Conspiring Black Sheep

By Carol Kennedy

Lady Katherine Finch, recent heiress to the Finch Estate is in Chamonix to scatter the ashes of her recently deceased cousin, Nicholas. She is afraid of heights and does not ski, yet she is found unconscious half way down the black run. She wakes up in hospital suffering from retrograde amnesia. She thinks her name is Faye. The previous day, she met Peter Elliott, who trod on her foot and caused her to spill her hot chocolate. He offers to buy her a replacement drink, which she agrees to for the next day. When she doesn’t turn up at the appointed time, Peter goes to the hospital having heard that a young woman has been found. Feeling totally alone in the world, Peter takes care of her. They fall in love, marry and settle down in the Lake District, where Peter practices as a lawyer.

As Faye’s memory returns, she investigates the death of her cousin, Nicky, who died in a drowning accident in Malta, four months after he inherited the title. While on the island, Faye discovers that she has an aunt, Gina, and cousin, George, that none of the family ever spoke about. The arrival of Faye on the island seems to disquiet Gina who, after several failed attempts on Faye’s life, kidnaps her. Peter, while searching for his wife, is held at gunpoint by one of the police officers, who is a cousin of Gina’s dead husband. He leads Peter to Faye, and leaves him with her at the bottom of a well in an abandoned cave system. Peter has managed to inform the police chief, Andrea Farrugia, where he is, and is eventually rescued, along with Faye.

Andrea invites Faye and Peter to his villa in Tuscany where it happens that Gina also has a villa. Andrea takes Peter and Faye to Gina’s villa on the pretence of being an estate agent showing his clients around. While at the villa, Faye finds her missing bag which contains her passport and other personal items.

While in England, Faye discovers that her house has been put up for sale, she presumes, by George. Meanwhile, Gina has learnt that Faye and Peter have escaped their imprisonment and have returned home. George is despatched by Gina to go and ‘finish the job properly’. When he arrives at the house, worse the wear for drink, he is dismayed to find he cannot gain access to the property and is arrested for attempted burglary. He is released the next morning when it transpires that the estate agent also cannot gain entry.

Faye returns to Tuscany and Peter is discharged from hospital. Andrea takes Faye and Peter on a road trip, to the site where Faye’s parents, aunt and uncle died in a vehicle accident. Peter, who has stayed in the car, while Faye and Andrea have walked down the side of the valley, is taken forcibly by Gina and George. When Faye and Andrea return to the car and find Peter gone, they drive down the road, looking for him. The brakes on the car have been tampered with causing Andrea to crash the vehicle. The media reports, falsely, that they have both died in the accident.

In order to release Peter from his captors, Andrea hatches a plan which involves Faye being caught by George at Gina’s villa. Unknown to George, his conversations with Faye, where he tells her how she ended up on the ski slope, the death of her cousin Nicky and the death of her parents, aunt and uncle, are recorded through the device of a microphone hidden in a brooch that Faye is wearing. Gina, has arranged for a firework display for Andrea, who she has invited to dinner. The fireworks are to disguise the explosion of the pool house, where Faye and Peter are being held, in the final attempt to clear the way for George to inherit the Finch title.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol Kennedy
• Release date: Nov 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370866540

Carol Kennedy

I am fifty-eight years old and married. My husband is vicar of two rural parishes in North Warwickshire and we have three grown-up children. Our middle child is severely autistic and while acting as carer for him, I ran my own cross-stitch business, designing and producing charts and kits.The rest of my working life has been in administration and management, which includes a hospital in Toronto, a Rural Community Council, Littlewoods Delivery Service, a Christian Charity and a parish church.I have an MA in English Literature with Merit and a BA (Hons) in Leadership and Management, both obtained through the Open University. Holidays are spent cruising the inland waterways of Britain with my husband, on our narrowboat.

Book preview

Other Books

by Carol Kennedy

Love Lies Dead

DEDICATION

To Emma, Timothy and Nicholas

The three of you fill me with delight,

as you have done since the day each of you was born.

Contents

Dedication

Other Books by Carol Kennedy

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

About the Author

Chapter One

Half way down the black run, a young woman lay unconscious in the snow. Blood was pooling and draining into the snow beneath her, from a wound to her head. She didn’t appear to have worn a helmet or goggles, as neither was present. One ski had become dislodged from her foot and the poles were both snapped in half, rendering them unusable.

