[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-129560-en":3,"doc-seo-129560-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":26,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},129560,687207024478,"Liam","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd",1,"Story & Novel","Poison and Peacocks in the Dales - Maria Malone","A routine call at Skipden station is upended when Sergeant Ali Wren is caught mid-shift by Sergeant Wren’s colleague Roger Felton, whose long, winding conversation reveals unsettling local tensions. While the town of Heft in rural North Yorkshire tries to manage everyday “community matters,” rumors intensify around the Peacocks and the neighbors, creating a developing situation that demands careful attention. As Ali balances police duty, domestic distractions, and Roger’s evasive storytelling, the stakes rise.","JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!  \nSign up for all the latest crime and thriller news and get free books and exclusive offers .  \nBEDFORDSQUAREPUBLISHERS.CO.UK  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nFor Kathleen  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n1  \nIt was one of those mornings when Ali was waylaid the moment she left  \nthe house.  \n‘Sergeant Wren!’ Roger Felton hurried along the lane towards her.‘How fortunate. I wasn’t sure I’d find you at home.’  \n‘Actually, I’m just heading off.’  \nUndeterred, he continued to advance, his eye on the springer spaniel at Ali’s side.‘My word, Officer Wilson – don’t you look smart as new paint!’The dog wagged his tail.  \n‘We’re due at Skipden,’Ali pointed out.‘The station. So…’  \n‘What it is to be on the frontline, eh, boy?’ Roger fussed over Wilson.‘Fighting crime at every turn. No peace for the wicked!’  \n‘A meeting,’ Ali persisted.‘With the Chief Super.’ Making what was a routine catch-up sound like pressing police business in the hope Roger might just take the hint.  \nHe aimed a bright smile at her. ‘Indeed. Well, I won’t delay you. Although… now I’m here, I wonder… might you have time for a very quick word?’  \nRoger was not known for keeping things brief. If Ali invited him in, getting him to leave again might prove tricky.  \n‘I will be concise,’ he said, sensing her hesitation.  \nAli relented.‘Of course.’ It might be important, after all.‘Although, I do need to be off fairly soon.’ She would hear him out and send him on his way. No idle chit-chat, and definitely no coffee.  \n‘Yes, yes, I quite understand,’ Roger agreed.  \nShe led the way back along the front path to the cottage, Roger stopping to admire the jasmine cascading over the front wall of Larkspur (‘Ours is nowhere near as impressive! Oh! Is that viburnum?’) . Just getting him to the front door was taking longer than it should have.  \nOnce inside, he plonked himself at the kitchen table, Wilson beside him. Ali remained standing.  \n‘So, I’ve not got long – how can I help?’  \n‘Well, where to start?’ He frowned and drummed his fingers on the table.  \n‘I don’t know what you’ll make of it…’ Removing his cap, shrugging his jacket onto the back of the chair. Ali glanced at the clock and despaired.‘Peculiar affair. Not your run-of-the-mill police matter, I’d say…’  \nIt was no use. ‘Give me a minute, I’ll let the station know something’s come up.’ She sighed inwardly.‘Then I’ll make a coffee.’  \nHe beamed. ‘Marvellous – only if you’ve time, of course. I wouldn’t wish to impose.’  \nAli messaged Skipden, put the kettle on to boil, and found a tin of her mother ’s shortbread biscuits, while Roger supplied an endless stream of chatter: had she heard the WI was organising weekly wellness walks and that anyone – ‘men too!’ – could tag along? What about the parish council’s‘Red Alert’ campaign, encouraging people to put squirrel feeders in their gardens to help the dwindling population of native reds?‘Not before time. We all must do our bit,’ he told Wilson. ‘If you see a grey, don’t delay – report it! They carry disease you know, catastrophic to the reds, although Ido have some sympathy for the greys, I mean, we brought them here…’ It was a peculiarity of Heft, Ali decided, the art of the meandering conversation, one that rambled up hill and down dale, arriving (eventually) at a place far from where it had begun. A single momentary lapse in concentration and the thread was lost entirely – as Ali knew only too well, especially where Roger Felton (by far the worst offender) was concerned. Roger was a master of the twist and turn, capable of seamlessly switching from one subject to the next, Ali, now spooning coffee into the pot, doing her best to keep up.  \nFor what felt like an eternity she had been paying close attention to everything he’d had to say and yet, despite her best efforts, at some point, without her noticing, Roger had somehow segued off the subject of squirrels and landed… where, exactly? What had she missed","cbCaihcT8IssWKMO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihcT8IssWKMO","pdf",2775553,290,"English","en",105,"# Chapter\n## Ali and Roger at Larkspur\n## Coffee, banter, and clues\n## The Peacocks and rising tensions","[{\"question\":\"Who are the main characters in this excerpt?\",\"answer\":\"Sergeant Ali Wren and Officer Wilson are the policing team, while Roger Felton arrives with news and conversation that steers Ali toward the Peacocks situation.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the “Peacocks” situation described here?\",\"answer\":\"The Peacocks are described as neighbors being at odds, becoming heated, and forming a developing situation worth keeping an eye on.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does Ali feel she is still “the new girl” in Heft?\",\"answer\":\"Despite Heft being her hometown and her policing experience, locals frequently wrong-foot her, and Roger’s community-focused habits often complicate her ability to stay on track.\"}]","Poison and Peacocks in the Dales - Maria Malone | PDF",1786106569,447,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":23,"language":22,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":27},"poison-and-peacocks-in-the-dales-maria-malone","",{"@graph":35,"@context":85},[36,53,68],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/poison-and-peacocks-in-the-dales-maria-malone/129560/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":22,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":40,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-22","2026-08-07",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":11},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Who are the main characters in this excerpt?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Sergeant Ali Wren and Officer Wilson are the policing team, while Roger Felton arrives with news and conversation that steers Ali toward the Peacocks situation.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What is the “Peacocks” situation described here?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The Peacocks are described as neighbors being at odds, becoming heated, and forming a developing situation worth keeping an eye on.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"Why does Ali feel she is still “the new girl” in Heft?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"Despite Heft being her hometown and her policing experience, locals frequently wrong-foot her, and Roger’s community-focused habits often complicate her ability to stay on track.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":23},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,96,100,104,109,114,119,124,129,132,136],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]