tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20707517438203735012024-02-20T20:25:18.642+01:00The choral killingsfaith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-21084087141153576482017-11-26T15:28:00.004+01:002020-03-26T21:02:31.973+01:00Episode 20 - The white witch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Tuesday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll need to talk to you again, Miss Knowles,” said Gary,
“but if I’m not mistaken, Miss Cartwright made a fool of you and she was trying
it on with us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“It looks very much like it,” said Knowles. “Aren’t you
going to charge me with anything?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were foolish to let yourself in for that soup
incident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought I was takin her for a ride. I didn’t know what
was in that potion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She did not know she was handling poison either, Miss
Knowles,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t know that, do we?” said Knowles. “I liked the idea
of helping the singing by eating soup laced with some kind of vocally improving
substance. Phillis really believed that, or said she did. I just went along
with it for fun.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll know better next time not to underestimate apparent stupidity.
It took me quite a long time to understand that such people either have no
reasoning at all or it is too perverted to be taken seriously,” said Gary.
“Suicide bombers are made of such stuff. You can’t argue with them that they
are taking their own lives at the behest of people who would not dream of
taking theirs. They believe in a heaven full of innocent assassins – people who
have given their lives to a groundless cause.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There won’t be a next time, I promise you. I’m going to come
out as a lawyer. I can see that I’m not clever enough to be a criminal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Which brings me to something I have to ask you about the
past, Miss Knowles,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go ahead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you kill Laura Finch?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you ask that?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were seen nearby.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By Betjeman?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Laura Finch was haunted by that mad person. She and I did
not really get on, but Mrs Finch knew I was lawyer and had asked me to look
into Betjeman Crighton’s activities. He frightened her. I was to find a way of
getting him locked up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did Mrs Finch find out about your profession?” Gary
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She had been worried about her nephew. I said I knew
someone who might help her. When we were alone, I told her who I was. It was
about Jason’s birth certificate, if I remember rightly. She wanted me to make
sure the details did not get out, but it was too late to avoid the truth about
her relation to the man she had said was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>her nephew. I think the main idea was that her own past was not to
become common knowledge.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you know about it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I contacted the shipping company and found out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So what happened when Mrs Finch was murdered?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I followed Betjeman when I could, but he was usually on his
racing bike, so I needed to know where Mrs Finch was going. She told me she was
going to the garage yard that day, to where that nasty little grocer and the
organist kept their cars. She would tell them both to get off her back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wish we’d heard all this sooner,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You had your killer, so I kept quiet,” said Knowles. “I was
too late to stop Betjeman stabbing Mrs Finch and I did not know that Bontemps
had already attacked her. I just got away from the scene. Wouldn’t you have
done the same?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s your own fault that you have such a bad reputation,
Miss Knowles,” said Cleo. “You cultivated it for reasons best known to
yourself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Those weird jobs were amusing. The legal profession is not
amusing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phillis’s action at the hospital was clearly murder. She
had confessed. Her motive was jealousy. I don’t know if you did anything to
provoke it,” said Gary. “But that would not be illegal, would it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The coast is not clear yet, however, Mis Knowles,” said
Gary. “You represent some of the criminal element in this town, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if I do?” They pay well.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you going to stop doing that?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, of course not. Even felons need lawyers and I don’t aid
and abet them. Now I’m coming out, they’ll drop me, I should think.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will you keep us posted?” Gary said?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll use my judgement, Mr Hurley,” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo treated Gary to blazing eyes and a sardonic smile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d better phone Robert and tell him that his assistant
will not be returning,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, you should,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wasn’t that butcher guy married to you, Miss Hartley?” said
Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary did not wait for Cleo to answer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ve all had our moments, Miss Knowles,” he said.” You can
go now. Let me know how you get on in your professional capacity as a lawyer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll do that,” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You will also be called as a witness, even if you decide to
defend Miss Cartwright. Think twice about that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had stood by wordless the whole time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t phone Robert, Cleo,” she said now. “I’ll pop into the
shop and explain things to him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nigel, can you drive Dorothy to Upper Grumpsfield?” Gary
said. “I’ll take my wife out to lunch when we’ve checked back at home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will do,” said Nigel. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Take my car,” Gary said, giving him the key.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo wondered if Gary was serious about lunch since their relationship
now seemed to be on trial and it was her fault. Apart from that, he still had
to question Ed Fargo while the iron was hot. His interview was set for three.
Cleo planned to be home by then. She would not take part in that interview.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When is Dr Fargo coming here, Gary?” Cleo asked when she was
at last alone with Gary. “Are you mad at me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dr Faro is coming tomorrow. Greg sent a text to that effect.
And no, I’m not mad at you. I’m rather flattered. I don’t mid women scrapping
over me. Let’s go to Romano’s. We have plenty of time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought you’d order something to be sent here, like in
the old days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before we got together, I suppose you mean,” said Gary.
“I’m glad we got all that sorted out. Ordering was really a ruse to keep you
near me for a bit longer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I did not really notice the way things were going,”
said Cleo. “Upstairs or downstairs?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Both, since you are obviously not angry with me any more,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not angry with you, but I’m angry with myself. Why
didn’t I ask Knowles to explain things before now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Because it was all one of Dorothy’s famous hunches, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s true. I’m not hungry yet. Upstairs sounds more like
my kind of thing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A wise decision under the circumstances.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After an hour in Romano’s guestroom where it all began and
was still sensational, the lovers ate glorious pasta with Romano. He had made
it specially and called it “lovers’ lasagne”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How is your love life,” Gary asked, knowing that his friend
had suffered greatly from Cleo’s mother’s episode with Romano’s younger
brother.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She came to see me,” said Romano. “Gloria is still the best
thing that ever happened to me. I was not passionate enough. She found
another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She wants to give you a second chance, Romano,” said Gary.
“You must take it and show her that you are really a Latin lover as well as a
great cook.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think she would believe me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure, Romano. Give it a chance. You’ve nothing to lose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll think about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo drove home in the red sports car that had been Gary’s
until he was obliged to get a van to accommodate his growing family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary went back to the office, where Nigel was waiting for
him. Ed Fargo was brought to the office by a security guard who was instructed
to stay. As a precaution, Gary had locked the door between his office and the
observation room and pocketed the key. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good news, Mr Fargo,” Gary started, not knowing if Fargo
already knew that his uncle had reappeared.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The only good news I want to hear is that I’m going to be
released,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure you’d want that if you knew that your uncle
has reappeared.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Has he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He has.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then you know that I didn’t kill him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You didn’t kill him, but you killed someone else, didn’t
you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s talk about Miss Cartwright, shall we?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who’s that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s the lady who advertised her skill at making pills and
potions, Mr Fargo. You contacted her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did I? I don’t remember.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me jog your memory,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where’s my wife?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Somewhere else, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I want to talk to her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s not around. Talk to me instead. For a start, tell me
why you contacted Phillis Cartwright.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just for fun.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you do know who that is, after all,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wanted to see what kind of person would claim to be a
white witch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And then you gave her a try, didn’t you, Mr Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if I did?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Making potions out of amatoxins is not very nice,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mushrooms, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sally picked them. We looked them up and they were
harmless.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All of them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so. Then I gave them to the white witch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What happened next?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She made up a translucent potion and sold it to me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you do with it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t remember,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As far as I’m informed, you decanted it into a bottle of
wine and gave it to a tramp. Why did you do that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sally did that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You told her to, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t remember.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You wife remembers everything,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She makes things up,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What she did not know until now was that the tramp you picked
on because you needed a corpse was possibly her father.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Rubbish.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s true. We’ll get a DNA test done and that will settle
the matter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So she killed her father,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you say she killed him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She gave him the wine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You had prepared it with poison, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to prove that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We will. We know you wanted to be rid of your uncle.
Identifying the tramp as your uncle was the first part of the plan.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Blast you. I did not even know where my uncle was.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you moved into the villa and dressed a doll in his
clothes so that people would think her was at home. That was before the idea of
the tramp occurred to you, Mr Fargo. If your uncle was dead, you could inherit
the villa. No one could prove it wasn’t your uncle if he had been cremated. If
or when he turned up, you would dispose of him, probably in that freezer in the
cellar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can’t prove anything,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think we can,” said Gary. “We know you gave Miss Cartwright
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dried toadstools to make her anatoxin
enriched potion, and we know what Miss Cartwright did with the rest that she had
kept for her own use as a beautifier and restorer of singing voices.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fargo laughed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It isn’t funny. It cost two people their lives, three, if
you count that tramp. Forensic science can prove that the poisonous mixture was
unique – the fantasy of a woman who thought she was a white witch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t believe that woman, surely.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll also have your wife’s testimony, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She is lying, Inspector.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About what? Explain that!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ed Fargo realized that anything he said would incriminate him.
There was nothing left of his plan to become rich on the inheritance from his
uncle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, and there’s also the business of your first wife, Mr
Fargo. I’ll have to get that case reopened. And you wife will tell the truth
this time. How did you get her on your side?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mind your own business,” said Fargo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Take him back to his cell please,” Gary ordered the guard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel declared that Fargo was one of nastiest characters he
had ever witnessed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll talk to Dr Fargo tomorrow morning,” said Gary. “I
don’t suppose Fargo will be in line to inherit anything when he knows what has
been going on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t wait,” said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll go home now, Nigel. Thanks for helping me with that
little crisis Cleo had. I’ve never known her to be jealous.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ve never flirted with a suspect before,” said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wasn’t flirting.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But the mutual attraction was unmistakeable, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was just interesting. That’s all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t have to convince me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What do you suggest, Nigel?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Flowers and jewellery. They always work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks for the advice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A sapphire ring and a huge bouquet of roses later, Gary
arrived at the cottage to find Cleo cooking dinner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have a clever assistant, Mr Hurley,” she said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have wonderful wife, Mrs Hurley,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Make sure you don’t forget that again, Mr Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When all the children were asleep, Cleo and Gary chatted
over their espresso nightcaps in front of a blazing log fire about what was in
store the following day, when Dr Faro, Eve Fletcher, Sally, Ed Fargo and Phillis
had to be ‘processed’. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought Phillis had burnt all her boats already and
would be passed on to the public prosecutor without delay.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We didn’t ask Miss Knowles why she visited the Crightons,
Gary.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you think why, considering she is not guilty of any
crime,” said Gary. “She knew Betjeman was guilty, too. That surprised me. You
would have thought the lawyer n her would have made her come forward.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I expect the stalker in her held her back,” said Cleo. “Anyway,
you are assuming she has no skeletons in her cupboard, and I can’t go along
with that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your female instinct, Cleo. It has already let you down
today my love.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Leave the gender out, please. The truth is that you don’t
want her to be guilty of anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I would not have let her go if there had been any doubt in
my mind, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what I thought until a few minutes ago, but what if
she did have an ulterior motive? Would she go all that way to visit Betjeman
for the hell of it? She didn’t know the Crightons. I wonder if she had sex with
Betjeman. He seems to have been around women quite a lot, and so has your Miss
Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For a start, she isn’t ‘mine’ and I don’t want her to be,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not even sure I believe you and I won’t be bought off,
Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I protest. She certainly isn’t mine. I don’t give her red
roses or anything else, for that matter, and if you can prove she is guilty of
anything, I’ll be glad to put her under arrest despite her wily lawyer
qualities.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you’re tasking.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You suspect that she wanted to make sure that Betjeman was
safely behind bars, didn’t you?,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bars would not stop him talking about Laura and involving
Knowles? He’s had time to think about the reason he is in that mental hospital.
He is not manic all the time and he will have been getting treatment. What if
Knowles was mixed up in Laura’s murder, after all?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’d never be able to prove it. You saw how clever she is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She certainly had you wound round her little finger.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s something erotic about her. I admit that, Cleo. But
was she being deliberately provocative? I could almost see the vibes. Hookers
have tried that on me before, but not a lawyer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s a woman first and a lawyer second. That’s how it usually
works with sexism, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t scare me!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was not very clever about Phillis, was she? Phillis
nearly made fools of all of us,” said Cleo. “Or did Knowles have an ulterior
motive for all that performance? Did she want to get at one or the other chorus
member? Was someone we have not taken into account blackmailing her?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you realize that trying to fathom all that out would
drag on for weeks and months, and probably end the way it has now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I want you to get Knowles in. I won’t have peace of mind
until you do, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I’ll phone her now. Don’t listen in. I may have to get
raunchy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like to hear that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It would embarrass me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I’ll look in on the kids and take a shower.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A male voice answered the Knowles phone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I speak to Miss Knowles, please?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mrs. I’ll ask her. Who shall I say is calling?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chief Inspector Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hold the line. I’ll get her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary assumed that Knowles went in a different room to talk
to him. After about two minutes she said <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m outside. My husband does not like cops phoning. What do
you want?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary made a mental note of that statement. Was Mr Knowles
squeaky clean?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but you’ll have to come to HQ
again tomorrow morning. Something has come up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Has it? I won’t read anything into that, Mr Hurley, but I
did notice the attraction you have for me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have an obscene mind, Mrs Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So do you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you be at HQ by eleven?” Gary persisted. He could kick
himself for phoning her. Cleo should have phoned. It was her idea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No trouble, Mr Hurley, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but I thought we’d cleared things up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect we have, but you must sign a statement, Mrs
Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you insist. We can take time to make a date for you know
what,” said Knowles. She was nothing if not blatant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s get the statement over first, shall we?” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We can go somewhere neutral, Mr Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What do you suggest?” he said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not Romano’s,” she said. “You go there with your wife,
don’t you? There’s a nice club on the Oxford Road. We could do a threesome if
you want to bring your wife along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I prefer twosomes,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As you wish. See you tomorrow.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had eavesdropped. She was furious and flung herself
into the kitchen, from whence Gary had been phoning on the house-phone, not
considering that Cleo would be too curious not to listen in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You got off quite lightly, I thought. And so did I. I
wasn’t reared to go in for what she suggested. At least you did not let me in
for that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t let you or me in for anything. You don’t seriously
think I would want to go anywhere with her, do you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know, do I?. Wives tend not to notice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s coming in to HQ tomorrow. That’s what you wanted,
isn’t it? I don’t think you’ll get anything more out of the woman. She’ll have
had a good reason for going to Oxford. She wanted to see Betjeman and couldn’t.
End of story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure. She wanted to make sure loony Betjeman does not spill
the beans in a fit of sanity.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s wait and see, Cleo. I can’t speculate any more
tonight. I need my duvet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So do I, Sweetheart.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Annoyance abated?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As long as Mrs Knowles stays out of our lives.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She will, I promise you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I haven’t taken that shower yet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Neither have I. I need a cold one to get over that
unambiguous invitation or a hot one to return me to normality.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not getting under a cold shower, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s settled then.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-19620614701235553092017-11-25T22:40:00.000+01:002020-03-26T18:34:37.111+01:00Episode 19 - God from the Machine (Deus ex Machina) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday October 9</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy made sure that the chorus rehearsal had been
cancelled for that evening, but she would go along to the church hall anyway to
make sure that everyone who had come not knowing about the chorus director’s
appendix operation went home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Cleo phoned Dorothy very early to find out if she wanted to
be at the questioning of Barbarella Knowles<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>later that morning. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s nice of you to invite me,” Dorothy commented drily,
not mentioning that she had not heard from Cleo for several days. She could be
at the cottage by ten fifteen. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course Dorothy did not want to miss that event even if
she was semi-retired and preoccupied with trying to arrange a Christmas special,
but she did not answer with particular enthusiasm. Dorothy did not usually wear
her heart on her sleeve. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was a little crushed by Dorothy’s curtness. She was not
really aware of how hurt Dorothy was when cases were not being discussed with
her as often as she thought they should.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary went to HQ early. His phone-call to Lisa Keys from
there was on a purely official level. There would be no more danger now, he
told her, so he would call off the police guard. Lisa was curious to know why
she had had a guard on her at all. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You noticed that exchange of pills, Miss Keys,” Gary
explained once again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, but I never told anyone that I knew about it, except
Miss Price of course.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s just as well, Miss Keys. People don’t like to be
observed doing subversive things and might take it into their heads to dispose
of the observer. Miss Knowles is due for questioning this morning. Did she
visit you yesterday?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. but I’ve been under guard all the time. I don’t suppose
anyone was allowed in. Some of the women are still in hospital, aren’t they?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As far as I know they’re all going home except for the two
who did not survive. If anyone turns up to see you, please call us immediately
and make sure that someone else is in the room. And don’t eat or drink anything
that is given to you except the hospital food. There’s a poisoner around and we
would not like you to become a victim.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if the poisoner can get at the hospital food?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s unlikely, Miss Keys.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you say so, Mr Hurley. I assume that my brother, Miss
Hartley and Miss Price are allowed to visit me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course. Have a nice day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I will,” said Lisa. “I can go home soon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’d better not tell anyone when,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary had plenty to do quite apart from all the recent
poisonings. Yesterday’s revelation that HQ data could be freely accessed by
anyone with elementary hacking skills was alarming. Something would have to be
done about it, and fast. Nigel volunteered to follow that up. Should he get
Stan Butterworth in to talk about Dr Fargo? No. Greg should go to the villa and
meet Dr Fargo, who was presumably unaware of the problems his supposed
disappearance had caused. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary wanted to talk to Ed Fargo before he found out about
his uncle’s return, if he did not know already, but there would not be enough
time before Miss Knowles and Cleo arrived. On the other hand, since Fargo was
behind bars without means of communication to outside the walls, his cell phone
having been confiscated, he could not react even if he did know. Sally Fargo
would be informed when she came next day. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea to
get Dr Fargo into HQ so that they could all observe the confrontation of uncle
and nephew. Greg agreed. No problem. Greg would fix it up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo and Dorothy arrived at HQ before Knowles. For reasons
best known to himself, Gary did not want Dorothy to question Miss Knowles, so
she was to sit in the observation room. Of course, he did not tell her that was
the reason. He wasn’t even sure that it was justifiable. He was, he said,
relying on her judgement of the woman’s sincerity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy did not complain about her exclusion from active
questioning, but she asked Gary a few very searching questions about Miss
Knowles. Where had she come from? Where did she work? Was she all she seemed to
be? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary did not seem able to answer her questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What impression have you gained up to now?” he asked back.
“I can see that you want to tell me something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s sham, Gary. She’s pretending to be what she isn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In that case she’s pretending to be a criminal. On what do
you base your theory?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I had a chance to observe her when Laura was alive and I
was playing for chorus rehearsals. Knowles was always loud-mouthed and her tall
figure was imposing if not crushing. Stories about her bullying any
gate-crashers at that gay bar and wielding a butcher’s axe in a threatening way
behind the counter of a small shop were common knowledge. Her short employment
at the Moses Meat Market in Middlethumpton lasted until she had apparently
flagrantly overcharged for so long and pocketed the difference that she was no
longer sustainable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who ever heard of a butcher undercharging except for Robert
Jones,” she added, remembering the extra chops, sausages and bacon she would
find wrapped in the greaseproof paper with “your family butcher” printed all
over the outside, after she got home from shopping. She did not order much and
she only ever paid for half of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ve never told us that before about Miss Knowles,
Dorothy,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have rather left me out recently, Cleo. I haven’t been
able to communicate the way we used to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn‘t leave you out deliberately, Dorothy. You knew
about Miss Keys first and have made valuable contributions all along, but you
are supposed to be enjoying your retirement,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Semi-retirement and I’m not,” said Dorothy, “I’d thank you
not to think I’m old hat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nobody has ever thought that, Dorothy,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mark my words,” insisted Dorothy. “Miss Knowles is
definitely not what she seems.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowing that Dorothy was prone to having hunches and had
Argus eyes, Gary thought it wiser not to pursue her line of thinking until after
the questioning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What isn’t she?” he asked, however.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well,” said Dorothy. “She is anything but dumb. In fact, I
would say that she’s making fools of everyone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to expand that theory,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For a start, she made a fool of Laura, who found her
intensely annoying, but was afraid to throw her out. She has apparently starting
selling those chorus women aspirin and diuretic pills saying they were
personality-enhancing and good-mood pills based on common drugs but not
habit-forming. That is not the thinking of a simple-minded person.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Even simple-minded people can swindle, Dorothy,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That may be, but Miss Knowles is not one of them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was sceptical about Knowles reappearing. Gary was sure
she would but relieved when she did. It was high time to find out what the
woman was playing at.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy disappeared into the observation room through a side
door that had been constructed recently and shrunk Gary’s office by several
feet in the process. Observers no longer had to go into the corridor to get behind
that one-way mirror. Gary did not like his office getting smaller. He thought
it might be a ploy to get him into a managerial position on the top floor,
where the offices were much bigger, but he was reassured that the wall between
his office and the next one would be replaced by a sliding door over the whole
width so that the two offices could be used as one. However, no one could tell
him when that would actually happen and Gary thought it was probably
unworkable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo and Gary were still discussing the coming questioning
of Barbarella Knowles when the lady in question literally barged in. Dorothy
had forgotten her handbag and returned through the inside door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bad timing, Dorothy,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The blind was drawn. I need my handbag.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What are you doing here, Miss Price? Shouldn’t you be
playing the piano?” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good morning, Miss Knowles,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We were just discussing professions and retirement,” Gary
extemporised.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Which professions do you mean?” said Miss Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The legal ones,” said Dorothy. , which surprised Cleo and
Gary and startled Miss Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary took a deep breath and waited for Dorothy’s next comment.
He wished she was next door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are a lawyer, aren’t you Miss Knowles?” said Dorothy
triumphantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo and Gary gasped. Gary thought ‘blast the woman’,
meaning Dorothy. Nigel, who had been sitting quietly at his own laptop, thought
he would deal with the IT man later. There was going to be an unholy row, if he
wasn’t mistaken.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A knock on the door announced Greg’s arrival.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is this a party?” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having digested Dorothy’s triumphant move, Cleo wondered if
Knowles had made a fool of Phyllis or just used her. Or was Phillis the guilty
party on all counts? There was no time to discuss that eventuality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need to go to the restroom,” Cleo said, and disappeared
to phone Robert and get him to send Phillis to HQ as soon as a patrol car
arrived to collect her. She could not explain why for the moment and the woman
should not be forewarned. Robert was alarmed at the urgency in Cleo’s voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in Gary’s office, Cleo signalled to him that they
should make coffee in the little pantry-sized room that housed his files,
espresso machine and a tiny washbasin. Gary listened to Cleo’s reasoning and
ordered a patrol car to go to the shop urgently and collect a lady called
Phillis. Cleo was convinced that Phillis must confront Knowles without delay. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It sounds like the last act of a whodunit,” Gary commented.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It probably is,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry about that interruption,” said Gary on returning to
the office. “Black or white coffee, Miss Knowles?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Black, please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you really a lawyer?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did you find out, Miss Price?” she asked, thus
confirming Dorothy’s statement for all to hear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just a hunch, but now you’ve confirmed it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think of myself as a lawyer,” said Knowles. “I see
myself as a sort of adviser.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who do you advise?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m discreet, Mr Hurley. I do not snitch on my clients.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I accept that, Miss Knowles. What do you advise them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not to reveal who advised them,” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose I asked for that,” said Gary, realizing that if
this woman was highly educated he could not treat her as a common or garden
butcher’s assistant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re very secretive,” said Dorothy. “I’m sure your
clients pay you well for your discretion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They do, Miss Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary put two and two together. The clients probably included
the Nortons and others in their fraternity. It was useful to have someone
qualified to tell you how to avoid being held responsible for your criminal
actions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know Dr Fargo or his nephew, Miss Knowles?” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles smiled. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed Fargo is chicken-feed, Miss Hartley. He’s for the high-jump.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”Why?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That tramp, Mr Hurley. A very unwise move.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will Fargo confess to killing his uncle then?” Gary asked,
now aware that Knowles was probably in the picture about everything that went
on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Heaven forbid! He’s organized it so that his wife takes the
rap for anything that comes up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy noted that Miss Knowles had not actually said that
Dr Fargo was dead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you’re being indiscreet, Miss Knowles,” said Gary. He
was starting to enjoy himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not indiscreet about clients who don’t pay their
bills.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s waiting for a windfall, Miss Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“People with problems confide in others. I got to know him
through a client,” said Knowles. She did not say that Ed Fargo had found her
through dark channels and was certainly not the kind of client she normally cultivated.
She preferred elegant criminals who let other people do their dirty work. It
was only the promise of a fat fee that had persuaded her to take Ed Fargo on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What are we waiting for,” she said. “Why don’t you tell me
why I’m here instead of wasting time with idle chat? I’m not going to say any
more about my work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t see it as idle chat,” said Gary. “The business of
Margie Busby’s death behind the church hall, for instance. You will have to
sign a written statement on that. Perhaps you’d like to change the version you
gave us last time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Even if you had witnesses, I would still deny any
complicity, Mr Hurley. There are no witnesses because everyone else was in the
rehearsal room. If there had been any, surely they would have come forward by
now. Margie wanted to tell me something. I don’t know what, but she insisted
that it could not wait until after the rehearsal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe she wanted to twist my arm. She had tried
unsuccessfully to blackmail me on more than one occasion. She was drunk. I did
not realize how drunk until we were outside and she started to badger me. Then
she went for me, I sidestepped, she lost her balance, tripped backwards over the
edge of the rockery and fell over. End of story. I thought she’d sleep it off
if I left her there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you do after the rehearsal that night,” Gary
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was late, so I collected my care and went home to bed,”
Knowles replied with an unmistakeable invitation in her voice. At least, that
was how Cleo interpreted it. Gary either ignored the innuendo or hadn’t noticed
it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On Wednesday afternoon you visited some of the chorus
ladies in the intensive ward, Miss Knowles. How did you know they were in hospital?”
Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One of the girl’s husbands rang me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But surely you already knew what had happened, Miss
Knowles,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not until the man rang me,” said Knowles. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s not true, Miss Knowles. You had planned it with Robert
Jones’s assistant,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you think that, Miss Hartley? I went to the
hospital and talked to some of the girls before calling on Phillis. She had a
problem she wanted to discuss. It was a prearranged visit to her flat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you’d been there before, Miss Knowles,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How friendly are you with Phillis?” Cleo asked. “Aren’t you
a pair?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who told you that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phillis herself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phillis is up a gumtree! She wanted advice and would have
to pay for it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just as you would pay board and lodging, I suppose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s part of the service, but I’d avoid going down that
track. I’m married to a nice guy, and have been for the last 15 years.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was sure that Knowles was leading Cleo on and he was
finding it rather fascinating. Rescuing Cleo from her line of questioning was
regrettable, but he would have to. Cleo was getting irate and Knowles was
playing it cool. That was how Cleo’s interviews normally proceeded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you returned to the hospital during that night, didn’t
you?” Gary said firmly. “Someone saw you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles swung round to face Gary. She explained without
further questioning that had emptied a bottle of port with Phillis that evening,
after which she was obliged to spend the night there. Phillis passed out, or so
she thought. She had lain down on the vacant side of the bed. There was
unfortunately no guestroom and no sofa. They had not got round to discussing
Phillis’s problem as Phillis obviously could not hold her drink. Knowles
suspected that the problem was to do with getting money for the child. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you get up during that night, Miss Knowles?” Cleo
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Were there knockout drops in the port, Miss Knowles?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s odd that you should say that. The same thought went
through my head. I’m normally an insomniac even after a whole bottle of
fortified wine, but who would drug me and why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your bedfellow, if she had an axe to grind, Miss Knowles,”
said Dorothy, who was not at all sure what it was all about. “She might have
faked her own deep sleep so that she could go out without your knowing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phillis is not that much of a tactician, surely,” said Cleo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She told us that you brewed your own medicines, Miss Knowles,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Correction, Mr Hurley. She brews medical potions. I don’t
have time for such nonsense.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Supposing she did not know that she had brewed a deadly
concoction and then someone advised her to add it to Mrs Barker’s homemade
soup, would that explain the food poisoning?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose it would.” Knowles admitted. “It’s a nice
theory.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You said you worked as an adviser, so advising your friend
Phillis would be quite normal, wouldn’t it?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was joking. I did not believe she had actually brewed a
poison. She was always trying to impress me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Supposing she had, however?” said Dorothy, giving Gary a
rather triumphant look. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect she wanted you to try it,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was all a joke,” said Knowles. “I told Phillis to put
some of her vitamin brew in the soup because in that dilution it would be
harmless, even if it did not have the medical value Phillis said it had.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ever heard of homoeopathy, Miss Knowles?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But neither of you spent Wednesday night in bed, did you?”
aid Gary. “Can you explain why you went back to the hospital?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I actually wanted to see how the women were and I had no
time slot the following day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you’d already been visiting in the afternoon,” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Spit it out,” said Dorothy. “Something is wrong with your
story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. You’re right, Miss Price. I pretended to be asleep at
Phillis’s place. She got up, dressed, and left the house on foot. It isn’t far
from her place to the hospital and I had a hunch that she was going there, so I
followed her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s stop there, Miss Knowles,” said Gary. “I want you to
go into the observation room and watch Phillis when she arrives. Her story
contradicts everything you’ve said so far, and knowing Phillis, I’m inclined to
believe yours.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary had taking a liking to Barbarella Knowles and Cleo felt
a wave of jealousy coursing through her veins. He escorted Miss Knowles and
Dorothy to the observation room and made sure they was sitting comfortably
before returning to his office. He saw panic in his wife’s face. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nigel, can you please find out if Phillis is on her way
here?” Gary said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel understood immediately and left the office. He would meet
Phillis downstairs. Gary went into his tiny storeroom and Cleo followed him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I do believe you are jealous, Cleo,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were rather familiar with Miss Knowles. It really
hurt.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cleo Hartley, I can’t believe my ears. You know how I feel
about you. Please get a hold on yourself. We have lot of talking to do with our
suspects.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry. I can’t bear to see you being nice to other
women.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have to be nice to them, Cleo. Just as you are nice to
the men. It means nothing. Get that straight!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With those words he pulled her to him and indulged their
preference for body hugs. Cleo was unable to resist him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Better now, my love?” he said. “Je t’aime.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK, Sweetheart,” said Cleo, but she was still too hurt to
respond to the French endearment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a decent amount of time given over to Cleo and Gary so
that they could solve the problem that Nigel rightly interpreted as the one
Cleo had with Gary’s attraction to Miss Knowles, the observant assistant came
into the office with Phillis after knocking, which was not something he normally
did when he entered his workplace. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel checked that Dorothy and Miss Knowles were OLK in the
observation room. They were both busy with their phones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary went towards Phillis. Cleo followed at a distance, confused
by her own emotions and not in the mood for a questioning. They had only been
in that little room for a few minutes but to Cleo it felt like an hour and she
was emotionally drained.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was anxious for Phillis to repeat what he had decided
was the pack of lies that she had told previously. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s your surname, Phillis?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cartwright. It should be Mrs Bartolo, but it never got that
far.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shouldn’t it have been Mrs Morgan, Miss Cartwright?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’That f***ing organist? He went home to mother, didn’t he? Isn’t
Babe here?” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Should she be?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought she would be.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are in this together.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In the chorus, of course,” said Phillis, improvising.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you see Miss Knowles?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but I need her now,” whined Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to make do with me, Miss Cartwright,” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can call me Phillis, but you don’t love me like Babe
does.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t love you at all,” said Cleo, “but I’m good at
advising people with problems.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I haven’t got a problem except that I want to talk to Babe.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Talk to me instead,” said Gary. “Tell me again what you
said about Jane Barker’s soup!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She poisoned it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Babe.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was glad that Dorothy was in the observation room with
Knowles and hoped she would restrain the woman for a moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is there more to say about that, Miss Cartwright?” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She made the poison then forced me to put it in the soup,
didn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did she?” Cleo said, deliberately provoking Phillis to
embroider her story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was relieved that Cleo was at least temporarily
distracted from Miss Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you knew it was poison, you didn’t have to put it in the
soup, Phillis,” Cleo continued. “You could have taken it to the police.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know it was poisonous and Babe promised to love me
forever.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So she knew it was poison, did she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. We wanted to improve the singing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Miss Knowles is married, isn’t she?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s leaving him for me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I admire your loyalty, Miss Cartwright,” said Gary. “But I
don’t admire you for putting the blame for that soup drama on Miss Knowles if
you love her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if she told me to put my potion in the soup?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo picked up on that statement immediately.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“YOUR potion? Didn’t Miss Knowles make it after all?””<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis sniffed. She did not like being in the room with
these smart Alecs. She would have to tell them a thing or two that would
impress them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I make herbal remedies for inside and outside beauty,” said
Phillis. “I wanted to give her one for her hands.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s interesting, Miss Cartwright,” said Gary, thinking
that the outside potions had not done much for Phillis. A glare from Cleo told
him that she had read his mind and he was not to make a remark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So that was a special potion, was it?” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very special. A sort of creamy mushroom magic,” said
Phillis. “I got it out of the internet. Mushrooms grow overnight and so the
potion will make your skin smooth overnight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow. But soup is eaten, so the potion should not have gone
into it, should it?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The internet said that you could take it like cough mixture
if you were hoarse.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So it would improve the singing if<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the chorus ladies got some, wouldn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. We were experimenting with a cure for bad singing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A dangerous game, Miss Cartwright,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What about people living <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>elsewhere? Would it improve their health?”
said Cleo, now wondering if Phillis had made money out of her potions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Elsewhere?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Camping and stuff like that,” said Cleo carefully<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose so. I gave some to a friend once, and he was
going give it to his friend. He was camping.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The friend wasn’t a Mr Fargo, by any chance, was it?” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis looked startled. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long have you known a Mr Fargo, Phillis?” said Gary,
thinking that it was a ridiculous coincidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is he an older man, Phillis?” Cleo asked, wondering if Dr
Fargo had succumbed to Phillis’s potion-.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where did you meet him,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis bit her lip.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t get much money in my job,” she said. “So I
advertised my herbal potions in the Gazette.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And Mr Fargo got in touch, I expect.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He gave me some special mushrooms. He said they were precious
and could I make up a potion from them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Talk about Grimm’s fairy tales, thought Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It can’t have been Dr Fargo, Cleo decided. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo wondered about the coincidence of Phillis knowing Fargo,
but other people advertise their skills and hobbies in Bertie Browne’s Gazette,
so why not Phillis?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Mr Fargo say where the mushrooms came from?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All natural,” said Phillis. “But foreign, Mr Fargo said.
That’s why he needed a skilled person to make them up. He was grateful to find
me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure he was,” said Gary. “So you made up the medicine
and he paid for it, did he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis nodded proudly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll let you into a secret, Mr Hurley. I kept some of it
back because I did not know if I would ever get any more of those specially
imported mushrooms. They don’t grow on trees.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was a non sequitur.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the whole, Phillis had exonerated Miss Knowles, though
there was the problem of knowing if Knowles or even Phillis knew that the
potion was an unhealthy mixture laced with amatoxins. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I made some sweeties from some of the mushroom juice,”
Phillis said. “I didn’t tell Babe, but I gave some to Brenda. She was always
coughing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you give any to Miss Norton, Phillis?” Cleo asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but she was friends with Brenda. Maybe she had a cough,
too and Brenda gave her one.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Eileen Norton was smothered, Miss Cartwright,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t do it,” Phillis squeaked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary now had the unenviable task of deciding how to proceed,
but his thoughts were interrupted by the loud arrival of Knowles, who had
finally broken Dorothy’s resistance to her leaving the observation room and
crashed into the office through the side door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are a terrible liar, Phillis,” she shouted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis rushed to her with open arms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What have I done, my Sweet?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles pushed her away roughly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not your Sweet and you told lies about me. I am not
interested in you and I did not know that the potion you turned up with was
poisonous.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Neither did I,” wheezed Phillis. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come on, Ladies. Supposing you did not know, was that any
reason to go traipsing to the hospital at dead of night?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you know that,” Phillis said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were seen,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was not quite true. Crown had not seen Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I wasn’t there,” Phillis protested.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes you were,” said Knowles. “I followed you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why?” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To see what you would do, Phillis.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t do nothing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You did. You went into the hospital, so I followed you to
the women’s internal ward.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had followed Knowles into the office. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I couldn’t stop her,” she said when there was a short gap
in Knowles’ account.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phillis looked ebullient. She was clearly hating rather than
loving Miss Knowles now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The woman named Brenda Simpson died of a heart attack, Miss
Knowles,” said Gary. “We had no proof that her death is connected to the soup,
but now Phillis has given me to understand that she made up some poisonous
sweeties and gave them to that woman. She was getting better, like all the
others, but her heart gave out thanks to a poisoned sweetie.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So which of you gave the nurse that knock-out cocktail,”
Cleo said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You mean Crown, don’t you?,” said Knowles. “I put something
in her vodka. She drank it all in one gulp and collapsed in a heap, silly
woman.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why did you do that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t want her to see me, and thought Phillis needed
protecting from herself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you see Phillis leave?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never went there,” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course you did, you silly girl,” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ve split on me now,” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you’ve admitted going to the hospital,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary watched the drama unfolding. Pure Greek theatre, he
mused. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I left the hospital immediately, but Phillis didn’t, did
you, Phillis?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Timing was everything in the theatre. Gary decided to step
into this drama without further ado.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why did you smother Eileen Norton, Miss Cartwright?” he
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was a genuine shot in the dark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was making eyes at Babe,” said Phillis, who did not
seem to be aware that she was confessing to murder. “I wanted to teach her to
keep her fingers off Babe.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I arrest you for the murder of Eileen Norton”, said Gary
and Phillis looked surprised..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel broke off his note-taking to advise Phillis that
anything she said could be used as evidence against her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I haven’t said nothing,” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shut up, Phillis,” said Knowles. “Don’t say another word.
I’m your lawyer now and I’ll have to get you out of this mess.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re not a lawyer, Babe.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes she is, Miss Cartwright,” said Gary. “Take Phillis down
to the arrest cells, Nigel, and make sure she is thoroughly searched. She might
have a bonbon or two in her pocket.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-61432077061816169732017-11-22T10:47:00.000+01:002020-03-26T11:27:42.023+01:00Episode 18 - Barbarella Knowles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Monday cont.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary’s ‘chat’ with Knowles was delayed until Cleo arrived.
He was relieved when she turned up in his office after an uncomfortable few
minutes with someone he could not fathom at all,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>alone except for Nigel, who was sure the chat
would be noteworthy in the true sense of the word.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Knowles was not pleased to see Cleo. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What the hell is she doing here?” she sniped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did not come to see you, Miss Knowles,” said Cleo. ”Have
you cleared up that business of Margie Busby with my husband?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles looked astonished. Were those two married to one
another? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hell, I did not touch her. She went for me and tripped over
a rock and fell over. Isn’t that what that forensic guy wrote?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You sound as if you have read the report, Miss Knowles,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This place is as leaky as a colander and your internet security
is nil,” said Knowles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was surprised that a woman like Knowles would be into
IT and shocked that his suspicion that HQ data was seemingly in the public
domain was therewith being corroborated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you hack the password yourself?” he asked. Something
would have to happen if someone like Knowles could help herself to police data.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not this time. Mack was on the Mac. He just wanted to show
me what’s possible. I did not let on that I understood.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you know Mr Mackintosh, Miss Knowles?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s just a friend of a friend.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary decided not to pursue that line for the moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Mack gave you the link data, did he, Miss Knowles?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not knowingly, so don’t get at the poor guy. It’s common
knowledge in the….”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“…underworld?” completed Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“… that HQ is an open book.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not much longer,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He realized that Miss Knowles was not the kind of criminal
who took kindly to being questioned, so why had she given Mack away?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was having the same thoughts, but went down a different
track.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you friendly with the Nortons, Miss Knowles?” she asked.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only superficially,” said Knowles. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought they might be in for a much more intricate
questioning if Barbarella Knowles was not working solo, but he would not
complicate matters by delving now. He was quite sure that Miss Knowles knew how
to save her own skin even if it meant trading what she knew about her
criminally minded associates with the cops.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What intrigued Cleo most of all was how a female butcher could
get into corrupt circles and might even be a power to reckon with. The women in
the chorus were certainly respectful, and Miss Knowles had had an axe to grind
when she checked on Betjeman Crighton. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To continue, Miss Knowles. Was Margie Busby drunk?” said
Cleo, and Gary reflected that Cleo’s technique of frontal attack was probably
better than the soft-shoeing he had tried.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. She drank gorbatschov vodka disguised as highland water
at every rehearsal. By the break she had usually all but drained the bottle and
was more than half sozzled, despite being able to hold her drink. That was also
in Chris Marlow’s report. Haven’t you read it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary ignored the dig.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Vodka combined with the pills you sold her would make her
unsteady on her feet, wouldn’t it?” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never sold her any pills.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That does not mean she had not swallowed some that evening,
Miss Knowles,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wouldn’t know about that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was she blackmailing you?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles looked surprised, but Cleo had not unnerved her. It
took her a while to decide to come clean on that, although she was running a
risk, and knew it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if she was?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That would be a motive to kill her. What did she want from
you? Cleo asked.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you really want to know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neither Cleo nor Gary was expecting the answer they got.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sex for secrets – or rather, keeping them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”What secrets?” said Gary, wondering whatever next. “It
seems a strange sort of deal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You know what sex is, surely,” said Knowles, looking at Gary
as if sizing him up as a candidate for her attentions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve had my moments,” said Gary, looking appreciatively at
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sex with whom, Miss Knowles?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anyone I could get for her. Margie was not choosy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t believe all this junk,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s the truth.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you deal in call-boys, do you, Miss Knowles?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was irritated by the turn the questioning had taken.
Knowles noticed that he seemed perplexed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come on, Mister, you weren’t born yesterday. I just bring
people together. Gender is usually not specified.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What secrets?” Cleo asked, since Gary had not picked up that
tab.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Inside,” said Knowles. “That’s why they are secret.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought the woman was probably feeding types like the
Nortons with information on various kinds of trafficking, presumably gained
from females working in sensitive jobs, such as secretaries or bosses’ personal
assistants. She would not reveal those secrets, he was sure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I can’t think of anything else I want to ask you for
the moment,” he <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>said. “It is not illegal
to arrange meetings between people.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He did not add that he knew payment by individuals for
favours would be hard if not impossible to prove.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’ll go now,” said Knowles getting up. “I have things
to do.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you come back tomorrow round 11 a.m.? I’d like to know
more about the computer hacking, Miss Knowles. It’s quite alarming, don’t you
think?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But useful,” said Knowles. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Unfortunately,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I must get going now. I have a client waiting,” said
Knowles, and left.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So that’s what she calls them, Gary mused.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was that the right thing to do, Boss?” said Nigel. “That
woman is dripping with corruption.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was not happy about Knowles leaving, either.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Aren’t you going to stop her, Gary? She is obviously much
better informed than I would have thought possible.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Barbarella is not going anywhere. She’s the kind who
brazens it out. I should get her and Ed Fargo together and see what happens.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe she knows him already,” said Cleo. “Maybe they are in
business. I’d like to know what sort of business she does with the Norton
brothers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Drugs, I expect, but we’ve never had conclusive evidence of
the Nortons being mixed up in that corner, thanks to the lack of hunting instinct
in those old drugs guys,” said Gary. “Enquiries always collapse because the
Norton confederates turn chicken at the thought that they too could be
prosecuted. But they needn’t have worried. I’ve looked at the drug squad files,
such as they are. Those drug cops had very little evidence to go on. They were
too afraid of risking their necks or at least damaging their pension prospects
to pursue claims or suspicions.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you won’t pursue that link tomorrow, either,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d rather wait for the new drugs crew to practise their
skills on the Nortons. Our main target now is to get Knowles on anything she
has done that we can prove, don’t you think?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure, but she is a wily bird, Gary. Don’t underestimate
her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t, but before tomorrow Chris will have to come up
with some more forensic information and on my request not entered it into the
data base for all to read. I’ll invite Ed Fargo to Knowles’s interview. I’m
sure you’d like to study the body language.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I sure would. You are really certain that she will come
back, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes because if she doesn’t, she knows that I’ll think she’s
guilty of something,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hey, that’s cool, Mister Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll ring Chris now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Knowles is a nasty piece of work – almost like a back
street lawyer. I hope we’ll get off to a better start tomorrow from our point
of view,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We should also have combed through the Finch murder reports.”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Curiously, Knowles does not seem to know that we are
interested in her role in that killing, too, so she won’t have looked at those
old reports,” said Gary. “What a good job we do our brain-storming at home. I
tip on her as the supplier of that toadstool poison if Phillis is anything to go
by. Did I tell you about that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but I can guess most of it,” said Cleo. “If she was in
the Finch chorus she will have been aware of what was going on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come to the canteen and meet Eve Fletcher, Gary. Her
partner should be there by now. I’d like to know if Eve’s daughter is also Toby
Bates’ daughter. Eve did not say she wasn’t, but DNA testing would prove that
one way or the other. Eve said that Bates was a sadistic brute up to his murder
trial. He obviously wanted to dispose of Eve rather than let her go to her new
love. Getting off free of her murder did something to his mind. I suppose he
had a monster attack of guilty conscience. He never found out if Eve was still
alive.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He won’t now either. That’s the only sure thing about this
investigation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is my partner, Frank Ryan,” said Eve, introducing a
wiry-looking fitness freak in his early sixties.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had been expecting a tall thin guy with grey wavy hair dressed
in a dapper business suit. Frank’s outfit was a jogging-jersey casual and his handshake
was firm and enthusiastic, almost passionate. Quite a catch even at his age,
thought Cleo. Eve was nice-looking but clearly not a sports fiend. Cleo was
always intrigued at what kept people together or pulled them apart as the case
may be. It was not fitness in this case.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nice to meet you,” said Gary, thinking he should restart
his regular trips to the gym before he put on any more weight. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Frank saved my life that day on the beach,” said Eve.