She had been found by three mountain rescue skiers after an avalanche warning had been issued to stop all activity on the slopes. The only tracks in the snow were old, where skiers had come down earlier, snow was already settling in them. The question puzzling everyone was how she had obtained her injury, as there were no rocks or anything else that she could have hit her head on.

Knowing that the black run had been in recent use, the rescue skiers were ensuring there was nobody left on it. Between them they carried a flat-pack stretcher which could be attached to the patient’s own skis. Having checked her over for other possible injuries, the woman was soon strapped securely on to the stretcher and covered with a foil blanket before being taken down to the village. The team managed to radio down for an ambulance to meet them.

Lying in bed, in a freshly starched gown, the young woman opened her eyes and looked around her, trying to take in where she was. The room was painted white, with blue tram lines a few inches from the ceiling, tracking around the walls. The duvet cover was a bluebell colour with a bright white sheet. The pillow under her head, was soft and firm at the same time, holding her in a secure embrace. There was a buzzing sound which she couldn’t place, and on her right arm was a blood pressure cuff which automatically inflated, squeezing so hard, it felt like the blood supply was being halted in its track. A heart beat monitor was clipped on to a finger and a nasal oxygen cannula was strapped to her face with the tube passing round the back of both ears. Stood next to the bed was a doctor.

‘Hello young lady. How are you feeling?’

‘My head feels like it’s been removed with a sledge-hammer and reattached with super-glue. Where am I? It looks like a hospital. What happened?’

‘It is indeed a hospital. You’ve taken a nasty fall and obtained a gash above your right eye, which we’ve had to suture. You are going to have a beautiful bruise. You must have hit your head on something quite hard, possibly a rock. Can you remember what happened before the accident?’

She closed her eyes trying to recall what she’d been doing. ‘No… sorry, I can’t remember anything, I have no recollection about what I was even doing?’

‘You were skiing the famous black run, which means you are a competent skier, or maybe out of your comfort zone.’

Her eyes opened wide. ‘Or totally bonkers… I can’t ski.’

‘Are you sure? You were definitely skiing.’

She shook her head and instantly regretted it as the pain increased momentarily. ‘It frightens the heck out of me. I mean, you watch these people jump off the top of the mountain and zig-zag their way down to the bottom… crazy. I’m afraid of heights.’

‘Mmmm, I suppose that answers the question of how traces of Rohypnol were found in your blood.’

‘Rohypnol? What’s that?’

‘It’s a powerful sedative.’

A look of puzzlement filled her face.

‘I know I didn’t take a sedative. How could it have got into my system?’

‘The most likely way is in a drink. Can you tell me your name? You were not carrying any identification, so we don’t know who to contact for you.’

She tried to reach into the depths of her memory, but it was very fuzzy. ‘Faye, um… no, it’s… yes, Faye.’

A nurse entered the room and stood next to the doctor.

‘Well Faye, there’s a young man outside eager to see you. He raced here after the ambulance left the village to be with you. Shall I let him in?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Faye said puzzled, ‘I have the feeling I was here on my own… I am in France, aren’t I? ‘

‘Yes, my dear, you are in France. We couldn’t find anything on you to say who you were, but the young man insists he knows you.’

‘Can I ask, what his name is?’

‘Peter Elliott. Does that sound familiar?’

‘No, it doesn’t… What if I don’t know him?’

‘I guess, he should come in… it seems, young lady, that you’ve also caught yourself a dose of retrograde amnesia, a result of the knock to your head. It should only be temporary, but the length of time it takes for your full memory to come back, does differ from person to person.’

‘Thank you, Doctor. Can you tell me what the buzzing sound is, it’s really annoying?’

‘I would imagine that is from your injury. You can probably hear your blood circulating your body. It won’t last long.’

The nurse left to fetch Peter.

‘You can come through now, but I have to warn you, she may not recognize you. She thinks her name is Faye, is that correct?’

‘Yes… I’m sure that’s what she told me.’ He mumbled.

‘Now young lady, don’t you worry too much, you’ve had a nasty knock to the head so take care and rest. Ah, here’s your young man. I’ll be back to see you later this afternoon.’

Peter walked into the room. He was about five foot eleven inches tall, dark hair, which was slightly receding, green eyes with curling lashes, and looked like he went to the gym or played sport regularly. Faye didn’t recognise him at all, but she was attracted to him, she could feel her heart beat rising and she felt sure she was blushing.

