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Level 4 - B1/B2 Intermediate (2) Graded Reader from I Talk You Talk Press
Old Secrets - Modern Mysteries Series Book 2
CopyrightEnd House
Copyright © 2013 by I Talk You Talk Press
ISBN: 978-4-907056-22-3
Publisher: I Talk You Talk Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be resold, reproduced, stored inretrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without the prior written permission
from the publisher. You must not circulate this publication in any format, online orotherwise.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, products,places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or areused in a fictitious manner. We have no affiliation with any existing companies
mentioned in this story. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, existing
stories or actual events is purely coincidental.
Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the contentsof this book were correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume andhereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused byerrors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident,
or any other cause.
For more information, see the Copyright Notice on our website.
Cover illustration image copyright: © Steve Carter 2013
The photograph of Loch Coultrie is used with the kind permission of Steve Carter(http://www.stevecarter.com).
I Talk You Talk Press contact: info@italkyoutalk.com
Website: http://www.italkyoutalk.com© I Talk You Talk Press
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End House Character List
The DumbartonsSarah Dumbarton is a retired school teacher. She lives in an old house near a small
fishing village in western Scotland. When she was young she studied at university inParis. She fell in love with another student, James Winchester. James disappeared fromher life and Sarah returned to Scotland. She married Alec Dumbarton. Forty years later,she met James Winchester again. You can read about their meeting in Italy in book oneof the Old Secrets - Modern Mysteries series: The Blue Lace Curtain.
Alec Dumbarton worked in a bank. He married Sarah Dundas. He died about fifteen
years before the events in this story take place.
Davie Dumbarton is Sarah’s brother-in-law. He lives in End House, a very old andmysterious house on the edge of a loch in northwest Scotland.
James Winchester
James is a diplomat. He lives in Rome. He and Sarah fell in love in Paris when they
were in their twenties. James had to leave Sarah in Paris because he had a very
dangerous job in the British Secret Service. He was delighted to meet Sarah again after
so many years. He has come to spend a vacation with her.
The Police
Archie Ross is the top policeman in Scotland. He grew up near the village where
Sarah lives. He knows her well. When he was a young man, he and James worked
together, so he knows James too.
Peter Duncan is a detective. He lives and works in Oban. He and Sarah played
together as children.
Rory McClellan is a junior detective. Peter Duncan is his boss. When he was a child,
Sarah was his school teacher.
Other characters
Fiona and Len Muir are friends of Sarah’s. They own the pub in the village near
Sarah’s house.
Walter Ferrington lives near End House. He is very interested in old stories andhidden treasure.

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Millie Craig has a bed and breakfast hotel near End House. Her mother and Sarah
were best friends. Sarah was Millie’s school teacher.
Richard Wilson is an antiques dealer from Glasgow. The police think he might be acriminal, but they have never caught him.
1. They think I did it!
James was singing as he drove his rental car towards Lochgilphead. It was a beautiful
day and he felt good. He laughed at himself when he realised he was singing The FirstTime Ever I Saw Your Face. It had been on a cassette tape he bought when he was astudent. He had played it over and over again during his last year at university.
On his last night in Paris, he and Sarah had sat on the tiny balcony of his apartment
drinking wine and listening to this song. That was more than forty years ago. In all thattime he had not seen Sarah until six months ago. They had met again, almost bychance, in Italy. Now Sarah had invited him to stay at her house in Western Scotland fora few days.
He stopped in Lochgilphead and checked his map and instructions; only another 25km. He had emailed Sarah saying he would arrive in time for a late lunch. If he didn’t get
lost, he would be on time.
---The house is near the ocean --- Sarah had written. ---There are no neighbours. The
nearest house is almost a kilometre away. I hope you won’t find it too quiet---.
He drove on along the near the coastline. He passed some houses standing alone inwindswept gardens. Finally he came to a small village with a shop, a hotel, a church anda few houses. Past the village he started looking for a left hand turn.
---Turn left by the old fishing boat--- Sarah’s instructions said. ---Drive about 2km. The
house is on the top of the hill. You can’t miss it---.
James saw the house as he drove up the hill. There was a stone wall alongside theroad. The house was big and it was surrounded by a large garden. Then James saw thecars. There were two black vans, two police cars and an ordinary car. They were parked
on the side of the road. There were a number of people in the garden.
James was worried. He drove towards the wide gates that led to the house. The gateswere shut. James stopped the car. A policeman stepped up to the driver’s window.
James lowered the window.
“What’s happened?” he asked. “Has there been an accident? Is Sarah OK?”
