Brought to you by Novel 2 Ebook. Click to visit our website.
“Tom? Oh, he just fancies me.”
“But it makes me wonder if you actually wish me to find Jimmy Henderson.”
Cynthia looked crestfallen for a moment and then lifted her chin defiantly. “I've got to look after my own interests, Mr Holms, especially if Jimmy's run off with an old woman. It's important to me to be a WAG, you know.”
Holms looked down at her imperiously. “Affairs of the heart complicate things, young lady, and while I do not believe that Balfour is capable of chicanery to become Captain of United, I cannot vouch for him where women are concerned.”
Miss La Crème seemed almost pleased. “You mean he disappeared Jimmy so he could get a grip of me.
Aw, that's dead romantic.”
“It is not romantic, Miss La Crème, disappearing people, as you so quaintly put it, is illegal.”
“Right enough, but I don't think Tom had anything to do with it. He's ran off with this old woman that my sister saw him with, the dirty bugger.”
“I am not qualifying my judgement without proof. Has it occurred to you that an enemy of Jimmy's, such as Liverpool, the Spanish, or even Tom Balfour, might use an older woman as bait to get him out of the way?”
“Yeah, but if he wasn't so daft for old women he wouldn't fall for it,” the girl complained.
Holms’ face went cold. “I find it hard to accept moral judgements from a woman who worships handbags.”
This barb seemed to hit its mark for the WAG jumped to her feet and flounced to the door. “I am not stupid, Mr Sherman Holms, I… I … I am … shallow!”
She stormed out just as Mrs Houston returned. “The trollop won't be staying for dinner then?”
“No, Mrs Houston, I fear I have offended the trollop.”
“Clear the table then, I'm not a skivvy.”
“But Wilson isn't home yet.”
“He's just coming up the stair.”
Holms cleared the laundry from the table as Mrs Houston headed off to the kitchen to fetch our meal. “What is it, by the way?” he shouted after her and swore later that the answer he’d received was “Corn beef tikka masala.”
“But we paid our rent!” Holms cried plaintively.
It was at that time that I entered the scene. “Problem, Holms?” I asked.
“Mrs Houston is threatening us with corn beef tikka masala for dinner.”
“Excellent,” I beamed.
“Excellent? Are you insane?”
“No, just in high spirits. I've solved the case.”
“You found more texts?” Holms asked with unusual eagerness.
“Yes, and they weren't important so I just called the number.”
“Wilson! I warned you not to, you could endanger Henderson.”
Mrs Houston appeared with our meal and flung the unappetising mess on the table.