Neurotica by Sue Margolis

Author:Sue Margolis
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780440334613
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2003-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N

“BRENDA!” ANNA YELLED. “FOR Chrissake take it easy. Did you ever have proper driving lessons or did you just take the correspondence course?”

Anna and Brenda were steaming towards Gloria's house in Stanmore. Anna couldn't believe Brenda was managing to get nearly eighty out of her ancient Zephyr.

Still in battle dress, she was flashing and hooting at anything which got in her way and then saluting her thanks as she careered past. Anna kept making the point that nobody could see her saluting in the dark, but she carried on doing it anyway.

Ignoring Anna's plea to take it easy, Brenda pulled out to overtake a lorry. In the process she cut off a Porsche which was careering down the outside lane. Anna winced, clutched her seat belt with one hand and shielded her face with the other.

“Brenda, for crying out loud . . . will you slow down and bloody listen?” she bawled. “There is absolutely no reason to get us killed. My mother has pulled stunts like this before. Whenever my father goes away her obsessions get worse. She's probably having a panic attack because she's run out of Flash liquid.”

For the umpteenth time, she leaned forward, picked the phone up off the dashboard and stabbed the redial button.

“Still engaged,” she spat, slamming the phone back on the dashboard. “My mother is a woman clearly so terrified for her life that she can't resist sharing her terror with all one hundred and twenty-six members of the synagogue ladies' guild.”

Brenda said nothing. Anna folded her arms, looked out of the window and sulked.

She was irritated not only with her mother, but with Brenda too. Anna had given her a brief outline of the Kimberley and Alex story. As she had predicted, Brenda had called her a gullible tart.

“What you have to understand,” Brenda had said in a patronizing tone which got right up Anna's nose, “is that blokes like him tend to marry Sloane Rangers called Annabel—women who have amazing grace rather than sing it. Then, what usually 'appens is that during the week while she is safely stowed away in the country with the kids and the dogs, he's safe to bonk around in London. In 'is case I would guess it's mainly grateful face-lift patients. I'll bet you a tenner 'e's got the use of a flat over his Harley Street practice.”

“And what you have to understand,” Anna had replied coldly, refusing to allow Brenda to undermine her judgment, “is that I have spent my entire working life pursuing stories which sound like hoaxes and then turn out to be true. What about that tip-off I got last year about the woman in Shanklin who heard voices coming from inside her washing machine and called in a priest to get it exorcized, only to find a four-foot midget who'd hidden inside the drum when he was disturbed burgling the house?”

Brenda had grunted to indicate her partial submission.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.