“We’ve been together ever since.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s 30 years, isn’t it?” said Gary. “I hope my partnership
lasts that long.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At least that long,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll phone down and arrange for Sally to join you in one of
the offices,” said Gary to Eve and Frank. “I’ll take a swab, Frank. Routine,”
Gary said, not revealing the fatherhood test. “It’s routine, Frank. I’ll ned
yours too, Eve.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few minutes later he and Cleo were able to accompany the
couple to an office where Sally was waiting and they all seemed overwhelmed to
be together again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can take her with you,” Gary said. “But please come
back the day after tomorrow, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought I was under arrest,” said Sally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were being detained, but I think you should have time
with your family,” said Gary. “We’re keeping your husband here, by the way. I
have some paperwork to complete for your release, so please wait until my
assistant brings it, otherwise you might have difficulty getting out of the
building. You need a pass. Your parents still have them, I hope.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks for everything,” said Frank Ryan. “We’ll drive Sally
back on Wednesday morning if that’s OK.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a good idea. The alternative is a police car and I’m
sure you would rather not have to explain that to the neighbours.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you’re ever in Bristol, come and visit me in my fitness
gym, Mr Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought you ran a company,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I do,” said Frank, flexing a few muscles. “A chain of
fitness gyms all over the place.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary took the invitation as a pointed reference to his bordering
on a less wiry frame.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s always getting people to work-out, Mr Hurley,” said Eve.
“Fortunately, he’s given up on me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The middle-aged spread is not pretty,” said Frank.
“Especially the paunch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll take you up on that invitation, Frank,” said Gary.
“I’m getting to be a couch potato.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Most middle-aged men go that way,” said Frank. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Too many bottles of wine or beer and too much
good food.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary decided <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not to
read anything negative into Frank’s comment. Admittedly, he needed
encouragement to go down the fitness track. A trip to Bristol would also be a
golden opportunity to visit an old colleague there, and Cleo would be impressed
by Gary’s willingness to do something for his figure. He would go back to his
old fitness club in Middlethumpton after that, even if it was now run by the
Norton clan. He would register with his full title and tell them to please not
say he was a cop. That way they would all know from the start. He would avoid
social contact unless it was fitness advice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile he had to get the pass issued for Mrs Fargo. That
done, he could drive home with Cleo and get the dinner going if nobody else
had. He would go jogging early next morning, he thought, though jumping out of
a warm bed would be a terrible wrench.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An evening at home with Cleo and the children stretched
blissfully before Gary. It was like the light at the end of a tunnel. Cleo had
pointed out the dangers of letting people free on the spur of the moment, but
Gary had insisted that it was the right thing to do. HQ was work. Any more of
it could wait until next day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the evening took a different turning, as so often in the
Hurleys’ life. Hardly had Gary changed into jogging pants and done a few
press-ups to find out if he still could, now albeit with twin boys bouncing on
his back while he grunted and groaned and reflected that Frank Ryan was going
to make mincemeat of him, when the phone rang. Gary was grateful for the
interruption. It was Greg. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s back!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Whose back, Greg?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not his back. HE IS BACK. Are you going deaf?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sometimes I think I am.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oops. I should not have said that. Sorry,” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t mention it. Who are you talking about?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dr Fargo, of course. Lights were burning everywhere and our
friendly detective, Stan Butterworth, went to investigate knowing that the
young Fargos are behind bars.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary switched the speaker on and Cleo came hurriedly out of
the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he isn’t dead after all. I don’t know whether to be
happy or sad.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, Gary, it does mean that Ed Fargo has one less crime to
his name.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“True. I suppose we could get him on trespass for starters.
I expect old Dr Fargo would like that.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t call him old, Gary. He’s apparently very sprightly
and his girlfriend is half his age.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Probably a gold-digger,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hi Cleo! So what?” said Greg, “if it makes him happy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hi Greg! You’re right. That was a tactless remark.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He did not know his nephew had moved in, but he found
clothes and cosmetics. Unfamiliar clothing was draped on the airer, so he
decided who it must belong to. He is apparently hopping mad.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was getting back into my comfort zone with Ed Fargo,”
said Gary. “He was going to be passed on to the public prosecutor on the Toby
Bates’ case.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can still do that, Gary. He did kill Toby Bates, didn’t
he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If I can get proof, yes, but Sally Fargo’s evidence is not
really enough. We don’t have the poisoned wine. We’ll have to assume that Ed
Fargo really did not know where his uncle was, and we can’t prove that he was
going to kill him now he has reappeared.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If Mrs Fargo has revealed information, she’s in danger,
Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know that. We’ll have to keep Ed Fargo behind bars. Sally
Fargo has gone to Bristol to be with her parents until Wednesday. If the
Knowles and Fargo interviews are fruitful tomorrow, I can tell her to stay
there for the time being. I don’t think Ed Fargo knows where the parents are.
If necessary she could go to Dublin. Then she’s really out of the way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But didn’t Mrs Fargo give Bates the alcohol?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She did not know what the bottle really contained at the
time, Greg. She thought it was an act of kindness,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Some kindness. I don’t know whether to believe Mrs Fargo’s
story,” said Greg. “What about Knowles? What are you going to charge her with?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Drug trafficking, probably, but possibly murder. She was
definitely involved in the soup case. In fact, according to her new girlfriend
she brewed the poison herself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who is the girlfriend?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Robert Jones’s part time assistant, Phillis.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
““How did you find that out, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Coincidence. I had dealing with Phillis a while back. She
had worked once for Robert and was back again. She was very chatty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is she reliable?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so. Perjury is not her thing these days. She has a
kid to rear. I shouldn’t think she wants to get mixed up in any sleaze. She
would rather tell on the girlfriend.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You seem to be relying on that evidence, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So would you, if I were to tell you that the girlfriend is
none other than Barbarella Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brilliant. I’ll be there tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to
hear what Knowles has to say.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Neither can I. I sent her home today. She thinks all is
hunky-dory, as my mother-in-law would say.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Should I be reserving a search party?” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’ll turn up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Faith is a fine thing,” said Greg. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-11356767030389149782017-11-18T12:23:00.000+01:002020-03-26T09:38:14.411+01:00Episode 17 - Even more about Eve<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Monday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary’s day included letting Ed Fargo stew in his
arrest cell, probably trying to convince a defence lawyer that he had not done
anything wrong. Staying at home was a luxury Gary appreciated. Monday mornings
did not really allow for it, but Chief Inspector Gary Hurley was the boss of
his department, after all, and there was the admin to see to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a> “I’ll take
care of things since I’m home this morning,” he had told Cleo.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“There’s only the babies, Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll take them for a walk,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Are you
sure you can manage two babies at once, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sure as houses.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary’s stroll was not quite without an ulterior
motive. As soon as Cleo had left for the chip shop, he packed Max and Mathilda
into what Cleo liked to call a ‘stroller’ since you did not perambulate in the
USA, and made a beeline for Robert’s shop, intending to buy rump steaks for
supper. He would also tear a strip off Gloria, Cleo’s mother, who was, on her
own account, too busy to spend time with her grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gloria was not there. Instead, an old acquaintance
and former assistant at the shop was serving the customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why Phillis, what brings you here?” said Gary.
“Where’s Gloria?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We share the job,” said Phillis. “Now I have a
son, I can only do mornings and that is nice for Gloria, since she prefers to
get up late.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Are you married to that guy with the sports car
now?” Gary asked, knowing that Cleo would have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“No. He fathered the kid and then skedaddled,”
Phillis explained. “I had a girlfriend now. Much nicer, but she was for the
high jump, too. ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Oh,” said Gary. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She used me cruelly, Sergeant. She used my
accommodation for evil purposes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary thought that was a bit rich coming from a
person who was arguably on the edge of criminality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Actually it’s Chief Inspector,” he said. “Do I
know her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“How should I know? You’re not a Finch Lady, are
you,” Phillis said, eying Gary in what he thought was a very lascivious way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Phillis commented briefly that she actually
preferred women because they couldn’t get you pregnant, though she was now
giving Gary what he thought was a ‘come-and-get-me’ look. He was not flattered.
Her earlier suitors had to his knowledge included a nervously sweating organist
who had ditched her for his Welsh mother after Phillis’s Mr Muscle had left her
pregnant and roared off in his tuned-up sports machine. Gary was not flattered
to be included in her list of potential conquests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Who’s paying for the kid, Phillis?” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That would be telling,” said Phillis, who was cashing
in support from more than one ‘father’, which did not include the organist for
fear of his Welsh mother, but an array of lovers from the local disco. Phillis
was not young, but she was willing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary was amused at the ostensible coyness that
overcame her now and again. If the men were that careless, it was their
problem. This kid needed all the financing it could get.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Forget that question, Phillis. Kids cost money.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Phillis smiled and came round the counter to admire
Max and Mathilda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Those are your kids, aren’t they?” she said. “From
that dark-skinned woman, I expect. They are very cute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Right in one and there are more than just two.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know another three, I think. They are with my
son in the nursery. Nice-looking kids, Mr Hurley. You’re not so bad yourself
for your age.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Thanks,” said Gary. “Let me return the
compliment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since Phillis was more tatty than trendy, Gary was
forced to cross his fingers behind his back to excuse than little white lie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Back to your girlfriend, Phillis. Is she one of the
Finch Ladies? You are, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was, but not anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why not?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Poison.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary was not sure if he’d been expecting Phillis to
say that, but now she had, the soup case had possibly turned the corner, to
coin a phrase, If Phillis knew something about the incident it was time to get
her to reveal it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Oh, that was only food-poisoning,” he explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It bloody killed two, didn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“One died of a heart attack and the other was
smothered, Phillis. They did not die of mushroom soup.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Smothered? In the hospital? And me at home
waiting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Waiting for what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“My girlfriend that was. I don’t like sleeping
alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know what you mean,” said Gary, wondering about
the girlfriend’s absence. If Knowles was the girlfriend, it meant that she had
no alibi for the whole of that night. But Knowles was not dead, so it must be
one of the other two. He would get Cleo to ask her some questions that might
reveal inconsistencies and be the break they had been hoping for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I thought the stuff we bought from Babsi was
vitamins and minerals, Inspector,” sniffed Phillis. “Then next morning the
grapevine said some of the ladies were in hospital.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary could hardly believe his ears. Was he really
being treated to some sort of a confession? Cleo should find out more about the
grapevine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So you added it to the soup, did you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Phillis looked conscience-stricken, which was in
Gary’s view an achievement since her conscience had in the old days switched
off whenever she packed unpaid-for meat and sausages into her capacious
handbag. Robert had laughed and said it was OK, but it was theft on no small
scale from an assistant who was earning quite a good wage. Robert had surmised
that she had to feed all her lovers, assuring Gary that he was not likely to
become one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Who told you to do that, Phillis?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Babe,” she answered enigmatically. “She made it
liquid to make it easier to stir. It was to help the singing. But I didn’t eat
any of the soup. It smelt funny, Inspector, and I’ve been warned about mushroom
soup before. It goes off quickly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It dawned on Gary who at least one girlfriend was,
though Phillis’s behavioural pattern might include several others. Had a quiet
stroll with his babies led to a crime or two being solved?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I expect Babe got the liquid from someone without
knowing what it was,” said Gary, provoking Phillis to say more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Never. She made it up herself. Said she always
made her own medicine. Stewed herbs and things, but guaranteed without rats.
Her grandmother was a white witch. Babe always says it’s a pity you can’t brew
anabolics, whatever they are.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That makes sense,” said Gary, noting that Phillis
had again called the woman by one of her several nicknames. He wondered if he
should take further steps now. He decided not to since he needed Cleo at his
side if it was going to get really dramatic, and a police colleague if he
wanted to haul her in. He bought some nice steaks and let Phillis keep the
change. The less he commented, the less forewarned Phillis would be. Now it
really was high time to take Miss Knowles to task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You’re not going to arrest me, are you,
Inspector?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do you want me to?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">”I haven’t done anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Of course you haven’t. I’d better get the babies
home. They need a feed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Pumping off, is she?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Not any more,” said Gary. “Banana cereal and
fennel tea for lunch. I’ll let you into a little secret, Phillis.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There is nothing like winning over someone or
lulling them into security by telling them a secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“My wife’s having another,” he said, thinking with
satisfying schadenfreude that Robert would get to know as soon as he put in an
appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Isn’t she too old?” said Phillis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Obviously not,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Well, enjoy it while you can,” said Phillis, and
Gary pushed his twins home with those parting words ringing in his ears.
Whatever had driven him to that shop, he had come away a wiser man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo’s account of her visit to the chip-shop had
tears of laughter pouring down Gary’s cheeks. The very idea of Cleo queuing up
in a backstreet chip-shop bordered on satire as much as the impromptu hiring of
her investigative services to trace the profligate daughter of a woman who had
stood by and let her new husband molest the girl and groom her for prostitution
while the girl probably thought they were on their way to Hollywood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary shelved his intention of telling Cleo that the
soup case was solved for the moment. He would surprise Cleo with Phillis’s
damning revelation at the Knowles questioning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’d like to send Nigel to find the girl. Will that
be possible?” Cleo wanted to know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Good experience for him and he’s in no danger
among hookers,” said Gary. “I don’t think feminine charms mean anything to him.
Very frustrating for those reception girls at HQ, but far better than a
Casanova dying to get out of the office to pursue his current quarry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s settled then,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I assume you are not sending him to darkest
Africa,” said Gary. “I’d hate to think of him ending up in a cauldron.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“No. The best place to learn the job round here is
at the station, so I’ll send him there. The hookers line up in dark corners
waiting for their prey. Look at the photo Mrs Cope gave me. It leaves little to
the imagination.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It makes you think that abuse often leads to
promiscuousness, doesn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ve never thought about that, but some young
girls dress provocatively without knowing how devastating unwanted sexual
attentions can be,” said Cleo. “She’s 15. That makes abducting her illegal, doesn’t
it? And he hasn’t taken her to Hollywood, either.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Better get onto it right away, Cleo. Give Nigel a
copy of the photo and instructions and I’ll get a stand-in for him, maybe Mia
Curlew.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">”I thought she was taking time off this week to
catch up on some family life now her husband and son are finally here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She has caught up and is off the beat, Cleo. Bun
in the oven. That came as a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>surprise to
me. A congenial office job is the best thing that can happen to her and it
frees Nigel for other missions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What’s she doing now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Helping out with Roger and his colleague on the
top floor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s office work.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But apparently very boring, she told me. It’s all
about administration and hobnobbing with the town hall. There is desperate
fund-raising going on in aid of financing a new drug squad.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s a good idea and she’s in on the
negotiations now if she stays there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She won’t get a say. All she can do is drop hints
that new operatives are not of pensionable age. The last team was not
street-wise enough. Too old. If you persuade them to work for you, ex junkies
and dealers make the best snoops and can act as crown witnesses if called upon
to do so. They’ve learnt their lessons the hard way and would prefer not to
land in jug again. The old guys from the drug squad could not cope.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Talking of drugs, Knowles may be peddling more
than just diuretics or aspirin.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can’t arrest someone for peddling harmless
pills, Cleo,” said Gary, thinking that he should tell her about Phillis after
all. Cleo stole his thunder..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You can if she’s charging snow and ecstasy prices
for them and might even have some hard drugs on sale, too,” said Cleo. “Or she
may even have concocted them herself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Fraud would be another feather in Knowles’s cap,
but I should pass her on to the guys on the first floor for that. They’d be
delighted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I expect Miss Knowles has a catalogue of
misdemeanours,” said Cleo. “She broke a guy’s arm throwing him out of that gay
women’s club. They called it assault and battery and her defence was that she
was only doing her job.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Wasn’t he dressed as a woman?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It takes one to know one, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Never. Knowles does not qualify as a cross-dresser
Those individuals are often better looking than the genuine object.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Even if the guy was transgender, there was no need
to beat him up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can’t wait to meet this dragon again,” said
Gary. “Or is he a drag-queen?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What if? You’ll get to experience her charms in half
an hour’s time if all the other showgirls have arrived. I’ve also heard a
rumour that she is married to a professional wrestler. I expect they swap
techniques.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll phone and check,” said Gary. “Nigel’s in
charge.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He’ll know what gender they all are,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The time for telling on Phillis had passed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A few minutes later Cleo and Gary greeted the
Crightons and accompanied them to the observation room. From there they could
see the ‘candidates’ through one-way glass. Cleo was sure they would choose
Knowles, who was as modestly dressed and decently made up as she would have
been to visit the Crightons. Nothing of the drag queen about her, thought Cleo.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Crightons were duly positive that Knowles had
been their visitor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary went round to thank the other ‘candidates’ and
invited Knowles to his office for a chat, relieved that she looked what he
called ‘normal’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m short of time,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“This shouldn’t take long, Miss Knowles, but I have
to insist.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary led the way to his office while Cleo had a
chat with the Crightons in the canteen. They did not tell her anything they had
not told Dorothy. Then she accompanied them to the main exit explaining that
she had another client and would be in touch about the woman they had
identified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo was just about pass reception to go up to
Gary’s office when Eve Fletcher walked into HQ. She was easily recognizable as
Sally Fargo’s mother. Cleo introduced herself and invited the woman to have
coffee with her in the canteen, explaining that her office was not ready to
move into yet and anyway, she needed a coffee, which wasn’t strictly true,
since she had just drunk several with the Crightons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m glad you were able to come, Ms Fletcher.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was curious. What’s it all about, Miss Hartley?”
she replied, examining the business card Cleo had just handed to her. “What
would interest a sociologist about me these days?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I combine social work with investigations. I told
you about Toby Bates, didn’t I. Ms Fletcher? I need to ask you more about him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He’s dead and he means nothing to me,” said Eve.
“I’m not sure I want to remember anything about him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I wish you could overcome that barrier, Ms
Fletcher. You would help your daughter if you did.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Shall we use first names?” said Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sure. Glad to. I’ll explain the situation, shall
I?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can understand that you would contact me since I
am the nearest next of kin, at least on paper. But where does my daughter come
in?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The police has linked cases to solve, Eve.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let me update my situation first then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Go ahead!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Eve was actually quite glad to talk at last about a
time in her life that she could only remember as a nightmare. Toby had been out
of her life when her daughter came into the world. She had not known about Sally’s
marriage until recently. What kind of a person had Sally married? She had never
volunteered to introduce him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t think you’ve missed much, Eve. He’s a
nasty individual.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Tell me more.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Ed Fargo was married to a hooker and lived on her
earnings. He met Sally and started an affair with her – at least, I think
that’s the order of events.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Go on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He ran over his first wife driving backwards out
of their drive and Sally just happened to be on the scene and swore that it was
an accident. Thanks to Sally’s evidence he was acquitted of what was probably
murder and soon after they married. I have no idea whether she thought Mr Fargo
was committing murder or really had backed into his wife by accident, but that
would not really make any difference now and I know the reason he was glad to
be rid of her. I expect he was indebted to Sally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You mean for getting him off the hook,” said Eve,
“Whether or not she knew the truth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Yes. I suspect that a dwindling cash flow was the
reason Ed Fargo decided to groom Sally to take over the home business of
soliciting. It’s possible that he married her for that reason rather than out
of gratitude. It’s the lover-boy thing for adult women.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Explain that in more detail please, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Young girls grow into prostitution when the guy
they think of as theirs tells them a sob story about money shortage. They are
willing make up the gap with prostitution. Sally was unaware of the first
wife’s occupation, or so she said, and shocked at Ed Fargo’s plans for her that
he only revealed after they were married, of course. ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s a decent person, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sally married to a crook and was loyal to him
until she realized what he is really like.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was never a hooker,” said Eve. “My marriage was terrible.
Toby Bates was cruel and sadistic. I more or less fell into the arms of a
genuinely nice man. We started having an affair. We were made for one another,
Cleo, and we are still together.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know that feeling, Eve. I had two wrong
marriages before I got into the right one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Toby got wind of my affair and I learnt later that
he had decided to kill me rather than letting me go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s the old story of men thinking they own their wives
or partners and have the right to abuse or even kill them,” said Cleo. “How did
you find out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I just thought back to the number of times he had
done vile things. I found crushed razor-blade in my night cream, for instance.
It didn’t just walk there. He wanted to see me suffer. The night cream was on
my bedside table and I often smeared it on in the dark.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s horrible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That is a mild example of his wickedness, Cleo. I
knew him to be possessive and there had been many violent incidents, usually
when he’d been drinking. I had confided in my new friend, but I tried to behave
normally with Toby while I decided what to do about my marriage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“At the latest, you should have called the police
when you discovered the razor blade in your face cream.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was lucky that time because I had the light on
and rubbed cream into my hands first, cutting the skin viciously.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That was evidence enough against Mr Bates.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know that now, Cleo. On the day Toby invited me
to go for a walk along the beach, my friend was actually on the beach with his
dog. He recognized us, but I did not see him. My friend witnessed us digging a
hole in the sand. I thought it was a game and joined in thinking that Toby had
turned over a new leaf, but my friend interpreted what was going on as part of
a horrible plot to dispose of me and set his dog on Toby. It chased him a long
way down the beach. My friend dragged me away and I hid in his car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I did not know I had been walking into a trap.
Frank walked down the beach until he found his dog while I crouched in the back
of his car under a blanket. Toby had fortunately not seen him because he had
eventually turned back to that hole. He must have wondered what had happened to
me and it is just possible that he thought I had gone into the sea and drowned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You must have been scared, Eve. Did you really
think would have killed you that day?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t know. He kept asking me to try the hole
for size. He was laughing, so l laughed too. There were a few dogs around but
no owners. I did not see Frank until he appeared as from nowhere and we
scrambled to his car and lay flat on the rear seat, which he told me to do. The
car was locked. He left me to find his dog. We drove to Dublin next day. My
daughter was born there and I knew I would be safe with his family. Days after
getting to Dublin I heard on the news that Toby had been accused of murder and
had said I drowned while trying to rescue a dog, which was of course a lie, but
one he might even have believed. Was he going to bury me alive if my friend had
not interfered?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It sounds far-fetched, but drowning while trying
to rescue a dog was a reasonable explanation of your disappearance, Eve.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He was acquitted for lack of evidence. My body was
never found, of course, because I had long since escaped. He did not know if I
was dead or alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What about the wedding ring, Eve? He carried yours
around in a trinket box.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I gave it to him to because he thought it might be
damaged or lost in the sand. He took his off, too. I had no reason to wonder
about that. No alarm bells or anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Something must have happened in Bates’s mind when
you did not turn up again and he found he was on trial for murder.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Something – whether it was shock or just a guilty
conscience - made him leave for destination unknown, I heard later,” said Eve.
“While he was awaiting trial, I changed my appearance and came back to the
house in Weston. I had come to clear his name, but being in the house reminded
me of how evil he really was, so I left and never went back there. As I said,
Sally was born in Dublin.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Was it Toby’s child, Eve?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I hope not, but it’s possible. Rape was one of his
accomplishments..”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And legal if it was your husband in those days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And impossible to prove if you were kept locked up
till the bruises paled,” said Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why didn’t you just leave him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Because he said he would hunt me down and kill me
if I did.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Did he know about the baby?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I did not tell him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ll do a DNA test. We have DNA taken from Bates
and can compare it with Sally’s. We don’t know all the facts yet, but Ed
Fargo’s uncle owns a large villa on the outskirts of town, and we are sure that
the guy was already planning to kill him, assuming he was still alive when the
young Fargos arrived at the villa. At the moment we don’t know where he is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Who is ‘we’, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That’s my husband, Eve. Chief Inspector Gary
Hurley. He’s head of homicide here. Sorry. I should have explained that earlier.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Ed Fargo must be a villain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He had got away with one murder, Eve. He was
probably confident about his plan.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Was?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He’s in an arrest cell, Eve. The uncle, a retired
doctor, was nowhere to be seen when they arrived, Sally said, and she had never
met him, so her confirmation of Ed Fargo’s identification of the tramp was
actually a fabrication. Ed Fargo knew his uncle, of course. There are many
unanswered questions, Eve.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Such as?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Is Dr Fargo alive or was he already dead and his
body dumped somewhere? We don’t know. Ed Fargo had persuaded Sally to give
Bates, who was living the life of a tramp, poisoned wine and it killed him
alongside a blow on the head which may have been caused by his fall or
inflicted to make him fall. If our theory is right, Ed Fargo had planned all
along to identify Bates as his uncle and legally inherit the house as the only
family Dr Fargo had.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s a monstrous plan, Cleo. He must have looked
for the right type of person to stand in for his uncle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m not sure whether Sally realized that she was
being used as an accomplice. Dr Fargo has disappeared, alive or dead. We assume
that if Dr Fargo did turn up and Ed Fargo was on the loose, Dr Fargo would be
killed and disposed of then, a corpse already having been identified as the
uncle, even if the identification proved false. It must have been the plan
before Bates was accurately identified. But we don’t know if Dr Fargo
reappeared, discovered that his villa had been taken over by Ed Fargo and Sally,
and was killed then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So Dr Fargo could still be alive. Are the police
looking for him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“They don’t know where to start. My agency is
looking for a woman with whom the uncle is supposed to have been friendly. We
don’t know the woman’s name and that information came from the cleaner at the
villa And she had designs on ‘her’ doctor, so her information is not reliable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Could she have killed him, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I doubt it. She was living in the hope of moving
into the villa one day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Where is my daughter now, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s in an arrest cell, but separate from her
husband.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s in danger, isn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s what we think.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Can I talk to her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Sure. Can you wait here while I arrange
something?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I may need half an hour. I promised to be at a
questioning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s fine. I can read my book. Take your time.
Frank my partner, is coming to collect me. He’ll be interested in all the new
information.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m looking forward to meeting him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-74220499011210014422017-11-12T10:14:00.000+01:002020-03-26T08:43:54.374+01:00Episode 16 - Fish 'n chips<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
Monday cont.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Gary rang the cottage doorbell and stood behind his rose
bouquet waiting. Cleo was already home and came to the door without delay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Then you’d better take her the roses,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>“I’ve been there. These are for you, my love.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Wow! You are an attentive bridegroom.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’m a chastened man,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“And did Dorothy accept the flowers?” said Cleo. “I would
probably have thrown them at you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She told me she still loves me even if she was disgusted
with me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That’s about how I feel,” said Cleo. “Let’s have some
brunch, shall we?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Where are the kids?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Flown the nest, Sweetheart. Now is the best time for a
heart to heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You mean a pre-lunch siesta, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I mean a heart to heart,” said Cleo. “I’ve made coffee. How
come you are already here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Keys was operated on this morning. I didn’t get to see
her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“At least she’s rid of her appendix problem. I’ll phone her
later and you can talk to her tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">School was back in business so Charlie and Lottie had raced
for the early bus. They needed time to catch up on the past school-free week
before starting on this one. Grit had been glad to see Cleo home, and took
PeggySue to the nursery. Toni would take Tommy and Teddy there later that
morning after going for a walk to use up some of the energy the little boys
seemed to have in abundance. It was to be their first day there and they would
take time to settle in and more so if they had not toddled about first. Toni
said she would stay at the nursery while Tommy and Teddy got acclimatized. Grit
would take over Max and Mathilda if Cleo needed to work. Toni would bring the
three children home from the nursery so that Grit could concentrate on getting
lunch for them all. You could call it organized chaos, for that’s what it was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’d rather plan the whole week ahead,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We need to base the coming days on what we have already
achieved,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Would you like to tell me what we have achieved, Cleo? I
can’t think of anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Come on, Sweetheart. Snap out of it. I’ve never known you
so pessimistic.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Let’s face it, Cleo. It’s all a mess.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Now listen to me, Gary Hurley. I went to HQ at the crack of
dawn and had a heart to heart talk with Sally Fargo. I now know that Tony Bates
did attempt to murder his wife. She escaped. He was wrongly acquitted. He did
not keep the newspaper cuttings for any other reason than to rejoice that he
had beaten the law.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“So what? He’s dead.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“So what? For thirty odd years his wife, who he had wanted
to kill because she had another man and wanted to leave him, was so terrified
that she hid.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Successfully, it transpires.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sure. But no thanks to the police. Her new man rescued her
and hid her in Dublin.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“What do you expect me to do with that old case? Reopen it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Not for the moment. We need to know if Sally Fargo is
Bates’s daughter. If so, she also had motive for killing him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Patricide needs a strong motive, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Is retribution strong enough?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sounds like a Verdi opera.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Eve Bates is coming to HQ later this afternoon. I’m going
to ask her straight out if Sally Fargo could be Bates’s child. If she doesn’t
know, we’ll have to resort to DNA.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“But where does that all get us, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Back to the Fargos, Gary. Was Sally Fargo an accomplice?
She says she wasn’t. Was the murder on Bates planned between the two of them? It’s
possible. Sally Fargo admitted to me that she gave Bates the wine. She says she
was instructed by Fargo. I don’t want her to have aided and abetted Ed Fargo, but
we can’t rule that out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“There is one consolation, Cleo, and that is that we now have
a corpse for Mr Bates.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Gary was now looking a lot more cheerful. He wished he could
be as enthusiastic as Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Of course, Fargo may not be guilty of just one murder,” she
said- “Sally Fargo admitted that her husband was fascinated by that book on
mushrooms and herbs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I suppose you mean the book you wanted to collect from the
villa.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes. I think Fargo may have poisoned his uncle. If he
hasn’t, where is the guy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We need some deus ex machina. That’s always helped before.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We need some confessions, Gary, and one of them has to be
from Barbarella Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Hell, yes. But not in the Fargo case.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“What if Knowles knew Fargo and got poison from him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“How could she possibly know him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You’ll have to ask.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I get all the hard jobs. I’m out of my depth when it comes
to those chorus witches. You’ll have to interview Knowles first.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Why me?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She’d flatten me if she tried to seduce me to get me to
drop the case,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Cleo laughed at that very idea and Gary finally saw the
funny side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You’ll have to haul her in, Gary. I can’t do that. Anyway,
the Crightons are coming to HQ this afternoon to identify her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Hell, yes. What are you going to do this morning?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’m going to have a talk with Mary Busby before lunch.
That’s the sister of the woman Miss Knowles pushed into the marigolds.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I suppose you need the red car.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I suppose I do, Sweetheart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You’d better get moving then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’d need to be at that identity parade this afternoon,”
said Cleo. I want to hear what the Crightons have to say. I’ll chat with them
about their profligate son if there’s time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We can drive in together if you come home for lunch with a
portion of chips for me. No time for a siesta, unfortunately.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You’ll survive and I’ll bring fish and chips for us all,”
said Cleo. “I’m sure they’ll lend me one of their thermos boxes if I buy
enough. Tell Grit not to cook.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You are my favourite wife, after all,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The chip-shop was at the far end of Middlethumpton. At 11
a.m. the early birds were already queuing outside and the row of fryers was
being got ready for the onslaught. You could already smell the fat from quite
far off. Something for the health and safety controllers to look into, Cleo
mused. Burnt oil can cause cancer. Cleo did not like being in the midst of the
hungry and wondered if it was always like that. She could phone Mary Busby
instead. She was about to make her escape when she was tapped on the shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I haven’t seen you here before,” a woman said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I haven’t been here before,” said Cleo. “It’s quite
awesome!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Touring, are you? Canadian?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“American born, but now British,” said Cleo. “Not touring.
Working when I’m not taking a break.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Oh. What do you do then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’m a private investigator,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Oh,” said the woman. “Can you be hired?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sure. What’s the problem?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“A fella.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Are you married to him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sort of.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Is that yes or no?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“He’s gone, has he? Deserted you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sort of. He went off with my daughter, Miss…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Is the girl his daughter too?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No, Miss. April was born before I got married. She could
have any number of fathers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No incest then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No, but …” said the woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“How old is she?” Cleo asked, ignoring the woman’s insidious
reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“My April is fifteen,” said the woman. “I caught them at it
in our bed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That’s bad, Mrs …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Liz Cope.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“How long have they been gone, Liz? The girl is legally still
a child. He has kidnapped her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I don’t think he needed to do that, Miss…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Hartley. Legally, it’s kidnapping, Mrs Cope.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Want to see a photo?” the woman offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The photo showed a mature teenager dressed provocatively
with a fake diamond pierced in her navel that was very visible thanks to the
extremely short top and a pulled down waistband. April wore thick makeup and
her hair was dyed blond. She did not look fifteen. She had left her childhood
far behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Does she always run around in those clothes, Mrs Cope?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Not for school.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She’s missing school now. Haven’t the authorities been on
to you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She’s only been gone a week. I was hoping she’d come back
of her own accord.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You should go to the police, Mrs Cope.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I don’t like the police.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“They don’t like finding the bodies of young girls who have
mistakenly thought they were going on an adventure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Don’t say that, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We have to face things, Mrs Cope. Where do you think
they’ve gone?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Not abroad. Somewhere local I suppose. His passport is
still in the drawer and my daughter hasn’t got one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That somewhat narrows the search.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Are you going to look for them, Miss?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I need a lot more information, Mrs Cope. We can talk inside
and I’ll take notes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Inside. That’s prison, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Inside the chip-shop, Mrs Cope. They have tables and chairs
at the window. See?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Cleo was spared from having to say any more as everyone
surged through the shop door that had been opened by someone who looked uncannily
like the dead Margie except for her obesity, and was surely the person Cleo was
there to talk to. The hungry pushed past her unceremoniously and now stood
three deep at the bar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary Busby waved to Cleo in recognition, which did not
please Cleo one bit, but she was there now so she would go through with her
questioning. Mrs Cope put her arm through Cleo’s and propelled her forwards. Cleo
could not help noticing that Mrs Cope had temporarily forgotten her missing
daughter and was efficiently edging her way to the front of the queue. She
turned round and said “My April was always a good girl” to Cleo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Good in bed and cheap,” commented a young guy standing next
to Mrs Cope. “A real sunshine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">That, mused Cleo, at least cleared the decks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mrs Cope was on first name terms with Mary Busby, which
indicated that she was a regular customer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Cod, chips, mushy peas and two slices of white, Mary,” she
ordered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Plate?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Tea?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes please, Mary. How’s things now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Body released,” announced Mary, wiping a tear on the corner
of her pinny. “Whacked on the head, Glad.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mrs Cope took her meal, cutlery and paper serviette to the
table in the draughtiest spot when the door was open, which it was,
permanently, now the customers were streaming in. Since it was Cleo’s turn to
order, she did not have much time to ponder on Mary Busby’s curious statement
of gladness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“A few chips, no peas and cod without the batter,” Cleo
ordered. “And an order for seven people if I can borrow a box to take it home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“With bread?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“With or without?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“What?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Butter or marge?” said Mary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Butter, please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“There’s only marge,” said Mary sassily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That’ll do,” said Cleo. “But brown bread, please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“There’s only white,” said Mary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">It was quite obvious that Mary actually dictated what could
be ordered at that chip shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We only do fish with batter, Miss Hartley,” Mary Busby
intoned. “Batter protects the fish in the hot oil,” she explained with what
seemed to Cleo like a flash of genius in an otherwise rather dullard soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary leant over the bar to speak quietly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“The funeral’s next week. Are you coming?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I can if you want me to. I’m so sorry about your sister.
You must be sad.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary Busby sang as she stirred the alarmingly green mushy
peas that were full of a metal container floating in hot water to keep the peas
warm. Cleo wondered about the artificial colouring. Wasn’t that kind of
tampering with food illegal?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> “I know it sounds heartless,”
Mary continued, “but Margie had it coming to her. You don’t play around with
figures like Babsi Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Play around?” Cleo asked, hardly trusting her luck that
Mary Busby was discussing Margie without being asked to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Come on, Scrumptious!” shouted the man who had dropped the
broad hint about April Cope. “I need my dinner. I’ve got to start work at one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary Busby was flattered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“The usual?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes, but double chips.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You always get double chips, Handsome. Taking it with you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Don’t I usually, Sweetheart? Free tonight? More to get hold
of than April,” he told everyone who was listening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The customers cheered and Mary bustled around with Cleo’s
and the man’s orders. The customers were clamouring. Mary was red-faced,
whether from the heat of the fish-fryer or her embarrassment was hard to tell..
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“One at a time, loves,” said Mary facing the chip fryer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“The coloured woman jumped the queue,” said one woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She’s a friend,” retorted Mary, turning round. “She didn’t
push. She’s in a hurry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“We all are,” several of the hungry said in unison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary ignored the chorus and again bent over the bar to talk
privately to Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Have you got a minute when my colleague gets here, Miss
Hartley,” Mary whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“If it’s before 12, yes. I’ll have to go then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I’ll put your food on a plate, shall I? Sit down somewhere
and I’ll serve you with it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Thanks,” said Cleo turning to the table at which Liz Cope
was sitting and then turning back to Mary. “Don’t forget my home order. The
family will be waiting for it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“It’ll be ready for you, Miss Hartley,” said Mary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mrs Cope had all but finished her meal and was now
manoeuvring chips onto her bread and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“This is the best bit,” she commented. “Chip butties are the
highlight of the meal.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Cleo put her plate on the left and got out her notebook and
pen. She was going to make short work of the interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Can I take that photo with me, Mrs Cope?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“What’s the guy’s name who ran away with April, Mrs Cope?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Al Cope, but April’s a Jones,” said Mrs Cope. “My maiden
name was Jones.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Where does April’s father live, Mrs Cope?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I don’t have anything to do with that man even if he is
probably her father. I was living with him at the time but I had my flings
because he had his. He left me when April came. Said he was too young to have
children. Not too young to make them, though. He made a few, I can tell you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“April might have gone to him for help.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Never. She was Al Cope’s little girl from the start.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Adopted?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No, but he’d been fussing her for a long time, if you know
what I mean.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Cleo was appalled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“I think I have told you enough,” Mrs Cope said. “I’ve got
to go to work now.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Yes, that’s definitely enough,” Cleo replied. “Where can I
reach you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“They capped my phone. Here’s the best place, but you can
phone Mary. I come every day. “Give Miss Hartley your phone number, Mary. Mrs
Cope shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Will do,” Mary shouted back and followed that by shouting
the number across the crowd of hungry customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Before she left, Mrs Cope explained that she had a cleaning
job at nearby offices and had to go back having sneaked out in her morning
coffee break. There was still the stairs and conference room to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Left to her own thoughts and a plateful of fatty food, Cleo
decided to get Nigel onto the Cope case. He would be rigorous about finding April
and not susceptible to the girl’s dubious ‘charms’. Cleo did not think they
would have gone far. They would start at the main station. Stations were often
good places for soliciting on a temporary basis. Cleo assumed that Mr Cope had
gone away with the girl to avoid further confrontations with Mrs Cope and was
now acting as her protector, or pimp, to use the common term. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The first surge of customers passed. Mary’s colleague
arrived panting. She was new to the job having replaced Margie at short notice.
She would be as good a recommendation for the food served there as Mary Busby
was, though how two of them were going to find room to move between the bar and
the row of fryers at the same time was not clear to either of them. Still, the
job centre had sent her for a trial month and if it didn’t work out, Mary Busby
planned to ask her friend Glad Cope to take on the job. Gladys was thin and
scrawny though she could eat them all under the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">After Mary had told Cleo all about the problem of finding
good people to work in a chip-shop and how much she missed Margie, Cleo was
able to ask her about the role Babsi Knowles could have played in Margie’s
death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“She bloody murdered her,” said Mary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Why do you think that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Because Margie was fed up of paying through the nose for fattening-up
pills that did not work. She only took them because she thought it would help
sales here if she were nice and curvy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“So Miss Knowles did not just sell throat lozenges.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Lozenges, my eye. Babsi’s pills were only water tablets,
but no one believed me,” said Mary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Aren’t you afraid that Miss Knowles will kill you as well?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No. I told her I’ve left all the details of her trading
with my lawyer. She’ll leave me alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“And have you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“No, but she doesn’t know that, does she?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That’s true, but it’s a risk, Miss Busby.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Call me Mary if we are going to work together.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Are we?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Babsi Knowles has to be brought to justice, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You can call me Cleo, but I can’t promise anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You could give it a try though. I can pay.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“You won’t have to pay, Mary. My husband is in charge of the
case. The cops will pay me for helping you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“That’s all right then. You only have the chip shop number
to find Glad, Cleo. Here’s my mobile number,” she said, scribbling it on a
serviette with a pencil from behind her ear. “The pencil has to be handy,” she
explained. “I sometimes have to let customers off paying, but I always make a
note of who it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“And they pay later, I suppose,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">“Or not at all. Donating a potato or two doesn’t hurt trade,
Cleo.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The object of Cleo’s visit had been to talk to Mary Busby,
who had contributed information and more. Cleo was convinced that Barbarella
Knowles had something to do with Margie’s death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Her mission to the chip-shop over, Cleo packed the promised
lunch onto the back seat, got into her car and drove home. The identity parade
would have to be followed by officially questioning Knowles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-78692633312772319112017-11-08T10:58:00.001+01:002020-03-25T22:05:01.894+01:00Episode 15 - All about Eve<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-left: solid #1CADE4 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: solid #1CADE4 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #1CADE4 .75pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #1CADE4 .75pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 2.0pt 0cm 0cm 2.0pt;">
<b>Weekending</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that mammoth meeting at Cleo’s cottage, Dorothy did
her weekend shopping and was glad to be home. As usual, she would cook and eat
lunch, making sure that her cat Mimi got her share, and then put her feet up
for an hour before devoting herself to one of Beethoven’s trickier sonata movements.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>But it was not to be. Dorothy was awakened from her siesta by
the phone. It was Lisa Keys, the new director of the Finch Nightingales. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What a nice surprise, Lisa.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not so nice, Miss Price. I’m in hospital.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh dear. I hope you didn’t eat any of Jane Barker’s.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I’m <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fortunately not
into soup, Miss Price. I have appendicitis.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh dear, you poor thing.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I feel a bit better now, but they’ll probably have to
operate and I don’t know what to do about the next rehearsal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why don’t I just get on a bus and visit you, Lisa? We can
talk much better head to head.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you want to do that?” said Lisa. “I’m so sorry for
disturbing you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No problem,“ said Dorothy, sensing that Lisa had more than
one problem she needed to discuss. ”I’ll be there in about ninety minutes, Lisa.
The bus drives as far as the hospital. That’s a relic from the days when
visiting was only once or twice a week and no one had a car.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Niceties over, Dorothy could hardly wait to get to the core
of her visit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t worry about the rehearsal, Lisa. I don’t suppose many
of the women feel much like singing. Twelve of them landed in hospital with
food poisoning, and one is dead, but I suppose you know that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dead? I heard a rumour, but I didn’t take it seriously.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One, who might just have attended out of curiosity, died of
heart failure, possibly brought on by the poisoning. The other lady was
smothered.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who would murder those women except for their singing?”
said Lisa, and Dorothy immediately heard warning bells.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The smothered one was Eileen Norton. Do you know which one
that is? You haven’t had much time to learn names.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Enough time to know most of them, Miss Price, and Eileen
Norton is or rather was a typical hanger-on. She was eager to please, but very
timid with a tiny voice. She was also easily influenced by what was going on
around her. There’s at least one in every chorus.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A third chorus member is also dead,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You mean the woman found dead among the marigolds, I
expect.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I got an anonymous phone call about that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anonymous? Did you tell the police about it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Should I have?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On reflection, I agree, though I thought it was a prank at
the time,” said Lisa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Murder is not a prank, Lisa, and telling someone over the
phone about a murder is very fishy indeed,” said Dorothy, who wondered if Lisa
Keys was as naïve as she presented herself. “Did you recognise the voice of the
caller?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy mused silently that if it was Knowles who had
phoned, she had probably not killed Margie. But somebody must have seen it
happen and phoned for some other reason. Whatever the motive, it was someone
who did not want to come forward, but hoped that Lisa Keys or someone else would.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Eileen Norton was pally with the big prize-fighter woman
with a voice like a Friesian cow,” said Lisa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy could not help laughing. Knowles was not the only
Friesian cow in that chorus, but definitely the loudest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was an unlikely friendship, I thought,” Lisa continued.
“The women were more interested in passing pills around than in singing, Miss
Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you ask what was in them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. I was told that they were throat lozenges recommended
by Mrs Finch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you ask for one?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I wasn’t singing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was their source the big woman, the Friesian cow they call
Babsi?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you notice anything else, Lisa?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Funny you should ask that. At the last rehearsal we had a
second short break before taking one final run at the song I was trying to
teach them. The Friesian cow and Margie had been nagging one another. They went
out through the back entrance to smoke, and the big woman came back alone and
said that Margie had gone home with a headache. Since the two of them had
quarrelled before and gone outside to smoke at every rehearsal, I didn’t bother
about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Margie fell or was pushed into the rockery and suffered
fatal head injuries. She must have died almost instantly.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think the phone-call about the accident was from that
big woman?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Possibly, except that we do not know if it was an accident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy thought it wiser not to mention Gary so she
explained about the Hartley Agency.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That big woman they all call Babsi is under suspicion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s terrible, Miss Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It seems like a continuation of the mobbing to which poor
Laura Finch was subjected. Miss Knowles was always the leader of the pack,
Laura told me in those days. But she had disciplined her a few times and the
woman was resentful,” said Dorothy. “You should know that Laura Finch had a
vicious tongue and hated anyone to stand up to her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you are saying that Laura Finch was mobbed by a chorus
consisting of a gang of Friesian cow acolytes. I should never have taken them
on. You should have warned me, Miss Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“From what I have heard, they like you as much as they liked
your brother Lester. Don’t give up yet,” said Dorothy, thinking with horror
that she might end up having to take rehearsals herself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lester would not notice corruption if it was waved in front
of him, Miss Price. He thinks everyone is good at heart.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Couldn’t you get him to take the rehearsal if you can’t, Lisa?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That depends on his commitments. My Tuesdays are out for 3
weeks at least,” said Lisa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get a notice put in tomorrow’s Gazette that next the
rehearsal is cancelled,” Said Dorothy. “Then everyone will know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Won’t you…?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I have other commitments,” said Dorothy, deciding that
a little white lie was appropriate.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s something else, Miss Price, but I’m not sure I
should tell you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy thought with satisfaction that her hunch had been
accurate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can rely on me, Lisa,” she said. “Tell me what is
troubling you. It might help our case, too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lisa reached to her cupboard for her handbag and took an
envelope out. It had no address on it, but Lisa’s name was on it hand-written.
