Furious Old Women by Leo Bruce Page B

home.”
    â€œAnd you, Miss Waddell?”
    â€œWho? Me?” laughed Rosa Waddell. “I was out on my bike. Went over to Burley, as a matter of fact.”
    â€œFor anything particular?”
    â€œNot really. More for the run than anything.”
    â€œSee anyone you knew?”
    â€œNo. Can’t say I did. Why? Don’t say I’m a suspect? I often felt like bashing Millicent Griggs but you surely don’t think I actually did it?”
    â€œI haven’t got to the point of having suspects. I’m only just beginning to get a notion
where
it happened. I certainly don’t pretend to guess when or through whom. Were you back before your mother?”
    â€œYes. I got my own tea. I was hungry, too. Then I settled down to a book. Thirkell. You know, goes on and on but you feel you have to find out what happens to the dreary people. Daddy popped in for a few minutes and rushed out again. Then mother arrived.”
    â€œYou didn’t notice any times?”
    â€œI suppose daddy came around six and mother a good bit later.”
    â€œWhat do you call a good bit?”
    â€œWell, it was about a quarter to seven when mummy turned up.”
    â€œThank you, Miss Waddell. I think you said, Mr Waddell, that you called on Miss Vaillant after coming home?”
    â€œI said I went to her house. I did so. In fact I had arranged to do on the previous morning.”
    â€œDid you stay long?”
    The vicar beamed good-humouredly. “I didn’t stay at all. I didn’t enter. Miss Vaillant was out. I rang several times without result.”
    â€œThat’s interesting,” said Carolus seriously.
    â€œYes,” smiled the vicar, who seemed to think he had made a good remark, “Miss Vaillant was out.”

6
    M UCH though Carolus wanted to meet Grazia Vaillant he felt it more important to see the Rumbles, husband and wife separately. In piecing together his picture of events that afternoon, in fixing times and forming an idea of where the various inhabitants of Gladhurst were likely to have been, he needed to hear what the Rumbles would tell him.
    Another fine clear day found Carolus over at Gladhurst, making for the churchyard, since he understood that at this time the sexton would be working there. As he approached he heard a cheerful voice singing Rockin’
Along in the Breeze
.
    He found Rumble, who stopped singing and looked up with a grin.
    â€œYou’re the one who is going to find out who did for her, aren’t you?” he said.
    â€œI hope so,” returned Carolus briefly. Coming straight to the point, he said: “You found the body, I understand?”
    It seemed that Rumble did not like this short cut across his reminiscences.
    â€œI found the body,” he said, “but
how
did I find it? How was it I came to disturb the grave waiting for Mr Chilling? How is it Miss Griggs isn’t down there now and no one the wiser?”
    â€œAh!” said Carolus who from many cross-examinations had learnt the value of this long-drawn monosyllable in such contexts.
    Rumble grinned.
    â€œThere’s a lot to know about burying,” he said. “And from what I hear we’re not a patch on the ancient Egyptians. What do we do, when all’s said and done? Make a box for ’em with brass fittings and drop it undersix foot of soil. Well, not six foot really because the ground doesn’t have to be dug more than six foot down. I always do mine seven. Seven to the inch. That’s how I came to know Chilling’s had been tinkered with. I dropped my tape down the evening before and said to old Mugger who was helping me, there you are, I said, that’s seven foot to the inch so Chilling’ll have the best part of six foot on top of him when he’s in tomorrow. Next morning when I measured it, it was scarcely more than five. So I said to myself this is funny, I said, something peculiar’s been going on here and I jumped in