their minds, as had the advisability of being wary of strangers.
âTrary?â Maggie saw the set look on her daughterâs face. âLord, is that what youâre thinkinâ, he might be the one that â oh, is he still there?â
âNo, I told him you were out, that you wouldnât be back till late. I told him he could call again in the morninâ. He said it would be a pleasure, he said heâd be here at half-past nine. Well, you see, Mum, if it is him, I think the police ought to be here waitinâ for him, donât you? I think I ought to go round to the police station now, and tell them. Perhaps Mr Bradshaw might be there, I could talk to âim, couldnât I?â
âTrary pet, youâre a brave anâ clever girl, that you are.â Maggie eyed her eldest daughter with visible pride. Neither of them knew it, but what Trary had proposed coincided with what Emma and Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain had arranged under similar circumstances. Trary, quick-witted, had seen it was the best and most obvious thing to do. âBut Iâll go, lovey.â
âNo, donât you think itâs best if you stay with the girls, Mum? I can describe the man, canât I? I mean, suppose he doesnât call back tomorrow morninâ? That might mean he went away suspicious about me saying you were out and tellinâ him to come back in the morninâ, and if heâs suspicious that means heâs got something on his mind, donât you think so? Mind, he was as cheerful as anything, and ever so fancy, and a bit saucy as well, he asked me if I was Walworthâs May Queen.â
âOh, âe sounds a very cheerful gent, lovey, at your age Iâdâve liked to be asked if I was a May Queen,â said Maggie. âStill, you did right, we canât be too careful.â She mused. âI donât know Iâm sure a man thatâs done a murder would walk around lookinâ for lodgings the day after, though, specially not in the same neighbourhood. But all right, you go to the police station, then, and Iâll stay with the girls. Oh, theyâre up to something.â
There were yells and squeals from the kitchen. Maggie didnât have too much trouble on the whole with her girls, but they had their moments of argument and quarrel. She returned to the kitchen to restore order, and Trary put her boater on and went to the Rodney Road police station. She was hoping to see Constable Bradshaw again. In the space of a day, Trary had decided that if he wasnât married heâd do very nicely for her mum.
He wasnât there. But she met none other than Inspector Greaves himself, the man in charge of the case. She also met Nicholas Chamberlain. She thought the detective-sergeant homely, friendly and manly. To Trary, manly was admirable. She thought Inspector Greaves grizzled and fatherly, if a little bit awesome. She was surprised how encouraging he was, how carefully he listened to her, and she liked the smile Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain gave her. Inspector Greaves told her she was the most sensible girl he had ever met. Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain told her, after he had seen her home, that she was a peach of a girl.
He would be there himself in the morning, he said, with a colleague. He spoke to her mum. Maggie agreed to receive the man, whom Trary said was a Mr Bates, if he did come back. Sheâd receive him in her parlour. Nicholas would be in the street, with Chapman, and knock on the door five minutes after Mr Bates had arrived.
Maggieâs parlour was comfortable enough with its solid, upholstered Victorian sofa and armchairs, but lacked any pictures or ornaments. There had been one lovely picture, a large one, of a storm at sea, a depiction of the Spanish Armada meeting its doom, which her husband had acquired just before they were married. But that was in pawn now, with the other pictures, all the ornaments and the nice
âTrary?â Maggie saw the set look on her daughterâs face. âLord, is that what youâre thinkinâ, he might be the one that â oh, is he still there?â
âNo, I told him you were out, that you wouldnât be back till late. I told him he could call again in the morninâ. He said it would be a pleasure, he said heâd be here at half-past nine. Well, you see, Mum, if it is him, I think the police ought to be here waitinâ for him, donât you? I think I ought to go round to the police station now, and tell them. Perhaps Mr Bradshaw might be there, I could talk to âim, couldnât I?â
âTrary pet, youâre a brave anâ clever girl, that you are.â Maggie eyed her eldest daughter with visible pride. Neither of them knew it, but what Trary had proposed coincided with what Emma and Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain had arranged under similar circumstances. Trary, quick-witted, had seen it was the best and most obvious thing to do. âBut Iâll go, lovey.â
âNo, donât you think itâs best if you stay with the girls, Mum? I can describe the man, canât I? I mean, suppose he doesnât call back tomorrow morninâ? That might mean he went away suspicious about me saying you were out and tellinâ him to come back in the morninâ, and if heâs suspicious that means heâs got something on his mind, donât you think so? Mind, he was as cheerful as anything, and ever so fancy, and a bit saucy as well, he asked me if I was Walworthâs May Queen.â
âOh, âe sounds a very cheerful gent, lovey, at your age Iâdâve liked to be asked if I was a May Queen,â said Maggie. âStill, you did right, we canât be too careful.â She mused. âI donât know Iâm sure a man thatâs done a murder would walk around lookinâ for lodgings the day after, though, specially not in the same neighbourhood. But all right, you go to the police station, then, and Iâll stay with the girls. Oh, theyâre up to something.â
There were yells and squeals from the kitchen. Maggie didnât have too much trouble on the whole with her girls, but they had their moments of argument and quarrel. She returned to the kitchen to restore order, and Trary put her boater on and went to the Rodney Road police station. She was hoping to see Constable Bradshaw again. In the space of a day, Trary had decided that if he wasnât married heâd do very nicely for her mum.
He wasnât there. But she met none other than Inspector Greaves himself, the man in charge of the case. She also met Nicholas Chamberlain. She thought the detective-sergeant homely, friendly and manly. To Trary, manly was admirable. She thought Inspector Greaves grizzled and fatherly, if a little bit awesome. She was surprised how encouraging he was, how carefully he listened to her, and she liked the smile Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain gave her. Inspector Greaves told her she was the most sensible girl he had ever met. Detective-Sergeant Chamberlain told her, after he had seen her home, that she was a peach of a girl.
He would be there himself in the morning, he said, with a colleague. He spoke to her mum. Maggie agreed to receive the man, whom Trary said was a Mr Bates, if he did come back. Sheâd receive him in her parlour. Nicholas would be in the street, with Chapman, and knock on the door five minutes after Mr Bates had arrived.
Maggieâs parlour was comfortable enough with its solid, upholstered Victorian sofa and armchairs, but lacked any pictures or ornaments. There had been one lovely picture, a large one, of a storm at sea, a depiction of the Spanish Armada meeting its doom, which her husband had acquired just before they were married. But that was in pawn now, with the other pictures, all the ornaments and the nice
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