‘No, I’m really not.’
Hearing the bell ring as the shop door was opened, Myrtle went to investigate.
‘That’ll be Flo. She’s got the spare keys.’ Jumping into action, Ava pushed the photograph and the note back in the envelope. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’
Mary lowered her voice, ‘OK, but what’s your theory then?’
Ava filled the kettle with water before putting it on its base and clicking it on. ‘I don’t have one. But I’ll start with Ted.’
‘If that’s about that photograph, Ted’ll be no use to you.’ Flo looked round the corner.
Mary looked at her, eyes wide. ‘How do you—?’
‘I asked what was in the envelope. You said always check what people bring in, no electrical, no previously used safety equipment, no videos, no nightwear or fancy dress without a safety standard. Definitely no underwear and to ask about Gift Aid e-v-e-r-y time.’
‘I was talking about donations, not private correspondence.’
‘I know, but best to be thorough.’ Flo winked.
Mary took a mug from the mug tree, taking over the tea making since Ava stood motionless in the wake of Flo’s comments.
‘So you know what’s inside?’ Ava asked.
‘I know it’s a photograph, donated by accident amidst a set of fancy gold frames. When he hinted at the value of the frames, I put two and two together. It had to be the donation in Ted’s name. Am I right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Bingo! Miss Marple has nothing on me!’ Flo giggled.
‘But what do you mean in Ted’s name?’ Ava asked, attempting to keep Flo’s mind on track.
Flo folded her arms. ‘Well, it wasn’t Ted who brought the donation in, it was him, in disguise. He had me fooled for a while but—’
‘Ted in disguise?’ Ava was getting more confused by the minute.
‘No!’ Flo laughed, unfolding her arms and slipping off her coat. ‘Lord, hold up, he said I could call him Henry. Oi get me, hobnobbing with the Bramlingtons.’
Ava went to speak, but Mary interjected.
‘So the donation was from Henry, but he Gift-Aided it from Ted, why would he do that?’ Mary raised an eyebrow at Ava, suspicion clearly on her mind, before looking back to Flo.
‘I told you he was in disguise.’ Flo walked through to the back office, hung up her coat, left her bag and walked back towards the two dumbfounded women, a wide grin on her face. ‘Undercover boss and all that. Checking out the local businesses. He had a beard, long hair, nothing like when he was here yesterday.’
Ava pushed away an unhelpful image of how Henry looked when she saw him yesterday. ‘So the donation was from Lord Bramlington?’
‘Yes — but I can call him Henry. And when I asked him if he would Gift Aid them’ — Flo looked pointedly at Ava — ‘he didn’t want to give the game away and said they were from Ted, his uncle.’
‘Ted’s his uncle?’ Mary asked in surprise. ‘My God, this is turning into one of those crazy chat shows where everyone’s got a secret, and it turns out they’re all related!’ She poured the boiling water into Flo’s mug and finished making her tea, barely taking her eyes from Flo.
Ava reached for her coffee. Her mind was too muddled with everything that had gone on in the last twenty-four hours to take this all in.
‘No! Ted’s not Henry’s uncle.’ Flo laughed.
‘But you said—’
‘I said, he said, he was — as part of his disguise. It’s very simple. I don’t know why you two aren’t keeping up.’ Flo tutted and shook her head, picked up her mug of tea and began to walk back towards the shop. ‘Come on, Myrtle, you and I best get the shop open. I think these two have feathers in their heads today!’
‘Well, that clears up one bit of the mystery. The donation was from Henry. But the whole disguise thing. That’s a bit odd, isn’t it?’ Mary pondered.
