137 The Practical Joke III

7 Eastbourne Rd

The pounding on the main door peeved Mrs. Whitehall, and she tottered towards it from her flat in a hurry. The Agency was temporarily closed for lunch, seeing as the boys opted to eat out during their lunch break, and so, she closed the usually unlocked main door just to be safe. 

The gray-haired woman's face creased, looking at the closed door as the hard knocks continued behind it. She thought it was Davies; he always did knock as if it was an emergency--she didn't like it and lectured him many times before about it. She thought he didn't listen and was about to lecture him once more; however, it wasn't Davies on the other side when she opened the door. 

But it was Sam, and the fact that she was barefooted and wearing nothing but her lab gown over her clothes in that chilly weather caught the older woman off guard.