Noah had made himself comfortable on Olivia’s pretty lemon duvet, legs outstretched as he leant back against the mound of cushions on top of the pillows (what was the thing with women and cushions?) and was making a fuss of the cat, who was sprawled on his lap, when Olivia walked into the room. She used her foot to push the door shut, before passing him his beer, then set her glass of wine down on the bedside table and flopped down on her back beside him, startling the cat, who bolted off his lap and under the bed.
‘Sorry, Luna.’ She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing them with the heels of her hands.
‘So, Gary Lamb.’
Her eyes immediately opened. ‘You know his name?’
‘It’s all over the news, Liv.’ He took a drink of his beer as he studied her, not bothering to point out that he had already been looking into the man. She had been through a lot these last few days and the stress was showing in her pale face. That she hadn’t been sleeping properly was clear in the dark smudges beneath her eyes. He decided to tread carefully. ‘You said you knew him?’
‘We went to school together.’
‘Friends?’
‘He was a mean little shit, so no, we weren’t friends.’ Olivia sat up, picked up her wine and took a sip, and he could see her mind working overtime. ‘It makes no sense. We went to the same school, shared a couple of classes, but we didn’t hang out together or anything. Why me? What am I supposed to have done that got Gary killed?’
‘Nothing ever happened at school? Nothing that involved Gary, or you even?’
‘No. Like I said, he was a mean bully. Always picking on the weaker kids, showing off and trying to get a laugh at their expense, but it was standard high school stuff.’
‘And you never saw him after school? Didn’t run into him in any pubs or clubs? Your paths never crossed?’
‘I don’t think so.’ She frowned. ‘I guess we probably crossed each other’s paths on nights out, but I don’t specifically remember.’
‘What about mutual friends? Did you have any of those?’
‘I don’t remember. Maybe. What would that have to do with it? I left school fifteen years ago.’
‘Humour me, okay? I’m trying to figure out a link.’
‘You’re pretty intense when you go into cop mode.’
A brief smile touched Noah’s lips. Intense had never been a word his superiors in the force had used to describe him. Reckless, insubordinate, cocky; those words had all been thrown around before he’d made the decision to leave the police, but never intense. Intense was better suited to his dad. The colonel had been a stickler for rules. Moving from country to country and school to school, rules had been a way of life and Noah had rebelled against every single one of them.
‘So no mutual friends, at all?’ he pressed, ignoring her comment.
‘Hold on, I’m thinking.’ Olivia was frowning again, creasing the two little lines between her eyebrows, her lips pursed. ‘Fern, I guess would be the only link.’
‘Fern?’
‘Fern St Clair. We went to school together… used to be friends. She had a thing with Gary’s best mate, Howard, for a while.’
‘When did you last see her?’
‘Crikey, I don’t think I’ve seen her since we left school.’
‘Anyone else?’
‘By process of elimination, Janice Hardesty. She followed Fern everywhere, loved it when Fern and I fell out.’
‘Why did you fall out?’
‘I really don’t see how any of this is relevant.’
‘Just answer the question.’
Olivia huffed a little and shifted her position, lying down again so her head was resting in his lap. ‘She wasn’t a particularly nice person. After she was pretty awful to another friend of mine, I cooled the friendship.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Are we done talking about her? I haven’t seen her in years and she’s not someone I really want to spend my Friday night thinking about.’
Fern St Clair and Janice Hardesty. Noah committed both names to memory, as he played with the ends of Olivia’s hair. ‘What was Howard’s last name?’
‘What? Why…’ When he raised his eyebrows, she rolled her eyes in defeat. ‘Peck. Are you done now or do you want to know what Gary used to have for school dinners?’
‘We’re done.’
‘Good, because honestly, I just want to put this really crappy week behind me.’
‘I’m happy to help you with that.’
Her grey-blue eyes widened at his suggestion and he recognised the struggle behind them as need battled wariness. Something kept holding her back, but as of yet, he hadn’t managed to get to the bottom of it. Reminding himself that he could be patient, he shifted her weight and adjusted his position, dipping his head to softly, chastely, kiss her on the mouth. She tasted of the wine she had been sipping, her lips warm and inviting. When she relaxed into the kiss, he deepened it. Not too fast, not too aggressive, his hand cupping her face then easing back into her hair, wrapping his fingers around it and tugging gently.
Slow and steady, letting her set the pace. Responding with just light strokes and gentle kisses as she hugged him closer, then broke away from his mouth to nibble at his neck, her fingers moving up into his hair. Need intensified, his hand slipping lower and creeping beneath her jumper, finding warm flesh.
