Previews Dangerous Echoes by Mai Griffin | Page 13

Mai Griffin
herself! But still the ice-cold knot tightened in the pit of
her stomach.
Clarrie was enthusiastic about the invitation – the
outing might help to restore Sarah’s usual happy outlook
on life. She eyed her mother’s figure – still in good shape
for a fifty-nine-year-old and pointed out that it was a
good excuse to buy a new dress. After glancing at Sarah’s
upswept waves of silver hair, she added encouragingly,
“Your hair always looks nice, but you could treat yourself
to a salon ‘do’ and catch up on old magazines!”
The year had begun on a high note. Their friend
Bettina Bane’s son Adam had his first birthday party on
January 3 rd . It had been a large gathering of adults for a
tiny child but at that age a child doesn’t have a huge social
circle of its own! They had known Bet before her husband
died almost a year earlier and had introduced her to Algy
Green, a Detective Inspector in the CID. Since last May,
when Clarrie met Del Delaney, they had spent many
pleasant evenings together as a foursome. At the time,
Algy’s wife was a long-term patient in a psychiatric
hospital ward ...she hadn’t recognised him for many years,
but he still adored her and hoped for her complete
recovery. Unfortunately, she developed pneumonia at
Christmas and, incredibly, died on the anniversary of Bet’s
husband’s death – January 15 th . So the month ended in the
sad aura of funeral and memorial services.
Clarrie had never been able to believe that Algy’s wife
would recover ...perhaps now he would face up to the
future without her; it could really be the best thing for
him, but it was far too early to say so. Sarah had invited
Algy and Bet to dine with them several times since then,
but the occasions did more to depress Clarrie than cheer
anyone else ...she couldn’t stop feeling gloomy about Del’s
absence. After a flying visit in December, he went back to
the Middle East. Because his contract was likely to be
extended beyond July, instead of piling up leave until June,
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