The Woman Who Took in Parcels and Opened One by Penny Kline

Author:Penny Kline [Kline, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786156518
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2019-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

Corinne answered the door with a pink chiffon scarf clutched to her face. ‘Oh, Jane, oh, thank you. I’m so glad to see you. I don’t know what to do.’

‘I wondered if you’d like to accompany me to the Portuguese café? It would do you good to get out of the house. Have you had lunch?’

‘No. Nothing,’ Corinne was wearing a black dress that stopped just above her knees, and her silk scarf was a subdued lavender and grey. ‘The police think I must have been the last person to see him ...’ She broke off, unable to say the word “alive”.

‘Come along then. Do you need a jacket? It’s overcast but not cold.’

‘Do you think I do?’

‘We’re not going far.’ It was like a conversation with a child. ‘Have you been in touch with your ex-husband?’

‘Gerard?’ She twisted the ring on her left hand. ‘We’re still married. He wouldn’t agree to a divorce. I mean, he would have done in the end. The house. What will happen to the house? It’s always about money, isn’t it?’

‘Tends to be. Come on, we can talk over lunch.’

‘Oh, Jane.’ Her hand shot up to her mouth. ‘It’s your swimming day.’

‘I’m having a rest from swimming.’

‘Because of Noel.’

‘Come on.’ Jane took her arm. ‘Fish pie. Mrs Cardozo makes an excellent fish pie. A Portuguese recipe. She says they eat a lot of fish in Portugal, something to do with having such a long coastline I expect.’

Corinne swayed on her high heels, almost falling against the wall, and Jane reached out to steady her. On the opposite side of the road, Willa was shouting at Tricia Tidewell.

‘Why do you let them? Don’t you know what’s happened? A death in the street and they’re still shouting and pulling at each other. Leave the honeysuckle alone!’

‘I’m sorry.’ Tricia took hold of Pippa, but there was no need since she and Liam were staring, open-mouthed, at the “mad woman”.

‘Wait there, Corinne.’ Jane crossed the road. ‘Hello, Liam. Pippa. Where are you off to?’

‘The playground.’ Tricia raised a hand to Corinne and whispered to Jane. ‘Is she all right? I don’t know what to say. We’d gone out for the day and when we came back ... Ian thinks the balcony must have given way.’

‘I’ll explain later.’

‘You’ll come round.’

‘Yes, if you like.’ There was a faint possibility Tricia might have seen something.

Liam was trying to stamp on a beetle and Pippa was pulling leaves off a shrub. Tricia came closer and lowered her voice. ‘It was an accident, wasn’t it? Only someone said ...’

‘Who?’

‘That man who lives by himself. I don’t know his name.’

‘Mr. Owen?’

‘His wife took an overdose.’

‘No, she went to live with her tennis coach.’

‘Did she?’ Tricia’s expression brightened. ‘Anyway, he said the police had been asking questions. Liam wants to be a policeman when he’s grown up. He said he’d seen someone going into your neighbour’s house.’

‘Mr Owen did.’ Jane glanced at Corinne but she was waiting patiently, pushing up her hair with both hands and holding it in a bunch on top of her head.

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