A Stranger Death (Ch 6)

Previous Chapters: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5

Chapter 6

The next day the whole village was buzzing with the news of the body that had been found in the Maddison's back garden. All sorts of embellishments were added to the basic story in true Chinese whispers fashion, and pretty soon it was impossible to tell the fabricated stories from the truth.

As Sarah made her way to work that morning, even though it was still early, several people stopped to talk with her and ask her if there was any more news. Not being someone who appreciated being the centre of attention, by the time she reached the tea rooms she was getting fed up with all the questions. But her day was only just beginning, and there was a lot more to come.

When she eventually arrived at work, she was ten minutes late, something that was unheard of for Sarah normally.

Sarah approached her boss with a troubled look on her face. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late," she said to Pauline. "You wouldn't believe the questions I've had to answer for various people on my way here. I don't think there's a single person in the village who isn't talking about 'the body'."

"Yes, I can well imagine, but don't worry about being late," said Pauline. "There's nothing like something out of the ordinary to set tongues wagging. The discovery of a dead body is a big event for a small village, and people will likely be talking about it for months and years to come. We'll probably be fairly busy from the word go this morning." Pauline grinned at Sarah as she told her "You've just become our star attraction for today!"

In that Pauline was proved correct. Many more people than normal came into the tea rooms as soon as they opened the doors, all using their visit to try and discover the truth about what had happened. Sarah felt sorely tempted to write out a statement and pin it on the wall so that she could put an end to the questions but thought it wouldn't be fitting. More than once Sarah heard someone saying in a hushed voice "That's the girl whose mother found the body." She didn't enjoy her day at work at all. Thank goodness the next two days were her days off!

By late afternoon, the tea rooms finally returned to normal again with just a few stragglers coming in for a cup of tea. Sarah had never been more glad of the peace and quiet as they tidied everything away before closing for the day.

"Thank goodness that's over," said Sarah to Pauline. "If I never have another day like that it will be too soon!"

"Yes, I know what you mean. People were even quizzing me when they couldn't get hold of you. I suppose they assumed that you'd told me everything before we opened."

"What do you plan to do on your days off?" asked Pauline as they were leaving.

"Anything that keeps me out of the limelight and avoids people!" replied Sarah with a grimace. "I have had enough of it today."

Chapter 7 will be posted tomorrow. Follow me to make sure that you don't miss an episode.