Pushing open her door, Alex climbed out into steady rain. She pulled up the hood on her jacket and went to the back of the vehicle. These days Katie and Bogie were happy lying together on a rug.
Tony opened the rear door and the two animals jumped out. They made a rapid run for the front door. Alex glanced at Tony, felt goosebumps rising all over her skin and followed the dogs.
‘What do you think I should call the house?’ Reaching past her, Tony unlocked the doors and let Katie and Bogie burst inside. He touched the back of Alex’s neck and she went after them. ‘Honeysuckle Haven? Lots of honeysuckle around here. Lonely Lodge? I’m the only one who comes here, unless I can trick you into coming with me.’
‘My Place?’ Alex suggested.
‘Not quite what I have in mind.’ He held her coat until she slipped her arms from the sleeves.
There wasn’t an easy answer to that.
She couldn’t imagine how this night couldn’t turn into either an embarrassing one-night stand or a painful destruction of a great friendship – both spelled a change she didn’t want to make.
‘Listen to that rain,’ Tony said, taking off his own coat. ‘The seasons are going backward. We could have a fire, would you like that?’
The dogs had taken off upstairs, where Alex had never been. She liked the cozy room where Tony kept a fire laid. ‘I’d love it. And don’t forget the brandy.’
The cranberry colored room that had been converted from a breakfast into a sitting room was Alex’s favorite place of what she’d seen in the house. She loved the soft old Chinese rug and dark, striped wingback chairs. Waist-high wainscoting was a deeper shade of cranberry than the walls.
Tony put a match to the fire and went into the kitchen.
Alex sat in one of the chairs that felt like a cocoon made exactly to fit her, and kicked off her shoes. Then she wondered if she should put them back on.
‘Brandy for Duggins and Harrison,’ Tony said, returning to give her a cut crystal glass. ‘How’s the fire doing?’
Logs crackled and flames curled up the chimney already. ‘You’re a master fire builder.’
Tony smiled, the firelight doing good work with the distinct bones in his face. He worked each shoe off and left them where they lay. ‘Right,’ he said and dropped to sit on the carpet, cross-legged, with his back propped against her chair. ‘O’Reilly and Lamb didn’t say they wanted us again. Did they forget, or do they really not intend to repeat the grilling?’
Alex didn’t want to keep thinking about Pamela’s death. She reminded herself that this was the wrong time to either laugh hysterically, or cry. ‘We’ll find out. Probably tomorrow. I think there will be more questions, especially for you.’
‘Because of the little pieces of glass? You’re probably right. They looked clean. Not like they’d been down there for long to get covered with dirt and dust.’ Tony sniffed at his brandy and took a drink. ‘All right, huh?’
‘Very all right.’ Heat from the first sip of a brandy was one of her favorite things.
‘Someone planned out what was done to Pamela. The police have a lot of clues to check out and it won’t hurt having this stepson to occupy them for a while.’
‘You sound as if you don’t want them bothering us.’
‘I don’t, love. I want them to stay far away. I’m a man who prefers to follow what interests me without interference.’
‘I like this brandy.’ Feeling jumpy, she drank again. ‘Where do those four-legged kids of ours go when they sneak off upstairs?’
Tony coughed and shifted to rest his head against her thigh. ‘To bed. At least that’s what I assume. They probably like mine – it’s got the best mattress. I bet they’re flaked out on my comforter hoping we don’t disturb them too soon.’
There was no point pretending she didn’t know how she was reacting. Even to the sensation of his head against her leg. So where and how did they go from here? ‘Being comfortable with someone you trust is appealing,’ she said. Now that was subtle.
‘Mmm.’
He put his glass on the hearth and settled back against her.
To Alex his breathing sounded regular – like a man drifting asleep. If he wasn’t already asleep.
Damn him! She wasn’t going to sleep. The brandy was good and she swallowed some more. Would it be so bad to drift off like this, comfortable, confident in the rightness of just being together?
