Honour Among Thieves Read Online Free PDF Page B

the main
school gates.
    Joni
kept repeating in that Southern accent he had once found so attractive, ‘She’ll
be here at any minute, jus’ you wait. You can always rely on our Sally.’
    Another
man, who was sitting in a hotel room on the other side of town and listening to
every word they exchanged, poured himself a beer.
    By
five o’clock, T. Hamilton McKenzie had taken to looking out of the bedroom
window every few moments, but the path to their front door lay obstinately
unbeaten.
    He
had hoped to leave at 5.20 p.m., allowing himself enough time to arrive at the
school with ten or fifteen minutes to spare. If his daughter did not appear
soon, he would have to go without her. He warned his wife that nothing would
stop him leaving at 5.20 p.m.
    At
5.20 p.m. T. Hamilton McKenzie placed the notes for his speech on the hall
table and began pacing up and down the front path as he waited for his wife and
daughter to come from opposite directions. By 5.25 p.m., neither of them was at
his side and his famous ‘cool’ was beginning to show distinct signs of
steaming.
    Joni
had taken some considerable time te select an appropriate outfit for the
occasion, and was disappointed when she appeared in the hall that her husband
didn’t even seem to notice.
    ‘We’ll
have to go without her,’ was all he said. ‘If Sally hopes to be a doctor one
day, she’ll have to learn that people have a tendency to die when you keep them
waiting.’
    ‘Shouldn’t
we give her just a li’l longer, honey?’ asked Joni.
    ‘No,’
he barked, and without even looking back set off for the garage. Joni spotted
her husband’s notes on the hall table and stuffed them into her handbag before
she pulled the front door closed and double-locked it. By the time she reached
the road, her husband was already waiting behind the wheel of his car, drumming
his fingers on the gear lever.
    They
drove in silence towards Columbus School for Girls. T. Hamilton McKenzie
checked every car heading towards Upper Arlington to see if his daughter was in
the back seat.
    A
small reception party, led by the headmistress, was waiting for them at the
foot of the stone steps at the school’s main entrance. The headmistress walked
forward to shake hands with the distinguished surgeon as he stepped out of the
car, followed by Joni McKenzie. Her eyes searched beyond them for Sally. She
raised an eyebrow.
    ‘Sally
never came home,’ Dr McKenzie explained.
    ‘She’ll
probably join us in a few minutes, if she’s not already here,’ suggested his
wife. The headmistress knew Sally was not on the school premises, but did not
consider it courteous to correct the guest of honour’s wife, especially as she
had just received a call from the car service that required an explanation.
    At
fourteen minutes to six they walked into the headmistress’s study, where a
young lady of Sally’s age offered the guests a choice of dry sherry or orange
juice. McKenzie suddenly remembered that in the anxiety of waiting for his
daughter he had left his notes on the hall table. He checked his watch and
realised that there wasn’t enough time to send his wife back for them. In any
case, he was unwilling to admit such an oversight in front of this particular
gathering. Damn it, he thought. Teenagers are never an easy audience, and girls
are always the worst. He tried to marshal his thoughts into some sort of order.
    At
three minutes to six, despite there still being no sign of Sally, the
headmistress suggested they should all make their way to the Great Hall.
    ‘Can’t
keep the girls waiting,’ she explained. ‘It would set a bad example.’
    Just
as they were leaving the room, Joni took her husband’s notes out of her handbag
and passed them over to him. He looked relieved for the first time since 4.50.
    At
one minute to six, the headmistress led the guest of honour onto the stage. He
watched the four hundred girls rise and applaud him in what the headmistress
would have described as a