Scandal at Six(10)

Lois said that if her mother was absolutely sure about this, then she would of course get one of the girls to have a good clean through the flat and air the bed.

“No need,” said Gran. “I shall enjoy it. Now, I have some things to see to, so I’ll say goodbye, Inspector. So nice to see you again.”

“Oh Lor,” Lois said. “How long is she going to keep this up?”

“She reminds me so much of someone I love dearly,” said Cowgill gently. “And don’t worry, I’ll have someone stationed in the shadows to guard her overnight. We might just catch the villain with a bagful of toads.”





Six





Although she would never have admitted it, Gran was feeling much less confident than she appeared to the others. The new plan for her to spend a few nights in the flat required her to put a few necessaries in a bag, and suddenly the whole thing seemed too close. Fine, when they had first talked about it, but now, as she packed toothbrush and paste, a clean face flannel and a bar of her special lavender soap, she had a swift shiver of nervousness. Supposing an intruder did come back with another reptile, maybe one of those lizardy things, what would she do?

Well, she reassured herself, Matthew would be on to him before he got inside the shop. She must tell Josie that she had changed her mind, and would like him to be close by. Another thought struck her. It might be a woman playing these horrible tricks. Someone who worked at the zoo? The police would have talked to everyone on the staff there. But suppose they hadn’t spotted a girl with the opportunity to take out the animals at night? But that still didn’t solve the question of how she would have got into the storeroom, or why. Apart from Josie’s unlocked doors, of course!

She picked up her fluffy slippers, worn summer and winter, and put them into the bag. Whatever happened, Matthew would be there, and she would be safe. And if it helped Josie to feel more at ease in the shop, then it was worth a try, wasn’t it?

“Mum? Are you ready? I’ll give you a hand with your bag. Josie’ll be in the shop, and we can go straight up to the flat.” Lois stood at the foot of the stairs, calling up to her mother in a brisk voice. She wasn’t fooled by Gran. It was a big step for her to take, and she was bound to be a bit apprehensive.

“Here I am, ready and willing,” said Gran, appearing with a smile. “You can take this holdall, and then I’ve got one or two things to put in a plastic bag. We can be back here by midday, ready for me to prepare lunch.”

“So when are you going to do this big spring-cleaning job? Why don’t we have lunch first, and then I can come down with you and we’ll make up the bed and clean up together?”

Gran came down the stairs slowly, and handed her bag to Lois. “I’d prefer to go now, leave my stuff and see what’s to be done to make the flat habitable, then come back here, cook lunch and take cleaning things down this afternoon. That’s what I intended.”

“Right,” said Lois. She felt oddly bereft. It was like seeing someone off on a train, and she added that she would go with her mother to take her bag, and then put some dusters and polish and other stuff in her van, and they would go down again together after lunch. “If that’s what you want, Mum?” she asked.

“No need for you to come now,” Gran replied. “That bag’s not heavy, and Josie will open up the flat for me. I shall have a look round and then come back more or less straightaway. If you insist, then we’ll go together this afternoon.”



*



Gran arrived back in a short time, saying that Josie was busy, and they had decided she should wait until this afternoon to go up to the flat. Now she was beating eggs as if they had deeply offended her, preparing a mammoth omelette for lunch.

“Lots of dusters and Vim,” she shouted to Lois, who was in the small scullery, where she stored all the equipment needed for the New Brooms cleaners. She was collecting up items that Gran thought they would need. “I expect we’ll find mice nesting in the bath and spiders galore. Just as well I’m not scared of creepy crawlies,” she added.

By the time they drove down to the shop, laden with enough cleaning materials to shine up the entire village, most of the trade had gone, and Josie was sitting on the top step in the sun, waiting for them to arrive.

“I thought Gran would like to go up first, just to get used to the stairs an’ that, and we’ll make a start. I can help between customers. It’s usually pretty quiet until the school bus gets in. Then it’s like a madhouse for ten minutes or so, then peace until closing time.”

With Gran leading the way, they climbed the stairs, and with the key Josie had handed to her, she unlocked the door. It creaked loudly, and she had to push it firmly to open it. “There’s something the other side,” she said. “I can’t move it no further.”