night?’ wondered Alice.
‘I don’t know. I was fast asleep.’
‘You were quite right to go to bed.’
‘Then why do I feel so guilty about it?’ asked Ellen. ‘I felt it was my duty to be here for him.’
Alice was crisp. ‘Daddy is the detective – not you. If he has to work long hours, it doesn’t mean that you have to as well.’ She grinned. ‘After all, you don’t get paid for overtime like him.’
Ellen laughed. ‘That’s one way of putting it.’
She continued to make the breakfast before sharing it out on three separate plates. By the time that Marmion arrived in his shirtsleeves,the meal was on the table for him with a cup of tea beside it. He gave Ellen a kiss of gratitude then sat beside her. Alice was opposite him.
‘Good morning, teacher,’ he said.
Alice smiled. ‘You may not be able to call me that much longer.’
‘Don’t tell me they’ve sacked you.’
‘No – but I may be handing in my resignation.’
Realising what she meant, Marmion stiffened. He hoped that he’d talked his daughter out of her plan to join the Women’s Emergency Corps. Clearly, it was still a live issue. Before he could speak, Ellen jumped in quickly to avert an argument.
‘Let’s not discuss it over a meal,’ she suggested. ‘We don’t want a row this early in the day.’
‘I’m entitled to pass an opinion, love,’ said Marmion.
‘Alice already knows what it is, dear.’
‘And you both know my opinion,’ said Alice, ‘so let’s leave it at that.’ She put sugar in her tea and stirred it with a spoon. ‘I didn’t hear you come in last night, Daddy. Where had you been?’
‘Joe Keedy and I found an illegal gambling den,’ joked Marmion, ‘and we lost a month’s wages on the roulette wheel.’ He shook his head. ‘Actually, it was a lot more serious than that. A mob raided a gents’ outfitters in Jermyn Street. They burnt it down and the owner was murdered.’
‘What a dreadful thing to happen!’
‘Do you have any suspects?’ asked Ellen.
‘At the moment, we have too many of them – forty or more.’ He looked quizzically at his daughter. ‘What do you do with your pupils, Alice? When one of them does something naughty and nobody owns up, how do you handle the situation?’
‘I threaten to keep them all in after school.’
‘Does the threat work?’
‘Every time – the children all stare at the culprit.’
‘Unfortunately, that option is not open to Joe and me.’
Ellen swallowed some bacon. ‘How is Joe Keedy?’
‘He’s in fine form.’
‘We haven’t seen him for ages. You should ask him round.’
‘Yes,’ said Alice, fondly. ‘That would be nice. Invite him to tea.’
‘There won’t be time for luxuries like tea for quite a while,’ said Marmion. ‘Joe and I are going to be working at full stretch.’
‘He can always drop in for a drink one evening,’ suggested Ellen. ‘I like him. Joe Keedy is good company. He’s got a sensible head on his shoulders.’ She shot a glance at Alice. ‘He might even be able to persuade a certain someone to abandon this urge to join the WEC.’
‘I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,’ protested Alice. ‘Besides, Joe might be on my side. The last time he was here, he told me I should think about joining the Women’s Police Service.’
Marmion pulled a face. ‘Oh no you don’t.’
‘One police officer is enough in any family,’ said Ellen, stoutly.
‘In any case,’ said her husband, ‘it was only formed last year. It still hasn’t sorted out exactly what it’s supposed to do. In essence, I think it’s a good idea but that’s not a view shared by some of my older colleagues. They feel that policing is a man’s job.’
‘Everything was a man’s job until the war broke out,’ noted Alice. ‘Then women proved that they could mend cars and drive ambulances and make shells in munitions factories and do just about anything else that a man can do. It may be one of the best
‘I don’t know. I was fast asleep.’
‘You were quite right to go to bed.’
‘Then why do I feel so guilty about it?’ asked Ellen. ‘I felt it was my duty to be here for him.’
Alice was crisp. ‘Daddy is the detective – not you. If he has to work long hours, it doesn’t mean that you have to as well.’ She grinned. ‘After all, you don’t get paid for overtime like him.’
Ellen laughed. ‘That’s one way of putting it.’
She continued to make the breakfast before sharing it out on three separate plates. By the time that Marmion arrived in his shirtsleeves,the meal was on the table for him with a cup of tea beside it. He gave Ellen a kiss of gratitude then sat beside her. Alice was opposite him.
‘Good morning, teacher,’ he said.
Alice smiled. ‘You may not be able to call me that much longer.’
‘Don’t tell me they’ve sacked you.’
‘No – but I may be handing in my resignation.’
Realising what she meant, Marmion stiffened. He hoped that he’d talked his daughter out of her plan to join the Women’s Emergency Corps. Clearly, it was still a live issue. Before he could speak, Ellen jumped in quickly to avert an argument.
‘Let’s not discuss it over a meal,’ she suggested. ‘We don’t want a row this early in the day.’
‘I’m entitled to pass an opinion, love,’ said Marmion.
‘Alice already knows what it is, dear.’
‘And you both know my opinion,’ said Alice, ‘so let’s leave it at that.’ She put sugar in her tea and stirred it with a spoon. ‘I didn’t hear you come in last night, Daddy. Where had you been?’
‘Joe Keedy and I found an illegal gambling den,’ joked Marmion, ‘and we lost a month’s wages on the roulette wheel.’ He shook his head. ‘Actually, it was a lot more serious than that. A mob raided a gents’ outfitters in Jermyn Street. They burnt it down and the owner was murdered.’
‘What a dreadful thing to happen!’
‘Do you have any suspects?’ asked Ellen.
‘At the moment, we have too many of them – forty or more.’ He looked quizzically at his daughter. ‘What do you do with your pupils, Alice? When one of them does something naughty and nobody owns up, how do you handle the situation?’
‘I threaten to keep them all in after school.’
‘Does the threat work?’
‘Every time – the children all stare at the culprit.’
‘Unfortunately, that option is not open to Joe and me.’
Ellen swallowed some bacon. ‘How is Joe Keedy?’
‘He’s in fine form.’
‘We haven’t seen him for ages. You should ask him round.’
‘Yes,’ said Alice, fondly. ‘That would be nice. Invite him to tea.’
‘There won’t be time for luxuries like tea for quite a while,’ said Marmion. ‘Joe and I are going to be working at full stretch.’
‘He can always drop in for a drink one evening,’ suggested Ellen. ‘I like him. Joe Keedy is good company. He’s got a sensible head on his shoulders.’ She shot a glance at Alice. ‘He might even be able to persuade a certain someone to abandon this urge to join the WEC.’
‘I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,’ protested Alice. ‘Besides, Joe might be on my side. The last time he was here, he told me I should think about joining the Women’s Police Service.’
Marmion pulled a face. ‘Oh no you don’t.’
‘One police officer is enough in any family,’ said Ellen, stoutly.
‘In any case,’ said her husband, ‘it was only formed last year. It still hasn’t sorted out exactly what it’s supposed to do. In essence, I think it’s a good idea but that’s not a view shared by some of my older colleagues. They feel that policing is a man’s job.’
‘Everything was a man’s job until the war broke out,’ noted Alice. ‘Then women proved that they could mend cars and drive ambulances and make shells in munitions factories and do just about anything else that a man can do. It may be one of the best
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