Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Collection

Chapter 9

Alan was already in the bar when Agnes arrived. Though she had given him a little longer than an hour, she was rather surprised he had found the time to change from his suit into something a little less formal. Though she had to admit, he still looked very smart in his jacket and casual trousers.

“I explained to my sergeant what I wanted him to do and left him to it,” he said, as Agnes sat down.

“Are you allowed to do that?” Agnes asked. “I mean, is he okay with you shooting off on a date at the beginning of an investigation. According to Angela her stolen necklace is worth a great deal of money.”

“Allegedly stolen, there is a difference.”

“Don"t you believe her? Angela seems very sure it has been stolen.” She thought back to the angry voices earlier that evening. “Yet you think she might simply have mislaid it after all.” Agnes leaned forward, rested her chin on the palm of her hand and screwed up her eyes. It was something she always did when she thought hard about a problem.

Alan shrugged. “That"s what we have to find out.”

Agnes"s eyes widened. “So you think there may be another possibility?”

He shrugged again and then smiled. “But we haven"t met up after all these years simply to talk about Mrs Hargreaves" necklace.”

“Yes, you"re right. Sorry.” Agnes sat back in her chair. She was slightly disappointed they weren"t going to discuss the case any further. This was the first real life investigation she had been caught up in. It was exciting. It was different. For goodness sake, it was so very different from the dull day to day life she now had to get used to. “Okay, do you remember anyone else from way back yonder – and, are you still in touch with any of them?

“Yes and yes quite a few of them actually. There was a get-together organized by a couple of old class mates just over a year ago.” replied Alan, slowly. “But I gather from your tone, you are more interested in the case I"m working on than talking about the past.” He raised his hand to catch the eye of passing waiter.

“Yes, I am, simply because I enjoy mysteries – Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot that sort of thing. I…” She broke off. Alan was staring at her. Did he think she had something to do with the missing necklace? “Oh my goodness, you don"t think I took the necklace, do you?”

Miss MarpleHercule Poirot“Good heavens no. Of course not.”

They both laughed and Agnes noticed that, for an instant, the tired lines on his face disappeared.

“I was just a little surprised at your interest,” he added. “But I can"t discuss an ongoing case with anyone, you should know that.”

“Yes, you"re right of course. So how did the reunion go?” Agnes asked, changing the subject.

The waiter took their order and disappeared back to the bar.

“It went very well indeed,” said Alan, catching up on their conversation. “There were far more people than I thought there would be. Several had made the trip up from different parts of the country. It was just as well they had booked a fairly large venue.”

“I would love to have been there,” said Agnes. “But I"m afraid I lost touch with everyone after we moved away.” She paused; allowing her thoughts to travel back over the years. “A few of us promised to write to each other, and we did for a while,” she continued. “But you know how it is…”

The waiter brought the drinks and Alan paid him, telling him to keep the change.

Agnes was enjoying the evening so much, she didn"t realise how late it was until the barman called for last orders. She was feeling rather sorry it was all about to end very soon.

“How long are you staying at the hotel?” Alan asked. “It"s just I thought we might get together again before you have to rush off back to – where did you say you were living now?”

“I don"t think I said,” Agnes laughed. “Can you believe it? We have chatted about everything and everybody in our past, but I don"t think we actually said much about ourselves – what either of us did after leaving school.”

Alan took a sip of his drink and set his glass down. He c****d his head to one side.

“I take that to mean you want me to go first.” Agnes grinned. “Okay, briefly, as I can see the guy behind the bar is getting agitated. I used to be a Personal Secretary with a large firm in London, until we had the boys. After that I became a full time mum. I did get a part time job when they went to school and carried on working until a couple of years ago. Now I am a lady of leisure, living in Essex at the moment. My two sons live on the other side of the world, in Australia to be exact!”

“You say you"re living in Essex at the moment, does that mean you are planning to move somewhere else? Perhaps even to Australia, to join your sons?”

“No, not Australia,” said Agnes thoughtfully, “though my boys asked me to join them out there after Jim died. They were worried about how I would cope on my own. But I decided against it. I told them that I didn"t want them to feel they had to look out for me all the time. I wanted them to get on with their lives, just the way Jim and I did.”

“But they wouldn"t have always been looking out for you,” ventured Alan. “I mean with you there, not far from where they were living, they would have been able to pop in to see you or vice versa.”

“Yes, you"re right,” Agnes agreed, “but not all the time. Like I said, they have their own lives to lead.” There was a long pause before she continued. “They need to do their own thing without them having to watch out for their mother all the time. Jim and I did our own thing.” For a moment her eyes sparkled as she spoke of Jim. “We both worked hard and we played hard. Together we saw the world.” By now her face was flushed with excitement. “We did the most wonderfully stupid things and we enjoyed every minute of it because, let"s face it, you only get one c***k at life. We wouldn"t have listened to our parents. They knew that, so they never interfered.”

She looked down to the floor and sighed heavily.

“But that"s not the reason you didn"t go out there, is it?” Alan spoke quietly. “You wouldn"t have interfered in their lives. You would have given them your blessing on whatever they wanted to do.”

Agnes looked up at him and blinked back the tears welling in her eyes.

“No,” she said. “The truth is I was scared. I was scared of moving to a new country and I was scared at having to make new friends.

At last she was admitting, even to herself, why she hadn"t gone out there to join them. All this time she had told everyone it was because she was worried she would be stopping the boys from getting on with their lives.

“That"s the reason I didn"t take up their offer. I was terrified of taking such a big step alone. If Jim had put forward the idea that we went out there to live, I would have gone with him without a second thought. He was my rock. But to go on my own, that is different.” She looked Alan in the eye. “Can you even begin to understand what I"m talking about?”

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she turned away. How could she have poured out her emotions to a relative stranger? She glanced towards the bar and held up her glass. She needed another drink.

“They called last orders ten minutes ago,” said Alan, quietly.

“That doesn"t apply to me. I"m staying here at the hotel. The bar is still open for residents. Do you want another drink or will your wife be expecting you back?”