A Family Christmas (21 page)

‘Oh, I don’t know, Tom.’ Nellie climbed the stairs to the ground floor and wandered from lounge to kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers, inspecting
the
walk-in pantry. ‘Yes, we’ll do it. We shall need a dumb waiter though, down to the dining room.’

Tom grinned. ‘What about the furniture? Shall we keep it or renew?’

‘Keep it; it’s nice, but we shall need the dining room fitting out. Then there’ll be the bedrooms to sort out, into doubles, family and single.’ Tom’s instinct had been right. Nellie would never have been happy with nothing to do.

‘And a double for us.’

‘Oh yes, definitely a double for us. Let’s test the one in the first room; after all we need to know how comfortable it is before we let the room. Oh Tom, it’s going to cost you a fortune.’

‘Nellie, you’re marrying a rich man, my love. Thanks to my grandmother. And I’ve a feeling that between us we might become even richer. Now, hadn’t we better get down to testing the beds?’

The birth of little Rosie had diverted Lucy’s thoughts away from Evelyn’s death, though Lucy still wasn’t happy for Bernard to be out of her sight. When he played in the yard with the other children she was forever looking out to make sure he was safe. He played quite happily with Mrs Cadman’s son Donald, who was now a robust and healthy little boy. Mrs Cadman knew what it was like to be anxious after her son’s illness and promised she would keep them within her sight. Lucy had regained her slim figure and was excited about dressing up for Nellie’s
wedding
and showing off her new daughter, who seemed to grow more beautiful every day. Lucy had never seen the sea and couldn’t believe they were to spend a weekend in Blackpool. The whole family were to travel by charabanc. Mr Smith – Nellie’s boss – had arranged the transport and had given his staff a couple of days off as a thank you present to Nellie. Mr Smith, of course, was travelling by train. He was far too posh to ride on a chara. He would be travelling back in a brand new car, bought at a discount from his friend Tom Johnson.

Nellie was at present training a new cook, who would take over at the manor when she left. Mrs Cooper had shed a few tears at the news that Nellie was leaving, but the invitation to the wedding had soon cheered her up. Because Lily and Larry had also received an invitation Mrs Cooper had all on to prevent Lily from going into a frenzy of excitement, which took her mind off Nellie’s forthcoming departure.

Nellie’s worry was that her new home wouldn’t be ready in time to accommodate her family and friends overnight, but Tom had promised to arrange hotel accommodation in the unlikely event that their home was unfinished. Margaret Johnson was ecstatic. Not only was Tom marrying Nellie but the couple had asked her to oversee the alterations to their new home. Nellie had told her what was to be done and to Margaret’s delight had asked her advice on a number of things. She was keeping the
workmen
on their toes and Nellie had given Margaret a free hand to fit out the bedrooms with curtains and bedding. Henry Johnson hadn’t seen his wife so animated in years and was able to nip off unnoticed to the garage. Henry had never been as contented as when he was wearing an old pair of overalls and covered in engine oil. Nellie Gabbitas had given both him and his wife a new lease of life, for which Henry would be eternally grateful.

Ben and Emma were just enjoying dinner when Mrs Scott showed two plainclothes detectives through the shop and interrupted them.

‘Nothing to be alarmed about,’ the tallest assured them. ‘We’d just like to know where you were on the night Evelyn Smithson’s murder took place.’

Ben was alarmed. ‘I was tucked up in bed with my wife by that time.’ He told them he was a family friend and that it was his sister who had found Evelyn’s body. ‘What makes you think I had anything to do with it?’ he asked.

‘We don’t. We’re in the process of checking everyone who owns a motorcycle in the Rotherham and Sheffield areas.’

Ben whistled. ‘By gum, that’ll take some time.’

‘Not really; we’ve eliminated half of you already. We just need to know if you lent out your machine to anyone on that night.’

‘No, it’s kept locked up in the store room in the yard.’

‘Good, that’s all we need to know. We won’t disturb your lunch any longer.’

‘That’s all right. I hope you catch the bugger. He should be hung for what he did to Evelyn.’

‘He will be, don’t you worry.’ The men put on their trilbies and made their way back through the shop where Mrs Scott was anxiously serving a customer.

‘My word, they look as if they mean business,’ the woman said as she looked questioningly at the shopkeeper.

