A Crowded Coffin(50)

‘He might have been agitated and had a heart attack, you mean?’ She looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘No, I can’t say I noticed. I did see him put his hat over his face, because it reminded me of my father. He always did that if he wanted a quiet snooze.

‘A party of tourists looked in at one time, with a guide, but you can’t get many people in here so they mostly didn’t stay. Some of them sat down for a moment and one or two knelt in quiet prayer, I think. I’m sorry, honey,’ she smiled mistily. ‘I wasn’t really noticing much, I was thinking about Angus, my late husband. He would have loved this place so much.’

She blinked away a tear then, as Sam Hathaway reappeared, she became practical. ‘Now then, if we’re not needed here, why don’t we go get a cup of coffee or something?’ She spoke to Edith, patting her arm as she did so, and Sam nodded.

‘That sounds like a good idea. You go, Edith. I decided not to go to the hospital in the end. There’s a lot to be sorted out at a time like this, so I’m going round to Oliver’s place to make a start on phone calls and so forth.’

‘I’ll stay with Sam and see if he needs a hand,’ Rory announced. ‘Where will you go, Edith? You ought to have something to eat, you’re white as a sheet.’

She shook her head, nauseated at the thought of food, but the Canadian lady, who introduced herself as Margaret Mackenzie from St John, New Brunswick, interrupted.

‘I’m staying at the hotel right by the cathedral. You can’t miss it. We’ll be in the main lounge. You come and find us there – we’ll be fine,’ and she waved the two men on their way.

‘I know you don’t feel like eating, but you’ll feel all the better for it,’ she insisted, and beamed approval as Edith absent-mindedly polished off a plate of biscuits. Refilling their cups, she enquired, ‘Why were you so upset, honey? You mentioned your grandparents. Have you recently lost them? That old gentleman must have been well over eighty, and he looked so peaceful. Death is nothing to fear when it comes so gently.’

‘It was just silly hysteria and not the slightest bit of help to anyone,’ Edith said apologetically. She explained a little of her situation and found the older woman warmly sympathetic.

A call came in. Rory. ‘We’ll be a while,’ he told her. ‘Why don’t you have lunch with Mrs Mackenzie at her hotel? Sam and I will grab a bite to eat and one of us, probably me, will get back to you as soon as possible.’

The next couple of hours passed in peaceful conversation about this and that, and Edith was feeling much calmer when Rory appeared at about three o’clock – without Sam and looking slightly amused.

‘I dropped Sam off at his flat to pick up the last of his bits and pieces and then he’ll make his way over to Locksley.’ He accepted a cup of coffee and went on, ‘He’s going to camp in his new house for tonight at least, though he’ll probably move in next door to keep an eye on Harriet when she gets home tomorrow.’ He grinned at them. ‘The thing is, I’ve got something of Dr Sutherland’s in the car. We went round to his house first and Sam got in touch with the old boy’s solicitor and his son in Toronto. There wasn’t much else we could do except that when we got there Sam remembered the cat.’

Edith and Mrs Mackenzie looked up. ‘He did have a cat after all, then?’ the older woman remarked. ‘That could explain the scratches on his wrist.’

‘Well, it could,’ Rory said doubtfully. ‘But Sam says Hector, the cat, is far too laid back to scratch anyone and too fat and idle to lift a paw.’ A reminiscent smile flickered across his face. ‘He’s certainly fat and he weighs a ton, but he didn’t even twitch a whisker when we got him into the cat basket. Oh, didn’t I say? Sam’s decided to take him on. Hector can camp in Sam’s spare room till he feels settled. The son in Toronto wouldn’t want a cat; he lives in a high-rise block of flats anyway.’

The Canadian woman was still looking concerned and Rory added, ‘I mentioned the scratches to Sam and he says Dr Sutherland was always complaining about brambles so that’s most likely how he got the scratches. They colonized his garden from the patch of common land next door and he was fighting a constant battle against them.’

It was time to go. Edith rose to her feet and put out her hand to Mrs Mackenzie. ‘I can’t thank you enough for your kindness,’ she said. ‘It’s been lovely to meet you, even under such sad circumstances. You must come over to Locksley soon; are you here for long?’