“How about a lunch of fresh cray and chips?” Yvonne asked Jamie.
“Sounds good to me,” he replied. “Where do we go for that?”
“We’ll buy some cheese and other things here and then go back to my place for the lunch.”
Jamie was surprised. “What will the neighbours say?” he asked.
“They’ll be all right,” Yvonne said. “I’m a widow and they make more allowances than if I had never been married.” At that, Jamie felt nervous but agreed to her suggestion. Yvonne saw his look of surprise at her statement. “I’ll tell you about it another time,” she said, “but not now. Let’s go and buy those things I want for the lunch. They walked across the marketplace to Eve and Ranshaw Ltd department store and Yvonne headed for the specialty foods department. “After we get what I want here we’ll go to the cheese shop. They stock a particularly flavoursome cheese called The Lincolnshire Poacher. Have you had it before?” asked Yvonne. Jamie shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll like it,” she said. “It’s one of my favourites.” They went from shop to shop until Yvonne was satisfied that she had all she wanted and then they headed back to the car.
Yvonne drove through Parfleet St Peter and near the northern end turned left down a narrow lane and parked beside a cottage. “This is my home,” she said. Getting out of the car, Yvonne asked Jamie to carry the groceries. They went round to a back door and she took a key from under a plant pot and unlocked the door and entered. Jamie followed her in. It led through a small scullery into the kitchen. Jamie put the groceries on the kitchen table and looked around him. Yvonne took her coat off and went and hung it up in the hallway. Everything was neat and tidy. There were dishes drying in a rack next to the sink. A dresser had plates and other dishes stood on end on its shelves with cups and mugs hanging from hooks. There was a gas stove with a splash-back against one wall. A walk-in larder was on the back wall. Another door led off into a living room. The kitchen table was made of solid timber and there were six high-backed chairs around it. There was the sense of the feminine touch in the curtains, in the geraniums on the window sill and the small decorations. Jamie liked what he saw.
Yvonne came back into the kitchen and started bustling around and getting the lunch ready. A deep pan with lard in it went on the stove to heat up before cooking the chips. “Set the table, will you, Jamie?” she asked. “Use the stuff on the dresser. Cutlery is in the drawer.” He went to work. Yvonne took a crayfish from the stone slab in the pantry and went over to the kitchen bench and expertly cleaned and removed the flesh. It was already cooked and she set to garnish it with herbs and a dressing. The table setting done, Jamie looked out of the window and saw a small back garden. Beyond it were fields, some with stubble and others ploughed and planted. The village was on comparatively high ground and it sloped to a lower level to the north, hence the sea wall.
“Is the fishing fleet out today?” asked Jamie.
“No,” was the reply. “The weather is not good so they will stay in harbour and do maintenance on their boats and the fishing gear. Just as well for Mr Walmar. His deck hand has gone away for a couple of days. No doubt Penny is glad to have her husband around to spend some time with the family.” Jamie pricked his ears up at those comments. He wondered where Bill Enderby had gone and if he could get a look through Enderby’s flat. After about ten minutes, Yvonne had the meal ready for them to eat. They sat down and ate with relish. As they ate, Jamie asked Yvonne how and when she was widowed. She told Jamie that she had married a local lad when she was twenty-two years old. He worked with his father on a family-owned fishing boat. She was from Mablethorpe and they had met at a dance and started dating. When they married, they bought the cottage and she got a job in the fishing co-operative. Before that she had worked as a secretary. They had been married just over a year when the boat he and his father were on was lost. They were caught out in a storm and radioed for help but by the time other boats got to where they should have been the boat had disappeared and the crew with it. Yvonne said that she had stayed on in the village because of the kindness of the people and, of course, this house was her home. She said that it had been three years ago. Jamie expressed his condolences to Yvonne, realising that he was high risk too at present. It was clear that Yvonne was making a statement to him and for him. Jamie determined not to let things between them move quickly as he didn’t want Yvonne to be hurt again. Before Yvonne could ask about him, Jamie changed the subject to talk about the meal and about the local fishing.
Hamilton was at his desk in London when the telephone rang with a call from William Jennings of Jennings Engineering. He told Hamilton that Eddy Dennis was dead and described what had happened. Jennings also said that a couple of his employees had gone out with Eddy Dennis to a local cafe for lunch. A man at the next table had played a tune and hummed. On hearing it Eddy insisted on going back
