‘I’m sorry, Inspector,’ she said, ‘do you mind if I get that?’


Outside, the rain pounded on the long windows. Forks of lightning cut across the dark grey sky and thunder growled ominously, growing nearer each time.


Looking back on it, Mr Crutcher would refl ect how Lady Thornthwaite had no idea she was about to utter her last words, or else she might have said something more profound. As it was, the last thing Lady Thornthwaite said was, ‘I simply can’t stand to leave a ringing phone unanswered.’


‘I know exactly what you mean,’ said Inspector Skinner, noting how calm she was for someone who has just been accused of murdering her husband.


She placed her glass of sherry on the mantelshelf above the fi replace and stooped to pick up the earpiece of the old-fashioned phone.


A clap of thunder sounded above, shaking the old manor to its foundations. The room went bright white as lightning struck, creating an image of Lady Thornthwaite that would haunt Inspector Skinner for the rest of his life, burnt into his mind like an overdeveloped photograph.


Immediately afterwards the power went dead and the room was thrown into darkness. ‘Don’t be alarmed ma’am,’ said the inspector. ‘I carry a torch for just such occasions.’


He pulled a torch from his belt, switched it on and pointed it to where Lady Thornthwaite had been standing. She wasn’t there.


He lowered the beam of light and discovered her lying on the ground, dead, still clutching the telephone earpiece.


This time the forensic tests were conclusive. The twins’ mother was killed by a bolt of lightning striking the telephone mast outside, sending one billion volts through the wire, frying the telephone and cooking Lady Thornthwaite’s insides.


Inspector Skinner checked the phone records and found the person who made the call had been trying to get through to his wife to warn her about the storm. He hadn’t even known the Thornthwaites.


In other words, Lady Thornthwaite was killed by a wrong number. MYSTERY AND mENACE 73


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