False Picture Read Online Free PDF Page B

My hair’s so short now I often wear this in the evenings when I go out to the pub.’ She’d cut off her own long hair a while back but the artist at Bea’s hair salon had contrived her a neat cap of a pleasing auburn colour, which Maggie had pronounced ‘Just not me!’.
    â€˜Yes, but …’ Bea ignored Oliver, who was snorting into his notebook. ‘Bear with me, dear. I know you can do “flamboyant” very well but I think in this case it might be better to try to appear ordinary, just till you’ve sussed out the other tenants of the flat.’
    â€˜Must I?’ Maggie’s beautiful eyes – really her only claim to beauty – starred with tears.
    â€˜I’ll lend you something, shall I?’ Bea had often found herself lending some of her classic garments in restrained colours to Maggie of late. ‘It’s about time I bought myself some new clothes, anyway. I usually …’ She controlled herself with an effort, trying to smile. ‘Hamilton always used to take me away for a week or so to Bruges at this time of the year. There’s a good clothes shop there … and … well, enough of that!’
    â€˜You should go again, why not?’ said Maggie. ‘You deserve a holiday.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t like to go by myself. Lose the disguise dear, while Oliver and I finish the routine jobs.’
    Maggie flounced out. Oliver, grinning, licked his finger and turned over a page. ‘About our finances. There are a couple of bad debts left over from Mr Max’s time. Shall I organize solicitor’s letters? But even more important—’
    â€˜Everything else can wait.’
    Bea looked out of the window through the drizzle to the stately sycamore at the end of the garden, and through that to the graceful spire of the church beyond. She was worried about Max. A member of parliament had certain living expenses both in his constituency and here in London, where the rent of a flat was one of the biggest problems. Max’s wife was no thrifty housewife and mention of his finances recently made him look haggard. He had hoped that Bea would retire to the South Coast and leave her valuable Kensington house to him, but that was the last thing Bea wanted to do. Had Max got into a mess, moneywise, and used the money which was supposed to pay the tax bill?
    Bea rubbed her neck. Then there was the lost solicitor’s letter, which had been somewhat more than faintly alarming. What had their name been? Wasn’t there some saint or other, probably Italian, that the faithful used to invoke to find lost property? She couldn’t for the life of her remember his name, and it would have been useful at this moment. The nearest she could get to it was,
If there’s someone up there, and I do believe there is – well, most of the time I do, and Hamilton certainly did – then could you please help me out of this mess? I know it’s entirely my own fault that I’ve lost these papers, but … well, that’s it, really. Please.
    Oliver was looking at her with a degree of impatience. Had he asked her a question, and she hadn’t heard it? ‘Sorry, Oliver. Wool-gathering. There were some letters in the post this morning that … no, we won’t bother with them now. Let’s have a look at those quotes Maggie got for us, and call it a day.’
    The phone rang as she followed Oliver out of the door, so she went back to answer it.
    Velma. ‘It’s all fixed up. Maggie can move in any time after six this evening. Tell her to ask for someone called Charlotte who’s responsible for the lease. Must rush; Sandy’s tummy pains are getting worse, and I’m taking him down to the hospital to get him seen to. Give me a ring when Maggie’s moved in, won’t you?’
    The line went dead.
    Bea cradled the phone, thinking that she now knew what it was like to stand in the middle of a rushing