“You can’t stop here, sir,” said the policeman. “Please drive on.”© I Talk You Talk Press
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“No way!” answered James. “What’s wrong?”“Nothing to do with you, sir,” answered the policeman. “Now please just drive on, ordrive back the way you came.”
James drove the car to the side of the road. He parked it in front of the police cars.
Then he got out of the car and walked back to the policeman.
“I am a guest of the woman who owns this house. I’m going in,” he told the policeman.
“No, you’re not,” said the policeman. “Not until my boss says you can. But wait here.
He will probably want to talk to you.”
The policeman took out his mobile phone and talked quietly to someone. James
looked at the garden. There were people in white overalls crawling around on theground. A woman also wearing overalls was taking photographs. To one side of thehouse he could see a stretcher. There were other people close to the wall of the house
but there were trees and bushes in the way, so he couldn’t see what they were doing.
The policeman stopped talking on his phone and turned to James.
“The boss is busy, but one of the detectives is coming out. Wait here.”“But just tell me what is happening!” James was sure something terrible had
happened to Sarah.
A young man in casual clothes came out of the house. He walked up to James.
“I’m Detective Constable Rory McClellan. Could you give me your name please, sir?”“I’m James Winchester. I’m a friend of Sarah Dumbarton. What has happened?”
The detective didn’t answer the question. “And your address?”
James gave the detective the address of his apartment in Rome.
“And I understand that you are a guest in this house,” said the detective.
“Well, I will be a guest when you let me go in! I flew from Rome to Glasgow very early
this morning. I picked up a rental car at the airport and drove here.”“So you weren’t in Scotland last night?”“No,” answered James.
“Can you prove that?”
James gave the man his boarding pass and the rental car agreement. The detective
read the papers carefully.
“So you weren’t here yesterday or early this morning?”“No. Now will you please tell me what has happened?”“I don’t think that’s necessary, sir. We have your name and address if we want to talkto you. I suggest you go to Oban or back to Glasgow and telephone Mrs Dumbarton.
She should be free to talk to you later today.”© I Talk You Talk Press
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NOT FOR SALEJames was very angry. “Now listen to me!” he shouted.
Just then the front door of the house opened and Sarah came running out.
“James! James! Thank goodness!”
She ran down the wide path to the gate and opened it. “Come in!”
“Mrs Dumbarton!” shouted the policeman. “You can’t invite people in! It’s a crimescene.”
Sarah ignored him. She turned to the detective.
“Rory McClellan! You can tell your boss that this is still my house and James
Winchester is my guest!”
Sarah took James’ arm and walked quickly with him down the path to the front door.
The door was open and she took James down a hallway and into a big kitchen.
“Sit down,” she said. “I thought you would arrive soon, so I made coffee. I’m notallowed to go anywhere else in the house.”
James suddenly felt very tired. He sat down at the kitchen table. Sarah poured coffee
and handed him a cup. She sat down opposite him.
“Now, first,” said James. “I am delighted to be here and delighted to see you! But whaton earth has been going on?”Sarah smiled at James. “I’m very pleased you’re here. Let me tell you. There was aman’s body in my garden this morning. He had been shot.”“Oh, poor Sarah.” James reached across the table and took Sarah’s hands. “What aterrible shock. Did you find the body?”“No, No. Jim Rumble. He’s a fisherman from down in the village. He came up thismorning to bring me some fish. I ordered it to cook for lunch today. He was walking
around the side of the house to the kitchen door, when he saw the body. He camerunning to the door to tell me. I went out to look. The man had been shot in the back. Hewas dead. I called the police. They arrived about an hour later. They had to come fromOban. They have been here for hours.”“So you saw the dead man. Did you know him?” asked James.
“He was lying face down, so I couldn’t see his face well, but I don’t think so,”answered Sarah. “He seemed to be about forty years old. He had a lot of black hair andwas wearing jeans, motor bike boots and a leather jacket.”“Which way was the body facing?”“His head was towards the house. He was just outside the living room windows.
Maybe he had been looking in the window. The curtains were open.” Sarah shiveredand James held her hands more tightly.
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“Sarah. Why don’t we go out? You can’t go anywhere in the house. And it’s been aterrible day for you. Why don’t we go down to the village? I saw a hotel there. Do theyserve lunch?”Sarah pulled her hands away from James’. She stood up and went to the kitchen
window. She stared out at the garden.
“I don’t think that’s possible. They have been searching the house for guns. You see,the police think I did it!”-----END OF SAMPLE-----© I Talk You Talk Press
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