Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Collection

Chapter 10

Agnes awoke the next morning with a dreadful headache. She"d had far too much to drink the previous evening. But her outburst had left her feeling rather embarrassed and the alcohol had helped hide her discomfort. Alan had been very kind. Changing the subject, he had told her a few things about himself.

He had been married, but he and his wife were divorced. For some strange reason, once he and his fiancée had tied the knot everything had gone wrong. “Everything was perfect before the ceremony. We were so happy together we both thought it was the real deal. Yet the moment we were married, everything changed.” He had paused at that point as he thought back to the divorce. “It was so strange,” he said picking up the story. “Once we were back from our honeymoon, we couldn"t agree on anything.” He shrugged. “I suppose some would say the magic was over.”

Alan had gone on to tell her that he had never thought about remarrying. “Footloose and fancy-free – that"s me.” Yet there was something in his voice that told her he would give marriage another whirl if the right lady came along.

Agnes showered and dressed before heading down to breakfast. Alan had said he would be calling at the hotel again to carry on with the enquiries. Perhaps she would bump into him and learn a little more about the case. She frowned; he wasn"t really allowed to talk about ongoing enquiries. But surely it wouldn"t hurt if she just happened to be around when he made some startling discovery.

The Dining Room was almost empty when she walked in. Some of the guests would have checked out by now, while others probably wanted to get an early start on a full day of sightseeing.

Agnes was still making her way across to her table, when she noticed a young woman sitting alone at a table in a corner of the room. She was focused on something in the newspaper she was reading. But quite suddenly she folded the paper and stood up to leave.

Agnes was a little intrigued as she watched the woman walk across the Dining Room. It was almost as though she had read something upsetting. But Agnes shrugged it off. Why did she have this thing about construing more into what people did? Perhaps the woman had simply finished breakfast and had decided to leave. Or maybe she suddenly realised the time and was late for an important appointment. She was very smartly dressed. Her skirt and blouse were perfectly matched.

The woman didn"t look in Agnes"s direction as she made her way to the door. However she did manage to give the waiter a thin smile as he rushed forward to clear her table.

Agnes promptly forgot about the woman when she noticed a couple of policemen hanging around the reception area, though there wasn"t any sign of the chief inspector.

A waiter brought her the menu and after glancing at it briefly, she decided to have the full English breakfast. “To hell with the diet,” she laughed as the waiter wrote it down. He told her she didn"t need to diet, as he headed off towards the kitchen. It was true. She had never had a weight problem. Most of her friends had always envied her slim figure.

She had almost finished breakfast when she saw Alan passing the entrance of the Dining Room. When he saw her, he gave some instructions to his sergeant, before strolling in to join her. The sergeant nodded and made his way over to the lift.

“Good morning, Alan. Do sit down and have some coffee.” She gestured to the chair opposite her, before attracting the waiter"s attention making signs that she needed another cup. “Are you any further forward in finding the missing necklace?”

“No, I"m afraid not,” he said, as he sat down. He paused as the waiter placed a cup and saucer in front of him. “The rooms we have checked so far have all been cleared,” he continued. He looked down at a piece of toast in the toast rack. “Is that going spare? I missed breakfast this morning.”

“Yes, help yourself. I have had more than enough to eat.” She leaned forward as she poured some coffee into Alan"s cup. “I saw the lovely Angela this morning. She seemed rather subdued. Certainly nothing like the woman we heard ranting yesterday. Her husband was with her; he looked even more fed up than ever.”

Alan turned and looked around to make sure no one could hear him. “Well she doesn"t need to rant about it anymore. It seems she has friends in high places.”

“What do you mean,” asked Agnes.

“She"s got the Chief Constable involved. He"s asked me to do everything necessary to find the necklace as quickly as possible.” Alan gave the hint of a smile. “I suppose he wants her off his back and I can"t say I blame him.”

Before Agnes could reply, Alan"s sergeant hurried into the room.

“You had better come upstairs, there"s been another robbery.” He looked rather agitated. “It"s a bracelet this time and …” He broke off and shook his head.

“And…” The chief inspector prompted.

“It belongs to someone in the room next door to Mr and Mrs Hargreaves.”

“No! I can"t believe it.” Alan turned to Agnes and made his apologies before hurrying out of the Dining Room and over towards the lift.

“Don"t forget you promised you would check my room this morning,” she called out after him. “I don"t want to be stuck in the hotel all day.” But she wasn"t sure he heard her.

Agnes sat back in her chair and pushed her cup and saucer away from her. Why did all this have to happen while she was staying here? All the guests, including her, would have their rooms checked all over again.

