CHAPTER 15

 

Jenny dipped her wooden spoon into the bolognaise sauce and tentatively touched her tongue to it. She decided it needed a bit more salt and added some, just as her buzzer sounded. She pressed the button to let Grose in and stirred her sauce as she waited for him to come up to her floor. He tapped on the front door and she opened it and kissed him at the threshold.

“Something smells good,” he said.

“Is it me or the food?” she asked.

“Both,” he said. He walked over to the sofa and tossed his briefcase onto her armchair as he sat down heavily.

“Bad day?” she asked.

“Faculty meeting,” he said. “It just went on and on.” He looked at his wristwatch. “I’m going to have to be out of here by ten,” he said.

Jenny tried not to show her disappointment but he wasn’t even looking at her. He reached for her eReader and switched it on. “I can’t believe you read on a thing like this,” he said.

“Dudley, it’s brilliant,” she said. “I can put three thousand books on it,” she said. “Do you know how much space three thousand books would take up?”

“One good book is worth three thousand bad ones,” said Grose. “This is just a glorified calculator.”

She put a handful of spaghetti into a pot of boiling salted water. “The battery lasts for weeks and I can buy any book I want within seconds,” she said. “It’s like having the biggest library in the world at my fingertips.”

Grose snorted. “You sound like a salesman,” he said.

“I’m a convert.”

“A zealot.”

“Dudley, really, you should try it. Once you’ve tried an eReader it’s hard to go back to dead tree books.”

Grose raised his eyebrows. “What did you say? Dead tree books?”

“It’s what they call paperbacks these days. Think of all the trees that can be saved if everybody read eBooks? Think of the energy that’s wasted making books, all the water that’s wasted in making paper.” She took two plates out of a cupboard and put them next to the stove.

“First of all pretty much all paper is made from sustainable timber,” said Grose. “For every tree that’s cut down, the companies plant another two. And pretty much all the water that’s used is recycled.” He sighed. “Why am I even discussing this with you? It’s not about the environment or energy conservation, it’s about books. Books are meant to be held, the pages turned with reverence not by pushing a button. Reading is a tactile pleasure as well as stimulation for the intellect. You might as well read a novel on a laptop.”

“It’s almost the same as a dead…” She stopped herself. “As a real book,” she said. “There’s no backlight so it feels like you’re reading a page rather than a screen. It’s better for your eyes, they say. And there’s no glare so you can read it outside no matter what the light.”

Grose chuckled. “You really are sounding like a salesman now,” he said.

“Red or white?” she said.

“What?” he said, confused by the change of subject.

“Wine.” she said. “I’ve got a Pinot Grigio in the fridge.”

“That’ll be fine,” he said as he studied the screen. “So what are you reading?”

“Nothing,” she said as she opened the fridge.

He looked at her over the top of his glasses. “Nothing?” he repeated. “You spent what, a hundred bucks, on it and you read nothing?”

“I meant nothing important,” she said. She uncorked the wine, poured some into two glasses and took them over to Grose. He took one of the glasses and she reached for the eReader. He moved it out of her reach. “Dudley, please…”

Grose looked back at the screen. “Nothing?” he said. He pressed a button and the screen was filled with words.

“Dudley,” Jenny pleaded. “Give it to me.”

“What is this?” he said. “It reads like some awful pulp fiction story.”

“It’s nothing. Come on, put it down. We don’t have much time left.”

She tried to grab the Kindle but Grose turned his back to her. His face hardened as he finished reading what was on the screen and pressed the button to get the next page.

“What is this?”

“It’s nothing.”

“The Basement. By Adrian Slater.” He looked at her, his face as hard as stone.

“Dudley…”

He turned to look at her and held up the eReader. “What the hell is his book doing on here? Did you buy it?”

“It’s not for sale. It’s not published yet.”

“So how did it get on this thing?”

“It’s not a thing, Dudley. It’s a Kindle. My Kindle.” She held out her hand. “Please give it to me.”

“How did an unpublished book get on here?”

“He gave it to me on a thumbdrive.”

“But why? Why did he give it to you?”

“He wanted a second opinion. Please, Dudley, let me have it. Supper’s ready.”

