Scandal at Six(73)

Parking next to it, she waved at the man, and got out. He joined her, his hat pulled well down over his face.

“How d’you do,” said Betsy. “Very cold today, isn’t it?”

“We might have some snow,” replied the man.

“Well, we got that out of the way, didn’t we. Very James Bond, don’t you think? Anyway, here’s the consignment. Hand over the cash, and then we can be away from here. You never know when you might bump into a policeman, since that nasty accident in the zoo.”

“I should take a look in the bag first,” he said.

“Not if you want the creatures alive when you hand them over,” said Betsy. “They’re well wrapped, and this cold wind could see the end of them.”

“Well, if you say so,” said the man, handing over a fat package. “Here’s the cash. They’d better be all right, else you’ll be hearing from us. When’s Pettison coming back? The boss sent his best wishes for a speedy recovery.”

“I’ll tell him,” said Betsy, getting into her car. “Bye. Drive carefully.”



*



When she arrived home, Ted said there had been a message for her from the hospital. He sounded curious when he told her, and said quickly that she was to go in to see the boss as soon as possible.

“Huh, well, he can wait,” Betsy said, flopping down into a chair. “I’m staying here for the rest of the day. Whatever it is, it’ll keep until tomorrow. And I’m sorry, Ted, I forgot to get the crumpets.”

“Typical,” Ted replied sourly. “I suppose it’ll have to be toast and honey again.”

“Very good for you, honey,” said Betsy.

“Maybe we should keep bees, then,” Ted said. “My dad used to keep a hive, but Mum was dead scared and so he got rid of them.”





Forty-one





“Have you discovered where the shrews went?” said Josie to Justin as he came into the shop.

“Oh yes, I’m sorry about that. I gave my key to a friend to use in an emergency while I was away, and she panicked, thinking they’d be better off in the zoo. I’m glad to say they’re now with a very caring customer. But thank you, anyway, for feeding them and making sure they were all right. I hope there’ll be no more animals to leave in the shed! Have a nice day, Josie. Bye.”

And I hope I have a nice day too, he thought, as he went to collect the Fiat. I am certainly due for one. I suppose I shall have to visit Pettison and keep him up to date, although Betsy will no doubt have been in touch with him. I could shop her to Pettison for disobeying orders, but I can’t be bothered. Anyway, I expect she has a hold over him, their relationship being what it is.

He laughed. “Good luck to them!” he said, and drove into the hospital car park feeling cheerful.

Pettison soon changed his mood. He greeted him with the news that the shrews had turned out to be piebald mice, and he wanted an explanation. The noble lord had been furious, saying he did not intend to put mice into his menagerie of rare and beautiful animals. He required an explanation, and without it, there would be no more orders from him. All this had been conveyed by an intermediary, of course. The noble lord was too fly to be directly involved.

“Menagerie?” said Justin. “What the hell is that? I thought they went out of fashion years ago.”

“A very respectable pedigree,” said Pettison. “Sometime in the eighteenth century, when exploration was bringing back all kinds of strange plants and animals, every man of power and influence with a country estate had a menagerie, housed often in wonderful buildings, and far enough away from the main house to lessen the sound of tigers roaring and monkeys screaming. I tell no lie, Justin. You can read about them. That’s why I call my collection at the hall my menagerie. Only difference is that my animals in the menagerie are dead, and have been for a long, long time. Most of them. Now, my turn to ask the questions. Why did the elephant shrews turn into piebald mice?”

“Don’t know, Uncle. They were locked up safely in the shed behind the shop, and when I came back from the funeral, they had gone. Josie Vickers knew nothing about their disappearance. But, as you probably know by now, I guessed and checked with Betsy. You had told me to give her a key, and she said yes, she had them, and would pass them on. My guess is that they died being transported from place to place, and Betsy, the silly woman, handed over substitutes.”

“Very annoying,” said Pettison. “Between you two dolts, you have lost me a very valuable customer.”

“Can’t you get some more elephant shrews?”