Murder in the Afternoon: A Kate Shackleton Mystery by Brody Frances

Author:Brody, Frances [Brody, Frances]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780748123742
Publisher: Hachette Littlehampton
Published: 2011-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

A well provided and pleasant lady seeks well provided amiable gentleman with a view to joining lives and fortunes.

Box No. 61

The telephone rang. I jumped. ‘That might be Mrs Sugden. If she wants a lift back from some godforsaken place, I hope you’ll feel up to going because I don’t.’

‘As long as it’s not on that damn bike,’ Sykes said. ‘I swore I’d never climb on it again, but it was that or cold fish and chips.’

I picked up the receiver.

‘Katie?’

‘Oh, hello, Dad.’

‘How are you?’

‘I’m all right thank you.’

‘You didn’t come to see your mother.’

‘No. I shall though. Tomorrow.’

There was a short silence. He was thinking, Good, that means she’s listened to me and is leaving the Ethan Armstrong case alone. Or is she? To be sure I had taken his point, he said, ‘I just want to tell you, everything is in hand. You needn’t worry yourself any more about that matter we spoke of.’

‘Good. And, Dad, there’s something I should tell you. I called on Mrs Whitaker today, and gave her a ride out to see Mary Jane. I thought that might be best.’

During the six-second silence that followed, I could hear him thinking. Slowly, he said, ‘Good idea. It will save you having to be there, won’t it?’ So that was his message. Loud and clear. I waited, counting to five in my head to see what would come next. He said, ‘It’s likely there’ll be someone up from London.’

‘Ah. Do we know who?’

‘I have to go. There’s someone at the door.’

‘Goodnight, Dad.’

‘Goodnight, Katie.’

Sykes had heard enough of the conversation to know who I was talking to.

‘We’re warned off?’

‘Doubly warned off. But I’m sure he now owes me explanations. I’d like to know if I’m right that Miss Trimble was poisoned.’

‘It’s puzzling,’ Sykes said. ‘The disappearance or murder of Ethan was clumsy, bungled, with his daughter seeing his body, and the body disappearing. Miss Trimble’s death was very neat. If you hadn’t spotted her through the window and gone in there before her brother came home, her death would almost certainly be put down as natural causes.’

Sykes looked at his hands carefully. They were black with print from the newspapers. ‘I don’t suppose …’

‘What?’

‘Well, I know we’re ordered off the case, but I have all this hosiery and a little case to carry it in. It’s sale or return, but it seems a pity to return it when I’ve not much else to do tomorrow.’

‘And you might make a few sales in Great Applewick?’

‘Door to door.’

‘I don’t see why not. Let’s go together to this insurance appointment tomorrow morning, and then we’ll go our separate ways, and see what the day brings.’

At that moment, the front door opened. A great sigh travelled down the hall, followed by Mrs Sugden’s weary footsteps. Something told me she had drawn a blank at the spiritualist meeting, but at least she was home, and safe.

She stood in the kitchen doorway, unpinning her hat. ‘It wasn’t an entirely wasted visit. I met the housekeeper from Applewick Hall.

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