Blood Sinister Read Online Free PDF Page A

L’raine,” she said, “we know the trouble men cause in the world,” she said, an’ she said, “You and me know marriage ain’t the answer to every problem.” Not like some o’ them daft girls you see on the telly, think gettin’ a man’s the most important thing in life.’
    ‘Did Phoebe have men friends come to visit her?’ Slider asked casually.
    ‘She had friends all right,’ Lorraine said cautiously. ‘I’ve see people go in and out, but I couldn’t tell you pacificly, not names or anythink. Up here, I wouldn’t know if someone come unless I was looking out the window. But she did have someone in yesterday.’ She looked at him hopefully, wanting to please.
    ‘How do you know that?’
    ‘Well, I went down to the hall about twelve o’clock time to see if there was any letters. I’d just got up. And as I open me door, Phoebe comes in wiv her arms full of shopping.’
    ‘She came in from the street?’
    ‘Yeah, wiv all bags of food an’ that. So I says, how about a cup a coffee an’ that, because we hadn’t had a good old chat for ages, not since before Christmas, really. But she says no, she can’t stop because she’s got someone coming to dinner and she’s got to get the place tidied up.’
    ‘Did she say who was coming?’
    ‘No, but she seemed sort of excited, so I reckoned it was a man. I mean, she wouldn’t tidy up for a girlfriend, would she? I made a joke about it, because she never normally tidiedanything. Me, I like things nice, but her place was always a tip. Tell the trufe, I couldn’t see her cooking for a girlfriend either. I mean, she mostly eats out, or buys a Marks an’ Sparks thing, from what I’ve seen.’
    ‘Did she say what time this person was coming?’
    ‘Nah, but when I was going back up I asked if she fancied coming down the pub later, an’ she said no, she couldn’t, because of this person coming, and she said she didn’t want to be disturbed and not to knock on her door or ring her up for any reason whatever. So I just said pardon me for living, an’ I went. And that was the last time I see her.’ She sniffed. ‘If I’d of knew it was the last time, I’d of never of said that. But she got up my nose.’
    ‘Why did she? Was she bad-tempered about it?’
    ‘Oh no, not really. Like I said, she seemed kind of pleased an’ excited when she said about someone coming; but then when she said that – about not disturbing her – she went all strict and teachery, an’ I just thought, well, I thought, excuse
me
! I know when I’m not wanted.’
    Slider was accustomed to the habit of the ignorant of taking offence for no reason. She must have been a trying neighbour for the intellectual Agnew – probably forever ‘popping down for a coffee’. A person who worked from home was always vulnerable to the dropper-in with an empty schedule and a vacant mind.
    ‘I suppose you didn’t see the visitor arrive?’ he asked without hope.
    ‘Not as such,’ she admitted reluctantly, ‘but I think I heard music playing down there later, so I reckon he must of come all right.’
    ‘What time would that have been?’
    ‘I dunno, really.’ She thought for a moment. ‘It must a’ been about hapass six, summink like that, ’cos I had the radio on before that, but I turned it off when I went to have me bath, and then I heard the music downstairs, that classical shite she likes.’ She made a face. No votes here for Vivaldi and Bach, then.
    ‘What about during the evening? Did you hear any other noises from downstairs?’
    ‘Well I wasn’t in, was I? I went out about seven, down the club.’
    ‘Which club?’
    ‘The Shangri-la,’ she said. ‘D’you know it?’
    He did indeed. It was a well-known pick-up place for prostitutes, and he had always wondered whether it was by design or accident that the illuminated sign over the door had lost its ‘n’.
    He was about to ask the next question when she evidently thought of something. ‘Oh, wait! I dunno if it