Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection

‘Auburn hair, long and curly; she was taller than me. About twenty-nine … maybe thirty, I suppose. Oh, and she was dressed smartly, for the office, I reckon.’ A look of envy crossed her homely features. ‘She was attractive and all.’

The inspector didn’t notice Tom’s look of astonishment as he heard the familiar description. Instead he concentrated on the matter in hand. ‘You said she asked you questions?’

‘She did, yes.’

‘What kind of questions?’

The assistant cast her mind back. ‘She asked me if the flowers were from Mr Arnold.’ Glancing at Tom, she saw his reaction, and wondered. ‘She said she was a friend.’ Her implication was clear.

The inspector continued to question her. ‘What else did she say?’

‘Nothing much. She was kinda weird.’ Shrugging her shoulders in a shiver, she added without being prompted, ‘I reckon it was her who’s been vandalising the flowers!’

Having listened to her account of the woman, Tom was loath to believe the suspicions that were beginning to seep into his mind. ‘What makes you think it was this woman who destroyed the flowers?’ He needed to know.

‘Well, because she was spooky … watching every move I made, as if she resented me even being there. She said she was going, but she hung about for a while. She’d already put some roses in the vase, so it was a good job I’d taken a vase of our own.’

‘I told her to do that,’ Margaret Taylor informed them with a proud smile, ‘in case the other vase had been broken, or maybe filled with somebody else’s flowers, like before.’

Nodding appreciatively, the inspector prompted Gloria, ‘Go on … You arranged the flowers, and she hung about. Then what?’

‘Well, she went off eventually, and I finished arranging the flowers. Then I went back to my van and collected a couple of other bunches that had been ordered for other graves.’

‘And you never saw her again?’

‘No, but something awful happened. I had finished in the churchyard, and was just getting into the van when the old caretaker came running. He was in a real bad mood … “Come and see!” he said, and made me go back with him.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You should have seen the mess!’

‘What? You mean the flowers were thrown about like before?’ Tom asked.

‘Not only thrown about,’ she replied, her voice growing louder with excitement. ‘All the heads had been broken off, and they were flung all over the place … ever such a long way, like somebody got mad, if you know what I mean.’

While Tom was trying to take it all in, and slowly coming to realise that he had an idea who the culprit was, the inspector asked, ‘And what about the flowers that the woman had left?’

The assistant leaned forward, her voice dropping almost to a whisper. ‘Her flowers were still there! I reckon that proves it, don’t you?’

Before they left, the inspector informed her that she would need to make a statement, and that he himself would be back.

She didn’t mind. ‘That’s all right,’ she said. ‘I’d like to see whoever could do a thing like that locked up.’

Outside, the inspector looked preoccupied. ‘It seems to me, we’d best find this woman and bring her in for questioning,’ he told Tom. ‘If she is the one who’s been destroying your flowers, who knows what else she’s been up to?’

Tom had no choice but to agree.

He was convinced from the description that the woman in the churchyard was Lilian, but he wasn’t ready to confide in the inspector. He intended speaking with her first. It could well be that the florist’s assistant had got it all wrong.

Lilian had been a good friend to the family. She and Sheila had known each other well … spending time together, shopping and suchlike. In which case, she might just have been taking flowers as a gesture of friendship.

He needed to see her to clarify the situation. Even if she had been there, it didn’t mean … he turned his thoughts away from the terrible idea.

With that in mind, he politely refused the offer of a lift with the inspector. ‘I have things to do,’ he told him. ‘But I’m staying at the White House, if you need to get hold of me. And let me know as soon as you can about the other lead, will you?’

‘Of course,’ the inspector assured him. ‘The minute I have any firm news.’

Chapter 17 (#ulink_350db917-7d65-5e80-83ee-6ca4908ef8b6)

ALICE WAS SHOCKED at Lilian’s appearance when she turned up for work that morning. ‘Whatever’s wrong with you?’ she asked. ‘You look awful!’

‘I’ve been ill, haven’t I?’ she lied. ‘Now leave me alone and get on with your work.’ Slamming the door to her office, she threw herself into the chair, leaning over the desk with her head bent forward and her hands over her face.

She was desolate. It had been the worst few days of her entire life. She had even considered ending it all, but always at the back of her mind was the notion that Tom would want her in the end. She mustn’t upset herself, because he was sure to come looking for her. He loved her. He’d always loved her. He was bound to realise that now.

In the corridor, Alice was in conversation with one of her colleagues. ‘I’m worried about her.’ She discreetly gestured to the main office where Lilian was still seated at her desk, her hands nervously tapping the surface, her face wreathed in a strange smile. ‘She’s been like that ever since she came in … locked in her office, talking to herself. She’s ill, and I don’t know what to do.’

Her colleague had no qualms on that score. ‘Fetch Mr Martin. Let him deal with it.’ She peeped at Lilian, who had left her desk and was now pacing the floor, drawing the concerned attention of the other women in the typing pool. ‘She’s obviously not properly recovered from her illness. I dare say he’ll send her home again.’

Leaving her colleague to man her phone, Alice made her way upstairs to the boss’s office. She tapped on the door, always nervous of this important, influential man. John Martin could make or break a person.

‘Come in!’ his authoritative voice boomed out.

When she gingerly opened the door, it was to see Mr Martin on the phone. Gesturing for her to sit down, he concluded his conversation. ‘Thanks, Harold. I’m glad you told me. No, that’s perfectly fine. You’re doing a grand job out there. Yes, it’s all right. I’ll catch up with him later.’

Replacing the phone, he leaned forward on the desk and, wiping his hands over his thick, greying hair, looked up to address her. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got a problem as well?’

Nervously, Alice swallowed, before blurting out the reason for being here. ‘It’s Lilian, sir.’

Frowning, he looked her straight in the eye, unnerving the girl even more. ‘Lilian? She turned up all right this morning, didn’t she? I was just on my way down to see her, but the blessed telephone hasn’t stopped since I got in.’

‘I don’t want you to think I’m being a snitch, or anything like that, sir, only –’

‘Well, get on with it!’ Exasperated, he blew out his cheeks; already this morning he’d had problem after problem. ‘If you’ve something to say, I’d best hear it now.’

Alice sat up, angered by his attitude. After all, she had only come here to help. ‘Yes, Lilian did come in this morning, sir, only I don’t think she should have come in at all.’

‘Why ever not?’

‘She’s not well, sir. She should be at home in bed. I really think she needs to see a doctor.’

‘But I thought she’d got over the ’flu.’ He couldn’t understand. ‘When she phoned, she said she was ready to come back to work. She sounded fit enough to me.’

‘It’s not the ’flu, sir.’

‘What is it then?’ Falling back in his seat, he groaned. ‘Don’t tell me she’s got “women’s problems”. Honestly! That’s all I need.’ As he spoke he thrust a fist here and there to emphasise what he was saying. ‘Just look at it! There’s paperwork piled mountain high, filing to be done, urgent things to be dealt with …’ He ran his hands over his temples. ‘Since she’s been away, the whole damned place seems to have fallen apart.’

Alice blushed at his mention of ‘women’s problems’. Hastily she said, ‘It’s not that kind of a problem, sir. She’s … she’s …’

‘For God’s sake, woman … say what you came to say and be done with it.’

‘Well, sir … I think she’s –’ It was difficult for her to say, because she was fond of Lilian. ‘I think she’s unstable, sir.’ There! It was said.