26
Once the last of the staff had been seen out of the door, Thad Beanie sat down with his nightly pint of home brew in front of him, and called his elder daughter over to him.
Polly, who had been replenishing the salt and pepper shakers for the following day, obediently walked over to her father’s table, and sat down opposite him.
Thad stared into his daughter’s eyes, but she was unable to hold his gaze.
He took another long swig from his glass, almost emptying it, and placed it back down in front of him.
“Now then my girl,” he began, “s’pose you tell me about this nonsense yer mama’s been tellin’ me about you and that copper, eh?”
Polly turned her head and glanced at Mavis, who was in the middle of folding napkins. The look she gave her mother was not one of reproach for telling on