Grose continued to stare at the screen. “That’s what the course is for,” he said. “For feedback. Peer review.” He looked across at Jenny. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”

“Dudley, that’s crazy,” protested Jenny.

“Is it? I’ve seen him looking at you in class.”

“For God’s sake, Dudley, we’re students on the same course. Of course he’s going to look at me.”

Grose waved the Kindle at her. “And how many students did he give his book to? Because Slater doesn’t seem like the sharing type.”

“Dudley, he just wanted a second opinion. That’s all.” She sat down next to him and rubbed his leg, just above the knee. “Please, let’s not fight.”

“This isn’t a fight,” said Grose, looking at her over the top of his spectacles. “I’m just trying to ascertain what’s going on.”

Jenny sighed. “Honey, nothing’s going on.”

“So what do you think?” asked Grose.

“About what?”

“About what he’s written. His book.”

She shrugged. “I haven’t finished it yet.”

“What about what you’ve read so far?”

“It’s interesting,” she said. “But it’s hard to identify with any of the characters. It’s very plot driven.”

“But you’re enjoying it?”

Jenny screwed up her face, not sure what to say. She knew that Grose had taken a dislike to Adrian but she didn’t want to lie to him and tell him how much she was enjoying the story. It was gritty and edgy, and she’d never read anything like it. “It’s very easy to read,” she said. “It flows. And the dialogue is really good.”

“So the answer is yes, you are enjoying it.” He gave it to her and she stood up and took it over to her desk, afraid that he would take it from her again. He had a temper at times and she could imagine him hurling it against the wall. “I still don’t understand why he gave it to you to read.”

“I think he was just worried that people might laugh at it,” she lied. “He wanted to know if it was good enough to read out in class, that’s all.” She didn’t like having to lie to him, but she could see that he was spoiling for an argument.

“What about this piece of crap he’s working on now. That Bestseller nonsense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Has he given you that to read?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Have you talked to him about it?” He studied her over the top of his wineglass.

“No. Not really.”

Grose smiled. “I’ve spoken to the police about him.”

“You’ve what? Dudley, why would you do that?”

“He’s talking about killing a student. He can’t get away with that.”

Jenny put her eReader into the top drawer of the desk and went to sit down next to Grose. “The protagonist is. But that’s not Adrian. I mean it is his voice, but it’s not actually him. He’s playing a role. He’s pretending to be a killer. Remember American Psycho? Bret Easton Ellis?”

“I know who wrote American Psycho, Jenny,” said Grose primly.

“Yes, but no one thought that Ellis was Patrick Bateman, did they? No one ever accused Ellis of being a serial killer.”

“But Ellis was writing about fictional characters. Slater isn’t.”

“Which is why his book is so edgy.”

“Edgy? Is that what you think?”

“I haven’t read it, Dudley. All I know about it is what he read out in class.”

He looked at her slyly. “Will you do something for me, honey?”

She didn’t like the tone of his voice. It was as if he was humoring her, treating her like a child. It was the tone her mother had used when she wanted Jenny to tidy her room or wash the dishes. “What?”

“Ask Slater if he’ll let you have a copy of his work in progress.”

“He won’t do that. Why would he do that?”

“He gave you one of his books to read. Why wouldn’t he give you what he’s working on?”

“I don’t like this, Dudley.”

Grose pointed a finger at her face. “I knew there was something going on,” he said.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“If there was nothing going on you wouldn’t have a problem with me reading it. It’s my course, Jenny. I’ll be marking his work eventually so I’m going to have to read it at some point.” He sighed. “I’m very disappointed in you. I thought you trusted me.”

“I do, Dudley!” she said.

“Clearly you don’t,” he said.

“Dudley!” she protested. “You’re being horrible.”

“I just don’t see why you won’t help me,” said Grose. He looked at his watch.

“Please, honey. Let’s not fight. Okay, I’ll try to get a copy. Okay? Are you happy now?”

He stroked her face. “Don’t get mad,” he said.

“I’m not mad. But it’s like you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you honey,” he said. “Of course I do.” He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

She kissed him back, hard, and he slipped a hand up to cup her breast. “Let’s go to bed,” he said.

“Supper’s ready,” she said.

“Bed first,” he said. “Supper can wait.”