Episone 9 - Teddy's secret

At about the same time as Dorothy was negotiating with the girl at the Social Services office, Cleo was sitting in her office reading her emails. Dorothy phoned through on her mobile to confirm that there was indeed a baby hatch in Upper Grumpsfield. She was waiting for the next bus and would come straight to the office.

Episode 8 - Tango

On a day overshadowed by grim suspicions of child abuse and bartering, back at the cottage for lunch Cleo spent quite a long time searching for loopholes in her theory about the purported ongoing subversive trading in babies, but even in the chat-rooms she entered online with a false name and giving her age as 15 and her condition as 8 months pregnant, the advice offered was not very helpful. It seemed as though girls in that predicament did not share their worries online.

Episode 7 - Dorothy goes for a walk

Robert had been asleep when Cleo got back from the Singleton cottage, so Cleo and he talked about the previous night’s events at breakfast early on Wednesday morning, Cleo having made a special effort to get up at the crack of dawn. She phoned Dorothy and asked her if she could come for a quick coffee seven thirty, an hour Dorothy found unusual for Cleo who liked her mornings to start gently and late. Realizing that something must be afoot, she was standing on Cleo’s doorstep within fifteen minutes.

Episode 6 - Mrs Courtney

It was a pleasant walk downhill towards Middlethumpton, but since Thumpton Hill was steep, the walk back would have been strenuous, so Cleo got into her car and drove there, telling herself that she needed it to do the shopping on the way back. 

Episode 5 - Anna

By the time the two sleuths arrived at the vicarage the boys were home from school and Edith had sent them to look for Anna. The twins were to watch out for her at the Bell Tower. The three older boys were to comb the immediately vicinity. Albert, the eldest, would be in charge.

“Absolutely brilliant,” said Cleo.

Episode 4 - Mistaken Identity?

While Gary had been away, Cleo had been busy enough with trivial cases that were mostly clients’ personal problems, such as tracking down a care home for an elderly relative or vetting a boarding school for someone’s child. Criminal activities had not been high on the list of tasks. The law student who had helped her in recent months was taking his finals soon and pressed for time.

Episode 3 - The girl child

Cleo’s phone rang. It was the vicar in an overexcited state.

“Cleo, thank God I’ve reached you. You weren’t at home.”

“I usually work here in the office at this time on a weekday,” she replied, thinking ruefully of the number of times the phone had rung and remained unanswered. “What are you upset about?”

Episode 2 - The decision

Cleo seemed to be spending a lot of time consulting her wardrobe before returning to the living room and flipping through a fashion magazine she had once ordered when she had decided to lose half her boday-weight and had no suitable clothes for the new look.

"Who was that on the phone?"

Episode 1 - The proposal

"You're nervous," said Cleo Hartley as she observed Robert Jones throwing the lamb chops into the frying pan. All his actions were frenetic. He seemed to be turning his cooking into a race to the finish.

"Me? No. What makes you think that?"

"Body language, Robert."

He tried to distract her.