Vincent bought her a drink, and they talked at the bar until the waitress took them to their table. The wooden floors gleamed under the soft lighting.
Andi stared at the menu, but didn’t take in much of it as she tried to come up with a safe topic of conversation.
‘I was told this is a good place to eat,’ said Vincent.
‘I haven’t been here before,’ said Andi. ‘But it always has excellent reviews. The building is beautiful. I think it’s a restored granary. I vaguely remember reading something about it ages ago.’
She wondered why he was single. ‘Jeff said you haven’t lived in Bristol for long.’
‘A month or so. The gym seemed like a good way to meet people, and I like to keep fit.’
‘You sound as though you’re from London.’
‘That bad, huh.’
‘No, just a guess. Did you move to Bristol through work?’
He nodded.
‘You must find it a bit of a change.’
‘It’s not all bad,’ said Vincent, with a smile. Andi felt herself blush. Get a grip. You’re like a teenager on her first date.
She had to say something. Work, she’d talk about the funny answers she’d had today. One of the areas of her latest market research project was the things people do in cars. Then she remembered the statistic for the number of people who had sex in their car. She wasn’t going near that topic.
‘Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ he asked.
A harmless question for a first date, but she’d only talked about Liam with Tom. How did she feel about Liam? She’d been angry with him for so many years, still was when she saw how his suicide affected Tom.
‘Sorry,’ said Vincent. ‘Isn’t it a good question? Family feuds?’
‘Nothing like that. I have an older brother. My younger brother died recently.’
Vincent murmured his apologies, but Andi didn’t tell him about the circumstances surrounding Liam’s death. She didn’t know him well enough, and Liam stirred up too many conflicting emotions.
‘Visited the cinema lately?’
She smiled at the change in conversation. She liked that she didn’t know what his thoughts were on a topic, or what his answer would be to a question. Steven wasn’t boring, but they had been together long enough to know each other’s opinions.
Vincent brought up their relationship situations.
‘Jeff tells me you’re separated from your husband, and have twin daughters.’
Andi talked about Kristen and Sophie. She wanted him to know they were a big part of her life. Vincent was divorced. He said it hadn’t worked out. No children. He had the right tone in his voice, regretful without being immersed in the rights and wrongs of what happened. Andi was nowhere near that place yet.
The waiter brought their main course, and Vincent reached over for the wine bottle, brushing her fingertips as he did. ‘Have you made any summer holiday plans?’
She wondered where this was leading, but his expression was innocent. She was probably too out of touch with dating, and too cynical. ‘Haven’t given it a thought. How about you?’
‘Nothing planned for this year. I travelled around parts of South America last summer.’
‘Exotic. But isn’t it dangerous in some places?’
‘I guess so, but parts of London can be dangerous.’
It was a warm evening, and after leaving the restaurant they strolled along the street. Vincent touched her forearm, and pointed to a gallery on the opposite side of the road. As they crossed the street he caught hold of her hand. The gallery displayed a number of paintings along its double frontage, and they looked at the work exhibited.
‘I like that one,’ said Vincent.
Andi looked at the painting he indicated. As she turned to speak, he kissed her lightly on the cheek.
‘What do you think?’ His lips brushed against hers, and she forgot the question. His aftershave was spicy, but fresh and not overpowering, probably expensive. The kiss wasn’t unexpected, they were adults, but it felt strange kissing someone other than Steven.
Vincent gave her an almost cheeky smile, and caught hold of her hand again. ‘So which is your favourite?’
‘That one.’ Andi pointed to a smaller painting. The canvas was divided into four equal rectangles, two deep blue and two dark red, surrounded by a painted gold border. A delicate fern lay across the rectangles.
‘A woman who deals in absolutes, but with a romantic centre.’ He held Andi’s gaze for a moment, and then laughed. ‘I’d probably say something like that if I was a psychologist.’
As they reached her car, Andi pulled the keys out of her bag.
Vincent kissed her lips lightly. ‘I’d like to see you again.’
A spurt of adrenaline shot through her system. Then an image of Steven and the twins came to mind. Life wasn’t as easy at thirty-eight as it had been as a teenager, although life hadn’t been easy then.
She had enjoyed the evening, but was still confused over how she felt about Steven. She wasn’t sure if another date with Vincent was a good idea. He didn’t appear to be the pushy type, but they could only go out a few times before he would expect the evening to end in bed.
‘How about Saturday?’ he said.
She shook her head, and saw an expression flash across his face, before a polite smile replaced it.
‘I didn’t mean no, I just meant not Saturday.’ Was that what she meant? ‘Steven and I have Sophie and Kristen week about. I know they’re old enough to know about this, but I’m not keen on introducing them to someone so early in the scene.’ That sounded awful. ‘I didn’t mean I’m ashamed of them, or you.’
‘I understand. I’m disappointed, but I understand. I guess that rules out the week, so how about next weekend?’
She nodded. It gave her just over a week to sort out how she felt, and decide what she should do. He tugged her closer, his hand warm on her shoulder, and they kissed again.
