washed, brushed and looking extremely determined, saying that they should be off now. There was just time to walk. He would go on ahead, and she could catch him up.
By running awkwardly down the drive, she had caught him up, and walked silently by his side until they reached the church. Then she had fallen back respectfully as they entered. As he had marched forward and she lagged behind, she had seen with a sinking heart the Bloxham woman, large as life in the front pew, her ridiculously dyed hair shining out like a vulgar wig on a woman for sale.
Now she walked slowly out of the church, shook the vicar’s hand and hardly acknowledged his friendly greeting. She could no longer pretend that she was imagining things. Somehow those two had met in her absence. Not only met, she thought grimly, but restarted whatever had been postponed all those years ago. As she approached Hangman’s Row on her way back to the Hall, she could see Theo talking to David Budd over his garden fence. She would slip by quickly, and hurry back to the security of her kitchen to prepare lunch.
She must find a way to stop all the goings-on that had so cruelly invaded her hard-won refuge. But not straightaway, she decided. It might blow over if she bided her time. If not, she would need to think some more.
Thirty-three
“I THOUGHT WE’D have our meeting in the summer house,” Ivy said, greeting Gus and Deirdre in Springfields’ reception hall. “It’s a criminal waste not to make the most of the summer sunshine. If you ask me, the sunlight was sent for us to be out in it.”
“If you ask me,” said Gus, “which you haven’t, of course, I would say fine, so long as there’s a comfortable chair in that godforsaken summer house in the shadiest corner of the garden.”
“Now, now,” said Deirdre, bursting with good humour, “it’s a really good idea of Ivy’s. We can be private, and Katya can bring us coffee out there. Have we told Roy?”
“Still in the land of nod,” said Ivy. “Mrs. Spurling wouldn’t have him woken. And don’t worry, Augustus,” Ivy added. “I have asked for the summer house to be cleaned out and made comfortably ready for us.”
“What did old Spurling say to that?” Gus said.
“Nothing,” said Ivy serenely. “She made a funny sort of noise and slammed out of my room. Sometimes I wonder whether she really likes me. Not that it bothers me,” she added. “People have not liked me all my life. I’m used to it.”
Gus was tempted to ask if she had ever wondered why, but instead said gallantly that
“By yourself?” said Deirdre.
Gus raised his eyebrows and said he was sure a member of staff would be found to escort him.
“Item one,” he said, when they were settled, “minutes of the last meeting.”
“We haven’t got any minutes,” said Deirdre.
“Maybe we should have,” Gus said.
“Oh for goodness sake, can we get on,” Ivy said. “First of all, let’s hear what Deirdre learned at the Hall on Saturday.” She looked meaningfully at her cousin, and nodded her head.
“Well, as Ivy already knows,” Deirdre said without hesitation, “it was all a bit of a waste of time. I turned up, as before, and Rose Budd left me alone with Theo for an hour or so. He was looking a bit peaky when I arrived, and said he thought he was getting a cold. We talked for a bit, but I could see he really wasn’t keen on me being there. I tried to introduce the subject of Beattie, but by then he wasn’t answering. Actually,” she added with an impressive show of compassion, “the dear thing dozed off. He went to sleep, and in no time was snoring his head off.”
“So did you wake him?” said Gus suspiciously.
“Nope. I gave up, and went to talk to Rose Budd. She’s a really nice girl, you know. Interesting to talk to, too. We discovered I’d known her mother when we were both young. And that little Simon,” she continued, “is an absolute poppet. His dad brought him into the kitchen, and we had a great game of-”
“Whoa!” Gus said. “Are you saying you got nothing out of Theo Roussel, nothing about Beattie in the early days?”
Deirdre nodded. “Nothing at all, I’m afraid. Poor dear was obviously not feeling well. I’ll try again next Saturday. He should be feeling better by then. Rose suggested telling him I would be back. Said it would help him recover more quickly, bless him.”
“So what else is there to talk about?” Gus said grumpily. Perhaps he should recover more quickly himself, and get out of here and galvanise these two into some urgent action.
“Names,” Ivy said.
“What names?” said Deirdre. She had never told so many barefaced lies before-white lies, an annoyed Ivy had called them-but felt relieved now that Ivy’s reluctantly concocted plan had worked. Gus was looking distinctly cross, but he seemed to have swallowed her excuses.
Their discussion took a more positive turn, and Ivy filled Deirdre in with what she and Gus had gleaned from Roy Goodman. “We need to do some serious research into that news story of the missing woman. It’s just a hunch,” Gus said, “but Ivy and I had the same thought that it has something to do with Beattie. The connection so far is that ancient news story ringed in red. Must’ve meant something important to Roy’s family. We need to know the exact name of the woman, and of the children she left, and what happened later. Now, the best research tool these days is the Internet.” He paused, waiting for a reaction.
“What about the reference library?” Ivy said, who had an uninformed distrust of the Internet. “Nothing wrong with reference libraries,” she said. She remembered from the distant past a woman from the local reference library coming to talk to Round Ringford WI. She had droned on a bit, and some members had had a refreshing nap, but Ivy had been interested.
Deirdre shook her head. “We haven’t got time, Ivy,” she said. “The police must be getting on with their investigations and I’ve seen Inspector Frobisher around the village several times. We don’t want Enquire Within to be beaten to the winning post. No, Gus is right. I’m computer literate,” she added proudly. “Why don’t we all get together at Tawny Wings this afternoon and start a search?”
“Better than a boring walk with a member of staff, especially if it’s Miss Pinkney and not adoring Katya,” Ivy said slyly. “I agree with Deirdre, if you’re up to it, Augustus.”
They agreed there was no further business for the meeting, and went back to the residents’ lounge, where they found Roy Goodman doing the
Deirdre quickly excused herself, saying she had to go into town to visit her old lady. She would see them at Tawny Wings at two thirty sharp. Ivy said that if anyone asked her, she would say that crossword puzzles were a complete waste of time, and anyway, she had some letters to write in her room, which left Gus to keep the old man company. Before she went, she asked solicitously if she should order a taxi to take Gus to Deirdre’s house, but he said the short walk would do him good.
“Four across,” said Roy, “six letters, one word, ‘killer
“Poison,” said Gus. “Next.”
BEATTIE’S HEADACHE HAD finally vanished, and she had awoken feeling refreshed for the first time in days. She was downstairs preparing breakfast when Mr. Theo walked into her kitchen, a smile on his face.
“Lovely morning, Beattie!” he said.
She had thought endlessly about how she was to tackle the new Theo Roussel, and had decided to go along with him, being pleasant and encouraging. She had no alternative, she concluded. Her quarrel was not, after all, with Mr. Theo. It was with the Bloxham woman, and she was confident in her ability to outwit her without too much trouble. If only she was not so alone, she had thought in the middle of the night. There was one person who would understand, but she dismissed that thought immediately. A real friend, not necessarily a confidante, would be so
