Oh, Bee,’ Emma sighed. ‘What mess have you landed us in this time?’
Bee opened her eyes wide in exaggerated surprise. ‘Me?’ She jerked her head in the direction of the white-suited scene-of-crime officers hard at work in their shop. ‘You can’t pin a dead body in the soft-toy aisle on me, Em.’
A burly man in a raincoat broke away from the huddle of forensics experts, and made his way over to the counter behind which the two women were standing. A young officer in uniform, wielding a notepad and pencil, scuttled after him.
‘Good morning, ladies. I’m Detective Inspector Blayne. May I ask which of you is the owner of this shop? Straight and Narrow, that’s the name, isn’t it?’ He sniffed. ‘Odd name for a shop.’
The taller of the two women drew herself up to her full height. ‘We like it, Inspector. And we are joint proprietors. I am Emma Crane, and this is Bee…’
‘Smith,’ her companion said quickly. ‘How d’you do?’ She thrust out a hand, and held it there until the Inspector reluctantly shook it. She then held it out to the young officer at his side. ‘And what’s your name, darlin’?’
The young man coloured with embarrassment as he took her hand. ‘Kevin.’
DI Blayne scowled at him.
Kevin cleared his throat and tried again with more volume. ‘I mean, PC Goode.’
‘First time on a murder scene, Kevin?’ said Bee. She patted his hand. ‘Thought you looked a bit green around the gills. What you
