The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse Read online

  “By your irritated eyes,” I answered, “to begin with, and the hoarseness of your voice when you opened the door. Exposure to the steamy fumes of copper sulfate. You were there before the bathwater cooled.”

  I didn’t feel any need to tell Plaxton about the theatrical greasepaint which Mr. Denning had been using for years to cover up his awful scales and lesions. In death, the poor man surely deserved at least a pinch of privacy.

  “The police will soon be here,” I said. “I advise you to be straight with them. You needn’t mention my name.”

  “Big help you’ve been,” Plaxton said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

  “Thank you,” I replied, pretending not to notice. “As you requested, I’ve at least given you and your playmates excuses why you shouldn’t be charged with murder. You might be asked some awkward questions about interfering with a dead body, but that’s your problem—not mine.”

  “No—look,” Plaxton said, coming to his senses. “Here, take this.”

  And he pressed a five-pound note into my hand. I let it flutter to the ground, but he scooped it up and shoved it into my pocket.

  It simply boggles the mind the way in which some people can turn on a sixpence. Or perhaps it was that I had misjudged Plaxton from the beginning. Pity is not always the best basis for trust.

  As I got to my feet and began walking away across the grass, toward the old stone of Anson House, the new banknote crackled crisply in my pocket. It was, I realized with a secret thrill, the first pay I had ever received for professional consultation.

  Gladys would be happy to see me. We would stop at Bert Archer’s garage on the way home and buy a fresh tin of bicycle oil.

  It would be my treat.

  BY ALAN BRADLEY

  Flavia de Luce Novels

  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

  The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

  A Red Herring Without Mustard

  I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

  Speaking from Among the Bones

  The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

  As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

  Flavia de Luce Short Stories

  The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse

  PHOTO: © JEFF BASSETT

  ALAN BRADLEY is the internationally bestselling author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and the memoir The Shoebox Bible. His first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, received the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award, and was nominated for the Anthony Award. His other Flavia de Luce novels are The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Speaking from Among the Bones, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, and As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust.

  www.flaviadeluce.com

  As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

  978-0-345-53995-3

  Flavia must find out the truth about the body that tumbled out of her bedroom chimney at her new boarding school…all while maintaining good grades and making new friends.

  The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

  978-0-345-53969-4

  Flavia sets off to find out the meaning of a stranger’s last words to her, seconds before he was pushed in front of a train.

  Speaking from Among the Bones

  978-0-345-53868-0

  When the church organist turns up dead, it’s up to Flavia to find out the motive and killer behind this gruesome crime.

  I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

  978-0-345-53215-2

  A Christmas mystery too close to home has Flavia searching for a killer when a film crew comes to town during a blizzard.

  A Red Herring Without Mustard

  978-0-440-33986-1

  Flavia works to find out the real reason a gypsy woman was bludgeoned to death in her own caravan.

  The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

  978-0-440-33917-5

  When beloved puppeteer Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity, only Flavia can figure out the truth behind the supposed accident.

  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

  978-0-440-33846-8

  A dead bird found on a doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak, and a dead man lying in a cucumber patch spark young Flavia’s interest in this captivating mystery.

  The Flavia de Luce Series 5-Book Bundle

  978-0-8041-8072-6

  Five of your favorite Flavia de Luce stories in one convenient bundle.