Free True Love Ways by Sally Quilford Page A

piece of carpet. Someone was behind me. I think
they nearly fell too.”
     
    “Who?” Meredith spun around. That was the first time
Peg had mentioned someone else being on the stairs.
     
    “I can't remember. I was a bit shaken, and … well my
memory isn't what it used to be. By the time I was turned the right way up
again, everyone was standing around me at the bottom of the staircase.”
    “Aunty Peg, what did you talk about at dinner that
night?” Meredith stopped trying to make herself look presentable and sat down
opposite her aunt.
     
    “Well, all sorts really. Of course the main topic of
conversation was the loss of five hundred pounds from the church roof fund.”
     
    “Is that why you went? To see if you could find out
who'd stolen it?”
     
    “Yes.” Peg smiled mischievously. “It's not exactly a
murder, but they don't come along every year. Thank goodness. The ten shilling
note from the collection box wasn’t too serious. Sometimes there are people
who’ll take money out on the pretext of putting some in. Even in church, sadly.
But five hundred pounds from the church roof fund. That was a different kettle
of fish.”
     
    “Did you have any suspicions?”
     
    “Nothing definite. But well … the Reverend Mortimer
was paying for an expensive wedding.”
     
    “You think the Reverend stole it.”
     
    “It did cross my mind. Middle aged men sometimes go
funny when they marry much younger wives, you know. They want to impress her so
she doesn't go off with anyone else.”
     
    “I don't think Clarice is much younger than him, is
she? About ten years?”
     
    “It's enough, and she looks younger, doesn't she?
She's very glamorous.”
     
    “Is she a resident of Midchester? I don't think I
remember her from when I used to stay.”
     
    “No. I gather her people are from India. Or were
before it became independent. She was an English teacher at Bedlington Hall
School. She met the vicar when he borrowed the grounds for last year's fete.”
     
    “What were you doing upstairs at the vicarage?
Snooping?”
     
    Peg looked offended. “I do not snoop, Meredith
Bradbourne! Actually the downstairs cloakroom was out of order. That's the
trouble with these septic tanks. So we all had to use the one upstairs. Only
whilst I was in the bathroom, the landing light blew. So when I came back down,
it was quite dark.”
     
    “Aunty Peg, I want you to keep Chalmers with you
whilst I'm out tonight.”
     
    “Goodness, no, Meredith. I can't cope with that
woman's twitterings. She's not interested in anything but enemas and bed
baths.”
     
    “Please, Aunty Peg, for my sake. You see … I'm
beginning to think that someone pushed you down the vicarage stairs.” To
Meredith's amazement Peg's face broke into a wide smile.
     
    “Well done, darling. I wondered how long it would
take you to work it out.”
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    “Aunty Peg, this is not a game or a lesson,” said
Meredith, kneeling down by Peg's chair and taking her hand. “If you knew
someone tried to ...” She found she could not say 'kill you', “...injure you,
then you should have told me immediately. Oh, I should have realised it
sooner.”
     
    “Now, now, don't distress yourself, darling.” Peg
stroked Meredith's hair. “I did rather hold back on the information.”
     
    “Because you were waiting for me to notice, and I
failed to. I'm sorry for Mr. Turner, and Colonel Trefusis and the others who
have died, but you're more important to me, Aunty Peg. If anything  happened to
you...”
     
    “Now don't cry. You'll spoil your make up. Not that
you need any. You're so much like your mother. It does my heart good to see
what a lovely, intelligent young woman you've become.”
     
    “Not intelligent enough,” said Meredith, darkly.
“I'm missing something big, and I don't know what it is.”
     
    “There's always a final piece of the jigsaw,
darling, and when you have it, everything falls into place. It's out there,
waiting for