‘Are you alright? I’ve been so worried about you.’ He asked as he approached her bed. ‘When you didn’t meet me for hot chocolate this morning, I wondered what had happened, then there was a rush of people talking about a young woman being found injured and unconscious on the ski-slopes.’

‘I’m sorry, I don’t know you. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Please excuse me, but you’ll have to leave… Please.’ Her head was pounding, she just wanted to close her eyes and drift off into the dark world that was beckoning her.

‘This is going to sound very odd, but we did only meet yesterday. We met in the town when I accidently trod on your foot, then knocked your hot chocolate out of your hands.’

‘I’m sorry… I don’t recall the incident.’

‘You said I could buy you another hot chocolate, but it would have to be today, and when you didn’t turn up this morning, I thought you’d given me the brush off.’

‘My apologies, I really don’t remember, which is a shame, as you seem… a nice… man...’

Peter turned to the nurse. ‘She seems to have drifted off. Is she going to be ok?’

‘Perhaps, you should leave, come back tomorrow, let her have some rest. Maybe she’ll remember you then. She will be fine, and we should be able to discharge her tomorrow.’

Peter returned the next day carrying a large holdall and a rolled-up newspaper. Faye was dozing when he arrived, so he placed the holdall on the floor under the end of her bed and sat down on the chair next to her. The oxygen supply and monitoring equipment had all been removed. She looked like a sleeping angel in the bed, her hair curling around her face. Peter opened up his newspaper. The news was mostly about the avalanche. Faye opened her eyes and saw the other headline.

Avalanche hits village: Eight feared dead.

‘Oh those poor people…’

Peter looked up from the paper. ‘Hello, how are you feeling this morning?’

Faye blinked her eyes. ‘Better, I think.’

‘I hope you don’t mind me visiting you again, but you did say you were here on your own, and I thought you’d like a familiar face… although of course, you don’t recognise me… so that’s not turned out right has it?’

Faye smiled. ‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you to return. I’m sorry I was a bit abrupt with you yesterday. My head was pounding, and I couldn’t think straight.’

‘I really don’t mind. I wanted to get to know you…’

‘Which is why you stood on my foot and knocked my drink out of my hand?’

Peter’s eyes widened and sparkled. ‘You’ve remembered?’

‘Only what you said yesterday. I don’t know what I hit my head on, but it must have been very hard. As you can see, I have a lovely egg-shaped lump under the cut and bruise.’

‘It does look very painful, but, I hope you don’t mind me saying, it doesn’t detract from how pretty you are.’

‘Wow flattery as well as good looks.’ Faye smiled.

Peter blushed. ‘I went back to the bistro, after I left here yesterday. They said you’d left a luggage bag which you were going to collect later in the day, which means, happily for me, that you were planning on meeting me for that hot chocolate. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve brought the bag with me, maybe there’s something in it that will jog your memory?’

‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you. Do you mind putting it here on the bed?’ She asked, sitting up and patting the bed.

Peter stood up and fetched the holdall.

Faye tried to open it. ‘Oh, it’s locked.’

‘Do you have the key?’

‘No, apparently I didn’t have anything with me, so presumably any key would be in a handbag or something, which would appear to be missing.’

‘The manager at the bistro felt sure you left with a shoulder-bag and an oblong box.’

‘Well, I haven’t either of them now…’

‘I have a pen-knife, perhaps I could force the lock?’

‘Yes please, if you don’t mind.’

It took Peter a couple of minutes to break the lock. Faye searched through the bag looking for anything that might give her a clue as to who she was, but the only contents were clothing, a pair of flat shoes, a pair of ankle boots and a jewellery roll which contained a gold chain and five pairs of earrings, the colours of which matched the clothing.

‘It’s just clothing, there’s no papers, or passport, or anything that says who I am.’

‘But at least you can get dressed now. Do you remember where you were staying?’

‘No, I can’t remember anything except I was here on my own. But I must have checked out, if I left my bag at the Bistro. I don’t even know what my full name is, or where I live, or anything…’

Faye dissolved into tears, her world caving in around her. Peter instinctively wrapped his arms around her, offering her protection from a world that had disappeared for her.

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ Peter asked gently.

‘I don’t know…’ sobbed Faye, ‘I mean, unless anybody misses me, I don’t know where to go or if I have anywhere to go to.’

