The Biscuit Tin Murders #5: A Cold Case at Christmas by Menna van Praag

Author:Menna van Praag [Praag, Menna van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

‘I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,’ Blythe complained as she stepped into the empty cafe. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s because I’m desperate, that’s why.’

‘You’re not,’ Olive protested. ‘You’re being open to new things. It’s a good thing. Constable Cooper isn’t like the men you usually court and, since none of those panned out, then it stands to reason that this might.’

Blythe sniffed but said nothing. Her silence, however, spoke loudly and what it said was: you’re crazy if you think this is going to work out and I’m crazy for almost believing it too.

‘They should be here any minute,’ Olive said, glancing at her watch. Secretly, she couldn’t wait for Hugo to arrive since she was desperate to discuss the twist in the tale she’d just discovered. What was going on? Why had several of the teachers thought Enid Westmacott had been having an affair with the headmaster, when her sister Mary claimed she’d never have done so? She also wanted to see Constable Cooper, in the hopes that his investigations had already proved fruitful and he could supply her with the addresses of the few remaining witnesses.

‘What’s his name?’ Blythe asked, as she fiddled with the cutlery Olive had laid out on the table, along with linen napkins and Aunt Charlotte’s finest china.

‘Who’s name?’ Olive asked, only half paying attention.

‘Constable Cooper.’ Blythe sounded annoyed. ‘Who else?’

Olive looked at her blankly.

‘Well.’ Blythe folded her arms. ‘I can’t be expected to call him Constable Cooper all evening now, can I?’

‘Yes,’ Olive conceded. ‘I see your point. But I’m afraid I’m not sure. I don’t think Hugo’s told me, but if he did I’ve forgotten. I’ll ask him, discreetly, as soon as they arrive.’ She gazed out of the window, which was now framed in glittering fairy lights, into the dark of the winter night willing them both to appear. The sooner the better since, with every minute that passed, Blythe was winding herself up into a greater frenzy of anxiety while Olive twisted herself into a pretzel of impatience.

‘I can’t believe you didn’t get this piece of essential information before forcing me into this date,’ Blythe sniffed. ‘Did you at least tell him all about me?’

‘What?’ Olive pulled her gaze from the window. ‘Yes, of course. That’s to say, I’m sure Hugo did, or will now while they’re on their way.’

Blythe narrowed her eyes. ‘While they’re on their way? You mean he agreed to this date without knowing a single thing about me?’

Olive was about to say that of course he did, since Hugo was his boss and thus, given the hierarchical and semi-military nature of the police force, a junior officer would follow virtually any order given by a senior. Fortunately, when the words reached her mouth she thought better of this blurt of brutal honesty and swallowed them down again.

‘No, not exactly,’ Olive offered instead. ‘Hugo knows Cooper and he knows you and he, um, thought you two would be compatible.

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