Tears welled in her eyes and she clamped her eyes shut. Women were always silly. They wanted things tidy, put away in drawers, settled.
His head grew heavier and her tears went away. This was good. Tomorrow all hell would break loose again and it would be back to murder and the horrors attached to it. For now, being together and relaxed should be enough.
Alex touched his head.
Tony didn’t move.
She ran her fingers through his hair, stroked it, and bent to place a cautious kiss on the windswept curls. He smelled of pine and cedar and the outdoors. Under her lips, his hair was alive.
Alex smiled against his temple, kissed him there and bent over to cradle him more comfortably.
Dark blue eyes snapped wide open, as if he had been lying in wait. She felt more than saw his smile. And she felt his arm snake up around her neck, his other arm take her weight as he swung her around him until she landed on the rug, resting against his knees, his face inches from hers.
And then not even air separated their mouths.
TEN
The dogs capered and dashed around one another like puppies. They hadn’t been pleased when Tony moved them from his to another bedroom after they had settled in for a long nap, but neither had they done anything to disturb a memorable night afterward.
Squinting against the rain, he trudged across the empty, wet field next to his house, looking up at his bedroom window as he went. Why would he expect to see anything? If he’d had any hopes of seeing Alex there waving at him, he was an ass. OK, so he was an ass.
The Land Rover was still in the driveway and she wouldn’t leave on foot or without Bogie. That was a hopeful sign. Not that Alex was the type to run from a potentially awkward encounter.
He could play the night’s scenes over and over in his head with no effort. He’d been doing that since Katie woke him up by licking the foot he’d carelessly left trailing from beneath the covers. In truth a good deal of both Alex and his own naked bodies trailed from the twisted sheets but he’d covered her carefully before leaving with the dogs before eight.
Covering her was a shame. She looked as lovely as he’d expected, just as she was – and if the dogs hadn’t been nipping at him, he would probably have woken Alex and started saying a lot of things he might regret later.
Or he might not … regret anything at all that he might say …
The rain hadn’t stopped. In fact it grew ever heavier. Katie and Bogie galloped for the back door where Tony had dropped a couple of large towels in the porch as they left.
Both dogs panted and flipped this way and that as he did his best to dry them off. When they started a wild shaking of fur, he covered his face.
For once he’d remembered to lock the door as he went out. The sounds and warmth that met him in the kitchen let him know that rather than trying to leave, Alex was making breakfast.
Breathing wasn’t so easy.
‘Were they good dogs?’ she asked as if this was part of a daily ritual. ‘Hang up your things and have coffee.’
He didn’t usually have difficulty coming up with an answer. This wasn’t a usual time. He shed his coat, took a towel to his wet hair and rubbed hard, and hopped back and forth taking off his boots.
Alex flitted about the kitchen as if she had used it many times, rather than this being her first venture into his culinary quarters. Coffee bubbled, mugs with hot water inside to warm them sat beside the carafe and she beat eggs in a bowl. ‘Do you take cream?’
‘I think you know I do,’ he said, raking his hair away from his face. ‘Just like you.’
She tossed out water from the mugs, poured coffee and added cream. ‘Mmm. Smells wonderful. I’m making scrambled eggs. You don’t have any bacon but I couldn’t resist the Cotswold Farmers sausages – unless you’d rather have something else.’
He’d rather have her, but it probably wasn’t a wise move to say so. ‘That’ll be great but you don’t have to cook for me. I’m used to doing it myself. I could cook for you.’
‘Shut up and sit down, dopey. I like to feel domesticated now and then. Something bothered me while you were gone. Do you believe the police could have found Jay Gibbon so quickly? He said they called him.’
‘They could have.’
‘But it would have happened so fast. I don’t know, but I’d like to find out if he was the one who called in, not the other way around. And if so, how did he know about Pamela’s death? It wasn’t in any papers yet, was it? How could it be? Hugh would have said if the reporters at the Dog got anything useful from Kev Winslet. I’m not suggesting they’d say no to a juicy piece of information but Kev couldn’t have known the police were looking for relatives, not for sure.’
