Postern of Fate (Tommy & Tuppence 5)

'But, Tuppence, you can't really believe there's any chance of our -'

'Oh yes I do,' said Tuppence. 'I don't know how or in what way, but I believe that when you've got a real, convincing idea, something that you know is black and bad and evil, and hitting old Isaac on the head was black and evil...' She stopped.

'We could change the name of the house again,' said Tommy.

'What do you mean? Call it Swallow's Nest and not The Laurels?'

A flight of birds passed over their heads. Tuppence turned her head and looked back towards the garden gate. 'Swallow's Nest was once its name. What's the rest of that quotation? The one your researcher quoted. Postern of Death, wasn't it?'

'No, Postern of Fate.'

'Fate. That's like a comment on what has happened to Isaac. Postern of Fate - our Garden Gate -'

'Don't worry so much, Tuppence.'

'I don't know why,' said Tuppence. 'It's just a sort of idea that came into my mind.'

Tommy gave her a puzzled look and shook his head.

'Swallow's Nest is a nice name, really,' said Tuppence. 'Or it could be. Perhaps it will some day.'

'You have the most extraordinary ideas, Tuppence.'

'Yet something singeth like a bird. That was how it ended. Perhaps all this will end that way.'

Just before they reached the house, Tommy and Tuppence saw a woman standing on the doorstep.

'I wonder who that is,' said Tommy.

'Someone I've seen before,' said Tuppence. 'I don't remember who at the moment. Oh. I think it's one of old Isaac's family. You know they all lived together in one cottage. About three or four boys and this woman and another one, a girl. I may be wrong, of course.'

The woman on the doorstep had turned and came towards them.

'Mrs Beresford, isn't it?' she said, looking up at Tuppence.

'Yes,' said Tuppence.

'And - I don't expect you know me. I'm Isaac's daughter-in-law, you know. Married to his son, Stephen, I was. Stephen - he got killed in an accident. One of them lorries. The big ones that go along. It was on one of the M roads, the M1 I think it was. M1 or the M5. No, the M5 was before that. The M4 it could be. Anyway, there it was. Five or six years ago it was. I wanted to - I wanted just to speak to you. You and - you and your husband -' She looked at Tommy. 'You sent flowers, didn't you, to the funeral? Isaac worked in the garden here for you, didn't he?'

'Yes,' said Tuppence. 'He did work for us here. It was such a terrible thing to have happened.'

'I came to thank you. Very lovely flowers they was, too. Good ones. Classy ones. A great bunch of them.'

'We thought we'd like to do it,' said Tuppence, 'because Isaac had been very helpful to us. He'd helped us a lot, you know, with getting into the house. Telling us about things, because we don't know much about the house. Where things were kept, and everything. And he gave me a lot of knowledge about planting things, too, and all that sort of thing.'

'Yes, he knew his stuff, as you might say. He wasn't much of a worker because he was old, you know, and he didn't like stooping. Got lumbago a lot, so he couldn't do as much as he'd have liked to do.'

'He was very nice and very helpful,' said Tuppence firmly. 'And he knew a lot about things here, and the people, and told us a lot.'

'Ah. He knew a lot, he did. A lot of his family, you know, worked before him. They lived round about and they'd known a good deal of what went on in years gone by. Not of their own knowledge, as you might say but - well, just hearing what went on. Well, ma'am, I won't keep you. I just came up to have a few words and say how much obliged I was.'

'That's very nice of you,' said Tuppence. 'Thank you very much.'

'You'll have to get someone else to do a bit of work in the garden, I expect.'

'I expect so,' said Tuppence. 'We're not very good at it ourselves. Do you - perhaps you -' she hesitated, feeling perhaps she was saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment - 'perhaps you know of someone who would like to come and work for us.'

'Well, I can't say I do offhand, but I'll keep it in mind. You never know. I'll send along Henry - that's my second boy, you know - I'll send him along and let you know if I hear of anyone. Well, good day for now.'

'What was Isaac's name? I can't remember,' said Tommy, as they went into the house. 'I mean, his surname.'

'Oh, Isaac Bodlicott, I think.'

'So that's a Mrs Bodlicott, is it?'

'Yes. Though I think she's got several sons, boys and a girl and they all live together. You know, in that cottage half-way up the Marshton Road. Do you think she knows who killed him?' said Tuppence.

'I shouldn't think so,' said Tommy. 'She didn't look as though she did.'

'I don't know how you'd look,' said Tuppence. 'It's rather difficult to say, isn't it?'

'I think she just came to thank you for the flowers. I don't think she had the look of someone who was - you know - revengeful. I think she'd have mentioned it if so.'

'Might. Might not,' said Tuppence.

She went into the house looking rather thoughtful.

Chapter 8

REMINISCENCES ABOUT AN UNCLE

The following morning Tuppence was interrupted in her remarks to an electrician who had come to adjust portions of his work which were not considered satisfactory.

'Boy at the door,' said Albert. 'Want to speak to you, madam.'

'Oh. What's his name?'

'Didn't ask him, he's waiting there outside.'

Tuppence seized her garden hat, shoved it on her head and came down the stairs.

Outside the door a boy of about twelve or thirteen was standing. He was rather nervous, shuffling his feet.

'Hope it's all right to come along,' he said.

'Let me see,' said Tuppence, 'you're Henry Bodlicott, aren't you?'

'That's right. That was my - oh, I suppose he was by way of being an uncle, the one I mean whose inquest was on yesterday. Never been to an inquest before, I haven't.'

Tuppence stopped herself on the brink of saying 'Did you enjoy it?' Henry had the look of someone who was about to describe a treat.

'It was quite a tragedy, wasn't it?' said Tuppence. 'Very sad.'

'Oh well, he was an old one,' said Henry. 'Couldn't have expected to last much longer I don't think, you know. Used to cough something terrible in the autumn. Kept us all awake in the house. I just come along to ask if there's anything as you want done here. I understood - as a matter of fact Mom told me - as you had some lettuces ought to be thinned out now and I wonder if you'd like me to do it for you. I know just where they are because I used to come up sometimes and talk to old Izzy when he was at work. I could do it now if you liked.'

'Oh, that's very nice of you,' said Tuppence. 'Come out and show me.'

They moved into the garden together and went up to the spot designated.

'That's it, you see. They've been shoved in a bit tight and you've got to thin 'em out a bit and put 'em over there instead, you see, when you've made proper gaps.'

'I don't really know anything about lettuces,' Tuppence admitted. 'I know a little about flowers. Peas, Brussels sprouts and lettuces and other vegetables I'm not very good at. You don't want a job working in the garden, I suppose, do you?'

'Oh no, I'm still going to school, I am. I takes the papers round and I do a bit of fruit picking in the summer, you know.'

'I see,' said Tuppence. 'Well, if you hear of anyone and you let me know, I'll be very glad.'

'Yes, I will do that. Well, so long, mam.'