Free Lois Meade 14 - Suspicion at Seven by Ann Purser Page B

always plenty of tension in the Meade kitchen.
    When she arrived home, she found washing blowing in the brisk wind, and Gran and her friend Joan up in the vegetable patch inspecting raspberry canes. Summer was well on the way now, and jam making in the offing. They were probably commiserating with each other over the cancelling of their plans, poor things.
    There was a message for Lois in her office. Inspector Cowgill would be grateful if she could spare time to call in at the police station, if she was in town that afternoon. As it happened, she had planned to go in to the New Brooms office to have a couple of hours with Hazel going through paperwork. Hazel was very capable, but liked Lois to check in regularly.
    She called his number. “About three? Is that okay? You won’t be off to an important meeting the minute I arrive? I do have to get home to catch up on New Brooms matters. I cancelled my usual staff meeting today, and we’ll be having it tomorrow at lunchtime. Has anything new come up?”
    Cowgill said that he would save any developments until she called in. “Take care, now, Lois,” he said. “Having too much on your mind can cause accidents. See you at three.”

T WENTY

    H azel was pleased to see Lois, as always, and asked about the family and Lois’s friend Mrs. Black.
    “She’s still in shock, I think,” Lois said. “Seems very calm and quiet, and carrying on the bakery on her own. I don’t know what will happen about the jewellery business, though I know she helped Donald with it. She might decide to continue with it on her own, but it would be a lot of extra work.”
    “Have you bought any of the stuff? I went to one of his parties, and it was really nice. Very tasteful, but sparkly and nice, I thought.”
    “I bought a present for Josie. A real pearl, set as a pendant. I think my mum and her friend were thinking seriously of being Donald’s sellers, setting up their own parties and so on. I think that’s how it works.”
    “Would he have taken a percentage of what they sold?”
    “No, they paid a membership fee, so they were members of the scheme. At their first party, they would get a starter pack at a big discount, and this was for demonstrations. Then they would take orders, and again take a cut as they sold the stuff. It’s complicated, but I know there are incentives to get more and more recruits to sell jewellery. There were cleverly disguised things like having to find a set number of recruits in your first month of membership. After that, I’m not sure how it worked.”
    “You must have been a bit worried about your mother. Sounds like one of those notorious pyramid party ideas.”
    “Yeah, well, I think Donald must have found a legal way. He’s been doing this scheme for some time, ever since he worked for the chiropodist. Fortunately, and according to my mother, no money had changed hands, except the membership fee, and that has a get-out clause.”
    Lois looked at Hazel, who was frowning. “And no, Hazel Thornbull! I did not drown him to extricate my mother from a crooked scam!”
    Hazel laughed. “As if you would,” she said.
    “But someone did, unless he was in trouble, and jumped,” said Lois, serious now. “Though for reasons unknown, at the moment. But the police are on to it.”
    They left the subject now and switched to New Brooms business. “There’s a possible new client,” said Hazel. “She phoned this morning. Lives over in Fletching, in a posh house by the river. I know it, from when John had a Prentise friend in the village. A Mrs. Prentise.”
    “Spelt with an
s
? It’s an old Tresham name, but most people spell it with a
c
. I expect they get fed up with people getting it wrong. Well-known family in the seamier side of Tresham life. Go on.”
    “She said she was getting old and no longer able to keep the house as clean as she would like. I told her you would be in touch. Okay?”
    Lois said she would go over tomorrow morning, so she would be able