black sweet.
“It looks like a liquorice twist but it’s fatter. Look, there’s a
red seam running through the middle, I wonder if that’s the herb
part of it.”
“ Herb, my arse! It’s probably cannabis, or crack cocaine,”
Pearl said. “What have you spotted now? Speak up!”
Grace closed her
hand around the sweet and looked away from Connie. She said,
“There’s a letter stamped on the side of it. It’s a letter
‘F’.”
Connie’s voice
sounded full of sadness as she said, “F for Flamingo.”
Chapter 25
“ This might have nothing to do with Della, it could be anyone
at the factory, anyone could get access to the ingredients,” Connie
said, a hopeful note in her voice.
Pearl looked at
Grace and said, “You know what you have to do, don’t
you?”
Grace nodded.
“I’ll have to go to the nightclub myself. I haven’t been to one for
years, I don’t even know what people wear in those places.”
“Very little, going by what I’ve seen on the news,” Pearl added. “I
don’t want to see you dressed like that, Grace, make sure your
dress covers your dignity.”
“ I
can’t go to the nightclub until tonight so I may as well question
Vincent, Lucinda and Della. I can show them the recipe book, see
how they react.”
“ See
if you can come back later and tell me how you got on,” Pearl said.
“But if I don’t see you before you go to the nightclub promise me
you’ll take care, don’t let anyone take advantage of
you.”
Grace said
goodbye to the old ghosts and headed down the stairs. She had the
recipe book and Frankie’s sweets in her handbag. She decided to go
out of the back door, she didn’t want Frankie asking for his dodgy
sweets back. She picked up the van keys and went out through the
kitchen. She headed towards the van. She almost dropped the keys as
someone said, “Well, this is a turn-up for the books. What’s going
on?”
“ Connie!” Grace’s hand flew to her chest. “You must be
attached to the recipe book, not the chair.”
Connie looked
around the yard.“Is that a good thing? Does that mean I can come
with you?”
“ It
does. Perhaps you can help me too.” Grace opened the driver’s door
and climbed in. Connie floated through the passenger door and sat
down. She smiled. “That was strange feeling. Where are we going
first?”
Grace took her
phone out. “I think I’ll try to see Lucinda first. If she’s out on
the road we might be able to meet up somewhere.”
Grace had to
speak to Lucinda’s answering service. She left a vague message but
said she needed to speak to Lucinda urgently, that it concerned the
family business.
“ Let’s go and see Vincent at the factory,” Grace suggested.
She suddenly winced and looked at Connie. “Are you eating lemon
sherbets? I don’t like those, never have. I think they must be the
only sweet that I don’t like.”
“ Sorry, I’d forgotten that you could now taste my sweets. Let
me see what else I’ve got in my pocket. Chocolate
toffees?”
Grace nodded.
Two seconds later the buttery taste filled her mouth. It was all
well and good tasting Connie’s sweets - but was she gaining the
calories too? Grace hoped not, she’d had to put on her Christmas
trousers this morning, the ones she saved for the huge Christmas
meal that Frankie insisted on cooking for her. Grace smiled, he
used to insist on cooking that meal for Mum and Dad when they were
alive, they all used to put on their special trousers in readiness
for Frankie’s feast.
Connie spoke,
“You look happy.”
“ Just thinking about my family. Is there a shorter way to the
factory or should I use the main road?” Grace asked as she pulled
out into the traffic.
“ The
main road is fine. You can tell me about your family, if you don’t
mind. It’s better than me turning grey with worry every five
minutes.”
Grace was happy
to talk about her family as they drove along. It made her feel warm
and she loved to talk about Mum and Dad.
“It looks like a liquorice twist but it’s fatter. Look, there’s a
red seam running through the middle, I wonder if that’s the herb
part of it.”
“ Herb, my arse! It’s probably cannabis, or crack cocaine,”
Pearl said. “What have you spotted now? Speak up!”
Grace closed her
hand around the sweet and looked away from Connie. She said,
“There’s a letter stamped on the side of it. It’s a letter
‘F’.”
Connie’s voice
sounded full of sadness as she said, “F for Flamingo.”
Chapter 25
“ This might have nothing to do with Della, it could be anyone
at the factory, anyone could get access to the ingredients,” Connie
said, a hopeful note in her voice.
Pearl looked at
Grace and said, “You know what you have to do, don’t
you?”
Grace nodded.
“I’ll have to go to the nightclub myself. I haven’t been to one for
years, I don’t even know what people wear in those places.”
“Very little, going by what I’ve seen on the news,” Pearl added. “I
don’t want to see you dressed like that, Grace, make sure your
dress covers your dignity.”
“ I
can’t go to the nightclub until tonight so I may as well question
Vincent, Lucinda and Della. I can show them the recipe book, see
how they react.”
“ See
if you can come back later and tell me how you got on,” Pearl said.
“But if I don’t see you before you go to the nightclub promise me
you’ll take care, don’t let anyone take advantage of
you.”
Grace said
goodbye to the old ghosts and headed down the stairs. She had the
recipe book and Frankie’s sweets in her handbag. She decided to go
out of the back door, she didn’t want Frankie asking for his dodgy
sweets back. She picked up the van keys and went out through the
kitchen. She headed towards the van. She almost dropped the keys as
someone said, “Well, this is a turn-up for the books. What’s going
on?”
“ Connie!” Grace’s hand flew to her chest. “You must be
attached to the recipe book, not the chair.”
Connie looked
around the yard.“Is that a good thing? Does that mean I can come
with you?”
“ It
does. Perhaps you can help me too.” Grace opened the driver’s door
and climbed in. Connie floated through the passenger door and sat
down. She smiled. “That was strange feeling. Where are we going
first?”
Grace took her
phone out. “I think I’ll try to see Lucinda first. If she’s out on
the road we might be able to meet up somewhere.”
Grace had to
speak to Lucinda’s answering service. She left a vague message but
said she needed to speak to Lucinda urgently, that it concerned the
family business.
“ Let’s go and see Vincent at the factory,” Grace suggested.
She suddenly winced and looked at Connie. “Are you eating lemon
sherbets? I don’t like those, never have. I think they must be the
only sweet that I don’t like.”
“ Sorry, I’d forgotten that you could now taste my sweets. Let
me see what else I’ve got in my pocket. Chocolate
toffees?”
Grace nodded.
Two seconds later the buttery taste filled her mouth. It was all
well and good tasting Connie’s sweets - but was she gaining the
calories too? Grace hoped not, she’d had to put on her Christmas
trousers this morning, the ones she saved for the huge Christmas
meal that Frankie insisted on cooking for her. Grace smiled, he
used to insist on cooking that meal for Mum and Dad when they were
alive, they all used to put on their special trousers in readiness
for Frankie’s feast.
Connie spoke,
“You look happy.”
“ Just thinking about my family. Is there a shorter way to the
factory or should I use the main road?” Grace asked as she pulled
out into the traffic.
“ The
main road is fine. You can tell me about your family, if you don’t
mind. It’s better than me turning grey with worry every five
minutes.”
Grace was happy
to talk about her family as they drove along. It made her feel warm
and she loved to talk about Mum and Dad.
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