lives moved in differentdirections, they’d exchanged a word on the phone here, an email there. He’d never hit it off with Rodney, so contact dwindled. Maybe over the years his sister changed from the girl he’d known, without his even realising it.
Should he mention that he was going to meet Hannah Scarlett? He was tempted not to say a word. He could see Hannah while Miranda and Louise were assuming the lotus position and they would be none the wiser. But it wasn’t as if he had a guilty secret to conceal.
He broke the news while the three of them walked around the tarn, but Louise wasn’t impressed. ‘Oh, Daniel, why don’t you let it go? This constant harking back, it doesn’t do any good.’
He wondered about reminding her that she’d often spoken of his father’s betrayal, she hadn’t let that go. But he decided against it.
‘I’m a historian,’ he said, picking up a pebble and skimming it over the surface of the water. ‘Harking back is what I do.’
‘Stop being a clever clogs.’ How many times had he heard her say that during his teens? ‘You know exactly what I mean. I don’t mean to seem harsh, Daniel, but Dad is dead. Picking over the past with his old sergeant won’t change anything.’
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Miranda said, ‘I don’t think that’s his only motive for seeing Hannah Scarlett.’
He felt his throat drying, but her expression was amused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s the detective thing, isn’t it? Louise was telling me that before you took up history, you wanted to be a cop, just like your old man.’
‘I was ten years old.’
‘But you’ve never lost it, have you? That’s why youwrote the book. You’re obsessed with doing justice to history. That’s why you’re so keen on talking to a cold case detective. You think her line of business is pretty much the same as yours.’
Louise rolled her eyes. ‘Well, Daniel, is she right?’
He thought about it. ‘Yes, I suppose she is.’
During the dead hours between lunch and dinner, Kirsty’s habit was to hang around at The Heights rather than going home. Any chance to spend time with Oliver was worth seizing and Bel didn’t mind slipping her a few extra quid for making herself useful. Today was different. The Croatian girls were embroiled in a noisy tug of war over some boyfriend, and Bel asked Oliver to nip over to Ambleside to pick up a set of new menu folders.
Kirsty watched from the corridor as Bel patted his rump and then stuck her tongue down his throat as they shared a parting embrace. Oliver didn’t even seem embarrassed, though surely he must be cringing inside. Bel wasn’t young or fresh any more, the skin of her neck was definitely loosening; so sad to see a middle-aged woman pretending she was still in her twenties. Kirsty stifled an urge to sob and set off home.
When she arrived back, her mother’s big black SUV was parked in the drive. Kirsty hesitated on the doorstep. Should she ask about the latest anonymous letter? She didn’t want to tell her mother about the message sent to her. Too embarrassing. Yet how could she sleep, not knowing what the letter-writer had said to Mum? Clenching her fist, she told herself that it would be stupid to keep her mouth shut, for fear of what she might be told. Go for it .
Tina Howe was sitting on a high stool next to thebreakfast bar, munching an apple while she checked her post. Her skirt showed off her bare legs, her top was even more revealing than Kirsty’s waitressing garb. The old, old story: whatever Kirsty tried to do, Mum always did it better.
‘Hello, stranger.’
Tina looked up from a gas bill. ‘Isn’t that what parents are supposed to say to children? Before long, you’ll be complaining that I treat this place like a hotel.’
‘Don’t tell me you’re denying it?’
‘Well…I have been very busy lately.’
‘Oh, yes?’
Tina tossed the apple core into the bin. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t want to be a
Should he mention that he was going to meet Hannah Scarlett? He was tempted not to say a word. He could see Hannah while Miranda and Louise were assuming the lotus position and they would be none the wiser. But it wasn’t as if he had a guilty secret to conceal.
He broke the news while the three of them walked around the tarn, but Louise wasn’t impressed. ‘Oh, Daniel, why don’t you let it go? This constant harking back, it doesn’t do any good.’
He wondered about reminding her that she’d often spoken of his father’s betrayal, she hadn’t let that go. But he decided against it.
‘I’m a historian,’ he said, picking up a pebble and skimming it over the surface of the water. ‘Harking back is what I do.’
‘Stop being a clever clogs.’ How many times had he heard her say that during his teens? ‘You know exactly what I mean. I don’t mean to seem harsh, Daniel, but Dad is dead. Picking over the past with his old sergeant won’t change anything.’
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Miranda said, ‘I don’t think that’s his only motive for seeing Hannah Scarlett.’
He felt his throat drying, but her expression was amused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s the detective thing, isn’t it? Louise was telling me that before you took up history, you wanted to be a cop, just like your old man.’
‘I was ten years old.’
‘But you’ve never lost it, have you? That’s why youwrote the book. You’re obsessed with doing justice to history. That’s why you’re so keen on talking to a cold case detective. You think her line of business is pretty much the same as yours.’
Louise rolled her eyes. ‘Well, Daniel, is she right?’
He thought about it. ‘Yes, I suppose she is.’
During the dead hours between lunch and dinner, Kirsty’s habit was to hang around at The Heights rather than going home. Any chance to spend time with Oliver was worth seizing and Bel didn’t mind slipping her a few extra quid for making herself useful. Today was different. The Croatian girls were embroiled in a noisy tug of war over some boyfriend, and Bel asked Oliver to nip over to Ambleside to pick up a set of new menu folders.
Kirsty watched from the corridor as Bel patted his rump and then stuck her tongue down his throat as they shared a parting embrace. Oliver didn’t even seem embarrassed, though surely he must be cringing inside. Bel wasn’t young or fresh any more, the skin of her neck was definitely loosening; so sad to see a middle-aged woman pretending she was still in her twenties. Kirsty stifled an urge to sob and set off home.
When she arrived back, her mother’s big black SUV was parked in the drive. Kirsty hesitated on the doorstep. Should she ask about the latest anonymous letter? She didn’t want to tell her mother about the message sent to her. Too embarrassing. Yet how could she sleep, not knowing what the letter-writer had said to Mum? Clenching her fist, she told herself that it would be stupid to keep her mouth shut, for fear of what she might be told. Go for it .
Tina Howe was sitting on a high stool next to thebreakfast bar, munching an apple while she checked her post. Her skirt showed off her bare legs, her top was even more revealing than Kirsty’s waitressing garb. The old, old story: whatever Kirsty tried to do, Mum always did it better.
‘Hello, stranger.’
Tina looked up from a gas bill. ‘Isn’t that what parents are supposed to say to children? Before long, you’ll be complaining that I treat this place like a hotel.’
‘Don’t tell me you’re denying it?’
‘Well…I have been very busy lately.’
‘Oh, yes?’
Tina tossed the apple core into the bin. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t want to be a
Similar Books
