Read Dance of Death for Free Online Page B

was not far away from him on the battlefield. Blinded by the explosion, he’d crawled under fire to his friend, relieved him of his beloved mouth organ then blown it with all his might to attract attention. He was eventually rescued by stretcher-bearers. The instrument had saved Paul’s life.
    ‘I’m so glad you were able to reply to the letter,’ said his mother.
    ‘I made myself do it. The only thing I couldn’t manage was her name and address on the envelope. You put that on – thanks, Mum.’
    ‘It was no trouble.’
    ‘I’ll be able to do things like that for myself soon.’
    ‘Yes, Paul, I’m sure you will.’
    It was a fervent hope rather than a statement of belief but Ellen hid her doubts from him. She’d been told how important it was to keep up his spirits. Mavis Tandy had written to ask if she could meet Paul and, in his reply, he’d agreed. Ellen had reservations about the idea. When her son had first gone off to war, he left behind a girlfriend whowas devoted to him. She and Paul seemed an ideal couple. On his first leave home, they’d even talked of getting engaged. He then returned to France and saw action at last. It had a searing effect on him. On his second visit home, he was a different person, surly, uncommunicative and prone to drunkenness. He kept picking arguments. All of the tenderness vanished from his romance and it quickly turned sour. Instead of getting engaged to him, his girlfriend had been frightened away. Ellen had been deeply hurt.
    ‘Do you think you did the right thing, Paul?’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘You don’t have to see her.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Well, she’s a complete stranger.’
    ‘She was Colin’s girlfriend. I feel that I already know her.’
    ‘Perhaps you should wait until you’re … properly on the mend.’
    ‘Mavis knows what happened to me,’ he said. ‘She said how sorry she was. All that she wants to do is to talk about Colin. What’s wrong with that?’
    His mother could not find the words to tell him. Her worry was that a visit from Mavis Tandy might bring back all the things that haunted him. She and Marmion had done everything to take his mind off the war and, in particular, off the death of his close friend. It would all be brought vividly back to life now. Ellen was also concerned for the young woman. Paul was so changeable and liable to such explosions of anger that she didn’t want Mavis to see her son in that state.
    ‘What’s wrong with that?’ he repeated, voice rising dangerously.
    ‘Nothing,’ said Ellen, ‘nothing at all.’
    ‘Yes, there is. You’re holding something back. What is it?’
    ‘Forget that I spoke.’
    ‘You want to stop her coming, don’t you?’
    ‘No, I don’t.’
    ‘Yes, you do,’ he went on, stopping in his tracks and pointing an accusatory finger. ‘I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I want to see Mavis and nobody’s going to stop me so you can mind your own bloody business!’
    ‘Paul!’
    Pushing his mother away, he lurched off down the street. Fuelled by anger and forgetting how limited his eyesight was, he blundered on until his shoulder collided with a lamp post. Ellen winced as a stream of expletives poured out of him.
     
    The ride back to Chingford was conducted in silence. Stunned by what they’d seen at the morgue, both women were lost in thought. They were seated in the rear of the car while Keedy occupied the front passenger seat. When they got to the house, however, he had to speak. He waited until all three of them entered the living room.
    ‘I’m sorry to put you through that, Mrs Wilder,’ he said.
    ‘I had to be certain that it was Simon,’ she murmured.
    ‘I’ll look after her now,’ said Grace, dismissively. ‘Thank you, Sergeant.’
    ‘There’s something I need before I go,’ said Keedy with quiet firmness. ‘In due course, we’ll have to talk to Mrs Wilder at length about her husband. This is clearly not the best time. What would be helpful to us