She handed it to Dorothy who opened it and took out a letter-sized sheet of
paper on which, as in all crime novels where a typewriter with faulty letters
is not available or the computer is down, there was a message written in words
cut out from a newspaper or magazine.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Shut your face or I’ll shut it for you’ Dorothy read.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s nasty,” said Dorothy. “But some people do things like
that. I’ll see if I can find out who sent it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would you do that? Thank you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re welcome. I’ll get onto it straightaway”, Dorothy
said, and took her leave..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*** <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later, clutching her handbag with its precious cargo of the
anonymous letter together with a sample of Lisa’s handwriting and fingerprints pressed
with licked, lipstick-daubed fingertips onto a blank sheet out of Dorothy’s
notebook and folded and tucked into the envelope by Lisa herself so that Chris could
make better digital copies, Dorothy was riding on the bus back to Upper
Grumpsfield, deep in thought about the letter, the anonymous phone-call and not
least the idea that Lisa Keys could even be in danger, since the chorus
director could not think of anything she should be keeping a secret, though
somebody obviously thought she was. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy mused that Gary would say that an anonymous letter
was not necessarily based on fact. Dorothy would reply that there was no point
in waiting for facts to appear if a human life was at stake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hastily attired in his jogging pants and hoping for a
relaxing evening at home, Gary welcomed Dorothy’s unexpected arrival with as
much grace as he could muster. Dorothy sensed that her timing was inconvenient
and would have explained in a few words, handed over the anonymous letter and
left, but Gary did not let her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had a reason for coming and she might as well say
what it was rather than making a long phone-call later. He knew her too well to
think that she was visiting just for the hell of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are we expecting you?” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No Gary, but I had reason to visit Lisa Keys in hospital
and I have some new information.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t say any more, Dorothy. Come all the way in and have
supper with us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni was playing with PeggySue, Tommy and Teddy outside in
the back garden, which was really only a walled-in patch of shaved grass. It was
already quite gloomy, but they were having fun with a big ball coloured with luminous
paint and lit up by the light from the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just excuse me while I see to the sleepers,” Gary said.
“Cleo was having a rest.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I should have phoned. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, you’re here now, so make yourself at home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While Gary went to get Cleo, Max and Mathilda up, Dorothy made
coffee, took a mug of coffee out to Toni, a plate of biscuits for everyone, and
hugged all the children, wishing as usual that they were hers, especially now
there was an au pair to share the work. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Cleo was sorry that her siesta had been disturbed, she tried
not to show it. Dorothy never came uninvited, so she must have a good reason
now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought the piano had priority on Saturday afternoons,
Dorothy,” she said, “but it’s OK. Gary’s grumpy because things are not going
the way he’d like, are they, Sweetheart?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo glided across the room to Gary and kissed him full on
the lips while letting her hands wander down his torso.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary smiled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Put some clothes on, Cleo,” he said. “That kimono is not warm
enough.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m warm enough, Gary,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was not happy to witness what she decided was an
erotic exchange between her two friends so she watched the children in the
garden instead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lisa Keys phoned from Middlethumpton General to tell me
that she has appendicitis and can’t do next week’s rehearsal,” she said, not
turning round.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did I break off my siesta for that information, Dorothy?”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you’ve been to see her, I guess,” said Cleo, ignoring
Gary’s comment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, and I have something to hand over to you, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can look now,” said Gary, amused as ever by Dorothy’s determination
to ignore any of his intimacy with Cleo, however harmless it was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy went to where she had deposited her handbag, opened
it and gave Gary the evidence, explaining about the fingerprint sample.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Respect, Dorothy!” said Gary, “but why did she not get in
touch with the police?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Receivers of anonymous letters usually stay away from the
police and go to private detectives instead. It’s in all the crime thrillers
I’ve ever read and Lisa has probably read them too,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would she have come to you rather than Cleo if she needed
the agency?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She phoned me about the chorus, Gary, and I knew
immediately that she was worried about something more than her appendix. The
warning I have here was not uttered in jest.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s the old story. Crime thrillers are often casual about
threats and warnings,” said Gary. “People enjoy those novels and wish they
could be private eyes. But the investigators are sent into wasps’ nests with
unfailing regularity.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t be, Gary. I’m reporting Lisa’s problem even if she
doesn’t want to,” said Dorothy, who was now wishing she had gone straight home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What has your theory got to do with a chorus director,
Gary?” said Cleo. “There’s Miss Keys lying in the hospital wondering what to do
about her chorus. Anyway, a private eye is not as suspicious as a cop.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure that Lisa knows I am a private eye,” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All the better,” said Cleo. “Whoever sent the warning does
not know that you have taken it on yourself to report it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary fetched latex gloves from the kitchen so that he did
not add his own fingerprints to the contents of the envelope.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A somewhat uncouth turn of phrase,” he commented after
reading it aloud.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Double Dutch,” said Cleo, reading ‘Shut your face or I’ll
shut it for you’ again. “It’s not an American way of saying things.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or it’s someone uneducated,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or it’s someone at pains not to reveal their true
identity,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never thought of that,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well I’ve never heard of that turn of phrase,” said Cleo.
“It really is rather nasty if it means what I think it means.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A sender with slightly more culture could have cut out the
words ‘Dear Madam. We are coming to knock your block off if you say anything
about … dot dot dot’,” said Gary, “but I’m not sure I would prefer to read
that. Quite apart from the unfortunate literary style, I’d like to think it was
an idle threat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if it isn’t?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Exactly,” said Gary. “I’ll get a guard put on Miss Keys,
just in case.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She isn’t in a private ward,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’ll have to move, Dorothy. We can’t keep an eye on the
whole hospital.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll leave you to decide and go back home to Beethoven,”
said Dorothy. “Call me if you need to know more.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is there more?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary looked sharply at Dorothy. Noting the sudden change in
Gary’s mood, Dorothy repeated the relevant parts of her conversation with Lisa
Keys. Gary declared grudgingly that he would have to talk to her himself. Cleo
agreed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy said she had leftovers from the previous day to eat
up and left, having no wish to prolong her visit. Gary had a knack of making
her feel uncomfortable when he had a mind to. He had not really taken anything
she said seriously. Dorothy had not wanted to disturb their siesta (rightly
assuming that the jogging trousers and naked torso indicated that he had been
forced out of bed) and was again irritated by Cleo’s desire to get back to it (siesta
being synonymous with …). I really am an old woman, she told herself as she
hurried up Monkton Way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hardly had Dorothy hung up her hat and coat when the phone
rang. The little LED screen on the handset divulged Cleo’s cottage number.
Dorothy ignored it and went her piano instead. She had had enough of the
Hurleys for the time being.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
Monday<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was anxious to get on with the Fargo case, so on Monday
morning she left the breakfast table to the auspices of her husband and drove
to HQ, determined – with Gary’s blessing - to talk to Sally Fargo as soon as
possible. Gary phoned Greg, and asked him to get Mrs Fargo to attend a
questioning with Cleo and record everything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would himself go to the hospital and
interview the chorus director of the Finch Nightingales who had been admitted
with appendicitis, the Hartley Agency had informed him. He would then go home
for lunch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greg’s office was a smaller version of Gary’s and overlooked
the parking yard rather than the main street in Middlethumpton, but it was better
for Cleo not to be in Gary’s office as they did not want the Fargo woman to
assume that she was on a mission from Gary. Cleo was still waiting for the
promised office to be made available to her as resident social psychologist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you want me to take the job seriously, you’ll have to
organize a place for me to talk to people and keep all my reference books,”
Cleo had complained, but the wheels tended to grind slowly at HQ if you were
not a parking or speeding offender, so she would have to bide her time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After meeting Cleo at reception, Greg took her up to his
second floor office and phoned security to have Mrs Fargo brought up. It was
only nine o’clock and the day at HQ had hardly begun. Cleo phoned Nigel and
asked him to take notes of the interview. He would act as a witness if
necessary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo was quite surprised to see the office occupied
by Cleo and that smart police inspector she already knew.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve said all I’m going to say,” she said. “That other
inspector tricked me into saying too much,” she continued, referring to Gary,
of course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s very shrewd, Mrs Fargo, if you are talking about the
person I know. He has a method of getting people to talk that has annoyed people
before you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me introduce our resident social psychologist, Mrs
Fargo,” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Resident still without her own office, Mrs Fargo, but I’m
hopeful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greg grinned at that the way Cleo had slipped into her job.
Applause, applause. Cleo was not going to make use of her relationship with
Gary or even admit to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you say that you now regret, Mrs Fargo?” Cleo
continued.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greg knew that Gary trusted Cleo, even if he did sometimes
make negative comments about private eyes. He knew that Cleo was a shrewd and
sly interviewer. Greg still had a lot to learn about the psychology of dealing
with suspects and was starting to regret having dozed through the lectures at
the police academy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t remember,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then it can’t have been very regrettable,” Cleo retorted.
Only forgettable.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like to go now,” said Mrs Fargo. “I have things to do
at home”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ve only just come and you haven’t asked me why you are
here,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why am I here?” said Mrs Fargo, never in her wildest dreams
expecting the question that was now put to her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where is your mother, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My mother?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think her name is Eve Fletcher, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo gripped her hands so firmly that the knuckles
turned white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What about my mother?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where is she now, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why do you want to know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Because she was declared dead and the tramp you recently
identified as Dr Fargo was in fact her husband and only acquitted of her murder
because the cops could not get their act together – oh, and the body of your
mother had not been found, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did not identify the tramp. My husband did,” said Sally
Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We weren’t talking about the tramp, but since you clearly
have something say, go ahead!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t think of anything,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a whopper, Mrs Fargo. You agreed with the
identification of the tramp as Dr Fargo when it was actually Toby Bates and you
knew it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All that was before I was born,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long before?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t remember,” the woman said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That indicates that you do, Mrs Fargo, or that you at least
know what this little chat is all about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo turned to Greg and asked him if the dates of that court
case were available. Greg said he would find out and turned to his computer to
consult the police archives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That would be at a court in Bristol,” said Cleo. “I don’t
suppose Weston-Super-Mare had a criminal court in those days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Weston?” Sally Fargo asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Homesick?” Cleo asked. “You live there, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We used to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before you moved to the villa?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re only staying there,” said Sally Fargo. Cleo looked at
her sharply. The young woman seemed to shrink under the powerful effect of
Cleo’s unflagging gaze.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does that mean that you haven’t moved into the yet, Mrs
Fargo, although you are giving it as your home address?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greg thought that Cleo’s questioning was quite devious. The
young woman was getting nervous although she had not been accused of anything
and her husband had not even been mentioned except by her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you recognize Toby Bates in that police casket?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Toby Bates was my mother’s husband,” said Sally Fargo. “I
never knew him, Miss…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hartley,” said Cleo, confirming that she was not going to
present herself as the woman married to the policeman the Fargos knew as Chief
Inspector Hurley. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you had seen photos of him, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“From before I was born, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did your mother say who he was?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She never said he was my father, if that’s what you mean.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wasn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I found the photos of her wedding. My mother was very angry
about that, but I kept one and still have it in my wallet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why would she be angry?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Because I thought the man she lived with was my father. I
called him Daddy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m puzzled,” said Cleo. “If you thought Mr Bates was like
the man on your photograph, why didn’t you say something?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It would only have complicated things and Ed did not know
about the photo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What motivated you to steal that photo, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was angry that my mother did not tell me about her first marriage.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why should she? It was over,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Something is not right, Miss Hartley. I felt it then, and I
feel it now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The room fell silent as Sally Fargo sat motionless and
troubled. Cleo let her wallow in her confusion about what significance it could
all have. Eventually, Cleo thought the timing was right to go on. Greg was
fascinated. Cleo seemed to have broken into Sally Fargo’s subconscious.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your husband he did not tell you of his plan to dispose of
his uncle, did he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, Miss Hartley. I only heard about it in that interview
with the Chief Inspector.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I believe you, Mrs Fargo, but tell me about your mother in
return for the trust I am putting in you. She did tell you what happened that
day on the beach, didn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She told me enough for me not to want to meet that person.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Although he could have been your father?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My mother told me he wasn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your mother escaped from a jealous husband who was prepared
to kill her rather than let her go to another man, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that what happened?” Sally Fargo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so,” said Cleo, wanting to pursue that theory without
delay. Mrs Fargo was obviously distressed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Bates try to bury your mother on that beach in Weston-
Super-Mare, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She told me that a stray dog had chased him from the hole
for long enough for her to escape, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow,” said Cleo. “So that’s why she hid from him. And then
he was acquitted of her murder because they could not prove that he had killed
her.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But he tried, didn’t he? She was mortally afraid of him,
Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She must have been. It does explain why she did not come
forward in her husband’s defence. I don’t think I would, either.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the meantime, Greg had found the information Cleo had
asked for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The trial was held in July, Cleo. Bates was acquitted and
the case closed months later when the body of Eve Bates had still not been
found.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When is your birthday, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“September the thirtieth.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So your mother must have been pregnant when she escaped. Where
did she go?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The man I know as my father took my mother to Ireland that
same day she escaped. He had followed them to the beach and was able to help her
to get away.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are your parents still alive, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where do they live?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In Dublin some of the time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you in contact? Can I talk to them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. They could be back in Bristol. My father has an accountancy
firm there. I talked to my mother a few days ago. My husband does not know I am
in contact with them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Please give the Inspector a phone number or email address
for your parents. I don’t need to ask you any more questions right now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I need to ask you a question, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go ahead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If I was born only months after my mother got away, I don’t
know who my father is, do I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t answer that, Mrs Fargo. You could ask your mother,
but she may not know, either.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I always thought of my mother’s partner as my father. There
is no father’s name on my birth certificate.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Understandable if she thought the father was someone who
had tried to kill her. I can talk to your mother about Toby Bates. She left him
charged with murder and never came forward to clear his name.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When I asked her about the photo of him she said he was
past history. I later learnt some of the details from the man I knew as my
father.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Toby Bates really had tried to kill her. The man you knew
as your father was a witness. Toby Bates should have gone to prison for
attempted murder.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The dog belonged to my father, Miss Hartley. It chased
Bates for miles along that beach. It saved my mother’s life, didn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. That’s why I want to get that case reopened and the
record put straight, even if Toby Bates is dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I get proof that I am not related to him? Does it
matter anymore? I think I killed him, Miss Hartley. I gave him the wine. I
thought my husband was looking after him with little treats.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he gave you wine specifically for that tramp, did he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes and he said not to drink any. If it was poisoned, I’m
guilty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t jump the guns, Mrs Fargo. We must prove that your
husband had access to and made use of the poison identified in the tests. I
know you’ll help us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not a murderess, Miss Hartley. Please believe me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have the book on natural poisons from the library,
don’t you, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My husband wanted it. He said the information might come in
handy one day. You don’t think…..?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo gasped in horror.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you know about the book, Miss Hartley?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wanted the book and it was not available.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think my husband made up a poison?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know yet, Mrs Fargo. We can arrange for a DNA test
with the pathologist tomorrow. It will tell us whether you were related to Mr
Bates. I don’t think you should discuss our talk with anyone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I hate Ed Fargo and I don’t want to upset my parents.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did he know about a possible relationship between you and
Mr Bates?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m no longer sure about that, Miss Hartley, but if he
poisoned Mr Bates, maybe he poisoned his uncle too and maybe I’m to be the
third victim.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He won’t get an opportunity to go down that path,” said
Cleo. “Keep silent about our talk. We’ll get you out of HQ as soon as possible.
I am sure that your husband will be invited to stay.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Since your mother never applied for a divorce, she is now a
widow, Mrs Fargo, so she could marry again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo smiled for the first time in that interview.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think she’ll want to, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well satisfied with how the confrontation with Sally Fargo
had worked out, Cleo signalled to Greg that the woman could go back to her cell
to await clearance and release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greg’s thumb-up gesture showed his appreciation of the talk.
It was a lesson in persuasion that he had yet to learn. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Mrs Fargo had been led away, Cleo tapped Eve Fletcher’s
phone number. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*** <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hello?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that Ms Fletcher?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who are you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My name is Cleo Hartley and I’m calling from
Middlethumpton.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have news for you, Ms Fletcher.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope it’s good news, Miss Hartley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure you’ll think it is. Toby Bates is dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dead? Who is dead?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The guy you were married to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Listen, Miss Hartley. I don’t talk about that bastard. Get
off my phone please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, wait. I’ve been talking to your daughter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To Sally? Is she all right?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s fine. Can I come to talk to you, or better still, can
you come here? I have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>six children who
need me some of the time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I understand We’ll come to you if you tell us where that
is. Do you want me to identify Bates?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. But I think we should have a talk.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you a policewoman, Miss Hartley?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I’m a social worker at Middlethumpton police
headquarters, so if you could come there it would be a help.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I call you back, Miss Hartley? I’ll have to ask my
partner when he has time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure. Thanks for not hanging up,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you for phoning, Miss Hartley. I’m sorry if I was
unfriendly. Thirty years in hiding from a person who tried to kill me have
taken their toll. I expect you know the story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I do. You won’t have any more hauntings, Ms Fletcher.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re right. I’m free now, aren’t I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary’s spontaneous visit to the hospital was not as
successful. He was informed that he could not talk to Miss Keys that day
because she was in the post-operative ward coming round after her appendix
operation at seven that morning. He had no alternative but to drive home again,
secretly relieved that he had not been obliged to talk to Miss Keys, and openly
delighted because he could spend the day with his children. He expressed his
joy by singing along to a Mozart symphony on the radio. Cleo would have called
his performance deafeningly untuneful, but Gary was alone in his car and
enjoying life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was also on her way home, wondering whether Gary had
had any luck with Lisa Keys. It was too early for a siesta, but a second
breakfast would be enhanced by goodies from the bakery and her report of the
interview with Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had not forgotten that call to Dorothy. It was the
first time Dorothy had not responded to a call from the cottage and Cleo was
sorry that Gary had not behaved well the previous afternoon. He would have to
apologize for joking about a matter Dorothy was taking seriously and he should
have been, though he had tried to mend the situation. But the damage was done.
Dorothy, who had urged him on so often and come up with so many good ideas, was
hurt. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary stopped by the hospital flower shop on the way out. He
bought a bunch of red ‘tryst’ roses for Cleo and a huge bunch of mixed pink
flowers for Dorothy. Before going home he drove to Dorothy’s cottage and rang
the doorbell. Dorothy stopped banging out Beethoven and came to the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry I was grumpy yesterday,” he said from behind the
bouquet. “I still love you Dorothy and I can well understand that you were
disgusted.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was disgusted,” said Dorothy, “but I still love you too,
Gary. The flowers are lovely. Won’t you come in?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d better get home,” said Gary. “I have some more
apologizing to do.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-92167945685136015832017-11-05T21:50:00.001+01:002020-03-25T20:55:38.510+01:00Episode 14 - The effigy <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-left: solid #1CADE4 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: solid #1CADE4 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #1CADE4 .75pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #1CADE4 .75pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 2.0pt 0cm 0cm 2.0pt;">
<b>Saturday October 6</b></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would be too easy just to have a crime or two to solve. A
phone-call from Greg woke the Hurleys very early on Saturday morning to say almost
as much.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Didn’t you mention a corpse in the freezer at the villa at
some point, Gary?” he started.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“We suspected something. I remember sending forensics in to
have another look, but the freezer was empty and there were no traces of anyone
human having been in it, except for a few fibres from clothing. In the corner
of that cellar there was a life-sized doll dressed in clothes that turned out
to be Dr Fargo’s and matched the fibres. That doll must have been in the
freezer for some time judging by the fibre threads found sticking to the sides.
The freezer was still switched on. I assume that the doll was hidden there, but
that does not explain why we found it in a corner.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That doll theory sounds like one of Dorothy Price’s hunch,”
said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It would also be a good place to hide a corpse, though, wouldn’t
it?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So why isn’t the business of the freezer in the initial
report?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”Because following up such a theory is something a serious
cop would not admit to,” said Gary, wondering if that description of a cop
really fitted him these days. “But we went there anyway, Greg. Sometimes
Dorothy has a nose for criminal innovation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s just as well she’s on our side then,” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She semi-retired now, so we don’t get as much inspiration.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was going to tell you that a look-alike doll had been seen
sitting in a chair at a window upstairs,” said Greg, “but someone obviously
thought it needed a breath of fresh air.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So where was the doll found this time?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In the villa garden shrubbery.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Goodness. Who found it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Schoolboys. They were terrified. They said it looked like
Dr Fargo, so they didn’t go near it. Apparently Dr Fargo used to sit in an
armchair at an upstairs window and observe the street and he looked just like
the effigy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Exactly,” said Greg. “If that doll was put there to give
the impression that Dr Fargo was alive and kicking, he might be dead after
all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Which might indicate that the doll in the cellar was
replaced in the freezer by Dr Fargo, alive or dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So now what? Who could have organized the doll bluff if it
wasn’t the relatives?” Greg asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long have they been back?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know. Stan Butterworth might know or even seen that
doll in action.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The schoolboys obviously did,” said Gary. “I think I’ll
have to consult the Ladies again. I’m curious to see how many of their hunches
are accurate.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s all getting a bit out of hand, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have never been so baffled, Greg. There are so many seemingly
unconnected elements. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll collect those schoolboys and talk to them at HQ this
morning. They’ll enjoy a ride in a patrol car.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks, Greg. I’ll come into for that so let me know when
you have collected them. I’m supposed to have a free weekend, but that’s out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry to wake you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were right to call, Greg. This whole business is
getting nastier by the minute. If only Dr Fargo would turn up!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I agree that it would solve a number of problems.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like to know who the doctor’s lady friend is,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could it be the dismissed cleaner?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On the contrary, Greg. Mrs Beatty told me about the new
friend and was resentful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That may be why she phoned and told reception to tell you
or me that there was a body in the villa fridge,” said Greg. “She even said she
had been the cleaner there and gave her name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A bit of revenge, I dare say,” said Gary. “She wanted to
make trouble.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or the doll really was in the freezer when she saw it. We
know it was kept there at some time,” said Greg. “Those girls at reception were
in a panic so they called me because I was in my office.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, that cleaner might be responsible for more than
she admitted to. I don’t suppose many people had a key to the villa,” said Gary.
“I have a feeling that Mrs Beatty thought she was first lady in that house and
had been usurped.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She wouldn’t be the first household employee with delusions
of grandeur, would she?” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What was that about?” said Cleo, entering the living-room
where Gary had been phoning and had hoped not to wake the family. She had resigned
herself to a long day, had made coffee and was floating around in her genuine
Japanese kimono. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You won’t believe me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Try me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo found Greg’s account astonishing. It put an end to any
weekend plans, but Cleo thought it would make everything just that bit more exciting,
especially for Dorothy, who loved that kind of drama. She could hardly wait to
see Dorothy’s reaction,. She would be at the cottage presently to report on her
trip to visit the Crightons. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary’s reaction to the identity parade idea was
appreciative. It should be held as soon as possible, but Barbarella Knowles
would also have to answer some searching questions about her car. He had not
paid much attention when told that a car with her number plate had driven away almost
from the scene of Margie Busby’s demise, since cars can be driven by anyone as
long as someone has paid the road tax. Had she used it on rehearsal night, or
had her husband used it? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– And yes,
Barbarella was a happily married lady. Surprise, surprise. Gary would invite
her to an informal chat the following Monday. That might make an identity
parade unnecessary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But just in case, the Crightons would be given a time to be
at HQ on Monday afternoon. A very large cook from the HQ canteen and one or two
other large ladies would be invited to join the line-up. To make sure that the
Crightons came, a squad car would collect them and take them home again. Nigel
would take care of the logistics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“So how about the
Fargos?” said Cleo. “I can’t wait to hear how that questioning went. You were
too tired last night, remember?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was only too tired for the Fargos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So how did it go?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that moment Dorothy, who had a knack of timing her visits
to be in at whatever kill was going, arrived for breakfast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between hugging the little ones and fetching a large dish to
house the bagels she had managed to bake seemingly at dawn, Dorothy listened
in, of course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The talk was fair to middling, I’s say,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who are we talking about,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Fargos, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s interesting. Where were they found?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At the villa,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anyway,” said Gary, “in the end it was quite revealing
except that I’m sure they have plenty more stories to tell. I recorded the
event,” said Gary. “Nigel and Greg were on hand as witnesses, but I didn’t want
to leave anything to chance, so it’s archived on the old tape recorder and the
digital webcam , of which I have a copy on my phone,” he said. “I’ll stream it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary pressed the appropriate keys and the recording turned
up on the TV.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s clever,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brilliant!” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Here we go then,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Names and age, please, just for the record”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sally Fargo. 28.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed Fargo. 34.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not Edward?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Just Ed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Address?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At home at the villa. That’s where you collected us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where were you before you returned to the villa after
several days’ absence?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was in Weston,” said Sally Fargo. “We used to live there.
I visited friends. Ed stayed at home. He doesn’t like my friends.””<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where were you, Mr Fargo? You weren’t at the villa, were
you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Out and about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s too vague.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. Gaming and then at the races and after that more
gaming. I slept at the gaming club. Satisfied?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo looked shocked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Name?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bristol races.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nice,” Nigel could be heard saying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not the horse racing. The gaming club, Mr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bristol fashion,” said Fargo rather reluctantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The gaming club was actually a swinger club on the Bristol
Road. It was notorious. The services offered could be bought – at a price. Gary
did not comment apart to say that the account of Mr Fargo’s activities would be
checked. He did not think that Sally Fargo knew about Ed’s activities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who do you normally share a bed with, Mr Fargo?” said Gary.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s none of your business, is it?” said Ed Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I’ll put it another way. Are you two siblings or lovers
… or both?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed is my husband,” said Sally. “Was that supposed to be a
trick question?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Ed she said “I thought you’d given up that club.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You weren’t around and a guy needs some fun.-“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s your second marriage, isn’t it, Mr Fargo?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You seem to know a lot, Inspector.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Archives, Mr Fargo. I’ve seen a photo of your first wife.
What happened to her? Nudge my memory!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She died,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know you’d already been married, Ed,” said Sally
and all the cops present <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>immediately thought
she must be play-acting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary paused the recording and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>commented to Cleo and Dorothy that they had
all felt a distinct change in the atmosphere before releasing the pause key.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You didn’t need to know,” Ed said. “She’s dead and that’s
the end of story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did she die?” Sally asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Drowned.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s terrible,” said Sally. “Is that why you know about
Ed, Inspector?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, but it’s more terrible than that. Tell her the whole
story, Mr Fargo, though I’m sure she knows already, despite the theatricals I’m
being treated to here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want to hear any more,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me remind your husband then. The first Mrs Fargo did
not drown. Your husband ran her down driving out of his garage down a long
drive where she was waiting to get into the car.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did not want to run her down,” said Fargo. “My foot
slipped off the brake.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The court believed him,” Gary said. “But in the light of
what has happened now, I’m inclined to think they made a mistake, and it’s
clear that you were lying, Mrs Fargo. You thought you could fool me when you
said you didn’t know your husband had been married before. You were the chief
witness of that incident, weren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We were strangers then,” insisted Mrs Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll bet you weren’t. Your maiden name was Fletcher and
that’s the name in the police reports. But there’s a photo of you in there,
too, Mrs Fargo. I’m amazed that you think you can fool me by telling lies.”
said Gary. “You married Mr Fargo soon after the so-called accident. That’s a
strange thing to do. After all, you knew that Mr Fargo had killed his first wife.
I would have been more cautious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I …. We fell in love,” she said, “at the trial. Ed did not
kill his first wife.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s very loyal of you, Mrs Fargo, but a dangerous kind
of loyalty, if I may say so.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t understand.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you were already lovers, as I think was the case, Mr
Fargo had a reason for doing away with the first Mrs Fargo, didn’t he? You
can’t deny that your husband ran over her, can you, now your memory has been
sufficiently jogged.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not on purpose. It was a terrible accident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think it was, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t talk any more junk, Inspector, or I’ll sue you,” said
Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On what grounds?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are accusing me of a murder I was acquitted of.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s right. You were acquitted, Mr Fargo. I would
retaliate to any stupid legal action on your part by getting your case reopened
on the grounds of new evidence and a confession from your new wife and old
lover that she lied to me and the court about knowing you and was therefore
covering up the facts of the case.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel and Greg looking on. This wasn’t the interview they
had been expecting. Gary had done his homework and not discussed it, and now he
making a case for the Fargos having disposed of Ed Fargo’s relative. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary had demonstratively turned the pages of an official
file containing the information he had made use of at the questioning. It
hadn’t taken Nigel long to trace the documents, but he did not know that Gary
was planning to introduce it into the first interview. A photo of the only
witness was included in the file. Gary held it up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could deny everything,” said Mrs Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In my experience, you wouldn’t, quite apart from my
assistant at the table being a reliable witness who takes notes and there being
recordings of this interview. Inspector Greg Winter can also be relied on to
give a truthful account of our little talk. For now, just tell me what
motivated you to move into the villa.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We wanted to help Ed’s uncle,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or help yourselves,” said Gary, who had been expecting her
to say what she did. “After all, you were short of cash without your first
wife’s income, weren’t you, Mr Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What does he mean, Ed?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll explain, shall I?” said Gary. “The first Mrs Fargo was
a call-girl with a lucrative home business. Her devoted husband was banking on
the same arrangement with his second wife.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo gasped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Didn’t he ask you entertain men, Mrs Fargo?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Sally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I mean that your husband suggested that you contribute to
the family finances by entertaining his friends. Your husband’s first wife had
to die because she wanted to stop the prostitution. She was 3 months pregnant
when she was run over. The show of grief at the trial was pure theatre.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Fargo moved away from her husband. She was genuinely
appalled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In the end, your second wife refused to prostitute herself,
didn’t she, Mr Fargo, so you were obliged to look for other ways of making
money. I’m surprised you did not kill her and get someone else in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know that’s what you wanted when you bought those
beautiful underclothes for me, Ed,” said Sally Fargo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally turned to Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then he told me what they were for, Inspector, and I was
shocked to the core and he understood that I would rather not have more than
one man in my life . Now I understand, is he going to kill me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I sincerely hope not,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could have left him, Mrs Fargo.” said Greg, thinking it
was time to call it a day. Fargo was a nasty piece of work. He was capable of
violence and had certainly used it on his first wife.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But she didn’t go for it, Cop,” said Fargo. “ Even though she’s
like all women. Hookers at heart.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I beg to differ on that,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So do I,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you decided to move into Dr Fargo’s house, did you, Mr
Fargo? You would start a new business there after the old doctor had been
persuaded to leave, since he was in the way of progress.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My uncle was alive and well when we moved in, if that’s
what you are getting at,” said Mr Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can vouch for that,” said Mrs Fargo, clinging on to a
vestige of loyalty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But he wasn’t going to stay in good health for long, was
he?” said Gary. “That dead tramp in the park inspired you, didn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Ed Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll explain,” said Gary. “A dead vagabond with no family
would serve well as a substitute corpse. The dead tramp even looked a bit like
your uncle, although he was dirty and unkempt. Is that when you decided to do
away with your relative? Is that when you started to display the doll dressed
in his clothes at the villa window to prove that he was still alive?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know about any of that,” said Mrs Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shut up,” said Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you kill your uncle?” shrieked Sally Fargo at her
husband.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fargo did not answer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When did you go to Weston, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“After identifying the old man,” she replied. “Ed’s uncle
had wandered off, you see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that what your husband told you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Mrs Fargo, who was now very confused about
events, “but I didn’t know it was murder.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you give the tramp something to drink, Mrs Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed did. We always used to give those vagabonds in the park
something. Ed said it was better than the Red Cross because you knew your
donations were appreciated.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you didn’t put two and two together later, Mrs Fargo.
If you saw the tramp alive he could not suddenly be Dr Fargo when he was dead,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed said his uncle was eccentric and sometimes went out
dressed as tramp to join others in the park.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you believed that, too, said Gary. “I suppose your
husband singled out that tramp as being the most worthy of a little charity,
did he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Fargo nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And then there was the grief of the doctor dying, I
suppose,” said Gary. “What did you do after the identification?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ed sent me to Weston to recover and get things from the
house.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When did you find out that the tramp was not Dr Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“From the newspaper,” said Sally. “What’s this all about,
Inspector?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The tramp was later identified correctly, but you had in
fact claimed that Dr Fargo was dead by identifying his corpse, so he could not
be seen alive at the villa again, could he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose not.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The whole identification of that tramp was a construct, Mrs
Fargo. Your husband wanted to be rid of the old man and he got the idea of
killing him from identifying a substitute. He would dispose of the uncle
later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t believe that, Inspector.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”You knew that tramp, didn’t you, Mr Fargo? You also knew
that it was not Dr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your wife has already stated that you knew where the tramps
hung out with fellow-tipplers. You heard her saying she had given the tramp
wine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a long silence before Mrs Fargo said “That with
the doll wasn’t my idea. Ed’s uncle was not at the villa when we got there, and
he played a game with the neighbours. They thought he was there when he wasn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That explains why you identified that tramp, Mrs Fargo. I
don’t suppose you knew the doctor very well, did you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When we arrived at the villa, people kept asking for my
uncle. We sat the doll in a chair upstairs and that took care of the
neighbours’ curiosity. We did not know where he was, and that’s the truth, and
we didn’t know that Dr Fargo used the effigy to make people think he was at
home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where is Dr Fargo now, Mr Fargo?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t know,” said Sally Fargo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Meaning you don’t know, Mrs Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ed Fargo did not comment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to lodge in the arrest cells while we search
for him. If he’s alive, you’re in luck. If he’s dead, we’ll let you know,” said
Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The security guards took the Fargo couple to separate arrest
cells<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary switched off the video-recording<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo and Dorothy were shocked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are sure that the death of the first Mrs Fargo was deliberate,
aren’t you,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Fargo was acquitted,” said Gary. “And there was no proof
that the current Mrs Fargo knew anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But we know now that she must have known,” said Cleo.
“That’s enough to reopen the case, surely.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not really. The prosecution could not make him admit
anything at the time. There was no conclusive proof that Ed Fargo had hurried his
wife’s death along. Accidents do happen.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But surely you could apply to reopen the case on the basis
of that new evidence, Gary,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s true, but we’d need to have that evidence, not just
talk about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s obvious,” said Dorothy, “ and the motive is clear.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Motive is not enough, and you know that, Dorothy,” said
Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But sometimes there are convictions without a body.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And often enough there is a body and no conviction, Dorothy,”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sally Fargo claimed to be a passer-by who witnessed the
scene of that first murder. Did no one make inquiries into the woman who was
then Miss Fletcher?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Apparently not.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So again we <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>could have
the case of a murderer killing a second time, if Fargo has been done away with”
said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, if Fargo really did kill his uncle, and we have no
proof of that. If Fargo is dead, that would be Fargo’s third killing. He’s not going
to avoid prison, Ladies, and we can convict Mrs Fargo as an accessory. She
admitted to giving him a drink.”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It would be nice if Mr Fargo had killed his first wife,
married his mistress, and then killed again twice to gain possession of the
villa,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wouldn’t call that nice,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You know what I mean. It would make it all so much easier.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We can only speculate about the order of events, and motive
is not enough to explain the technicalities, Ladies. It would also help if we could
find Dr Fargo’s earthly remains.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think the whole business was planned,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Supposing Dr Fargo had really been in that freezer,” said
Dorothy. “Corpses preserved in pack ice on the Alps could be millions of years
old, so why take it out?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Almost the perfect murder,” said Gary. The forensic
scientist’s nightmare:You kill off your designated victim, freeze him or her,
and discover him months later or not at all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In this case not at all since the freezer was empty,” said Cleo.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They could have disposed of Dr Fargo and insisted that the
tramp was the uncle despite the other identification,” said Dorothy. “But I
tend not to believe that. In fact, I think Dr Fargo is alive and well somewhere
and those young people are trying to get their hands on the villa and his money
without knowing where he is. As a corpse, the tramp did a fine job of proving
Dr Fargo was dead and therefore could be inherited.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dorothy could be onto something,” said Cleo. “Murderers
aren’t entitled to the estate of their victims and the tramp was either not
killed by the Fargos or they were cunning enough to get away with it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not after Mrs Fargo admitted to giving the tramp a drink,”
said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think the Fargos should be charged with the murder of Dr
Fargo and left to chew over things until it is absolutely clear who killed the
tramp and where Dr Fargo is,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That may be our only alternative, Dorothy,” said Gary. “We’re
banking on there being conclusive evidence that the young Fargos killed that
tramp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Surely part of the inquiry has to be about when Dr Fargo
was last seen alive,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Greg’s seeing to that with Butterworth’s help,” said Gary,
“but witnesses might only have seen the doll and not realize it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could ask around tomorrow if you think it’s a good idea,
Gary,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go ahead! We’ve nothing to lose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But before we close this meeting, I’d like to talk about
the deceased Toby Bates,” said Dorothy. “And you might like to hear about the
Crightons.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I should get going, Dorothy,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It won’t take long.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go ahead, Dorothy. I want to hear,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If I remember rightly that tramp was poisoned and then
struck,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what Chris says.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“According to what transpired from the Fargo questioning,
the Fargos could have been out looking for suitable victim, given him alcohol
laced with poison and watched him drink it, as tramps tend to do, straight from
the bottle. If it contained knock-out drops they might not have had to wait
long before Bates became drowsy. Then he could have been hit with some kind of
blunt instrument and fallen to the ground.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s possible, but the problem is that we will never
prove it,” said Gary. “The witnesses would be other tramps and they would not
want to get involved, so they would keep silent if they had seen anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris will have made a note of what was in the tramp’s
drink. Did you find the bottle?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think anyone looked for one that day, and it would
have been cleared away next morning by the refuse men,” said Gary. “They always
clear up daily in parks and open spaces, especially where layabouts have
congregated.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Fargos will have to confess,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Care to interview them yourself, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose that’s too unconventional, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hang convention. We need to get at the truth,” said Gary. “If
we can’t make progress any other way, you might be able to get something out of
them that isn’t theatricals or a pack of lies.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then you have a deal, Chief Inspector, but listen to what I
found out about the tramp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll make coffee,” said Gary. “Please phone Greg and tell
him I’ll be with him soon, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was persistent. Gary knew she would be like a dog
with a bone until she had told him what she wanted to. A few minutes later he
served espressos in large mugs with a jug of steaming hot milk to decant into
the coffee, sat down and prepared himself for the talk. To reassure Greg that
he was coming to HQ and confirm Cleo’s short phone-call, he sent him a quick
text. Dorothy’s tales were usually worth listening to, not just for their entertainment
value. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought this was all going to be short, Dorothy,” said
Gary. “I’ll have to make HQ wait for one of my favourite sleuths to spill the
beans.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, it goes back over 30 years,” Dorothy started, gratified
that Gary was not going to be in one of his impatient moods, “but I’ll only
tell you what’s relevant.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Get to the best bits, Dorothy,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, the newspaper cuttings we examined reported that Mr
Bates’s wife Eve disappeared during a walk on the beach in Weston-Super-Mare,
where they lived. Since Mrs Bates disappeared without trace on a lonely part of
the beach, Bates was soon suspected of murdering her. The police theory was
that the couple had dug a deep hole in the sand. Bates had had a sinister reason
for what she thought was a game. He was suspected of killing her and burying
her in the hole they had dug together. He claimed that his wife had tried to
rescue a dog from a sandbank and been swept away. The police argued that since
the tide was ebbing, the dog could have escaped on its own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toby Bates was charged with murder. The next incoming tide
washed away any signs of a hole, but the police decided that it was only a
matter of time before the corpse would be washed up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it wasn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually the police had to admit that they had no evidence
to support their theory and no proof that Bates had been lying. They tried to
get some kind of confession from him, but he kept to his story that his wife
had gone into the sea to rescue an animal, and not returned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Witnesses claimed to have seen him walking to the far end of
the beach with a woman and returning alone. Since there was no evidence to
support the murder theory, Bates was release from custody. He disappeared. The
little house he had shared with his wife was found to have been stripped of
everything personal. The police looked for Eve and Toby Bates all summer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow, Dorothy. This is a sensational story,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s fact,” said Dorothy and continued.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bates had a brother with whom he had almost no contact. Eve
Bates had a sister. Neither relative had any idea about where Eve and Toby
were, but it was later accepted that Eve Bates had drowned. Toby’s brother
thought he might have gone to the South of France because he and Eve had spent
holidays there, but the French police found no record of anyone ever seeing
either of them again, even among the thriving British community in and near
Limoges, where everyone seemed to know everyone else. Eve’s sister believed
Toby Bates’s story about her disappearance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The police in Weston were sure that Toby had disappeared
because he was guilty of her murder, but the case was eventually abandoned.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very good, Dorothy, but what does it have to do with the
Fargos?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought it was just background information, but now I’ve
heard that the Fargos lived in Weston-Super-Mare, I’m starting to wonder how
much of a coincidence it is that they chose Toby Bates as their victim.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s too far-fetched, Dorothy,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait a minute,” said Cleo. “I don’t think we should reject
the idea. Wasn’t Toby Bates’s identification confirmed by an old letter he
carried around with him? It was anonymous and accused him of killing his wife.
The letter was dated 30 years previously. Why had he kept that letter and why
had he kept his wife’s wedding ring and was still wearing his own when he died?
