Dark Undertakings Read Online Free Page A

the blue. I still don’t. At least,’ she corrected herself with an air of wonderment, ‘I suppose I do, now.’ She turned from one to the other, eyes wide, brows raised. ‘Where was I? Have I told you what the doctor said?’
    ‘Look, Mum—’ Philip tried again. ‘You really don’t have to go into every detail.’
    It was as if she hadn’t heard him. ‘In the end, I went to get a flannel, and washed his face – after I’d pushed Cassie off him and shut her in the kitchen. Poor little thing. Look at her.’ She nodded towards the dog, curled in the opposite corner of the sofa, ears limp and nose on both paws, the picture of misery. ‘She knows he’s not coming back.’
    ‘Rubbish,’ said David. ‘She’s always like that when Dad goes out without her.’
    ‘No she isn’t. Not on an ordinary work day. She knows something different has happened. She watched those men carry him out, and she knew they were taking him away for ever. Dogs understand more than we think.’
    ‘Rubbish,’ repeated David rudely. ‘And since when have you cared, anyway?’
    She hugged her arms around herself, and pressed back into the sofa. ‘I wouldn’t want her to be miserable,’ she protested.
    ‘She’ll get over it.’ David hadn’t much liked the succession of West Highland terriers himself, and never played with the puppies when Jim periodically decided to have a go at breeding from one of the bitches.
    Philip got up then from his chair, as if to confirm the end of his mother’s reminiscing. He rambled aimlessly round the room, finishing at the table under the window, idly flipping through a small sheaf of letters, which had come in the morning’s post and been ignored.
    David, however, kept his eyes on his mother’s face, knowing there was more to come. Echoes of the morning’s phone calls thrummed between them: David’s impatience at being woken up, his refusal to believe what she was saying, something wrong and hurtful lying on both their chests.
    ‘You still haven’t told us what the doctor said,’ he reminded her.
    She resumed talking, the words strung together steadily, without pause. ‘He listened for a heartbeat, looked down his throat, made me help to roll him over so he could examine his back. He was quite thorough. Said it could only be a heart attack, very severe, probably without much pain. Asked me if I’d felt him moving about in the night.’
    ‘And had you?’ Philip looked over his shoulder at her.
    Monica shook her head. ‘You know how deeply I sleep. I didn’t even hear him come to bed.’ She looked down at her legs, curious to see them shaking. Philip came back to her and took her hands between his own.
    ‘Please, Mum. That’s enough. It must have been terrible for you.’
    ‘Let me finish, Phil. There isn’t much more, and I … well, it makes me feel better, somehow.’ He dropped her hands, and returned to his chair, perching on the edge, his forearms on his legs, wearily patient.
    Monica pressed on with the story she felt compelled to relate. ‘He said something about a note all the doctors had been sent from the Coroner’s Office, saying to try to cut down on post-mortems. There have been a few doneneedlessly, and it costs some enormous amount of money every time. He was very honest with me. Said there was scarcely so much as a tiny doubt in his mind, and we could safely assume it was his heart. I’m sure he was right. What else could it be? Even if it was a stroke, that’s still natural causes. What difference would it make to know for sure?’ She frowned, hearing herself, and glanced quickly at David. ‘It wouldn’t change anything, would it. Dead is dead, whatever causes it. That’s it, I suppose. You know it all now.’
    Philip raised his head and sighed. ‘Poor Mum,’ he murmured. ‘It’s going to take time to get over it. You can come and stay with us for a bit. Nerina won’t mind.’
    ‘No, no. I’m all right here. For today, anyway. There’s lots to