By the time Carole and Jude got outside the court Felicity Budgen had disappeared inside Lockleigh House Nursing Home for the Elderly. They didn’t have to talk, they both knew where she was going. She had failed to kill one witness of her crimes, Tonya Grace. She was hoping to have better luck with Cecil Wardock.
The woman on reception in the great hall of Lockleigh House called after them as they rushed to the stairs. ‘Hey, you can’t go up there!’ But Carole and Jude took no notice.
They dashed along the landing and burst in through Cecil Wardock’s door.
The tableau that greeted them there might have been comical in different circumstances. Cecil Wardock, his chair facing away from the window on this occasion, was looking up at them in bewilderment. Behind him, in front of his precious bookshelves, stood the elegant Felicity Budgen, the crank handle in her hand upraised to be brought down on his thin skull.
At Carole and Jude’s entrance she froze, then slowly lowered her arm.
‘Well,’ said Cecil Wardock, ‘aren’t I the popular one this afternoon? Delighted to see you again, ladies. To what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘Oh,’ said Jude, inadequately in the circumstances, ‘we were just passing.’
‘Well, what a nice surprise. Felicity was just getting a book down for me.’
‘Yes,’ she agreed. Placing the crank handle on a table, she reached into the bookshelves. ‘Katherine Mansfield: A Biography — that was the one, wasn’t it, Cecil?’
‘Yes, thank you, Felicity dear. Very stylishly written. Author’s sadly dead now.’ He stroked the book lovingly. ‘Beautiful artefact, isn’t it? Any book is, but this one more than most.’ He let out a dry chuckle. ‘Can’t see anything as beautiful as this ever being replaced by a Kindle, can you?’
Once again Cecil Wardock stroked his book, then opened it at the title page. ‘So much still to read,’ he said. ‘So much still to read.’