Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author:Neil Sharpson
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Thrillers
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
OCTOBER 1979
The clock that hung on the wall of Mrs. Maude Pygott’s shop was of the
same make that could be found in schools and offices across the world: a
large metallic ring with a curious mechanical quirk that caused it to run
efficiently throughout the day until it reached half an hour before quitting
time. At which point the entire mechanism seemed to wind down, and the
arms would move like an ant crawling through thick honey.
One of the reasons that Mrs. Pygott approved of the new girl was that,
unlike every other college student who had taken part-time work here,
Maude never found her staring at the clock when she should have been
sweeping the floor or taking inventory.
Right now the girl, a short, pale, brown-haired twenty-something named
Etain, was trying to wrestle the sweeping brush back into the cupboard
without upsetting the Rice Krispies.
Mrs. Pygott had gotten the impression that the reason Etain was never to
be found staring at the clock and cursing its dreamy languor was that she
didn’t like to be reminded that she would soon be returning home. Etain did
not seem to have a happy home life.
Trouble with the mother, Maude guessed.
The shop was not a place to work if you were claustrophobic.
In terms of the goods it sold, it was a decent-sized grocer’s, offering
canned goods, tobacco, fruit, vegetables, cleaning products, newspapers,
and toiletries. However, the size of the shop was better suited to a small
newsagent’s and this meant that the shelves were crowded together and
laden down with goods from the floor to the ceiling, which gave the place
the close, stuffy atmosphere of a library.
The girl placed the broom back in the cupboard and turned to where
Maude was leaning against the counter leafing through an issue of Ireland’s
Own.
“You can leave now if you like, love,” Maude told her, gesturing to the
clock. “Not much in it.”
Etain simply nodded. Not much of a talker; another point in her favor in
Maude’s opinion.
“Oh, and would you mind telling him his tea is ready?”
Etain nodded again and headed through the back entrance into the
Pygott home that abutted the shop.
In the living room, Maude’s youngest son, Tom, was watching television,
cross-legged on the carpet and still wearing his school uniform.
Etain gave a rare smile. She liked the Pygott boys. They were both
quiet, and often painfully shy (Tom in particular), but they were
sweethearts. Good kids.
“Hiya,” she said gently.
There was no reaction.
Glued to the box, she thought to herself. She looked at the screen.
Bloody hell, she thought. Puckeen? Is that still on?
Memories returned, unbidden, of long, purgatorial afternoons after
school with the rain washing the world outside. She and her sister, Kate,
had watched Puckeen religiously; that is, as a joyless ritual that neither of
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