Back at home, sleep was elusive. She stared at the clock. Why had she agreed to see Vincent again? She shouldn’t have gone to dinner with him in the first place. This was all Steven’s fault. He’d started it, sleeping with that woman at the conference.
How childish was that, apportioning blame. She was the one who said he should leave.
She punched the pillow, but it didn’t make her feel any better. The house was too quiet, and she looked forward to the girls coming back. If she didn’t get to sleep soon she’d be no good at work tomorrow. Today. Was having dinner with Vincent so bad? Of course it was, or she wouldn’t be thinking this much about it.
She’d enjoyed the attention and his kisses, but he wasn’t Steven. It came down to that. She could never admit it to anyone, but she was still in love with Steven.
*
Erin rang her at the office the next morning. ‘So, how did it go?’
‘Fine.’
‘Come on, I want more than that.’
‘I had these conversations as a teenager.’ How long ago that felt. ‘Dinner was lovely, but I feel I’m leading him on or something. I’m not ready for this.’
‘That’s why I think it’s good for you. It might help crystallise how you feel about Steven. Having some space has been useful, but at some point you have to make a decision about what you want.’
Andi busied herself with work until her stomach grumbled. One-thirty. No wonder. And she’d forgotten to make any lunch. Hopefully the small café down the road would still have something. She hurried out of the office and along the pavement, her mind now churning over whether she should go out with Vincent again. A man, sat on a bench across the road, jerked his newspaper up in front of his face. Andi slowed, but all she could see was a pair of legs and the newspaper obscuring his face. He could just have spotted an exciting news report.
In the café, she peered out at him from behind the dangling plastic strips, but the newspaper still concealed his face. Was he the man from the mall?
She quickly selected a sand
wich, but the woman ahead of her fussed about, trying to find the correct change. By the time Andi paid for her sandwich, the man had gone.
Andi walked to the open area at the far end of the office blocks. The seats around the small amphitheatre-like circle were all taken, as people made the most of the sunshine, but the steps were deep enough to sit on comfortably for a short while.
She looked around as she ate, but no one resembled the man at the mall.
It brought back her worries. Why would someone follow her? A handbag snatcher wouldn’t wait outside her office.
Was Steven behind this?
She’d only been out with Vincent once, and how would Steven know? Besides, the first time she thought she’d seen the man was before she met Vincent.
Was Steven having her followed anyway, just to see what she was doing?
A wave of anger ran through her. Steven was the one who’d slept with someone else. If it came to a custody fight, surely what he’d done was much worse. She would phone him and demand to know why he was doing this. But what if it wasn’t him? He would think she was crazy. She couldn’t talk to Vincent about it; she didn’t know him well enough.
She had always been able to talk to Steven. She’d even confided in him about how unhappy she’d been as a child, and how she felt about Liam. Now there was no one.
As she drove home that evening, she looked closely at the cars behind her, but she couldn’t make out exact colours in the twilight.
She couldn’t sleep, and wandered restlessly around the house. Nothing on the television kept her attention for more than a few minutes. Finally, she pulled out a small suitcase and packed some clothes for herself and the girls. They wouldn’t be happy about her packing for them, but she’d take them to Poldrayth for the weekend.
Chapter 10
Tom
Tom was surprised but pleased to see Andi and the twins. Anything to divert him from thoughts of Liam and the note. He’d find out how things were with Andi before mentioning it to her. The last thing he needed was one of her outbursts about Liam.
They decided to walk the cliff path to Porthkenan. Andi bribed Sophie and Kristin with the promise of clotted cream ice creams and a drink in Porthkenan, but once they were on the hills, the girls pulled out their phones and started taking photos.
‘I saw Lily Williams when we stopped off at the local store,’ Andi told Tom, as they wandered along the narrow path.
‘And Oscar, I expect.’
‘Who?’
‘Oscar, her terrier. You never see Lily without Oscar.’
‘Yes, she had a dog with her. She had two spaniels when we were young.’
‘I remember them. She only has one dog these days, that’s all she can cope with now.’
‘She said,’ and Andi gave a good impersonation of Lily’s whining, high-pitched tone. ‘Jago’s dying of the postate.’
Tom nodded. ‘He’s got prostate cancer.’
‘I guessed that was it.’
‘It hasn’t stopped him going out fishing.’
They stopped talking when the path climbed steeply, but as it levelled out Andi turned to watch a speedboat thump across the white-tops. ‘Jago seemed old to me when we were kids. I remember him down on the waterfront selling the fish he’d caught. He used to do building work and house repairs around the village, didn’t he?’
‘Yes, it wasn’t that long ago he gave up the building work,’ said Tom.
‘When I was at university, I’d think about people in the village occasionally, and I was glad I’d left.’
She gazed out to sea, even though the boat had gone, and gave no sign of whether she was aware of Tom’s scrutiny. ‘I was happy to have escaped, to be doing something more with my life. Now I’m not so sure.’
She turned abruptly and strode off along the path. Tom didn’t know if she required an answer, and if she did, he didn’t have one.
He caught up with her at the top of another steep incline. They walked together until they reached a rough-hewn wooden bench. Andi glanced at the metal disc attached to the seat, before she sat down.