And why, for goodness’ sake, hasn’t that anonymous letter been followed up?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Poison pen letters are common. Suspected murderers get them
even if they are acquitted. Someone always thinks they must be guilty,” said
Gary. “We can’t follow up every anonymous message.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But why would he carry it around with him all that time?”
said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Probably because he really was innocent, Dorothy,” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose that makes sense, but you want to look for a
connection between the Fargos and Bates, aren’t you?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, we aren’t, Dorothy.” Said Cleo. “Bates left Weston over
thirty years ago. The Fargos are in their mid-thirties. They were little kids
when the drama of Eve Bates’s disappearance happened.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure it’s a coincidence, but we should look into it,
can’t we, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If it makes you happy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there was the wedding ring to consider. Bates could have
kept the wedding ring after taking it off his wife’s finger after he had killed
her, but if she was leaving him it is quite possible that she took off the ring
and left it for him to find as a sign that she was going for ever. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bates carrying the ring around does not prove that Eve Bates
is dead,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you say it, it puts it all in a new light, Dorothy,.” said
Gary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m impressed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And now we come to the best bit,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does it get even better?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if I were to tell you that Eve Bates was Eve Fletcher
before she got married?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure I would believe you,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d have to. My research into Toby Bates’s biography got
as far as finding out who Eve Bates was before they married and that is the
link between Sally Fargo and Toby Bates, Gary,” said Dorothy triumphantly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He could have been her father,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She did not know that, however,” said Dorothy. “For that
you would need to compare DNA samples.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nothing easier,” said Gary. “Sally Fargo is about 30. I
wonder if she knows where her mother is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think we should ask her,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I agree,” said Gary. “I hope Eve is still alive. Somehow
the idea of that tramp wandering around for thirty years is crass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think it would be even crasser if Sally Fargo had actually
murdered her father, Gary,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder why Eve Bates walked out on Toby Bates,” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He might have had another woman,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t make it any more complicated than it is,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can we talk to Sally Fargo tomorrow, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes Cleo. We can’t move forward until we’ve looked into the
past. I can see that now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A breakfast brain-storming on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a Saturday was an unusual feature of the
Hartley Agency business practice. Normally, Cleo and Dorothy had a second
breakfast together early in the week to talk over agency cases and procedures,
but Saturday had revealed the urgency of getting things done, especially for
Dorothy, who had created quite a stir with her report on Eve Bates. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody could yet do more than hazard a guess at the link between
Eve Bates’s disappearance 30 years previously, the death of Toby Bates recently,
and Sally Fargo’s link with either of them. Was Eve Bates alive? Sally was
presumably her daughter but maybe not the daughter of Toby Bates, so was
another man involved in Eve’s disappearance? Sally would have to say something
to clear up the mystery, the weight of which Toby Bates had shouldered for 30
years, always assuming that Eve had told Sally the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Ed Fargo was the real villain in the piece they would
need firm evidence as to what he had done before they could hold him
responsible, and that would require Dr Fargo to be found, dead or alive. Until there
was clarity the couple was to be kept under arrest and separate.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-4850510247577407482017-09-02T07:19:00.000+02:002020-03-25T18:26:05.964+01:00Episode 13 - Visits III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Still Friday</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A message from Nigel was waiting for Gary when they reached
the cottage, telling him that the Fargos had turned up at the villa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So they are back. They probably think there’s no danger
now,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did Nigel find out?” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“There’s a private eye living opposite, Cleo. He’s been
touting for work at HQ and got a break in the form of observing the Fargo villa.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know about him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you want to observe the villa, Cleo, or send Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course not, but you never mentioned the guy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s a guy called Stan Butterworth. He’s staying with a
relation after running away from his marriage. He phoned to ask if we knew of
anyone needing a private eye or a security guard. Nigel talked to, thought he
was bona fide and told him we’d call on him if the need arose. Nigel organized
the observation when he realized that Butterworth’s relations live almost
opposite.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It sure is a stroke of luck. So he’s been watching out for
those relatives of the old doctor. Awesome!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And now he’s keeping an eye on them. If they go away he’ll
follow them, but it won’t come to that. Nigel will have gone to Greg for advice
by now. I’ll just phone and make sure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m surprised they did not call you out at HQ. You’ve just
been there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nigel may not have told them where I was going at the
information desk and I did not go to the office as I did not want to keep you
waiting any longer than necessary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So it’s my fault that you didn’t find out earlier, is it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t be daft, Cleo. I’m not the only one at HQ. It’s time
someone else did something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s not fair, Gary. I expect all your colleagues were
busy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All’s fair in war and love. I’ll phone Nigel back to see
what he’s done. We’ll see to all the kids and have an early night, OK?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Stan Butterworth could join my agency, couldn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was hoping you’d say that. Nigel even<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>suggested it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you didn’t tell me, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were on the point of giving up the agency, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. But I can’t now, can I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was hoping you’d say that, my love. Where ARE all the
kids?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At you mother’s. She has to be at home now and again and
they like being there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shall we go and collect them?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe you should first see to the Fargos, Gary. I’ll take
care of the family and you really need to get some crimes solved.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bang goes the family evening,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel had written a text to say that Greg had brought the
Fargos in for questioning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gary left at
high speed in the red car, negotiating the end- of-rush-hour traffic with more
aplomb than caution and with his portable Martin’s horn blaring as he prepared
himself mentally for a nasty few minutes ascertaining if, why and how Dr Fargo
had met his death. The big question was that if they were innocent, why had
traces of the doctor’s clothing been found in the cellar freezer?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo took a moment to think about the afternoon’s scene at
the old nurse’s house. There was something wrong with it all. Talking to
Dorothy would help solve the puzzle. Dorothy was into straight talking and
usually spotted any contradictions. But Dorothy was not at home. Her detecting
had taken her to the Crightons. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Crighton greeted Dorothy like a long lost relative when
he met her at Oxford main station. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nice of you to come, Miss Price,” he said. “I’m quite glad
we don’t live in the city centre, although it’s quite a long drive to our
house.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An hour of horrendous rush-hour traffic later, Mr Crighton
parked in the driveway of the little house he now occupied with his wife and
led the way to the front door, where he rang the doorbell. Dorothy wondered why
he had not used a key, but he explained that Muriel liked to open the door so
that she could stay in control. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy pondered on the ludicrous explanation. Mrs Crighton
put it succinctly when she explained that Paul Crighton had lost his door key
once too often. Dorothy felt bound to suggest that he put the next one on the
same ring as his car key.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never thought of that,” he said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He doesn’t do much thinking,” commented Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t say things like that, Muriel,” Paul Crighton replied.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy reflected that things were not going too well in the
Crighton household and decided that she would prefer to be somewhere else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Muriel Crighton was a sour-puss, usually in a crotchety mood
with a sharp tongue and a deep-seated grudge against humanity, which included
her husband, but not their son or adopted son depending on which story they
were telling. The moment Betjeman Crighton had confessed to murder, Mrs
Crighton had declared that the boy was adopted and they did not know he had
such evil roots. Muriel forced Paul to tell this version of their son’s
genesis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Notwithstanding the devastating disownership of the boy, the
Crightons had moved at Muriel’s bidding to be near him. Dorothy had no idea whether
the Crightons actually believed in their son’s innocence. It didn’t really matter,
Dorothy decided. This married couple would continue their cat and dog existence
until one of them bit the dust leaving the other to enjoy life again, wherever
Betjeman ended up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Muriel Crighton led Dorothy into the dining-room. The table
was arrayed with the best china and some very tempting looking fairy cakes. The
room was tidy but lacked any feeling of homeliness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We like it here,” said Mrs Crighton with heavy emphasis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, we do,” said Mr Crighton, who would not have dared to
contradict this battle-axe of a woman. “I like the garden and spend hours
there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Escaping from Muriel, no doubt, thought Dorothy, but did not
comment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll show you the house while the kettle is boiling,” Muriel
said, leading Dorothy out of the dining room to show her the lounge (as she
called it) and the ‘restroom’, which was a tiny loo squashed been the inside
and outside front doors. Then she went ahead up the stairs saying that she
would now show Dorothy Betjeman’s room. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy thought was that strange since they should have been
under the impression that Betjeman had been sent down for life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He always has his own room, you see,” said Muriel Crighton,
stroking the counterpane on Betjeman’s single bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does Betjeman visit you?” Dorothy asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not yet, but he will soon,” said Mrs Crighton. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Crighton had followed them up the stairs and was now
heard to declare that Muriel should not tell stories as you never knew where
they might land you. If Betjeman escaped, they would be under suspicion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He will come, Miss Price. He’s innocent,” said Muriel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But until they find out, he has to stay where he is,” announced
Paul Crighton who had been indoctrinated by Muriel. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy did not know what to say. Betjeman was a psychopath
– or at least that’s what the medical report said, and that did not depend on
him having committed murder. He was mentally deranged. Thanks to Gary, she and
Cleo had been able to read the psychiatrist’s damning comments, but if she were
going to get anywhere with her mission, she would have to keep that knowledge
to herself. After all, she herself did not think that Betjeman had killed
Laura, though she reserved judgement on the murder of Laura’s son Jason. But
Betjeman was insane, whatever he had done or not done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Crightons were plainly in denial.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you visit your son?” Dorothy asked as she sat on her
designated chair and eyed the table. She was relieved that the tea, brewed on
command by Paul Crighton, was not perfumed with bergamotte and the milk was fresh.
The cream cakes were bought but very nice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The whole scene was surreal. The empty chair that Betjeman
would have occupied had he been there was apparently always there waiting for
him together with his cup, saucer, plate and cutlery. The sweetness and light
of this afternoon tea arrangement and sudden politeness of Mrs Crighton when
she poured the tea were bizarre.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Mrs Crighton. “But he’s adopted, you know. My
husband couldn’t …well you know …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t listen to her, Miss Price,” said Mr Crighton.
Presumably strengthened by Dorothy’s presence, he bawled “I’m sick of that lie,
Muriel.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I’m sick of you denying it, Paul,” said Muriel, quickly
reverting to her normal tone of voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t worry,” said Dorothy. “Everyone has wicked ancestors,
so a few wicked genes might have come down your line somewhere.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what I say,” said Mr Crighton. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then they were all on your side,” said Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Considering that Muriel Crighton had just declared that poor
Paul was not capable of fathering a child, she was merely adding insult to
injury.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t talk like that, Muriel. Miss Price will think we are
depraved.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy felt the urgent need to change the subject.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think I could have another of these lovely little
cakes?” she said. “Did you make them, Mrs Crighton?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No you didn’t,” said Mr Crighton. “I got them from the
little baker’s down the road before I left for the station. They cost a pound
each, but they are worth every penny to see you again, Miss Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it was your idea,” said Mrs Crighton. “You are not
taking any more of my household money for frivolities,” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t listen to her,” said Mr Crighton. “ They’re out of my
pocket money and she’ll eat any we leave over, so tuck in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Changing the subject had been a stroke of genius, Dorothy
decided. Mrs Crighton had dropped the subject of Betjeman’s origins in favour
of lying about the cakes, though Mr Crighton was not going to let her off that
lightly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were jumping into bed with that postman at the time,
weren’t you, Muriel? Or was it the milkman?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crighton scowled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thought I didn’t notice, did you? Well, I did.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy wondered if there was any point in continuing with
her visit. These people were at each other’s throats. She could imagine that
Betjeman’s upbringing had been fraught with emotional conflicts he could do
nothing about. A sensitive little boy, he had probably become the loopy guy he
was through emotional neglect. For Dorothy, the only way forward was to get
back to where she wanted to be with her investigation and then make a dignified
exit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All that is no concern of mine,” Dorothy said, “but you
really should try to get on a bit better. I have some news for you and I can’t
tell it if you go on being nasty to one another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s the stress, Miss Price. I’m sorry,” said Mr Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Paul is sorry, but I’m not, Miss Price. Get to the point,
please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shut up, Muriel,” said Mr Crighton in a continuation of his
new braveness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you,” said Dorothy. “I’ve always thought that
Betjeman was on some sort of high when he confessed to murdering Laura Finch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My son never took drugs, Miss Price,” said Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not from drugs, but possibly from films he had watched or
comics he had read.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He never read anything. He was not quite literate enough,”
said Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He wasn’t literate at all. I would say he was illiterate,”
said Mr Crighton. “He might have looked at rude pictures.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t start that again,” shouted Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know what your husband means,” said Dorothy. “Anyway, I
always had my doubts and now someone has turned up who might be the killer. She
had a motive. Betjeman didn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t you believe it,” said Mr Crighton. “The boy was
infatuated with Laura Finch. She’d been a prostitute and he fancied her. Then
she asked him to do up her garden. Dealing with the garden beds rather than
hopping into hers was not what he had in mind. He was insulted. Iat upset him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know that about that Finch woman,” said Mrs
Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t know everything, Muriel.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That is not a very strong motive,” said Dorothy. “He might
have been working on changing her mind. She was no good to him dead. I have a
stronger suspect.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who?” the Crightons said together, harmony retrieved for a moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone from Mrs Finch’s chorus,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Funny you should say that,” said Mrs Crighton. “We’ve had
one of those women here a few times. She wanted to see Betjeman, but he can’t
have visitors except us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When was she here last?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not long ago.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I had the feeling she was checking up,” said Mr Crighton.
“She always seemed relieved when I told her that Betjeman had no chance of
release.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Even though it was lie,” said Mrs Crighton.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s very interesting. Can I show you some photos?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy produced photos of the two dead women that she had
received on her mobile when she was in the train to Oxford. ‘Just in case’,
Cleo had written.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was it one of these two women?” Dorothy asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Definitely not. I don’t know who those women are,” said
Mrs Crighton, “and they look dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So would you come to an identity parade and picked out the
one who did come here?” Dorothy asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The penny’s dropped, Miss Price,” said Mrs Crighton.
“You’re from that black woman’s agency, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cleo Hartley is coloured, but she has great wisdom and
integrity, Mrs Crighton. If you want us to prove your son’s innocence, you’ll
have to stop talking like that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She will,” said Mr Crighton, for once seeming to be
stronger-willed than his spouse, “and we will attend any meeting you want us
to. I want to see my son outside those prison walls and in his nice bedroom
upstairs even if he is too mentally challenged to live with us all the time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s the spirit,” said Dorothy. “I don’t think I need to
say any more.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crighton seemed pacified, so much so that she offered
Dorothy the rest of the fairy cakes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can share them with Miss Hartley,” she said. “No hard
feelings and thank you for coming. “I’ll get a box for them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Crighton looked flabbergasted. What had come over Muriel?
Had she come to her senses at last? Or was it more likely that the promise of
freedom for her son had gone to her head.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the time Dorothy got home it was too late to phone the
Hurley cottage, so she sent Cleo a text message and was in return invited to
breakfast. Gary would want hear about her mission.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It should be mentioned that although getting everyone
organized and fed had been left to Cleo all day Friday except for the excursion
to see Mrs Crown,, Gary had been an active agent in getting all the kids to bed
that evening and was currently having second thoughts about actually becoming a
domestic animal with home-keeping a priority. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thankful that he had more than enough to do at HQ now he was
also obliged to head investigations the drugs squad used to cope with, he had
to admit to himself that although he wanted to tell Cleo about the impending
Fargo questioning and hear her comments on it, he was not sorry <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the questioning was not going to happen until
next morning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black;">“Too tired?” said Cleo as she
served their nightcap of milk coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That depends<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on
something making me tired,” said Gary, swinging himself up from a horizontal
position on the sofa. “How about you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Try me!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-56546692298316599202017-08-23T08:10:00.000+02:002020-03-25T10:38:01.383+01:00Episode 12 - Visits II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Friday cont.</b><br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A phone call to the hospital in an official capacity
revealed Kate Crow’s current address. Gary decided to go there himself
immediately. He did not want her forewarned. An interview with the Norton
brothers could wait. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Gary needed to know what had really happened at the
hospital, not least so that he would be armed against the inevitable reactions
of the Norton brothers when they appeared or were brought in.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mia Curlew would accompany him. Working in twos was common
practice and advisable. On the drive he told her what it was all about. Mia was
sure they were going to have an informative visit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"That could depend on how guilty our Mrs Crown
is," said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t butt in unless you ask me to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do what you think fit, Mia.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate Crown lived in a very small semi on the edge of
Middlethumpton, right next to a bus stop and in a long terrace of small abodes
with tiny gardens. Gary felt a bit mean since Mrs Crown was probably in bed
asleep after working all night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A small, wizened man opened the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes?” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary showed the man his ID badge. The man jerked and looked
alarmed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chief Inspector Hurley, Mr Crown. And this is Sergeant
Curlew.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Police? Where’s your uniform?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Plain clothes division, Mr Crown,” said Gary."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not Mr Crown,” said the man.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So who am I speaking to? Mrs Crown lives here, doesn’t
she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. She’s my sister. I’m John Smith. I came to live
here after Mr Crown passed on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mia was amused by the thought that there was actually someone
named John Smith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry about Mrs Crown’s loss, Mr Smith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not and neither is Kate. Mr Crown did us a favour by
dying and leaving Kate this house.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought that continuing the dialogue on the doorstep
was not going to get them anywhere. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’d like to speak to your sister, Mr Crown,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s asleep,” said Smith backing into the hallway and
raising his voice considerably. Gary responded by raising his.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It can’t be helped. Ask us in and we’ll wait while you get
her up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s on nights. She’d be cross with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Get her up, please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ve got to talk to her,” pleaded Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary and Mia were eventually shown into the parlour.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate Crown had heard her brother’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>deliberately raised voice telling Gary
repeatedly that his sister would be cross if she didn’t get her rest. She
emerged from her bedroom wearing a flannel nightie and looking like someone who
had been torn out of a deep sleep.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What do you want?” she said, squinting at Gary and Mia.
“I’m not dressed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We have to talk, Mrs Crown,” said Mia. “Shall I get you a
bathrobe?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I ‘aven’t got one.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The woman folded her arms across her plentiful chest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get you my dressing-gown, Kate,” said Mr Smith<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It won’t fit me,” snapped Mrs Crown, who had at least twice
the girth of her brother. “Get us some tea, will you Alfred?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alfred dutifully disappeared into the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want him bothered,” she said in a low voice. “He’s
not well, you see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He told us his name is John,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s because you ‘re police. He doesn’t like the police.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"That's not an excuse for giving a false name,"
said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"His name is Alfred John Smith, Miss. What's wrong with
that?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Sorry. Nothing at all," said Mia, anxious not to
upset their chances of hearing anything worth hearing from the woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are here to see you, Mrs Crown, not your brother,” said
Gary. ”We won’t keep you up long.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Good. I want to go back to bed," she said.
"I'm on night duty."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell us about last night, Mrs Crown,” Mia said, pulling the
woman gently onto the sofa and taking her hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary nodded approvingly. Mia was having a calming effect.
Kate’s Crown’s facial expression relaxed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was asleep,” she said. “Nothing happens at night and I
can’t run around as much these days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then you should give up night work, Mrs Crown,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t afford to. My brother needs the pills they have at
the hospital. My brother has H.I.V. and a bit of AIDS, you see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s why he looks so old. He isn’t much older than me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Considering that Mrs Crown looked ancient though she can’t
have been in more than her late fifties, Mia thought that was a bit rich. Kate Crown
was not much younger than Grit, Gary’s mother, Mia mused. But they were like
chalk and cheese. Where Grit was stylishly dressed and had a big personality,
this ageing night nurse looked broken and pathetic. She was stout and walked
with difficulty in her ancient carpet slippers. Where Grit dressed in matching satin
nightie and negligée, Mrs Crown wore an old-fashioned washed-out flannel nightie
and had pulled a hairnet over her curlers. Worry furrows crossed her brow. She
had reddened eyes and a quavering voice. Her hands twitched nervously. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary and Mia exchanged glances. They felt sorry for her, but
they were there to find out what she knew about the two premature deaths, not
to empathize.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you were asleep, you did not see anyone come into the
ward, did you?” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown shook her head.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or perhaps you did see someone but did not want to say who
it was over the phone, Mrs Crown,” said Gary and Mia thought he was being
premature with such an assumption.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phone?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was you I talked to, wasn’t it, Mrs Crown?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown’s gaze shifted from one side to the other to avoid
looking directly at the questioner. It was common practice. Most people know
that you can read a lot from the way people use their eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you get paid to take that nap last night, Mrs Crown?”
said Gary quietly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown gripped Mia’s hands. The gesture was like an
admission. Gary’s shot in the dark had paid off. Cleo would have been proud of
him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The woman nodded fearfully.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know who it was,” she said, “but forty pounds is a
lot of money.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where is the money now?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s in the tea-caddy. It’ll pay for …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The weekend shopping, Sir,” said the woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not your brother’s pills?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I get them from friends,” she lied.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you see the person who gave you the money?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown shook her head. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She came from behind.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She?” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was wearing some kind of scent. Sickly like. Smelt like
geraniums.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It could have been aftershave, Mrs Crown,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m on a ladies’ ward, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary did not ponder on that argument.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know what happened next?” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I drank something. I remember that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you drink?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“V…Vodka - with water.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you always drink vodka when you are on duty?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I only have a nip or two when I want a rest,” said Mrs Crown.
“It relaxes me and I have to swallow my pills.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Pills?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Aspirin,” said Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought the unidentified visitor might have dropped
something into the glass. KO drops were tasteless and colourless and quickly
poured out. The lights were possibly very dim in the nurse’s room if the woman
had gone there for a nap. If there was vodka in the glass, Mrs Crown might have
drunk it all. He reflected that Mrs Crown was lucky to be alive. She would not
have tasted anything amiss with her drink and she had been drinking before that
stranger turned up so that a sleeping drug of any kind would have worked
faster.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you really did go to sleep and only woke up when it got
light,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d taken a headache pill,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That might have made you sleep longer,” said Gary. A
cocktail of aspirin, vodka and KO drops would certainly have knocked her out
for hours. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would you recognize the person who gave you the money, Mrs Crown?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so. I’m n…not sure. It was dark. P…probably not. I…
I… Perhaps the smell…I’m a poor woman…” Mrs Crown garbled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want the money,” said Gary. “It’s yours, Mrs
Crown.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you wake up and hurry into the ward only to find two
women dead?” said Mia,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hurrying things along.
Mrs Crown could not take much more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary walked to the window and looked out to give her more
time to regain some kind of composure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone screamed,” said the nurse. “That’s what woke me up.
A patient screamed that there was a body on the floor.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was that the body of the woman who had died of heart
failure?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What about the other dead woman, Mrs Crown?” Mia asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In bed. She had a pillow over her face.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you remove it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I looked at the patient and then put it back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did Mrs Crown
think that was the way to deal with the dead? But at least it made it unlikely
that she herself had smothered Eileen Norton. Had she already connected the
smothered woman with the stranger who had been and gone? Gary mused that the Sister
Goodman had intimated that patients had been smothered before. The police were
never informed of those incidents. He wondered what other secrets the hospital
cherished.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you do then?” Mia asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I drew curtains round the two beds, told the other patients
not to worry and asked them what they wanted for breakfast. Most of the ladies
had fortunately recovered enough to be moved or go home, so there were only
three patients left for me to wash, not counting the dead ones.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you quite sure that you don’t know who gave you the
money when you were resting, Mrs Crown?” Gary said without approaching thw
woman.. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m quite sure,” said Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mia signalled to Gary to let her deal with Mrs Crown before
sitting down again next to her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me who visited the patients during the day yesterday,”
she said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary wondered how Mrs Crown would react. She was not
officially at the hospital during the day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I only know from the register because I was at home all
day, Miss. The heart patient was too poorly to get visitors. Miss Norton had a
visitor in the late afternoon. That’s all I remember from the register.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you only came in for night duty, I expect,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. One of the other patients told me about some visitors
when I came on duty. She was upset because no one had been to see her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did she know the names of any of the visitors?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. But the patient said one was a friend from Miss
Norton's choir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That god-damn chorus again, mused Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did the patient know her name?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think it was Barbie or something like that. The other
patient who saw her said she was a large lady – like a prize fighter – and she
smelt funny.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That must have been Knowles, Gary decided. Was the funny
smell <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like the geraniums Mrs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crown had found unpleasant?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have only one more question, Mrs Crown,” he said. “Think
carefully before you answer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it true that you phoned one or two people to tell them
about the dead women?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown hesitated before admitting that she had wanted to
speak to Miss Hartley, but a man had answered the phone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was me. Miss Hartley and I live together,” said Gary.
“Why did you want to speak to my wife?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought she could help me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you didn’t ask for her,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was surprised that a man answered,” said Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Surely you don’t think Miss Hartley has no private life,”
said Gary and earned himself a stern look from Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did you want Miss Hartley to help you?” Mia wanted to
know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown hesitated again – a moment too long for Mia’s
liking.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell us, Mrs Crown. We can see that you are troubled,” Mia said
in a coaxing voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I meant to ask her about my brother’s pills, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not to tell her about the dead women?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know why I told the man that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m glad you did, Mrs Crown,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What about the pills?” Mia said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I get them from the pharmacy, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you pay for them, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cash, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It occurred to Gary that someone was selling pills for his
own profit, but he did not pursue that line for the moment. Pill-trading was not
a new offence. He would pursue the case later. He would have to, now that HQ
had no drugs department.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”I’d got a phone-call,” Mrs Crown said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who from?” Mia asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anonymous?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did the caller want?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The caller told me to keep the pills deal to myself,” said
Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary wondered if the pill-dealing and the murders were
connected.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was it a man, Mrs Crown?” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was all muffled – it gave me the creeps,” said Mrs
Crown. “I pay for those pills. I don’t steal them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"But someone probably does, Mrs Crown,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you take that phone-call as a personal warning, Mrs Crown?"
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"The hospital tells us not to call in the police. They
make such a fuss."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What has that got to do with you being warned?” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It could have been the hospital if they had found out what
was going on, couldn’t it?” said Gary, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown looked fearful. The hospital would in that case be
a member of staff who was running scared of trading in stolen pills.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mia realized Mrs Crown was frightened of something and did
not know what.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I waited till I was at home so as not to be caught on the
telephone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought it was all a tangled web. He gestured to Mia
that they should leave. He did not think they would get anything more out of
Mrs Crown at present and he wanted to talk to Chris about that pill-trading
before asking Mrs Crown any more questions about who was selling her the pills.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mia and Gary went towards the front door. Gary turned to the
woman and said<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just to recap, you slept for a long time, didn't you, Mrs Crown?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“From about two o’clock. I did a round before that. The
patients were all asleep in bed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was really appalling. A stranger gets as far as the
intensive ward and gets the nurse to take a long break by giving her a
knock-out drug, smothers a patient and leaves unnoticed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have a favour to ask you, Mrs Crown,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown was clearly relieved that the interview was over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I want you to show me those AIDS pills, Mrs Crown.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get them,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll go with you, Mrs Crown,” said Mia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Gary expected, the pills were in a plain white box. Gary
made a show of looking at it, extracting a couple of the pills without Mrs Crown’s
knowledge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They look all right to me, Mrs Crown. Who sells them to
you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I get them when I come on duty, Sir. From a doctor in a
white coat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are they helping your brother, Mrs Crown?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’re keeping him alive, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 212.65pt;">
It was mid-afternoon before Gary
got away from HQ. He and Mia had discussed the interview with Mrs Crown. Mia
would write a report, but not publish it just yet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 212.65pt;">
Gary tried to find out more about
Kate Crown’s past, but drew a blank. She had probably got things wrong in the
past, but there was nothing in national police records. Gary decided that Cleo
should take a look at her before he came to any conclusions. To that end he had
spoken to Chris and acquired the equipment necessary for a small blood sample to
be obtained from Mrs Crown that day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 212.65pt;">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was gasping for a coffee by the time he got home. He
looked exhausted, but Cleo had the sense not to say so. She thought the blood
test was a good idea. Any residue of a sleep-inducing drug would probably still
be in the blood and would verify the woman’s story as well as opening up the
possibility that something strong had been put into her glass and knocked her
out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the children had been organized with Grit, Roger and
Toni, Cleo and Gary drove to Mrs Crown’s house. During the drive, Gary briefed
Cleo on his previous meeting with her. Cleo thought Mia had been the right
person to go with him. She did not say so, but they both knew that however
informal a chat was, it was better not to go alone. It was too easy to get into
difficulties, if they were accused indecency, for instance. That had happened
often enough, though fortunately not to Gary. But he had been subject to badgering
b< females anxious to win him over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They arrived at Mrs Crown’s house at about four. She was up
and about, but she did not look well and her brother wanted her to stay at
home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate Crown did not agree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They can’t do without me,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In the state you’re in, you should be in one of those hospital
beds, not running around others,” said her brother.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alfred John Smith was surprised to see the Inspector again,
and even more surprised when Gary introduced Cleo as his personal assistant.
They were led into a poky back room filled with a dining table and chairs for
eight and overlooking a back garden that needed urgent attention. Mrs Crown resumed
her eating. Gary came straight to the point.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need a blood sample, Mrs Crown,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown looked up from the dubious-looking stew she was
eating.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What for? I haven’t done anything,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t think you had, Mrs Crown,” said Gary, “but we need
to test for that sleeping drug you may have been given. Then we can use the
result as proof that you had nothing to do with the deaths of those patients.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d like that to happen, wouldn’t you, Mrs Crown?” Cleo
added.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Crown nodded assent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Get a clean syringe, Alfred,” she commanded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alfred John Smith went to fetch one from the medicine
drawer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No need, Mr Smith. I brought everything with me,” said Gary
to Smith’s receding figure. “I won’t need a lot of blood, Mrs Crown. Just enough
to test for that drug.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the nurse’s own assistance, which he didn’t need but
got anyway, the required amount of blood was drawn out of a vein and a plaster
stuck on the place where the needle had entered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You did that well, Inspector,” said Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We learn how to do that in our police training.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you ever delivered a baby, Inspector?” she said, now
using a conciliatory tone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but I have witnessed a couple.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We have two sets of twins, Mrs Crown,” said Cleo, “and my partner
did not faint once, did you, Sweetheart?” she added, looking at Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That amused Mrs Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is the inspector your husband?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did you guess?” said Gary for want of something to add.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know a pair of lovers when I see them,” she replied. “You
get an eye for them when you’re in my job. They come with flowers and some try
to get into bed with the patient. I knew you and that lady cop were not on
intimate terms. And now I can see why.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But lovers aren’t always married to one another, Mrs Crown,”
said Cleo. “I wasn’t married when my husband and I became lovers, but not in a
hospital bed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was still married,” said Gary, joining in with the
slightly bawdy dialogue that seemed to lift Mrs Crown’s spirits, “and my
ex-wife was carrying on with some Spanish jerk or other.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I married someone else before I realized that this guy
was going to hang on to me forever.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The atmosphere I the room was now almost pally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you a midwife, Mrs Crown?” Gary said. He was ready to
move on after the queasy feeling that had come over him when he saw Mrs Crown’s
blood. He thought of the midwife who had sold his twin brother to the highest
bidder 42 years previously; then there had been that dreadful case of the
midwife in Upper Grumpsfield who sold babies stolen at birth pretty much in the
same pattern as that of his brother; and now there was this old woman, laughing
at the earthy chit-chat, her dead patients forgotten.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was married,” she replied with pursed lips, all signs of merriment
gone in a flash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What happened?” Cleo asked. She had had the same thoughts
as Gary and now looked at Mrs Crown closely. But her thoughts were elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He wore his socks in bed,” she said, bursting into laughter
at the memory. He died with them on. He always left his socks on even if we …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll let you into a secret, Mrs Crown,” said Cleo hurriedly.
“I would not let my husband into my bed with his socks on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Smith was looking on, surprised at the spirit in his
sister.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary wished he was somewhere else since Mrs Crown was
looking at him with the eyes of a connoisseur. Nurses saw naked men frequently,
of course. Gary was embarrassed at the thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He warms his feet on his duvet now,” Cleo continued,
smiling broadly at Gary, then whispered (or my back), which brought tears of
merriment to Mrs Crown’s eyes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Relaxed from the repartee, Mrs Crown related the gruelling
details of her final messy midwifery assignments and how she had been allowed
to choose night duty or retirement<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on a
very meagre pension. She had chosen nights because of the money, justifying the
easier access to drugs for her brother’s AIDS. Her face clouded over as she
talked about her sudden widowhood and now there were these two deaths while she
was on duty; deaths that could mess up her life and bring her brother’s to a
premature end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then to everyone’s surprise Kate Crown started to howl. She
did not sob quietly into the floral overall she wore at home, but let loose a
series of wails that would have done a professional mourner proud.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary went back to looking out of the window, as he had done
when Mia took over. Cleo noted the gesture and tried to comfort Mrs Crown. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m going to ring the hospital and say you are sick,” she
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They won’t believe you. They’ll say I’m chickening out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’ll believe me when I tell them I’m calling from the surgery,”
she said, winking at Mr Smith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alfred had come into the room quietly and wondered about his
sister’s temporary merriment. He nodded his approval of Cleo’s proposal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo went into the hall to phone the hospital and returned
with the instruction that Mrs Crown was to take time off until she felt better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They just want to get rid of me,” the woman wailed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They can’t do that, Mrs Crown. Not while you are ill,” said
Gary. “But you can do me a little favour.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One hand washes the other, Inspector.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you attend an identity parade sometime soon?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose so,” said Mrs Crown. “But you’ll have to tell me
what to do.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get Sergeant Curlew to help you. You liked her, didn’t
you, and you’ll be paid for coming.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary brought the meeting to a close as soon as he could. He
was cheered by the prospect of getting Mrs Crown to attend an identification
parade. He left a £20 note on the table, explaining that she could spend it on
a taxi to police headquarters and he would drive her home or get a colleague to
do so. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After handshakes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all
round, Gary and Cleo drove to HQ where he delivered the blood sample personally
to Chris for analysis. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long will it take?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not long. I know what I’m looking for,” said Chris. “If I
find it, I’ll just get the DNA registered and that’s all for now. If there is
no foreign substance in the blood you may have a problem with the woman’s
innocence.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I already have a problem,” said Gary. “Mrs Crown has no
witnesses to what went on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had waited in the car so that she could <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>make a few phone-calls in cases not connected
with HQ. She also phoned home to check that everything was OK. Gary wasted no
time at HQ and was thoughtful all the way to Upper Grumpsfield. He was not
surprised when Cleo cut across his musings with some of her own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mrs Crown could have been telling lies the whole time,
couldn’t she? Someone who buys drugs that have clearly been stolen is capable
of that and other misdeeds,” she reasoned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Since she had lived in that house for some years, the nasty
experiences she talked about probably happened at Middlethumpton General,” said
Gary. “I’ll make enquiries. Someone might remember something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d hate her to be on the level of that terrible woman we
investigated in that stolen baby case,” said Cleo, “though she is rather awful,
isn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To be honest, I don’t think Mrs Crown has the brains for
advanced criminal activity, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d be surprised what seemingly simply structured people
can do if they are driven to it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not really surprised by anything – except what you do
to me, my love.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t ask you to explain that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure I could.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-10200551354817529812017-07-09T19:47:00.000+02:002020-03-25T07:58:35.425+01:00Episode 11 - Visits I<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Friday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary’s morning was stressful, not least because he had had to
go to the hospital to ask questions about the two deceased women.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ward sister was visibly distressed by the visit of a
police detective.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If I had been on night duty it would not have happened,”
she sniffed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“I don’t see how you could have prevented the death of the
heart patient if it was sudden,” said Gary, “but I’m really worried about the
second woman. I was told that she had been smothered.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t tell anyone,” said the sister. “The person who
told you could have been the night nurse. She was on duty until eight because
night duty always includes washing the patients and getting them ready for the
day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you came in for eight and were confronted with those two
tragic events, were you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hadn’t the night nurse raised the alarm earlier? I thought
those patients died during the night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know when it happened,” said the sister. “I did not
come into the ward until I came on duty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But the woman who was smothered could not have smothered
herself, Sister, so who came in and did it?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary’s voice was taking on a hard edge. He was glad he had
come himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t it customary and even necessary to keep a constant
watch on seriously ill patients?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I said I wasn’t here,” said the sister, who was getting
nervous and snapped at Gary. “If the night nurse was negligent, she’ll have to
answer for it, won’t she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not blaming you, Sister. What is that night nurse’s
name? I’ll talk to her. I expect you saw her when she was leaving.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The nurse looked uncomfortable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well not exactly. I was a bit late.” She admitted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So the patients were left to their own devices, were they?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. A helper was here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What kind of a helper?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A trainee. I was only a few minutes late.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary refrained from commenting that the hospital authority either
did not have a very clear idea of who should be responsible for patients, or
was unaware that a beginner was allowed to supervise an intensive care ward. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I see from your badge that you are Sister Amy,” he said and
detected a slight shrinkage in the woman’s self-confidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was shirking responsibility part of being on the staff of
that hospital? Had Nurse Amy lied in order to get her own head out of a
possible noose?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sister Amy looked in the duty rota. Gary’s observation was
accurate. She was now seriously worried. What if this policeman reported her
late arrival?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mrs Crown was on night duty. She’s been here a long time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s close to retirement age and she was getting on when I
came ten years ago. I was a junior nurse then,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t there an age limit for night duty nurses?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are glad of anyone we can get,” said the sister.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What is you surname?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Goodman,” she said reluctantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not planning to put a nail in your coffin, Sister,”
said Gary. “But I need to get at the truth, whatever it is. I’m not here to
apportion blame.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary wondered what the woman was afraid of. She had not been
on duty when the deaths occurred. Some past demeanour must be troubling her
unless it was just that she started work late. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you make a habit of starting work late?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The woman looked startled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s only happened once or twice in ten years, Chief
Inspector,” she said, flipping through the pages where incidents and visitors
were recorded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There is no record here of anyone coming into this part of
the hospital during the night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone must have got in and out again without being seen
then,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or somehow the pillow suffocated the patient by itself,”
said Sister Amy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now it was Gary who looked startled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you really believe that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It has happened before when patients have pulled the pillow
over their face because they did not like the light and the nightlight has to
stay on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Really? You must tell me more about that. It probably means
that such cases were not thought suspicious. Were the police ever called in?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. We were not going to call in the police this time if
nobody had spilt the beans.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary thought the situation was rather sinister and the
woman’s attitude somewhat perfidious.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But someone did spill the beans. To me, Sister. Where are
the bodies now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Downstairs in the mortuary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you take me to them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t leave the ward, but I’ll phone down and someone
will collect you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry about all this,” said Amy Goodman, hoping to
rescue some of her credibility.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not as sorry as those two in the mortuary,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary hated the idea of inspecting the two dead women, but he
knew it was expected of him. He wished he was at home having his second
breakfast, but he would have to go through with the ordeal of visiting the dead
before he could leave. He would take photos of the corpses and pass them on to
Cleo. She might know if they had been Finch Nightingales. Or Dorothy would
know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile it was clear that both dead women would have to be
subjected to police autopsies. Made a note of the name plasters stuck on the women’s
arms, then notified Chris and instructed the medic on duty in the mortuary that
a police inquiry was unavoidable and that the post mortems would be performed
in the pathology lab at HQ, to which end the corpses were to be sent there as
soon as possible. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Death certificates had been issued by a young hospital
doctor in his first week at the hospital. He had not even been properly aware
of the poisoning event. The certificates were inadequate given that the women
had been admitted to hospital for food poisoning or, as at first suspected,
some tropical disease or other. Everyone dies of heart failure, but people
don’t usually smother themselves, so at least one death was suspicious. Gary speculated
on whether both woman had been in the chorus as it would substantiate the idea
that someone was intent on wiping out the whole lot of them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Away from the macabre chill and stench of that mortuary,
Gary stood outside for some time breathing in the fresh October air. He phoned
Cleo to describe his hospital visit and send her the photos he had taken of the
two corpses. Chris’s autopsies would deliver the exact causes of death. It was
not necessarily a question of hospital negligence, but it was possible that
someone had crept in unnoticed and killed one or both of the women.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whatever the outcome, the hospital security issue would have
to be raised. The wellbeing of patients could hardly be guaranteed if there was
such under-staffing that someone could get in and out of the ward without being
seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary drove home from the hospital. He would go to HQ later.
He needed time out after that mortuary visit. A few minutes spent with his children
invariably refreshed him and brought that feeling of warmth back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m charging my batteries,” he told Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can see that, Sweetheart. At least Jane Barker is still
alive,” she said. “I don’t suppose you got to see her, did you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She wasn’t in the intensive ward. I’ll go back when things
have normalized,” Gary said. “The ward sister I talked to was not on duty when
it happened and I suspect that the night nurse, a woman close to retirement age
and possibly unwell, was asleep when the women died. It’s common practice for
night nurses to rest when everything is quiet. Someone must have got into the
ward and smothered the younger of those two women. Do you recognize her, Cleo?
I got their names from their labels in the mortuary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. Eileen was there when Laura took the chorus. Dorothy
talked about her being timid and cottoning on to that butcher woman Dorothy
thought was in charge when Laura’s back was turned. That’s why I remember. She’s
one of the Norton clan.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And the Nortons are all related. There’ll be ructions when
the brothers hear that one of their relatives has been murdered,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What about the other woman? I don’t recognize her,” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does the name Brenda Simpson ring a bell?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. She might have been one of the visitors to that open
evening. What do you think the Norton brothers will do?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ask me another. They are good at retribution, but they hire
others to do the dirty jobs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope it’s not too late then. Eileen’s murder might be revenge
for something they did. They will not come to you unless it’s to make trouble
and they may even know who killed the woman.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They may not yet know about the deaths.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect they have informers at the hospital, too. People
do almost anything for money. Maybe the same person phoned me. It sounds like
you have some interesting investigating ahead of you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d better get a move on then. My main concern is what will
happen if gang warfare breaks out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If they know who the killer was, they will take the law
into their own hands, won’t they?” said Cleo. “I never knew a mid-sized market
town could house such criminal minds.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve stopped being surprised.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d better be careful, Gary. I don’t want them turning
nasty on you for want of a better victim.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure that plenty want to get their own back on the
Nortons and Eileen may be the first of several sacrificial lambs. Are you OK? I
can’t do justice to my second breakfast this morning. I’m running late as it
is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At least you spent few minutes with the little ones.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not enough. It’s never enough.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t stay out all day,” said Cleo. “We need you here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need my beautiful family, especially after a dose of a
sobbing ward sister and corpses in mortuaries, not to mention the prospect of
angry Nortons turning up at HQ.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was true to her word. She phoned the Crightons,
whose phone number she had fortunately noted because she had had doubts about
their son’s guilt at the time of Laura’s Finch’s murder and had kept track of
them when they moved to be near their dreadful son. Up to now, she had seldom
been able to express her feelings on the matter, not least because Gary was
sure that Laura’s murder had been solved satisfactorily. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was relieved that she would at last be able to talk
to the Crightons. She wanted to clear Betjeman’s name now she was sure that
Barbarella Knowles had had both a motive and the incentive to kill Laura.
Despite the fact that Betjeman had been rude to her and guilty of despicable
behaviour, Dorothy was determined to right the wrong she was sure had been done.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was not sure that Jason Finch had been killed by
Betjeman, either. The girl Jessica had hated her brother – if he was her brother – for what he had done
to her sister Rebecca. Dorothy wanted to get at the truth about Betjeman’s
involvement in the most horrendous crimes to occur in Upper Grumpsfield for
decades. The interview with the Crightons might bring her a step further and
might even lead to justice being done if it had not been done already.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Crighton had been delighted to hear from Dorothy and
looked forward to her visit. Betjeman was in a prison near Oxford and the
Crightons had moved to the vicinity to be near him. Dorothy could catch a train
to Oxford and Mr Crighton would meet her there at four that very afternoon. The
sooner the better, Dorothy told Cleo when she reported her arrangement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You know what you need to find out, don’t you, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, but I’ll have to improvise. I’ll get them to talk to
me before I say much if I can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is vital to know if Miss Knowles has been anywhere near
them. If she is as guilty as we think she might be, it’s possible that she went
there since she knew that Betjeman Crighton had confessed to a murder she had
committed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know that. Knowles may have visited them to make quite
sure that Betjeman was sticking to his story,” said Dorothy. “But at this stage
I can only be the friend visiting them, Cleo, and telling them to contact me if
there’s a problem.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If Knowles did go there she will have told them that she
was his friend and wanted to express her sympathy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll have plenty to think about on the train this afternoon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Phone me when you get back, however late it is. I’m
curious!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So am I.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t tell the Crightons more than they need to know!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first thing Gary did when he got to HQ was to ring Chris
Marlow to notify him that the two dead women named Eileen Norton and Brenda Simpson
would be brought in soon for the autopsies. He was less worried about that than
the knowledge that a woman nearing retirement age and possibly not fit to be on
night duty should have been in charge of a whole ward. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I went to the hospital, Chris. Someone saying she was a
ward sister had rung me about the women dying, but it was not the ward sister I
met. Sister Amy was adamant that the police were not usually called in when
someone died and she was not on duty when the phone call came to the cottage.
So I have no idea who the informer was. Presumably the Norton brothers were
also informed anonymously since it was one of that clan who was smothered. The
older woman apparently died of a heart attack.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The fatter the management team gets at that hospital, the
less management there seems to be.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you not normally notified about mysterious deaths?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not by nurses, Gary. A doctor might call me in if he
suspects something. In this case the first I heard about it from you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The sister I saw this morning was adamant about not being
on duty during the night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And the caller, whoever it was, had a guilty conscience,”
said Chris, “especially if she did not give her name. It was a woman, wasn’t
it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, and I agree with you,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Are you sure the caller was not looking for
Cleo?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I answered the phone because I was nearer. I've no
idea. Cleo was not mentioned."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Talk to the nurse who was on night duty. She probably
made the call – she could have panicked."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll have to find her first. She’s a Mrs Kate Crown, too
old for night duty, but the hospital is forced to take what they can get. The
nurse I talked to, Amy Goodman, said that they did not like to call the police
in. I‘d also like to know how the caller had our private phone number.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s on Cleo’s card, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So it is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So it’s strange that the caller did not ask to speak to her,
and where did she get Cleo’s business card?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cleo should find out and remove your home number. I think
you should change it, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll see to that rightaway. Sister Amy said they’d had more
than one incident of patients being smothered. She said the patients did it
themselves so the police were not called in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder how many of the dead slip through the net at that
hospital,” said Chris. “I mean the sudden, unexpected deaths, of course: The
ones that should have been reported. I don’t get to perform autopsies unless
there are suspicious circumstances, or the dead person is found somewhere.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The caller can only have been the nurse who was on night duty.
She was evidently so unnerved that she phoned the cottage. But why did she not
ask for Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I expect she
was in such a state that she was ready to talk to anyone who would listen. She
was going against house rules telling anyone," said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One of the two women was smothered, Chris. You don’t
suppose that nurse could have done it, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not unless it was euthanasia.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what Cleo would say. Do you think it’s possible to
smother oneself? The ward sister said it had been known to happen.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve never heard of that happening. Someone must have
helped things along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so, too. Let me know your findings a.s.a.p,
please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does that mean another weekend in the lab, or will Monday
do?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I'll leave that decision to you," said Gary
knowing that Chris could never leave work undone. “I’d better track down that
nurse today in case she decides to do a bunk or even take her own life.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll take a close look at those corpses.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not leaving this job till all this is sorted out,
Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a relief, Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To be honest, I was planning to take a month off before
starting my new job.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me about it, Chris!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m going back to general medicine, Gary. On board one of
those huge cruise liners. I’d like to see some of the world after so long
working in the cellar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have my blessing, Chris. It was a good decision.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Back to work now, Gary. Hasta la vista!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come to dinner before you leave, Chris. Charlie will talk
to you in Spanish.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope I can keep up with her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-29063370542911250132017-07-06T22:11:00.001+02:002020-03-24T20:09:18.866+01:00Episode 10 - In remembrance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Friday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo did not want to have any more contact with Robert. One
reason was his continuing resentment of Gary and the children, though he had
not wanted any.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Once Cleo knew why, she had decided that he felt some silly
kind of humiliation since fathering children was normal, and being rendered
infertile after an accident was not. He seemed unable to get his life
straightened out. Even the veneer of a happy marriage had been stripped off and
replaced by humiliation in the form of Edith’s blatant sex drive and his fear
of that. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith had no idea that she had upset his equilibrium with
her sex games, which in turn had led to his conviction that she must be insane.
