“Is this to do with the moor fire yesterday?” She stood up, putting herself level with Jonny’s chest. She’d always been shorter than him, even before he’d had the growth spurt that had earned him a few nicknames – until he’d demonstrated that with his height had also come muscle.
Jonny gazed at her, raising one eyebrow. “Yes. I’m just going to use this moment to remind you that you’re a teacher – and a very very good one – not an investigator.”
Rayah’s lips started to curve, her hand reaching for Jonny’s forearm. He didn’t move when she grasped it. “Do tell.” It came out like a purr.
Jonny shook his head. “Ray…”
Will’s laugh was anything but subtle. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re trouble?”
She snapped her head round and glared at him. “I’m a perfectly respectable member of the community.”
It wasn’t just Will laughing now. Jonny, Alex and Jake had all joined in and Rayah felt the flare of temper start just as it had when she was younger and they’d ganged up on her.
“When’s the last time I injured myself?” She managed to make the words sound calm, reasonable even.
“To be fair, you haven’t for a while.”
“Or spent the night in a cell?” It was another fair point.
“Not for two years. I’m a reformed character.”
“You’ve spent the night in a cell?” Will sounded surprised. She could tell he was a newcomer.
“On three occasions.” Alex had the details memorised, even though one of those times was while he was still at university. “Drunk and disorderly and theft. And indecent exposure, but we try to forget about that.”
“I was protesting! And it wasn’t that indecent.”
Will was choking quietly now. Rayah slipped a glance at Jonny; he was strangely quiet, his expression giving nothing away.
“Ray, you ran down the high street wearing nothing but three leaves.” Alex eyeballed her.
She shrugged. “It was ten at night. There were no children. And you see far more exposed on a Friday night at closing time.”
“She has a point.” Jonny’s eyes were still on her. “However, you have a deserved reputation for getting into bother.”
“But not recently. Was the fire definitely arson?”
She saw Jonny and Will look at each other. Will shrugged and focused on his beer.
“The media know so it’ll be in the news shortly – unless it is already.” Jonny was talking directly to her which made her assume that Alex was already well aware of this, and probably Jake. There was little he didn’t know about. The barn had no reception and Jake had turned the WiFi off for the party, so no newsflashes had come through.
“Then it won’t hurt to tell me.”
Jonny shook his head. “Just don’t go asking anyone pertinent questions. Promise?”
If it had been anyone else asking her to ‘promise’ she’d have kneed them in the nuts, but it was Jonny. And it had been Jonny who had rescued her from more scrapes and misadventures than she cared to count. His liability. He’d looked out for her more than her cousins and brother had done, even when he hadn’t needed to.
“Seriously, respected member of the community, nominated for Teacher of the Year in a national competition. You trust me to look after your kids.” She folded her arms automatically pushing up her breasts. Jonny’s eyes didn’t slip to her cleavage. They never did.
“I trust you to look after them. Yourself not so much.” He sighed and shook his head. “There was a body in the farmhouse. It looks like the fire might’ve been started to get rid of any evidence.”
Rayah’s jaw dropped and the alcohol she’d consumed evaporated from her body. This didn’t happen round here. Severton was the place where grandmothers developed gin distilleries and alpacas roamed the neighbourhood. It was the home of scarecrow competitions and bonfires, caves and mountains; not murder.
“As in someone killed someone else?”
Jonny nodded. “It’s over to the police and forensics now to work out the gender, age, how long it had been there – all that sort of thing. It’s most likely a user or vagrant who was in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone who died living rough. Don’t jump to the worst conclusions and don’t go asking questions.”
“I won’t. There’s a big difference in streaking down the high street and getting yourself involved in something less savoury.” Rayah was not keen on the idea of having to check her windows were locked as well as her doors.
