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affectionately behind the ear.
The mugs held about a gallon of tea each, and Jack could hardly even lift
his. As soon as his wife was back at the cooking range, Ed greedily ate up the
honey sandwich that Mrs. Bruin had put in front of Jack.
Well, I m sorry for all that, but my chief interest at the moment is
Goldilocks.
Who? asked Ed, who could be dense at times.
The one who broke the chair.
Oh,her. Well, like I said, it s not the damage, it s theprinciple. An
apology would help.
I ll see what we can do, asserted Jack, wondering whether Goldilocks was in
a fit state to apologize or do anything at all.
Why was she asleep in your son s bed?
Tired, I guess, said Ed simply. We quizzed her, of course. She said that
my porridge was too hot and Ursula s was too cold, but Junior s was just
right.
So she ate it up?
Right. Then she said she tried my chair but it was too hard, my wife s but
it was too soft, but Junior s again was just right.
And she broke it?
As you can see.
Then what happened?
Then she said she was tired, so she went upstairs to bed. Again, my bed was
too hard, my wife s too soft so she fell asleep on Junior s. I ve never heard
of anyone sofussy.
Jack paused for a moment. And she was asleep when you found her?
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Right.
What time was this?
Half past eight.
And how long had you been out of the house?
Half an hour, put in Mrs. Bruin. We usually stay out for longer, but we
had to go to the vet.
Thank you for bringing that up again, dear, said Ed meekly.
Then what happened?
She got dressed and ran out of the house.
Did she have anything with her?
A bag. One of those work bag things.
And that was the last you saw of her?
Never saw her again, and good riddance. She had a damn lot of cheek,
Inspector.
But she was fine when she left here?
He laid a claw over his heart. We never touched her. We were going to write
a letter toThe Toad . Their Henrietta Hatchett is a Friend to Bears and has
done a great deal for ursine equality.
Sorry? said Jack, taken aback at this latest development.
Miss Hatchett would have done something about it, he replied. She has done
a lot of good work for us in the past.
Had you ever met her? I mean, if you saw her would you recognize her?
No why?
This, said Jack, holding up the picture of Goldilocks, is Miss Hatchett.
Ed s eyes opened wide, and he looked at his wife, who dropped a teacup.
That was Hatchett? she said, turning from the sink.
Jack nodded, and Ursula walked briskly over to them.
YOU& FOOL! she screamed at her husband, who looked terrified and tried to
back away, which is tricky to do if you re already sitting down. He gave out a
whimper, and she replied with a snarl. There followed a protracted and very
one-sided conversation in Ursine, which resembled a series of growls, whimpers
and low barks. As they argued, Jack looked out the window, where he could see
some cars pulled up outside. Mary had arrived in his Allegro, and behind her,
Gretel and Baker bumped up the grassy track in his Volvo.
I d like a statement from both of you, said Jack, having to almost shout to
make himself heard above the cacophony of growly noises.
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They stopped arguing, and Ursula answered in a sweet tone, Of course,
Inspector.
Ed nodded in agreement, and they both looked at the two cars unhappily.
Machines, like humans, weren t that welcome in the forest.
Jack walked out of the house and met Mary on the garden path.
Hello, sir, she said. Any luck?
Goldilocks was here on Saturday morning but ran away into the forest at
about eight-thirty. He turned back to Mr. Bruin, introduced Mary and then
said, Can you show me the bed you found her in?
Ed shrugged a bit despondently and took Jack and Mary up the narrow stairs to
the single bedroom, which was in the roof space. He nodded toward three beds
of varying sizes.
This one, he said, pointing at the smallest.
Did you wash the sheets?
Of course, he said, shocked at the suggestion that they might not have.
Jack looked around. There didn t seem much more to be gained for the moment.
They walked back downstairs.
Baker, I d like you to take statements from Mr. and Mrs. Bruin and wait for
their son to come home, then do the same with him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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