Peering through to the reception, Agnes could see the manager of the hotel trying desperately to pacify his irate guests. She had to agree, it certainly wasn"t good for the hotel.

She wandered idly from the Dining Room into the Drawing Room. She was just about to sit down, when the detective sergeant burst into the room.

“The chief inspector wanted you to know that your room has been searched and you are free to leave the hotel.” He coughed and looked towards the bag she was clutching. “Once I search your handbag.”

“Yes! Yes of course.” She thrust the bag towards him. “Help yourself.”

She watched him empty the contents of her bag onto the coffee table. This was the first time she had actually seen the sergeant properly. Other times he had been on the other side of the room. He looked quite young to be a sergeant, but then she found it difficult to judge the age of young people these days. Like his boss, the sergeant was clean shaven and was wearing a suit, though it didn"t look as well made as Alan"s; this one was more, off the peg.

“Everything seems to be in order,” he said, handing the bag back to her. “Enjoy your day.”

“Thank you.” She was about to ask him about the latest missing necklace, but he rushed back out into the reception area before she got the chance.

Later, outside the hotel, she made her way to the taxi rank. She had decided to take a trip up to the shopping centre and treat herself to something new. Not that she needed anything; her wardrobes back home were all full to bursting point. But Agnes could never resist the urge to shop.

The shopping trip was a success. There were so many shops to explore she couldn"t get around them all in one day. Another trip into the city centre was definitely a must before she returned to her home in Essex. But that didn"t stop her from buying two new dresses and a pair of shoes on this visit.

Carrying two bags of new skirts, dresses or whatever else had caught her eye, she was heading towards the taxi rank when she caught sight of Angela and her husband.

Angela was pointing towards a jeweller"s. However, from what Agnes could see, George didn"t appear to be very keen. He opened his mouth to say something, but Angela didn"t wait to hear. She simply flounced off into the shop, leaving him standing there on the pavement.

For a moment he didn"t seem to know what to do. He stood there with his hands in his pockets and looked around at the other shoppers, all going about their business. But then he suddenly caught a glimpse of Agnes watching him. She gave him a smile of encouragement, but it seemed to make matters worse. Looking embarrassed, George turned and hurried after his wife.

Agnes sighed as she continued towards the taxi rank. Poor George, she thought. Nothing the poor man did seemed to be right.

Poor GeorgeNothing the poor man did seemed to be rightBack at the hotel, she paid the taxi fare and walked up the steps into the hotel. She loved this hotel; the views were brilliant and it had up to the minute facilities. Yet she still couldn"t help thinking it stood out from the rest of the buildings along the quayside. Not because it was impressive, which it was, but because it looked too new and didn"t fit in with some of the other buildings.

Perhaps it would have blended in better if the architect had designed the outside to look a little more like the older buildings along the quayside. Though, on the other hand, it didn"t look so out of character as the new Law Court building further along the quay. She sniffed as she stepped into the lift. That was only her opinion. It was obvious by the number of people staying here that the hotel was appreciated by lots of people.

Agnes only had time to remove her coat before she heard a tap on her door. Believing it to be one of the staff, she hurried across to open it and was rather surprised to see Alan standing there.

“Is there a problem,” she asked. She glanced up and down the hall half expecting to see his sergeant. But he was alone.

“I was just passing and I wondered whether you might like to have dinner with me this evening.” He grinned. “Actually I am still here looking into the case of the missing necklace. Or I should say the case of the missing necklace and bracelet.”

“Come in,” Agnes grinned. “How did you know which was my room,” she asked as she closed the door.

“I"m a detective – remember,” he replied, tapping his nose. “Anyway, would you like to join me for dinner? There"s a nice little restaurant further along the quay you might enjoy.”

“Thank you, Alan. That"s very kind of you.”

“Not at all! We can continue the conversation about old times, without the thought of any interruptions from my sergeant regarding the ongoing case.”

“How is it going?” Agnes enquired. “Are you any further forward in recovering the jewellery?”

“No! Unfortunately not. They both seem to have disappeared without trace.”

“Cheer up, Alan. I"m sure everything will work out in the end.” Agnes wasn"t really sure about that. If the necklace and bracelet had been stolen and not simply mislaid, they could be in some back street second hand jewellery shop in another town by now.

“I"ll pick you up at about seven, if that"s alright with you,” said Alan, starting to walk back towards the door.

“Lovely, I"ll look forward to it.”

She walked across to where her afternoon"s shopping lay unopened. Perhaps she would wear one of her new dresses this evening.