‘But there’s plenty to do both, if you want to build a rockery next door,’ she said.
‘Yeah, I think I will.’ He pictured the anchor he and Jack had found in the trunk. It would look good in a rockery. For a moment his thoughts turned to Bunty and those photographs he’d given her. Never had he seen her so melancholy as when he’d handed them over.
‘What are you thinking about, Robin?’ asked Jasmine, seeing emotions flicker across his face.
‘Hmm? Oh… just about Bunty and the photographs we found of her. She looked so sad when I gave them to her.’
‘Poor Bunty.’ Jasmine felt a surge of pity for the old dear. Then an idea came to her. ‘Why don’t I cook for her? Invite her round for a meal?’
‘That’d be nice. I’m sure she’d love the company,’ Robin said.
Jasmine shook her head. ‘I mean the three of us, a mini dinner party?’
‘Lovely, I’m sure she’d appreciate that. She’d be interested to see what you’ve done to the place too.’
‘Yes, she would,’ laughed Jasmine, already imagining Bunty striding through her home, offering up her opinion unasked. ‘I’ll let you invite her.’
Robin narrowed his eyes in thought.
‘No, why don’t you pay her a visit? She’d like that.’
‘Oh, right.’ Jasmine blinked, not expecting that response, but why not go and see Bunty? She often wondered what that impressive big house on the peninsula was like inside. Well, now was her chance to step inside and see.
The next afternoon Jack had called Adrian to collect his digger as promised. Robin had finished all the levelling of Jasmine’s garden and it was now flat for the studio to be installed. Jasmine had bought a contemporary, wooden cladded studio with large patio doors. It was to be erected by the company she had bought it from within a matter of days, which meant that she was looking at having a much-needed workspace very shortly.
Jasmine had spent hours looking at various websites to give her clues on how to furnish it inside. As the studio’s exterior was going to look quite modern, she decided to keep the inside minimalist and sleek. She wanted a large, simple desk in there with a swivel chair and a noticeboard to pin up sketches and prints of ideas for her work. The studio’s glass doors would be positioned at the back, so facing the view of the bay would be a good enough distraction for her. As always with Samphire Bay, it was all about the view.
Robin, who had wheelbarrowed half of the mounted-up earth to his garden, was busy constructing his rockery. He stopped shovelling when he spotted Adrian pick up his Bobcat next door. Robin watched with interest at the way he flinched when Jasmine came out to see him.
‘Hello, I’m Jasmine, we spoke on the phone,’ she told him.
‘Oh…’ Adrian stumbled to a halt.
Robin narrowed his eyes at the way Adrian was acting. Was he shaking slightly? His shoulders hunched and he clearly couldn’t even look Jasmine in the face, let alone shake her offered hand.
‘I’m glad we managed to borrow your digger. I thought you said—’
‘Yeah, a job got cancelled,’ Adrian interrupted brusquely, then ran a hand through his hair nervously.
‘Ri-ght,’ said Jasmine, a touch puzzled by this man’s demeanour. ‘Well, here’s what I owe you.’ She handed over the money for hiring the machinery.
‘No,’ he said, pushing it back to her. ‘I don’t want paying.’
Jasmine blinked.
‘Sorry?’
‘You don’t owe me anything, really, it’s fine,’ he insisted, then got into his van and started up the engine.
‘But…’ Jasmine’s mouth gaped open as Adrian drove off as quickly as possible.
Alarm bells began to ring inside Robin, who had witnessed the whole scene, followed by a horrid sensation that seeped into his very being. Something was most definitely not right here.Whywas Adrian acting so strangely? And more to the point, why did he refuse Jasmine’s money? It was the fee she owed him, not charity. The man was supposed to be running a business and a lucrative one at that, according to Jack. Then another dark thought hit him like a bell toll. The van, that new one Adrian was driving. He remembered the one which had been replaced, and his heart began to thud. It had been a white van. He took out his mobile from his jean’s pocket and walked to the side of the cottage, out of any possible earshot. The last thing he wanted was for Jasmine to hear him.
‘Jack?’
‘Yeah mate, I’ll be with you in half an hour, just—’
‘Listen, Jack, what did Adrian Hall say about that old van of his?’
