The Border Part Two by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

Turning, she lit a couple of candles and took a deep breath. The smell of lavender usually helped her to relax, so she decided to at least try closing her eyes.
    As soon as she did so, she saw Crutchlow’s grinning face again.
    ***
    With his wife’s arms still around his waist, Alex looked out the window and watched as rain continued to beat down across Bowley.

V
     
    “Hey!” Ben said, stepping forward as soon as the door was opened, and immediately putting his arms around Beth. “Long time, Sis! How’re you doing?”
    “I’m good,” she replied, struggling a little as he held her tight. “I’m almost being crushed right now, but apart from that…”
    “Let me look at you,” he continued, releasing her and taking a step back. “My God, what’s your secret? You’ve hardly aged at all! In fact, you almost seem to have got younger. How do you manage to maintain such wonderful skin?”
    “Flattery will get you everywhere,” she muttered, “or at least, it’ll get you a seat at the dinner table tonight. I just got back from work and Bob’s fetching Lucy from school, but it’s Shepherd’s Pie. How does that grab you?”
    “Homemade or frozen from the store?”
    “Frozen from the store, just the way you like it.”
    “I’ve missed your microwaving.”
    “You’ll be in the spare bedroom,” she told him, as she headed through to the kitchen. “We finally cleared all the clutter out, so you won’t have to pick your way past boxes of crap this time.”
    “Thanks for letting me crash here at such short notice,” he replied, stopping in the doorway and watching as she started sliding frozen food out of boxes. “I know I should’ve given you more warning, but the truth is, I really wasn’t sure I was coming back until a few days ago. I was planning on another lonely Christmas all by myself, but you know how it is, sometimes life just gets up and gives you a slap, and you have to move along.”
    “No,” she replied with a frown, “I don’t know how it is. Not like that, anyway. Where exactly have you been for the past nine years, anyway?”
    “Here and there.”
    “Obviously somewhere without phones or email access.”
    “Sorry.”
    “Jack thinks maybe you were in prison.”
    “He does?” He smiled for a moment. “Let him think what he likes. It’s not true, but let him. He always thinks the worst anyway.”
    “Appetizing?” she asked, holding up a frozen Shepherd’s Pie and then tapping it against the side of the microwave. “There’s salad to go with it.”
    “From frozen?”
    “Homemade, you’ll be shocked to learn.”
    He watched for a moment as she grabbed some cups from the side. The last time he’d seen Beth, she’d been dating Bob and worrying about becoming overly domesticated, and now she was sorting out dinner for the family. He’d lied to her earlier when he said she looked younger; the truth was, he’d been shocked when he’d seen how much she’d aged in just nine years, and he couldn’t help feeling that her skin seemed a little tired.
    “So has he started grumping about me yet?” he asked finally.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I know what Jack’s like,” he continued. “I know what he thinks of me. Not the details, maybe, but I sure know the gist of it.”
    “He’s glad to have you home. Tea? Coffee?”
    “Tea.” He paused. “It’s very nice of you to lie for him, Beth, but there’s really no point. When I bumped into him last night, the look on his face… You’d think he’d walked into a room and found Charles Manson waiting for him.” Another pause. “Has he mentioned it yet?”
    “Ben -”
    “Sure. He has.”
    “Is it going to be like this all the way through Christmas?”
    “I was just wondering if he’s started ramping up the speculation,” he continued. “I know what happened the other night. That barmaid, the one from the Monument, was found dead. If it helps him build a circumstantial case against me, I should admit that I’d