As it turned out, it wasn’t a wasted morning. Olivia had to leave early to pick up her boys from football practice, so Shilpa had a box of savoury pastries to take home, and an hour after that, Danny had turned up to buy a chocolate brownie.
‘Heard they’re legendary,’ he said.
Her cheeks coloured as she picked up two brownies with her tongs and put them in a brown bag for him.
‘How much?’ he had asked.
‘Nothing,’ she said with a grin.
‘You won’t make any money that way,’ Danny said. ‘How’s about I take you for a coffee then. I don’t need to get back for another hour.’ He looked at his watch. She had closed her stall early, and they had headed to Magdalena’s café on the High Street for a tea. Danny had suggested Leoni’s, but Shilpa felt like keeping her morning date quiet. Leoni said she didn’t know any of the police at Glass Bay, and she could see the café owner wanting to befriend Danny just so that she had a contact there.
Once seated, Danny ordered an espresso and she decided on a herbal tea. Shilpa laughed at something inane Danny had said as they waited for their drinks. What Danny had said wasn’t funny, but she assumed her subconscious was telling her to start flirting. She would need to do something to take their casual friendship to another level if that’s what she wanted. If that’s what he wanted. She tried asking about his personal life, but Danny didn’t give her a direct answer. She couldn’t blame him. Her questions were vague. She decided to try a different tack.
‘Do you know much about the Mason Connolly case?’ she asked. ‘There’s a rumour going around that his fiancée has already moved on.’
‘You shouldn’t believe everything you hear around here,’ Danny said. ‘Otter’s Reach is a small town, and people love to gossip.’
Shilpa grimaced. ‘That didn’t come out right,’ she said. ‘I mean, if something like that were to happen to me, I think I’d have holed myself up somewhere, probably at my parents’ house. There wouldn’t be room for any rumours.’
Danny looked at her blankly. She continued, ‘I don’t have any significant other, so I guess the chances of something like this happening to me are quite slim. You?’ she asked. She looked up at the waitress as she brought over their drinks, willing her to spill them – anything to remove her from this awkward conversation.
‘Chances of something similar happening to anyone are quite low,’ he said. ‘It’s a strange one.’
Shilpa nodded. Back in London, she excelled at her job. With brand management came a huge communication role. She thrived on putting presentations together, paying attention to detail, of getting what she wanted from her team. Her communication skills were applauded in her annual appraisal, and yet she failed miserably at speaking to members of the opposite sex when she fancied them.
She saw her chance to remove herself from the hole she had been digging herself into. ‘You’re right. It’s an odd case.’
‘You’ve been following it?’ he asked.
‘I made the cake for the party. I was there.’
‘Ah, so that’s why you were at the station the other day. Met our DI then?’
Shilpa nodded. ‘Are you working on the case?’ she asked, raising her cup of peppermint tea to her lips.
‘That would be telling,’ he said, giving her a sideways glance. Then he smiled. ‘I’m doing a bit of work for the DI. I’m not in the criminal investigation department, but you hear things, and around these parts you occasionally get dragged into cases not necessarily in your area.’
‘There’s been talk of his fiancée…’ Shilpa trailed off.
‘I know what you’re going to say, but I think Harriet’s innocent. People around here have preconceived ideas of her. She’s not a bad girl, really, just misunderstood.’
‘You know her?’ Shilpa asked.
Danny didn’t respond, and Shilpa felt something stir inside her. ‘How is she misunderstood?’ she asked.
‘She’s had to deal with the Drew family name and what that brings. Like most of us, she’s just trying to do the right thing. Wants to make her parents proud. Wants to settle down and have a family.’
‘Is that your professional or personal opinion?’ Shilpa asked. Danny smiled, and she noticed the corners of his eyes creased when he did. She caught herself staring and quickly looked away, concentrating on pouring herself another cup of tea from the green-and-white-spotted teapot the waitress had brought over with her cup. Then she asked him about other suspects. She could think of a few. Harriet, her dad and her new boyfriend Evan. Then there was Mason’s ex-girlfriends – the redhead and Izzy.
Danny shrugged. Either he was too professional to comment or he didn’t know. He looked at his watch. ‘I gotta be making tracks,’ he said. He stood up abruptly. ‘Rain check?’ he said, putting a tenner on the table and turning to leave.
‘Sure,’ Shilpa said, a little taken aback, and before she could even say goodbye, he was gone. She looked into her cup and wondered what had just happened. She finished her tea and placed the cup back on its saucer. ‘Nice,’ she said out loud. Why had she brought up the Connolly case? Of course he wouldn’t want to be interrogated about his work outside of work. He hadn’t asked her any questions about the perfect bake. Good one, Shilpa, she thought to herself sarcastically. He did say rain check though. Every cloud and all that.
Shilpa stood up and grabbed her bag. Then she paused and looked around at the other customers, as she had a sense that she was being watched. An old gentleman concentrated on his scone, and a lone woman with dark hair was staring intently at her magazine. The woman briefly looked up. Shilpa noticed she had the most amazing bone structure set off by a vibrant green scarf. She sighed. She was being paranoid. No one looked the least bit interested in her. She shook off the feeling and stepped out into the summer day.