Rosemary Aitken Read Online Free PDF Page A

Madam’s been creating for at least an hour and even Cook is crosser than two sticks.’
    Alex cleared his throat. ‘That is what I’ve come here to explain – if we might just get past.’
    She glowered up at him. ‘Maids don’t come in the front door, in this house any road. Effie can go round the back, like she belongs to do. And you, young fellow – policeman you may be – but since you’ve come with ’er, I’d be obliged if you would go round that way too and don’t go putting your great boots where I’ve just washed the step.’
    Effie was already tugging at his arm, pulling him down the narrow alley to the back. ‘That’s Mrs Mitchell, comes to scrub for us,’ she hissed. ‘Don’t take no notice, she’s as sour as grapes.’
    He nodded, ‘So I see!’
    Effie almost giggled. ‘Well, we’d be sour as well, if we had six children and a sick man to keep. Her husband’s got too weak to leave his bed, poor man, and she’s reduced to scrubbing to scrape enough to eat. People make allowances – give her a scrap or two sometimes, if there is anything to spare – though you’d wait till the millennium if you wanted gratitude. Cook generally saves her a thick end of the loaf – and my dear life, here she’s coming with it now!’
    A large stout woman in a pinafore and cap had just rounded the corner of the house carrying a small parcel wrapped up in newspaper, but she caught sight of Effie and brought herself up short. ‘Effie Pengelly! Where in heaven have you been? You’ve had us in confluptions, worrying!’ She looked at Alex, very doubtfully. ‘And now I see the police have brought you home. Never been in some sort of accident, has she?’ she added, in a different tone, addressing the question directly to himself.
    Alex tried to adopt a sober look, the way a policeman should. ‘Not an accident exactly, I am glad to say. But there has been an unpleasant incident. A man has died – apparently of cold behind the Westons’ shop – and Effie has been trying to assist us with the case.’
    The Cook’s face lost its stern look and became concerned. ‘Find the body, did she? Poor lamb – that must have been an awful shock. Here!’ She pushed the little packet into Alex’s hand. ‘You take that round and leave it by the corner at the front. It’s for Mrs Mitchell – she knows to look for it. Meanwhile I’ll take Effie in and see she gets some tea – a strong cup with some sugar – before she goes upstairs. She’ll need it too, if I am any judge; Mrs Thatchell’s waiting and she’s in a proper stew – but I’ll make sure she knows the rights and wrongs of this.’
    Alex was unwilling to be parted from the girl. He said, stubbornly, ‘I’ll do that if you like. My orders were to bring her back to her employer and explain the reason she was late – she feared she’d be in trouble.’
    The cook squared her shoulders. ‘Well, so she would have been. But finding corpses – that’s a different thing. It’s kind of you to offer, but you leave the girl with me. The mistress don’t like having strangers in the house, and very likely it would make things worse. I’ll see that Mrs Thatchell knows what’s been happening.’
    Effie gave him an imploring look. ‘I didn’t actually find the body, Mrs Lane – Miss Blanche and the butcher did that earlier. It was only that I had to see it afterwards . . .’ She trailed off as Alex shook his head at her.
    ‘And that was shock enough!’ he said, as firmly as he could. The girl was being offered sympathy – no point in wilfully repudiating that and he wasn’t helping her by lingering. He turned to Effie. ‘So if Mrs Lane – is it? – will undertake to see that you get that cup of tea, I will leave you in her care as she suggests, and get back to the station to write up my report.’ He raised his helmet with a fingertip and grinned. ‘Not forgetting to deliver this parcel as I go.’
    He was rewarded with a grateful smile from