D for Daisy (The Blind Sleuth Mysteries 1)

D for Daisy Part 10: 1949 - Five years later

It was a warm summer day. There was a knock at the front door of the flat in Tufnell Park, although Daisy was not expecting any visitors. Besides, most of her visitors just entered and called "Hello!" The door was never locked when Daisy was at home. So it was with a certain trepidation that she put on her dark glasses, walked over and opened the door, then discreetly sniffed the air for any familiar smells. There was definitely a man standing in front of her. Hesitantly Daisy said, "Cedric? Is that you?"

"You've got it in one!"

As Daisy stood frozen on the spot, her eyebrows raised high, Cedric asked, "May I come in? I have a little present for you..."

"Oh, sorry! Of course, do come in... You're the last person I was expecting, that's all..."

"Well, that's always nice to hear..."

"Take a seat... Can I get you something? You have a present for me?"

"Yes, a present, and a message..."

Presently Cedric pushed a little package into Daisy's hands. Then he sat down and watched Daisy unwrap it, still standing in the middle of the room. She unpacked a little cardboard box, opened it, and retrieved a little car. "A Dinky Toys car!" she exclaimed. "How on earth did you know that I love Dinky Toys?"

"Well, I didn't, actually... but you'll find out in a moment why I'm giving this to you."

"A sports car, how lovely!"

"Yes, the famous Morgan soft top two-seater..."

"Lovely, thank you. Would you like a beer? With this weather I like to drink a beer from time to time."

"Oh, yes, wonderful!"

While Daisy went to fetch two bottles from the fridge in the kitchen, Cedric took a good look around him in the front room of the flat. Then he called over to Daisy, "This place is almost empty; very Spartan!"

As Daisy returned from the kitchen she said, "Yes, that's probably because I'm blind. Why would you hang pictures on the walls if you cannot see them; why put rugs on the floor if it is only to trip over them; and why would you have many little pieces of furniture like most people seem to prefer, if it's only to bump into them?"

"Rational and well organized: that's our Daisy."

"Yes, and note how hollow the place sounds: I can practically hear the presence of the walls and aim straight for the doors! This may look like a poky little flat to you, Cedric, but it's the only place in the world where I'm completely at ease!"

"I see! Strange that I've never been here before, though, not even in Ralph's days..."

"Well, that's not so surprising, when you think how busy we all were with the war at the time."

"That's right... but I feel a bit ashamed that I didn't visit sooner after the war."

"Oh well, I suppose that by then we were all very busy picking up our own lives again... or what was left of them, at any rate."

"Yes, quite..."

They both sat in silence for a while and sipped from their beers. At length Daisy asked, "You said that you had a message for me?"

"Yes, indeed I have. It would sound something like this: dear Daisy, darling Daisy—depending for whom I'm speaking—, it's been exactly ten years since you came to Bottomleigh House and made our acquaintance for the very first time... That's why we would like to invite you to stay with us at the House again this summer, for a week or a couple of weeks. Let us renew our acquaintance and celebrate our old friendship. Signed: Margaret, Beatrice, Joan, William and yours truly."