The storm had passed. He flicked the top off the Bud and went to sit next to her.
‘The truth?’ he asked, as if she’d want anything else. He gauged a joke about her being a lawyer and needing the whole truth to be ill timed and kept it to himself. ‘I don’t know,’ he said at last. When she shot him a venomous look he tried again. ‘OK, yes, it was probably to do with work but I don’t have all the answers yet.’
‘Probably?!’
‘When I know more, I’ll tell you, I promise. What I do know, is that we have one seriously skilled girl.’
‘She won the trophy,’ her mother pointed out.
‘Yes, but, what she did went beyond that. I’ve never seen her move that way. She had so much power… honestly, it was…’ he caught Melissa’s expression and stopped. ‘All I’m saying is, she’s an exceptional fighter.’
‘Luckily for you.’
‘Luckily for me.’
He felt her gaze sweeping over him then, checking his head.
‘She said they hit you with a baseball bat. You were knocked out. Where’s the wound?’
‘You always said I’ve got a thick skin. Looks like I’ve got a skull to match. Or, I guess, I was lucky.’
‘Again.’
‘Again.’
A small, tetchy silence joined them. Tudor was reluctant to be the one to fill it. He didn’t have answers, and he wanted them as badly as she did. He was not keen to let her see how much the attack had rattled him. He knew how close he’d come to being wiped out. He also knew that Emily had triumphed over ridiculous odds to save herself and him. Which raised even more questions.
As if sensing she would get nothing further out of him, Melissa stood up and headed for the door. Without turning she said, ‘She doesn’t go anywhere with you until this is sorted out.’ When he made a noise of protest she wheeled round, hand raised against him saying anything. ‘It’s not up for discussion, Rhys. Sort your shit out, then you can see her again. It’s that simple.’
Tudor got to his feet. ’But, we’ve been training at the Aurora gym…’
‘So you can explain to her why she can’t go there any more.’ And then she left, not slamming the door, but closing it with the calm authority of someone who has made their point and knows themselves to be in the right.
The moment DI Chowdhury chose to arrive at the Chelsea houseboat mooring was the exact moment Melissa chose to leave it. As the entrance consisted of a narrow iron gate that allowed access to the wooden walkways, it was a cosier meeting than either woman would have liked. Even in the darkness lit only by street lamps and a string of LEDs over the gate, Deborah felt exposed. She stopped, carefully maintaining a blank expression. Ex-lover regarded ex-wife coolly. She noticed Melissa’s surprise at seeing her, and understood it. After all, her affair with Tudor had ended years ago. It had been an army romance. When both of them moved on to other professions, other lives, they had lost touch. Deborah never really knew if Melissa truly cared about it. From what Tudor had told her, their marriage had been beyond saving way before they had had their brief relationship. But then, wasn’t that what all unfaithful husbands would have their mistresses believe?
She stepped to one side to allow Melissa to pass. ‘Looks like Tudor is popular today,’ she said, instantly wishing she hadn’t. It was a trite, jokey comment, and her feelings for him had never been trite, and his relationship with his wife was certainly no joke.
The other woman looked as if she might respond but thought better of it. She brushed past wordlessly andstrode towards her car in the small parking area without so much as a backward glance. Deborah was reminded of how she’d always been slightly in awe of her, with her glossy, flawless hair, her high maintenance look that suited her so well, her successful career, and her ability to juggle it all with family life. Except that, of course, that hadn’t been so successful. And now Deborah had a career of her own that was pretty darn impressive. She shook off the remnants of past feelings that were trying to settle upon her. She wasn’t that breathless, insecure girl any more. She made her way along the boardwalk, following the solar lights that were fitted to the planks. Each river-borne residence was charmingly lit with lanterns or fairy lights. There were no more than a dozen boats in all, but the collection made an appealing community of vessels of varying shapes and sizes. She checked the boat names and numbers as she passed them until she came toThe Kingfisher.If she had had to pick out a boat for Tudor, it would have been this one. Where the others had been very much made into houses that happened to float, his was still clearly a boat. She stepped up the narrow gangway that led to a humble blue door. She knocked. Within a moment, Tudor opened the door, bottle of beer in hand. She wondered if he had taken her forMelissa returning. He certainly seemed surprised to see her. She liked that. Tudor was seldom wrong footed.
He quickly recovered his guarded composure. ‘Detective Inspector,’ he said with a respectful tilt of the head. ‘Am I in trouble?’
‘More than likely, but that’s not why I’m here.’
‘Oh?’
She rummaged in her shoulder bag and pulled out a bulky object in a large padded envelope. Handing it to him she said, ‘Thought you might be pining for this.’ The gun felt heavy and cold even through its wrapping.
Tudor took the package, knowing at once what it was. ‘Wow, thanks. Do you offer such a personal delivery service to all your witnesses?’
‘Only the ones who might offer me a beer in return,’ she said, nodding at the bottle he held. ‘You’ll have to sign this,’ she added, giving him a docket for the gun.
He stepped to one side and invited her in with a sweep of his arm.
She wandered around the living space, taking it all in. ‘I never figured you for a water gypsy,’ she said. ‘This is nice.’
‘Thanks.’ He put the gun away in a drawer, signed the document, and fetched her a Bud. As he handed both things to her he asked, ‘Did you bump into Melissa?’
‘Yes, that was fun.’
