Inspector Morse 13 The Remorseful Day

THE REMORSEFUL DAY [070-3.9]

By: Colin Dexter

synopsis:

Dexter (Death is Now My Neighbor, 1997, etc.) draws a brilliantly

realized series to a close by relying on the irascible Morses

extraordinary capacity of thinking laterally, vertically, and

diagonally. This time, though, Morse seems reluctant to get involved

in the unsolved year-old murder of 50-ish promiscuous nurse Yvonne

Hamilton. Is it because hes weary and ailing, or because he has a

secret vested interest in the naked, handcuffed, gagged victim? When

two anonymous phone calls come into the Thames Valley Police station,

corpulent Chief Superintendent Strange pulls Morse back from a

furlough, along with faithful Sergeant Lewis. Circuitous routes keep

Lewis one step behind the curmudgeonly, miserly, oddly vulnerable

Morse, but not far enough behind to prevent him from wondering why

Morse seems unwilling to take a more active involvement in the case. A

bountiful cast of prime suspects is joined by the usual cast of

colorful locals, all of them dancing with nervous energy, before guilt

brings its own moral retribution. Astute readers who think they have

outwitted Morse should wait till the last two pages before

congratulating themselves. Morse is laid to rest gracefully, though

many a reader will join Lewis in his tearful farewell to one of the

most original, endearing, and consistently rewarding detective series.

By the same author

LAST BUS TO WOOD STOCK LAST SEEN WEARING

THE SILENT WORLD OF NICHOLAS QUINN SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD THE DEAD

OF JERICHO THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE THE SECRET OF ANNEXE 3 THE

WENCH IS DEAD THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS THE

DAUGHTERS OF CAIN DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR MORSE'S GREATEST MYSTERY

AND OTHER STORIES

THE

REMORSEFUL DAY

BCA1

LONDON NEW YORK SYDNEY TORONTO

This edition published 1999 byBCA By arrangement with Macmillan an imprint

of MacMillan Publishers Ltd CN 6321 Copyright Colin Dexter 1999 The right of

Colin Dexter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by

him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by

any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)

without the prior written permission of the publisher.  Any person who does

any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to

criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham pie, Chatham, Kent

For George, Hilary, Maria, and Beverley (Please note the Oxford comma)

Acknowledgements My special thanks are due, imprimis to Terry Benczik from

New Jersey, for sending me so many apposite quotations; to Cyndi Cook from

Hawaii, for singing to me as I wrote these chapters; to Allison Dexter, for

sharing with me her expertise on coronary care; to Eddie Andrews, one of my

former pupils, for initiating me (at last!  ) into some of the mysteries of

the SO COs and to Chris Burt, producer of so many Morse episodes on TV, for

his constant support and encouragment.

The author and publishers wish to thank the following who have kindly given

permission for use of copyright materials: Extracts from More Poems XLI, More

Poems XVI and A Shropshire Lad by A.  E.  Housman are reproduced by

permission of The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the

Estate of A.  E.  Housman.

Extract from On the Dole in Darlington by David Mackenzie reproduced by

permission of the author.  Extract from translation of An Die Musik by Basil

Swift reproduced by permission of the author.  Extract from I'm a Stranger

Here Myself by Ogden Nash (from the collection Candy is Dandy, Andre Deutsch

Ltd, Copyright 1938 by Ogden Nash, Renewed) is reprinted by permission of

Curtis Brown Ltd, Andre Deutsch Ltd and Little, Brown and Company, Inc.

Extract from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is reproduced by permission of the

author.

Extract from The Fiddler ofDooney by W.  B.  Yeats is reproduced by

permission of A.  P.  Watt Ltd on behalf of Michael B.  Yeats, and Simon &

Schuster Inc.  Extract from Come to Think of It by G.  K.  Chesterton is

reproduced by kind permission of A.  P.  Watt Limited on behalf of the Royal

Literary Fund.

Extract from Oxford by Jan Morris is reproduced by permission of Oxford

University Press.

Extract from Lovelace Bkeding by Roy Dean reproduced by permission of the

author.

Extract from Night-wood by Djuna Barnes is reproduced by permission of the

author and Faber and Faber Ltd.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders but if any has been

inadvertently overlooked, the author and publishers will be pleased to make

the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.

Ensanguining the skies How heavily it dies Into the west away; Past touch

and sight and sound Not further to be found How hopeless under ground Falls

the remorseful day, (A.  E.  Housman, More Poems, XVI) When I wrote my 1997