He had submitted to Edith’s advances because he was unable to defend himself
without physical force against her, so he endured her violence and had ultimately
reported her to the police, despite his embarrassment at being raped. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert’s relief that there was no way Edith could become
pregnant through her antics with him was the only comforting reward for the
reluctant lover. He had even confided in Gary once he had accepted that the cop
was a more suitable partner for Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She would get her children (she had already borne one before
she even married Robert, who was too cowardly to admit that he could not be the
father). Cleo was sure that Robert was happy to go back to the single life once
he had prised himself from Edith’s attentions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What made meetings with Robert in the shop even more
stressful was the renewed presence of her mother in her old job. Cleo had not
seen much of Gloria since the affair with Gabriel, Romano’s younger brother,
and her mother’s subsequent move into Gary’s old flat in Middlethumpton,
although that had made up for Cleo’s divorce from Robert, whom Gloria had
thought was the ideal partner for her daughter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gloria had returned to selling meat in the wake of her affair
with Romano, having ditched Romano’s younger brother Gabriel to become single
again. She had a guilty conscience with regard to her daughter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was happy despite Gloria prophesizing the opposite.
Would it be going too far to say that Gloria had fancied Gary at the time when
she thought Robert was the right man for her daughter? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t it time you visited your grandchildren?” Cleo said
when she saw that Gloria was alone in the shop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you want me there?” said Gloria. “I thought you were
angry with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I am, but your grandchildren aren’t and you have no reason
to be mad at any of us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve been very busy with the dancing school,” said Gloria.
“Have you come to see me now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, as a matter of fact I need to talk to Robert.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s in the back,” said Gloria, as Robert came into the
shop having heard Cleo’s voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Want a special order?” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert could still not bring himself to talk normally to
Cleo, though he had walked out on her. He liked to think she had played a trick
on him, which was of course absurd. Cleo had put much more effort into saving
her marriage than Robert had ever done. For him marriage was a contract, like
the one with the meat wholesaler – a necessary evil but contracts were binding.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not at the moment. I need to talk to you about something
else.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go on then.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can we go to your flat to talk? It’s business and I need to
record the answers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert looked alarmed, but he instructed Gloria to keep
shop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not going to seduce you, Robert, so you needn’t be
scared,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gloria was not amused. She did not like to be kept in the
dark about anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert’s flat was not particularly homely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Coffee?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you’re making some.” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I am. What this all about, Cleo? You usually avoid me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Correction. You avoid me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose it’s a bit of both,” said Robert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert thumped around in his little kitchen making coffee.
Cleo switched on the small recording device she carried around.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The coffee was good. It had taken tongues of angels to get
Robert drinking coffee the way Cleo much preferred it to weak tea that was
invariably lukewarm thanks to quantities of fresh milk that had preceded it
into the cup. She had to remark that he had fortunately not shaken off the good
habit of serving great coffee and gone back to what Brits fondly thought of as
a good cuppa. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert said nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need to know exactly what you saw the night you found the
chorus woman dead behind the church hall, Robert,” she said as she helped
herself to a rich tea biscuit and dunked it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just like old times,” Robert said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It sure is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I told Gary everything,” said Robert ambiguously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo knew that Robert had told Gary about Edith’s abuse. She
definitely wanted to avoid that topic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can we just run through what happened again?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that really necessary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Robert. Let’s start where you walk behind the church
hall with Edith on the way to the vicarage.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We walked that way because it’s quicker,” said Robert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How long were you with Edith before that, Robert? Did she
visit you at the flat?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Unexpectedly,” said Robert. “I made sure she did not stay
long by taking her back to the vicarage immediately. I had to promise to go in.
To be honest, I was glad that corpse rescued me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you see anyone?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you hear anything?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I heard a car revving up,” said Robert. “Funny. I’ve just
remembered that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you see the car?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. But I remember remarking to Edith that someone was in a
hurry.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s something we can follow up,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary thought you would prefer to talk to me than attend an
interview at HQ, so if there’s anything else you can add about that night,
please tell me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert was satisfied with that explanation, especially as it
removed the need to go to Police Headquarters and make a statement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I was really glad to have an excuse to leave Edith at
the vicarage door.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t care about that angle,” said Cleo. “That part of my
life is over.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I left Edith at the vicarage kitchen door and hurried back
without seeing anyone. The woman lay there just as she had when we saw her
first. I had phoned Brass immediately after finding the body and he arrived at
the same time as me. That’s all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK, Robert. I believe you, and so will Gary.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And he’s right to. I’m a busy man. I have customers to
supply. I don’t tell fairy tales.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert hesitated before he told Cleo that Molly Moss had a
new chef.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo remembered that she had thought Robert and Molly would
get together, but Molly had probably thought better of having such a sexless
person in her bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you stopped helping her out?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. I had no time anyway.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert blushed. He could have kicked himself for mentioning
Molly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you are still seeing her, I take it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. Now and again. Platonic, of course.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think that’s a great idea, Robert. You need not be
embarrassed about it, but I doubt if Molly wants a platonic partner in the long
run.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want you to get any silly ideas about Edith or
her,” said Robert. “We are just acquainted. That’s all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like to see you happy again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From Robert’s tone Cleo realized that he did not intend to
discuss his life any further. She would tell him something he would no doubt
hear as gossip if she didn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass is engaged,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass? Engaged? Isn’t he past it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you past it, Robert?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are not talking about me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass is your age and he made a sudden decision.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the news had not spread yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can see you want to tell me, so get it over with,” said
Robert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass is going to marry Edith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Cleo’s surprise Robert burst out laughing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not joking,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is a joke,” said Robert. “How can he be so foolish?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He loves her,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And she loves anything in trousers or preferably without,”
said Robert. “She’s a vampire.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass does not share your opinion, Robert.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Send him here and I’ll tell him what she’s capable of. On
the other hand, get your lover onto it. He knows how I suffered.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I am married to Gary, and i If you are going to talk to me
like that, it’s time I left,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then leave, Cleo. That suits me fine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert complimented Cleo out of his flat and followed her
down the stairs to the shop. Cleo collected some steaks and other goodies
served by Gloria and left, pushing the twins who had been looked after
(gastronomically) by their grandmother to keep them occupied, and were
clutching slices of spam ‘to keep them going’. Cleo assured her mother that she
was welcome any time, but should phone first.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo wondered if Robert was shocked rather than amused by
the idea that Brass and Edith had found one another more or less overnight.
Surely he was not jealous?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She had learnt a bit more about that incident behind the
church hall. She would tell Gary and he could instigate an investigation into
the identity of the driver of the car that Robert had heard leaving. It was now
Friday. It was unlikely that anything involving the chorus members could be
achieved before Tuesday, when they could be questioned about their cars and who
had parked in front of the church hall on the previous rehearsal night. The
hospital would have now reported the deaths of those chorus women. It was not a
topic she wanted to discuss with Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was pessimistic when he heard about Robert’s
observation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It could have been any car,” he commented. “How can we
possibly reconstruct a crime from such a vague observation?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that was true, of course. There was only one possibility
and that was that the car was seen by someone at the time, and there was only a
vague time frame.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary checked with Brass that he had arrived at the church
hall at about midnight, he thought. That narrowed down the time when Robert
could have heard a car leaving, but it made it less likely that the observation
was relevant. Brass assured Gary that he had walked past the church hall
parking space and not seen any car there. But of course, the car in question
had long since gone, so that information was irrelevant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo proposed to Gary that she could call on residents on
the other side of the road who had a view of the church hall since the car
might have been parked on the road. Better still, Dorothy would ask around.
That was the best way of not attracting too much notice. Gary thought that
would not do any harm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later, Dorothy took a walk in the church hall neighbourhood
after visiting Brass at the sub police station. What if someone had complained officially
about the noise of a car speeding off noisily shortly before midnight? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass was attentive, but with an air of confidence he had
not had before. Dorothy found herself asking if he had had good news.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In a way,” he said. “How can I help you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did anyone complain last Tuesday night about a car driving
off noisily?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was on duty, but I don’t remember. I’ll look in the
book,” he said, and did, the book being the office notebook, electronic media
not yet having ousted the hand-written notes for general purposes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On Tuesday someone reported that a car had made a terrible
noise and woken her and her dog,” he read. “May I ask why you want to know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where did it happen?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Near the church. Somebody always notices if a car exceeds
the speed limit or revs up loudly,” he said. “If I had to chase up all those complaints,
I’d spend my whole life doing nothing else, what with noisy cars, neighbours’
branches hanging over into the next door gardens, funny business going on in
respectable houses, and all those missing pets.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So I assume you just record the grievance and leave it at
that, do you?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“More or less.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy thought that was why writing things down in longhand
was more convenient than recording them on the computer for HQ to see.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder if the complainant had mentioned the number
plate,” said Dorothy as she leafed through a recruiting brochure. She did not
want to appear too eager.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have a number entered here,” he said pointing at it. “The
thing is that I was not at the office that evening, but I had to turn out to a
tragic incident behind the church hall because Mr Jones phoned me on my private
home number. The noise complaint came in on the answering phone and was written
up next morning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you did not connect it with the death of that poor
woman,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Erm, no.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I expect you had your mind elsewhere,” said Dorothy, and
Brass thought she was referring to his tryst with Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not then,” he said, enigmatically. “So you know about
Edith, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was rather astonished that the conversation had
taking this turning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Should I? Is she ill?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I … I’m going to marry her,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was now very astonished.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What a nice surprise,” she said. “I didn’t know you were
that friendly with her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It all happened rather suddenly.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since Dorothy knew what had happened to Robert rather
suddenly, she was quite astonished that Brass could be so laid back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Didn’t she … how can I put it? Didn’t she get a bit
over-eager,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Over-eager?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You know about Robert Jones, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass fell silent and Dorothy felt embarrassed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, forget it,” Dorothy said. “I don’t know what I’m
talking about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s all right. I wasn’t born yesterday, Miss Price,” he
said, winking broadly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was time to get off the subject of Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you find out who the car belongs to, Sergeant?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t see why not. Give me a minute or two to contact the
authorities.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy gave the recruiting brochure more of her attention
while Brass made inquiries about the car. Presently he got back to her. He wasn’t
supposed to pass on such information, but he did so after cautioning her not to
reveal who had told her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is our secret,” she whispered. “I never reveal the source
of my information.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy hurried home to phone Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The knowledge that Miss Barbarella Knowles was the owner of
the car that was heard racing away from the church hall occupied Dorothy’s
thoughts all the way home. She would not go around asking questions until she
had discussed the situation with Cleo, she decided. A number plate belongs to
the car, she argued. The driver could have been someone else – perhaps the car
was hijacked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Barbarella Knowles, who answered to several names, none of
which suited her muscular, masculine appearance and aggressive temperament, was
one of the chorus women who had mobbed Laura Finch out of her director job.
Although charges were not brought against any of the women because Laura was apparently
murdered by someone who actually confessed and made further investigation into
her death seem unnecessary, Dorothy had always had her doubts. Even the
evidence damning the person who was held for guilty but insane had not
convinced her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These days, Babsi, as Miss Knowles now preferred to be known
had lost some of her hot-bloodedness. She had been an enthusiastic, loud bellowing
if tuneless member of the Laura’s chorus. It was Mrs Finch’s vanity and
arrogance that had incited Knowles to join the rebellion that led to Laura
being rejected as MD. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had not thought that Laura’s murder and the chorus
were necessarily connected, and Laura was dead before she could be ejected as
chorus mistress, but doubts had niggled her<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>because Betjeman Crighton was an exhibitionist and clearly not of sound
mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowles had given up being a door-keeper at the women’s gay
club in Middlethumpton and gone back to her original job of butcher. Dorothy
thought she must use up a lot of her belligerence wielding an axe to meat
carcases. Babsi Knowles was not popular, but she was respected and buttered up
to because she was the sort of person it is better to have as a friend than an
enemy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Realizing that Dorothy was desperate for someone to talk to
about what she had newly experienced, Cleo invited her to the cottage to enjoy
an espresso that day and report on anything she thought relevant. Dorothy loved
drama and she thought Cleo would enjoy her news better if they were sitting
face to face, so being invited to coffee was exactly the right thing for Cleo
to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary would have to be told, but Dorothy stressed that it was
important to know who else of the original chorus had been at the rehearsal.
Margie, the dead woman, wore the Finch Nightingale chorus badge to say so. It
would be better to have more facts to fall back on before Gary was put in the
picture. Margie had called herself Meg in the old days. Why had she changed the
name? Was that important? Dorothy did not know any of the women well, but she
remembered thinking of the book 'Little Women' when she saw the name Meg and
wondering how such a sullen woman got such a pretty name. Dorothy also
remembered from her investigation into Laura’s murder that Margie had been one
of those who follow the herd rather than lead it, so latching on to Babsi
Knowles might have appealed to her and might even have inspired her to change
her name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had to point out that they would have to find out why Knowles
had had a hold on Margie and possibly on other chorus women.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if Margie Busby was killed elsewhere and simply parked
on the marigolds?” Dorothy mused.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I doubt it, Dorothy. There was blood on the stones. Robert
and Edith heard the squabble and both women were at the auditions.-“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo wondered if she should tell Dorothy about the noisy car
Robert had heard, but Dorothy was obviously eager to pursue her own train of
thought and Cleo was determined to argue the point. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anyway, wouldn’t that be too much of a risk, Dorothy? After
all, there was a lot of coming and going at the church hall that evening. It
would have required perfect time to coordinate that kind of action. And anyway,
why dump a corpse where it was bound to be discovered very soon? There are
plenty of lonely spots round here,” she speculated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could be right, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then we should concentrate on someone who might have a
grudge against her. Was there something going on between her and Knowles, for
instance? Knowles was at odds with pretty well everyone and it didn’t take much
to annoy her. Could she have become violent? Was she trying to start something
with Margie?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you mean a relationship?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could be. We definitely need to know if Knowles been
talking or arguing with Margie and if they had gone outside to continue their
argument without witnesses,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Both were heavy smokers,” said Dorothy. “That would be a
reason to go outside.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But not enough of a reason to kill,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Remember Laura singing karaoke, Dorothy. That was
excruciating. She did not have a pretty voice although she did not smoke.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Finch Nightingales nearly all sang as if they were
chain smokers. And Laura sounded like a smoker but had never touched a cigarette,
Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was not usually prone to nostalgia, but now she
remembered that Laura had complained bitterly that her singers were all smoking
as though it were going out of fashion. Not that it would have made much
difference to the sound, even Laura had been heard to say. The women were there
mostly for other reasons, including getting out the house for a bit,
cultivating friendships, or just nattering. That had not changed down the years
and was still a feature of women’s choruses. Where men’s choruses stuck to
football and beer, women tended to go for gossip and handicrafts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or was something else going on, such as blackmail?” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary can find out about the bank accounts, Dorothy. It’s
worth a try and he never ignores your hunches these days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Laura drank like a fish,” said Dorothy. “She claimed
alcohol oiled the throat, but in time it cripples the vocal cords.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That doesn’t surprise me. Do you remember that night at
Delilah’s bistro when they were getting the karaoke machine going?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, that was awful,” Dorothy said. “In her younger days
she did not make quite such a dreadful noise. I didn’t know then that Laura was
an alcoholic.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If course, remembering the past will not solve the current
case,” said Cleo. “We should ring Lisa Keys and ask about the attendance list.
Someone must have seen or heard something and we have to find out who it was.
Very often people see or hear things and don’t measure any importance by them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On the other hand, Margie might have known something about
Knowles and threatened her with exposure,” said Dorothy. “That would be the
blackmail I mentioned. It would be a perfect motive wouldn’t it? Many murders
have been done to preserve secrets. Blackmail is something a person like Miss
Knowles would react to if she saw a danger to herself, though no doubt she
would have no scruples about using it to extort money from others. There were
plenty of stories about her criminal activities.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like to know if Knowles was the last to leave the
church hall,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I assume that they all left by the main door, so it’s
unlikely that anyone saw Margie lying behind the building.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are still assuming that she met her death where Robert
and Edith found her. I wonder if Chris is of the same opinion,” said Cleo. “I’ll
phone Gary now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Do you think there could have been a time gap, Gary?
Perhaps Robert and Edith got there a bit later than they said. Extra minutes
before she was found might be vital to the case. Chris could only have
identified the approximate time of death."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I think Robert would have said something if the corpse
had been cold, Cleo."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Would he know that by just feeling for her
pulse?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I don't know," said Gary. “It’s a relevant
question. I expect Chris measured her body temperature. It will be in the
report. But I’ll put you through to Chris. He can answer more forensic queries
than I can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What was the woman’s surname?” Chris wanted to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Busby,” said Dorothy, chipping in over the loudspeaker..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hello Dorothy. Ah yes. I remember now. Someone identified
her as her sister. The woman fell on the rockery and that’s what killed her, if
I remember rightly,” said Chris. “There’s no reason to think she was taken
there later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And no reason to assume that she wanted to fall, Chris,”
said Dorothy. “Why would she have been in the flowerbed?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have to admit that it is strange. She must have tripped.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or been pushed,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, she might have been drugged. There were traces
of marijuana in her blood.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Meaning that she could have behaved abnormally,” said Cleo.
“She might have smoked a joint immediately before her death.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s probable, in fact,” said Chris. “There are a host of
reactions to psychoactive drugs and you can’t really predict when they will set
in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There might even be a cigarette stump among those
marigolds,” Dorothy said. “Have you looked?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not yet,” said Chris, mollified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary had told him of dealings with Dorothy when she got an
idea in her head. Like a dog with a bone, he had said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll send someone, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo thought it was time she asked the question that was the
original reason for talking to Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you take her body temperature, Chris?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was still very warm when we found her, Cleo. She had
not been dead more than an hour or two.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So not long enough to have been dumped there from somewhere
else, Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s possible.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“According to what I just heard you discussing with Dorothy,
Margie was not fully in control of things, was she?” said Cleo. “Supposing she
had smoked pot more than once that day? That might make her aggressive or at
least likely to do something she would not otherwise have done, and that could
apply to anyone at that rehearsal, resulting in a fight that ended with Margie
Busby dead.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you thinking of someone else, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I might be. If there was a murder, there was a victim and a
killer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Exactly, but there’s no way of finding out unless someone
saw something,” said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Drugs would explain why Miss Busby was not given to joining
in,” said Cleo. “Dorothy remembers that Laura Finch had problems with some of
the women. They may have been high.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never thought of that at the time, Chris, but we’ll have
to take it into account, won’t we,” said Dorothy, chipping in again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As far as I can judge, when men get together they tend to
drink and joke a lot; when women get together some gang up against the others,
and nothing surprises me about what women take to get through their lives with
machos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are biased, Chris,” said Dorothy, remembering Chris’s
preference for the male sex.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t go in for machos either, Dorothy,” said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Men aren’t all machos, Chris,” said Cleo. “And in my
experience it’s individual women who conduct hate campaigns unless you have
them ganging up for a mutual cause such as happened against poor Laura.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy wondered if Chris was the right person to talk to
about the case. He was a scientist, but he was not a psychologist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Dorothy’s theory that Laura Finch was killed by one of
the chorus might not be far from the truth,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve been looking at that case again,” said Chris. “I could
not find anything conclusive. That guy Betjeman confessed and there was enough
evidence against him, Cleo. The rest is history. In fact it’s all history,
isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“History could be repeating itself,” snapped Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll think about that,” said Chris. "Thanks for
phoning."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Thanks for helping," said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were not very nice to Chris, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to apologize.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know, but I have other things on my mind. For instance, I
wonder if Margie’s sister knew something about the relationship between Margie
and Knowles.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Assuming there was one,” said Cleo. “You could ask her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mary Busby is as fat and gossipy as her sister was grumpy
and sullen. She worked at a bakery, but later moved to a chip shop if I’m not
mistaken. Mary was a better singer than her sister, but Margie supported
whatever mischief was going on. Knowles was the ringleader, Cleo. If Meg alias
Margie was part of the gang, there must have been some sort of friendship
between them. I’m sure of that. I expect Knowles knew how to manipulate weak
people.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Was Laura capable of throwing people out?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure she was, at least in the early days, but she
needed the numbers, however much they squabbled and however excruciating their
singing was,” said Dorothy. “Of the two sisters, Mary probably got on Laura’s
nerves most but Laura needed both of them. Margie, or Meg as she was called in
those days, was the sly kind who played her cards close to her hand. Very
Victorian. Women had a lower status in those days despite Britain having a
female monarch. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I keep thinking of that novel about what went on in America
at that time. In ‘Little Women’, Amy pinched Jo’s boyfriend, if I remember. Meg
was the ideal housewife while Beth was the sickly one who died. It was all
happy families on the surface. I always thought the whole of those novels was
ingratiating to the men who were pictured as gone to war to fight for their
women and America. These days the same thing goes on in those trash novels you
can buy at the supermarket, where the men, often doctors, can do what they like
and women are the weaker sex, but with wiles to top their rivals and win the
prize – someone’s husband, usually.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have an astoundingly good memory, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Musicians need one.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But discussing trash novels will not solve our crimes, will
it?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You heard what Chris said, though he was cagey, I thought,”
said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He used to just do what Gary asked him to and did not
indulge in reasoning himself. So his forensic tests could be said to be routine
and possibly inadequate,” said Cleo. “His assistant then, that terrible woman –
Grace I think her name was - probably kept Chris’s nose to the grindstone. But
I doubt whether they discussed anything that went beyond forensic facts.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris really annoyed me just now. Miscarriages of justice
often happen when the first available person is blamed for a crime,” said Dorothy.
“What if it wasn’t Betjeman Crighton who delivered the fatal blow to Laura? He
confessed and his evident madness seemed to add to his authenticity.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Laura was stabbed three times by two people, and the other
guy took his own life because he thought he was guilty,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But neither knew of the other, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s speculation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Didn’t Laura also have a blow to the head?” said Dorothy.
“It could have been inflicted before the stabbing and yet caused death through
brain damage,” said Dorothy. “She may just have fallen and bumped her head.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll phone Chris again. Surely that’s in the autopsy
report.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry if I dragged up that old Laura Finch case, Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You made me nervous so I read the autopsy report <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>again,” said Chris. “There really was a bad,
but fairly fresh bruise on Mrs Finch’s forehead, but it was not possible to
tell when or how it had been inflicted and it was assumed that she hurt her
head when she fell.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it could have been inflicted when she was standing and
facing someone, couldn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was never given consideration, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it is possible, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose it is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And that could mean that the person who hit Laura Finch
might also be guilty of causing Margie Busby to fall onto that rockery.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have to say yes to that, but we have no evidence.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s a start though.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In Mrs Finch’s case, and judging from the autopsy report I
now have on screen in front of me, the order of injuries was never clear. The
head injury was not blamed for her death since it was deduced that the stabbings
killed the woman.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But a fall could have been the true cause of death,
couldn’t it, if the blow caused deadly brain damage exacerbated by the fall?”
said Cleo. “That must definitely have happened before the stabbings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Theoretically yes,” said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She could have been lying there unconscious when she was
stabbed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s possible.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So the actual killer might have got away with it,” Cleo
concluded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is possible. Where is this all heading, Cleo? It’s too
late to reopen the case. Bontemps stabbed one and he’s dead. Betjeman stabbed
twice and confessed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is not too late, Chris. We have a guy behind bars for
life for a murder he may not have committed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’d be behind bars anyway, Cleo. He’s as mad as a hatter
and he definitely killed Mrs Finch’s son Jason.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He confessed to both murders. Let’s leave sleeping dogs
lying shall we? That mad guy can’t be let loose on humanity whatever he has
done or not done.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But his parents were devastated, Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s the misfortune of parents who rear a criminal,” said
Chris. “But didn’t they disown him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Play-acting, Chris. Defending their honour,” said Cleo. “Supposing
someone knew about that incident of Laura Finch’s head injury, it might be a
reason to dispose of him or her,” said Cleo. “Supposing someone else killed
Jason and he covered up for that person for reasons best known to himself?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s getting too farfetched for me,” said Chris, who was
becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea that there could have been
negligence over the Finch murder investigation. “Are you now thinking of blackmail?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe not in Mrs Finch’s case, but it might have been
Margie Busby’s downfall if she indulged in blackmail. After all, if Mrs Finch
was being blackmailed, her death would have pre-empted any further attempt at
extortion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are opening a can of worms, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll need to establish a connection between the two
killings if Miss Busby’s death was not an accident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t see why, Chris. Can you send me the autopsy
findings from the Finch case? I’d like to compare them with Busby’s.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you got someone in mind, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could have.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The problem is that one punch-up is as good as the next if
you have no witnesses, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you’d be prepared to go along with my theory, wouldn’t
you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Chris, “ to a point, even though it casts a
shadow over my work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want that to happen,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I’m sure you don’t. I should also point out that
exhuming Mrs Finch might not be of any use.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If my theory is correct, that would not be necessary,
Chris. We are probably dealing with someone who now believes she is in the clear,
since the only witness to that fight between the real killer and Laura has been
exterminated.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Meaning Busby, I suppose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but she knew who. All it took was to follow the person who
was following Mrs Finch that afternoon and chanced to witness the blow to the
head, then made a quick exit as a witness with an axe to grinds.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you going to tell me who you suspect?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not yet,” said Cleo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Goodness, Cleo, you really laid into poor Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m afraid I did, Dorothy, but that was the only way to
prepare him for what is to come.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And what is to come?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A thorough investigation into Knowles to start with. But
she must not be suspicious. We’ll have to be cautious. We need to know if she
and Margie Busby had contact aside of the chorus nights. Did Busby have more
spending money than usual? Did she have enemies apart from Knowles?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In other words, did Knowles kill Laura with Margie Busby as
a witness who decided on blackmail rather than reporting the incident to the
police?” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Her motive would be money,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could call in at the chip shop,” said Dorothy. “Margie’s
sister Mary went to work there after she had been ejected from the bakery
because she took more than her share of buns home every day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who told you about the buns?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was common knowledge. Some chorus women found it funny,”
said Dorothy.” They thought Mary was better off at a chip shop since you could
not count the chips.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How awful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Margie, o rather Meg went to work at the chip shop as well,”
said Dorothy. “Those were the days when I often had to play for the rehearsals.
Margie was not liked or even likeable. It might be a reason for contact between
her and Knowles. They were both outsiders. The sister might know if Margie has
recently had more money to spend. I don’t suppose she earned much. My only
worry is that the sister will recognize me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’d better go myself, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"She’s bound to recognize you, Cleo."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Then I’ll ask questions in my official capacity. So
much for opening an antique shop.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can do that any time, Cleo. We might be investigating a
serial killer and I can take on any mission where I would not be recognized.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So your retirement has been shelved, I take it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For a start, I can’t wait to find out the truth about
Betjeman. I’ll pay his parents a visit, shall I? He might have said something
important when his head was clearer. I expect he has been having therapy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure if you can cure such mental aberrations,
Dorothy, but let’s drink to success. I’ll make us a fresh latté.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What are you going to tell Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want him thinking he was negligent, Dorothy. At the
time we were all convinced that Betjeman was guilty. We are investigating the
Margie Busby case, if he asks. But he probably won’t. He’s so wrapped up in the
idea of another baby”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You didn’t tell me that,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I meant to. It wasn’t planned, but fate has overtaken us
again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t criticize you. Your children are all delightful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks,” said Cleo. “Will you get in touch with the
Crightons?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, and you will drop in for some fish and chips, I take
it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When in Rome….”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neither Cleo nor Dorothy had mentioned the car speeding off
on the night of Margie’s death. Both were conscious of that. Were they rivals?
Perish the thought. Was Dorothy withholding evidence or simply waiting her
time? Brass knew, but he would not say anything because he had revealed
information to Dorothy, and that was forbidden. Dorothy could not say where she
had got the information. She would have to make sure she was present Knowles’
questioning and spring the information on them all. She didn’t need to prove
that she was a very proficient sleuth, but she wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-52648811227752247872017-07-03T22:28:00.001+02:002020-03-24T11:00:10.097+01:00Episode 9 - More soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Thursday cont. then Friday October 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had made rather a fuss when Jane Barker was
discovered nearly unconscious on her sofa, TV blaring, artificial electric fire
full on. That was in truth partly because she had recently rather neglected her
neighbour, who went on and on about ‘dear Jim’ although her husband had most of
the time been referred to as ‘that dratted man’ when he was alive.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>When Jane had regained her equilibrium, Dorothy, who was
sure Jane had eaten some of the soup after all, told Dr Mitchell she thought that
Jane had inadvertently laced her soup with toadstool poison because chorus
ladies had ended up in hospital after eating it it had amatoxin. Jane eventually
said that she had eaten almost none at the rehearsal. It tasted bitter when she
tried it a day later so it had probably gone off overnight. The large dose of
sleeping pills had knocked her out, she insisted.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The doctor wondered if the two drugs had fought it out in
Jane Barker’s body. But on her own account she had slept round the clock and
felt better. In fact, she had slept from late afternoon on Wednesday until she
was found on Thursday, and was surprised that anyone had missed her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy hurriedly packed a few things into a bag for Jane
and accompanied her to the hospital because Dr Mitchell had recommended that
she get some tests done and stayed under observation just in case.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jane insisted that her insomnia and resulting overdose of
sleeping pills was from missing Jim. Dorothy did not believe her and wondered
how she would take the news that her soup had poisoned about a dozen of the
chorus. She was bound to find out at the hospital.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was not until after breakfast on Friday that Cleo was
able to discuss her phone call with Fay Colby the previous day, or even tell
Gary the astonishing news about Brass. Gary had walked all around the village
including the chip shop, where he bought enough to feed a regiment. The rest of
Thursday had been taken up with getting the family organized. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toni had finally been able to unpack and make
herself comfortable in Grit’s spare room, after a bedraggled little group of
strollers had returned in the pouring rain and had to be dried off and re-clothed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later, Gary called Nigel, who was still working in the
office, to hear of anything he should know about. He had drawn a blank except for
being told that the hospital was pleased with Jane Barker’s condition and she
could go home next day. Otherwise HQ was simply ticking over as they waited for
forensic findings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy had phoned to say she had caught the first bus home
after accompanying Jane to the hospital, but had not been able to talk to her
properly because Jane had not let her get a word in edgeways.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At least she’s OK, Dorothy. That’s more than you can say of
some of the other soup swallowers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure she is innocent, Cleo. I don’t think she understands
what has happened.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Chris look around in the house?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only briefly. But a thought has occurred to me: What if
Jane tried to take her life? She did not get on with Jim towards the end, but
she’s lost without him, and I don’t think she would ever admit it, even to
herself. She was unconscious from a large dose of sleeping pills, not from the
soup, which she had only nipped at because it tasted bitter, she said.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe she left a note, Dorothy. Do you still have the house
key?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I do, as a matter of fact. I’m going to look after her
house plants until she comes home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you could check if Jane wrote a suicide note, couldn’t
you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose I could, but would that be right? Jane is still
alive, after all. I don’t want to pry and she may want to destroy that note.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d rather you saw it than the police,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re right. I’ll go now,” said Dorothy. “I’ll phone you back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo mused that a suicide note might be convenient if it
took Jane completely off the list of suspects, though that argument did not
hold if she wanted to kill herself for attempting to kill the chorus members.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo did not think that the silly woman was really under
suspicion, but unless proved otherwise, she would remain a suspect in the
poisoning of the chorus women for some time, however improbably that was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few minutes later Dorothy phoned back to say that she had
found nothing to suggest that Jane Barker intended to kill herself, but her
packet of sleeping pills was empty, so she had possibly not thought of writing
a note before swallowing them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She must be grieving for Jim, whatever she thought of him
when he was alive,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” said Dorothy. “Jane has
made a great show of mourning for him, but she’s enjoying<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>being free to do what she pleases. I doubt
whether suicide has ever occurred to Jane.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But we can’t take her off the suspect list yet, can we?”
said Cleo. “Just as a precaution, I mean, and because we have to explain how
that soup was poisoned, even if it was by accident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting up and breakfasting with a comparative stranger in
their midst was a whole new experience for the Hurley family, though Joe, who
had taken it upon himself to jog to the baker’s for fresh croissants in honour
of Toni’s arrival, was later to remark that the girl was infinitely preferable
to Sonia, his ex-girlfriend, who had paid him an uninvited visit a while ago
and been complimented back to South Africa, much to everyone’s relief.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni had been briefed by Grit the previous evening and was
proving a godsend even on her first day. They would have a community breakfast
at Hurleys. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a totally chaotic hour or two with no one in charge of
anything, PeggySue was soon on the way to the nursery with Grit and accompanied
by Toni, who was wheeling the little twins for the outing. Cleo and Gary fed
Teddy and Tommy and drank the coffeepot empty several times. Charlie and Lottie
declared they were going to Cecilia’s house to watch a Barbie movie. All the
routines having been accomplished, and Gary, who was in no hurry to go to HQ, and
Cleo were glad to sit and talk while keeping a watchful eye on Teddy and Tommy,
who were now scrapping for a toy in the playpen. Cleo would take them shopping.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re hiding something,” Gary said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you think that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re smiling to yourself a lot. Can I share the joke?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m a bit speechless actually.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know about the baby,” said Gary. “So what is it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If I were to tell you an unlikely story of someone we know
going to marry someone else we know quite out of the blue, would you find it
strange?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That really depends on who it is,” said Gary. “For instance,
if Robert Jones were to announce that he is going to marry Edith I would be
appalled.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But she’s entitled to a little happiness after all the
drama.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So is Robert, but not with her, surely.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Edith has different plans.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a relief. I thought you were going to tell me that
Robert is tying some kind of knot with some kind of unlikely female again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Meaning me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You were an unlikely feather in Robert’s cap, my love.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have never resembled a feather,” said Cleo. “I’m talking
about Edith Parsnip.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Edith has set her sights on someone, has she? Not Brass,
surely!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Brass. The guy with surprising erotic talents that
satisfy even Edith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did he tell you that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not in so many words.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope he’s up to the village vamp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t that what you wanted to happen, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you seriously trying to break the news to me that Brass
and Edith are going to get spliced?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what he said.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You must be joking. Edith is not mentally stable, and
neither is Brass if he decides to marry the woman.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass thanked me for getting them together by getting you
to send him to her the other night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But that’s only three days ago.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Love at first sight. How long did it take you to decide I
was the right woman for you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About three seconds…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well there you are then.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose it’s a good idea if it makes them both happy, but
it doesn’t solve any of the crimes we have on our list.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are changing the subject, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you are avoiding it!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you are in denial on all counts. Apart from that tramp,
it’s possible that all the others were victims of accidental poisoning or
banged their heads on a rock.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t even know how many of the women will survive,
Cleo. The hospital is being very reticent and some are quite ill.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe the medics are waiting for you to ask.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’d better do so. Pass me the phone, there’s a love.
You are nearer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chief Inspector Hurley here. Can you put me through to
someone who knows what happened to the dozen or so women brought in with food poisoning?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose you mean Intensive,” was the reply.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If that’s where they are, yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll put you through.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was forced to listen to five minutes of supermarket
jingle before someone had time to answer his call to the ward.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Two dead,” the ward sister told him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did not actually ask that, but did I hear you say that two
are dead? Why were the police not informed?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All in good time. It only happened during the night. The
survivors have only just had breakfast.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll send a forensic team and a detective. I need an exact
report of how, when and why those women died,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All right. Just calm down. Shouting won’t get you
anywhere,” said the sister. “I’ve only just finished the breakfast round.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry, Nurse. It’s just that we may have murder cases
on our hands.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Listen, Sir. One died of heart trouble. The food poisoning
just gave her the push. The other one got a pillow over her face. I admit that
it could be suspicious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you mean she was smothered?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Probably by accident. It does happen, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wasn’t someone on duty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes Sir, but we are short staffed at night and Mrs Crown
phoned in sick and then came in late after all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll be over myself in an hour. I want to talk to a doctor
who can tell me what is on the death certificates.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes Sir.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you give me the names of the nurses on duty overnight?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only one, Sir. As I said before, Nurse Crown.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your Crowning glory, then,” said Gary as he rang off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was not necessary,” said Cleo, who had been listening
in. “You confused the poor woman.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s not as confused as I am. One night nurse and two dead
under suspicious circumstances. Some hospital!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All the more reason not to be enigmatic, Sweetheart.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If one of those chorus women was smothered and one fell out
of bed with a heart attack, I wonder how many are going to survive their
misadventure,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The plot thickens,” said Cleo. “All the more reason to find
out what happened to Margie that night before she was found among the
marigolds. There could be a connection.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d almost forgotten about her. But she was not poisoned
Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The deaths might not be connected, of course unless the
killer saw that Margie was not eating any soup and decided to use other means
of getting rid of her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But they could be, couldn’t they? You just said so,” said
Gary. “Wouldn’t that make Babsi the killer? Isn’t she the woman who went out
with Margie after they’d been arguing during the rehearsal?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to find that out, Gary. One thing is certain: Killing
off the Finch Nightingales is becoming someone’s mission in life.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That chorus always was a wasps’ nest,” said Gary. “I
thought it was because they disliked Laura Finch and wanted to be rid of her,
but there’s obviously more to it than that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Talk to Robert again. Maybe he forgot to tell you
something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You talk to him, Cleo. I’ll go to the hospital when I’ve
asked Chris to meet me there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could talk to Jane Barker while you’re there. Tell her
how glad you are that she is recovering.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I might just do that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-24611335027357967922017-06-23T21:34:00.002+02:002020-03-24T10:08:28.329+01:00Episode 8 - Toni<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Thursday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Gary stood waiting for the London Intercity, it occurred
to him that he had no idea whether the person he was meeting was male or
female. It was a good idea to hold up a sign to say who he was, even if he had previously
thought it was silly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Toni spotted the sign and rushed to Gary with a look of
relief on her face. He wondered if Cleo had been having him on when she said
she had ticked both gender boxes.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m glad you’re a female,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni looked at him and remembered Cleo’s cryptic words.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m Toni, I mean Antonia,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m Gary, I mean Chief Inspector Gareth Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow! Were you waiting for a guy?” said Toni, playing along
with what she decided was a game being played by Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t get me wrong,” Gary stuttered. “It just might have
been difficult with the sleeping arrangements otherwise.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni now looked at him in horror.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh blast, I didn’t mean it like that, either” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did you mean it then, Mr Chief Inspector? I’ll get the
train back to London seeing as I don’t seem to be your type,” Toni said. “I
came to help with your children. I did not come as a - what do you call it - concubine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where did you get that word?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I read a lot of historical novels in Denmark. Even some
royal people have no morals and you said something about sleeping arrangements.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, we aren’t royalty. We don’t go in for concubines in
our family, and even if we did, I would not be looking for one. I share my bed
with my wife.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a relief,” said the girl.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And let’s be quite clear on this. I’m not looking for a type
at all. We seem to have got off to a bad start.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We certainly have,” said Toni, and started to laugh.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But your English is perfect, so let’s get on the same
wavelength, shall we?” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary stretched out his hand for a cautious greeting, managed
a fatherly little smile and introduced himself again solemnly, again using his
full title and emphasizing that everyone called him Gary so she should. The
name Toni could have been male or female, he said, justifying his odd reaction
to her. Toni shook Gary’s hand firmly and announced that she was Antonia
Hansen, 19 and a student, and was he a cop like in the movies?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sort of, but in real life, like Barnaby in Midsummer
Murders, not in an action film. Is that all your luggage, Toni?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not all. I sent a big case on, but it won’t arrive till
tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. Let’s move then, shall we? My wife is at home looking
after the babies. My mother has gone to choose a wedding ring with Roger, who
is my boss. They live next door. My brother Joe and his girlfriend Barbara are
probably still at work and live in a bungalow on the other side of our cottage.
Joe’s daughter Lottie and my daughter Charlie are probably at their friend’s
house because they still have school holidays. Oh, and PeggySue is home with a
fever, but she normally goes to the nursery in the mornings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Talking about his family gave Gary’s mood a positive boost.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry I was rude, Toni,” he said. “Someone said
something to me a while back that got me worried.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Never mind, Gary. I’ve forgotten already. What a big family
you have!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We spread across three cottages, Toni. I think you’ll be
sleeping at my mother’s. We already have a full house.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni was relieved that the sleeping arrangements had been
settled, though she wondered about his mother’s wedding ring. How old would she
be? He was already quite old, she thought. Meanwhile they arrived in Upper
Grumpsfield, clambered out of the Hurley family van and transported themselves
and Toni’s luggage into Cleo’s cottage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Welcome!” said Cleo, who had a baby on each arm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni was astonished. Cleo was quite dark skinned and stunning,
she thought. Gary kissed his wife demonstratively and helped himself to Mathilda,
whom he introduced to Toni. Now he was in the bosom of his family, Gary was
happy again and it showed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you have experience of babies, Toni?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I helped out at a nursery last summer,” she replied.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me introduce you to Max then. He’s a very placid baby,
so he’s good to practice on. He loves to be cuddled and carried round. You have
him for a bit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni found herself cradling Max, who was looking at her
curiously through round brown eyes fringed with long lashes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s beautiful,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All our children are,” said Gary<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How many are there altogether? I lost count.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo answered swiftly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In order of age, there’s Charlie aged 13 who is from Gary’s
first marriage and I adopted her, PeggieSue is 3, Tommy and Teddy are 16 months
old, Max and Mathilda are just over 5 months old, and I’m expecting another in
about seven months. Those are all ours. Charlie’s cousin Lottie is mostly with
us. I think of her as mine, too,” said Cleo. ”The big girls are marvellous with
the little ones.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As if on cue, the two girls burst in and took centre stage
for a moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t have to look after the little ones all the time,
Toni,” said Cleo. “One of us grownups or the girls will always be on hand to
help, but it will be nice to have you here if you can face such a big family.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, if you are sure…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course I’m sure,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then so am I,” said Toni resolutely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s good news,” said Gary.” My mother should be back
soon to show you your room.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you eaten, Toni?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes thanks. I had something on the train.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry if I
confused you at the station, Toni,” said Gary.-<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo looked questioningly from one to the other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you going to tell me how?” she said. “Did Gary tell you
that he was expecting a young man?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think we cleared things up,” said Gary. “It was only the
name that irritated me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni nodded. “No one ever calls me Antonia.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No one calls me Charlotte, either,” said Charlie. “And
Lottie’s name is Charlotte, too. At school Miss Plimsoll, our class teacher,
tried to call us both Charlotte because she doesn’t like nicknames, but she
soon gave up because we both answered at the same time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You see, Toni,” Gary explained, determined to make his
point. ”My kids are fabulous and Cleo is the absolute love of my life. I would
never look for a concubine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo’s eyebrows rose. What sort of a tangle had the guy got
himself into?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A what?” Charlie asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone like out of one of Toni’s historical novels,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you spell it?” asked Lottie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll tell you later,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll look it up on the internet then I can read what it
means,” said Charlie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get my laptop,” said Lottie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I just hope you’ll explain that extraordinary statement in
more detail,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I said it,” said Toni. “I didn’t just read the word in a
book. I was warned about going to live in a strange house. Au pairs are
sometimes hired for the wrong reason. They discover they are meant to entertain
the husband, not the children.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you a concubine, Mummy?” Charlie was bound to ask.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I’m just a wife and mother, Charlie.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is a concubine like a geisha, Mummy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure, Charlie. Ask your Daddy or Wikipedia that
one. Let’s put Max and Mathilda in the playpen while Daddy gets PeggySue up.
She’s much better now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s go for a walk and show Toni where the nursery is. We
can take all the kiddies with us,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK if you can manage three. Tommy and Teddy will wake up
any minute and want a drink so I’m staying here anyway.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll take the pram and PeggySue can sit on the top if she
does not want to walk. Or she can enjoy the luxury of a piggy-back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s that?” Toni wanted to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary hoisted Charlie onto his shoulders to demonstrate, but
soon put her down, explaining that he preferred smaller passengers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll go with you, Daddy,” said Charlie. “Then we can ask
you about geishas.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you know about geishas, Charlie?” said Gary,
wondering how he was going to explain that fact of life to curious teenage
girls.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo laughed. She loved watching Gary’s consternation at
some of Charlie’s questions and comments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I see the little boys first?” Toni asked, planting a
kiss on Max’s forehead as she put him into the big pram to join his sister.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo led Toni into the kiddies’ room, where the two little
boys were taking their siesta very seriously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Which is which?” the girl asked, astonished to see how
alike they were.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Charlie will tell you exactly who is who, Toni. One of them
smiles and one pouts.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I love them,” said Toni. “I’m going to love being here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And forgive Gary if he’s sometimes a bit bad tempered. He’s
a lovely man really.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll try,” said Toni. “He was a bit funny with me to start
with.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He can be a bit of a pain sometimes, Toni, but he’s the
love of my life and he will think of you as one of his kids and certainly not
as a concubine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You remind me of my mother,” said Toni, spontaneously
hugging Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks, Toni. I appreciate that. But don’t tell Gary he
reminds you of your father. He’s getting an age complex and a grey hair or
two.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Gary, the girls and Toni were leaving, Grit and Roger
returned. Grit was flashing an emerald on her ring finger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We had to get engaged after all before buying the wedding
rings,” she explained.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A round of introductions, hugs and congratulations followed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni and Grit seemed to hit it off immediately.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You will stay with us, won’t you?” Grit said to Toni, who
nodded assent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s definitely settled,” said Cleo smiling. “I think
Toni was little apprehensive about being hired as a concubine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A what?” said Grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s no hanky-panky here,” said Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s that?” Toni wanted to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s when Daddy and Mummy get into bed together,” said
Charlie and earned herself a very stern look from Gary and a hoot of laughter
from Grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A rose by any other name,” said Gary, quite embarrassed
again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toni wondered whether she had done the right thing coming
there if she wanted to improve her English.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since Tommy and Teddy were still asleep, Cleo had time to
phone Karl von Klippen, librarian, who had a long memory for gossip and heard
plenty at the Library. She needed to check if he knew anything about the Fargo
family. He looked in the library database and their address was the same as the
one they had given at HQ. Surely they would not have done that if they did not
live there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo mused that it was easy to fool the authorities since
there was no ID system. She decided to contact Fay Colby, the registrar at her
marriage ceremony and later a client whose daughter she had managed to trace.
