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Maggie woke up much later with someone’s arms around her. The arms belonged to Sam, and she was resting against his chest. He was snoring gently.
Mortification gripped Maggie. How long had she been asleep? There wasn’t a clock anywhere in the barely furnished room. She could look at her phone for the time, but she didn’t dare move as she didn’t want to wake Sam up. A glance towards the blinds didn’t help as there were no helpful slivers of light coming through.
How long had she’d been asleep? Resting against Sam’s comfortable chest like this? She smiled a little. She was very comfy. Perhaps she could stay in this position for a bit longer.
That lovely idea was shattered as Jake came into the room, a bowl of cereal in his hand. “Morning!” he announced brightly. He flopped into the armchair. “Sleep well?” He shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. He crunched noisily.
The noise woke Sam up with a start. “What’s that? Who? Where?” He blinked blearily at Maggie. He smiled. “Morning.”
Embarrassed heat rushed through Maggie. She pulled herself free, and sat up. “Morning. How long have I been asleep? What time is it?”
Jake said, “Eight o’clock. You’ve been asleep all night. You fell asleep on Dad. I told him to wake you up, but he said you looked too peaceful. Even when you started snoring, he wouldn’t wake you.”
Maggie gave Sam an embarrassed smile. “I’m so sorry about that snoring.”
Sam replied, “They were ladylike snores.”
“Yeah, of course they were,” Jake muttered.
Maggie ignored Jake, and said to Sam, “I’m sorry for falling asleep on you.”
“It’s okay. I fell asleep too.”
Jake waved his empty spoon at them. “You two left me to watch those videos on my own. They nearly sent me into a coma.”
“I’m so sorry Jake,” Maggie said. “Did you find anything interesting on them?”
“I don’t know what you’d class as interesting. I’ve sent the video links to you so you can watch them at your leisure.” He spooned more cereal into his mouth. “Dad, I hope you don’t mind me crashing here. I didn’t stop watching those videos until three in the morning.”
“Of course I don’t mind. You can stay here anytime.”
“You say that, but there isn’t even a spare bed for me. Many bedrooms, but only one bed. So I slept in your bed.” Jake grinned. “I didn’t think you’d need it seeing how cosy you were with Maggie here on the sofa.”
Maggie swiftly stood up. “I should go home. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“Stay for breakfast,” Sam offered.
“No, no. I’ve put you to enough trouble. May I use your bathroom?”
Sam nodded, and gave her directions. Maggie couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.
Once in the bathroom, Maggie looked at her reflection. Her mascara had smudged a bit, but she didn’t look that bad considering she’d been resting against Sam all night. Maggie did the best with her appearance. She put a blob of toothpaste on her finger and ran it around her mouth. It would have to do until she got home.
Maggie’s exit from Sam’s house was swift and full of many thank yous. Sam offered to drive her home, but she refused.
“I’ll get the bus,” she said firmly. “I’ve already checked the app. There’s a bus in a few minutes. Bye! Thank you again! Bye!”
She almost ran to the bus stop, hoping her mortification would be left behind. But it wasn’t. It came with her. Fancy falling asleep like that! She must have squashed Sam. No wonder he hadn’t taken himself to bed. She must have pinned him down. Poor chap.
The bus arrived. Maggie put thoughts of Sam to one side. She had to concentrate on Harvey Chester. She had all those videos to go through, and those pages of posts that Harvey had written. That was going to take a while. Also, those coded words from the park needed looking at again. Maybe they would make sense today.
Maggie gazed out of the bus window. Once again, she felt out of her depth. Why had she said yes to Delia? Maggie wasn’t the right person to help her.
Fifteen minutes later, Maggie changed buses in Leeds, and then headed in the direction of her home. She almost missed the solitary figure sitting on a bench a few stops from Maggie’s house. But the woman’s sad face looked her way just as the bus went past, and with a jolt, Maggie realised it was Delia Chester.
Maggie jumped up, and got off at the next bus stop. She rushed back to the bench. Tears were rolling down Delia’s cheeks. She looked so wretched and sad.
Maggie sat next to her. “Delia. Hi. It’s me, Maggie.”
Delia jumped. She gave Maggie a confused look. “Maggie?”
“Yes. Maggie Kelburn. You came to my house yesterday. Do you remember?”
Delia frowned. “Maggie?” Comprehension dawned. “Maggie! Yes. Of course. I was on my way to see you. But I couldn’t remember where you lived. I got off the bus too early. Then I forgot where I was going.” She looked around her in confusion. “How long have I been sitting here? Where am I?”
“We’re not far from my house. Let’s walk.” Maggie handed her a tissue.
Delia smiled sadly as she took the tissue. She wiped her pale cheeks. “I started thinking about Harvey again. It’s our birthdays in a few months. We always celebrated them together. Always. What will I do without him this year? Or next year?” Her eyes brimmed with fresh tears.
Maggie took Delia’s hands and helped her to her feet. “You don’t have to think about that just yet. Let’s get you to my house. Goodness! Your hands are freezing. You could do with a big cup of tea. How long have you been sitting on that bench?”
“I don’t know. A while? A cup of tea sounds lovely. Thank you, Maggie. You are kind.”
Delia seemed unsteady on her feet, so Maggie kept her hand on Delia’s elbow as they walked along.
When they reached Maggie’s street, Delia looked at her and said hopefully, “Have you got any further with your investigation? I expect you have by now. I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“I’ve made some progress,” was Maggie’s reply. “We’ll talk about it inside.”
Delia gave Maggie’s hand a quick squeeze. “I knew I was right to ask for your help.”
Maggie wasn’t so sure about that.