‘Will you be my guest at the hotel, while we get travel sorted out for you and anything else.’

‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you.’

They both laughed.

Peter pulled the curtains closed around the bed and went out to speak to the nurse while Faye dressed. A few minutes later she pulled the curtains back having dressed in jeans, a pale green blouse and a jumper in a slightly darker shade of green. On her feet, she had on a pair of fleece-lined tan coloured ankle boots. Her dark hair was short and curled around her face, framing her brown eyes.

‘The nurse told me they put the clothing you were wearing in the cabinet next to the bed. Would you like me to fetch it out, save you having to bend down too much?’

‘Yes please, thank you.’

Peter retrieved a pale aqua ski jacket and trousers, and the other clothes Faye had been wearing, which were neatly folded and had been placed in a plastic bag. A pair of ski boots were sat under the bed next to the cabinet.

‘I know those boots are not mine. I know I don’t ski.’

‘What about the jacket and trousers?’

‘I think they’re mine, they certainly look like they’d keep me warm.’

‘I think this might be a stain from the spilt hot chocolate.’ Peter said, pointing to a discolouration on the jacket and trousers.’

‘Definitely mine then.’ Faye laughed.

The doctor entered the room. ‘Well, young lady, you may leave our hospitality. Just take it easy for a few days. If you have any continuing pain, take normal pain-killing medication. If you suddenly get any distortions in your vision, I suggest that you get to the nearest hospital as quickly as you can. The sutures in your brow will dissolve over the next couple of weeks, the bruising will disappear, and you’ll look more like your natural self.’

He turned to Peter. ‘Take care of her young man, she’s very lucky it wasn’t worse.’

‘Thank you doctor, I will.’

Faye placed the worn clothing in her bag along with the ski trousers and put on her jacket. She stood up and reached out to grab her bag.

‘Oh no you don’t, I’ll carry that for you.’

‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you.’

They grinned at each other. They were both feeling very comfortable in each other’s company. At Peter’s hotel, they stopped at reception to book Faye a room.

‘Hello, I need to book a room for my friend here, just for the night.’

‘I’m sorry Sir, we are fully booked, there are no spare rooms.’

Peter turned to Faye. ‘My room does have a spare single bed in it, if you’re happy to share the room.’

‘I guess I don’t really have an option, so I’ll take you up on your kind offer.’

‘The first thing we need to do is contact the British Embassy and sort you out a travel pass. I’ll contact my secretary back in the UK, she’ll sort this out for you. It shouldn’t be a problem.’

‘What do you do for a living?’

‘I’m a lawyer.’

Faye raised her eyebrows. ‘An interesting one, or a plain old run of the mill one?’

Peter laughed. ‘Possibly an interesting one, but probably more a run of the mill one. I take on cases that others don’t want to, and some of them are pretty interesting. We’ve been known to carry out investigative work at times.’

‘I presume it pays well?’

‘It pays ok, better than a lot of jobs.’

‘That’s what I thought.’

‘So, you’re just interested in me for my money, and there I was thinking it was for my good looks.’

Faye patted his arm as she laughed. ‘No, I just like you Mr Elliott.’

‘Do you want to use the lift or go up the stairs?’

‘Um, lift please.’

‘I need to warn you that it isn’t very large and creaks at every movement.’

‘Sounds interesting.’

The lift was tiny. It was the width of one person and the length of three, and did creak at every movement that was made. Faye looked alarmed as Peter pressed the button and the lift jolted into life. She grabbed Peter’s arm.

Peter laughed. ‘From my experience, a lot of hotel lifts in France are like this, you do get used to it.’

‘Really? I’m glad I don’t suffer from claustrophobia.’

Peter’s hotel room was on the second floor with windows looking out over the main street and views of the mountains beyond. It was decorated in a typical Provencal way, with the same blue shepherd and shepherdess printed wallpaper covering the walls and the ceiling, complete with matching bed linen, even the lampshades had the same design. There was a double bed and a single bed, a small table and two chairs and two comfy chairs. The floor was covered in a carpet that had, perhaps, seen better days. The en-suite was completely tiled in white with a shower standing guard over the bath. Peter placed Faye’s bag at the end of the bed on the luggage table.

‘I’d like to buy you that hot chocolate, but I don’t appear to have any money any more, as my bag has disappeared. I only have a