Even if Fay Colby could not get access to the information Cleo needed, she
would know how to get at it without asking why. Hoping she would find Mrs Colby
in her office, Cleo called her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Everything’s fine now,” Mrs Colby said, thinking that Cleo
was inquiring about the situation between mother and daughter now the drama of
the girl’s disappearance had been resolved satisfactorily.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m glad to hear that, but that’s not why I’m calling. I’m
hoping you can help me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If it’s a personal problem…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It isn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So how can I be of assistance?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect you read about that tramp being wrongly identified
as Dr Fargo, didn’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh yes Miss Hartley, I mean Mrs Hurley, but that’s all been
sorted out now, hasn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you know the old man, Mrs Colby? Do you know anyone in
the family?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They are not my style, Miss Hartley, though the doctor was
a nice person and had breeding.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But the relatives live in that beautiful villa, don’t
they?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I only once had to deal with the young pair. I thought they
were rather common …. Oh dear, I should not be telling you this.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did they want?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They asked about their great uncle’s will, if I remember
rightly. Why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s between us, Mrs Colby. Did the young pair also want to
get married?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They were married, as far as I could judge. I still do
marriages, but we have to fill in for other colleagues in other offices if
someone is off sick. I remember because I was so surprised to see that the old
man was dead according to the Gazette. Then read in Cop’s Corner that the body
was not his after all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was curious to know more about the workings of the town
hall. She ascertained that there was no record
of Dr Fargo’s decease so he was probably still alive or had been killed and his
death had been kept a secret.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It might be a coincidence that such an unusual name cropped
up twice in the same week,” said Mrs Colby. “I remember thinking there might be
some funny business going on and looked again for the death certificate, but at
the Town Hall you learn not to discuss anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo thought that Mrs Colby was confused about the Fargos
and not to be relied on for accurate information.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can understand that, especially if it was not your
department, Mrs Colby,” she said in a comforting voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Colby was getting agitated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They might have mislaid the document, you see, and I did
not want to sneak on a colleague, but I was curious about what happened to Dr
Fargo if his relatives identified him as dead before someone recognized the
corpse as a tramp frequenting that dreadful doss-house. I’m quite sure Dr Fargo
was not in the death register.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why aren’t the Fargos not your style, Mrs Colby?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To be truthful, I dislike the nouveau riche, especially the
young ones. The Fargo villa had been in the family for a long time before they
crashed in. It was also a medical surgery for skin complaints, Mrs Hurley,
until the doctor retired and the plaque on the house wall was taken down so
that patients would stop coming. I went once a long time ago with an allergic
rash. My daughter was not even born.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How old would he be now, Mrs Colby?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not more than 70. Maybe younger. He used to cycle round
that lake between Upper and Lower Grumpsfield on a racing bike. I saw him now
and again when I took my dog for a walk.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know him personally?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not really. I never had any skin problems worth mentioning
after that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Dr Fargo is not an old guy depending on a rollator.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Indeed not. He was quite a ladies’ man in his younger days,
I’m told. He lived alone after his wife died and a housekeeper looked after
him. But she also comes to do relief cleaning at these offices and I remember
that she talked rather disparagingly about Dr Fargo’s relatives. They had moved
in uninvited.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it’s normal for the young generation to look after the
old, Mrs Colby.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not in this case. That housekeeper was fired. She told
everyone who would listen about her plight and her worries about the doctor at
the hands of the young people, though she hinted that he now had a lady friend.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow! I’m glad you could tell me all that, Mrs Colby. Can
you tell me where I can find that housekeeper?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would you like me to phone her?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I’d rather know where I can reach her myself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’ll give you her phone number. Mrs Beatty does a bit
of cleaning for me privately these days. I try to support her where I can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s brilliant, Mrs Colby. I’ll let you know how I get
on, and I need a cleaner so I can say you recommended her, can’t I. But in the
meanwhile please don’t talk to anyone about the Fargos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course not. I was troubled to hear about that tramp
being identified as Dr Fargo. I should have done something about it, but here
at the Town Hall it’s hard to tell one’s enemies from one’s friends.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Pretty much like any organization, Mrs Colby. Thanks for
helping me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you for helping me, Mrs Hurley. My daughter and her
daughter still live with me and my daughter is attending evening college
courses in web design.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s really good news. You must be very happy, Mrs
Colby.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I would be happier if my daughter would tell me who the
father of her child is. I think she was ravished, but she won’t say anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll look into that as soon as I can, Mrs Colby. She should
be getting maintenance for the child and the guy who molested her must be
brought to justice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”She never said she was molested, Mrs Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But the guy will have to support his child, whoever he is
and however that child came about, Mrs Colby.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo wondered whether there was any point in contacting Mrs
Beatty, so she put that idea on the back burner. The woman had been fired and might
hold a grudge against the young people. She might tell lies. There might also
be a murkier reason for the woman’s dismissal. There is nothing worse than a
woman scorned, Cleo mused. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once Tommy and Teddy were freshened up and had had a drink
and some very crummy rusks, Cleo decided to put them in the playpen so that she
could call Brass. It was starting to rain and Cleo wondered where Gary, Toni
and the children had got to. She felt guilty about suggesting to Gary that
Brass and Edith should get together, though he had obviously survived that
impromptu meeting. Edith had not been in touch, but Cleo had witnessed Brass’s
rather embarrassed admittance to having with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass had unwittingly done Robert a favour, though Cleo had
never really understood Robert’s attitude to sexuality. Gary had occupied her
thoughts before and during her marriage to Robert. Some things had been waiting
to happen, and happen they did. And now Brass and Edith had found one another.
That was the perfect answer to Robert’s prayers, she mused.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sergeant Bradley speaking. Can I help you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hi Brass,” said Cleo. “I just wanted to hear if you are
OK.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shouldn’t I be?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, you did have that experience at the vicarage. I’m
sorry if I let you in for it through suggesting as much to Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does that mean it was all fixed up, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not fixed. I just thought …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m a bit shocked,” said Brass. “I know you have a great
influence on Gary, but I don’t think that manipulating colleagues is a good
idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No one manipulated anyone, Brass. It was just an idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And do you know what, Cleo?” said Brass, and Cleo thought
she was about to hear a tirade from the otherwise reticent sergeant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve said I’m truly sorry, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well don’t be,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t want me to be sorry that I interfered in your
private life, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To be truthful, it was time someone interfered.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure I quite understand.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That interference helped me to start living again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No buts. I should not be telling you this right now, but
I’m going to marry Edith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow. Does she know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. We decided last night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know what to say, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just say you’re happy for us, Cleo. Edith and I are made
for one another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I am happy for you. Do you want me to tell Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’ll find out soon enough because I want him to be my best
man.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure he’ll be honoured,” said Cleo. “But you’ll have to
invite him yourself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I will, but I must get on now. I got another missing dog
case this afternoon. You don’t think that restaurant changed its menu, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope not, but I’ll tell Joe to keep an eye on Dog.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dog?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s the name of his lovely white hybrid setter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can Dog sniff things out, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve no idea. Why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They often need an extra hound to look for drugs or
corpses.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think he’s that kind of dog, Brass. I just hope he
isn’t the kind that ends up as a Sunday roast.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All dogs can be trained, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll tell Joe. He might like the idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On second thoughts, Cleo did phone Mrs Beatty. That good
lady turned out to be a mine of information, most of it gossip, but with the
odd snippet of information that might be useful.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo asked Mrs Beatty very delicately why she had been
fired.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I asked that unholy pair when Dr Fargo would be back,” she
said. “They told me it was none of my business. They also told me I was not to
go into the cellar in future, so I asked them why because I was starting to go
down the steps. They pulled me back and said that on second thoughts I would no
longer be needed at all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow. It’s a big house to keep clean.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you were to ask me why they did not want me there, I’d
say that it had something to do with Dr Fargo’s new lady friend unless they had
done something terrible to Dr Fargo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think that’s possible, Mrs Beatty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who is the new lady friend, Mrs Beatty?” Cleo asked,
wondering if Mrs Beatty had set her sights on the doctor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A bit of a hussy, in my opinion. What’s more, II don’t
think Dr Fargo knows that those young relatives have taken up residence, Miss
Hartley, and they would not want Dr Fargo’s new lady friend there, either.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who told them about the lady friend, Mrs Beatty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m afraid I told them, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Exactly what did you tell them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They asked me where he was, and I told them that Dr Fargo
was visiting his new lady friend. They asked me if she also came to the villa
and I said he preferred to go to her place, but she also spent time at the
villa,” said Mrs Beatty, and Cleo got the impression that the doctor’s having a
lady friend was distasteful to Mrs Beatty, so she asked a rather searching
question.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Dr Fargo and the lady friend share a bed, Mrs Beatty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wouldn’t know that,” said Mrs Beatty, and Cleo thought
she was fibbing. “I always got a phone call when they were coming, Miss. I told
the young people that, too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you were not there when they came, were you, Mrs
Beatty?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not at night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think the young Fargos are playing for time?” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t quite understand, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, if Dr Fargo was alone they could probably find a way
of getting him out of the villa, but if he brought a friend it would be more
difficult.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s been gone nearly three weeks, Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he should come back soon, shouldn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought he must be dead, but it was only a tramp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” said Cleo. “Can you think of a reason why the young
Fargos said it was their relative?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, Miss, but what if he is dead, after all?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what we are trying to find out, Mrs Beatty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Beatty hesitated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I tell you something in confidence?” she said finally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, Mrs Beatty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dr Fargo was keen on me, Miss. Until that lady friend turned
up he was very kind to me, so I’d like to know if he is serious about the new
lady.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It might hurt you to know more, Mrs Beatty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He promised me a little something in his will, Miss. What
if she changes his mind for him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo decided that pursuing that angle was not a good idea.
Mrs Beatty was clearly resentful of what had happened at the villa recently.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll phone you if there’s any news, Mrs Beatty,” Cleo said.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like my job back, Miss. Can you help me to get it?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t promise anything right now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I’ll try,” said Cleo, who knew that she had no
influence whatsoever. But her words seemed to calm down Mrs Beatty so the
little white lie was justified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And you can come to me and help, Mrs Beatty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d like that,” said Mrs Beatty. “When can I start?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-83540223690991197972017-06-21T09:53:00.002+02:002020-03-24T09:26:31.598+01:00Episode 7 - Speculation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Thursday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo's phone call from the new au pair was a surprise. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"It's Toni. I can't be in Middlethumpton till three-o-four, Mrs Hurley. Is that all right?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Sure," said Cleo. "I'll let my
husband know. He'll be there."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I'm sorry about arriving late," said the
girl.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"That's OK, Toni, but don't be surprised if my
husband is expecting a guy. I'm not going to tell him."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
".A guy?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Yes. We've been speculating about your name.
See you later."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Gary's phone-call to Cleo from Romano's was
entirely unexpected and would have crossed hers to him if she hadn't looked in
on PeggySue and the babies.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Meet me at the villa," he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"But we are not going there today."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"We have to, Cleo. I'm at stand-still here
until I know if Dr Fargo is lying dead on his premises."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"It's lucky for you that the au pair is not
arriving until five oh four."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"How you know that?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I got a phone-call."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was careful not to reveal that Toni was
female.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I was about to phone you to tell you."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"So you will come to the villa?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Now?"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Yes, now if Grit has time."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The speakers were on, so Grit had heard the whole
conversation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d better tell Roger,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We talked about it, Cleo. They’ll skip the
engagement and move on to the wedding.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grit nodded again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Awesome,” said Cleo. “Did you have nice lunch?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Delicious. I’m sorry to wreck your mysterious
plan, whatever that was," said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Not mysterious at all. I'll leave here in
five minutes."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was propping up the low wall surrounding the
Fargo garden when Cleo drove up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s no one in,” he said, hugging her intensively.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s not really surprising,” said Cleo. “What about
the garden?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris had time, so he’s has gone round the back. Nothing
seems to have been disturbed recently and judging from the beautifully trimmed
lawn edges and tidiness I should think a gardener must have still being coming,
so it’s hardly likely that there would be a burial site somewhere.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But not impossible, Gary. The gardener might be in
league with the Fargo kids.””<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll have to get them in for questioning, as I
originally planned, and go on from there. There’s no name on the buzzer, by the
way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Perhaps they gave a fake address as well! Did you
check?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It isn’t fake. Dr Fargo lives here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Along with those guys?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Respectable people don’t give a fake address.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary, you don’t know if these people are
respectable.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you mention it, I’m starting to wonder.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The truth is that you accepted what the guys said
about that tramp and did not check on anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It all seemed authentic at the time,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Snooping round the garden is not such a good idea
either,” said Cleo. “We don’t actually know who the garden belongs to if
there's no name on the doorbell.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary looked distraught.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, there’s always a chance that the guy
who was supposed to be dead isn’t dead after all,” Cleo mused. “He might still
be upstairs and not answering the door.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Fargos gave this villa as their address,” said
Gary, “and they identified a corpse. Why would they do that if the person they
identified was still alive?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Assuming this is legally their house, let’s try a
little logic! If they moved in, it doesn’t mean that the genuine owner moved
out,” Cleo reasoned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So why did they identify him as a corpse? What
sort of an act was that? What’s going on, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe it was just a ruse. Maybe they had plans for
the old doctor guy and the tramp turned up in Joe’s newsy magazine as a
one-liner. Cop’s Corner can be obtained by the general public so the Fargos may
have picked one up. That gave them the idea of identifying the as yet
unidentified tramp as a relative. They could get rid of the genuine relative as
soon as they found a way of doing so. Presuming they had already taken illegal
possession of the villa, or at least moved in knowing that they were the only
relatives and going to inherit when the doctor died.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”That is so convoluted that only you could think of
it. It’s much too complicated for me, Cleo. What sort of person would do that
anyway?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Relatives, Gary. All sorts of nasty things go on
in connection with possessions and bequests. I don’t want to know how many old
people have been ejected from life by their greedy nearest and dearest.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that what you’ll do with me?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need you for the kids,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a relief. So what are we going to do about the
Fargos?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Haul them in for questioning and meanwhile get a look inside
that villa,” said Cleo. “We should also take a look at the will the old guy
wrote, if there is one. Don’t wills have to be registered somewhere?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was genuinely confused. The procedure devised by Cleo’s
agency and not based on anything except speculation was something he could not
go along with as it stood. Dorothy Price had been viewing too many late night 1930s
movies again. She aided and abetted Cleo wherever she could. He would have a
serious talk with her – soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, a closer look at the people calling themselves
Fargo might be helpful, but if there is a will, it might tell us something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why don’t you write a novel and leave the sleuthing to me?”
said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You need me for the complications, Gary. You are too far
into simple explanations of people’s complicated workings. Do you know where the
Fargo couple is now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If they are not here, they are probably at home,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“f this is their home, they should be here. Or did they give
you another address?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you mention it…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris and his colleague emerged from behind the villa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No sign of anything, Gary,” Chris said. “I need to look
around inside the house. Hi Cleo! Nice to see you again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo told Chris in brief what she and Gary had just been
discussing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris had looked puzzled at the wild story that Cleo had put
together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What do you think?” said Gary. "It all sounds bonkers
to me."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If we take it seriously, there are at least four
possibilities, in my view.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Go on. You sound like the Hartley Agency. I’m starting to
get goose-bumps.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The old guy is dead and buried illegally somewhere else, or
the guy is still alive and being kept imprisoned, or the guy has gone off for a
holiday somewhere, or he never existed, or he has moved out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s five,” said Cleo. “Dr Fargo did exist. Scrutiny of
the whole Fargo clan might be on the menu right now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good luck then. We’re leaving,” said Chris. “I have to get
all those songster women’s blood samples analysed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With those words he and his colleague got back into the
forensics van and drove off leaving Gary deep in thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How did you get here?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I got a lift with Chris. Oh hell, they’ve left me behind!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect they think I’ll take you back to HQ,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will you? I could always call a patrol car. The van is
parked on my space at HQ.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No problem,” said Cleo. “The father of my children is
always welcome to a lift.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re not angry with me, are you?” said Gary somewhat
timidly as they got into the red car.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Should I be angry? Maybe for being sceptical about looking
around here? For not checking on the identities of the characters involved in
this farce? I’m just sorry that old Fargo isn’t pushing up the daisies here. It
would have saved us a lot of trouble,” said Cleo. “And did not go inside the
house, so his list of possibilities has not been put to the test.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Saved US trouble?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You and me, Gary! I can’t have Dorothy poking around here
and to be honest, this whole business could be dangerous if that false
identification had a specific purpose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re right about Dorothy, though I love her when she is
not being a snoop. What do you suggest?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris is right. We know absolutely nothing,” said Cleo. “As
a first step, let’s find out if the old guy is still alive somewhere. Get Nigel
onto it! He gets around and might know someone who knows someone, especially in
connection with that villa.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re right. Sorry I if was a pain this morning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re never really a pain, Gary, and I do have some good
news for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You do? I can’t think what.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Think again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m just trying to get the Fargos straightened out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo did not get out of the car at HQ. She gave Gary a large
piece of card with the words “Hi Toni – Welcome to Britain” written on it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t forget to go to the station, Gary. Hold that up where
the passengers emerge from the train and you should have no problem meeting up
with the new au pair.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure that’s a man’s name?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not if it’s short for Antonia,” said Cleo. “See you later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary turned to go up the steps to the HQ entrance. Cleo had
her car window wound down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, Gary, in our anguish over the Fargos, I forgot!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several cars were now hooting for Cleo to drive off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary turned and made a questioning gesture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re having another baby, Sweetheart,” said Cleo,
accelerating before Gary had time to take in the news.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you say?” Gary called after the departing car.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brilliant!” said a young cop as he passed Gary on the steps.
“Your lady’s got another bun in the oven. Congratulations!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m having another baby, Nigel,” Gary announced, panting a
little after leaping two steps at a time up to his office on the second floor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anatomically miraculous,” retorted Nigel, “but you’ll have
to lose weight if you want to lose that budding paunch before Cleo gets hers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cleo and I are really having another, Nigel. She said so.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very nice, but haven’t you got enough already?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cleo can’t get enough.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”I’ll bet she can’t,” said Nigel, whose tone contained a
great deal of innuendo. “It’s great news if it puts you in such a good mood,
but Chris called to say that the blood samples all contain an amatoxin. He’s
alarmed. Don’t keep me in the dark, Gary. I’m your assistant. You must keep me
posted. I feel foolish if don’t know what you’re up to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry. I meant to get a forensic team to Dorothy Price’s
next door neighbour earlier. Can you get one to go there now? If Greg’s
available you could go with him. Dorothy has a key of the house. Mrs Barker has
not been seen since yesterday morning unless Dorothy has called to say she
has.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No one has called, unless you count Chris’s conundrum and Roger
asking what you want on your pizza. I told him the usual: artichokes, chorizo
and double cheese. He’ll be at Romano’s by now. I thought you’d go there first.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll go there now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Explain about Dorothy’s neighbour first,” said Nigel. “What’s
that about?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She made the poisoned soup. I’d better talk to Greg before I
leave.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A short phone call and five minutes later Greg was happy to
be called away from his report writing and raring to go anywhere that was not
connected with the seemingly unsolvable drugs case he was tussling with thanks
to a number of incoherent witnesses making statements that hid more than they
revealed. Gary explained his case as succinctly as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But soup?” Greg commented. “That is rather an unusual murder
weapon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not more unusual than a frozen leg of lamb, Greg.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How does that work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You kill your victim, defreeze the joint and cook it in a
slow oven. Haven’t you read any Roald Dahl stories?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t say I have,” said Greg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You should. In this
case it was probably an unfortunate misappropriation of toadstools, Greg. I’m
worried that Mrs Barker may have eaten some of that soup and be in a coma or
worse. She probably doesn’t know about the plight of those chorus ladies.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d better get moving then,” said Greg. “Did you say Nigel
was going with me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That would be good. I have to pick up the new au pair at
the station at about five otherwise I’d go myself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary sprinted to Romano’s to join Roger. His pizza was ready
to bake, Roger told him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So that’s why you asked Nigel what I wanted on it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you really suspect Dorothy’s neighbour,” Roger said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. I think poison was added to that soup while they were
rehearsing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If they were all singing, it can’t have been one of them,”
said Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe one slipped out to go to the loo,” said Gary. “The
others wouldn’t have noticed, let alone be suspicious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A phone-call from Greg interrupted the discussion<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mrs Barker’s been unwell since some time yesterday, she
says, but she’s recovering and the local doctor thinks she’ll be OK.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I damn well hope she will. I’d like to ask her some
questions.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So that speculation wasn’t in vain,” said Gary as he told
Roger what Greg had reported.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll have to wait for all the contents of that soup to be analysed,”
said Roger. “Poor Chris will have his work cut out. There may have been
something in one of the liquids being offered alongside the soup.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect the empty bottles have already gone to the bottle
bank, but Mrs Barker only had the rest of the soup at home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who told you about it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris. When the hospital realized that it wasn’t a tropical
disease, they asked the women who were conscious what they had eaten,” said
Gary. “Chris was thrilled. He likes his job to be as convoluted as possible. ”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you’re not exactly having fun, are you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sometimes I wish I could just concentrate on being a
father.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Understandable in the circumstances, but you’ll get over
the novelty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It isn’t a novelty, Roger. I’m passionately fond of them
all. I’m a different me from the old one. I could never have said such a thing
then.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it’s the new Gary we need in the force,” said Roger.
“There’s too little compassion in policing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It drove me to burnout once,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was during those terrible days when Cleo was
two-timing you. Don’t even think of taking time off for more burnout, Gary. We
need you here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since they had got onto one of Roger’s hobbyhorses, Gary
decided to cut short the drift of the conversation. They talked shop for a
while. Roger said he would get nine holes played on the golf course since Grit
was looking after the children, and Gary made his way to Middlethumpton
station. He was too early, but since he had forgotten the cardboard notice Cleo
had made for him to hold up, he had to dash back to the car and get it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After he had jogged from the station to the HQ carpark and driven
back in his car, found a parking space
and was standing on the platform, he still
had time to think about his job. Roger had again stirred inside him the doubts
he felt about being a policeman when he thought he had overcome that feeling.
His reaction to Cleo that morning was also troubling him. He was not in the
mood for meeting au pairs off trains.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“At four, Roger phoned Grit from the golf club. Cleo was at
home. Grit could pop into Middlethumpton and there would still be time to boy
that ring.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll be here as soon as we can, Cleo,” said Grit. “You
don’t mind, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course not. Don’t keep Roger waiting,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. You kept Gary waiting long enough,” said Grit. “I’ve
learnt my lesson. There is no waiting time in life.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The women embraced and Grit revved up her mini and charged
into town. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-68648621377115851292017-06-21T09:52:00.002+02:002020-03-24T00:35:04.676+01:00Episode 6 - Soup <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Thursday, October 4</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the link Dorothy eventually made between the tramp’s
poisoning and the lethal soup that made it all so awful. She and Cleo had
definitely been in danger. Chris’s newest report was credible. Even if only
small amounts of toadstool poisoning were consumed, it would cause severe
illness and possibly death. Who could have done such a thing deliberately?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>On Thursday morning Gary was as usual getting the day
started at the cottage by making breakfast for PeggySue, Charlie, Lottie and
himself when the phone rang.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris. We’re having breakfast. Is it urgent?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Whoever poisoned that old tramp may have poisoned a dozen
Finch Nightingales, Gary. Isn’t that urgent enough?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What? Do you mean that Dorothy has hit the nail on the head
again?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Middlethumpton General called me very early this morning.
They thought it might be a tropical outbreak. Some of the women are in
intensive care, Gary, and some of them are even on the death list.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who would do such a thing?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m asking you that,” said Chris. “I’m only a humble
scientist.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you are suspicious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Food poisoning is no joke, Gary, and after that business
with the tramp…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I know that choir can’t sing for toffee, but why kill
them off? There are other ways of avoiding listening to their caterwauling,
such as not going anywhere near them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have to know exactly what happened to those women, Gary.
I’m a scientist. I avoid speculation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have my blessing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The women had apparently sampled the soup during the rehearsal
interval,” said Chris. “In view of the amatoxins in Bates’s blood, I’ve ordered
blood samples from all the women. You don’t suppose the same poisoner has
struck more than once, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t suppose anything,” said Gary. “I can’t think of a
single thing that would connect a tramp and a ladies’ choir, Chris. Keep me
posted, for heaven’s sake!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what I’m doing now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And quite apart from tussles with toadstools, prepare
yourself for another search of the Fargo villa and garden,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What are we going to look for now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Human remains. I’ll call you later from the office about
that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the issue of Dr Fargo’s disappearance had not been high
on the list of priorities, Gary might have been inclined to wait a day or two
before searching the villa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the issue of Toby Bates’ poisoning had not required
urgent attention, the very idea that the soup served by Jane as a light
refreshment on a cool autumn evening was contaminated with the same poison
might never have occurred to anyone. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesday had become the most dramatic in the history of the
Finch Nightingales. since the murder of their director. Lisa Keys only heard
about the dysentery outbreak through an anonymous phone-call. She thought
immediately of the thick mushroom soup that others had guzzled, but she had
avoided because of the calories. She had had a lucky escape, the anonymous
caller had told her. She thought the dysentery must surely have been caused by
even small amounts of Jane’s terrible cooking, unless the soup had been poisoned
deliberately by someone else, perish the thought. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Thursday morning, Cleo had to abandon her few quiet
minutes under her duvet. All the babies were demanding instant attention.
Without the two Charlottes, things would soon have been a logistic catastrophe,
since Gary was now chewing over what Chris had told him and fully occupied with
PeggySue. Fortunately, Grit would come in time to take the little girl to the
nursery even after being out at the Oxford jazz club until the early hours. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo remembered that the new au pair was arriving that day.
Gary would make time to meet her. Would having an au pair make more problems
than it solved?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did I hear you say ‘human remains’, Gary?” Cleo asked as
she appeared at the breakfast table with the smallest twins, one on each arm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Speculation really, but Dr Fargo has to be found, dead or
alive.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you are not quite at odds with the agency theory?” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not quite, and I can’t risk ignoring it, can I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No,” said Cleo. “Talking about theories, Dorothy hit the
spot last night with her ideas about amatoxin, too. Let’s hope the idea doesn’t
catch on.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think I’d rather have a shoot-out. There’s something very
underhand about amatoxin,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dorothy had only heard a rumour, Gary. She may not have
believed what she was saying. Gossip from the hospital canteen has to be taken
with a pinch of salt.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who phoned her?” Gary asked. “What did she find out?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She didn’t tell me so she probably doesn’t know and tracing
an informer can lead to not being informed again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But nebulous information doesn’t help either, “ said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Informers leave their informees to work out what’s worth
knowing,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The problem is that any hint of ill-doing sets off
Dorothy’s imagination. She has wandered down enough dark corridors of her mind
to fill a library.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had put the tiny twins into the playpen, where they
gurgles and blew bubbles happily. Tommy and Teddy would join then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Cleo presently returned from the kiddies’
room, she had one lively toddler bundled under each arm for speed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me help with your infants!” said Gary, toadstools
forgotten for a moment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your infants too, Sweetheart.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m wondering who could have poisoned those Finch
Nightingales.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was waiting to happen if anything was,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know they can’t sing, but is that a reason to kill them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone obviously thought so, unless it was accidental or a
dangerous prank,” said Cleo. “I’d prefer to think it was. Jane Barker does the chorus
refreshments and according to Dorothy she turns up every week with home
cooking. If the soup on Tuesday was anything to go by, I can’t imagine why the
late Mr Barker raved about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could that be what killed him?” Gary said. “If so, we’ll
have to bother Chris with more human remains.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought Mr Barker died a natural death, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s a difference between a natural death and the death
certificate saying that. Was he cremated?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I doubt it. Widows like to have somewhere to go and shed
tears. The cemetery is a good place for that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not personal experience, I hope.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know if Jay really is dead. If he is, I’d be
unlikely to shed a tear,” said Cleo. . “And Robert is alive and kicking. You
aren’t suggesting that Jane Barker is a killer, are you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They are under us, Cleo. You said so yourself. Anyone can
kill, given motive and opportunity.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And toadstools, presumably.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dorothy made that sound like a reasonable explanation.
According to what Chris has now reported, you have had a narrow escape.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The soup was not tempting. Dorothy said it smelt funny.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Dorothy does not just smell rats,” said Gary, handing
one of the now very lively twins back to Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“First we need a genuine motive if it wasn’t a cruel hoax,”
said Cleo. “I’ll phone Dorothy. She’ll have constructive ideas. Jane is
unlikely to have a motive to kill off the new lease of life she found by
joining the chorus.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t rely on motives. It might work with one rich
benefactor, but surely not with a whole pack of women!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You said it! If it wasn’t Jane, who put the poison in the
soup?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t usually go along with second opinions before I’ve
formed the first, but Dorothy probably knows plenty about her neighbours!” said
Gary. “We could rule out Jane and start a serious search for the reason that
chorus was attacked in such a subtle way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlie and Lottie were going to school for hockey training
although it was half term. They practiced three times a week all the year
round. It kept things going, especially Miss Plimsoll, who had been teaching
sport for decades and unfortunately hung on to her youthful enthusiasm, which
was becoming an increasing pain to all who had anything to do with her on or
off the hockey pitch. On the other hand, attending the practice was useful,
since school reports invariably contained praise for attending things
voluntarily and if you weren’t away on holiday, school-free days could become
very boring. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary offered to take the girls to school in the people-carrier
(Charlies name for it) so that Cleo could use the red car if she needed it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll take the bus,” the girls had told him. “It’s too
early anyway. WE can take over the babies for a while,” said Charlie. You don’t
seem to be in control,” she told her father.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlie and Lottie ran around with the little boys for a
while before putting then in they high chairs for breakfast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s how you cope, Daddy,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Women!” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy thought it would be nice to try some of her freshly
baked bread, so she was in Cleo’s kitchen slicing warm currant loaf for
everyone within a few minutes of Cleo’s phone-call.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you seen Jane Barker lately, Dorothy?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only yesterday morning, but I used to see her more often in
the old days when she came out into the garden to scream at Mr Barker. She can’t
have had time to try the soup, can she?””<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could Jane Barker have killed Jim?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Never,” said Dorothy. “Who would she have left to scream at?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two sleuths carried coffee and a plate of currant loaf
wedges into the living room and sat at the table to enjoy the feast. The girls
fed the little boys with wedges before grabbing some themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Correction. Ladies!” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think Jane liked him very much. She was always
upset about all the things he got up to as a bored pensioner, but I’m sure she
would not have done away with him, Cleo. She made quite a lot of pocket-money
selling the vegetables that Mr Barker grew in such quantities that they
couldn’t possibly eat them all themselves. And let’s not forget those poor
hens.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But what if she did do away with him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you ask that now, Cleo? You have never
questioned Mr Barker’s death before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A dozen or so Finch Nightingales are in Middlethumpton
General suffering or even dying after eating Jane’s soup at the chorus meeting,”
said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s terrible, but do you think that means that Jane could
have given Jim a dose of something?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t it possible, Dorothy?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“On reflection, I suppose it is, but it’s unlikely that she
would do anything to those chorus ladies. She loved being part of that chorus.
She’s a new woman now she has found a mission in life. Why would she spoil
that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She fed her ladies on soup, Dorothy, and you said it smelt
funny, so we did not have any,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a pause while Dorothy gasped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh dear. She offered me some of that soup yesterday morning
and I refused.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The chorus soup?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. It certainly looked like the cream of mushroom she had
made the previous day and served at the chorus rehearsal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two sleuths looked at one another in horror. Gary looked
on, very perturbed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think we both probably had a narrow escape and you had
two,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Toadstools, Cleo! Jim Barker could tell the difference, but
I’m not sure that Jane can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So if she had been collecting wild mushrooms…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“… She might have collected a few poisonous ones.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think Gary will have to send forensics to look at what’s
in Mrs Barker’s kitchen,” said Cleo. “You still have a key of the house, don’t
you, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t go in yourself, will you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t investigate unless you tell me to, Cleo,” said
Dorothy a little starchily.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No need to be offended, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not offended, just alarmed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder if Jane is in hospital,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know, but she may have eaten some soup for lunch if
I had refused it in the morning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Since you haven’t seen her since yesterday morning, she
might be unconscious or dead…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose so,” said <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“…Especially if she knew enough about toadstool poison to
add a few to her husband’s soup.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But Jim would not give her toadstools to cook with, Cleo. I
think that disqualifies her from poisoning him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or she memorized what the poisonous mushrooms looked like
and kept that knowledge to herself for future use.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t believe that Jane was that devious,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She was devious enough to smuggle Jim’s hens out of the
house chloroformed,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary could not think of anything to say. Something would
have to happen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We might be missing something, of course,” said Cleo to
Gary after Dorothy had gone shopping. “It occurred to me that if it wasn’t an accident
and Mrs Barker was not responsible for the poison, someone else must have laced
the soup with it at the rehearsal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Aren’t you jumping the guns, Cleo? Let’s wait until Chris
has more information. As far as I know, the women arrived at the hospital in
various stages of sickness, presumably according to how much soup they had
swallowed, and the hospital would prefer to think that it is a tropical disease.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect they contacted Chris yesterday as a matter of
routine if something looks suspicious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get Greg to check on Mrs Barker. We need to know if
the woman survived her cooking,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grit appeared to take PeggySue to the nursery. Roger followed.
He had received a text from Gary requesting a search warrant for the Fargo
property.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought Gary would still be here,” said Roger. “He’s
early this morning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s putting his clothes on, Roger,” said Cleo. “He’s
taking the girls to school for hockey practice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What exactly is Gary looking for at the house?” Roger asked
Cleo. “He seemed agitated, so didn’t asked questions.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary is looking for Dr Fargo’s corpse and it was my idea,” Cleo
said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you assume that Fargo will not be found dead there,”
said Roger. “I need to talk to him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>here,” Gary
announced returning from the bedroom fully dressed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About the villa,” he said. “I think Cleo should be there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure, Gary?” said Cleo. “I can’t go till later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me about the house,” said Roger, helping himself to
Dorothy’s currant bread.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dr Fargo owns it, but seems to have disappeared, unless the
young relatives were putting on an act at the identification,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I I can’t get to HQ till later, Roger. I need to talk with
Dorothy about those chorus women first.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do we need to? More bread, anyone?” Dorothy chipped in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. We don’t know if Jim Barker also ate poisoned soup so
he’s the guy who might have to be exhumed. He and Jane lived next door to you
and Jane offered you some of the left-over soup yesterday morning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Fortunately, I refused.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t know if Jane ate some of it later and is lying
unconscious or dead, Gary. I hope someone can find out pretty soon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s thought,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Can you send a team to Jane Barker’s house, Gary?” said
Cleo. “Jim Barker is not buried in the garden, but we could not search the
house!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mrs Barker might not have poisoned her husband,” said Gary
who was frankly sceptical when it came to Jane Barker, whom he thought was
brainless if not headless. “And you’ve said Jim Barker is not buried in the
garden so you must already have taken a good look.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d know if there was a freshly dug patch,” said Dorothy .
The garden doesn’t get dug anymore.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He might have eaten poison soup, our poor dead Mr Barker,”
said Cleo. “Only an exhumation could prove that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And his widow may have poisoned some of the Finch
Nightingales, too,” said Gary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, Roger had a fair idea of what was going on. Gary
should have fallen in love with a weak little woman, but he was saddled with a
loving wife full of determination and ambition, whom he adored but was hardly
able to keep up with. Cleo had never solved the rivalry problem that was stuck firmly
in Gary’s head.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Aren’t you going to HQ, Roger?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I am, but I wanted to talk to Grit first and she’s busy
with that sweet little daughter of yours.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That sounds ominous,” said Cleo hoping that Roger was not chickening
out of domestic bliss with Grit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The thing is that we’re planning to get married,” said
Roger, jumping the guns with his announcement since he hadn’t actually proposed
to Grit. He was rewarded by an instant reaction from Grit., who had come in from
the kiddies room with PeggySue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t take PeggySue anywhere,” she said. “I think she has
a raised temperature, Cleo. I hope she isn’t getting sick.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t worry, Grit. I’ll get Dr Mitchell to look at her,”
said Cleo, picking up the child. “She’s quite hot,” she said. “I’ll give her a
big drink and put her to bed. I’ll call Dr Mitchell.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary took PeggySue and gave her a drink, then put her back
into her cot, where she went to sleep. He was concerned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As I was saying,” said Roger, “we’re going to get married.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That is a surprise,” said Gary mendaciously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And soon,” Grit said, smiling at Roger, “Even if Roger hasn’t
actually proposed. We really wanted to get the date settled before telling you.
Roger is rather impatient however. That’s why he’s jumping the guns”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think that’s the kettle calling the pot black, Mother,
but you both have our blessing,” said Gary. “We’ll give you away.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You and Joe?” Cleo I assume. “Does Joe know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not yet,” said Grit. “I hardly know myself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roger moved to Grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m asking you officially now, Grit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I’m officially saying it’s good idea,” said Grit. “Much
nicer than living in sin.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think our life together is sinful at all,” said
Roger. “Life can’t get any nicer, in my view.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could see it coming,” sai<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>d
Cleo, moving to embrace her mother-in-law and Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was waiting to happen,” said Gary, coping admirably with
the idea that his boss was marrying his mother.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you give me a lift to HQ, Gary?” said Roger. “Grit will
collect me later. We want to choose the rings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Great!” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you don’t mind taking the girls to school,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s living in sin, Daddy?” said Charlie. The girls had
clearly been eavesdropping.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe you should have gone for the bus rather than
listening in,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s when people sleep together without being married,”
said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, that kind of sin,” said Charlie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t forget the au pair, Gary! She arrives at exactly 2.04
from London”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So it is a female,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not really sure,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What time?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo checked her phone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The two oh four London,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get a pizza from Romano for lunch, then,” said Gary,
seeing his siesta smashed by the strange figure of a home help prancing around
on an afternoon when he needed to make the peace with Cleo after his recent
fall from grace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll join you,” said Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why do you need the red car this morning, Cleo?” Gary
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For one thing I want to be at the Fargo villa when the
garden is searched, of course.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If we get round to it,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We should try,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who’s staying with the children?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Grit. Oh, you’re planning to go out,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Rings tomorrow, Grit,” said Roger. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m so sorry,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For having those beautiful children? Rubbish,” sad Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that moment it was clear that Roger was part of the
family and loving it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grit looked and Cleo and immediately knew why she needed the
red car. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roger and Gary exchanged puzzled glances. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d better phone Chris and ask him when he’s going
there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I had thought of that, actually,” said Cleo, not mentioning
her other plan. “I’ll see you both at about eleven, but tomorrow if that’s OK.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect we’ll have our act together by then,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The au pair can get to know Tommy and Teddy while we take a
siesta or wait for Dr Mitchel, or both. The babies will sleep while we are
resting.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That sounds like a good plan, Gary,” said Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It does, doesn’t it?” said Grit. “Trust Cleo to get it all straightened
out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With those words Grit gave her son a kiss on the forehead,
declared that all his women loved him however awkward he was. Roger and Grit
embraced and Roger followed Gary and the girls to the family van. By the time
they had dropped the girls off and reached HQ, Gary had convinced Roger that if
a serial killer was involved, it was time to catch up with him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or her,” said Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or both,” said Gary, thinking of the Fargos claiming their
legal rights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s happened again,” said Cleo to Grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you want it to?” Grit said, looking at the tell-tale
test phial.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We didn’t avoid it,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The logistics are horrendous,” said Grit. “But I’m
delighted and happy for you. We’ll have to reorganize the sleeping
arrangements. I assume that Gary has no idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You saw that he was not in the right mood this morning. I’ve
dropped hints, but now I have the proof. I just wish he didn’t hate it when
Dorothy or I jump the guns on one of his cases.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s time he grew up,” said Grit “His first step-father was
the same.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Really?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He wanted me to give up journalism since he resented my
success as a journalist. I couldn’t do that, so he left. I think he ended up in
some backwater writing copy for a gardening paper, though he did not know one
end of a spade from the other.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never had to make that kind of choice, Grit. Gary is
happy. He just has problems showing it sometimes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He should find an occupation he actually enjoys,” said
Grit. “He’s too sensitive to be a cop.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Roger was diplomatically saving the day with his proposal,
don’t you think?” said Grit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know you were waiting for it, Grit. I can just never
understand why we women wait to be asked in an age when we are supposed to be
equal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tradition I suppose. We don’t really need the security of a
marriage. There’s not going to be any offspring at our age.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“These days that should not be a reason for getting married.
Marriage used to be for procreation before the invention of birth control,
which makes it ludicrous these days that any church could disapprove of life
outside marriage or the marriage of couples too old or unable to have children,
but it’s still the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gary and I
don’t need the security either, but for the sake of our children it is a help
in an age where prudery and bigotry are still rife.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That should all change,” said Grit. “It’s time all children
had equal rights whatever their parentage. They did not ask to be born. They
were often not even invited.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or the result of something awful happening,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Those little ones resulting from violence and uncontrolled lust
need us more than anyone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Having my babies now makes up for losing my first one
thanks to my violent first husband,” said Cleo. “Not that you can replace one
baby through another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I got Joe back, Cleo. Just imagine! After over forty years.
He was my biggest wound and deepest grief. And now I have three men who care
about me, my lovely daughter-in-law and one about to become one, three
grandsons, four granddaughters and who knows what will be in the next
delivery.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two women embraced for a long time. Cleo’s eyes were
moist when she thanked Grit for caring so much. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-54835779390400383792017-06-12T09:52:00.002+02:002020-03-23T11:45:54.466+01:00Episode 5 - Deathcap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Wednesday cont. </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was no wonder that Cleo’s trip to Middleton library to
look at back numbers of the Gazette did not reveal much. Bertie Browne, editor
in chief and owner of the twice weekly freebie, published all sorts of stuff
that was long on padding, but short on information and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>often devoid of accuracy. Hot air and fake
news were good enough to fill the pages that were not devoted to price-slashing
(if you can believe that) offers of cars, cats and cucumbers. The Fargo family did
not merit a single mention.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“Here for old times’ sake?” asked Karl von Klippen, once
civil servant at Vienna’s town hall and now chief librarian in Middlethumpton
thanks to overwhelming family ties, remarked to Cleo, coming round the counter
to kiss her hand and bow charmingly.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo noted that Karl’s Viennese accent was as strong as
ever. His olde-worlde manners were quainter than any Cleo had come across
before, even in tradition-soaked England. Karl, brother-in-law of the ill-fated
Edith Parsnip and happy to be among books even if they weren’t in German, was
happy in Cleo’s old job. His research into the history of Middlethumpton
absorbed him whenever time allowed him to stop taking care of readers to delve
into ancient tomes, including a few hundred musty books bequeathed recently by
the estate belonging to the Marble family, whose elder statesman had met his
maker grimly and unexpectedly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How are the twins?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Terrible-terrible wild,” he said, pronouncing wild as if it
started with a ‘v’ for victory and leaving off the adverbial ending as if
German did not use endings all the time, “but now they are at kindergarten they
can fight it out between themselfs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had long since given up on Karl’s English grammar.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How is Clare?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clare was Edith Parsnip’s twin sister.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Expected again,” said Karl “Cake in the oven.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think you mean expecting, Karl and it’s buns not cakes in
the oven.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Another two buns,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Soon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary is coping well. I think you will, too,” said Cleo.
Small talk with Karl was normally more difficult and usually fraught with mixed-up
adages. But today he was preoccupied with the thought of another couple of
years raising twin babies with the added stress of the two who were already
there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Vat is it zat you vont?” he said now, spitting out his
Germanic consonants slowly and carefully. German consonants do not like being
in English words..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Research on a family called Fargo,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ha! Zee old guy they killed dead then found it wasn’t he
after all?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Karl, but who do you mean by ‘they’?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Family,” Karl said. “It happens in Austria all the time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What happens?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hurrying the old people along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Along where?” said Cleo, knowing exactly what Karl, meant
but storing up the account for future telling in his words rather than hers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To the Grab,” said Karl, who filled in with German words if
he could not think of the English ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You mean grave, I expect.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Extremely!” the librarian nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Exactly!” said Cleo. “Do you know the Fargo family, Karl?
