Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown

Author:Jill McGown [McGown, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery & Detective, Fiction, Murder, Christmas, Suspense, Crime
ISBN: 9781509809639
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2015-10-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

‘Did you manage to see the kids?’ Judy asked.

They were in the lounge bar of the Duke’s Arms in Castle Road, where the Reverend Mr Wheeler and his daughter had spent some time on Christmas Eve. That much had been established; what they wanted now was a clearer indication of when they left the pub, but so far all they had done was wait. Voices floated in from the public bar, but she and Lloyd were alone in the lounge, except for the landlady, who couldn’t help. Some of the regulars might, she had said. But they wouldn’t be in until lunch time, and what with people taking the whole week between Christmas and New Year, there might not be many of them.

Lloyd laughed. ‘Kids?’ he repeated. ‘Yes, I managed to get over for a little while on Boxing Day.’

‘How is everyone?’

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Except – Linda’s got some ridiculous idea about going to London. She’s far too young.’

Judy smiled. ‘I hope you didn’t tell her that,’ she said.

‘No. In fact, I wondered . . .’

Judy raised an eyebrow, recognising the wheedling tone.

‘You were a single girl in London,’ he said. ‘You know how difficult it is – accommodation, that sort of thing. I thought you might talk to her.’

‘There wouldn’t be much point,’ said Judy.

‘Why not?’

‘For one thing, I lived with my parents, which is hardly the same thing: I don’t know any more than she does about flat-hunting and finding a job – probably a lot less.’

Lloyd looked glum.

‘And for another – Linda can barely bring herself to speak to me.’

‘Oh, no,’ Lloyd assured her. ‘She’s over all that, I’m sure.’

‘Is she?’ said Judy, disbelievingly. ‘All right – she says hello if we meet, but she still doesn’t think much of the idea of you and me.’ She sipped her drink. ‘It must run in the family,’ she said.

‘Judy,’ Lloyd began. ‘I don’t—’

‘I know, I know. I’m breaking the rules. But since you won’t see me in anything other than working hours, I—’

The door banged open, and a middle-aged woman breezed in.

‘You got back then,’ said the landlady, unnecessarily. ‘Did you have a nice time?’

‘Oh, you know,’ said the other woman. ‘So so. It’s nice to be back in my own house.’ She hung things up on various pegs. ‘But anyway—’ she began, excitedly.

‘You didn’t have too much trouble getting there?’ interrupted the landlady.

‘What? Oh – it was past midnight before I arrived. You wouldn’t believe the number of cars out at that time on Christmas Eve. But never mind that,’ she said. ‘I can’t turn my back for five minutes, can I?’

Judy could see the landlady in the mirrored wall, as she mouthed ‘police’, nodding over to their table.

The barmaid, for such she proved to be, looked over at Judy. ‘We can’t go to jail for talking about it, can we?’ she asked, with a laugh.

Judy smiled.

‘I couldn’t believe it,’ she said, and turned back to the landlady. ‘I felt awful when I heard,’ she said. ‘I mean, I’d made a joke about it – you know the way you do.

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