No Graves as Yet_ A Novel - Anne Perry [132]
If she noticed it, she affected not to.
Afterward they drove north again. They turned right on the Works Causeway, past the gravel pits and the clunch pit—named for the peculiar sticky local clay—and drove into the village of Fulbourn. It was nearly three o’clock, a bright afternoon with the heat shimmering up from the road. Even the cows in the fields sought the shade, and the dogs lying on the grass under the trees and hedges were panting contentedly.
They swung into the main village street and drew to a stop. It was almost deserted. Two boys of about seven or eight stared at them curiously. One of them had a ball clutched in a grubby hand, and he smiled, showing a gap where his front tooth was still growing in. He was obviously more interested in the car than in either of its occupants.
“Ever seen a yellow car?” Joseph asked him casually.
The boy stared at him.
“Do you want to look inside?” Judith offered.
The other boy backed away, but the gap-toothed one was braver or more curious. He nodded.
“Come on, then,” she encouraged.
Step by step he came toward the car and then finally was persuaded to peer inside the open door while she explained to him what everything was and what it did. Finally she asked again if he had seen a yellow car.
He nodded slowly. “Yes, miss. Bigger’n this, but Oi never seed inside it.”
“When was that?”
“Donno,” he answered, still wide-eyed. “Way back.”
And no matter how she tried, that was all he knew. She thanked him and reluctantly he allowed her to close the door. He gave her a beaming smile, then turned and ran away and disappeared into a crack between two cottages, closely followed by his companion.
“Hopeful,” Judith said with more courage than belief. “We’ll ask again.”
They found an elderly couple out walking, and a man with a dog, strolling in a side lane, thoughtfully sucking at his pipe. None of them remembered a yellow car. Neither did anyone else in Fulbourn.
“We’ll have to try Great and Little Wilbraham,” Joseph said flatly. “Not very far.” He glanced at her and saw the anxiety in her eyes. “Are you all right?”
“Of course!” she answered, staring back at him levelly. “Are you?”
He smiled at her, nodding, then started up the car again and climbed in. They headed back into Fulbourn and from there north across the railway line east to Great Wilbraham. The streets were quiet, towering trees motionless except for the topmost leaves flickering gently in the breeze. A flock of starlings swirled up in the sky. A tabby cat blinked sleepily on top of a flat gatepost. The peal of church bells sounded clear and mellow in the warm air, familiar, gentle as the smell of hay or the sunlight on the cobbles.
“Evensong,” Joseph observed. “We’ll have to wait. Would you like something to eat?”
“It’s early for dinner,” she answered.
“Tea?” he suggested. “Scones, raspberry jam, and clotted cream?”
They found a tea shop willing to serve them at this hour. Afterward they went back into the street and walked up toward the church just as the congregation was leaving.
It was not easy to approach someone gracefully, and Joseph was awaiting an opportunity when the vicar saw him and walked over, smiling at Judith and then speaking to Joseph.
“Good evening, sir. Another beautiful day. Sorry you’re just too late for the service, but if I can be of any help?”
“Thank you.” Joseph looked around with genuine appreciation