Three Little Maids(33)

‘So what can you tell me about Mr. Berkley? How did Maureen behave around him?’

‘Oh, I think she flirted with him too, or tried to - ’ She nodded. ‘He used to treat her like his friend’s daughter which she was, of course. The Carey’s and Berkleys are good friends. But what happened in private. Well - who knows, Mr. Turner? Maureen was a sly one. She could be getting up to all kinds of tricks that girl. She had flirty, flirty eyes, He’s a bit frayed around the edges is Mr. Berkley. He’s in his late forties and he could have been tempted like any man. He was quite a good looker when he was young.’ She pursed up her lips and thought carefully for a moment.

‘Mr. Turner could tell you that he was sniffing around my Pammie before she left home. So if Maureen was offering sex on a plate; he’s your boy.’ She chuckled richly. ‘And it’s very difficult to be rude to a pal’s daughter in their company. I think she was a bit sweet on his son Michael too.’

‘So what about Aiden Ludlam, Mrs Perkins?’

Here Kent was about to experience a hiccup, his first difficulty in persuading her to speak out. She looked shocked for the first time at the suggestion of any illicit affair going on there. ‘What about him, Mr. Turner? Mr. Ludlam is a man of the cloth!’

‘Well he’s a man for all that, Mrs Perkins. He’s not immune to the temptations of a young highly sexed girl, is he?’ Turner said chewing on his sweet.

‘Whatever you may think. I’m not suggesting anything occurred between them. But we have to go through all possibilities before we dismiss anyone from the suspect list.’

‘Well - he is a handsome man, Inspector. I’ll give you that. And he has become quite a favourite with most of the woman chapel goers,’ she said reluctantly.

‘Tell me more about Mrs Ludlam? She is not quite the match you would have thought he’d pick for a wife, is he?’

June Perkins thought this over for a moment or so and sighed. ‘Well it seemed only natural that he would marry her. When he first came to teach at her father’s school she fell for him in a big way. You can’t blame her.’ She sighed again. ‘And she was a nice little thing. Mr. Ludlam is quite shy with women. He treats her like Dresden china and is so kind. She lights up when he speaks to her.’

‘Mr. Ludlam is he local?’

She shrugged. ‘No. I think he comes from somewhere near Cambridge, and Raymond asked him once if he’d met Pammie, his mother. I had to explain to Mr. Ludlam his reasons for asking. Raymond was only eight at the time. He didn’t mean to be rude. It was just his way.’

She went on to do a run down on some of the other men chapel goers. Mostly were sixty or going on seventy and some elderly widowers had women friends that June Perkins knew all about. Kent had a sudden attack of sneezing into his handkerchief, his eyes streaming, and stopped her natural flow with a raised hand.

‘Is that all you want to know, Inspector? You should get some medicine for that cold.’

‘Yes - I know. Thank you very much. You’ve been a great help.’

‘Oh, I almost forgot, Inspector. There is Jonathan Parker and his mother Nora who attend regularly. He is young, about thirty four I think, but you can forget him as far as Maureen goes,’ she said with a wicked twinkle in her eye. ‘Jonathan Parker runs the Dolphin Art gallery with his partner Gregory Randall.’





23




Police Superintendent Dick Shannon asked, ‘So you spoke to Ludlam. Have you got any joy for me from it?’

‘I think I’ve got the low down on most of those men amongst the chapel goers. But not from Ludlam; he is rather cagey and won’t budge an inch. He’s a sanctimonious prick.’ Shannon coughed. ‘And I don’t excuse my language, sir. I could think of something much worse if I had the time.’

He added with a wide grin. ‘I went to see Mrs Perkins afterwards, sir. And tapped her for information. She’s a chattering magpie and a fairly good judge of men. She told me about most of them. She has quite a thing going for Aiden Ludlam. Most of the women in the chapel congregation do. Apparently.’

‘So - fill me in then. Are you doing something about that cold of yours by the way? You look full of it.’

‘It’s hay fever, sir. It’s bad today. Roger Welbeck is one of the youngest men and I’ve already spoken to him. A very keen chapelgoer, he never misses according to Mrs Perkins. He attends regularly with his wife Sara, she’s a cripple in a wheelchair. A lovely young woman and a talented artist, she has her work put on show in the local Art gallery and it sells.’