PH02 - Do Not Disturb Read Online Free PDF Page A

Cecily could answer, a buxom woman paused at the table. Her laughing brown eyes were almost hidden by the rolls of fat in her face, and her double chins waggled as she spoke.
    Dolly Matthews had owned the tea shop for as long as Cecily could remember. The woman had seemed old when Cecily had been taken there with her brothers as a small child. It didn’t seem possible she was still bustling around the crowded tables.
    Dolly greeted Cecily warmly and introduced her to her new assistant. “Louise Atkins, she’s replacing Maggie,” Dolly explained, referring to her last waitress who had left to live in Scotland with her new husband.

    This woman was much older than Maggie, but looked strong and healthy, Cecily observed.
    Louise, it seemed, had come down from London in order to preserve her health. “All that smoke and dirt,” she told Cecily, “it’s no wonder people are dying of consumption every day.”
    When Phoebe asked the assistant where she was staying, Louise replied, “At the George and Dragon. Not nearly as elegant as the Pennyfoot, I’m sure, but it’s the best I can afford at the moment, until I can find something more permanent.”
    “One of the Hawthorne Cottages has become vacant,” Cecily said, tucking her parasol under the table.
    “Oh, my, yes,” Dolly said, her hand capturing her double chins. “Why didn’t I think of that? Now that poor Mr. Bickley’s a goner, the cottage will be empty again.”
    “It’s in Hawthorne Lane, the road that winds up from the cove to Putney Downs,” Cecily explained. “The cottages sit in a row overlooking the cove. A very pleasant view. I think you’ll like it.”
    “Why, thank you, Mrs. Sinclair,” Louise said, giving Cecily a charming smile. “I’ll certainly look into it.” She sent Dolly a quick glance. “If you’ll excuse me now, I’ll fetch your teas.”
    She hurried off, and Dolly watched her go, a slight frown on her face.
    “She seems very capable,” Phoebe said, her gaze following the assistant as she disappeared through the kitchen door.
    “I hope so,” Dolly murmured. “Good workers are so hard to find in these parts.” She rubbed her hands together as if they were cold. “What do you think of that poor Mr. Bickley, then?”
    “I didn’t know the man,” Cecily said, “but I imagine his sudden death must have been a shock to everyone who did.”
    “Used to come in here, regular as clockwork,” Dolly said. She lowered her voice, which made it difficult to hear above the laughter and babble of voices. “Lying outside on thepath, he was. Enough to give his neighbors a heart attack when they saw him, I reckon. Been there all night, they say. No one can understand why he was outdoors at that time of night without his coat.”
    “Perhaps he felt the heart attack coming on and attempted to seek help from the neighbors,” Cecily suggested.
    “I certainly hope it wasn’t those little hooligans playing Knock Down Ginger who brought on the attack,” Phoebe said. “Algie kept telling me they would get into real trouble if they weren’t careful.”
    “Well,” Dolly said, leaning her drooping breasts over the table, “he must have been frozen out there in his shirtsleeves, that’s all I can say.”
    The woman seemed to have an inordinate interest in the man’s lack of clothes, Cecily thought with amusement.
    Her humor soon faded, though, when Dolly dropped her voice to a mysterious whisper. “They say the poor man was blue.”
    “Blue?” Phoebe repeated, sounding puzzled.
    “Yes.” Dolly shuddered. “Never seen anything like it, they said. His whole body, from head to foot, was bright blue.”
    “Oh, my.” Phoebe clutched her throat. “I hope no one tells Algie that. He’ll have nightmares for weeks.”
    At that moment Louise reappeared bearing a huge tray laden with wedge-shaped crustless sandwiches, scones, cakes, and a huge silver pot of tea.
    “Well, I’ve got to get on,” Dolly said, straightening as best she