Today's Reading

Bea grinned. 'Isn't there a hotel about ten miles away in Axton? That's the nearest town, isn't it? You could get a taxi to take your father there, and he'd like being waited on hand and foot by the hotel staff, wouldn't he?'

'Oh, you wicked ...' Polly got the giggles. 'Of course. Yes, that would be perfect.'

'But costly. Can he manage to pay the bill? And what about Celine?'

A sigh. 'I suppose we'll have to pay for both, though cash is tight because we've had to lay out so much to get the Hall functioning again. Also, Celine says she can't be expected to move out of the village because she needs the right ambiance for her writing. Apparently she's setting her new story at the Hall. You know she's been trying forever to write a blockbuster?

'I suggested she might stay in the pub, which has got rooms to let. How long she'll put up with that, I don't know. Oh, and darling Pip fell off the slide at the nursery and needs his mummy and ... Sorry, Bea. I am not going to break down and cry. That's not my style.'

'No, you're the strong woman who keeps going when everyone else falls apart.'

A weak giggle. 'No, it's Julian who's the strong one.'

'The pair of you could see off Attila the Hun and his army. You're all right, Polly. I'm not far off. I'll come straight to the pub, right?'


Bea was held up by roadworks and reached the village later than she'd hoped, only to face the usual problem of where to park. She cruised down the high street, noting there was a lively air about the place. The new teashop-cum-coffee-shop and the craft shop seemed to be thriving, and the church hall was advertising a Saturday morning sale of local produce. The windows of the general store in which the Post Office was to be found shone brightly. Bea noticed they were now selling fresh vegetables and fruit outside on the pavement.

Some of the ancient houses were receiving the attentions of painters in preparation for the summer tourist season. The place had been transformed from the neglect in which Julian had found it and was well on its way to featuring in a calendar of Britain's Prettiest Places.

She managed to get into a parking slot up by the church just as her phone rang.

It was Julian. 'Bea, a quick call because I've got another Zoom call in a minute. Polly's just rung to say she's on her way back home to feed Moppet, so don't look for her at the pub. Come straight on to the Hall and we'll fix you up with somewhere to stay, right?'

He sounded weary. Problems to the left of him, problems to the right.

Bea said, 'Any news of Marcus?'

'The police are looking for him. He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. They think he had a row with Mona in the kitchen, she hit him or he hit her so that she ran out into the garden, where he caught up with her and finished her off. His car's still at the side of Oak Lodge. Must go. Next call coming through.'


It was only a hop and a skip to the pub where she knew she'd find Old Jenny, the retired midwife who had delivered half the village's inhabitants and who was like Mrs Maggs, the housekeeper at the Hall related to the other half. If Julian hadn't been able to get the truth out of Mrs Maggs, then Bea might have more luck with Jenny.

Moreover, Bea was thirsty and knew the pub served food, tea and coffee, along with a decent line in beers.

It was late afternoon by now and the pub was doing a roaring trade. The noise level inside was just above comfortable. Bea wondered how many of the customers now present were gossiping about Mona's death and Marcus' present whereabouts.

Jenny was sitting in her usual corner by the empty fireplace with a pint in front of her. The years had been kind to her on the whole but her resemblance to a nutcracker was becoming more marked. She was wearing a purple velvet top over black drain-pipe trousers and looked magnificent.

On either side of her sat her two large flaxen-haired grandsons, both of whom looked the worse for wear. The one Jenny always referred to as 'Waste of Space' had a black eye, while his younger brother, known as 'Useless Lump', favoured his right leg. All three looked depressed.

Jenny looked up when Bea approached and, without turning her head, told the two men to order a pot of tea and a sandwich for Mrs Abbot before they left. Bea knew the brothers whose real names were Henry and Hal as local builders whom Julian employed to repair the neglect of years in the village. It looked as if she had interrupted a council of war.


This excerpt is from the ebook edition.

Monday we begin the book The Keeper by Tana French.

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