Free Murder With Mercy by Veronica Heley Page A

Vera, but she’s so poorly that I don’t think she’s up to understanding what’s going on, and indeed I didn’t tell her, though perhaps I ought to have done, but she’s running such a fever that I hadn’t the heart.’
    Ellie guided Rose down the corridor into the kitchen and sat her down. ‘Cuppa, my dear? Now calm down and tell me what’s been going on. From the beginning. I went off to see Evan and you … What did you do?’
    Rose gulped, but tried to obey. ‘I was going to make a steak and kidney pudding, and then I thought, oh dear! It’s nearly ten and I’m sure Vera needs a hot drink, so up the stairs I went to the top—’
    â€˜Rose, you aren’t supposed to climb stairs nowadays.’
    â€˜Well, needs must, and I’m all right if I take my time about it. Anyway, she was ever so hot and croaky and so I came down and got her some lemon and honey and took it upstairs again …’
    Rose hadn’t been managing the stairs for months. And she’d done it twice in one morning?
    â€˜Good for you,’ said Ellie, making a pot of tea for them both. ‘And then …?’
    â€˜I started the pastry and I’d got the steak and kidney on to cook when the phone went and it was Mikey’s school. He’s played truant. Again!’
    â€˜What! I delivered him to the school gates myself this morning.’
    â€˜I suppose he waited till you were out of sight and went off on his own business.’
    â€˜Just wait till I catch him.’ Ellie got milk out of the fridge.
    â€˜That’s just it,’ said Rose, deep in misery. ‘He got caught this time, good and proper.’
    Ellie nearly dropped the milk bottle. ‘He got caught? Doing what?’
    â€˜I couldn’t quite make out. Anyway, straight after the school got off the phone, the police rang asking to speak to Vera because they’d got Mikey down at the station, and I told them it wasn’t possible to get her to the phone, and they said it was important and I said however important it was, Vera couldn’t manage it and I asked them what was wrong, and they said Mikey had been caught on the building site, red-handed, and they needed someone, I couldn’t quite understand who they needed but I said you were out and so was Thomas and it was something to do with having a responsible adult on hand, and they said would I do, and I said I couldn’t, not really, with the pastry half made and not understanding exactly what had gone wrong, and maybe it was the wrong thing to say and I ought to have gone down there as I don’t like to think of the lad in the hands of the police because ten to one they’ll jump to the wrong conclusion—’
    â€˜What is it that he’s supposed to have done?’
    Rose wrung her hands in misery. ‘I don’t know! All I know is he’s down there all alone, and they said he was being uncooperative and they needed his mother to be there before they could talk to him. I suggested they get one of his teachers, and they took the number of the school and said they’d do that, but you know what Mikey’s like and if he doesn’t want to talk, they won’t get a word out of him.’
    Ellie told herself to keep calm. ‘Vera really is bad?’
    â€˜I went up again to see if she was feeling better, but she wasn’t, so I didn’t say anything to her, which I’m not sure whether I was right or wrong to do so, but then I tried to ring you, and then Thomas, and then I rang your secretary but at last you’re here and can sort it out now.’
    Ellie sat down with care, trying to take in what was happening. Mikey down at the police station? Caught red-handed, doing what? All that talk of sabotage … No, no! It couldn’t be! But that’s what everyone always said, wasn’t it? That their little darling couldn’t possibly have been responsible for