Free Birthdays Can Be Murder by Joyce Cato Page B

night.’
    ‘I know. But young men and women like her can get themselves into all sorts of trouble.’
    ‘Well, at least it looks as if we’re over the worst of it,’ Chase said with some relief.
    From her growing pile of mixed veggies, Jenny sighed deeply. Over the worst, my eye, she thought inelegantly. From what she had seen of Babs Walker last night, she was only just beginning to fight, and Justin was obviously in the grip of a powerful lust for her. And when a strong-minded woman was desired to that extent, she could do an awful lot of damage. Babs Walker was obviously angling to live the good life, that much had been obvious, and she wasn’t likely to settle for anything less. Not if Jenny was any judge of character.
    No, she rather thought that marriage to Justin would suit Babs very well indeed, as Justin was no doubt going to find out when he tried to dump her.
    Just then Daphne, who had returned to the room unseen, coughed discreetly and Chase flushed guiltily.
    ‘Anyway, mustn’t gossip,’ Martha said lamely, and worsened her gaffe by clumsily changing the subject. ‘I’m glad those police have finally gone, anyway. All those blue uniforms about – it was enough to give you the shivers all over.’
    ‘They’ve not all gone,’ Daphne corrected her quietly. ‘The plain clothes detectives are still here.’
    ‘Oh. Those two,’ Martha said glumly. ‘I don’t know what they keep hanging around for. It was obviously an accident, wasn’t it? They should talk more with Jimmy’s mother, if you ask me. That Jean Speight.’
    Chase gave a very loud cough, overdoing it somewhat and sounding as if he was coming down with a severe case of laryngitis. It made even Martha stop in mid-flow.
    ‘I’d better go and see to the flowers,’ Daphne said, her face once more white and tight. Jenny watched her go and frowned. She was riding an emotional seesaw, that one, Jenny mused uneasily, and wondered what it was that was making her so miserable.
    ‘You’ll have to be careful what you say around Daphne, Martha,’ Chase prompted once the door had closed behind the housekeeper. ‘You know what good friends she is with Jean Speight.’
    Martha sniffed. ‘Yes, I know. I can’t understand it myself. I’d never have thought that a woman like Daphne would have much to do with the likes of Jean Speight. Her husband’s only a dustbin man, after all.’
    And with that parting shot, she turned back to her sink.
     
    ‘Would you like to inspect the dining room, Miss Starling?’ Daphne Williams asked about an hour later, once more firmly hidden behind her ‘perfect housekeeper-cum-private secretary’ persona. ‘It seems the party co-ordinator knows what she’s doing, after all.’ She smiled gently. She also watched with interest as the Junoesque cook mixed some stuffing that would later be encased by rashers of bacon and cooked with the chops.
    ‘I’d love to,’ Jenny agreed, pushing aside her qualms about the organizer’s taste in dining rooms. She had to keep reminding herself that she was there to do a job and nothing more. And if the Greers had warring Vikings for offspring, a suffering ghost for their housekeeper and dead gardening boys in their pond, it was nothing to do with her.
    ‘I’ve just got to finish this stuffing first or it’ll harden too much,’ she carried on. ‘Vera, can you bring me some more sage and tarragon from the herb garden, please?’
    With the stuffing finally mixed to her satisfaction, she checked on all the stocks, tasting and adding a little more freshly ground black pepper where needed, and then watched Vera for a moment, just to be sure she was coring the horseradishes properly.
    As she stepped out of the kitchen, Jenny took several deep breaths then checked her hugely expensive watch. She noticed Daphne start then stare at it, her blue eyes widening appreciatively. It was nearly noon. A long way to go yet, but so far, everything was coming along nicely.
    ‘Hello, Miss