Do they come here for books?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Frillers mostly,” said Karl, nodding wisely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Really,” said Cleo. “Some thrillers are full of
instructions on how to get rid of unwanted persons.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t ask people if they want to learn how to do their
relations in, Cleo. I run a library not a police station.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t worry about it, Karl. It was just a thought.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I von’t vorry, but zoughts are zings, Cleo. Mrs Fargo
borrowed a book on herbs and mushrooms. Has she poisoned someone?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a very curious thought, Karl. Maybe someone should
go there and ask for the book because it has been ordered by someone else.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it hasn’t,” said Karl, looking in his database.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes it has. By me,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hahaha,” said Karl. “Zat is clever, and you have my
blessink.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just tell me the exact title of the book, please.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karl looked in his database for the appropriate entry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’How to tell vitch herbs and fungi are edible’,” he read.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow, Karl. I’ll get onto it right away.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Happy cook!” said Karl. Who avoided ‘ing’ words on
principle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Cleo had been looking for an excuse to call on the
Fargos, she now had it, though she was far from sure that hunting down a library
book was a legitimate excuse for calling on people you didn’t know. She decided
to consult Gary although she had a pretty good idea what he would say when he
had finished laughing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Catching up with what the children had been up to took up
the first hour or so of Cleo’s evening. Grit had everything under control as
usual and the two older girls had joined all the twins in the playpen. You
couldn’t have asked for better baby-sitters. Charlie and Lottie never tired of
playing with Teddy and Tommy. The babies, Max and Mathilda, were content to lie
wide-eyed and kicking.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The supper table was laid and the smallest fry bathed and
ready for bed even before Gary and Dorothy arrived. Dorothy immediately
volunteered to put the little boys to bed. Gary checked Charlie’s and Lottie’s
homework. Joe, Gary’s lost-and-found twin brother, Lottie’s father and now
editor of Cop’s Corner, Police HQ’s twice monthly insider magazine, would be
late home, since the next publication date was dangerously close.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You aren’t cooking, Ladies!” said Gary. “I’m so hungry. Do
I have to make myself a sandwich?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t bother, Sweetheart,” said Cleo. “The food will be
here by seven thirty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not Chinese again,” said Gary. “We had that last week.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t cook and run my agency,” said Cleo. “I did the only
sensible thing and called Romano. He does such excellent takeaways,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he does,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That means you approve, I hope.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose I do, if only your mother had not jilted him for
his brother. I don’t want to talk to him about Gloria.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then don’t. I can’t see why my mother’s behaviour should be
allowed to influence our diet, Gary, and he may not come himself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He did. Poor jilted Romano arrived at the same time as
Nigel, who had had to sort out one or two things at HQ before driving to Upper
Grumpsfield. He now showed Cleo some new data on her laptop while Gary helped
Romano with his delivery.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mamma Mia,” the Italian restauranteur said as he deposited
the evening meal on the kitchen worktop. “I’m getting old. This is all so
heavy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It looks like an awful lot, Romano,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For ten as usual, my friend:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cleo said to bring plenty,” said Romano,
looking around rather anxiously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t worry, Romano. Gloria is not here!” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She betrayed me!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If it’s any comfort, she also betrayed your brother,
Romano,” said Gary, and Romano’s face lit up. “She’s back in my old flat in
Middlethumpton.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is she living with your mother?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, Romano. My mother lives next door now with Roger
Stone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”That sounds more civilized,” said Romano. “You have
interesting women in your family – except for Gloria.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I agree. How much?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s on the house,” said Romano.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No it isn’t,” said Gary. “Is 30 enough?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s too much!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You took time off and drove here, Romano. I’m not paying
for charity. I’m paying for the best pasta this side of the Alps.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After much embracing and thanks, Romano took his leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s taken care of him,” said Gary. “Dinner is served!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What did you tell him?” Cleo asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That Gloria is back in my flat. He seemed gratified.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll go home now,” said Grit. “Roger should be back soon
and it’s our jazz night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Take some pasta, please,” said Cleo. “We can’t possibly eat
it all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As usual, it was a self-service affair at the cottage. Nigel
was very taken with the idea. PeggieSue sat in her high chair having her pasta
before the grownups. Lottie and Charlie helped her, so in the end it took much
longer. It was altogether a rather rowdy meal, but eventually all the children were
in bed and the agency business could be taken care of.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m going to visit the Fargos tomorrow,” said Cleo, having
decided that she would get a better response if she did not tell Gary on his
own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What the hell do you want there?” he said now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Their library book is overdue,” said Cleo. “I’m going to
get it from them if they are at home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What?” said Gary. “You don’t read books unless you’ve
downloaded them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When you know the title you’ll know why I want to get a closer
look at those people.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. Spill the beans!” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Spit it out,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’How to tell which herbs and fungi are edible,’” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy immediately stepped in with an explanation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That tramp was poisoned, wasn’t he?” she said. “Could it
have been a do-it-yourself toxin? That’s the perfect solution. There’s no
record of poison being bought; you take a walk in the woods to collect some of
those nasty toadstools; a quick brew and you have your perfect murder.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t that a bit farfetched, Dorothy?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why else would the Fargos borrow that book?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d better not accept a drink when you go on your wild
goose chase then, Cleo,” said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll go,” said Dorothy. “It’s much more appropriate to have
an old girl fussing about the book than you, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I agree,” said Gary. “But we don’t yet know exactly what
poison was inflicted on the tramp, do we? You’d better go along, Nigel.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a good idea,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you inviting me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So that’s what Gary said you wanted to talk to me about,”
said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have my blessing,” said Gary. “But don’t say I didn’t
warn you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You didn’t warn me, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m warning you now. Those women are slave-drivers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Be on time,” said Dorothy, giving Gary a disapproving look.
“I’ll be at the Agency office by ten to make a note of any information we have
on the Fargos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“By then Chris might be able to tell us which toadstools
were used,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know there are 10 types of poisonous mushroom growing in
this country,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How on earth do you know that?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you have a garden you need to know,” said Dorothy.
“One’s called ‘deathcap’.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose you know the Latin name, too,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Amanita phalloides,” said Dorothy. “I have a book on them.
I used to collect mushrooms in Monkton Woods.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Awesome,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m surprised you survived, Dorothy,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I might not have if they had got into my saucepan,” said
Dorothy. “Some of them look really appetizing, but you only need 30 grams of
deathcap to kill a human and you can’t destroy the poison by freezing or
cooking.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel looked horrified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only recently, a gardener killed herself eating canned soup
laced with deathcap,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m glad we had pasta,” said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll phone Chris right now,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris had compiled his report on Toby Bates’s autopsy and
would have sent it the following day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dorothy has had an idea,” said Cleo. “It’s about mushrooms
of all things.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s on the right track,” said Chris, “unless I’m very
much mistaken.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Definitely an amatoxin, probably a-amanitin,” he reported.
“Deadly stuff. Can’t be destroyed by heat or cold. Same as in that soup I got
to analyse anonymously.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Since when do people send you anonymous soup, Chris?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“”Ask me another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could that be soup from the chorus rehearsal, Chris?” Cleo
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Eaten by chorus members now on the intensive care list,”
said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have not heard about that,” said Cleo. “The plastic bowls
had lids. I expect some of the singers took theirs home to eat later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They should be warned,” said Chris.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t know who they are, Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s probably fake news,” said Chris. “You know how things
get around. I expect it tasted horrible. I’ve no idea how many tried it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did,” said Cleo. “No, I didn’t .The smell put me off.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What a good job,” said Chris. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What can I do about it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait and see. I assume you didn’t bring any of it home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but Jane Barker took her pot home and I don’t think it
was empty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll have to warn her, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If it isn’t too late.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The speakers had been on so the company heard that dialogue.
When had the poison got into Jane’s soup? Was there sabotage at the church
hall?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All we need to do now is prove that the Fargos brewed the
toxin and killed their relative. They then used that tramp as a stand-in,” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Find Fargo, dead or alive,” said Cleo. “He may have died
the same death as the tramp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not to mention Jane Barker’s soup,” said Dorothy. “Though I
could well believe that she thought the toadstools were champignons and there
for the taking.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Search party tomorrow,” said Gary. “I’ll need you, Nigel.
There’s no question of Dorothy going to look for that library book at the
Fargos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can see your point,” said Dorothy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later that evening, Fred Bradley alias Brass decided to
close his sub-police station an hour early. He had entered himself for the
afternoon to evening shift. By nine p.m. most of Upper Grumpsfield had either
retired for the night or was indulging in some sort of entertainment at home or
abroad, so closing at nine would probably not even be noticed. It was
justified, he told himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass had not had any romantic involvement for a long time,
but since his unexpected escapade with Edith Parsnip he had thought of nothing
else. Was it only last night that he had thrown caution to the winds and himself
into what he could only describe as the love-making of his life? He had phoned
Edith that afternoon and checked that she was expecting him to call. He was not
quite sure what would happen at the vicarage, but if it went the way he thought
it might, he would suggest meeting at his bungalow next time, as long as the
children were not there. This weekend he was a free man and they could get to
know one another better outside the confines of a vicarage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly before nine, Brass closed the office window, smartened
himself up, shaved meticulously and patted a fragrant aftershave into his chin,
locked up the premises and hurried to his date.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith was waiting. She explained that Mary Baker and her
boyfriend had gone to the late showing at a cinema in Middlethumpton and would
not be back until midnight, so they could make a noise if they wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What kind of a noise do you mean, Edith?” Brass asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith drew Brass into the hallway.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Later,” she said. “First I want to show you the book.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She led Brass into what she called her boudoir upstairs and
produced what her Romeo judged to be x certificate illustrations of all sorts
of things lovers seemed to enjoy and a whole lot he never knew existed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you see what I mean,” said Edith, letting her flimsy
negligée fall to reveal her nakedness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where did the vicar get that book?” Brass stammered. He was
genuinely shocked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect he ordered it on the internet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But surely you didn’t … “<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mr Parsnip was not into the practical side of love-making
after helping to make five sons,” she said. “Are you afraid of having more
children?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hadn’t thought about it. My wife is dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t just have children with marriage partners,” said
Edith. “For instance, we could have a baby together, couldn’t we?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh no, Edith, I don’t want that,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I might,” said Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think I’d better go home,” he said, horrified at the idea
that Edith could drag him into a relationship he did not want.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why don’t you just relax now you are here, Brass,” said
Edith, stripping Brass off as she got into her seduction routine. “We won’t
make a baby. I’ve taken care of that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, if you are sure,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course I’m sure,” said Edith. “This is just a game and
we don’t have to follow the pictures in that book, either.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It must be said that Brass enjoyed the ‘game’ for as long as
it lasted, which was most of the night, though was a short break while they
headed for Brass’s bungalow. It had been Edith’s idea to go elsewhere before
the curate and her boyfriend returned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can walk with you to your house if you like. We can get
some fresh night air. I love the fresh night air,” said Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass found it impossible to refuse Edith’s offer. A brisk
walk later they were brewing tea in Brass’s kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can start this time if you like,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Start what? Aren’t you going home now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you want me to?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass was silent for a moment. He felt bad about letting
Edith get into the bed that he had shared with his wife until her cancer was so
bad that she had gone into a hospice and never come home again. While he was
thinking, Edith had held his hand and led the way into the master bedroom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My wife slept in this bed,” he said. “It’s her bed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But she is dead, Brass and I’m alive. She is only a memory
and I am real.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith faced Brass and told him to put his arms round her so
that he could feel her reality. All the rumours he had heard about Edith’s
nympholepsy came back to him, but at that moment he ceased to believe them. She
was not a woman who ravished men without caring about them. She had been
wronged and he would put that right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will you marry me, Edith?” he said, listening with
astonishment to his words.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” she said as if she had been waiting for his proposal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When you are my wife we can get into that bed, can’t we?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The logic of those words was not entirely clear to Edith,
since a bed was just a bed and she needed no other reason to get into it than
to make love and perhaps get some sleep, but Brass’s proposal was loud and
clear. As if to confirm that he meant what he said, he undressed and lay down
on his side, gesturing to Edith to join him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I will be a good wife to you, Fred,” she said now as she
lay close to the man she had decided to wed though she hardly knew him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you really want to marry me?” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes Edith, I’d like that, and if we make a baby that will
be just fine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They both lay on his side of the marriage bed just looking
at the ceiling for quite a long time. Then their hands sought one another, they
embraced as lovers do and consummated their new status. Edith was as gentle as
a kitten and not once did they stray onto the deceased wife’s half of the bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-2552692760089522272017-05-25T11:27:00.004+02:002020-03-23T11:05:34.595+01:00Episode 4 - The tramp<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Wednesday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo decided to find out more about the Fargo family herself
before regaling Gary with Dorothy’s advice. It was just possible that the tramp
had genuinely been mistaken for the deceased relative. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>It was of course essential to find out who the tramp really
was. Social services might know, but when Gary asked they professed to have
nothing to do with wayfarers, old or young, after passing them along to another
department, usually the police.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In contrast, the doss-house was relatively helpful. Yes, they
had missed one of their old male regulars, but since it was August, he was
probably sleeping rough and would return when it got chilly. When asked about
the tramp’s identity, the doss-house ‘manager’ said he did not know. When asked
if the man had left any possessions there, Cleo was informed that the missing
guy had possessed an old school satchel that he kept locked. It was now on a
high shelf in the office for safe-keeping and no, the doss-house manager had
not looked inside. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tramps had treasures valuable only to themselves and usually
with no material value. He was glad the old man had not seen fit to wheel a
supermarket trolley around. The satchel probably contained junk, but the
doss-house manager was prepared to respect the wishes of the ‘guests’ who had
objects they regarded as precious, as long as he was getting money from the
authorities for providing a bed, food and a hot shower when the homeless wanted
it. Yes, Miss Hartley could look at the satchel if she wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If it was so valuable to him, why didn’t the guy take it
with him?” Cleo felt bound to ask.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you’re asking,” replied the manager. “He probably
thought he would be coming back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You did not report him missing, did you?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They always come back if they’ve left something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo decided she would not get any further by asking
questions. Doss-house managers were presumably glad to get any responsibility
taken from them, so being friendly and appearing to shoulder responsibility for
some old tramp or other was the best way forward. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She decided to take Gary along after lunch. She did not feel
in the need of personal protection, but if Gary were there, he could confiscate
the tramp’s satchel should the need arise. A photo of the guy would be
available; even if he had not been photographed and passed along to some other
office at some time in the past, he would have now since he had been found dead
and identified, wrongly, as it had proved when someone saw the tramp’s photo in
a special edition of the Gazette that Bertie Browne had seen fit to publish as
soon as he heard the news. He would not say who the HQ informer was, but and
declared that the dead man, whoever he was, had been a regular at meetings of
men living on the streets and sharing their plonk at venues including the
station and the nearby park. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Fargo beneficiaries were due to be interviewed again,
but had so far been left to their own devices. Gary was worried that the
exposure of their fake identification might cause them to make a run for it, but
their stakes were high, so they would probably brazen out the situation. They
were genuinely related to Dr Fargo. They had too much to lose by absconding. It
should be added that Gary’s musings were on a purely practical level despite
the glaring possibility that the young Fargos were up to no good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was hard not to talk about the tramp to Gary, so in the
end Cleo did, suggesting that Gary should take the case seriously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t send a team to dig up anyone’s garden if we don’t
have evidence of misconduct, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Scruples again, Gary? Isn’t a fake identification enough
evidence?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only if it was not a genuine mistake.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait a minute! How
respectable is it to identify a corpse to get at the inheritance?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d have to prove that they did that deliberately.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can definitely smell a rat,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Find evidence of corruption and we’ll go on from there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I will if there is any. Even that guy in charge of the
doss-house sounded suspicious,” said Cleo. “What if he provided the tramp as a
potential victim?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is little quirky England, not big bad America, Cleo.
People don’t hire doss-house managers to deliver potential or real live corpses.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know that self-styled manager from dealing with the
characters he sends to HQ. We can’t follow up all the crackpots who choose to
live an outdoor life or even investigate the motives of a manager who has not
actually committed a crime we could pin him down on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now I’m even more curious. Do you have a photo of the guy
they said was Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Blast, Cleo. Do you have to get involved?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think I do. You have a corpse who is not the person he
was identified as.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. There is a digital image on file, of course. I’ll
download it and then do me a favour: Get Nigel onto the case. He wants to be a detective.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Later. I’ll edit the photo first. It could be your great
uncle.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Listen, Cleo. I can’t go to that doss-house with a
cock-and-bull story. For a start, they’ll recognize me there, and they
definitely won’t believe a great uncle story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. I’ll send Dorothy. It’s her long lost brother. That
manager guy will probably hand over the bag and be glad to be rid of it. And if
that doesn’t work out, Nigel can take over as the grandson.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo put a filter over the face on the photo Gary sent and
printed it out on matt photo paper to make it look like something old ladies
carried around in handbags, after which she treated the surface and the back to
a quick wipe with a ‘sepia’ teabag. Gary was impressed, but obliged to remind
Cleo that if the photo was old the face on it was probably young.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another photo was edited: the face of a young guy chosen at
random on the internet and treated to the same photographic aging process. The photo
would not arouse suspicion in Dorothy’s handbag, Gary thought. Photos carried
around in handbags tended to be the worse for wear, and the face of the young
‘brother’ would make Dorothy’s story even more convincing and it could be
‘aged’ to match Dorothy’s generation. Even Gary thought that the doss-house
manager would fall for the trick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I’d still like to know why all the fuss?” Gary asked.
“We can sort out the identity at HQ.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sometime soon. It’s all a wild goose chase, anyway, hunting
down someone on the basis is of a faked photo based on police shots taken of Dr
Fargo’s male relative.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think that investigating fraudulent
misappropriation of a family fortune is something to be put on the back burner,
Gary. Have you asked yourself why the old guy was wrongly identified? In novels
he would be about to leave his money to a charity and be murdered so that the
relatives could get the dough before he had time to change the will.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come on, Cleo. Up till recently it was considered to be a
genuine identification.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. Now we know better, but where is the genuine old man?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He seems to have disappeared,” said Gary, wondering just
how near the truth Cleo was with her suspicions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The whole business stinks,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK, my love. You are starting to make me think differently
about those relatives, but we’ll have to tread carefully. We police can’t act
on tenuous theories or go on wild goose chases. You know that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t have a suspicious enough mind either, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t suspect crime wherever I look.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You should. So the Hartley Agency will do the careful
treading and Nigel can help even if it does turn out to be a wild goose chase.
In that case he can practise chasing geese.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That idea made them both laugh.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll tell him,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I’m going to phone Dorothy about another case that
seems to be escaping HQ notice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I love it when you get into sleuthing, Cleo. It’s just like
old times.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Some of those old times were agonizing!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But memorable… And I know I’m better cut out to be a
houseman than a detective.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could not use you here all the time, Gary. You are far
too strenuous.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve never heard you complain before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not complaining. I’m simply stating fact.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And I’m going to wrap myself in our duvet while the going’s
good.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll join you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not too strenuous?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“For whom, Sweetheart?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was at home because the animal sanctuary was closed
until later in the day, so she could go to the doss-house first. Cleo said that
the animal sanctuary was important, but the tramp case took priority. Gary
would take her and the photo of the tramp to the doss-house, but he needed a
siesta first. Dorothy thought that was a good idea since it calmed the nerves
and refreshed the soul. She tactfully avoided any allusion to what she
suspected was the purpose of siestas taken by Gary and Cleo in the early
afternoon while the kiddies were resting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s all that about the animal sanctuary?” Gary asked,
having overheard the phone call.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought Dorothy needed another pet, but now we might,”
said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought we were going to adopt Dog.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Joe’s adopting Dog.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So the last of Mr Barker is to go to the former lodger,”
said Gary. “Which bit of me or mine would you keep the longest?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll have to think about that. Dog upsets Mrs Barker’s
budgies,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If the Barker’s house were for sale, I’d make an offer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ask Dorothy if there’s any chance of that, but do you
really want to live next door to Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I quite like Beethoven. Nice tunes to sing along to,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your caterwauling could awaken the neighbourhood, Gary. Can
we just build more bits onto the cottage, please?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When you’ve substantiated your theories about the Fargo
family and dabbled in animal welfare to your satisfaction, I’ll agree to that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll go to the library,” said Cleo. “Your mother will be
happy to baby-sit and those library shelves are packed with old local
publications.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Records are best found at HQ. I can help you if you would
reveal what you are really looking for.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll try the library first.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Siesta first before Grit collects PeggySue and one of those
babies stirs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Aren’t you needed at HQ?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I need a snooze more urgently these days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Put like that, old man...You used to say you needed me, Mr
Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That still applies…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that siesta in which sleep did not figure as much as
it might have done had not Cleo and Gary been lovers as well as parents and
colleagues, Gary parted reluctantly from his family and collected Dorothy in
the family hatchback, intending to drop her off wherever she wanted to go. Cleo
and Grit drank coffee before Grit took over the lively Hurley brood and Cleo
drove the red cabriole to Middlethumpton library.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The au pair is coming tomorrow, Grit. Things won’t be so
hectic then.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not complaining, Cleo, but a little assistance would
not come amiss if you are going to work at your office. One set of twins was
delightful. Two sets means feeding hungry mouths and changing used nappies in a
rhythm akin to painting the Tower of London!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’re right and I can’t thank you enough, Grit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I love them, Cleo. It isn’t a problem really, and the little
boys can go to nursery soon.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a very good idea. I’ll get them registered, Grit. I
did not think I would go back to being Miss Hartley, but strange cases need
special attention and I’m sure that Gary needs private investigators he can
trust. Delving into family histories is not something the cops do terribly well
or even willingly.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would be an exaggeration to claim that the Hartley Agency
was back in business, but that’s what it seemed like to Cleo, who could not
help being glad to do her own thing. She hoped that Dorothy could cope.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The doss-house looked seedy and Gary wondered if he should
let Dorothy go in, but she was out of the car in a flash and marching to the
door, so he moved the car to round the corner and waited. Cleo would have
wanted him to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The doss-house door was opened cautiously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m looking for my brother,” Dorothy announced.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who are you?” the man wanted to know. Was he nervous, or
did he always have that little twitch? He seemed unsteady on his feet and his
manner was unwelcoming.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Price,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s no one named Price here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He may be using a different name, Mr….”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Granger.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mr Granger. I can show you a photo if you like.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’d better come in, Mrs Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s Miss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Granger checked that no one had accompanied Dorothy before
leading the way into a small cubbyhole he evidently used as an office. It was
strewn with piles of paper and was a mess. The desk was piled high with
takeaway meal packaging, cigarette ends, an overflowing ashtray and banana
skins. There was no filing system, no computer, and no sign of anything else
remotely connected with management. An array of hard liquor bottles at various
stages of emptiness perched on a small camping table revealed that Mr Granger
enjoyed his drink and had probably been imbibing extensively from getting up
time, judging from his gait and untidy speech. He grabbed a pile of papers and
started sifting through them for no apparent reason.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Recent events,” he explained.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Haven’t you got a secretary, Mr Granger?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No need. It’s all in my head, you see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’m sure you can recognize the person in this photo,”
said Dorothy, handing Granger the photo of the dead tramp.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Granger dropped all the papers he was holding onto the floor
and studied the photo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was in the Gazette,” Granger said. “Ask Bertie Browne
where he got it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I told you. It’s my brother.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, he’s dead. Don’t you read the Gazette, Mrs Price?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Miss. “<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait a minute. That isn’t the same photo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is one I carry around with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought your brother was missing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We met once a couple of years ago and took photos.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The police got him. Why don’t you ask them where he is?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who told you the police got him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I took him there weeks ago, Mrs Price.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Miss,” Dorothy corrected yet again. “What had he done?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How should I know? They’re all criminals, those vagabonds.
Are you sure he’s your cousin?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brother, Mr Granger. What name did he give himself here?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you want information about him, why don’t you go to the police?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s my brother, Mr Granger. You can tell me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Granger was anxious to see the back of Dorothy, which
explains why he divulged the name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bates, called himself Toby.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Typical,” said Dorothy. All she needed to do now was get
out of that dreadful place. “Tobias always was an odd bod.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can say that again,” said Granger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t suppose he left anything here, did he?” said
Dorothy, aiming at the satchel, of course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since Granger wanted nothing to do with any of the tramps
who had passed through and certainly not with one who had made it to Bertie
Browne’s Gazette, he decided to hand over the satchel. He pulled it down from a
shelf above his head and swung by its shoulder strap in Dorothy’s direction.
The woman was now becoming an irritation, Granger muttered to himself. Dorothy
caught the satchel deftly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good riddance,” said Granger. “I expect Toby would have
wanted his relatives to have his possessions. That’s all he had.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why didn’t he take it with him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He usually came back. But that day he didn’t. I kept it in
case.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In case what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Granger shrugged his shoulders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s in it?” asked Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How should I know? It’s locked.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m surprised you didn’t look inside,” Dorothy risked
commenting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Too busy,” retorted the man.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Too drunk, thought Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you anyway,” said Dorothy, wiping away a crocodile
tear as she hugged the satchel to her breast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good riddance,” said Granger as he escorted Dorothy out of
the building.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Dorothy’s surprise she spotted Gary’s car waiting for her
from where the car could not be seen from the doss-house.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Everything OK, Dorothy?” he asked, getting out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did not ask you to wait for me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I did. I can’t have you wandering off into disreputable
places without at least thinking about your safety, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve been to worse places.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary opened the passenger door for Dorothy to climb in, then
went round the car, got in and started the engine.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So did you find out anything worth knowing?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you going to tell me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure Cleo would want me to do that before I tell
her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t be secretive, Dorothy. Tell me anyway.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It occurred to Dorothy that she could not very well keep the
information a secret when Gary and was anxious about her welfare.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The dead tramp was named Toby Bates according to Mr Granger,
and this is the only possession he seems to have had,” she said, patting the
satchel she was still nursing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good work. What’s in it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s padlocked.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll drive you to HQ, shall I? We can get it open there and
take a look at the contents.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was clear to Dorothy that Gary was now determined to get
involved, so she acquiesced. Within a few minutes, Nigel had been given the
task of getting the satchel open and Gary had put his espresso machine into
action.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel commented that Toby Bates had given his name as Roy
Rogers when he was brought alive to HQ. There was no guarantee that his name
actually was Toby Bates. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Rogers name was followed up at the time,” said Gary.
“Toby Bates sounds less like a Hollywood alias. He made fools of us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That manager did not even offer me a drink,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect he wanted to get rid of you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I would have refused, anyway. He was half drunk and stank.
In fact, the whole place stank.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It would. It’s hardly a 5 star hotel,” said Nigel. ”You wouldn’t
catch me there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That manager is a drunkard and I’m sure he’s a crook,” said
Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He probably is, but we can’t pin anything on him,” said
Gary. “Sugar?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Two please. Have you tried?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now and again,” said Gary. “To be truthful, we are glad the
tramps go there first. They’ve usually had a wash before coming here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Granger could try washing himself,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are a card, Miss Price,” said Nigel, laughing at
Dorothy’s sharp repartee. “You remind me of my Auntie Blod.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Auntie Blood?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could put it like that. Full name Blodwen. On the Welsh
side,” said Nigel. ”She’s a bit of a sleuth, too. But she only spies on the
neighbours over the garden fence. They know she does it. She pretends to be
weeding. I think they make things up to scandalize her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel handed Dorothy the now open satchel for closer
inspection. Dorothy spread the contents onto Gary’s desk. It consisted mostly
of old newspapers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We can throw them out for a start,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No we can’t. Not before we know why he kept them under lock
and key, Gary,” said Dorothy. “I’ll read them first, shall I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll help you,” said Nigel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK you two. Get going. I’ll look at the other stuff and I
won’t throw anything away.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nigel and Dorothy took the old papers to Nigel’s table at
the back of the room. They sat down to browse through what Toby Bates had
decided was too significant or valuable to throw away. Some of the newspapers
were over thirty years old and had been read many times, judging from the
condition of the paper. Some sections were marked with a pencil. The two
readers exchanged glances many times. Gary opened up his computer, but was
aware of the activity at the back of his office, and curious. Dorothy was conferring
with Nigel and they seemed to agree that they were onto something out of the
ordinary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The satchel revealed a small tin box containing a few pieces
of women’s jewellery, including a wedding ring, which was probably the most
valuable object Bates had still possessed and was too cherished to be pawned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary mused that it was all a bit mysterious. Right up Cleo’s
street, actually, but these days he was just as fascinated by what made people
tick. When Dorothy asked if the tramp was wearing a wedding ring, he phoned
down to Chris in the pathology lab to ask if that tramp, now labelled Toby
Bates, was wearing or in possession of a wedding ring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve removed it,” said Chris. “Normal procedure. The killer
probably forgot it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Killer?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He did not just die. His demise was assisted, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Poison, but a deft blow on the skull might have helped him
on his journey.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Poison? Never.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have I ever made a mistake?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK. Poison. But how, I wonder. And why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cheap plonk laced with something, judging from the contents
of the stomach.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The sort of drink nice people might concoct to give to a
tramp?” Gary asked intuitively. He had learnt a lot from his two favourite
amateur sleuths.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s thinkable. I have his prints, Gary. He seems to have
been at HQ for a day or two saying he was Roy Rogers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He hadn’t done anything. We let him go. He was wandering
around harmlessly. Someone poisoned him for kicks and then plonked him on the
head.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The blow might have been before the poison,” said Chris.
“But it’s unlikely. I think we can assume that whoever gave him the laced
alcohol waited until he started to get the effects of a strong dose of what I
suspect is an amatoxin. He might then have been knocked over. The blow was a
bruise, not a breakage.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What the hell is an amatoxin?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Toadstool poison. A good reason for not eating them.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why would anyone kill a harmless old tramp, Chris?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ask Cleo, Gary. You are too keen on facts. There is
probably a neat story to his dismal end. Do you need the ring now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nigel can collect it, Chris. I’m on my way home now. I
can’t leave my mother with all those kids all day. Cleo has gone out”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Give her my love,” said Chris. “She’s the brightest spark
around here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary phoned Cleo, who had drawn a blank at the library and was
also on her way home. They had plenty to talk about.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So the tramp was given a bottle of wine fortified with wild
mushroom poison. Did he go back to the doss-house with it? What did Dorothy
find out?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The doss-house guy was drunk rather than dead, which might
have been if he’d had some of the poisoned plonk,” said Gary. “I think Bates
must have been roaming around. That’s how tramps spend their days and they
usually have old haunts. We found a pile of old paper cut-outs in the guy’s
satchel. Nigel and Dorothy are looking through them at HQ.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anything else in that bag, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A box of trinkets including a gold wedding-ring.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If he was wearing one it might have been his wife’s.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He was. I wondered why he kept the rings. Tramps usually
sell everything to buy liquor.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Our tramp seems to have been a bit special, Gary. Phone the
office and invite Nigel and Dorothy to supper. Ask Nigel to bring the cut-outs
along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He can photocopy them. I don’t think he should remove the
evidence, if that’s what it is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No doubt Dorothy will have interpreted them by she gets
here,” said Cleo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-transform: uppercase;">“</span>She’s doing
my job, Cleo. I should be angry with myself about that, but I did not think they
were important and she did.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-transform: uppercase;">“</span>Just be glad
of any help you can get, Sweetheart. Your five minutes of fame will come soon
enough.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was afraid of that,” said Gary. “What’s for dinner?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-34692758630076399492017-05-16T07:55:00.001+02:002020-03-23T09:33:51.213+01:00Episode 3 - Night Rider<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Tuesday cont.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith Parsnip had allowed Robert to leave and was getting
was ready for a lonely night when Brass banged the vicarage gargoyle against
the solid oak front door, so she answered the door in her negligée, a flimsy
garment that revealed more than it hid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry to wake you,” apologised Brass. “I just need to
know what you saw and heard behind the church hall, Mrs Parsnip.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>“It’s Edith and come in,” she said, dragging the surprised
sergeant inside. “We don’t want to wake Miss Baker, do we?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want to wake anyone,” said Brass as he found
himself being propelled into Edith’s bedroom. It was a makeover of her late
husband’s study and devoid of anything ornamental. It was one of the two rooms
she occupied as vicarage lodger, sharing the kitchen and upstairs bathroom.
Mary Baker, the first and possibly the last female curate in Upper Grumpsfield
if church attendance was anything to go by, was still single, but had a
boyfriend. They slept in the main bedroom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now you’re here and I’m lonely, you could be nice to me. I
like people to keep me company,” Edith said I a low voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Edith helped Brass to take off his jacket, but she didn’t
stop there. To his blank astonishment Brass soon found himself lying on the bed
in nothing but his socks, which were hastily removed by Edith before she
slipped out of her negligée and sprang on him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hey, wait a minute! I did not come here for this,” said
Brass, sitting bolt upright on the bed and pushing her away. He was trying to
be dignified in his far from dignified birthday suit. His timing was admittedly
faulty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can see that you want it. Just lie still and let me,” she
explained, pushing him down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Half an hour later, Brass was a little the worse for wear,
but pleased with his overall performance. He had never thought much of himself
as a lover, but Edith Parsnip had turned him into a good one. He had not come
for sex, but on reflection it had been quite a good idea of Edith to jump the
guns. She was an attractive woman and he was flattered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I should not have come here,” he said. “People will talk.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What people?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Everyone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No one,” Edith said. “No one can see what we are doing and
no one cares.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whispering obscenities that Brass thought only debauched
women could utter, Edith repeated her sex routine with an energy and passion
that had been missing in Brass’s life. Brass could not have repelled her even
if he had wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After about another hour, Brass managed to get out of the
love nest for long enough to get dressed though Edith did her best to dissuade
him. Brass was quivering from the shock of Edith’s antics and his own eager
response.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You put Robert in the shade,” said Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do I?” said Brass, bemused by what he decided must be a
compliment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you are too thin. I didn’t know how best to hold you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t say I noticed,” said Brass, recovering somewhat
from Edith’s physical onslaughts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let’s do some more,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Better not,” said Brass. “I’ve got to get back to my
children.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Will you come again soon?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” he stuttered. “Tonight?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That would be nice,” said Edith as if they were arranging afternoon
tea. “We can try one or two new things out of my book.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your book?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my late husband’s. It’s an original in Sanskrit and
has lots of lovely coloured pictures. Can you read Sanskrit?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Neither can I, but we can look at those pictures and I
recognize some of the words. You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?” said Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Pictures of what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait and see,” said Edith. “I’m good at it, aren’t I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sex,” said Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I suppose you are,” said Brass, making for the door before
Edith had time to change his mind for him about leaving.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass staggered home, forgetting that his car was parked at
the church hall and not quite sure if he had been dreaming what had happened.
He had had nothing to do with the fuss made about the private and illegal
brothel run by the Paddy Kelly at his farmhouse in Lower Grumpsfield, where
Edith had apparently gone in and out and rumour had it that she only said she
was doing the housework because a vicar’s widow did not get paid for doing
charity work, which is how she viewed her orgiastic sex. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass was not into the sort of thing that went on at such an
establishment, but now he wondered if he had been missing out. He had seen
himself as a grieving, lonely widower. It had taken a woman of Edith’s erotic
calibre to break the ice. He should stop it now, whatever was driving him to
such excesses, but he knew that he couldn’t and did not even want to. Whatever
prowess Robert had had, the widower Brass did it better. Edith said so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you telling me that you sent Brass to interview Edith
at dead of night?” Cleo remarked later as she fell into bed, all the babies
having been attended to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yep,” said Gary. “I was only doing what you instructed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But that’s sending him into a lion’s den,” said Cleo. “I
don’t think that was a very good idea and I did not instruct you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Inspired then, and believe me, it was a brilliant idea,”
said Gary. “Firstly, it gets Robert off the hook, and secondly, Brass is single
and lonely. A bit of sex appeal will do him good.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It won’t stop at sex appeal,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It depends on how good Brass is at self-defence.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or he’ll enjoy himself. He might even be a dark horse.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect Edith likes dark horses,” said Gary. “I’d quite
like to be a fly on the wall.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A voyeur?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just curious.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s what they all say.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was only thinking aloud.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As long as you don’t see yourself as one of Edith’s dark
horses, Gary Hurley.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You mean take up with a scraggy little widow instead of the
luscious half Afro-American mother of my children? No go, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And fortunately the night is still relatively young, I
expect you are thinking,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know that they colour green olives black because
black olives cost more?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t really care, Gary. I’m just waiting for that
quarter Indian guy to warm his cold feet on his own bit of duvet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder if Edith says things like that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I doubt it. She probably just drags the men in however cold
their feet are. Want me to show you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next morning, still almost in a trance from Edith’s
attentions and his own passionate response, Brass fetched his car from the
village hall and drove his children to the station to catch the early train to
North Wales, where they were going to visit their grandparents. Under normal
circumstances Brass would have been sorry to see them go, but overnight his
attitude had changed. He envisaged torrid nights spent at his bungalow with
Edith. There would be no teenage children to bother about. He could devote
himself entirely to the task of being a willing slave to Edith’s erotic desires
and would surely feel free to contribute some his own. He could hardly wait.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By nine, Brass was in his little office. At nine-fifteen the
first cat had been reported missing and the case would be passed on to the
Hartley Agency for investigation. Brass had no time for missing pets now he had
discovered a new level of existence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At nine thirty Cleo entered Brass’s office on her way to her
own office. The offices were on opposite corners of a small side-road. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass looked the worse for wear.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect you had a short night, Brass,” said Cleo
meaningfully.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I took my children to the station early this morning, Cleo.
They’ve gone to visit my parents-in-law. Here’s the report of the latest
missing cat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you want me to find it, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could try.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you see Edith last night?” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass blushed and Cleo knew for certain that his visit had
not stopped at questions about a corpse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I did, for a minute or two,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know all about it,” said Cleo, “and I’m happy for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How … I mean what do you know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s quite a femme fatale, isn’t she?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s one way of putting it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you arrest her for indecency?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Should I have?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not if you were a consenting adult.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass was astonished at the legal jargon delivered in such a
provocative tone of voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I won’t tell anyone,” said Cleo. “I think Edith is good for
you. She’ll break the ice and then you can find some nice woman to live with.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Edith is nice, Cleo,” said Brass. “She’s lovable and …
lonely.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo only grinned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll bring you a coffee, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thanks for being so understanding.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No one understands better than me, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was satisfied with her visit. Whatever Edith had done
to Brass, it had opened the floodgates. She had hardly opened her own office
and got the coffee machine going when her red car, which Gary used instead of
the family van whenever she did not need to drive anywhere, drew up in front of
Brass’s office and Gary went inside. Cleo had a pretty good idea of the
dialogue that would follow and would only interrupt with the coffee when it was
ready.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, Brass, did you sleep with her?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What makes you think that?” said Brass indignantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was the general idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you mean that you sent me to the vicarage knowing what could
happen?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I had talked to Robert about him being Edith’s partner. He
had problems, you know, and he did not want to be Edith’s paramour.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Paramour?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lover, Brass. Lover.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t have a problem – I mean I don’t have problems even
if I can’t read Sanskrit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you mean she got you onto that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Some old book of the vicar’s, she said. But it has
pictures.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll bet it does. Saucy ones, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen it yet. It must be
some kind of religious literature. After all, Mr Parsnip was a vicar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could describe the book that way, Brass, but it has
nothing to do with being what the vicar liked to call himself: a man of God,
unless you are thinking in terms of procreation.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Meaning…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s an oriental culture thing,” Gary mused. “In the old days
western men used to take their sons to a hooker so that they could find out how
to make love to a woman. Men did not have inhibitions about women as sex
objects then and even the most respectable women took it all in their stride as
long as they had their pin money and women friends to discuss things with. It
was a career, Brass. I think it explains why marriages lasted in the old days.
The wife knew exactly what was going on and men just went on paying the bills
and enjoying a sex life that had nothing to do with their marriage partners. As
long as they were solvent the couple both had a carte blanche.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you preaching at me, Gary?” said Brass. “All that
historical junk is totally irrelevant. What men and women used their kids for is
punishable by law and indecent. And what does Mr Parsnip’s old book have to do
with the abuse of children?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nothing expressly except that it has historical value
because in the east the topic was considered relevant enough to write about.
Remember, I those days what we now class as pornography was generally
considered to be an art form.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not into pornography, Gary,” Brass protested.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sure you aren’t, Brass. I expect you will soon be
wondering why a village vicar had such a book in his library. I’ll explain in
more detail, shall I?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not waiting for Brass to protest since he felt he had heard
enough details already, Gary spun his theory further. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Parsnip was a celibate and would have been a priest if he
had not been Church of England and was expected to have a respectable marriage
and procreate. He probably got all his thrills by looking at the pictures in
that illuminated book and kidding himself that they were artistic,” said Gary,
wondering but not saying that he thought Edith might have been the guiding
light earlier in her marriage, if the five children were evidence. Presumably
Mr Parsnip had preferred reading his naughty book to twosomeness with Edith. He
had already heard somewhere that the vicar had gone entiely off Edith after she
gave birth to kids four and five.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It all sounds like psychological twaddle,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What kind of twaddle?” interrupted Cleo as she brought in
two mugs of steaming hot coffee.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Man to man talk, Cleo,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then I’ll leave you to it,” said Cleo, grinning broadly. To
Brass’s relief she did leave, but the smirk on her face haunted him forever
after.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Between you, me and the gatepost, Edith is quite a woman,”
said Brass, deciding that he would have to take Gary into his confidence if he
were to be left in peace to enjoy the long forgotten Fred Bradley that Edith
had helped him to release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If the fire’s burning, don’t put it out, Brass,” said Gary.
“Edith frightens Robert, but she obviously does not scare you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I felt alive for the first time in years.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you are going to see her again, are you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tonight, Gary. She’s really hungry and … so am I.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Gary was surprised at Brass’s admission, he would not
spoil things by commenting. He felt a bit like Jupiter or was it Zeus and was
starting to understand the satisfaction women had from playing Cupid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can reach me at HQ if anything comes up – related to
crime, I mean.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m leaving the latest missing cat to Cleo,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good idea. Health and Safety are combing through every
restaurant fridge. I expect we have all eaten cat at some time or other.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had phoned Dorothy earlier and asked her to come to the
office bringing with her any information she still had about Laura’s Finch’s
chorus ladies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does that mean business, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It sure does, Dorothy. On Gary’s request, it’s business as
usual.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very sensible,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo thought she would not tell Dorothy that Gary had sent
Brass to be seduced by Edith. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before Dorothy arrived, Cleo phoned Gary and asked him if
Brass had said any more about Edith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s smitten, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Congratulations, Cupid!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I would never have thought it. She’s going to go
through the Kamasutra with him tonight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does he know what that is, Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I shouldn’t think so. I explained in a few words. It will
be an eye-opener.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good for him. I hope he’s up to it. Robert wasn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t, Gary and I wonder how you knew so much about
Indian literature. I’m not into porno obscenity even if it’s considered
artistic by some.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, I don’t think we need worry about Brass and that
Sanskrit user manual. He has a date with Edith for tonight and I doubt if he
would have let himself in for that if he did not want to. He always has the
excuse of being on duty.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you tell him to be careful, Gary? Edith is not much
older than me and you know what that means.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I should think that would be closing the stable door,
Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo was careful not to reveal that she had had quite an
intimate, if short, dialogue with Brass. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I never thought of Brass as a fast worker. I don’t suppose
he expected such intimate attention.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think he had any choice,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t suppose he wanted any once Edith had shown him the
way,” said Cleo. “Those dry old sticks can go through a metamorphosis if the
right partner comes along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t think of me in that light do you, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, Gary. I don’t think you’d know how to be a dry old
stick.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t tell Dorothy too much.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About us?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure she’d be able to cope with too many details
about the newest village romance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have the details, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So do you. Much the same as in Robert’s case, except that
Robert got injured because he fought against the wild animal in Edith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then it’s just as well that Brass can cope,” said Cleo.
“Here’s Dorothy now. We should get onto the choral business before there’s
another victim behind the church hall.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are we really going to dig up all those chorus ladies
again?” Dorothy wanted to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not all of them, but we need to know who the woman named
Margie could have been quarrelling with the night she died or was killed,
Dorothy. Someone must be responsible or at least know something about her fatal
fall.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you checked with Chris about the cause of death?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s too soon, but I can call forensics now,” said Cleo.
“If we can’t make progress, I expect we’ll be metaphorically digging up a few
missing cats instead, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh dear. Not another.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And more to come, I’m sure, but you can’t identify them
unless they are tattooed or otherwise marked. I expect the restauranteurs know
that and avoid them, though they are among the best fed cats in the country.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll take Mimi to the vet today.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know where she is now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. She goes for walks, but she doesn’t tell me where she
is going.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s the problem. Once they have disappeared, hardly any
are found again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Supposing that stray animal place can tell us something?
What if they are doing a trade in stray cats?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brilliant, but Gary may not like that idea after the
tip-offs we gave him in the stolen baby case.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’ll never learn, Cleo. We’ll investigate ourselves,” said
Dorothy. “Never mind Margie. I’m going to save the cats first.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With those words, Dorothy stormed out of Cleo’s office ready
to take on a case that was right up her street.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Left to her own devices, Cleo rang Gary, who was now in his
office pondering on a case in which the beneficiaries had identified a tramp as
their benefactor, a Dr Fargo. The tramp was dirty and unkempt. Gary did not
believe the identification, but since the corpse had no form of identification
on him, he could not argue the point. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dr Fargo might not be dead, but alive and locked up
somewhere,” Cleo suggested. “The business is fishy, Gary. You don’t normally
identify the first available corpse as a relative unless you have an axe to
grind.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Supposing the tramp is standing in for the genuine Dr Fargo,”
said Gary. “Do you know how many ways there are to dispose of someone?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“To claim the inheritance later as his brother?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Something like that,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Assuming the old guy is dead, relatives have a wide choice
of ways to rid themselves of an elderly relative sitting on a fortune,” said
Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But they need a corpse as evidence of that person’s demise,
don’t they?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he could be alive and the relatives want the inheritance
prematurely,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He has to be found, dead or alive,” said Gary, “unless it
really is that tramp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As far as the agency is concerned, it’s cats first; pensioners
and corpses later,” said Cleo. “But Bertie Browne could get s photo of the guy
into the Thursday issue of his Gazette, couldn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a good idea. I’ll phone him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary was a little piqued that the cat case was seemingly
going to take priority over a suspicious tramp and the chorus corpse. He was
even less amused by the idea of doing a razzia at an animal sanctuary, but if
Cleo insisted, he would. A photo in the Gazette might produce results, he thought.
