She left them and went to the kitchen. She arranged the flowers and corked the wine ready for later then she rushed upstairs to change. Getting out of her work clothes, even though she had a casual dress policy around the office, was still a luxurious feeling of freedom. It was like shedding old skin. A quick shower revived her, and thoughts of Angelina and Jamie Robbins left her for a moment. She touched up her make-up and went downstairs.
‘We could take Lizzie out for a walk first then grab some food on the way back.’
‘Perfect.’
‘Will you stay tonight?’
‘If you don’t mind. I got your message; thanks, it helps. The traffic will be hell tonight, so I decided to hang around here for the weekend. I’ll probably stay next week too if you want to give Millie some time off; I’ll pay her.’
‘It’s hard prising her away from Lizzie but she’ll appreciate that, I’m sure. She was telling me this week that her mates were swimming in Grasmere, and I could tell she wanted to go. I’ve had a hell of a week; I’ll tell you about it on our walk.’
They got Lizzie ready and plonked her in her pram. She cuddled a teddy bear and looked almost ready for sleep. Kelly put a thin blanket over her to keep the night air off her even though it was still warm. The sun was going down over the western fells. Helvellyn was clear and dominated the other end of Ullswater. Kelly’s house was a haven of peace with the terrace sitting over the River Eamont, but she knew the contours of the sky like the back of her hand. She closed the terrace doors, and they left the house. They wandered along the road to the steamer launch. There was a boat coming in and they stopped to watch so Lizzie could point to it, but she soon grew tired and fell asleep, so they turned back to the village.
‘I heard about the woman in Grasmere,’ he said, confident his daughter was asleep.
Kelly looked at Johnny’s sure hand on the pram and imagined the warmth where the veins stood out. He smelt good and he reminded her of a safe place. It wasn’t that she wanted to throw herself at him and start all over again – they’d tried that so many times – it was just that he was a harbour for her. She liked to be anchored to him. She missed him. He was still her best friend.
‘Yeah, she was killed for something she was hiding, we think.’
‘Mysterious,’ he said.
‘It’s not in the news; it’s a blackout. Her brother died the next day.’
‘That’s terrible for the parents.’
‘They didn’t have parents; they were foster kids.’
‘Were they connected? Why the mystery?’
‘Yep, he was staying at the Heron Hall.’
‘I heard something about that. A suicide? I always wanted to take you there,’ he said.
She side-eyed him and he smiled.
‘You’re flirting with me again,’ she said.
‘I know, but I will always keep trying, Kel.’
She put her arm around his waist, and he held her close and kissed the top of her head.
‘You smell good,’ she said.
He squeezed her.
‘It’s probably a good thing they had no parents. Their deaths were violent.’
‘He was murdered too?’
‘It presented as a suicide, like the rumour mill is saying, but the circumstances are off. He was launching a hot new health supplement that is worth a lot of money to a huge American pharmaceutical. The whole thing stinks, but like you always told me, I can’t catch all the bastards, just one at a time.’
He laughed. ‘Did I say that? I’m a veritable modern-day prophet.’
She laughed. ‘You know, I had the oddest meeting at Carleton Hall this morning. I haven’t told a soul. I was warned off by the new chief.’
‘Warned off?’
‘This case. Don’t dig too deep, he said. International relations, can you believe it? The corporate masters are valuable to British trade interests, and we wouldn’t want to rub them up the wrongway, would we? I can’t be responsible for ruining the special relationship.’
