussex, October 1928
Leonard was on his hands and knees planting out the bulbs that had recently arrived in the post by mail order.
'What will they be when they come up next spring?' asked Ginny. 'The daffodils are poet's narcissi, so a refined yellow. But I'm afraid the tulips are a rather tarty red.'
'Oh dear, people will think us vulgar.'
'Not at all. It's very modern to have a vibrant colour scheme,' Leonard reassured her, but she wasn't convinced.
Although it was still warm for the time of year, she was dressed for cooler weather in a pale pink cotton blouse and grey cardigan with a grey tweed skirt, the hemline of which skimmed her ankles.
At the sound of the gate clinking they both turned their heads to see who was coming round the side of the house. A man appeared with neatly parted salt-and-pepper hair and a waxed moustache, wearing a brown flannel suit. He wore a grave expression. Grizzle lived up to his name by running out of the kitchen door and growling at the new arrival. Pinka would have happily thrown herself at him with spaniel exuberance if Ginny hadn't restrained her by holding on to her collar and telling her in no uncertain terms to sit.
'Can I help you?' she called, advancing down the brick path towards the man, with Pinka at her heels.
'Mrs Woolf?' he asked, in a strong Sussex accent.
She nodded. 'The same.'
'Detective Chief Inspector Arthur Gripe of the Sussex Constabulary,' he said, climbing up the step from the back of the house to the garden and extending a hand, which she took. His handshake was brief and strong. 'I'm afraid I come bearing bad news. I've just been to see Mrs Rivers at Hollybush House to tell her that her son has been found dead...'
This extract first appeared in the September 2024 issue of The Lady magazine.
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