was good-looking. Can you describe her a bit more accurately?’ Eve asked.
‘I don’t need to. Just look at that daughter o’ theirs, Chloe. She’s the spittin’ image of ’er mum. A right corker, if ever I saw one.’
‘You’re an old rogue, Zeke. Do you have any idea where she came from? All we know is what we’ve been told, and that isn’t much.’ Eve explained briefly why we were asking.
‘Her name might have been Hunter on t’ marriage licence, but I don’t reckon that were what she were born wi’. Hunter’s an English name, and I don’t think Andy’s missus were English.’
‘What makes you so sure, Zeke?’
‘Her accent, for one thing. She spoke real careful and correct, but if you listened ’ard you could ’ear it. Not that she said much. She were reet quiet. Not standoffish, just mebbe a bit on t’ shy side. The two of ’em were ’appy as owt, an’ I can see why Andy were torn apart after she died. By, but I wouldn’t half ’ave liked a lass like her warming mi bed of a winter’s night, and young ’un’s just as grand on t’ eye.’
‘What do you make of all that?’ Eve asked me as we walked back up the hill to Eden House. ‘Apart from confirming that Zeke Calvert is a lecherous old soak, I mean.’
I smiled. ‘If you took the smutty innuendo away, you’d never get a word out of him. What he told us about Kershaw in Cyprus more or less confirms what we suspected. If he was a spy, the Foreign Office wouldn’t want to talk about it. I believe they keep lists of our agents and where they are stationed. That would be how the intelligence people got wind of Baines’ questions. What I fail to understand is why Kershaw’s name should get the spooks spooked after all this time. Unless they believe that he held some deep dark secrets they’re afraid didn’t die with him.’
Chapter Eleven
––––––––
T he next couple of days brought no further developments, but the third more than made up for that. When Eve suggested we visit the supermarket in Dinsdale. I readily agreed – I know an order when I hear one.
Our shopping was relatively trouble-free, apart from Eve’s monumental indecision over two sweaters in a new shop she spotted in town. She agonised over them for so long that I started wandering up and down the shop to avoid taking root. Eventually, unable to cope with the suspense any longer, I suggested that if she was undecided, she should buy both. Eve looked at me as if I’d said something truly obscene, by which I gathered that I’d taken all the enjoyment out of the process. However, with some reluctance, she made her mind up, and shortly afterwards we left the shop. In revenge for my temerity, Eve insisted that I carried both sweaters, now neatly folded inside a pair of garish pink carrier bags emblazoned with the logo “Bonnie’s Bijou Boutique”.
The first few minutes of our return journey were conducted in silence, which Eve broke as we passed St. Mary’s. ‘Adam, the church door’s wide open.’
‘Perhaps Michael’s inside, or someone’s cleaning or doing flower arranging?’
‘No, not at this time of day. Michael told us that the cleaner comes in the morning, and there’s a notice in the porch that advertises flower arranging classes, which are on Friday.’
‘We’d better check it out, I suppose, to be on the safe side.’ I reversed into a side road and drove back to the church, pulling to a halt on the verge. ‘That’s Michael’s car, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ Eve said, ‘and if he’s here, perhaps Chloe’s with him. We could tell her what we’ve discovered about her father. I know it isn’t much, but it might give her and Michael a bit of hope.’
I wasn’t sure that this was a good idea, but, by the time I’d made my mind up, Eve was out of the car and halfway across the churchyard. I locked the door and followed her. I’d just reached the lych-gate when Eve entered the building. By the time I got to the
‘I don’t need to. Just look at that daughter o’ theirs, Chloe. She’s the spittin’ image of ’er mum. A right corker, if ever I saw one.’
‘You’re an old rogue, Zeke. Do you have any idea where she came from? All we know is what we’ve been told, and that isn’t much.’ Eve explained briefly why we were asking.
‘Her name might have been Hunter on t’ marriage licence, but I don’t reckon that were what she were born wi’. Hunter’s an English name, and I don’t think Andy’s missus were English.’
‘What makes you so sure, Zeke?’
‘Her accent, for one thing. She spoke real careful and correct, but if you listened ’ard you could ’ear it. Not that she said much. She were reet quiet. Not standoffish, just mebbe a bit on t’ shy side. The two of ’em were ’appy as owt, an’ I can see why Andy were torn apart after she died. By, but I wouldn’t half ’ave liked a lass like her warming mi bed of a winter’s night, and young ’un’s just as grand on t’ eye.’
‘What do you make of all that?’ Eve asked me as we walked back up the hill to Eden House. ‘Apart from confirming that Zeke Calvert is a lecherous old soak, I mean.’
I smiled. ‘If you took the smutty innuendo away, you’d never get a word out of him. What he told us about Kershaw in Cyprus more or less confirms what we suspected. If he was a spy, the Foreign Office wouldn’t want to talk about it. I believe they keep lists of our agents and where they are stationed. That would be how the intelligence people got wind of Baines’ questions. What I fail to understand is why Kershaw’s name should get the spooks spooked after all this time. Unless they believe that he held some deep dark secrets they’re afraid didn’t die with him.’
Chapter Eleven
––––––––
T he next couple of days brought no further developments, but the third more than made up for that. When Eve suggested we visit the supermarket in Dinsdale. I readily agreed – I know an order when I hear one.
Our shopping was relatively trouble-free, apart from Eve’s monumental indecision over two sweaters in a new shop she spotted in town. She agonised over them for so long that I started wandering up and down the shop to avoid taking root. Eventually, unable to cope with the suspense any longer, I suggested that if she was undecided, she should buy both. Eve looked at me as if I’d said something truly obscene, by which I gathered that I’d taken all the enjoyment out of the process. However, with some reluctance, she made her mind up, and shortly afterwards we left the shop. In revenge for my temerity, Eve insisted that I carried both sweaters, now neatly folded inside a pair of garish pink carrier bags emblazoned with the logo “Bonnie’s Bijou Boutique”.
The first few minutes of our return journey were conducted in silence, which Eve broke as we passed St. Mary’s. ‘Adam, the church door’s wide open.’
‘Perhaps Michael’s inside, or someone’s cleaning or doing flower arranging?’
‘No, not at this time of day. Michael told us that the cleaner comes in the morning, and there’s a notice in the porch that advertises flower arranging classes, which are on Friday.’
‘We’d better check it out, I suppose, to be on the safe side.’ I reversed into a side road and drove back to the church, pulling to a halt on the verge. ‘That’s Michael’s car, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ Eve said, ‘and if he’s here, perhaps Chloe’s with him. We could tell her what we’ve discovered about her father. I know it isn’t much, but it might give her and Michael a bit of hope.’
I wasn’t sure that this was a good idea, but, by the time I’d made my mind up, Eve was out of the car and halfway across the churchyard. I locked the door and followed her. I’d just reached the lych-gate when Eve entered the building. By the time I got to the
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