‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That would be lovely.’
Perhaps she was worried Zoe would let the cat out of the bag, despite what she’d said about Nigel taking her side if it came to it. Zoe still hadn’t decided what to do, but she’d have to make up her mind sooner or later, because she could only see this problem getting worse if she ignored it.
25
They washed the cups from Nigel and Chantal’s visit between them, the kitchen suddenly silent after two hours of constant chatter. It didn’t take Alex long to bring up the subject of Lennon’s black eye.
‘There’s no way that guy walked into a tree,’ he said.
Zoe sighed. He was going to find out sooner or later, and it was bad enough she’d kept things from him for this long. ‘He didn’t. At least, unless there’s been more than one incident, in which case, he’s bloody unlucky.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘He got into a fight with Heath in the village. Outside the shop, of all places. I can’t even imagine what Magnus and Geoff made of it. Or Flo for that matter. Actually, scrap that. I know exactly what Flo made of it because she was the cause of it.’
‘Is Heath all right?’ It was telling that Alex’s first thoughts went to Heath, and that he assumed Ottilie’s fiancé had come out worst.
‘He had to go to the accident unit to get his lip sewn up, but apart from that and a dollop of bruised pride, I think he’s OK.’
‘How did it start? You said Flo was the cause…’
‘I think, from what they said when they came into the surgery with Heath after it happened, that Flo had pissed Lennon off, so he – according to Flo – gave her the oldI know where you liveroutine. She told Heath, because it’s Flo and of course she did, and things escalated from there.’
‘Heath’s a reasonable guy…’ Alex shook his head as he dried a mug. ‘Always seems it to me. Lennon, on the other hand…well, I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley, let’s put it that way. Whatever happened, it must have made Heath properly angry.’
‘Flo makes a meal of things, though. Everyone says that about her. She probably made it into some big drama and whipped Heath into a temper. Ottilie’s always saying, when it comes to Heath, Flo knows exactly which buttons to press.’
‘Still, it’s no reason to take a swing at the guy.’
‘We don’t know who swung first; we weren’t there.’
Alex shot her a look of disbelief. ‘Don’t we? I’d give good odds on it being that prat from across the way. When did this happen?’
‘Yesterday.’
Alex was silent for a moment. ‘If you knew about this yesterday, how come you didn’t say anything to me? Does your dad know that’s what happened? He didn’t seem to – at least, he seemed to believe that tree nonsense. How about Chantal?’
‘She knows,’ Zoe said. ‘I went over to see her.’
Alex’s eyes widened. ‘When did this happen?’
‘Yesterday, after work. I thought I’d handle it without having to drag you or anyone else into it…’ she shrugged. ‘That went well in the end, didn’t it?’
He was silent again as he put a bunch of mugs back into the cupboard. And when he turned back to face Zoe, there was real purpose in his expression.
‘Someone needs to do something about him. First the thing with Grizzle, then Victor’s mate’s sheep, now this with Heath. What’s next? You can’t just skid up to a village like this and let loose. This is not Manchester – actions here have bigger consequences.’
‘I’m sure they have consequences in Manchester,’ Zoe said.
‘They’re felt more here. Come on, Zoe, you know what I mean.’
‘He’s not going to be here forever.’
‘We don’t know that. If your dad isn’t even asking him to pay his way and he can swan about doing whatever he likes, what incentive does he have to leave? And your dad would never ask him, not unless he has a good reason. We need to give him a reason.’
‘Chantal might have something to say about that,’ Zoe said darkly.
Alex gave her a sharp look. ‘What does that mean?’
