MAXWELL’S REVENGE a thrilling murder mystery with plenty of twists by M.J. Trow

Author:M.J. Trow [Trow, M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JOFFE BOOKS crime thrillers and mysteries
Published: 2024-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

It was nice to be home. Ninja, boot polish touched up suitably, was making tea in the kitchen. Nolan sat in state on the sofa, with Metternich spread defensively across his lap. Nobody would have given his Boy a lolly if he’d been there. Only a parent could see how the afternoon had affected the lad. He had hold of Metternich’s right ear between the finger and thumb of his right hand. The middle fingers of the other hand were firmly in his mouth. He kept nudging Jacquie and Maxwell with a bare toe every once in a while, as if to check they were still there, sitting on the floor on either side of his makeshift throne. Henry Hall sat opposite him, on the pouffe that usually held either his father’s feet or his cat.

‘Nole,’ Maxwell said quietly, ‘Mr Hall would like to ask you a few questions about this afternoon. Is that all right, mate?’

Nolan turned his eyes without moving his head and regarded his father solemnly. He let go of his sucked fingers for long enough to murmur, ‘S’all right, Dadda.’

‘Right. Now, if the questions make you worried or sad, you must just say so and you can stop.’

‘Is like a quiz?’

Hall raised an eyebrow at Jacquie.

‘Yes, poppet. A quiz.’

‘You do quizzes?’ the policeman asked Maxwell, the tone of amazement unmistakeable.

‘Well, yes. Nothing hard. Colours. Teletubbies. The role of the lumpenproletariat in Hegel’s dialectic. That sort of thing.’

Hall knew his man by this time. So he knew that it was a possibility that one of those was a joke. ‘Right.’ He turned to Nolan. ‘So, Nolan, like Mummy says, this is a quiz.’

‘Awright,’ Nolan said around his fingers.

‘Take your fingers out, poppet,’ Jacquie said, ‘or Mr Hall might not hear what you say.’

He looked at her with big eyes and for a moment she just wanted to grab him and take him upstairs to wrap in blankets and look after him while she had breath. But, right now, there was a killer to catch. He slowly let his fingers drop out of his mouth and wiped them dry on the cat. He turned his big eyes on Henry. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Numb’one.’

Henry got the idea. ‘Nolan,’ he said. ‘Question number one. Did a man or a lady speak to you when you were walking with Granny today?’

‘I wen’ with Ninja for a walk,’ Nolan offered.

‘I’ll give you a point for that,’ Henry said. One small thumb went up in the air. ‘Did a man or lady speak to you when you were walking with Granny?’

‘Ninja talk to some men.’ A smile crept over his face and he giggled. ‘They were funny men.’

‘That’s another point,’ said Henry. Maxwell and Jacquie could only watch in amazement. Was this the bland Henry Hall they knew and sort of liked? He seemed quite human. ‘Why were they funny, Nolan?’ he asked.

The little boy squirmed with the pleasure of remembrance. ‘They were funny,’ he said again and pointed to his legs. ‘They had trousis like Nolan.

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