he might be in later, but he wasnât.â
Bea was beginning to feel anxious about the absent Philip. âWhen did they see him last?â
âDunno. I couldnât ask outright or it would have looked suspicious. I mean, Iâm not supposed to know anything about him, and especially not that heâs a murderer.â
âHe may not be,â said Bea. âWe donât know that. We donât really know anything much about him.â
Maggie downed her mug of tea and said, âAah. I needed that, though I must admit I prefer coffee to kickstart me in the mornings. I didnât like to drink out of any of their mugs at the flat, because theyâre all stained and the dirt round the handles has to be seen to be believed. The place is a tip. I asked Charlotte why they didnât have a cleaner and she said that they had had one but thereâd been arguments about paying her, and then theyâd tried to get a roster going, everyone doing their share, but of course the men didnât lift a finger, and Charlotteâs got enough to do at work without taking on a cleaning job as well, and why should she? I mean, itâs not right, is it? So she asked me if I could find someone for them at the agency, because of course I was quite open about what I do as you said I was to be, and of course I said yes â and ta-da! Arenât I Miss Clever Clogs?â
Bea said, âBut we donât have any cleaners on our books who are capable of ferreting out the truth about Philip.â
âNo, but
you
could,â said Maggie, dancing around the room. âI said, I know just the person, someone a bit older but experienced and tactful. I said sheâs a widow, fallen on hard times, and she could start straight away. So here are your keys, Mrs Abbot, and if you like Iâll take you over there and you can get started right away.â
Oliver choked on his tea. Maggie hit him on his back, and Bea ⦠Bea didnât know whether to laugh or cry. âBut I havenât been out cleaning for years.â
âKeys,â said Maggie, dangling them in front of Bea, âto the outer door, to the flat. Thereâs a porter, has a cubby hole off the foyer, acts as janitor. Charlotte introduced me to him last night. She went down and told him I was going to bring in a cleaner, so itâs all been cleared with Higher Authority. Iâll help you get started and then I can get back here and get on with the usual, because it doesnât look like theyâve a reasonable hoover, or duster or a smidgeon of bleach anywhere. So, shall we get started, then?â
Bea couldnât go out to clean wearing one of her boutique outfits, so borrowed a gaudy T-shirt from Maggie, found some old black jogging trousers and a pair of reasonably decent trainers to wear. When sheâd gone out on jobs for the agency in the old days sheâd worn an outfit of black T-shirt and slacks, with a many-pocketed apron to carry her tools around with her. By great good fortune, she found it neatly folded in her closet, and slung it into a large plastic bag to take with her.
She took off her make-up and looked at herself in the mirror, feeling frowsty and boring, especially when she brushed her fringe straight down over her eyes, instead of at an angle.
Meanwhile, Maggie scurried around, putting together a basket of cleaning materials. âIf we canât get their hoover to work we might have to take ours, in which case weâll need a taxi to get everything there and back.â
Down Church Street they went, carrying the basket between them. Bea had a job to keep up with Maggie, who would have been hopping and skipping along if she hadnât had to wait for the older woman.
âIâm getting too old for this,â said Bea, as she sorted keys under Maggieâs eye and let them into the hallway of the flats.
âYouâre doing all right for your age,â said Maggie, unconsciously
Tricia Springstubb
Stacey Ballis
The Baby Bequest
Tana French
Chris Knopf
Elizabeth Lowell
Jason Parent
Marci Fawn
Per Wahlöö