Impurity (DI Gardener 1) - Page 62
“I... I...”
“Everything we found in his room, and the information we’ve since gathered, point to him being involved with someone. I’d rather it was you than two missing schoolgirls.”
Olive Bradshaw dropped her hands in resignation, her eyes watering. She fished her handkerchief out from the sleeve of her cardigan and blew her nose. “I’m sorry, Mabel.” Her voice was barely audible. “Please, don’t be angry with me.”
Mabel stood up, wrapped her arms around her sister. “Don’t upset yourself, Olive. I’m not angry, but I am disappointed that you couldn’t have told me.”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. We’ve always been close.”
Gardener was confused. Today she appeared concerned for the deceased. The night of his murder she was only worried about the cleaning bill. “So, you were having a relationship?” he asked.
Olive Bradshaw merely nodded. Although she had helped to solve one mystery, a number still remained. Plum’s connection with Warthead for one. Gardener withdrew the artist impression from his inside pocket.
“Do you recognize the man in the photo-fit?”
She made an effort to study it before replying, “No.” She passed it over to her sister.
“Oh, the poor man, I’d know if I’d seen him before.”
“What do you want him for, Inspector?” asked Olive Bradshaw.
“We think he may have abducted the missing schoolchildren. But he was also seen with Herbert Plum on a number of occasions in the pub.”
“Oh, surely not.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe Herbert would have anything to do with the missing children.” Once again, she hid her face in her handkerchief.
“You’re positive you’ve never seen the man? He’s never been to the house?”
The landlady composed herself. “I’m sorry, Inspector. I’d remember if I’d seen him.”
Gardener believed her. “It’s important. Anything you do remember, no matter how trivial, let me know.”
“Inspector, Herbert was a good man. A kind man. I can’t believe he would have anything to do with children.”
Mabel offered to make tea. Gardener suspected it was a good excuse for her to leave the room. Both detectives declined her offer. He turned back to Olive. “How would you describe your relationship with him?”
“I was lonely. Mabel hasn’t always been here, and even when she was, she had her own circle of friends. Herbert and I often shared an evening in front of the telly, a night in the pub. Sometimes I’d visit his room and we’d have a cup of tea...” She let the sentence fade, sniffing and sobbing.
“You were good friends. It was a casual relationship.”
“Yes.”
Gardener sighed, disappointed. He sensed he was going to glean little more information. He was pleased at having cleared up the relationship angle, but he had hoped for more. Plum was as much a mystery to her as he had been to everyone else. “I’ll leave you my card, Miss Bradshaw. But please, think about what I’ve said.”
Olive Bradshaw nodded. Mabel returned with the tea.
Gardener changed the subject. “Christmas is going to be quite hectic for you both, what with the move. When are you expecting to go?”
“Next week, Inspector. Quite frankly, I’ll be glad to see the back of this place. There’s no good memories here.”
“You will remember to let me have your new address, won’t you?”
The two detectives made for the door. The landlady followed them. Gardener turned.
“One more thing. On the night of the murder, you said you heard the commotion. What exactly do you mean by that?”
She paused, as if in thought. “The noise.”
“What kind of a noise? Did you hear any raised voices?”
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