‘Oh, just a couple of salesmen.’ Mrs Scott loved a gossip, but knew when to keep her mouth closed and when to open it. She was relieved however when Emma explained the visit had just been a routine one and nothing to worry about. At first Mrs Scott had thought the men were the weights and measures inspectors. She would rather have a dozen detectives in the shop any day than one of those.

She waited until Robbie came upstairs and gave him time to undress and get into bed, then Prudence gave a squeal, just loud enough to be heard through the adjoining wall. When there was no response from Robbie she tapped on the wall and called his name.

‘Robbie. Help.’

Robbie couldn’t very well ignore a cry for help and ran to the door. Tapping on it, he waited.

‘Come in. Please help.’ Prudence was standing on the bed wearing just a flimsy nightdress, which was almost transparent with the light from over the bed showing through it.

‘Oh, Robbie, I’m so scared. There’s something in my room, down there in the corner. I think it’s a mouse.’

Robbie walked round the bed and looked under the dressing table in the corner of the room, self-conscious in his striped pyjamas. ‘I can’t see anything.’ He stood up. ‘Keep quiet a minute and we might hear something.’

Then Prudence began to giggle. ‘Oh, Robbie, you look so funny in your ’jamas.’ She switched out the light. ‘Please, give me a cuddle, just one little cuddle.’ Robbie knew then he had been tricked and made for the door. ‘Come back here.’

‘You’re mad, Prudence. Goodnight.’

‘Go away.’ Prudence raised her voice so that it carried through the silent house. ‘Don’t ever come to my room again.’

‘Don’t worry, I won’t.’ Robbie was just going along the corridor when Herbert Goodman opened his door.

‘What’s going on?’ He looked Robbie up and down, alarmed at his state of undress.

‘A mouse in Prudence’s room,’ Robbie answered and disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door
behind
him. He must get away from this house. Prudence Goodman was stark raving mad, Robbie was sure of it.

Next morning Prudence never appeared at breakfast and much to Robbie’s relief nobody mentioned the night before. As soon as Robbie had left for work however, the conversation turned to the fact that Robbie had been in their daughter’s room in his nightwear. ‘You’ll have to talk to her,’ Herbert told Louisa. ‘Find out what happened.’

‘I’m sure it was entirely as Robbie told you, that there was a mouse in her room. We shall have to set the traps or we shall end up being overrun like last time.’

‘Louisa, this isn’t about mice. We can’t have Robbie visiting our daughter’s room. You must ask her what occurred.’

‘If anything, which I don’t think for a moment it did. I trust Robert but I’m not sure I trust Prudence.’

Herbert was shocked. ‘You’re surely not suggesting Prudence welcomed his advances?’

‘I’m sure she would, if there had been any. I don’t think there were.’

‘Well, find out anyway. We must put a stop to whatever happened.’

Louisa sighed. ‘Oh very well, I’ll talk to her.’ She left her breakfast almost untouched and went upstairs. Conversing with Prudence was proving more difficult with each passing day.

‘Go away,’ Prudence called in answer to the tap on her door. Louisa ignored her and went in. ‘So what was Robbie doing in your room?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Well, I do.’

‘Go away.’

‘Was there really a mouse in here?’ Louisa searched the lino for mouse droppings. ‘Or was it just a ruse to get Robert in your room?’

Prudence blushed and covered her face with the eiderdown. ‘Of course it wasn’t. I don’t want to talk about it. It was too awful.’

‘Why? What happened?’ Louisa wondered for the first time if anything had actually happened.

‘I can’t tell you; I’m too upset. Go away.’

‘Prudence, if Robert upset you in any way I need to know.’

‘I’m all right. Nothing for you to worry about.’

‘Do you want any breakfast?’

‘No thank you. I’m tired. I’m going back to sleep.’

‘Well, call me if you want anything.’ Louisa frowned as she went downstairs. Much as she trusted Robert, she couldn’t help worrying. If he had touched Prudence in an offensive way they needed to prevent it happening again. She wondered if Herbert should talk to the boy, or perhaps it would be better to forget the whole thing. The trouble was that Louisa felt guilty because it wasn’t Robert Grey she mistrusted; it was her daughter.

