Wind buffeted Tony’s Land Rover on the way up the hill to the area at the top where both he and Alex had houses, in a shallow, bowl-shaped valley known as the Dimple. Light rain on the windscreen made the wipers squeal.
‘They could hardly wait to get us out of there,’ Alex said, laughing a little. ‘I don’t think Dan cares that much. He sees us as on the side of right, but Bill seems to want to brand us as Potential Enemy Number One.’
Tony pulled a chamois from the cubby and wiped condensation from the inside of the windscreen. ‘Don’t be fooled. Neither of them wanted us there after Jay Gibbon arrived. Strange none of us knew he even existed. Did you think it was funny for him to rush over like that when he obviously had no bond with Pamela? That’s a rhetorical question, I could be wrong but don’t you think the man could be sniffing around in case there was a provision for him after Pamela’s death?’
‘We’ll have to wait and see how things line up. Maybe we should ask a few questions about Pamela’s relationship with her stepson – who looks older than she did.’ She twisted toward him in her seat. ‘If there is something significant for him in the will – either left over from Charles Gibbon’s estate, or directly from Pamela’s will, if she made one. You know what that could mean.’
‘True.’ Tony glanced at her. ‘Sounds like a case for Duggins and Harrison.’ He laughed. ‘We should probably stay out of it or we’ll have our detectives on our backs.’
Settling her head back, Alex considered what had happened so far. ‘I know I should be tougher, but this scared me. It feels as if there are things moving where I can’t see them. It’s hard to explain. I don’t think this is going to turn out to be anything simple. Do you?’
He took his time answering. ‘Uh uh. I don’t, but like you, I have no idea why. We could step back and just answer the questions they’re bound to ask.’
‘Surely we could. We’re going to do that – more or less. I won’t suggest we overstep the bounds – not too much, anyway – but this all came our way and we can’t pretend we don’t have a responsibility to help if we can.’
Tony didn’t say anything and when she glanced at him she was surprised to see him grinning. ‘What? What’s funny?’
‘Nothing except I think I read you very well. You’d have shocked me if you’d said anything else. But there’s a lot here that could be very dangerous. This is murder. I want it to be the only murder in this case.’
Alex drove her clenched hands into her middle. ‘Me too.’
‘Then we have to be careful. And I don’t want you scared, love. I’ll make sure you’re OK.’
Oddly, all he had to do was say he was in charge and she felt better – which amused her. ‘We’ll look out for each other,’ she said. ‘That’s fair.’ Women’s equality being sabotaged from the inside? Not at all. She was an independent person who happened to enjoy the notion of a big, strong, take-charge bloke … occasionally.
They passed the entrance to Lime Tree Lodge, its tall gateposts topped by griffons. Alex had bought the big, plain house when she’d first returned to Folly-on-Weir after her divorce. The grounds had been the most attractive feature but she’d done a lot to make the inside of the house charming.
When she first came back to Folly-on-Weir she also bought Corner Cottage for her mother who had always loved the place. They remained happy with their choices.
‘Are you sure it’s not too late for me—’
‘Absolutely sure,’ Tony cut in. ‘And you promised. I know you don’t break promises.’
She didn’t, but … ‘Tomorrow could be a really difficult day for both of us.’
The Land Rover slowed a little. ‘Would you prefer to go home, Alex? I don’t want to think I forced you to come with me.’
Alex knew how she felt and why. ‘I’m coming with you and you’re not forcing me. I think it’s about time we worked out a few things about ourselves – or us, I suppose, the two of us. I want to be with you. It just seems funny somehow and I’m a chicken about uncertain situations.’
He settled back to a regular speed and didn’t say anything for several moments. ‘I think we should have … sheesh, we’ve taken a hell of a long time to give ourselves a chance to see if we’re ever going to be more than friends. Not that I’m complaining,’ he finished in a hurry. ‘And you’re anything but a chicken, about anything.’
She leaned across to rest her head on his shoulder. ‘I’m not complaining either. But who wants to pass up a chance for – cripes, I don’t know where I’m going with this. I’d better shut up. Let’s just get home and warm up. You wouldn’t think it was almost spring.’
‘Sounds good to me, especially the things you say that include both of us. If you don’t fall asleep on me, I’d like us to discuss us.’
Alex straightened in her seat again. ‘We’re both gun-shy, Tony. And why wouldn’t we be? What we have is good. I don’t want to lose it and … I don’t know what to say. Except I’d hate to think of losing your friendship.’
‘I don’t think you could. Not if we make a pact to be friends whatever happens. Let’s face it, we’ve got some pretty strong stuff that binds us together.’
He was right about that but she didn’t say so. ‘Your house doesn’t have a name.’ They turned in at the entrance to the most beautiful gardens in the area as far as Alex was concerned. ‘Ever thought of coming up with something brilliant?’
‘No.’ He drove down the driveway and swept around in front of the very large building. ‘I still wonder why I bought such a big place. I know I love the grounds but they are a pain to maintain and I can only find time to do just so much myself.’
‘I love the gardens,’ Alex said. Then she closed her mouth and held her hands tightly together in her lap.
Tony turned off the engine, removed the key and started opening the door. ‘You OK?’ He leaned in to see her face and put one hand over hers. ‘If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were scared of something.’
‘This is so calculated,’ she muttered. ‘We’re going to see if … if we would be good lovers.’ She slapped a hand over her mouth and felt as if she’d cry.
Tony put a hand around her jaw and turned her face toward him. ‘I don’t know where we’re going. I honestly don’t. But we won’t know until we give the idea a whirl. Could we just get inside with the dogs and follow our instincts?’ He held up his other hand. ‘I promise not to be pushy. Yes, this is strange, but at least we seem to be able to face it head on. We’ll know what comes next and if you walk in and want to go home, I’ll take you home.’
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.