THE STORY SO FAR: Store detective Gemma met Tom when he outbid her on the rental of picturesque Keeper’s Cottage. Now they are trying to solve the mystery of a cryptic verse Tom found in a tin when the cottage roof collapsed in a storm. His gran, a local all her life, informs them that the cottage, then part of the now derelict Croxley Court estate, was the hideout of a gang who robbed country houses in the 1970s. Some stolen items were never recovered, and Tom and Gemma excitedly conclude that the verse refers to their hiding place somewhere in the Croxley Court grounds. Unfortunately, the grounds are now covered by a housing estate. Refusing to be deterred, they marry up the riddle to an old plan of Croxley Court and the layout of the modern development. Just when they think they’ve cracked it, they’re disturbed by Tom’s landlord Victor, who’s overheard their deliberations. And he’s carrying a shotgun…
Gemma’s heart began to thump as if it might burst out of her chest. Tom pulled her protectively against him.
‘If that thing’s real, put it down now,’ he said.
His voice was amazingly steady and Gemma was overcome with admiration. If Tom was as terrified as she was, he didn’t show it.
‘Playing the big man, are we, to impress the little lady?’ sneered Victor.
Gemma had never met Tom’s landlord, but she knew he’d never been exactly approachable, and
