22
‘Did you sleep well, Mr. Hardy?’
Slim forced a smile. At least his beat up face would hide that he’d stayed up late waiting for Mrs. Greyson to return. He had fallen asleep just after two, but if she’d come back earlier she’d been quiet about it. Despite the presumed lack of sleep, she was no more irascible than usual.
‘There was something of a storm last night, I believe,’ he said, hoping to coax a confession out of her. ‘The wind was rattling the window. It kept me awake.’
She shook from the waist up, like a bird preening its feathers. ‘I’ll have someone come around promptly to fix it,’ she said.
‘It’s not a problem—’ Slim began, but Mrs. Greyson put up a hand to indicate the matter was closed.
‘Will you be going out today, Mr. Hardy?’
Slim smiled. ‘I thought I might take a wal
