The Enemy Within by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Edward Marston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780749020538
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2016-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

Ellen had to wait for hours before she could confront her son. In the interim, her anger and sense of humiliation simmered away. It was bad enough for her Paul to sneer at Sally Redwood in the privacy of his bedroom. To do so in public was disgraceful. The temptation to ring her husband was very powerful but Ellen fought it off. Since he was in charge of two major investigations, it would be quite wrong to pester him at Scotland Yard with a domestic matter. If she did so – and the superintendent got to hear of it – there would be unpleasant repercussions for Marmion. Ellen had to handle the situation on her own.

Pacing up and down the living room, she recalled the bruising meeting with Patricia Redwood. She’d been defenceless. Ellen could neither deny nor excuse her son’s behaviour. It had cost her the friendship of a woman with whom she had worked happily at the sewing circles since the start of the war. If Paul went unchecked, it could cost his mother a lot more.

When he eventually returned, he let himself into the house and shut the door behind him. Ellen shot out of the living room to bar his way.

‘Mrs Redwood called here earlier,’ she said with asperity.

‘Then I’m glad I wasn’t at home.’

‘She told me what you did, Paul.’

He shrugged. ‘What did I do?’

‘You turned up at Newsome’s and pulled faces at Sally.’

‘I wanted to make her laugh, that’s all.’

‘You went there on purpose to upset her,’ she said, ‘because you’ve decided to persecute the girl for some reason. What got into you? Mrs Redwood was breathing fire when she came here. The next time anything like this happens, her husband will come looking for you.’

‘Let him,’ said Paul, casually.

‘Is that all you can say?’

‘What do you want me to say?’

‘Well, you might start with an apology.’

‘Why? I’ve got nothing to say sorry for.’

‘On her first day in a new job,’ she said, ‘you caused Sally a lot of anxiety and embarrassment. Why didn’t you leave her alone?’

‘I just happened to be passing the shop and saw her in the window.’

‘Don’t lie to me, Paul. You watched and waited for the right moment.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Because I’m beginning to see the way your mind works,’ she went on. ‘It wasn’t enough for you to draw a picture of Sally and throw darts at it. You had to spoil a very special day for her. I’m ashamed of you, Paul, thoroughly ashamed. And on top of all that, I find that dreadful portrait of Sally in your bedroom. I was so revolted that I tore it to shreds.’

‘You shouldn’t have been in my room,’ he said, angrily.

‘This is our house, Paul,’ she yelled at him. ‘We’re entitled to know what goes on under this roof. Your father will be outraged when I tell him the kind of monster you’re turning into. Are you proud of hurting an innocent girl?’

The sheer force of her fury stunned him for a moment.

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