A Body at the Dance Hall by Marty Wingate EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Marty Wingate
- Language: English
- Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
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- Size: 2.5 MB
- Price: Free
LONDON
January 1922
Mabel reached a hand out to grab the pole and leap onto the tram only for it
to pull away from the stop without her. It rang its bell in a mocking tone as
it trundled off.
‘Damn!’ she exclaimed and stamped her foot right in the middle of a
puddle, splashing muddy water onto her stockings. What had been a light
mist only a moment ago when she’d walked out of New River House had
become a heavy shower catching the curls in her brown bob haircut that
peeked out from under her cloche. She should’ve worn the hat with a wider
brim.
A passing man popped open an umbrella, nearly poking Mabel’s eye
out, and a crowd of people jostled her as they surged towards an
approaching bus. The wrong bus for Mabel, but at this point, she would be
late whether she took a tram, bus or the Underground.
She stepped out of the fray and hailed a passing taxi.
‘Piccadilly,’ she said to the driver through the window, and got in.
Since she began working at the Useful Women agency five months ago,
Mabel had made it her policy to arrive at the office by nine o’clock as a
show of her dedication to the job. She followed this practice whether her
assignments were of the ordinary variety, such as mending lace, restringing
pearls or reading to invalids, as well as when they fell within the remit of
the Private Investigations division.
Mabel proudly led this section of the agency whether the job meant
finding a lost dog, a lost relative or a misplaced note to the butcher. Very
occasionally a serious case came along. When that occurred, Mabel called
on one or two other Useful Women for assistance or, more likely, her crew
of associates whom she considered honorary Useful Women. Especially the
man.
Today it was nearly half past as she raced up the stairs of 48 Dover
Street. At the first-floor landing, she paused when she saw a cluster of five
or six women waiting outside the office door. Mabel recognised one of
them as Miss Gregory, who had regaled them the previous pay packet
Friday with the story of her first assignment, which had been to teach a dog
to walk on its hind legs. Miss Gregory seemed game for any job, and Mabel
had recognised a kindred spirit.
Seeing Mabel approach, Miss Gregory nodded at the closed door and
said, ‘No sign of her yet.’ Inside the office, the telephone rang. ‘It’s been
going like that since nine o’clock.’
Miss Lillian Kerr owned the Useful Women agency and ran a tight ship.
Mabel didn’t believe the woman had ever missed a day of work or had even
been late. Certainly not this late.
‘I do hope she isn’t ill,’ Mabel said, which prompted concerned
murmurs from the others. The telephone stopped ringing, its last jangle
echoing in the silence.
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