False Alarm Read Online Free

mind with worry about her. Do put me out of my misery.’
    Gush, gush, thought Bea. But found herself smiling, for Lady Ossett was quite charming, looking hardly a day older than her twenty-something daughter. Petite and sweet.
    And, Bea reminded herself, lethal. Remember,
‘
My mother is a cow!
’
    â€˜Maggie’s quite well but couldn’t come this morning. She asked me to make her apologies.’
    â€˜Oh no! Oh, this is terrible. I was relying on her to . . . But please, do come in.’ With a gust of teasing, expensive perfume, the vision ushered Bea into a spacious, cream-carpeted hall with archways leading off in different directions. Bea noted a telephone table, carved oak chair and a number of doors, one of which the vision opened to reveal a clothes cupboard with lots of space at one side. Had the gap been caused by the removal of Lucas’s clothes?
    A vacuum cleaner whined somewhere nearby. A cleaner at work?
    â€˜My dear, ugly duckling of a daughter! She is the light of my life but I do worry about her, as I am sure you must do, having taken her under your wing, quite too charitable of you considering all the trouble she causes. Do hang your coat in here; my! How tall you are! I can never reach that peg, but my dear husband insists that . . .’
    Here she applied a tiny handkerchief to the corner of her eyes. There was a huge diamond on her ring finger, and the hankie was lace-edged. Bea smoothed out a smile. Diamonds and lace; typical.
    Lady Ossett led the way into one of the most stunning living rooms Bea had ever seen. It was huge, filled with light from windows on two sides, adding to the impression the building gave of being a luxury liner at sea. The room was furnished in a mixture of art deco and modern taste, with glass and steel and cream leather on areas of silk carpet in pastel colours. Very
Homes & Gardens
.
    Had Lady O furnished it herself? Possibly. If so, then she was a very clever woman and not an ordinary cow. Or perhaps she’d employed a top designer to create a fitting background for her beauty?
    There were modern lithos between fluted uplighters on the walls, and one striking portrait above a long settee. Everything was dust-free, vacuumed and polished.
    Through French windows at the far end of the room, Bea glimpsed a prettily arranged terrace garden, decorated with huge pots, containing palms, and a water feature. The garden furniture had, very sensibly, been hooded for the winter. The view of the London skyline was amazing, even on this gloomy day. Central heating ticked.
    Lady O waved Bea to a low-slung chair and seated herself behind a glass-topped coffee table, on which reposed today’s paper and a lacquered, Chinese style tray holding a small cafetière and a gold-rimmed cup and saucer. One cup only. A silver bowl held lumps of sugar, with a pair of tongs laid on top.
    Sugar tongs? When had Bea last seen those in use? Amazing!
    â€˜Coffee?’ The offer was made in perfunctory fashion and was not meant to be accepted.
    Bea declined.
    The vision said, ‘It really is too bad of Maggie to let me down like this. I shall give her such a scold when I see her! So, tell me; why the delay?’
    â€˜I’m afraid work intervened. The client threatened to sue if Maggie didn’t complete the job she was doing for him.’
    Lady Ossett looked as if she couldn’t make up her mind whether to be annoyed or indulgent. Indulgence won, by a narrow margin. ‘Oh dear. The scrapes that child gets herself into. However much is it going to cost me to get her out of this one, I wonder!’
    Bea said, ‘Tens of thousands, I should think.’
    â€˜Mm?’ The teeniest of frowns disturbed the bland forehead. Botox? Undoubtedly. Lady O lifted her cup to her lips. ‘She does so exaggerate. Helping a neighbour out with some housework or typing up a bill or two; that doesn’t sound very important to me. Surely you can find someone