A Swing Of The Axe – Winnie Frolik (1)

“Thank you…” Mrs. Palmer hesitated. She was well aware of who Mary Grey and Shaefer were. Plemmerdyn was that sort of village. But would it be polite to address them without proper introduction? “Miss Grey.” Mary kindly resolved it for her. “And this is Franz Shaefer. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Formal introductions were made all around. “Shall I get a third chair?” Shaefer asked. “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly intrude,” Mrs. Palmer demurred. “Not at all, we are grateful for the additional company.”

Space was cleared at the table and Mrs. Palmer happily took a seat with them. The tea shop girl then produced a steaming mug of Earl Grey and a plate of lemon cakes. Clearly, Mrs. Palmer was a regular patron whose tastes were well known. “Libby—my charwoman—is at my home today so I left Amy with her and a good book while I ran a few errands,” Mrs. Palmer explained. “Then I thought I’d get a quick cup and bite while I was out.”

“Not the best weather to be running about the village in, is it?” Mary noted sympathetically. Mrs. Palmer gave a wry smile. “Well, it is England. If I waited only for good weather to do my shopping, Amy and I would both starve.” And, Mary thought shrewdly, Mrs. Palmer had no doubt needed a day out.

She’d seen it before. Mothers and wives of invalids who wore themselves ragged caring for their loved ones. They needed to treat themselves from time to time even if the treat in question was just tea and cake. As every nurse knew all too well, in families where a mother never got away from the sick bed, “accidents” had a way of happening. “Is it true you’re a trained nurse, Miss Grey?” Mrs. Palmer turned to Mary briefly.

“I am.” “Is there any chance you’ll be staying on as Nurse Thewlis’s replacement?” She tried to sound casual, but there was a high note in her voice. Mary reflected old Mrs. Dudgeon was probably not the only one worried whether Plemmerdyn would have a nurse again anytime soon. “Sorry, but I’m just here temporarily,” Mary admitted. “But I’m sure they’ll find another nurse to this district soon.” “You seem kind is all,” Mrs. Palmer said. “I thought Amy might like you.

She was quite fond of Nurse Thewlis, you know. It’s not easy for her to take to people. But the nurse was very kind to her. And she’s sad to hear Nurse Thewlis passed away. I didn’t explain to her how the nurse died though. How could I? She’s so young and innocent.

© 2023 Winnie Frolik Cover Art © 2023 Jaycee DeLorenzo Published in October 2023 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at [email protected]. Also available in Print, ISBN: 978-1-64890-699-2 CONTENT WARNING: This book contains depictions of murder, death of a secondary character, antisemitism, and xenophobic slurs. 1kitap1.com/en A Swing of the Axe The Mary Gray Mysteries, Book Three Winnie Frolik 1kitap1.com/en To everyone who like Franz Shaefer has had to flee their home in the face of persecution 1kitap1.com/en Prologue England, Autumn 1937 The days were short in Northumbria this time of year, and by the time she’d finished her rounds, it was pitch black.

She was exhausted and hungry and back at the cottage there was steak and kidney pie in the icebox to eat. Maybe washed down with a thimbleful of sherry. Her mind flashed back to the memory of the letter she had sent out only the day before. It had not been easy to send that letter. Many an hour she’d fretted over it, wondering if there was some other path she might pursue. She knew all too well how the good folks of Plemmerdyn would feel about bringing in outsiders to poke into their affairs.

And it did mean a trip to London when she scarcely had time to spare. But there had been no help for it. One could hardly make such accusations to Scotland Yard. She had to talk to them in person, if only so they’d see she wasn’t some madwoman. If only there were someone here who’d listen to her! But no, she knew Dr. Gammer far too well to think he’d be her ally.

And without his backing, what chance would she have to convince the police of such evil? Sometimes the notion seemed so monstrous and bizarre she could hardly believe it herself. Meanwhile a cowardly little voice in her head kept on whispering she should do nothing at all. That even if her darkest suspicions were true, it was no business of hers. It had been very insistent, that little voice, but somehow, she’d sent the letter anyway. Now it was done. She’d crossed the Rubicon. And come what may, she felt certain she’d done the right thing.

Whether the Yard believed her or not.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 4bb7b1b5a57602c1
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,901,095 bytes (1.813 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781648906985, 9781648906992
• Pages: 245
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 313.6 minutes
• Total Words: 62,720
• Total Characters: 354,896
• Average Words per Page: 256.0
• Average Characters per Page: 1448.56

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