A Bespoke Murder

‘Oh — you mean Pam,’ he said, noting the wistfulness in her voice. ‘I don’t think Pamela will bother to write to me. When she told me her decision, we agreed to go our separate ways. She’s going to be fully occupied from now on.’

‘Yes,’ said Alice, barely able to keep a smile off her face. ‘I suppose that she will be. Once you commit yourself to the war effort, you don’t have much time for anything else. I know that when I join the WEC, I can expect to work much longer hours than I do now.’

‘When do you start?’

‘Oh, we’re going to wait until the end of the term. We can’t just hand in our resignations and walk out. Vera — that’s my friend — has promised her parents that she’ll wait until July. I’ll do the same.’

‘So until then,’ he said, looking her up and down, ‘you’ll have some free time on your hands.’

She nodded happily. ‘What about you?’

‘I’m going to be working flat-out until this case is solved. That will probably mean giving up my Sundays as well. But it will be worth it when we nail the killer and the arsonist.’

‘And what happens then, Joe?’

He grinned. ‘It will be fun finding out.’

Herbert Stone seemed to be spending more time at his brother’s house than at his own. It was not just a question of consoling Miriam and helping to monitor Ruth’s behaviour. He had to see to his brother’s business affairs. That meant that he spent hours in the office, going through the relevant books and documents. It took a huge load off his sister-in-law’s shoulders and she was duly grateful. As he was about to depart after another session at the house, Miriam took his hand.

‘Thank you, Herman,’ she said with a tired smile. ‘You’ve been a tower of strength.’

‘I’ve only done what any brother would have done.’

‘We’d have been lost without you.’

‘It’s nothing,’ he said, kissing her lightly on the forehead. ‘Has Ruth gone to bed yet?’

‘She went up a few minutes ago.’

‘Then I won’t disturb her. I thought she seemed much better today. Our words are finally getting through to her.’

‘She was very upset to hear about the fire at the synagogue,’ said Miriam. ‘But she rallied this afternoon. It was possible to have a proper conversation at last.’

‘Do you think she’s out of danger?’

‘I do hope so, Herman.’

‘If only her brother would come home,’ he said, irritably. ‘It would make all the difference.’

‘Why is it taking so long for news to get through?’

‘I don’t know, Mimi. All that we can do is to wait.’ He jumped in surprise when the grandfather clock immediately behind him started to chime. ‘Goodness — is that how late it is?’

‘You’d better go home.’

She escorted him to the door and opened it for him. After giving her a farewell kiss, he put on his hat and walked across to his car. It was mid-evening and the vehicle was in shadow. He was about to get into it when he noticed that his front wheels were missing and had been replaced by piles of bricks. Someone had smashed his windscreen as well. Stone stood there, quivering with fury.

Miriam was still at the door. ‘Is something wrong, Herman?’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Irene was halfway back to the house before she realised that she’d forgotten to ask Ernie Gill if he’d followed her when she went to the shops with Miss James. It no longer mattered. Her prime objective had been to find out if he was involved in a murder in Liverpool. Now that he’d convinced her that he was completely innocent of the charge, she chided herself for having suspicions about him. Relieved that he’d not committed a heinous crime, she also absolved him of lying in wait to trail her. Why should he do that? What did he stand to gain? When he could go drinking with friends, he’d have no motive for making such a long journey in the hope of a glimpse of her. Irene had been wrong to suspect him of stalking her and even more wrong to imagine his being capable of murder. When they worked together on the Lusitania, Gill had sometimes played unwelcome pranks but that was the extent of his misdemeanours. She felt thoroughly ashamed at the way that she’d confronted him. It was a poor reward for a man who’d come to her rescue at sea.

When Irene let herself into the house, Dorothy was waiting.

‘Where have you been?’ she asked. ‘I expected you here when I got back. It’s getting dark outside.’

‘I had to go out, Dot.’

‘Have you been shopping again?’

‘No,’ said Irene. ‘I went to see Ernie.’

‘I thought he lived miles away.’

‘He does.’

Dorothy laughed. ‘I think that you’re closer to him than you like to admit, Irene. When will I get to meet this admirer of yours?’

‘How many times must I tell you? Ernie is just a friend.’

‘I wouldn’t go all that way if someone was … just a friend.’

‘It won’t happen again, Dot.’

‘We could have him here for tea one Sunday.’

‘No,’ said Irene. ‘I told you before. He’s not coming here.’

‘But I’d like to meet him. Miss James said that he had a nice voice and was obviously fond of you. Why hide him away?’

‘I wouldn’t want him to get the wrong idea.’

‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ said Dorothy with a sigh. ‘I’d settle for a man getting any sort of idea about me but I don’t seem to interest them. I don’t know why.’

Irene was sympathetic. ‘It may happen one day.’

‘Who’d look at a woman of my age?’

‘They still look at me.’

‘I’m going to die an old maid — just like Miss James.’

‘You’re not at all like Miss James,’ said Irene, hugging her. ‘You hold down a good job and you do just about everything for the church. Don’t keep putting yourself down, Dot. In your own way, you’ve been really successful.’

‘It doesn’t feel like it.’

‘People rely on you. You’re important in their lives.’

‘There is that, I suppose.’

‘I know a way to cheer you up,’ said Irene, heading for the cabinet. ‘Let’s have a glass of sherry, shall we?’

‘The bottle’s almost empty.’

‘That’s why I bought another one when I went shopping.’

Irene took two sherry glasses from the cabinet, then filled one of them from a bottle. There was just enough left in it for the other glass. She handed one to Dorothy and picked up the other.

‘Good health!’ she said.

‘Health, wealth and happiness,’ said Dorothy, taking a sip. ‘I needed that. I feel better already.’

‘Let’s go and sit down.’

‘What about the cooking?’

‘That can wait.’

Irene went into the living room and sat on the sofa. Dorothy chose the armchair opposite her. She saw her sister glancing round.

‘I know what you’re thinking,’ she said. ‘This place is dowdy. It badly needs decorating. I just never got round