Dead in the Water by Brian Woolland Read Free Book Online Page B

know that’s terribly rude. My brother lives a couple of blocks away from you; and he had a suggestion. About the car.” She sounds nervous. “I’m sorry. That sounds dreadful. I don’t want to invite myself to your house. I just want to talk.”
    “ Actually, I’m not at home.” He gives her the name of the restaurant and, still apologising, she agrees to join him there.
     
    She’s taller than he remembered her, well dressed; black skirt, loose fitting white cashmere pullover beneath the same unbuttoned light raincoat she was wearing last night. Her elegance, however, is undercut by nervy embarrassment.
    “ I didn’t want to ––”
    “ You’re hardly gate-crashing a party.”
    Her eyes are deep green. But there’s something more than awkward shyness about her smile; she seems almost fearful. They don’t touch – not even a handshake. Mark is wary of being misread.
    “ Difficult parking?”
    “ No. No problem. And very easy to find,” she says, though her hair and raincoat are wet and it’s obvious that she must have walked some distance.
    “ Would you like a glass of wine?”
    “ I’m driving,” she says, smiles again; and puts her handbag on the table in front of her. “Look, the thing is, I spent the evening with my brother. One of his closest friends runs a garage. Maybe I was being out of order, but I thought … I just feel terrible about last night. And of course I can’t say a thing to Martin. My husband. He’d be furious with me. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. Anyway, I thought if Simon, my brother, if Simon could arrange something so that it could be done really quickly. This is probably me being way out of order.”
    “ It’s OK. I appreciate it,” says Mark. “The roads were wet. At that time of night you don’t expect someone to stop suddenly. Really. It’s just one of those things.”
    She smiles again.
    “ Look,” she says. “I quite understand if you want to go through the insurance ––”
    “ No. I appreciate what you’re doing,” says Mark. “It’s always ‘Knock for Knock’ with insurance companies. No matter what. I’d lose my no claims ––”
    “ Yes, Simon said that. He rang his friend James, the garage owner, while I was there. I didn’t arrange anything, I just ––”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ He said he could do it in the next couple of days if that’s what you wanted.”
    “ That’s really very thoughtful of you. You’ve been ––”
    “ No. It’s all my fault, Mr Boyd. I’d just like to clear it up as quickly as possible, and then I won’t trouble you any more. If I make a mess I like to clear it up quickly.” She reaches into her bag and hands him a card for the garage and accident repair company: James Harvey Garages . “You need to call him before midday tomorrow.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ If you want to go ahead.”
    “ I think I probably do.”
    She gets up to leave. Mark stands. And this time they do shake hands. She smiles again. Then she turns quickly and is gone. He sits back down. What a beautiful woman. But very fragile, very vulnerable. And probably therefore very available.
     
    Mark has just got back to the flat, when a text arrives from Sara
     
    Dear Mark. Sorry not been in touch. Thanks for the card. You lovely man. Been a crazy day at work. Going to be like this for several days. Thanks for the meal offer. Too late now. Speak soon. Much Love, S XXXXX
     
    Nice text. So why didn’t she ring? But he knows exactly why. She didn’t ring because she doesn’t want to talk. But he calls her just the same, only to find that her phone’s switched off. Wishing he hadn’t tried, a knot of anxiety begins to form in his stomach as he starts to wonder if Sara is perhaps pulling away.
    Determined to block the thought process, he showers, puts on his dressing gown, pours himself a large glass of whisky and sits down in front of the computer. In the past he’s done some of his best work in the early