[Wexford 01] From Doon & Death by Ruth Rendell Read Free Book Online

the block and up the next one, coming back five minutes later with an untouched lipstick, Arctic Sable, marked eight-and-six in violet ink on its base.
    The Stowerton-to-Pomfret bus was coming up the hill as he turned out of Queen Street and crossed the forecourt of The Olive and Dove. He checked with his watch and saw that it was gone ten to six. Maybe it had been late leaving Stowerton, maybe it often was. Damn those stupid women and their lipsticks, he thought; Parsons must have done it
    The lovely bijou house was a Queen Anne affair, much done up with white paint, wrought iron and window-boxes. The front door was yellow, flanked with blue lilies in stone urns. Burden struck the ship's bell with a copper clapper that hung on a length of cord. But, as he had expected, no one came. The garage, a converted coach-house, was empty and the doors stood open. He went down the steps again, crossed the road and walked up to the police station, wondering as he went how Bryant had got on with the Southern Water Board.
    Wexford seemed pleased about the lipstick. They waited until Bryant had got back from Stowerton before going down to The Olive and Dove for dinner.
    It looks as if this clears Parsons ’ Wexford said. 'He left the Water Board at five-thirty or a little after. Certainly not before. He couldn't have caught the five-thirty-two.'
    'No ’ Burden said reluctantly, 'and there isn't another till six-two ’
    They went into the dining-room of The Olive and
    Dove and Wexford asked for a window table so that they could watch Mrs Missal's house.
    By the time they had finished the roast lamb and started on the gooseberry tart the garage doors were still open and no one had come into or gone out of the house. Burden remained at the table while Wexford went to pay the bill, and just as he was getting up to follow him to the door he saw a blonde girl in a cotton dress enter the High Street from the Sewingbury Road. She walked past the Methodist Church, past the row of cottages, ran up the steps of Mrs Missal's house and let herself in at the front door.
    'Come on, Mike ’ Wexford said. He banged at the bell with the clapper. 'Look at that bloody thing,' he said. ‘I hate things like that.'
    They waited a few seconds. Then the door was opened by the blonde girl. 'Mrs Missal?'
    'Mrs Missal, Mr Missal, the children, all are out ’ she said. She spoke with a strong foreign accent 'All are gone to the sea.'
    'We're police officers ’ Wexford said. 'When do you expect Mrs Missal back?'
    'Now is seven.' She glanced behind her at a black grandfather clock. 'Half past seven, eight. I don't know. You come back again in a little while. Then she come.'
    'Well wait, if you don't mind ’ Wexford said.
    They stepped over the threshold on to velvety blue carpet It was a square hall, with a staircase running up from the centre at the back and branching at the tenth stair. Through an arch on the right-hand side of this staircase Burden saw a dining-room with a polished floor partly covered by Indian rugs in pale colours. At the far end of this room-open trench windows gave on to a wide and apparently endless garden. The hall was cool, smelling faintly of rare and subtle flowers.
    'Would you mind telling me your name, miss, and what you're doing here?' Wexford asked.
    Inge Wolff. I am nanny for Dymphna and Pris cilla.'
    Dymphna! Burden thought, aghast His own children were John and Pat
    'All right. Miss Wolff. If you'll just show us where we can sit down you can go and get on with your work.'
    She opened a door on the left side of the hall and Wexford and Burden found themselves in a large drawing-room whose bow windows faced the street The carpet was green, the chairs and a huge sofa covered in green linen patterned with pink and white rhododendrons. Real rhododendrons, saucer sized heads of blossom on long stems, were massed in two white vases. Burden had the feeling that when rhododendrons went out of season Mrs Missal would fill the vases with