Flight Path: A Wright & Tran Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

entrance.”
    “Don’t suppose any have their quizzes tonight?” Kara mused.
    “Nope. Seems to be Fridays or Saturdays from their websites.”
    Kara reached back into the document file she had received from Franklyn and leafed through the cuttings, “Do we have a picture of Amberley?”
    “Not in there, but I have a casual headshot of him from the marina website,” Tien answered.
    “Well,” Kara stood and glanced at her watch, “I make it 16:00 now, what says we go for a bit of a pub crawl?”
     
    ɸ
     
    They didn’t have to crawl very far. Kara didn’t even have to show the picture, she merely had to mention Amberley’s name to the landlady of the pub they were staying at. Mrs Spore, who insisted on being called Daphne, ‘with no Y dear’ and who reminded Kara of a somewhat worse-for-wear, brunette-from-a-bottle version of Barbara Windsor, told them all they needed. And much more besides.
    “Oh yes dear, I know little Franny Amberley very well. Now why do you want to know about him?”
    “Oh it was one of our friends that said there was a real star of a quiz team up here,” Kara lied effortlessly. “When she knew we were coming to Woodbridge she recommended we go have a try. We’re keen on pub quizzes.” Kara said, pointing over at Jacob and Tien. “We always enter at our local and this friend said she’d never come across a team as good as the one in this town. Said their star player was this chap Amberley. So do they come in here?”
    “No dear, he doesn’t come in here for his quizzing, or even for a quick drink, more’s the pity. His Dad did, lovely man he was, big Franny. May the Lord keep him,” Daphne halted her sing-song Suffolk lilt of an accent, which had the tiniest trace of a Cockney edge to it, just long enough to bless herself.
    Kara noticed she used her left hand for the sign of the cross and was fairly sure, from having seen Tien do it many times, that Daphne had got it back to front. She also noticed the woman didn’t seem to take a breath before she started talking again.
    “He used to come in here every night dear. But then again he worked just a walk down the road at the plant nursery. Oh he had such a way with those plants, you never saw the like. He could charm a daisy out of the ground and as for tr-”
    “Sorry Daphne,” Kara interrupted as gently as she could. “Is this little Franny we’re still talking about?”
    “Oh no dear, that’s his Dad, big Franny. No,” and she let out a considerable laugh for a woman who couldn’t have been more than five foot tall, “Oh no, not little Franny. That boy would curl a daisy by looking at it. Oh no. He never took to his Dad’s work. Big Franny used to say, when he came in here and sat at that stool,” she indicated the stool that Jacob was sitting on, tucked into the corner of the bar counter. Jacob involuntarily stood up and Daphne ploughed on, “That stool there, he would sit there and tell me that little Franny wouldn’t know a daffodil from a dandelion.”
    “So you’ve been here a long time Daphne?” Kara interjected, trying to steer a conversation that she felt had the opportunity to last a week.
    “What’s that? Oh yes dear. Fifty-five years. I’ve seen them all in here.”
    “And little Franny doesn’t come in here, Daphne? He’s not part of your quiz team?” Kara said, leaning on the bar and laying her hand on the old woman’s upper arm.
    “No dear, that’s right. He doesn’t come in here.”
    “Why’s that Daphne?” Kara said, again leaning in slightly as she asked the question.
    “Well dear, he might not be able to grow plants like his old Dad, but he is like him in another way. He’s no drinker. No, definitely not. That lovely young Mrs Amberley, God bless her,” Daphne paused for another back-to-front-crossing, “yes, she had two good ‘uns there. A husband and a son who are not drinkers is a good result for a woman. A good result in anyone’s book. Big Franny would take one pint on