Forget me knot

Resumen

"HANG ON," SOPH SAID, "youre telling me, the corpse had an erection?"

Abby transferred her mobile to the other ear and with her free hand began setting the shops burglar alarm for the night. "No, it was the dove."

"The dove had an erection?"

"Duh. Of course the dove didnt have an erection. It flew into the open coffin, found its way into the old mans trouser pocket and made it look like he had an erection."

"But why on earth were there doves flying around the house?"

Abby explained that the dead man, who had been lying in state in the front room of his Croydon semi-detached house, used to make his living as a childrens party entertainer. "The doves were part of his magic act. Anyway, just before everybody was due to set off for the cemetery, his wife had the dotty idea of letting the birds out of their cages to say good-bye to their master. My guess is that when he was performing, he hid them in his trouser pocket. Right on cue, one of them headed straight for the clown suit."

"The corpse was wearing a clown suit?"

"Yeah. Red-and-white stripes with gold pom-poms down the front."

"Nice."

Abby stepped onto the pavement and closed the shop door behind her. It was thick plate glass with a stainless-steel handle shaped like a rose in full bloom. Abby was particularly proud of the handle. Shed designed it herself, taking great pains to get every fold, twist and angle of every petal exactly as she wanted it. If you looked carefully--not that anyone ever did, apart from Abby--there was even a tiny metal dewdrop on one of the petals. At first, the design had been meant purely as a business logo. Then shed had the idea of e-mailing it to one of the cutlery firms in Sheffield and asking if there was any way they could fashion a rose door handle.

Earnshaw & Sons (By Royal Appointment) assured her the commission was well within their capabilities. Six weeks later, the exquisitely crafted tea-rose handle arrived by courier, along with Earnshaw&am<