Sophie and Kristen carried on along the path, and climbed the hillside to reach the abandoned pumphouse, a relic from the days of mining in the area.
‘Do you remember playing up there in the pumphouse? We were lucky with all this and the beach as a playground.’ He spoke without thinking of her previous outburst.
‘Lucky,’ she mused. ‘I guess we were in some ways.’
The air was crisp and clear. Although Tom was familiar with the scene, he sat quietly, enjoying the bright jewel colours of the day. The gorse was like a cushion of sunshine, and in a month or so it would contrast the dark and light purple heather. Below them jade green water frothed white foam around the rocks. He loved the sharp, clean smell of the coast.
He was about to remark on it to Andi, but as he turned he noticed her hands shaking.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘What’s right would be an easier question to answer.’ She gave a shuddering sigh. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’
She looked at the distant horizon, chewing her bottom lip, and seemed to come to a decision. ‘Either someone’s following me, or I’m going nuts.’
She explained about the man she felt sure had followed her to the shopping mall, and the person outside her office. ‘I’m sure it was the same man.’
‘But why?’
‘Steven’s the only one who comes to mind. Something to do with custody of the girls?’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘I hate to think he could do something like this. He wanted us to have Sophie and Kristen stay week about, and I agreed. Then this happened.’
‘It doesn’t sound like Steven.’
‘I know. I got all worked up about it, but if it’s not him, then I must be going mad. Who else would follow me?’
At that moment, Sophie and Kristen appeared from the ruined building and ran down to the bench.
‘Can’t you even climb the hill without a rest?’ Sophie grinned at her mother.
‘Cheek won’t get you an ice cream at Porthkenan,’ said Andi. She stood up, as the girls started off along the track.
Tom and Andi concentrated on climbing the last hill. When they reached the top, Porthkenan Bay spread out below them. Sophie and Kristen were already half-way down the hill, shouting to each other as they ran.
Andi glanced towards Tom. ‘Have you gone through Liam’s stuff in the cottage?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve just mowed the lawn. Was there something you wanted?’
‘No. I didn’t mean that. There’s nothing I want from Liam. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own problems I haven’t helped you with this. If there’s anything I can do this weekend, let me know.’
‘Thanks. I suppose we could sort through his things. I haven’t done anything with the London stuff. Putting it off, I guess.’
*
The twins visited some friends in the village after lunch, and Tom and Andi went over to Liam’s cottage.
It was at the end of a row of four. Tom opened the gate, but they ignored the short path to the door, and skirted around the side of the house to the garden. They walked on thick, springy grass that had grown in the last week or so of warm weather.
The cottage had a larger garden than the others, with trees and shrubs jostling for position along the edge of the property. In the back garden, apple and plum trees stood guard over raspberry canes and some blackberry bushes. Beyond them, a narrow stream marked the perimeter of the property.
Andi had only seen the cottage from the road before. It was Liam’s, and she hadn’t wanted to investigate further.
‘It’s beautiful. What a lovely garden. I can understand why Liam wouldn’t want to sell it. What I don’t understand, is why he bought it in the first place. He loved the hustle and bustle of the city, and this is the total opposite of London.’
‘Just because Liam enjoys London, it doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate beautiful things elsewhere.�
� It was the closest he’d come to criticising her, and he’d used the present tense. He hoped she hadn’t noticed.
‘I’m sorry, it was thoughtless of me. I should understand it more than you. I like the city; the proximity of shops and cafés and entertainment, but I also love these hills and the beach.’
At least she hadn’t mentioned his use of the present tense.
They stood at one end of the lawn, which ran down to a weeping willow by the stream. All they could hear was birdcall from the trees, and the chatter of stream water on pebbles.
The cottage was cool, and the thick stone walls lent an air of monastic silence to the rooms.
The front door opened into a small hallway, with a bedroom on either side. The living room was at the back of the cottage, overlooking the shrubs and bushes in the garden. A double glass door led out to a small sheltered patio edged with climbing roses. Andi opened the double doors, and the scent of the roses floated in on the light breeze.
The main bedroom contained a double bed, with a small coffee table next to it. All they found in the wardrobe were a couple of pairs of jeans, some T-shirts and sweaters, and a jacket.
‘There’s even less here than in his flat. I expected more clothes than this.’ Tom picked up a sweater. ‘He always wore good quality, but I don’t think I ever saw him in the same thing twice.’
The kitchen housed the usual cutlery, crockery and pans, together with a few tins and packets. The living room had a TV and a DVD player on a wooden unit. An old-fashioned bureau stood in the corner. It had originally belonged to their mother. When their parents died, Tom said they should choose whatever they wanted before they sold the house. Liam took the bureau. Andi hadn’t wanted anything, but Tom persuaded her to pick at least one item. She chose a piece of Venetian glass she had bought her parents.
The bureau had a hinged, pull-down front. Inside were three small drawers, with pigeonholes either side. Tom found an old power bill in one of the pigeonholes. As Liam only visited the cottage a couple of times a year, he paid most of his bills by direct debit. Andi pulled out a couple of photographs, and Tom looked at them over her shoulder.
Lies of the Dead Page 6