Palmer-Jones 03 - Murder in Paradise by Ann Cleeves Read Free Book Online

two years to get any meaningful data. It would be lunacy to go now.”
    “But Sylvia wants to leave?”
    Jonathan shrugged.
    “She’s bored,” he said. “ I don’t think she likes to admit it. She was so excited about coming but if I got another job she would be immensely relieved.”
    It was not until the Cup had been passed several times around the room that Palmer-Jones remembered his promises to Mary.
    He looked over the floor. Most of the dancers seemed to be drunk. Sarah was stumbling through a dance with Jim. They were both laughing. Her white dress was grubby at the hem, and she had taken off her shoes and was moving in bare feet. Sylvia was giggling, trying to drag Jonathan to his feet to join her. George felt pompous and straight-laced.
    The band stopped then. There was a break in the proceedings and more home-made cakes and scones and biscuits were laid out on the table at the back of the room. George thought that perhaps Mary had been helping to prepare the food in the kitchen and he went to find Maggie.
    “Have you seen Mary?”
    “No. Little madam. She was supposed to be giving me a hand. What that child needs is a spanked bottom.”
    Her freckled face was red with exertion and her sandy hair seemed to have lost its perm. George realized that he had not seen Maggie dancing.
    “It must have been hard work,” he said, “ organizing all this. Not much fun being stuck in the kitchen all evening.”
    “Oh well,” she said. “I don’t mind. At least I wouldn’t mind if it was appreciated. But Sandy and Agnes spend so much time bothering about that spoilt brat that they don’t get round to considering other folks.”
    “So you don’t know where Mary is?”
    “She’ll be hiding somewhere. She does that quite often when she’s after attention.”
    So he thought no more of it, and enjoyed Elspeth’s singing.
    Agnes had been drinking from the Cup, too, so it took her longer than it would otherwise have done to realize Mary was missing. She had told the girl to go to Maggie to help prepare the supper, but that had been a while before the interval. While they ate and while Elspeth was singing she presumed that Mary was in the kitchen. She congratulated herself even, that her daughter had obeyed her. There was a lot of coming and going. Some of the women were taking younger children home to bed, and the men went outside to drink from illicit bottles of whisky and relieve themselves.
    But later, when the dancing started again, and Maggie joined them and asked angrily why Mary had not been in to help, she began to get anxious. She began to ask if anyone had seen the girl, shouting to be heard above the music. When no one could tell her where Mary was, she went to find Alec. He was dancing with Sylvia Drysdale. It was a waltz and he was holding her very close, but Agnes did not notice that.
    “Mary is missing,” she said, prodding his back to get his attention. “You must go and look for her. I will tell your father. You must both go.”
    “Mother,” he said, yelling with exasperation and to make sure that he was heard. “ She’s always going missing when no one’s taking any notice of her. I’m not spoiling my evening to play her silly games.”
    It was then that Agnes began to cry.
    “You don’t care about her,” she sobbed. “ You’ve never cared for her. She’s my daughter and I’m proud of her. I love her. You don’t understand. She needs all of your help, but you don’t understand.”
    They gathered around her. They thought that it was the drink that made her maudlin. “She’s not used to it,” they said. But because of who she was they humoured her. Sandy went to Sandwick to see if Mary was there. When he returned to say that she was not, the party broke up. They began to search the island.
    Kell was the northernmost croft on the island. It was a mile from the nearest house. At the back of the house rose the mountain where the skuas seemed to fight with sheep for land. The back