The Case of the Screaming Beauty

Epilogue

Cliff Swansbourne was sentenced to fifteen years for the manslaughter of Norah Travis. He will be well over seventy before being considered for parole. He suffers from depression and during her monthly visits, his wife Amelia encourages him to tutor younger inmates in the prison’s kitchens.

Amelia continues to run the Lavender with the help of Doris Tisbury. The gardens look a little less perfect and Amelia has advertised for a local chef to help in the kitchen so that she can attend to them more often. Amelia has no desire to retire and claims that she will work at the bed-and-breakfast “until I drop.” Tim Lloyd never returned to the Lavender Inn.

Jimmy Travis was eventually arrested and sentenced to two years for drug dealing. He served six months and was monitored via an ankle bracelet on his release. He has not re-offended, but his parole officer has warned him to expect an ASBO (Anti-Social Behavior Order) if he doesn’t mend his ways.

Shortly after Cliff Swansbourne’s sentencing, Nikki Watkins found herself pregnant. She gave up smoking and when she gave birth to a healthy daughter named her Norah.

Detective Inspector Graham was offered and accepted a position he applied for on Jersey. Jersey is a Channel Island located just off the coast of Northern France in the English Channel. When queried by Sergeant Harris about the wisdom of moving to a sleepy, isolated community, Graham’s response was to demur, saying, “I have the feeling that it’s going to be just perfect.” The offer came at just the right moment for the Detective Inspector. He received the job offer on the same day as his wife, Isabelle filed for divorce.

Sergeant Harris was sorry to see DI Graham leave the Met, but wished him well. Harris was reassigned to the Fraud Squad. He misses the action of CID but credits the regular hours with helping save his marriage to Judith.

Fiona did extremely well in her school exams, receiving top marks in all her subjects especially biology, chemistry, and mathematics. She is now at sixth form college. Her ambition is to attend university to study medicine. To that end, she spends her summers interning at various hospital pathology labs in London and the surrounding area.

Inspired by her sharp mind and ambition, Dr. Bert Hatfield kept in touch with Fiona and acted as her mentor. He continues to regale his assistant with questionable jokes and drink too much coffee. Revealing the secrets of the deceased holds as much appeal to him as it ever did.