Dying Fall by Sally Spencer Page B

apparently, there is.’
    Nice Man chuckled, a sour grin filled the Complainer’s face and Romeo said, ‘No offence meant, love.’
    â€˜And none taken,’ Paniatowski assured him. ‘I’m Monika.’
    â€˜I’m Jack,’ Romeo said. ‘An’ this is Teddy,’ indicating the Nice Man, ‘an’ Archie,’ pointing to the Complainer.
    â€˜Pleased to meet you,’ Paniatowski said. ‘Do you all work at the factory across the road?’
    â€˜We do,’ Jack confirmed.
    â€˜What’s it like?’
    â€˜It’s a man’s life,’ Jack said, in a tone that was half-mocking and half-not.
    â€˜It’s hot, sweaty, tedious work,’ said Teddy. ‘But we can’t really complain – it puts food on the table.’
    â€˜And who owns the factory?’ Monika asked.
    â€˜Well, it’s called Lowry Engineering, so chances are it’s owned by a feller called Lowry,’ Archie said.
    Teddy clicked his tongue reprovingly. ‘There’s no need for that kind of sarcasm,’ he said. ‘The lass asked a civil question, an’ she deserves a civil answer.’ He turned his attention to Paniatowski. ‘The boss is called Tel Lowry, Monika.’
    â€˜Councillor Lowry?’ Paniatowski asked, sounding surprised.
    â€˜That’s right.’
    â€˜I saw him on the local news once. What’s he like?’
    â€˜He’s like all bosses,’ Archie said. ‘Spends most of his time talkin’ about his concern for his workers, when the only thing he’s really concerned about is Tel Lowry.’
    â€˜That’s not quite fair,’ Jack said. ‘He’s a better boss than most.’
    â€˜An’ unlike most bosses, he’s not frightened of gettin’ his hands dirty,’ Teddy added. ‘Do you know that when he took over the company he knew nothin’ about engineerin’. Now he’s got a degree in it – an’ he earned that degree by studyin’ in his free time, when he’d already put in a day’s work at the factory.’
    â€˜You make him sound like a saint,’ Archie grumbled, ‘but the truth is, we hardly see him at all these days.’
    â€˜Maybe so, but that’s not because he’s sailin’ round the Med on a private yacht, livin’ the life of Reilly, now is it?’ Jack countered. ‘The reason we don’t see him is because he’s devotin’ all his energy to local politics.’
    â€˜I suppose it’s all right for them as can afford it,’ Archie said.
    â€˜If I’m remembering correctly, Councillor Lowry’s not married, is he?’ Paniatowski said.
    Jack nodded. ‘No, he isn’t.’
    â€˜Lives with his mother,’ Archie said. ‘A
proper
mummy’s boy.’
    â€˜Now I find that
very
hard to believe,’ Paniatowski said. ‘He looks to me like the kind of man who’d be having affairs left, right and centre – and a lot of them with
married
women.’
    â€˜Well, there’s been rumours enough,’ Archie said. ‘He had this secretary once, who was married to one of the shop-floor foremen, and—’
    â€˜You seem very interested in the boss,’ Jack said, and for the first time there was a hint of suspicion in his voice.
    Even in the light of that comment, it might be possible to squeeze a little more information on Lowry from these men, Monika thought. But it wouldn’t be a good idea. In truth, she’d pushed it as far as she dared – perhaps further than she
should have
. Any minute now, they’d start asking who
she
was, which was a short step from one of them – probably Archie – telling Lowry about the encounter. And then the fat
would
really be in the fire.
    Besides, this job was leaving a bad taste in her mouth, and though she agreed with Woodend that it might be useful to get the dirt on Lowry, what she