'No. It was his 'fancy woman,' as we used to call it. By the way, I quite like that tern myself, don't you?'
'Plenty of worse words, madam,' interposed Lewis, though apparently with less than adequate clarity.
'Pardon?' Laura W-W turned herself in the approximate direction of the man taking notes, as if he were merely some supernumerary presence.
And now it was Morse's turn to smile sweetly to himself. 'As I was saying, this... this woman came to see him several times--certainly three or four times during the last month.'
'What time of day was that?'
'Always at about half-past seven.'
'And you, er, you actually saw her?'
''Actually' is a ridiculous word, isn't it? It's a weasel word, Inspector. It means nothing whatsoever. It's a space-filler.
Whether I actually saw her, I don't know. What I do know is that I saw her. All right?'
Touch.
Morse's eyes wandered over to the wooden-frame casement, where the thin white lace curtains were pulled back in tight arcs at each side, with potted geraniums at either end of the window ledge, and three tasteful pieces of dark-blue and white porcelain positioned between them. But nothing there to clutter the clear view, from where Morse was sitting, over the whole front area of the apartments, es-pecially of the two square, yellow-brick pillars which stood at either side of the entrance drive; and through which, per-force, everyone coming into Daventry Court must surely pass. Everyone except a burglar, perhaps. Or a murderer...
And this nosey old woman would delight in observing the visitors who called upon her fellow residents, Morse felt confident of that.
'Whis could be very helpful to our enquiries, you realise that, don't you? If you saw her clearly... T'
'My eyesight is not what it was, Inspector. But I had a good view of her, yes.' She glanced keenly at Morse. 'You see, I'm a nosey old woman with very little ele to do--- that's what you're thinking, anyway.' / / 'Well, I--we all like to know what's going on. It's only human nature.'
'Oh, no. I know several people who aren't in the slightest bit interested in 'what's going on,' as you put it. But I'm glad you're nosey, like me. That's good.'
Lewis was enjoying the interview immensely.
'Can you tell us something about this woman? Any-thing?'
'Let's say I found her interesting.'
'Why was that?'
'Well, for a start, I envied her. She was less than half his age, you seegood deal less, I shouldn't doubt.'
'And he,' mused Morse, 'was sixty-six.... '
'Sixty-seven, Inspector, if he'd lived to the end of the month.'
'How--?'
'I looked him up in Distinguished People of Today. He's a Libra.'
Like me, thought Morse. And I wonder how old you are, you old biddy.
'And I'm eighty-three in December,' she continued, 'just in case you're wondering.'
'I was, yes,' said Morse, smiling at her, and himself now beginning to enjoy the interview.
'The other thing that struck me was that she wasn't at all nice-looking. Quite the opposite, in fact. Very shabbily dressed---darkish sort of clothes. Sloppy loose blouse, mini-skirt right up to...'
'The top of her tibia,' supplied Morse, enunciating the 't' of the last word with exaggerated exactitude.
'Absolutely! And she had a big old shoulder-bag, too.'
I wonder what was in that, thought Morse.
'Anything else you can remember?'
'Long--longish--dark hair. Earrings--great brassy-looking things about the size of hula-hoops. And she had a ring in her nose. I could see that. For all I know, she could have had two rings in her nose.'
God helps us all, thought Morse.
'But I'm not sure about that. As I say, my eyesight isn't what it used to be.'
I wonder what it used to be like, thought Lewis.
'Did she come by car?' asked Morse.
'No. If she did, she left it somewhere else.'
'Did she come in from...?' Morse gestured vaguely to his left, towards the Banbury Road.
'Yes. She came from the Banbury Road not the Wood-stock Road.'
'Would you recognise her again?'
For the first time the old lady hesitated, robbing the thin ringless fingers of her left hand with her right.
'Oh dear. Do you think she may have murdered him? I only--'
