Apple Strudel Alibi (Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 8) by H.Y. Hanna

Author:H.Y. Hanna
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Wisheart Press
Published: 2018-03-12T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As none of us felt like going out again, we decided to stay in and have a lazy evening in the suite. The Old Biddies had letters and postcards to write—yes, the old-fashioned kind with real pens, on real paper—and I was quite happy to lounge around on the sofa with Muesli, flipping through various magazines while channel-surfing Austrian TV. The hotel didn’t serve evening meals in the dining room but they did provide platters of cheese and crackers for the room, together with a selection of cured meats, pickles, dried fruit, nuts, and condiments. Since we all felt like we were still digesting those huge wiener hotdogs from earlier, this suited us fine for dinner.

Late that evening, as the Old Biddies were taking turns having their baths, I clipped Muesli’s harness on and led the little cat down out of the room to get some fresh air in the street outside. Rather than take the lift, I decided to walk down the stairs. For one thing, Muesli seemed a bit spooked in the lift, and for another, it was good exercise. As I pushed open the emergency exit at the end of the landing and stepped into the stairwell, however, I was surprised to hear the sound of crying. I peered around, my eyes growing accustomed to the dim light, and I saw a small shape huddled on one of the steps. It was the little Chinese girl.

“Mei-Mei! What’s wrong?” I cried, crouching down next to her.

She sniffed and gulped, turning slightly away from me and rubbing her eyes. “N-nothing.”

“Come on… something has obviously upset you,” I said, looking at her red eyes. I fished in my pocket and pulled out a tissue, which I handed to her. “Here…”

She hesitated a second, then took the tissue and dabbed her eyes. I reached out and gently rubbed her back as her sobs subsided into hiccups.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again. Then I remembered the little scene on the landing earlier. “Oh God—I didn’t get you in trouble with your mother, did I?”

She shook her head. Then she said in a small voice: “Ma-Ma see me drawing picture of Muesli. She… she get very angry. She take my sketchbook away… She say no more drawing.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say.

I was furious with Mrs Chow’s lack of compassion, as well as her lack of appreciation for her daughter’s talent, but I didn’t want to badmouth the girl’s mother to her.

Muesli came up and nuzzled against the girl and Mei-Mei brightened slightly. She noticed the harness and leash, and asked in a quavering voice:

“W-where are you going?”

“I’m just taking Muesli out for a bit of fresh air.”

“Oh… I can come?”

I hesitated, not sure I should be taking her without asking her mother’s permission. On the other hand, we were only going out the hotel’s front door and walking for five minutes on the street… Mei-Mei’s tear-stained face wrenched at my heart and I desperately wanted to cheer her up.

“Okay. Here… would you like to hold Muesli?” I offered the end of the leash to her.

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