Sometimes Gary forgot that he and Cleo wanted the same thing professionally. Their
private lives were, in contrast, entirely on the same level. He never got as
far as musing on his own reluctance to share the profits of his investigating even
though it delayed Cleo’s progress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll send Dorothy in first,” Cleo offered. “In fact, I
think she’s on her way there now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s for lunch, Cleo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not cat!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris reported to Cleo that he had X-rayed the head of the
dead woman and discovered that she had a fractured skull that could have been
the cause of death. Further examinations were necessary for a conclusive
result, but Chris did not think anyone could have survived the head injury and
that it could have been caused by her fall that in turn was caused by the chin
hook.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“OK,” said Cleo. “So she was a case of accidental death <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rather than premeditated homicide. How we are
to find out which is a mystery, isn’t it? No one is going to own up. Our best
bet is that there was a witness, but I’m not hopeful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or the person accompanying the woman comes forward,” said
Chris. “It has been known to happen.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not if it was murder,” said Cleo. ”But thanks anyway,
Chris.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo reported that phone call to Dorothy over their mobiles.
Dorothy was sitting at the vet’s with Mimi, who had fortunately come home. They
were now waiting to have an all-important identity chip implanted as suggested
by the assistant. The visit to the animal sanctuary would have to wait.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anything else?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I told Gary about the cats.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect he told you that prioritizing cats was a crazy
idea,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“More or less.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It isn’t crazy if it stops the poor creatures landing in a
cooking pot,” said Dorothy. “And we should look at the trade in valuable
animals, too. People make money out of defenceless creatures.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That goes for farmers, too, Dorothy. Better stay off that topic
unless you want to make a whole lot of enemies.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I should be a vegetarian,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There is a subtle difference between farming and the
smuggling of exotic animals into the country every day to be sold at high
prices.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How terrible,” wailed Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Those poor creatures often die on the journey and if they
arrive at all they are passed on secretly to purchasers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So our hands are tied, except possibly in the case of household
pets. Anything else?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know a guy called Fargo, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He had a doctor title. I think he was a dermatologist. He
must be quite old now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s probably dead. The guy identified as Dr Fargo by the
relatives was an old guy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You mean that the tramp was wrongly identified, don’t you,”
said Dorothy. “So what has happened to the genuine Dr Fargo?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are inferring that he was dead anyway. Are you, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure what I mean, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gary is trying to figure out right now what happened to Dr
Fargo if this old guy is not him. But he does not think that the real Dr Fargo would
be found so maybe the family needed a substitute so that the case could be
closed and they could inherit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s really nasty,” said Dorothy. “We can only hope the
old man did not go the way some of the cats went. Perhaps they did him in and
buried him in his garden.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder if Gary has thought of that,” said Cleo. “Cops
can’t go around digging up gardens in the hope of finding a corpse, but private
sleuths can, of course.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not digging up any gardens, Cleo. Why shouldn’t Gary
get onto it? If relatives wrongly identified the old man, they are up to
something. Who identified him?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re right about the cops getting involved, Dorothy. It’s
a sound argument I’ll put to Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He might also want to find out who the old tramp really is if
he doesn’t already know. I expect he was using a false identity anyway. Did the
Fargo relatives admit to making a mistake? That might suggest that they got rid
of Dr Fargo after the identification. They might have decided that it was a
good opportunity to get at the inheritance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But they didn’t have to identify the tramp at all,
Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure about that if it helped their plan. I’ll have
to put my thinking cap on.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do that. You have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>couple of good plots already to go into a whodunit.””<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So perhaps those relatives chose the tramp deliberately,”
said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Isn’t that a bit far-fetched, Dorothy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it? Think again, Cleo. What better than producing his
corpse to prove that someone is dead.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-55176053711036410472017-05-01T10:41:00.000+02:002020-03-23T08:39:00.274+01:00Episode 2 - Marigolds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Tuesday October 2</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fred Bradley, known to everyone as Brass, was one of a rota
of cops who ran the sub-police station in Upper Grumpsfield. It was really only
a room with a counter and IT equipment, a coat stand, a loo and a tiny kitchen,
but it served the purpose admirably and was a welcome addition to village life,
since many residents regarded it as a sanctuary where they could air their
grievances.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>The office housing this modest HQ outpost had once been part
of Cleo’s agency until it was clear that one Hartley Agency office was enough.
For Upper Grumpsfield the sub-police station was a dream come true. Police
representation had been sorely missed especially since several murders and lost
dogs had worried residents in recent months and years. The residents thought
they were now being protected by the law against any eventualities, but some
still occurred, of course.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite a current lack of spectacular crimes, Brass was busy
most of the time. Even small lost pets and trivial trespassing are important to
those who experience them. When Brass was not on duty, Nigel, Gary’s assistant
at HQ, often took his place, as did Greg, a detective colleague, Mia, a
policewoman working in the vice squad until that was amalgamated with Gary’s
homicide squad, and Barbara, a policewoman who was now living with Gary’s
brother Joe and amenable about working all night if she had to. Even Gary had
been known to help out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo remarked that Brass’s offshore enterprise had a cosy
quality. Gary was quick to retort that he hoped gangsters thought differently
and would not add to HQs troubles by indulging in any gang warfare or other
activities in the village that would challenge the homeliness of the little
police station.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the evening of the chorus auditions, Brass was himself on
duty (he later denied writing himself into the rota in order not to have to
appear for an audition at the church hall). He spent the early evening writing
reports. However trivial the enquiry, complaint or plea was, it had to be
recorded for posterity, a print-out being part of the routine, since paper does
not disappear into thin air quite as easily as digital data. Nobody had ever
asked if, for instance, someone’s missing cat <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- that later came home all by itself - was a
suitable subject for detailed crime reporting. But it had to be done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what had been small fry reporting was rapidly becoming a
matter for concern. Lately, quite a lot of cats had been kidnapped. One
respectable Chinese restaurant in Middlethumpton had been shut down by Health
and Safety officers after feline carcasses had been found frozen in the
freezer. As a cop, Brass would have preferred the challenge of finding missing
children, but as a father he was glad it was only cats in that restaurant’s
fridge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was almost midnight on that Tuesday evening before Brass could
go home and flop down fully dressed on his bed. His three teenage children were
fast asleep. He had switched the office phone over to his bungalow in case of an
emergency. His sleeping mind was full of skinned cats. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The phone call broke into his nightmare like a fire bell. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just when Cleo and Gary were getting comfortable under their
brand new double duvet, Brass felt obliged to ring the Hurleys. The call was
not gratefully received.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh. Sorry. Were you already asleep?” said Brass, always
apologetic and conscious of his frequent bad timing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nearly,” said Gary, who had plucked the receiver from
Cleo’s hand as Max had been woken by the ring and was complaining bitterly. Mathilda,
his twin sister, would presently join in the caterwauling and that would wake
everyone else. Cleo jumped out of bed, flung herself into her kimono, and
tended to the infant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s just that there’s been some squabbling behind the
church hall, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When you say squabbling, do you mean assault and battery or
bickering?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary switched on the speaker so that Cleo could also hear Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Both, I would say,” said Brass. “Mrs Parsnip and the
butcher were on their way home and saw something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect Edith had visited Robert,” Cleo explained loudly
enough for Brass to hear. Her thoughts were racing. Had Robert managed to throw
Edith out?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who phoned you, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mr Jones. It was his mobile phone. He was escorting the
lady home, he said. Mrs Parsnip had been to the rehearsal and after that she had
paid him a visit. They were taking the short cut to the vicarage.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo rolled her eyes. Robert must have promised Edith
something ‘nice’ when they got to the vicarage. Surely he had learnt his lesson
by now and would not have wanted to spend the night with the woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And they heard noises of people having a fight, did they?”
Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They heard voices, and then someone screamed. They waited
until there was no more noise and then went in the direction it had come from.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And where was that, Brass?” Gary asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Round the back of the church hall.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Mrs Parsnip have her clothes on, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wasn’t there, Gary, but I can’t imagine that she would
wander around in the company of Mr Jones without any clothes on. On the other
hand, even if they were engaged in plein air you know what, that’s not the
reason he rang me, is it? It’s a warm evening, but hardly warm enough for
outside- you-know-what.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did Mr Jones ask you for help?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, because there is a person lying among the marigolds.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure they are marigolds, Brass?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo took the handset from Gary and gave him Max to carry
around.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t take any notice of Gary, Brass. He’s sending
you up. What person, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just tell the Chief Inspector that I can tell marigolds
from sunflowers and they are definitely marigolds. I expect Mr Jones can also
tell the difference. What’s more, the person lying among them was stone dead
when Mr Jones rang, and that’s about half an hour ago.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why didn’t you call earlier?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Because I was at home in bed and had to get to the scene of
crime, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass was starting to sound exasperated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I just talk to Mr Jones, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He has taken Edith home and will be back any minute, he
said.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll bet he is glad he has an excuse to get away from the
vicarage and that voracious woman,” commented Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brass did not argue the point. He found Edith Parsnip rather
nice and she was about the right age for him. What a pity she had latched on to
Robert Jones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry, Brass,” Gary said as he took the handset back from
Cleo and handed her Max, who was enjoying being carried around. “I gather that
you are with the corpse, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes. I’ve sent for forensics and the paramedics.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll be along as soon as I can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t have to come, Gary. I just wanted to report the
incident. I can deal with it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll come now, although you don’t have to report to me
every time something happens.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not even murder?” said Brass. “It looks like foul play.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In that case, don’t let the corpse be moved until forensics
have taken photos, will you?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You can rely on me, Gary. I took the precaution of taking
photos myself.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was a good idea to call forensics, Brass.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s Mr Marlow’s last week, isn’t it?” said Brass. “He won’t
be pleased to have a corpse to deal with.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t you believe that, Brass. Marlow wallows in corpses.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry I interrupted your erm…,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Erotic intimacy?” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll survive,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are too hard on that guy, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He’s too keen on kow-towing to me. I’m not the King of
Siam.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Frint-on-Sea damage,” said Cleo. “He was never allowed to
have a mind of his own with that sergeant.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t have him getting us out of bed all the time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Why don’t you put some clothes on and go to the rescue,
Gary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wasn’t planning on this. It’s a damn nuisance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll still be here when you get back, and you should talk
to Robert.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About Edith? Heaven forbid!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About what they heard, Gary, though it might be a good opportunity
to warn Robert not to get himself involved with Edith again. I thought he’d
learnt his lesson.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Some men never do, my love. Look at me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I am looking…at an Adonis reluctant to dress and get going,”
said Cleo. “I wonder if Brass would appreciate some of Edith’s TLC?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you trying to rescue that ex-husband of yours?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass needs a little cheering up, Gary, and she is about the
right age.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is cheering up the new name for rape?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the time Gary arrived at the marigold bed, Robert was
also there. Gary and Robert were friendly, but Robert still had the feeling
that he was sharing Cleo, despite having walked out on her, so their greeting
was cool. In contrast, Gary greeted Brass with a short hug. Cleo was right.
Brass definitely needed cheering up. He would point him in Edith’s direction,
he decided.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The corpse lying between the marigolds on sharp-edged
rockery stones was female.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary took some photos of the scene with his mobile,
explaining that they were for his personal records. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Who is it?” he asked. “Do you know her, Robert?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve never seen her before. I expect she went to the
rehearsal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are there any documents in that handbag, Brass?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I haven’t looked yet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that moment an ambulance and the A & E doctor turned
up. The woman was definitely dead. Nothing more could be done for her. Robert’s
estimate of the time it must have happened tallied with the doctor’s view.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not dead long,” he said. “Probably hit her head on one of
those decorative stones. Accidental death or at worst manslaughter, unless it
was murder. I don’t have to decide.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More of a diagnosis was not forthcoming. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the doctor walked back to his car, the forensics van drew
up in the church forecourt. The doctor pointed to the back of the building and
the forensic team made its way to the scene of the incident.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought it was too good to be true,” said Chris Marlow.
“We haven’t had a murder in Upper Grumpsfield for at least six months. I hope
it’s a one -off,” Chris Marlow added. “I’d hate to have to postpone my
retirement.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This was probably accidental death, Chris, so don’t get too
frustrated,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Official photos were taken and the body of the woman was
lifted onto a stretcher and taken to the ambulance to be transported to the HQ
pathology lab. The round-the-clock security would let them in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The forensic team looked around for evidence of a struggle
or even a weapon, but could not see anything untoward except that there was
blood on the stone nearest where the head of the woman had been. A sample was
taken. A couple of cigarette ends also found their way into a plastic bag.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Clear cut, I would say,” said Chris. “X-rays and an
examination of the head wound will tell us what happened. The daisies didn’t
take much punishment.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Marigolds,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not sunflowers?” taunted Gary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The area was cordoned off in the hope that no one would
march across where the woman had flattened those marigolds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All we have to do now is find out who did it, Brass,” said
Gary as Chris and his team left. “Did you see anyone, Robert?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. You could ask Edith. She might have seen something and
not said anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a good idea,” said Gary. “Brass, can you go to the
vicarage and question Mrs Parsnip?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Brass. She might have forgotten by tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very well. I’ll get going then,” said Brass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope you know what you are letting the poor man in for,”
said Robert when Brass had left.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think I do, Robert. I’m hoping those two will do more
than talk about the incident.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Gary’s amazement, Robert did not protest. Had he got away
from Edith after all?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s up to her old tricks, Gary. She came to my flat for
you know what and it was only my telling her that her bed was more comfortable
that persuaded her to go home. Then the corpse released me from what would have
been another …”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t tell me, Robert. You had a lucky escape.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Brass doesn’t stand a chance,” said Robert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then you should be thankful that I sent him into the lion’s
den.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if he’s not up to it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll have to wait and see, Robert. If you remember
anything about this business here let me know in the morning. I’ll go home now
and I recommend you to do the same. I shouldn’t think you’ll hear from Edith
again tonight, and if you take my advice, don’t get involved with her again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m trying not to, Gary. How’s my wife?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My wife, don’t you mean?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back at the cottage, Gary drank the latté Cleo put before
him and noted that her guy was beaming a lot more than a corpse warranted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What’s amusing you, Sweetheart?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your ex asked how his wife is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Poor guy. I hope you put him straight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I certainly did. He doesn’t seem to be able to shake you or
Edith off,” said Gary, as he showed Cleo a photo of the dead woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Margie, I think her first name was. She sang in Laura’s old
chorus, Gary. A timid sort of person, I thought, but if she got into a brawl
she can’t have been that timid.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Probably fighting over a man,” said Gary. “Women get
surprisingly aggressive when they are defending what they see as their
property.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do they? I must try that one day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I didn’t know you had a rival for my affections.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I would make short work of her,” said Cleo. “Of course,
Margie just got a little accidental push and fell onto the nearest stone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Someone dealt her an uppercut first,” said Gary. “I expect
that sent her flying.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wonder if the attacker was injured.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect Chris will have results quickly. He took the
woman’s handbag with him so he might also know her identity by now, though some
women put less relevant objects into their handbags.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could ring him about her name,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t be bothered,” said Gary. “I need my duvet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Our duvet,” said Cleo. “What makes you think the contents
of a woman’s handbag are irrelevant?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll study yours, Cleo, and then I can probably answer
that question.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course, the attacker could have been almost anyone.
You’ll have to round up that chorus fast, Gary. It could be someone who was not
there for auditions, but you’ll have to talk to anyone who was.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s a job for the Hartley Agency. Will you take it on or
has the antique business already taken over?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll get onto it first thing in the morning. Lisa made a
list of names and Laura left a list of names and phone numbers. We can start
there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dorothy and me, of course.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before I forget, I sent Brass to the vicarage to question
Edith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hope he gets out alive,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought you wanted to get them together.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But not necessarily in her utility room.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I expect he’ll report back,” said Gary. “He always does.
We’d better jump into bed while the going’s good.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-49031233152157284442017-05-01T00:05:00.001+02:002020-03-23T07:37:01.995+01:00Episode 1 - Lisa calls the tune<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoHeading8">
<b>Monday October 1</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo Hartley-Hurley wondered how Gary would take
the news that she was planning a project that was a far cry from what he used
to call snooping. She would probably have less time to air her theories on the
current cases that beset the Chief Inspector who had, despite himself, become
quite reliant on his wife’s Agency and her wise comments, and been put on the
straight and narrow more than once by Dorothy’s hunches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>“OK, my love, confess!” said Gary, who was helping
with the children – a job he loved. Though he would not have admitted it, domesticity
came as a welcome relief. He would like to have been a houseman and get away
from the evil characters he was forced to deal with in the course of his job. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mathilda and Max, the new twins, were crowing away
happily in the playpen. They were content with their own company for the time
being. The older twins, Tommy and Teddy, were quite amenable about sharing the
playpen, though their play was not confined to kicking limbs and trying out
their voices, since Tommy and Teddy were a year older. When all four infants
were gurgling or muttering happily Gary was inclined to think he had fathered a
nursery all on his own. PeggySue, born during Cleo’s short marriage to Robert
Jones, but the happy result of Cleo’s and Gary’s affair, was now getting on for
three; Charlie, his daughter adopted by Cleo, and Lottie, Gary’s brother Joe’s
daughter, were both thirteen years old. That made seven children altogether,
since Lottie spent more time in the Hurley household than in Joe Butler’s,
although his soulmate Barbara got on well with her future step-daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You aren’t …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Maybe not,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That was not a straight answer, Cleo. If it isn’t
a new Hurley, what is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“A bookshop and that would not make any difference
even if there were another Hurley on the way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Meaning there is?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Well…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Did you say a bookshop? You are giving birth to a
bookshop? I think I’d rather have another little Hurley to feed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ve been wondering what to do with my old
office,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let Robert have it to expand his empire,” said
Gary. Robert, an enthusiastic family butcher, had once been Cleo’s possessive
but unemotional husband. Gloria, Cleo’s mother, who had returned from an
episode with a restauranteur in Middlethumpton to be Robert’s right hand in the
family butcher’s shop once again, had in those days been keen on expanding the
business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll turn the office into a bookshop. I’m going to
call it ‘Old and New’ and I want Dorothy to help me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Have you asked her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She’s thinking about it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So am I,” said Gary. “I thought you wanted a
houseful of children.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We already have a house full of children,” said
Cleo. “Now I need an office full of books.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“On your head be it, my love. You have enough to do
here. Isn’t that why your agency is closed?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The business was unprofitable, but to be truthful,
closing down was for the lactation of my new babies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s one way of putting it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I hadn’t really decided,” said Cleo. “But now I
have. I need a challenge, and sitting in an office waiting for people to ask me
to solve silly mysteries, find their pets, spy on their partners and listen to
their grievances no longer charms me the way it used to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What about your sessions at HQ? Aren’t those guys
enough of a challenge?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The therapizing of criminals who just want to get off
lightly is OK part-time, but I can’t dedicate myself to it, and I don’t really
like telling professional cops how to approach criminals with tact and
diplomacy. They should already know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So the bookshop is sure fire, I take it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Not if you disapprove.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I don’t really disapprove. It’s quite a good idea,
but I’m not sure that you should be finding ways of keeping Dorothy at the
grindstone. That’s part of the plan, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy was undoubtedly the most enthusiastic
sleuth north of the M25.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Am I doing that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I think you are,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll think about it from that angle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The test is whether you would consider opening a
bookshop if Dorothy refused to help you, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That’s a question I can’t answer right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“If I were looking for something to do with that
office, I’d go for antiques,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ve never thought of that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You could fill the room with junk that looks like
antiques together with one or two genuine items, have a corner for used books
and maybe even a rack for bestsellers. You might not make a profit, but you
could probably cover your overheads, and you need not open every day if you
don’t want to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Are you suggesting that I fake antiques?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Of course not. Furniture can be renovated to 85%
without losing that definition. There’s even a carpenter in Huddlecourt Minor
who will be glad to help you rescue old stuff.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Can you see me swamped by other people’s junk?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Not if you don’t see it that way. You could still
offer investigative services as part of the venture and there is no antique
shop in Upper Grumpsfield. I’ve often wondered about that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can’t say I’ve missed not having a junk shop
here. Even the Norton Brothers left this office because they could not disguise
the fact that they were not selling anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You don’t know that’s the reason, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The good thing about Gary’s suggestion was that if
he had made it, he could not very well disapprove.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll talk to Dorothy,” she said. “I could still
call it ‘Old and New’ and it could involve all the family, couldn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That was something Gary had not thought of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I expect we’d all contribute in one way or
another,” he agreed. “At least one pensioner will go for it hook, line and
sinker.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Meaning Roger, T expect,” said Cleo. “But he’ll be
working part time at HQ, won’t he?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ve no idea, Cleo. I just hope I don’t have to
take over all his chores.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So you will support my new venture, will you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You already have a name for it and my blessing for
what it’s worth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s worth its weight in gold, and you know it, Gary
Hurley. I’ll phone Dorothy now unless you want to discuss a case.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Later. I’ll start making dinner, shall I?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Just a quick phone call, Dorothy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Oh. It’s you Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Were you expecting someone else?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“My sister Vera. She said she’d call. I expect
she’s too busy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Are you OK? You sound a bit unfriendly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was going to tell you that I don’t want to be
part of the new bookshop, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s off anyway.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It was rather a barmy idea,” said Dorothy. “Didn’t
Gary approve?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He’s had a better idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let me guess. You are going to keep the agency
open instead. That would be nice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“No, just offer consultations if anyone asks for
one. Gary thought the village could use an antique shop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Did he now? That was clever. I’d help you with
that. Remember the fun we had at the Bring and Buy stall on the vicar’s lawn?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“How could I forget?” said Cleo, remembering the
trouble she had convincing people that it was not a swap-shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Events on the vicarage lawn were now history. People
had never really understood that it was in aid of a good cause. It was not a
place to dump garbage, but somewhere you could donate your overkill and buy
other people’s, thus enhancing whatever good cause was being supported. Talking
of village fetes, Cleo did not miss the sports events, run by Miss Plimsoll, Charlie’s
sports teacher and a vicious hockey-player who evidently had a grudge against
humanity. That was the only reason Cleo could think for driving people to do
things that were strenuous and futile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“If you come to the chorus auditions tomorrow
evening we could talk about the antique shop idea, Cleo. Have you got time?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was planning on coming out of curiosity, but not
to sing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll see you there then. At seven sharp if you
don’t want to miss anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll be there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gary was well pleased with the solution he had
thought up for Cleo’s determination to do something with the office. He had
known that it could not go on for ever with Cleo as a stay-at-home wife and now
he had hit on a plan that would please everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So Dorothy’s in on it, I take it,” he said later
as he made coffee in between helping Cleo to clear up the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“She is, and you’re making great strides as a
houseman, Gary,” Cleo said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It’s my turn for the kitchen so you’re helping me,
technically speaking. It’s in the marriage contract, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Reading between the lines, I suppose it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know of a few subliminal customs I prefer,” said
Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Such as borrowing my kimono?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo took her coffee into the bedroom, proceeded to
take off all her clothes and put on her kimono instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Maybe the au pair will enjoy washing up,” said
Cleo as Gary followed her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’d borrow your kimono if you didn’t have it on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Here you are,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You’ll catch cold.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Not under the hot shower,” she replied, streaking into
the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Good idea,” said Gary. “I’ll join you even if hot
and cold are not written into the marriage contract.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A quick check revealed that all the children were
asleep except for Charlie and Lottie who were next door at Joe’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Under a steaming hot shower, everything is good
rather than bad, especially if you are prepared to share the shampoo, my love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll give you a head massage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“What luxury. I don’t expect a head massage from an
au pair,” said Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We could be getting an au pair guy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Never …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The agency said to tick the box for girl or guy so
I ticked both.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“So I can’t see the au pair being fair game unless
you’ve changed your preferences,” said Cleo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m not planning to,” said Gary. “I hope you are
not planning on having a toy-boy. Can we get some shut-eye now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But Cleo had not finished with the topic of au
pairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I know of husbands who treat au pair girls as
bedfellows while their wives are out working.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I am unlikely to look anywhere else for a shower
partner or a bedfellow after working so hard to persuade the one I have to be
one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You couldn’t afford to, Gary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I admit that’s a consideration.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“That remark is worthy of a cold shower.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Spare me, please! I’m just getting warmed up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A veil shall be drawn over the rest of this family
exploit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">By Tuesday evening, when the chorus was hoped to be
expanded by a few strong vocalists, Dorothy had made a list of possible names
for the chorus. From Village Songsters to Ladies’ Night, all her ideas were
written down. Sweet Sisters, Keys’ Kittens, Good Girls, Ladies Calling, Silver
Singers … you name it, it was listed. In case of eventualities, some mixed
chorus names would be on the list. A vote would be taken so that the chorus
could be known by its new name from the word go. Dorothy would then bow out
gracefully. At least, that was the plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lisa Keys was nervous. When she arrived at Upper
Grumpsfield church hall, where the rehearsals took place, she was even more
agitated to see a crowd of women of all ages waiting at the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Are you all singers?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ve come for the audition, Miss,” they answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lisa opened up and went inside, wondering what she
had let herself in for. Dorothy had earlier set up a table in front of the
little stage. Lisa would sit and listen, taking notes and only excluding the
tone deaf from the new chorus. Dorothy would be on stage at the piano ready to
help anyone who could not sing a scale or a little song on her own. Not many of
the contenders were male. Dorothy thought it would be more polite to send them
home now, but Lisa thought they should all be given a crack, so they were.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ll start the ball rolling with the gentleman
carrying a guitar,” said Lisa. “Name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m Herbert Hilton,” said Herbert in a fake Texan
accent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Everyone oohed and aahed at the hill-billy
rendering that followed. Lisa promised to let him know. The
don’t-call-us-we’ll- call-you judgement was an important addition to the casting
routine, it transpired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">One by one the former Finch Nightingales were put
through their paces. Either they had not learnt much under Mrs Finch’s
direction and not added anything to it while Lester Keys was coaching them, or they
had picked up a tip or two during the weeks Lisa Keys had been in charge, or –
and this usually applied - they had forgotten it all. Lisa became ever more
depressed as the evening wore on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The final exponent was an old regular, Barbarella
Knowles, who had not been at any of earlier rehearsals with Miss Keys. She had
had many different jobs and was very loud voiced, with a large appearance, an
unhealthily florid complexion and very belligerent personality. On hearing that
this candidate had been a member previously, but had just recovered from a bout
of chicken pox, Lisa wondered how Lester had put up with it for as long as he
did. Barbarella, alias Babsi, Babe or Baby depending on your relationship with
her, produced a rendering of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ that had to be heard
to be believed. As a hard-core, hard-hitting former member of Laura Finch’s
chorus, Babsi had been a leading light when it came to mobbing poor Laura out
of her director seat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Which voice did you sing in the chorus,” Lisa
asked, not just for something to say. She was inclined to cast Babsi in a
beatbox role.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I can sing anything,” said Babsi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“And I could accompany her, called Mr Smith the
local postman, brandishing a trumpet. When the others are singing I can play,”
he said, “unless you want me to sing, of course. I’m a competent bass with
plenty of high notes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’ll let you know, Mr Smith,” Lisa commented,
ignoring Dorothy’s gesticulation that amounted to don’t let him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since Mr Smith always had his trumpet with him, it
took him no time at all to launch forth on the ‘rainbow song’, encouraging
Babsi to proceed with the second verse. The improvised duet silenced the loud
murmuring of everyone in the hall and appalled anyone who was interested in
joining a choir rather than a brass band.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cleo wondered if Babsi would be a good match for
Robert. She would be much more suitable than Edith Parsnip, widow of the late vicar,
with whom Robert was carrying on an off-on affair, though his erotic potential
in no way matched hers in enthusiasm or – it has to be said – perseverance.
Edith Parsnip had also turned up for the auditions and had rendered quite a
nice version of Schubert’s trout song. Lisa had immediately decided to include
Edith, for which Edith was truly thankful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mr Morgan still fancied Edith having discarded his
preference for Edith’s identical twin sister Clare. His one-sided passion had been
part of his life so ever since he got to Upper Grumpsfield to take up his organ
post. Meeting Clare had thrown his emotions into disarray for some time. Edith
had not returned his affections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Edith had not had much of a life before the
untimely death of the vicar, which was inadvertently (?) sped on by an
inadvisable dose of arsenic that Edith had given to him to teach him a little
lesson for behaviour that was less than dignified for a vicar. During her
period of what the judge called imbalance of mind - since her innocent
appearance did not appear evil – Edith had been therapized with alarming
consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A veil should be drawn over Edith’s version of the
therapy, which was enhanced by sex with paying clients at a farmhouse known as
a house of ill-repute. But the farming pimp was dead. She would return to
respectability - and Robert. She would be a model vicar’s widow. In time she
would marry Robert, she had decided. He was taken care of all day in his shop
and Edith would be free to use the days doing whatever she chose, couldn’t she?.
Candidates for sharing those empty hours could easily be found and the
resulting improvement in her cash flow was an added bonus. Edith- like other
housewives enhancing their cash flow - did not regard her erotic activities as
prostitution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On the way out at the end of the rehearsal, Edith
announced to Cleo that she was going to see Robert. Cleo told her that since
she was no longer married to Robert it was really none of her concern, but Edith
insisted on assuring Cleo that she was looking after Robert’s needs since he
was lonely. That left nothing to Cleo’s imagination since she knew all about
Edith’s extraordinary transformation into a vamp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Having auditioned the candidates, Lisa was in two
minds about the chorus. Dorothy pleaded with her to give it a try. Lisa said
she would on condition that Dorothy helped. Lisa looked to Cleo for clearance
on that proviso.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Not for long, Lisa,” Cleo said, knowing how
unwilling Dorothy was to work with or for that chorus. “Dorothy is planning to
go into the antique business with me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dorothy nodded assent. The main thing was that she
was not going to be saddled with the Finch Nightingales for ever now that Lisa
was going to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The two sleuths went home early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We did not try the soup,” said Dorothy. “Jane’s
soups are rather cloying even though she means well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I couldn’t face any, either,” said Cleo. “I’m glad
we did not stay to the end, Dorothy. The whole evening was a drag.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I’m not seriously thinking of helping out with
that chorus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“You said you would but I knew you would rather do
something else.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I crossed my fingers behind my back, Cleo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Very wise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As they approached Dorothy’s cottage, Cleo having
accompanied her friend past her own cottage to get there, Dorothy could not
resist asking Cleo what she thought about Edith visiting poor Robert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Do you know, Dorothy, in the meantime he may have
got to like being seduced by a woman weighing about a third of his tonnage. It
takes all sorts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I suppose so. To change the subject, I’ll start
sorting out stuff for the antique shop. That will keep me busy and stop me
thinking about Edith’s misdemeanours and Robert’s stupidity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“We’ll sell on commission, Dorothy. Ask around who
wants to sell stuff. They’ll get 80% of what they are asking for it or what we
can get for it. That should give us a flying start while we amass stuff from
house sales and so on. I’ve notice how cheaply some things are almost given
away when the relatives of the deceased just want to be rid of them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Did Gary work all that out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“No, but he’ll agree to it. I think he’s hoping to
start a family business that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Let me know when you need me, Cleo. I’m quite
excited about the idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It would have been nice to report that the Hurleys
drank their nightcap coffees in front of a blazing log fire, sitting on the
little sofa with a plaid over their knees, took a communal shower and fell into
bed and into each other’s arms, but it didn’t happen quite like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
faith1110http://www.blogger.com/profile/02358925817174593317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2070751743820373501.post-7063835866426225682017-04-29T09:21:00.002+02:002020-03-22T19:11:02.393+01:00Preamble - Old and New<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
The day Lisa Keys came to introduce herself to
Dorothy Price in Upper Grumpsfield should have been one of rejoicing and
gladness. At least that’s what Mary Baker, who was now established at St
Peter’s parish church as its lady curate, said later when she realized how
crestfallen Dorothy had been. There was nothing diplomatic about getting Lisa
to take over the chorus.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a>But the moment Dorothy, chief musical energiser in
the village, set eyes on the woman, she was worried that it would make Lisa’s
task difficult if not impossible. Dorothy dreaded the use of the word
‘reincarnation’ in connection with the new chorus director, but she wasn’t far
wrong.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The untimely and violent demise of Laura Finch,
last but one choral director, had been followed by a spell under the direction
of Lester Keys, but he had gone to sing at the BBC. The Finch Nightingales had
been left to their own muddled devices more or less overnight except when
Gareth Morgan, the organist at St Peter’s, condescended to conduct a rehearsal.
Dorothy, who had no desire to conduct the chorus, had advertised for a person
prepared to take on the Finch Nightingales, as the chorus still called itself
even after mobbing Mrs Finch out of the MD job.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lisa Keys was the first and only volunteer for the post.
She had applied only after Lester had talked his sister into it. He had found
the Finch Nightingales excruciating and had no cure for their terribleness. He
thought Lisa might have.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’ll think you are a re-creation,” he told Lisa.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But from what you have told me, that will be a
reason for booting me out,” said Lisa.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think they’ll go that far. Those chorus
ladies need a director and you are nothing like Mrs Finch, except in looks,
thanks to our profligate daddy. I’m sure you will be a great success.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the encouragement, Lisa had a funny feeling
about stepping into the shoes of an elder half-sister she had never met, who
looked just like her except for the age difference, since Lester and Lisa
belonged to the younger generation of their profligate Daddy’s frequent erotic
excursions. Laura Finch, the only legitimate child Daddy had sired, had left a
legacy of women clinging on to their chorus but not improving their vocal prowess,
whatever you tried with them. <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyone who had known Laura Finch still knew that
she had spent her later life putting a rather distasteful early life behind
herself, but it was her bossiness and sarcasm that had really cooked her goose
for the Finch Ladies. People who had known her said that she had it coming to
her, meaning her murder, which was solved to the satisfaction of the law. But there
was still speculation about it since the half-crazed village idiot had
confessed to her murder, but was so prone to lies and deceit that people had
their doubts. The doubters included Dorothy, who could have named at least one
chorus member who was capable of killing and at least as bossy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo Hartley’s detective agency had had no concrete
evidence to support Betjeman Crighton’s guilt. In Cleo’s view, he had been a
welcome scapegoat, which meant that the real killer was still footloose and
fancy free. In that case she was possibly still singing in the choir, she and Dorothy
thought. Even Betjeman’s confession had
not made the two sleuths think otherwise, but the case was closed. The law of
the land was satisfied.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had had to admit that the confession delivered
by Betjeman in one of his more lucid moments had been convincing. She warned
Dorothy not to be suspicious thanks to theories of her own because someone who
had up to now been relatively harmless might decide that the world would be a
better place without her, too. Someone who had killed once and got away with it
might do it again. That could be an idle threat, but Dorothy’s enthusiasm often
got the better of her and had to be curbed. Apart from that, according to
Dorothy’s theory the murderer was still on the loose.<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Memories can be distorted, but not be edited out
without a degree of amnesia or dementia. The chorus had been abysmally awful,
but Laura had not thought so and in those days the vicar had admired, adored
and supported her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In her youth, Laura had been a cruise-liner singer
of operetta and tragic arias, the top notes of which she could not reach, but
had aimed at with grimacing determination. Dorothy knew her from the days in
London when she had accompanied her at the piano and helped her to learn those
songs. Dorothy had despaired of Laura’s off-pitch singing, and was later heard
to express surprise that Laura had not sunk the cruise-liners with her
off-pitch caterwauling. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laura’s stage career – that consisted only of her
cruise-liner appearances - had lasted only until she was ejected from the ship
for soliciting frustrated husbands on the passenger list. Years later, after a
life now swathed in the mists of time, Laura had returned to respectability
with her move back into the old family home in Lower Grumpsfield. What could be
more fitting than to invent a ladies’ chorus, even one that sang out of tune
apart from having other grave shortcomings. Audiences felt uncomfortable, but
Laura was more concerned with excessive volume than precise intonation and
beauty of tone, neither of which had she executed during her thankfully brief singing
career.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grass had grown over Dorothy’s theory about the
truth of Laura’s death. If there had been a chorus plot to silence Laura once
and for all, Dorothy had not aware of it. Betjeman Crighton admitted to killing
Laura and her son Jason and had been consigned to a mental institution. The
case was closed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be fair, Lester Keys had tried valiantly to get
to grips with the chorus, but he only stayed until he had a job in the BBC
chorus. As far as Dorothy knew, Lester had disowned the Finch Nightingales from
the start, as that would have null-and-voided any attempt to join that most
exclusive broadcasting service on which he had set his sights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After Lester had left, taking with him the hearts
of many of the younger Finch singers, membership dwindled. Only the core
members who had mobbed Laura out of her directorship were as thick as thieves
and kept it going at all. Their determination to keep on singing far outweighed
their vocal prowess. Without a regular director they floundered even more.
People started to complain if they tried to sing anywhere. One memorable event
at Milton’s fashion emporium at Christmas had ended with the audience throwing
the Christmas decorations on sale at the Finch Nightingales, who joyfully threw
them back while singing their version of “Silent Night”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was not the only one to think they would be
advised to start a watercolour society instead. You can hide watercolours and
they are blissfully noiseless. The deficits of a choir are evident as soon as
its members open their mouths to illicit whatever sound they can muster. A
silent hobby such as macrame knotting was preferably to knotting up the vocal
cords every week and at events.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly before Laura’s violent demise, she had
moved to Upper Grumpsfield and tired, unsuccessfully, to bring the chorus with her.
They had refused, but then formed a new chorus under the direction of Mr Morgan
and retained the name Finch Nightingales, which was a mystery to Dorothy
considering their bad reputation. But many surrounding villages had choruses
and Gareth Morgan’s church choir barely counted since it consisted mainly of
Robert Jones the butcher singing all the other members into oblivion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, and not least due to his difficulties
with the opposites sex, Mr Morgan had gone back to Wales suffering from
self-inflicted heart-ache. He only returned when Dorothy pleaded with him to
take up his old job again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As in many a church choir, members were willing but
often poor singers. A presentable ladies’ or even a mixed chorus would be a
wonderful contribution to village culture, but in the end Mr Morgan had
declined to do more than play for the Finch Ladies’ rehearsals. A repeat of his
short experience with the Finch Nightingales was out of the question.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy’s shock was indeed deep when she set eyes
on Lisa Keys.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You remind me of someone and it isn’t your
brother,” she had said.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I know. Lester showed me her photo.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think I quite understand,” said Dorothy.
“Laura Finch had a sister Flora Snow, who lives in Huddlecourt Minor, and two
other sisters nobody here has ever set eyes on. Laura herself did not admit to
having any of these sisters and the story only came to light later. Flora and
Laura lived near enough to meet but never did, as far as I know. Flora knew
about Laura, but I don’t know if Laura even knew about Flora, and you were
never mentioned.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I also know about Cora and Nora,” said Lisa, “and
I’m certain that Flora knows about Lester and me, but I’ve never met any of
them, although we are related. All those women are or were my half-sisters. My
full name is Isadora, Miss Price. Shortened to Dora to rhyme with my
half-sisters would have been ghastly. I avoided being given the short name Dora
by calling myself Lisa as soon as I could talk. I did not know then that all
the names of his offspring rhymed. I don’t even know if my mother knew. I must
ask her.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your father must have been a dreadful ladies’ man,
and an old one when he had an affair with your mother” said Dorothy. “Do you
suppose the name-giving was an aid to remembering his children?”<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My mother told me she had met him at a restaurant.
He had been sitting alone and so had she. They got talking and ended up in his
hotel room. After that night she never saw him again, but had him traced
through the hotel and managed to get money out of him for our upbringing. Lester
and are twins, born of mother’s one night stand with a guy we never met.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A depressing story, Miss Keys, but not your
fault,” said Dorothy. “I wonder how many other one-night stands he had that
produced siblings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is he still alive, Lisa?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, and I’ve
never tried to find out how many of us there are,” said Lisa. “I only know the
story because our mother was obliged to tell us when she got news of his death
and learnt that he didn’t have any money to leave us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So he must have kept track of you,” said Dorothy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And Lester does not know if he has any brothers.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, the MD job is yours,” said Dorothy. “I
expect you already have a good idea of what those Nightingales are like.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Crows, Lester called them,” said Lisa.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lisa Keys started working with the chorus the
following Tuesday, the regular chorus night. She told Dorothy that she would
work first with the small chorus left behind by Laura Finch and not really
increased in membership with Lester since the new members had to gain the
approval of the old ones, and that was more than most of them could take. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even Lester had not been able to get members to
join despite being good-looking and friendly. Lisa would be able to find out if
she was accepted by the remaining members before trying to attract new ones.
The biggest disadvantage would be Lisa’s half-sister relationship with Laura
Finch. It remained to be seen whether Lisa could overcome the startling
disadvantage of looking just like Laura. After all, Lisa had a gentle voice and
kindly smile, neither of which Laura could have claimed.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy, however, was now facing another problem.
Cleo had more or less given up her Hartley Investigation Agency and sent
Dorothy into what she called well-earned retirement. But Dorothy was far from
feeling like twiddling her thumbs. There was no doubt in her mind that Upper
Grumpsfield still needed a detective agency, but there was no money to be made
on small fry cases, really important cases were too hot to handle, and Cleo had
had to foot quite a lot of bills privately. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As if to console Dorothy, Cleo had left a little
door open in case the agency should become viable again, but she was not
optimistic, and there was a plan to turn the office into a book shop with just
a corner for agency business – but let’s not jump the guns.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was with a heavy heart that Dorothy made her way
to the Hurley cottage to tell Cleo that she was resigned to retirement.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m glad you are not taking over that chorus after
all, not just because there are a few rather nasty women in it, but because I
have other plans for you.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t you think I’m too old to do anything new?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course not. The Hartley Agency took a break,
but I know that something is missing in the village and I want to put that
right.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorothy was disbelieving.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t think of anything missing,” she said.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m thinking of opening a library combined with a
bookshop,” said Cleo.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nobody buys books,” said Dorothy. “We all have e-readers.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Books are coming back into fashion, Dorothy, and
we are going to support the novelty.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, we. You and me.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you think …”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s worth a try, Dorothy. We can get the chorus
to open it. I just hope they have a few tuneful songs in their repertoire by
then. They had a very bad reputation as the Finch Nightingales. How is Lisa
Keys getting along with them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s staying and planning an open evening soon to
attract more singers.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You will be organizing it, I assume.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll be helping. Anyway, I’ve never run a
bookshop, and inviting that chorus to sing is tantamount to driving away our
customers.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But it might get better with Lisa and it’s going
to be some weeks before we can open the bookshop.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We don’t have to invite them yet, do we, Cleo?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No. Not until we have an opening date here,” said
Cleo. ”We’ll call our new venture ‘Old and New’ and have a selection of used
and newly published books. We can do readings with invited authors and get a
writer’s club going. It will be fun and I’m going to consider it as my new
hobby. After all, my sleuthing started as a hobby, didn’t it? I think it will
fill in a gap in your life, too, Dorothy. Be truthful. Time lies heavy on your
hands these days.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Having a month with the family at Frint-on-Sea did
help me cross the bridge, but now we are almost in the run-up for Christmas,
Cleo, and apart from getting entertainment set up for that, I have nothing at
all in my diary.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That won’t be the case once you have regular times
at the bookshop,” said Cleo. “It will also bump up your pension.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That won’t be a consideration. If I have less, I
spend less,” said Dorothy. “What does Gary say about the idea?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chief Inspector Gary Hurley was Cleo’s unashamedly
passionate husband and probably her greatest admirer. He would approve because
Cleo needed challenges in her life. Counselling criminals and bewildered cops
in her part-time role as social worker at Middlethumpton Police Headquarters
was gratifying, but allowed little space for entrepreneurism. Cleo had enjoyed
running Middlethumpton library; managing an investigation agency had been
challenging; running a bookshop would be exciting.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I haven’t told him yet,” said Cleo.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“May I remind you that you now have six children to
rear? How are you going to find time to run a bookshop?” said Dorothy. “I’m
sure Gary will think you are crazy.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Seven kids counting Lottie, but Gary wants me to
be happy.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You are happy,” said Dorothy.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll be happier still when I have a new challenge,
Dorothy. The au pair is starting next week. That will help a lot and you will
be on hand, won’t you?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As I said, I’ll have to think about it. Are you
going to ask your mother or Grit to join the crew?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not Gloria. Grit and Roger Stone will be glad to
help, I’m sure,” said Cleo.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you haven’t asked them yet either, have you?”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, but Roger is going to marry my mother-in-law,
and Grit is bound to help.”<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you ask me, you’d better think again about the
whole venture, Cleo. It sounds like chaos waiting to happen.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cleo had to be satisfied with Dorothy’s reaction.
It would not make it any easier to tell Gary of her plans, since he very often
thought along the same lines as Dorothy. And there was Joe to consider. Joe was
Gary’s twin brother and very critical of anything he thought warranted a closer
look.<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Very soon, Lisa Keys’ open day for the chorus was
announced. Readers read about the rebirth of the Finch Nightingales in the
Monday edition of Bertie Browne’s freebie Gazette and thought it would be a bit
of a laugh to go there, if nothing else, since male singers were also invited,
and that was something Laura Finch would never have wanted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although Dorothy was pleased that Cleo wanted her
to join in with the book shop project, her thoughts were temporarily consumed
by the potential future of the bedraggled chorus, which was in truth not much
better after Lisa’s valiant attempts to improve it before the open day could
make or break the whole venture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</h3>
</div>
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