Private Sorrow, A by Maureen Reynolds Page A

in the bin.’
    Molly almost groaned with disapproval. Mrs Pert seemed to spend her nights either beside the woodshed or the ashbin. Still, it was something new in this tangled story. ‘Did you recognise the young man?’
    Mabel looked disappointed. ‘No, he turned his head away and it was dark, but I recognised her.’
    ‘I’ve talked to the young woman who was the last to see Etta on the Saturday.’
    ‘Well, that’s rubbish for a start because I saw her on the Sunday evening, which was the day of the accident. Of course, I didn’t know about that until the next day when the police came to see her. By then, she was gone. Never turned up for work on the Monday. I never saw her again and I don’t think the policeman saw her either. Goodness only knows where she went. I thought she had maybe run off with the boyfriend.’
    Moira spoke. ‘Can I say something? I worked in Marks and Spencer’s shop the same time as Etta and it wasn’t common knowledge, but she was going to be sacked from her job. There had been lots of complaints about her being rude to the customers. Still, with her disappearance, nothing came of it.’
    ‘Was there anyone else who worked with her who could maybe remember the name of this boyfriend?’
    Moira thought for a moment. ‘I don’t think she was very friendly or popular with any of the staff. She seemed to think she was superior to the rest of us. There was one girl who used to share her table in the canteen. Maybe she can help you. Her name was Davina McDonald, but she’s now a Mrs Foster. She lives at the top of the Hilltown but you will have to go and see her at night because she works in the SCWS shop on the corner of North George Street. I used to go in there quite a bit and I’m sure she’s still there.’
    Molly couldn’t think of anything else to ask, so she thanked the three women for all the help and got up from the super chair, ready to leave. ‘Come back and see us if you solve this mystery,’ said Mabel. ‘I’d love to hear what happened to Etta.’ Wouldn’t we all, Molly thought, but she smiled and said she would.
    Mabel continued, ‘Now remember, rumours are only rumours if they’re not true. People lie for all sorts of reasons and getting to the truth isn’t easy.’ Molly said she would heed that good advice and made a mental note to go and see the evasive Sasha Lowson again, and see what she had to say about Mabel’s story. If it was true that Sasha’s parents had lived in Arbroath at the time of the accident, was Dave on his way to see her there? Perhaps they had arranged a meeting and she wasn’t as immune to his charms as she had said.
    She hated digging up all this past history, especially since it was all in the hope of finding an obnoxious girl who had made up her mind to disappear from the planet, and had successfully done so for the past twenty-four years.

13
    Molly made her way up the Hilltown. She was going to the SCWS shop to see Davina Foster. She didn’t want to appear at the woman’s door in the evening, so she thought she’d have a quick word with her at her work.
    The shop was busy with customers and Molly waited until she reached the counter. There were three women and one man serving but it was the man who was cutting the bacon and cheese, while the women quickly gathered the items requested by the customers. The woman in front of Molly had obviously just nipped out from a nearby house because she wasn’t wearing a coat but she looked warm enough in a bright red jumper, black skirt and floral apron. She was also wearing her slippers. When it was her turn to be served she said, ‘Twenty Craven A and a pan loaf.’ After paying for her purchases, she darted out of the shop, clutching her bread and cigarettes.
    The assistant looked at Molly. She was so plump that her overall was straining at the seams and some of the buttons were unfastened, but she had a smiling face. ‘Can I have a word with Mrs Foster, please?’
    The smile grew