"And Skinny Man?"
"Scared and inept. He'd been a promising crime writer, but got himself involved in a sex scandal that hit the national press. Wife divorced him, and she had the money. He was more or less destitute and helped himself to cash from a village post office. Wrecked his career. Got the plot wrong in that case." Cowgill smiled, pleased with his bon mot.
"Now," he continued, "first question. What the hell did they think they were doing grabbing you off the footpath, Lois?"
"Why don't you ask them?" Derek said.
"It's all right, Derek," Lois said calmly. She turned to Cowgill. "Big Al's not all that bright, y' know."
"Nor is he a fool," Cowgill said quietly.
"Maybe, but he thought he was clever, cleverer than anybody and especially cleverer than me. Mind you, they didn't plan for me to be midwife. It was Pat the skinny man's job. But he got snuffed out by the heavies, didn't he. Then there wasn't nobody else."
"Rubbish!" Derek said. "You bet they got plenty of women at their beck and call. Your own fault, Lois, for being involved in the first place!"
Cowgill frowned. "If you could just wait a while, Derek," he said. "I promise you shall have your say. Please go on, Lois."
"Well, the poor woman goes into labour unexpectedly, and there I was, living just across the road. Al knows nobody in Farnden except me, the woman is screaming, and he panics. Makes an on-the-spot decision, thinking he can keep me quiet with threats of violence to my family if I talk. Sends those blokes creeping around, and they find me."
She moved closer to Derek, and said, "If you'd seen that woman with her baby, love, you'd be glad I was there. An' I'm safely back, aren't I?"
"Until the next time," Derek grunted.
Gran poked her head round the door. "More coffee anyone?" she said. All shook their heads, and she retreated reluctantly.
The questions went on, and Derek had his say. It was mostly what he had said many times before and he knew it was a waste of breath, but he felt better for saying it.
"This is the last time, Lois," he finally repeated a couple of times, and thumped the coffee table with his fist to make his point. He got up, indicating the interview was at an end, and took the tray of mugs through to Gran in the kitchen.
Lois saw Cowgill to the door. "What will happen to the woman and her baby?" she asked, and he replied that he would personally make sure she was cared for.
"If she's allowed to stay here, d'you reckon she'd be interested in a cleaning job?" Lois said. "Once you've settled her safely?"
Cowgill put out his hand and took hers. He gave it a small squeeze and said, "That's my girl. I'll be in touch."
"Yes," Lois said, and stood at the door watching until he was in his car and driving away.
Table of Contents
WARNING AT ONE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-SEVEN
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
FIFTY-FIVE
FIFTY-SIX
FIFTY-SEVEN