“Enid was scared of him, you know, frightened of what he might do next.” she added. “He and his mother ruled the whole family. Sponged off his father, and wound Enid round his little finger. They were close, in a funny way. Sometimes I thought she hated him, but then she’d turn and defend him. I’ve heard they’re twins, though she denied it when I asked her. He resented her having friends, or anyone visiting her. In the end, it was easier for Enid to give up. She braved it out as long as she could, but they won in the end. Poor Enid.”
“Do you know where he might have gone?” said Lois quickly, seeing the playground monitor approaching the rope that pulled the old bell.
“To hell, I hope,” said Miss Clitheroe vehemently, and walked off to shepherd her flock back into school.
Nothing new there then, thought Lois, setting off for home. The twins thing again, though. She stopped on hearing a voice calling her name. “Mrs Meade! Just a minute!”
It was Miss Clitheroe. Must be something urgent for her to leave her class. Lois turned and walked back towards the hurrying figure. “There is something,” Miss Clitheroe gasped. “Must tell you now, in case I forget.” Lois waited. “That Edward Abraham – you asked me if I knew where he might be. I saw on television that he’d done a runner.” Miss Clitheroe was more or less up to date with jargon, even if she was close to retirement.
“Well?” Lois smiled at her encouragingly.
“Alibone Woods. I remember Enid telling me he sometimes vanished for two or three days, living rough in some hiding place he’d found. She laughed when I asked if it coincided with the full moon. But seriously, Mrs Meade, I think he is a bit mad. Whether dangerously mad, I don’t know. But I hope the police find him soon. Do you think they’ve looked in Alibone Woods? And in other woods around?”
“I think they have, but maybe not well enough,” said Lois. “Do you remember anything else she said about the hiding place?”
Miss Clitheroe thought hard. “There was…oh, now what was it…Ah, now wait a minute. She said there was some sort of cave where there’d been a landslide…something to do with an old quarry. It was completely grown over with trees and bushes. I remember she said he came home with snagged jerseys and even ripped trousers. And, of course, Enid had to mend them. Yes, that was it.”
At this point they heard a shout from the school direction, and looked round. “Oh lor,” said Miss Clitheroe, “that’s my deputy waving her arms about! Better dash…”
“Damn,” said Lois. “Still, thanks very much, Miss Clitheroe.” Time for a report to the top cop.
¦
Cowgill was waiting for her. She noticed he was dressed entirely in a kind of khaki-green, and smiled.
“Camouflaged, are we?” she said.
“Ever been birdwatching, Lois?” he replied, without an answering smile.
She shook her head. “The likes of me don’t go bird-watching,” she said.
“Rubbish,” said Cowgill, and continued, “and anyway, if you had, you’d know that if you want to be invisible you don’t wear a scarlet anorak.” Then he smiled, and she didn’t. The anorak had been her Christmas present from Derek, and she was very fond of it.
“I could be mistaken for a robin,” she said. “You know, Robin Redbreast?”
“Shall we get down to business?” he said. “I presume you’ve got something to tell me, and this isn’t a trap where I shall be attacked by a revengeful husband?”
“Yes, I have,” said Lois frostily, “but first you can tell me where you’ve got to in finding the writer of those shitty letters.”
“We’re making progress,” Cowgill said. “And may I suggest we call a truce? At least for this morning? I wish you both nothing but well, Lois, you know that.”
She wasn’t so sure about the ‘both’, but began to tell him the latest on Edward Abraham. “Miss Clitheroe said the cave was somewhere in these woods, near to where an old quarry used to be.” She went on to fill him in on the impossible situation for Enid at Cathanger Mill, and ended up, “So the sooner we catch the bugger the better.”
“Right,” he said. “Most useful. But there is one small thing I have to point out to you. I know you’re Enid’s employer, and feel sorry for her, and like her. But we cannot ignore the possibility that there is collusion there. If he had that much hold over the family, he may still be exercising it. He’s been missing for longer than we’d usually expect in such circumstances, and this probably means someone’s helping him.”
“You’re not suggesting Enid is…” Lois bristled, and Cowgill retreated a step or two.
“Steady now,” he said. “Just try to think it out clearly, Lois. In this business the head must always rule the heart, and there’s nothing wrong with your head.”
“So what do you want me to do?” Lois said grudgingly.
“Talk to her. The piano lessons should give you the opportunity. Does she trust you?”
Lois nodded. “I think so. And that’s why I don’t want to…”
“Well, it’s up to you,” said Cowgill, straightening his khaki cap and turning away. “But don’t forget, Lois,” he added, “you could be helping Enid Abraham in the long run. Maybe changing her life. Think about it.”
? Weeping on Wednesday ?
Twenty-Six
“Staff meeting this morning,” Lois said, climbing out of bed and helping Derek zip up his trousers. The zip had stuck, and he was losing patience.
“Hey! Watch it!”
Lois began to laugh. “You’ll be puttin’ our marriage in danger if you don’t go careful. Here, let me do it.”
And then, of course, one thing led to another, the zip was fixed, and some time elapsed before both of them went downstairs and into the kitchen for breakfast.
“You’re late,” said Gran. “I’ve got some black puddin’ spoiling here in the pan. The kids have refused to eat it, so I’m relying on you two.” She was surprised at the way they wolfed it down, especially Lois, who normally nibbled a piece of toast.
“Nothing like a spot of exercise,” said Derek, “to give you a good appetite.” Since neither had been outside the back door, Gran merely raised her eyebrows.
“Bill phoned,” she said. “He might be a bit late for the meeting. His client asked him to do an extra hour – got people coming to stay – so he said unless he heard from you, he’d go ahead and do it.”
“Fine,” said Lois. “Thanks, Mum.”
“Hope he remembers his apron,” said Derek, carefully distancing himself from Lois, “specially if they got guests.” Lois stood up, but she was not quick enough, and he had gone, Douglas holding the back door open to aid his escape.
¦
“Hi, everybody.” Lois noticed that Bill had not yet arrived, but all the others were there. Bridie and daughter Hazel were sitting at opposite ends of the room, and Lois wondered what was up. Sheila Stratford had brought her knitting, and was triumphantly casting off the final sleeve of a vast jersey for her husband. Enid Abraham sat neatly as ever, smiling gently at her colleagues, but as remote as if merely an onlooker.
They had the usual discussion on schedules, and then Lois asked if there were any problems. Silence. This was also usual. It took a few minutes before anything personal emerged. Then Bridie spoke. “There is something,” she said, “but it’s about Bill’s girlfriend, so I’m not sure…”
“Do you want to tell me privately?” Lois said.
“Not really. It affects us all, so if it’s OK?” Lois nodded, and Bridie continued. “Well, you know she works at Waltonby school? Apparently someone’s been gossiping there, and saying New Brooms is rubbish. The most likely person is Rebecca, though she seems nice enough to me.”
There was a shocked hush, and then Sheila Stratford spoke. “I’ve not heard anything,” she said. “And I often stand at the school gates talking to the mums. I meet my grandchildren, and they haven’t said nothing, either.”
Bridie looked across at Hazel. “Well,” she said, “go on, Hazel, tell what you heard.”
Hazel sighed. She had told her mother to keep quiet about it, but she wouldn’t listen. They’d had words before coming to the meeting. Hazel had said the best thing to do with gossip was to ignore it, but Bridie was incensed. Lois, her oldest friend, was being criticized, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.