‘I don’t know. It could have been on TV or the radio.’
Alex said, ‘I’m sure we would have heard about it by now, but not last night when supposedly no one knew anything. I’d like to ask the dynamic duo about that.’
‘Let’s keep it to ourselves and see how it works out.’
‘You really do mean Duggins and Harrison are on the job, don’t you? That surprises me.’ She gave him his coffee and went back to beating the eggs. She dropped bread into the toaster and rolled fat sausages in a pan. ‘I’ve been thinking of trying to construct our own chart. You know, a wheel or something on a big piece of paper. We could add to it as we come up with more things.’
‘Like a story wheel,’ he said.
She nodded, yes. ‘Do you like mustard with your sausages? You’ve got Coleman’s. Or brown sauce – there’s HP, and some catsup.’
‘Just Coleman’s, thanks.’
‘Marmalade with your toast?’
‘No thanks. Let’s not talk about all that stuff now,’ he said, feeling a little heat in his neck. ‘So, how do you think it worked. Were we good?’
‘What?’ She was pink and not from cooking.
‘You said we were going to find out whether or not we were good lovers. When we were on our way here you said that. So, what do you think?’
‘I think you’re amazing.’
‘Thank you.’
She barely stopped herself from pouring the eggs on the stove rather than into the pan. The sausages spat madly and the toast, still half-cooked, flew out of the toaster.
He did feel both sheepish and a bit of a smart mouth. ‘I should have told you about the toaster. You have to hold the button down with one hand, then keep the other over the top so the bread doesn’t fly away. You were amazing, too, Alex. I didn’t want it to stop – ever. Well, breaks to catch your breath are necessary, but …’
Staring at him over her shoulder, Alex’s eyes warned him to stop talking.
‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘I’m rusty at … just a bit rusty.’
‘To clarify, I think it’s amazing for you to bring up a careless comment I made hours ago. I was embarrassed and confused.’ The toast went back in the toaster, she risked taking a hand away to stir the eggs and gave the sausages a quick turn.
‘Is that why you’re still babbling about anything but the obvious? Oh, God! Sorry.’
Keeping one finger on the toaster button, she gave the eggs another good stir and took the sausages off the heat. At least she didn’t bang things when she was mad – or worse yet, throw something.
He thought she was seething. Of course she was seething.
What an idiot he was. ‘Look, love, I’m messing everything up. Being with you was wonderful.’
Clattering of dishes and utensils filled up what would be silence – except for the battering rain on the windows. Both dogs had slunk out of the kitchen. They didn’t need banging pots to sense tension.
Alex piled toast on a plate, put it on the table with some butter, served the rest of the food and walked around the table. She put her own dish down next to Tony’s place but continued to hold his in her right hand. ‘It’s good to know I’m not the only one who feels as if she’s just skydived and wonders if the shoot will open.’
The plate settled in front of him and Alex kissed him lightly on the forehead.
‘Wait,’ he said when she started to sit down. He got up, wrapped her tightly enough in his arms to make her gasp for breath, and kissed her, hard, long and with a sensation he was tipping over an edge he must back away from, at least for now. And he paused before kissing her again.
They both pushed away, but reluctantly, and sat down.
‘Eat,’ Alex said in a voice that cracked. ‘I’m glad. That’s all I want to say for now.’
‘But—’
‘I’ve got an idea.’
‘Beginner’s luck.’ He couldn’t seem to stop his inane comebacks.
She ignored him. ‘If anyone will be picking up chatter on the rumor mill it’ll be Harriet and Mary. I’d like to go and see them after you drop me off. I think they’ve got some books for me to look at anyway.’
‘This is good,’ Tony said. He had become used to fending for himself. ‘Funny how much better food tastes when it’s cooked for you.’
‘Right. And if it’s well cooked it doesn’t hurt.’
