Lies to Tell
Page 29
Clare smiled. ‘I’d like that very much.’
He looked down at her free hand and, very gently, he took hold of it.
Clare watched as he began tracing a pattern across her fingers with his thumb and she sat for a moment enjoying the sensation.
‘And maybe,’ he went on, breaking the spell, ‘I mean once you’re feeling better, maybe we could do something? Go out, somewhere? Just if you want to, of course…’
She noticed he was avoiding her eye, as he continued exploring her fingers with his.
‘And your garden…’ he said, glancing at her empty shirt sleeve. ‘I was thinking – you’re not going to be able to do any gardening for most of the summer. So, I could come over – cut your grass, do a bit of weeding, that sort of thing. God knows, it needs someone to sort it out.’ He broke off, as though he had run out of things to say, and he raised his gaze to meet hers. Those blue eyes again.
‘I think I’d like that,’ she said.
The door was pushed open again and a nurse stood in the doorway. ‘You’re going to be spoiled for choice today,’ she said.
Clare glanced at the DCI then back at the nurse for an explanation.
‘Two handsome lads vying to take you home, Clare. Now how often do we see that?’ And she stood back to let a suntanned Geoffrey Dark walk into the room.
‘Clare!’ he cried, striding across to her. Clare immediately let the DCI’s hand slip from hers.
He rose awkwardly and moved back to allow Geoffrey to greet Clare.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ he said. ‘I’ve been so worried.’
Clare gaped at him. ‘But how did you know…’
‘Jude telephoned me on Friday night. It’s the start of summer recess and I was planning a trip up into Canada but, as soon as I heard, I jumped on the next plane. Oh Clare…’ He sat down next to her and took her gently in his arms, avoiding her broken arm. ‘I’m so sorry, my darling. What you’ve been through.’
The DCI was hovering awkwardly near the door and Clare hurried to introduce the two men. They shook hands and Geoffrey said how good it was to meet Clare’s boss.
‘You must have been so worried about her,’ he said to the DCI, and Alastair Gibson nodded.
He indicated the door and, with one eye on Geoffrey, he said, ‘Maybe I should go, Clare…’
Clare looked at him. ‘No, please stay,’ she said. ‘I mean, I’d like you to…’
A nurse bustled in, a pile of clean linen in her arms. ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I thought these handsome gents had taken you home.’ She smiled at Clare. ‘So who’s the lucky chap then? Which one gets to drive you, Clare?’
Clare looked from one to the other.
Which one indeed?
And, for the first time in her life, she had absolutely no idea what to do next.
Acknowledgements
As ever, I am indebted to a growing band of friends whose technical knowledge has been invaluable. In particular I would like to thank Alan Rankin, Angela Nurse, Donald Jenks, Richard Renwick, Tom Darbyshire, McIsabel and, of course, my amazing family, Iain, Stuart, Kenneth and Peter. Your requests for a share of royalties have been noted…
To my wonderful editor, Louise Cullen, who makes every single word better, and to her lovely colleagues Fran and Siân, my most grateful thanks. Thanks also to Deborah Blake for her skilled copy-editing and for bearing with the fact that I cannot spell focused! And to Hannah Weatherill, my incredible agent who fields my long emails with such patience, a very special thank you.
Finally, my apologies once more to the residents of St Andrews for bringing murder and mayhem to their streets. And I hope Police Scotland will forgive the ills I have done them in this book. In my defence, I did give you DI Clare Mackay to sort it out.
Detective Clare Mackay
See Them Run
In Plain Sight
Lies to Tell
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First published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
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Copyright © Marion Todd, 2020
The moral right of Marion Todd to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788637497
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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