Read Online Five Dead Canaries by Edward Marston - Free Book Online

reflected on the distressing events at the Golden Goose. They’d give Maureen a worrying prominence. He’d feel the effects himself as his customers bombarded him on the doorstep with questions about what exactly had happened and how his daughter was coping with the fraught situation. It was the kind of interest that he’d never willingly seek. Others might bask in it but Quinn was a man who shunned attention.
    By the time he returned to the kitchen, he found the kettle on the gas stove and his wife preparing his breakfast. Diane was still sleepy,moving as if in a dream and yawning intermittently. She tried to shake herself fully awake.
    ‘It feels funny, doesn’t it?’ she said.
    ‘What does?’
    ‘Most mornings, Maureen would have left hours ago. She’d be at work before either of us got up. It seems strange having her still here.’
    ‘It’s not strange, Di, it’s necessary.’
    ‘I know that.’
    ‘She’s had a terrible time. She needs to recover.’
    ‘Maureen was shivering all over when I put her to bed last night.’
    ‘I blame
them
,’ said Quinn, curling a lip. ‘Those coppers were wrong to keep on at her like that. They wore the poor girl down.’
    ‘What do I do if they come back, Eamonn?’
    ‘Keep them away from her.’
    ‘But they’re from Scotland Yard.’
    ‘I don’t care where the buggers come from,’ he said, rancorously. ‘I don’t want them battering her with questions again. Maureen is not up to it.’
    ‘She’s stronger than she looks,’ said Diane, turning off the gas and pouring hot water into the teapot. ‘Working in that factory has made her grow up fast. Well, you’ve noticed it yourself. Maureen used to be very shy but she’s got a lot more confidence now.’
    ‘That doesn’t mean she’s up to being interrogated by those two.’
    ‘They need information, Eamonn.’
    ‘Whose side are you on?’ he snarled. ‘This is our daughter, Di, and we’ve got to protect her. You know what I think about coppers. Don’t let them into the house.’
    ‘What am I to say to them?’
    ‘Any excuse will do. Just get rid of them.’
    ‘I don’t want to get us into any trouble,’ she said, nervously.
    ‘Shut up and do as you’re told, woman.’ He sat down at the table. ‘And get on with my breakfast. I’ve got a hard day ahead. I need some grub inside me.’
    Diane went through her usual routine, pouring his tea, cooking his food and setting it in front of him. All that Quinn did was to gobble it down in silence then end with his usual belch. He’d changed and his wife made allowances for it. He was never the most congenial of men but the war had made him even more churlish and self-centred. She put it down to the fact that their two sons had both enlisted and were facing unknown dangers at the front. Quinn missed them dreadfully. He was now the only man in the household. The balance had tilted sharply against him. Instead of being able to spend time with two strapping young men who shared his interests, he was stuck with a wife and two daughters and felt isolated. He still loved Diane after his own fashion but he made no attempt to show it, considering any display of affection to be somehow unmanly. What Maureen and Lily had to put up with was his uncertain temper and a series of gruff commands. Like their mother, they’d learnt to read the warning signals and keep out of his way.
    ‘I’m off,’ he announced, washing down his last mouthful of food with a swig of tea. ‘Expect me when you see me.’
    ‘Yes, Eamonn.’
    ‘And – at all costs – don’t let those coppers over the threshold.’
    ‘I’ll do my best.’
    ‘You’ll do as I bloody well say.’
    On that truculent note, he hauled himself up and walked out. Diane heard him putting on his coat and his cap before letting himself out of the house. The door was slammed even harder than usual. Other wivesmight have baulked at such brusque treatment but she was accustomed to it, always finding an excuse