A Brush with Death: A Penny Brannigan Mystery - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,37

art gallery would be a must.

The journey home seemed to go very quickly, and Penny had changed trains at Chester before she knew it. Lost in thought, she went over the few details she had learned and wondered how she could find this Millicent Mayhew woman, if she was still alive.

Perhaps someone at the old Liverpool School of Art, now part of John Moores University, could help. She’d try to make some calls tomorrow. And then she remembered that Eirlys, her new assistant, was starting the next day. She’d have to spend the day training her, but once that was done, she should have more free time to pursue other things.

And, she realized, she hadn’t been painting in ages. She resolved to contact Alwynne and get the sketching club together for an outing. Thinking that her to-do list was getting longer by the minute, she put her head back on the seat, closed her eyes, and lulled by the rhythm of the train, fell asleep. When she awoke, the train was just pulling in to Llandudno Junction. She sighed, picked up her bag, and prepared for the arrival in Llandudno and the short walk to catch the bus to Llanelen.

And then she remembered Gareth and realized she hadn’t thought about him for hours.

She arrived home tired and hungry but reasonably happy with her day’s work. Not only had she discovered a couple of possible leads into Alys’s last days and the people who knew her, but she felt invigorated by the visit to Liverpool. She vowed to go again, and soon. Maybe Victoria could come with her. Being a day-tripper was all right, but an overnight stay would be more fun and they could get in some good shopping. Perhaps they could stop in a rather nice hotel in the centre of the city. The getaway would have to be with Victoria, as Gareth hadn’t seemed interested and the hotel business with him might be a bit tricky. Or would it? Maybe that would be the best route to go.

After popping a frozen chicken korma in the oven and retrieving the items she had printed from the Liverpool Echo, she taped the photo to the whiteboard and then stood back, arms folded, contemplating it. She remained lost and absorbed in the image until the ringing of the telephone startled her back to reality. Hoping it would be Gareth, she answered it on the fourth ring.

“Hello? Oh, Thomas, yes, good evening. Fine, thanks.”

A few minutes later she thanked him, replaced the receiver, sank into the comfort of the sofa, and stared unseeing at the photos on the whiteboard.

Four of Emma’s diaries were missing. Yes, he was sure. He’d checked and double-checked. The years 1967 to 1970 were not there. And 1971 contained nothing of interest.

Eleven

“Well, that tells us something, then, doesn’t it?” said Victoria on Monday morning as they prepared to open the salon. “Someone who didn’t want us to find out the truth must have got in somehow and removed those books from the cottage. It goes to show that there’s something very wrong here. I think it confirms our suspicions that Alys’s death was no accident.”

“Hmm,” said Penny. “Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe Emma got rid of them herself.”

“Could be,” agreed Victoria. “But why would she do that?” She thought for a moment. “I don’t think she would. I think it’s more likely to be the other way round—she’d get rid of all the others and keep just the ones that covered the Alys years.” The sound of knocking on the salon door ended the discussion. “Anyway, we’ll have to leave it at that for now,” she said as she stood up to open the door. “That’ll be Eirlys, right on time, ready for her first day at work. Are you free for dinner? Let’s get together later and I can fill you in on my meeting today at the new site with the surveyors.” She looked back over her shoulder at Penny, who nodded.

A moment later, ponytail bobbing and sporting a bright smile, Eirlys bounded confidently into the salon clutching a large brown envelope.

“I wanted to show you my certificate,” she said to Penny. “See, it shows I passed the course and am qualified now to do the manicures!”

“Well, that’s wonderful, Eirlys.” Penny smiled. “Let’s put you to work, shall we? I thought we’d start with a little bit of orientation to the shop so you can get to know where everything is.” She pointed to the appointments