Olivia froze against him, her hand clamping around his wrist. ‘No.’
He paused, bit down on the frustration, and carefully removed his hand, freed it from her grip, and pulled away from her, sitting back up on the bed and running his fingers back through his hair. ‘Okay, so are we going to talk about this?’
Smoothing down her jumper, she refused to make eye contact with him, so he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently raised her head so she had no choice. ‘Come on. Talk to me, Liv. If this isn’t working out for you, I deserve to know.’
Something was eating at her. She was a thirty-one-year-old woman, who had been in a long-term relationship, and she had always struck him as easy-going and comfortable in her own skin.
‘No,’ she appeared horrified at the suggestion she wasn’t attracted to him. ‘It’s not that. It’s…’ She swallowed hard, eased away from him, reaching for her wine glass and taking a couple of large sips. Putting it down again, she hugged her knees to her chest, eyed him warily. ‘There’s something I need to tell you. I haven’t been honest with you.’
Noah’s heart thumped at that. He thought he knew her, but was now questioning just how well. ‘Okay, go on.’
Olivia hesitated, seeming unsure how to begin. As she searched for the right words, a loud crash came from below, followed by a piercing scream.
Her eyes widened. ‘Molly.’
Noah was already off the bed, heading towards the door, could hear Olivia behind him. They found Molly in the kitchen, wide-eyed and pale-faced, blood pouring from a gash in her arm.
‘Jesus, you’re bleeding.’ Olivia pushed past Noah, grabbed a tea towel, pressing it to the wound.
‘What the hell happened?’
Molly stared at Noah, none of the usual animosity in her eyes. He recognised fear.
‘There was someone outside.’
‘What do you mean outside? Outside where?’
‘In the back garden. I went out to the bin, didn’t see him till he knocked into me.’ She glanced at Olivia. ‘I’m sorry, I was scared and he startled me. I broke the wine bottle. There’s glass everywhere.’
‘Oh God, I don’t care about stupid glass.’
Leaving Olivia to tend to Molly’s wound, Noah flicked the switch for the outdoor light and let himself out of the back door. It was freezing outside, a frost already settling on the ground. The back garden was enclosed, the gate that led to the front swinging open. He stepped through into the driveway, checked the front of the house, certain whoever it was had long gone. Still, after he closed the gate, he did a quick sweep of the back garden before going back inside.
Olivia had fetched antiseptic cream and dressing, and was tending to Molly’s wound, while Molly sat at the kitchen table, sipping at a glass of water. She still looked a little shook up and he could see that she had been crying.
‘Does she need to go to A&E?’
‘It looks worse than it is,’ Olivia told him. ‘A lot of blood, but it’s not too deep. Did you see anyone?’
He shook his head, locking the door. ‘Whoever it was is long gone. Are you going to report it?’
‘Do you think it’s connected?’
Molly glanced between them. ‘Connected to what?’
‘Umm…’ Realising she had tripped up, Olivia looked to Noah in panic.
‘There’ve been a spate of burglaries in Salhouse,’ he told Molly, the lie rolling smoothly off his tongue. ‘I’ve picked up quite a bit of work off the back of it.’
‘Oh. Livvy never mentioned anything.’
‘Sorry, Molly. I’ve been a little preoccupied.’
‘Speak with your police contact tomorrow,’ Noah suggested to Olivia. ‘He can pass any information on to the right people.’
‘Do you think this could have anything to do with what happened to Gary Lamb?’ Molly’s eyes were wide and she looked scared.
‘Why would you think that?’
‘Well, it’s a bit of a coincidence, you finding him the way you did and now this happening tonight.’ Molly’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘What if the person who killed Gary saw you in the house? What if they decide to come after you because you’re a loose end?’
‘That’s not going to happen.’ Molly might have had a scare, but Noah could see that her words were freaking out Olivia. ‘I seriously doubt what happened tonight is connected. It was probably just kids messing around.’
‘You said burglars.’
‘Well, kids, burglars, but nothing more sinister.’ He glanced at Olivia, held eye contact for a moment. They both knew Molly’s theory, while wrong, was far too close to the truth. ‘I can stay here tonight if you want. On the sofa,’ he added, when Olivia opened her mouth to protest.
That conversation they had been having upstairs would have to wait.
‘You don’t have to do that. We’ll be fine.’
‘Okay, well the offer is there.’
‘Honestly, we’re good. We’ll make sure all the doors and windows are locked, put on a movie, open another bottle of wine.’ Olivia finished dressing Molly’s arm, found a smile for him. Noah suspected she was putting on a brave front for her lodger. ‘Nothing to worry about at all.’
