AGATHA CHRISTIE. By the Pricking of My Thumbs

‘Hallo, is that you, Pop?’ ‘Deborah!’

‘Yes. Why are you sounding so breathless, have you been running?’

Daughters, Tommy thought, were always critical.

‘I wheeze a bit in my old age,’ he said. ‘How are you, Deborah?’

‘Oh, I’m all right. Look here, Dad, I saw something in the paper. Perhaps you’ve seen it too. I wondered about it.

Something about someone who had had an accident and was in hospital.’ ‘Well? I don’t think I saw anything of that kind. I mean, not to notice it in any way. Why?’ ‘Well it – it didn’t sound too bad. I supposed it was a car accident or something like that. It mentioned that the woman, whoever it was – an elderly woman – gave her name as Prudence Cowley but they were unable to £md her address.’ ‘Prudence Cowley? You mean ‘ ‘Well yes. I only – well – I only wondered. That is Mother’s name, isn’t it? I mean it was her name.’ ‘Of course.’ ‘I always forget about the Prudence. I mean we’ve never thought of her as Prudence, you and I, or Derek either.’ ‘No,’ said Tommy. ‘No. It’s not the kind of Christian name one would associate much with your mother.’ ‘No, I know it isn’t. I just thought it was – rather odd. You don’t think it might be some relation of hers?’ ‘I suppose it might be. Where was this?’ ‘Hospital at Market Basing, I think it said. They wanted to know more about her, I gather. I just wondered – well, I know it’s awfully silly, there must be quantities of people called Cowley and quantities of people called Prudence. But I thought I’d just ring up and £md out. Make sure, I mean, that Mother was at home and all right and all that.’ ‘I see,’ said Tommy. ‘Yes, I see.’ ‘Well, go on, Pop, is she at home?’ ‘No,’ said Tommy, ‘she isn’t at home and I don’t know either whether she is all right or not.’ ‘What do you mean?’ said Deborah. ‘What’s Mother been doing? I suppose you’ve been up in London with that hush-hush utterly secret idiotic survival from past days, jawing with all the old boys.’ ‘You’re quite right,’ said Tommy. ‘I got back from that yesterday evening.’ ‘And you found Mother away – or did you kiaow she was away? Come on, Pop, tell me about it. You’re wozfied. I know when you’re worried well enough. What’s Mother been doing?

She’s been up to something, hasn’t she? I wish at her age she’d learn to sit quiet and not do things.’ ‘She’s been worried,’ said Tommy. ‘Worded about something that happened in connection with your Great-aunt Ada’s death.’ ‘What sort of thing?’ ‘Well, something that one of the patients at the nursing home said to her. She got worded about this old lady. She started talking a good deal and your mother was worded about some of the things she said. And so, when we went to look through Aunt Ada’s things we suggested talking to this old lady and it seems she’d left rather suddenly.’ ‘Well, that seems quite natural, doesn’t it?’ ‘Some of her relatives came and fetched her away.’ ‘It still seems quite natural,’ said Deborah. ‘Why did Mother get the wind up?’ ‘She got it into her head,’ said Tommy, ‘that something might have happened to this old lady.’ ‘I see.’ ‘Not to put too frae a point on it, as the saying goes, she seems to have disappeared. All in quite a natural way. I mean, vouched for by lawyers and banks and all that. Only – we haven’t been able to fred out where she is.’ ‘You mean Mother’s gone off to look for her somewhere?’ ‘Yes. And she didn’t come back when she said she was coming back, two days ago.’ ‘And haven’t you heard from her?’ ‘No.’ ‘I wish to goodness you could look after Mother properly,’ said Deborah, severely.

‘None of us have ever been able to look after her properly,’ said Tommy. ‘Not you either, Deborah, if it comes to that. It’s the same way she went off in the war and did a lot of things that she’d no business to he doing.’ ‘But it’s different now. I mean, she’s quite old. She ought to sit at home md take care of herself. I suppose she’s been getting bored. That’s at the bottom of it all.’

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