business.”
“Yes,” said Mrs Pargeter. “Good.” But she had to ask, “I’m sorry – the best
“Well, he’s – ” But Larry Lambeth stopped himself and said mischievously, “You’ll find out soon enough. He’s going to meet you at the airport himself.”
“Oh, really?”
“Unheard of, that. Hardly ever stirs from the office, old HRH. In fact, I can’t think of another case I’ve ever heard of when he’s gone and met the client himself.”
“Oh?”
“So I hope you’re suitably honoured.”
“Oh. Yes. I’ll say,” said Mrs Pargeter, suitably honoured but totally mystified.
Larry Lambeth spread his hands out on the table in a businesslike fashion. “Right. Better sort out exactly what the running order’s going to be for tomorrow…”
¦
They were in his car on the track down to Agios Nikitas when he suddenly had another thought. “Ooh, Mrs P., nearly forgot. Your friend’s ouzo bottle…”
“Oh’ yes. Did you check out what was in it?”
“Sure.”
“And…?”
“A very dilute solution of sodium carbonate.”
“Oh.” It was a long, long time since Mrs Pargeter had done any chemistry. “Should that mean anything to me?”
“Well, it’s quite a common laboratory chemical.”
“Poisonous?”
“Wouldn’t taste very nice, but you’d be hard put to kill yourself with it.”
“What about killing someone else?”
“No way. There are a lot of easier ways of getting rid of people.”
“Hm. So what is it used for?”
“Any number of things. It’s used in glass-making…”
“Oh thanks. So far as I know, Joyce didn’t come out here to make glass.”
“It’s an ingredient in bath salts.”
“But is she likely to have brought it out in that form to use as bath salts?”
“Extremely unlikely. Particularly as almost all the villas out here have got showers rather than baths, anyway.” He bit his lip pensively. “Sodium carbonate’s used in various household cleaners. Not that different from washing soda, in some ways.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t have brought it out here as a cleaner, Larry. She’d got a travel-pack of detergent in her case, anyway.”
“Hm. Well… sodium carbonate’s also used in various water-softening processes…”
“I suppose it’s possible Joyce was worried about the effect of hard water on her skin or –”
But Larry Lambeth dismissed that idea. “Nah. You’d never bring out neat sodium carbonate for that. If you was really worried about it, you’d be much more likely to use some of the proprietary water-softening tablets.”
“Hm.” Mrs Pargeter was thoughtful. “Anything else it’s used for?”
“Well,” said Larry Lambeth, unable to suppress a giggle in his voice, “sodium carbonate is actually used in the process of extracting tungsten from wulframite.”
“Is it?” said Mrs Pargeter wryly. “Well, thank you very much. Amazing I’ve got this far into my life without knowing that, isn’t it, Larry?”
? Mrs Pargeter’s Package ?
Twenty-Three
Mrs Pargeter spent a quiet morning, pottering round Agios Nikitas. She told Maria at breakfast that she was going on a trip to see a little more of the island. A hire-car was coming to pick her up after lunch to take her to Corfu Town for some shopping. She would stay in a hotel there, and the next day have a hire-car to take her to see the natural beauties of Paleokastritsa on the west coast. Another night in the hotel in Corfu Town, then back to Agios Nikitas.
Oh, Maria said in dismay, Mrs Pargeter should have booked the hire-car through the Hotel Nausica. The rates would have been much cheaper than through Spiro. He always put a big mark-up on everything.
Mrs Pargeter said, oh how silly of her, she would remember that another time. Then she asked if Maria would mind having her photograph taken in front of the hotel. Even better, would her father and mother and the rest of the family come out and have their photographs taken in front of the hotel? Mrs Pargeter knew she wasn’t leaving yet, but she really did want photographs of them all as souvenirs, and it was the kind of thing she might easily forget.
All the family members were delighted to have their photographs taken.
Then, pausing only to drop by the minimarket and buy a large white cotton hat and large pair of sunglasses (both of which she kept hidden in a carrier-bag), Mrs Pargeter went across to have a drink at Spiro’s. It was early for retsina, so she asked Yianni for a Sprite.
Linda from South Woodham Ferrers was at the taverna, trying unsuccessfully to get Craig, who had had a stomach upset the night before, to eat some yoghurt. Keith was working out on his calculator how much more the anti-diarrhoea medicine cost on Corfu than it did in South Woodham Ferrers. From time to time he wondered, out loud, how things were going back at the office.
The Secretary with Short Bleached Hair and the Secretary with Long Bleached Hair were sulking in the shade of Spiro’s awning, sipping Nescafe. They had been to a discotheque in Ipsos the night before, where they had both fancied the same plasterer from Bradford. He had flirted and danced with each sufficiently to start them quarrelling, and then compounded that felony by going off at the end of the evening with a hairdresser from Luton who – adding insult to injury – had a perfect tan.
The two secretaries’ sunburn had now reached a threshold of unsightliness and pain which had forced them to spend a day in the shade, but the previous night’s row still festered and they kept snapping at each other.
At a table near the taverna door sat Spiro, Georgio and Sergeant Karaskakis, together, surprisingly, with Theodosia, who had been granted a rare moment’s respite from the kitchen. Georgio was keeping a distant eye on Ginnie, who sat at a nearby table, patiently listening to more gripes from Mr and Mrs Safari Suit. The couple were wearing different clothes that day. Slightly greener in colour. Still safari suits, of course.
Spiro wandered over amiably to chat to Mrs Pargeter. He hoped she was getting over the dreadful shock of her friend’s death. It was terrible that anyone should do such a thing to themselves, wasn’t it?
Oh yes, Mrs Pargeter agreed, terrible.
Still, Spiro continued reassuringly, soon everything would be sorted out. The dead woman’s daughter had arrived to complete the formalities, did Mrs Pargeter know that?
Yes, yes, she said, she had met Conchita the night before.
How terrible, said Spiro, for a young girl to have her mother do such a thing to herself, wasn’t it?
Oh yes, Mrs Pargeter agreed, terrible.
Having fielded these commiserations, she then outlined to Spiro the plans for her trip to see a little more of the island.
Oh, he said in dismay, Mrs Pargeter should have booked the hire-car through Spiro. The rates would have been much cheaper than through the Hotel Nausica. They always put a big mark-up on everything.
Mrs Pargeter said, oh how silly of her, she would remember that another time. Then she asked if Spiro would mind having his photograph taken in front of the taverna. Even better, would Yianni and Theodosia and Georgio mind having their photographs taken in front of the taverna? Mrs Pargeter knew she wasn’t leaving yet, but she really did want photographs of all of them as souvenirs, and it was the kind of thing she might easily forget.
Spiro and his staff were delighted to have their photographs taken.