Prudence smiled to herself in the privacy of her
bed
. Her plan was set in motion. If only she could hurry it along, but she must be patient if it was to succeed. And succeed it would – it had to if she was to end up with Robbie Grey.

‘What are you doing down there, Herbert?’ Louisa called. It was unusual for her husband to venture down into the cellar.

‘I’m looking for the poison, just playing safe. We don’t want any vermin running wild. It would be a catastrophe if they got in the school. And it’s a five-pound fine if we don’t take steps to eliminate them.’ Prudence heard her father’s voice and smiled. Her acting must have convinced her father, even if it hadn’t succeeded in enticing Robbie to her bed. It was all the fault of the Greenwood girl. If it wasn’t for her, Prudence thought she would have a chance. She would like to use the rat poison on her. A thought suddenly entered her head. She couldn’t poison her, but she could make her life unpleasant, take away the smug smile that lit up her face whenever Robbie was near her. Later she watched her father soak pieces of bread in the poison in an old paint can lid and place it under her dressing table, warning her not to touch it. Then she saw him take the Quill poison back down the cellar steps. She could feel the excitement as an idea began to take root in her mind. She decided to take a walk up by Greenwood’s farm one afternoon and familiarise herself with the place before putting her plan into action.

* * *

A few nights later Prudence waited until the house was silent, then she quietly dressed and sneaked out onto the landing. She remembered that the second and seventh stairs were the ones that creaked and strode carefully over them. The house was in pitch darkness and she fumbled among the hooks on the wall until she found her black coat. Then came the tricky part of her plan – going down in the cellar without stumbling over all the junk that was stored there. She struck a match and found the poison, then she turned and knocked over a wooden clothes horse. Her hair stood on end as she waited for someone to come and investigate but no one did. She tiptoed back up the stone steps, cringing at the creaking door, then let herself out into the moonless night.

Prudence was too excited to feel nervous as she passed the billet mill with its clanging of metal, or at the sound of night creatures in the fields and hedgerows. She walked on the lane to the farm, hoping the dog was indoors – it had barked at her all the way along the lane on her afternoon walk. She had managed to locate the pond and a trough halfway along the lane. The pond was obviously the water hole for all the farm animals and ducks. If she threw the poison in the water the Greenwoods would have no chance of saving their livestock. She carefully removed the heavy chain from the gate stoop and opened the gate. There was no sign of the dog. She went towards the pond, unscrewing the top from the poison as she drew near.

They came round the corner like two great flapping ghosts, pecking at her face, her hair and her ankles. Prudence’s heart seemed to stop beating with the shock. Then all she could think of was that she must escape without being seen. She dropped the poison in her attempt to be free of the geese but they clung to her coat and followed her, pecking at her legs all the way out of the yard and along the lane. She heard the dog barking and at last managed to shake off the cackling geese.

She set off running along the lane and over the stile to the path, stumbling in the darkness and falling a couple of yards until she managed to grab hold of a tree branch. Then she sat, tears of rage mingling with blood, before rising to her feet and returning home, wondering how to explain the bruises and scratches on her exposed flesh.

An hour later Prudence, now wearing her nightdress, bumped her way as loudly as possible down the stairs, letting out a scream as she positioned herself in a crumpled heap at the bottom. Herbert was the first on the scene, with Louisa hurrying behind.

‘Where am I?’ Prudence rose to her feet.

‘Prudence, what happened to you?’ The concern on her father’s face almost made her smile.

‘Oh dear, I must have been walking in my sleep and fallen down the stairs.’

‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, I don’t think so. Well, maybe my nose and I must have hurt my hands as I fell. My ankles feel a bit tender, but yes, I’m all right.’

Louisa went to help her daughter to her feet and noticed the mud on her ankles. Then she saw the footprints on the hall floor and knew they hadn’t been there when she locked up. ‘Prudence, why are you lying?’

‘Louisa, have you no compassion? Our daughter could have been killed.’ Herbert couldn’t understand his wife sometimes. Neither could he suspect his daughter of any wrongdoing. She had always been Daddy’s little girl and that little girl was crafty enough to conceal her actions from her father. Louisa, on the other hand, knew how cunning her daughter could be and she was becoming afraid. Afraid that her daughter was not only unusual but was actually mad. Louisa was afraid of what Prudence was capable of next.