‘I should say so! That’s what I meant really. I’d like to come with you to Leaves of Comfort, if you don’t mind. Radhika will be in by now. I’ll call and make sure there aren’t any emergencies. She’s doing the office stuff today and I’m not due up at the Derwinters until late this afternoon. If your scruffy fur boy’s having any problems, I’ll have to go check him out.’
Leaves of Comfort was the Burke’s tea and book shop. The name infuriated Harriet.
Alex passed Tony her phone. ‘Check on him now, please. And he’s not scruffy. You’ll see, he’ll be beautiful.’
‘You have to find him a home.’ His own phone was in his pocket but he decided against pulling it out.
Her scowl was unnerving. ‘I know that. You don’t have to keep on about it. I’ll get those posters up around Folly.’
A fresh burst of wind and rain thrashed a branch against the windows. They both glanced around. ‘This is one mean year for weather,’ he said and dialed his clinic number.
‘Radhika still sounds upset,’ he said after he ended the call. ‘She didn’t mention Pamela but I think she’d been crying again. All clear at the clinic. Tomorrow is a clinic day and it’ll be busy. And our patient is doing very well. He’s nosing around the cottage – a bit wobbly still, but mending fast. He’s eaten, probably more than he should, and doesn’t seem interested in trying to get outside. Soon he can go home.’
‘Poor boy, all he wants is someone to love him and a safe, warm home where he’ll get fed.’
‘Like Lime Tree Lodge?’ he said with a grin.
‘No! Of course not. I can’t manage another animal but I will find someone for him.’
Her phone rang and he handed it over. She looked at the read out and raised her eyebrows. ‘Good morning, Harriet and Mary,’ Alex said as if both women were on the phone. ‘Um, no, it isn’t good afternoon yet. And it won’t be today. What can I do for you?’
She put a hand over the mouthpiece and said, ‘Speak of the devil.’
‘Yes, Harriet, my car is still at the Black Dog, but how do you know that?’ Her brow furrowed but she looked amused and took a moment for a mouthful of what had to be cold coffee. Tony got up to reheat the pot.
‘Of course not,’ Alex said. ‘I wouldn’t dream of asking you for names but you can tell me later. I’m, er, Tony and I are coming to see you if that’s all right.’
A long pause followed. ‘Really? People do like to gossip, don’t they? Looking forward to seeing you. Bye.’
�
�I’ll top you up with some hot coffee,’ Tony said, filling her mug. ‘What’s got you looking so thoughtful?’
‘Mostly trying to figure out how I feel about being the object of … um, speculation, will do. My Land Rover was at the Dog all night but I wasn’t. You and I were seen leaving together. The gossip mongers have been very busy.’
‘I don’t know about you,’ Tony said, pouring more coffee for himself, ‘but I’m not going to their place to be grilled about our private business.’
‘They may aim a few smug and knowing smiles in our direction, but evidently it’s Vivian Seabrook they want to talk about. Word is that she hasn’t been seen or heard from in Folly since last night after she left the Dog. She’s not at home and she didn’t show up at the Derwinters for work. They said this is the first time she’s missed a day.’
ELEVEN
Behind two royal blue front doors, one originally the entrance to a single row cottage on Pond Street, the other to the cottage next door, the Burke sisters’ Leaves of Comfort waited, warm, fragrant and ready to serve the best afternoon teas for miles around. Or it would be in a couple of hours.
Tony opened the car door for Alex and she hopped out. They’d dropped the two dogs at Corner Cottage with Lily. Prepared for questions, Alex had been grateful when her mum took the animals in with nothing more than a smile and a ‘See you later. We’ll probably be across the road.’ She meant she would take the dogs to the pub when she went to work.
What could possibly make a woman feel more tightly strung than she already did, Alex wondered. The past couple of days came and went from her mind in vivid bursts. And mixed up feelings followed in their wake.
‘Alex?’
She started and said, ‘Yes?’ He must have said something she didn’t hear. ‘I was miles away.’
Out Comes the Evil Page 7