Trowchester Blues 01 - Trowchester Blues

Trowchester Blues 01 - Trowchester Blues by Alex Beecroft

Book: Trowchester Blues 01 - Trowchester Blues by Alex Beecroft Read Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Beecroft
preemptively. I meant it. I meant it. No more.
    He pushed Benny back down the stairs. “Get. Out. Of. My. Fucking. House.”
    “Ooh, I’m—”
    “So scared.” Lisa gave a grunt of effort and a moment later came the thud and crack and tinkle of ten pounds of glass hitting the floor.
    Finn saw red. Before he knew what he was doing, his fist was in Benny’s teeth, and that fucking hurt, damn it, but Benny recoiled with a shout, sounding flabbergasted and betrayed.
    Lisa came tearing out of the room at the sound of it, gaped at Benny’s split lip, and gave Finn a glare that was like being splashed in the face with vitriol. “You fucking whore. Benny, you okay?”
    “Yes. I think we should—” Benny backed towards the door, dabbing at the flow of blood from his mouth.
    “Come back later,” said Lisa darkly, ushering him tenderly out. She paused on the step to look Finn up and down. It was like being eyed by a starving wolf. “You don’t get to say yes to Briggs and no to us,” she said. “And you don’t get to hurt Benny. We may be going away right now, but this ain’t over. Is that clear?”
    He shut the door in her face. But yes, it was crystal clear.

“Come in, come in.” Mrs. Li opened the door to him with a beaming smile. Michael was instantly glad he’d taken the time to root through the boxes of his possessions that had arrived this morning and find his suit, because she was very smart indeed in a soft-pink mohair twinset and a pair of Harris Tweed slacks.
    “Thanks,” he said, and offered the requisite bottle of wine and bunch of flowers. He knew very little about wine, but the guy at the shop had said it was a good one, which would have to be enough. He offered a nervous smile back, trying to be on his best behaviour, but not sure what was expected of him.
    “Oh, you shouldn’t!” She took them from him with pleasure, ducking her head to sniff at the roses as he had a good look around the hall and noticed the shelf of shoes by the door.
    Coming up from the flowers, she caught his eye and nodded at him. “You can leave your shoes there and then come through. I’ll just put these in some water.”
    As he was unlacing the second shoe, she returned, offered him a pair of white slippers, and guided him straight through into the dining room, where a man and a youth stood up to greet him.
    “This is my husband, Aiguo, and my child Tai. And you should call me Lian.”
    He shook hands, resisting the impulse to peer at Tai’s throat. They were as androgynous a person as it was possible to get. Longish spiky hair that would have suited an anime hero or a rock chick alike, a faint tracing of eye shadow on a face that was beautiful no matter which way you leaned. Flat chest, narrow wrists. He caught himself trying to guess again and firmly drew a line through his curiosity. The kid had obviously put a lot of thought into not letting their body dictate how others saw them. Michael knew enough to leave it at that.
    “Michael,” he said. “Michael May. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
    “Sit, please.” Mr. Li drew out a chair for him opposite the door, while Mrs. Li bustled in and out, setting a dozen different dishes on the lazy Susan in the centre of the table. She put a bowl of white rice down in front of him, filled his glass with something that smelled like alcohol but about which he was too ignorant to go any further. Then she settled into her own seat and sighed.
    Mr. Li raised his glass. “To new neighbours,” and when they had all drunk, Michael gathered from the expectant gazes that it was his turn.
    “To friends.”
    A certain air of relaxation entered the room.
    Aiguo leaned forwards onto his elbows. “Please, start.” And as Michael took a dab from each bowl and laid it on top of his rice, he said, “I was very pleased to hear that the house next door was no longer empty. Your father and I, well. Maybe we didn’t have the best of relationships, but I was sorry to hear of his

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