Wore a stained”, pink dressing gown and she was sitting in chair by the window, looking into a garden full of weeds. a
‘Did you forget that I was coming, Mrs Crilling?’ Said Archery.
She turned round and stared crazily at him, her eyes seeming to burn right through him. ‘Who are you?’ she said.
‘We met in court this morning,’ he said. ‘You wrote to me.’
She gave a long, high laugh.
‘Mrs Crilling, are you all right?’ he said.
She put a hand up to her neck and the laugh died away, ‘Tablets,’ she said. ‘Give me my tablets and then you can you can get out!’
He saw the bottle of tablets on a dust-covered table and gave it to her. She did not open the bottle, just held it next to her chest. ‘Where’s my baby?’ she cried.
Did she mean Elizabeth? ‘She’s gone out,’ he said. ‘Mrs Crilling, can I get you a cup of tea?’
‘Tea? That’s what she said this morning, the police girl. Come and have a cup of tea, Mrs Crilling.’ She fell back into the chair, fighting for breath. ‘You my baby . . . I thought you were my friend . .. Aaagh!’
Archery was really frightened now. He ran from the room into a dirty kitchen and filled a cup with water. When he came back she was trying hard to breathe. Should he make her take the tablets? On the bottle were the words: Mrs J . Grilling. Take two when needed. He took two from the bottle and pushed them into her mouth. She coughed over the cup of water but took the tablets.
He helped her sit up in the chair. ‘1 can be your friend,’ he told her.
‘Not my friendl’ she said. ‘Police friend! I watched you come out with them.’ She screamed long and loud and he put his hands over his ears. ‘. . . Don’t let them take her to prison!’ Then she screamed again and began waving her arms wildly.