Losers Club: A Murder Mystery (Book 1) by Yvonne Vincent

Author:Yvonne Vincent [Vincent, Yvonne]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: WHB
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Everyone at the table went very still, all of them looking at Penny. The tableau held for what felt like a few minutes but was in reality a few seconds, until a harsh voice broke the spell.

‘What the hell is that?’ asked Sandra Next Door, who was standing behind Penny and Eileen, gazing down at the plastic tub, inside which the hamster lay, unmoving, on a bed of kitchen roll.

‘Hello, Sandra Next Door,’ said Eileen, turning to look up at her. Then, noticing the man beside Sandra Next Door, she added, ‘And hello to you too..uhm..’

‘Geoff, pleased to meet you’ said the man, offering a beringed hand.

Eileen took the hand and kissed it. ‘Pleased to meet you, your Holiness.’

Penny let out a snort of laughter, spraying wine over the table and the contents of Mrs Hubbard’s handbag, and the tension was broken as the rest of the group joined in. Wiping tears from her eyes, Penny waved Sandra and Geoff Next Door towards vacant chairs next to Jim. She barely contained a second wave of laughter, as Jim turned to Geoff Next Door and said, ‘Pleased to meet shoe.’

If Geoff Next Door noticed, he gave nothing away. Feeling slightly guilty for extending such a poor introduction to the group, Penny marshalled her emotions and said, ‘Sorry, Geoff Next Door. We’re not laughing at you. We’re all very pleased to meet you. Do you know everyone?’

She made the introductions, ending with, ‘And, of course, you know Sandra Next Door.’

Sandra Next Door eyed her without humour. ‘Why is there a dead hamster in a tub?’

‘Good question. Mrs Hubbard, why is Freddie dead in a tub?’

‘I’m sorry, dearie,’ said Mrs Hubbard. ‘I found him in a box of cornflakes this morning. He was already dead. I popped him in with Old Archie, and I was going to phone you later, but when you said we were meeting in the pub, I thought I’d bring him.’

‘He doesn’t look frozen,’ said Penny.

Mrs Hubbard leaned over to pat her hand and said, ‘Three minutes on defrost, dearie.’

‘You microwaved my hamster?’

‘Oh, he’s not cooked. I turned him over halfway through. Will you tell Hector I’m sorry for his loss? And would you mind returning the tub when you’ve finished with it? I need it for Douglas’ sandwiches.’

Penny slipped the tub containing Freddie into her own handbag and flinched as a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Jim smiling down at her.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘Here, I brought you another glass of wine. I don’t think you drank much of the last one.’

Grateful for the small kindness, she smiled back at him and said, ‘I’m fine. Just a bit worried about Hector’s reaction when he sees this. He’s a sensitive wee soul. Edith bounces back from pretty much anything. Hector takes it all to heart.’

‘Ah, they’re good kids. A good team. I saw how Edith was with him when we delivered the leaflets.’

Penny laughed weakly. ‘When they’re not arguing, they’re great. They’ve been a lot more united since we came here, probably because they’ve only got each other.

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