Strangeways to Oldham by Andrea Frazer Page B

in an armchair by the window of her room, engrossed in a ladies magazine of the trashier type, and she put it down reluctantly, at their arrival.
    First things first: ‘How are you, Enid? Good, good! And who’s looking after your mother while you’re in here? Come to mention it, who looks after her during your frequent stays in hospital?’
    â€˜She goes to my sister down near the college,’ Enid replied, and then to avoid further questioning about her domestic arrangements, added, ‘And Mrs Next-Door feeds the cat.’
    â€˜So your house is empty, then?’
    â€˜That’s right.’
    â€˜Better give me the keys, so I can check you haven’t been burgled. We wouldn’t want you coming out of here and finding your house ransacked, now would we?’
    â€˜Good idea, Lady Amanda. They’re in my handbag. I’ll just get them for you.’
    While she scrabbled around in her handbag looking for her keys, Lady Amanda whispered to Hugo, ‘If I can get into her house, at least I can give it a good airing – throw all the windows and doors open, when the weather’s a bit better. What with her old mother and the cat, the house simply reeks of ‘wee wee’ and old pussy.’
    Transferring the unexpectedly large bunch of keys into her own handbag, Lady Amanda enquired, ‘Have you had a chance to talk to that Nurse Plunkett yet?’
    â€˜What a very nice young lady she is!’ stated Enid, with a happy smile. ‘Always has time to stop and chat; not like some of the others, who are always rushing off to do something or other.’
    â€˜What have you learned?’
    â€˜That she works for Edwards’s Nursing Services, and she’s pretty fed-up with being placed here on her own. Quite often the nurses are on temporary contract in couples or threesomes, when it’s for a hospital, but Matron here wouldn’t hear of having to pay for a second nurse, so she only took the one.’
    â€˜That’s all very nice to know, but we’re trying to place that chap who posed as Reggie’s nephew, not extract her woes and troubles from her.’
    â€˜I do realise that, and I was just setting the scene, before I got to the interesting bit,’ Enid replied, a trifle sniffily. ‘She did say that she’d spotted one of the other agency workers here, when she came to look round the place and be interviewed, but he hadn’t seen her. She assumed he was visiting someone, as he was carrying a bunch of flowers.’
    â€˜Aha!’ exclaimed Lady Amanda. ‘Does she know his name?’
    â€˜She can’t remember, for the moment, but said if I was really interested, she’d phone one of her colleagues, and find out for me. It seems he was employed six months or so ago, to nurse an elderly gentleman in his home, but that contract ended, and he’s had to move on since then.’
    â€˜Aha!’ Lady Amanda exclaimed again. ‘That’s the bunny! I’m sure about it now.’
    â€˜How can you be?’ asked Hugo, doubtfully. ‘You’ve only got one tiny bit of information.’
    â€˜By using the old noggin, Hugo. This chap nurses Reggie, gets him to change his will, then Reggie has to move here. Our chappie then starts to call in on him, to make sure he hasn’t been lucid enough to change his will again, and then, for some currently unknown reason, bumps him off. There!’
    â€˜There’s a lot of conjecture in there, Manda. Mind out! You might get your fingers burnt, if you try accusing an innocent man of murder.’
    â€˜Piffle!’ she replied. ‘I know I’m right! I can feel it in my water.’
    â€˜There’s a visitor’s loo just across the corridor,’ they were informed by Enid, ‘should you feel the need.’
    After their now habitual cocktails, and dinner, Lady Amanda started to look shifty, and began fidgeting in an altogether