Watch the Wall, Miss Seeton by Hamilton Crane & Heron Carvic

Author:Hamilton Crane & Heron Carvic [Crane, Hamilton & Carvic, Heron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9781788421157
Google: f7lNzQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 44004121
Publisher: Farrago
Published: 2019-02-21T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

It was Emmy Putts who broke the news that galvanised the village. Her mother Clarissa, for three days a week a stalwart of the Brettenden biscuit factory, was (with the rest of her production line) on a fortnight’s overtime, and accordingly rose earlier than usual to catch the first bus of the day (the smaller model, driven by Very Young Crabbe) rather than her regular (driven by Very Young Crabbe’s son Jack).

Victor Crabbe was puzzled as he reached the request stop. Clarrie wasn’t there. Then he saw her in the distance, running from the council houses, frantically waving. When she saw she had his attention she stopped waving, and pointed as she slowed from a breathless run to a jog. Victor’s gaze followed the direction indicated.

He swore. The few passengers on the bus (the garage, content for it to be a loss leader, runs it as a community service) woke from their matutinal musings and looked round to see what had upset him. They, too, saw. And swore.

Clarrie couldn’t climb into the bus because everyone else was busy piling out of it. They rushed to the road sign, planted in the grass verge, that welcomed visitors to Plummergen, where a second scarecrow, carrying an informative placard, had replaced his waving colleague with the sash—but Scarecrow the Second was no longer there. Where he had been standing an ominous scatter of straw turned green turf gold around the posts that supported the Plummergen sign. The placard lay face down. He put up a good fight but not good enough was scrawled on the back in ominous capitals.

“I’d no time to waste going for Ned Potter,” said Clarrie as, mindful of timetables, Victor hustled everyone back on board, “so I’ve told Emmy to pop by the police house on her way to work. And if that ent the work of Murreystone, I’ll never eat another custard cream!”

Mrs Stillman, prepared to scold Emmy for arriving so late for work, bit back her scolding as the girl explained. Her narrative was very soon supported by Mrs Newport and Mrs Scillicough, who (like the Putts family) occupied council houses at the northern end of the village. One sister had spotted the glint of PC Potter’s buttons as he investigated the scene of the replacement scarecrow’s demise, and at once thumped on the party wall to alert the other that Summat Was Up and hadn’t they better find out what it was; Ned Potter was on the prowl without his panda car but clearly, from his tunic, on official business otherwise he’d still be eating breakfast in his shirtsleeves. Trevor Newport and Kevin Scillicough, followed by or carrying the smaller members of their families, joined the investigative throng that was soon swelled by other council house tenants, including Mrs Henderson and Mrs Skinner, who arrived at a dead heat and realised with dismay that, as this outrage was clearly the work of Murreystone, there was nothing over which they could disagree.

PC Potter wrapped a large

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