Six
‘Irecognisedyoufromthe photos Lucy has shown me,’ the woman was saying as she held out her hand to me. ‘I’m Adele. It’s lovely to meet you at last. I hope you like the cottage. Have you got everything you need? Just let me know if not. Or tell Marcus. Have you met him yet? No. Of course you haven’t. He’ll be at work. Silly me. Unless you have plans, would you like to pop round for a little drink this evening? Erin? Are you okay?’
‘Sorry, Adele. Yes. I’m fine, thanks. And the cottage is wonderful. It’s good to meet you too. Lucy speaks highly of you and Marcus. I thought I’d drop in and say hello now while Lucy’s busy meeting workmen at Fairlight Brides. Erm. Did you see that man I was talking to? Do you know him?’
‘Man? Just now? No. Sorry. I was focussed on you. I don’t know that many men in Fairlight Bay, unfortunately. No. I didn’t mean to say it like that. What I meant was my fiancé, Marcus has lots of male friends, but, until recently, I kept myself to myself somewhat. I didn’t go out much other than to work. Sorry. That’s not much help, is it? Is something wrong? Did he do something?’
‘No. Not at all. It was me. I knocked his drink over him. It doesn’t matter. Erm. About this evening. I’m afraid I do have plans. With Lucy and Sam. Sorry. Perhaps another time?’
‘Of course. You’re here for two weeks so there’s plenty of time. Are you coming in for a coffee or tea?’
‘Yes. I am. I was looking at those delicious cakes in the window. Everything looks so tempting.’
‘Is it,’ said Adele, glancing down at her rounded tummy. ‘A bit too tempting, sadly. And I love to bake, so I’m my own worst enemy. Plus, I’m forty-four, and it’s harder to lose weight once you’re over forty. Or it seems to be. Come in and sit down. This is on me.’
‘No, Adele. That’s very kind, but you’ve done enough for me already. When I booked the cottage and asked you not to tell Lucy because I wanted it to be a surprise, you kept my secret. I should be buying you a cake and coffee.’
‘It was a pleasure. I’m not really that good at keeping secrets, so as I said at the time, you were taking a risk. But it all worked out, didn’t it? As for buying me a cake and coffee, I get mine for free. And as I mentioned, I need to lose a bit of weight, so I’ll take a quick break and join you for a cup of tea, if you like, but I’ll leave the cakes for you. This table by the window is free if you’d like to sit there. Coffee, you said? Milk and sugar? Or would you prefer a speciality coffee?’
‘Actually, I think I might have a cup of tea. It suddenly appeals to me. Milk, no sugar. Thanks.’
‘Coming right up.’
I sat at the table she had indicated and glanced out of the window while I waited. She seemed as lovely as Lucy had said she was, and she’d been very friendly when I’d phoned and booked the cottage. But she seemed a little ditzy.
I remember Lucy telling me that Adele and Marcus had once fallen out when he was married to his now ex-wife, and that Adele had lost her friends, as well as her self-esteem and her job.
She and Marcus only got together at Christmas, two years after his ex had left him for his former best friend, and that prior to that, Adele and Marcus hadn’t spoken for more than two years.
According to Lucy, and from local gossip and from the mouth of the woman herself, Adele had turned into a virtual hermit.
Adele’s confidence had grown substantially since Marcus had told her at Christmas that he had always, secretly, loved her. Apparently, when he had proposed to her on Valentine’s Day night, she had told everyone in the lane, and anyone else she knew, that she felt as though she was a fairytale Princess who’d awoken from some awful spell when the handsome Prince had kissed her.
I suppose their romance could be classed as a fairy tale, although fairy tales didn’t always have happy endings in the original versions. I hoped for Adele’s sake, that this one would.
The town was as busy as Kingston upon Thames and this café seemed particularly popular. Perhaps my mystery man was a regular?
I loved the way he’d said my name, although there was a note of surprise in his voice when he’d said it. Just the slightest inflection. Perhaps he’d heard of me through Lucy, or more likely, Sam. Or maybe Marcus. Or Adele. But why would any of them be telling an electrician about me?
Unless Lucy had been trying to set me up with him, as well as with Elliot. The only man she’d mentioned though was Elliot.
‘Here we are. I brought over a selection of cakes, but if you don’t see anything you like, you can go and pick one for yourself.’
Adele placed a tray on the table loaded with two pretty, floral painted, ceramic teapots and matching cups and saucers, plus a milk jug. Alongside all that was a cake stand with three tiers of cakes.
‘Wow,’ I said. ‘They all look scrummy. But I think I’ll have the jam doughnut. I haven’t had one of those for years and this one looks extra special.’
‘All handmade here,’ she said. ‘Not by me. Doughnuts aren’t my speciality, despite the fact I love them. But I’m going to be strong and not have one. What’s that saying? “A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.” Or something like that.’
I smiled at her. ‘I’m not sure it’s forever. But I agree it sometimes feels as if it is. I’ve been going to the gym a lot recently and I’m sure I’ve gained weight, not lost it. I tell myself it’s because I’m building more muscle, but I’ve yet to be convinced.’
She shivered visibly as she sat down opposite me. ‘I detest gyms. Why are they always full of people with seemingly perfect bodies? Where are all the overweight ones, like me? Do they hide away and only come out when it’s dark, or something? And all that sweat. No. That’s not for me. I enjoy long walks, and I love swimming. I’ll be doing more of that now the weather is getting warmer. We’ve had so much rain of late that the ground is still wet in places.’
‘I don’t like gyms much either. I go mainly to work off my stress, to be honest. Sadly, we’re not allowed to pummel people we arrest, so I take out my frustrations on a punch bag.’
‘I think you’re so brave. I don’t know how you do it. I know women are equal and can do a job as well as any man, but I’ve watched some of those police and crime series on TV and several of those criminals are truly violent, horrible, people. I’d be scared to death to arrest one.’
‘It can be intimidating and frightening at times, even for the male officers, but it’s all part of the job and you sort of get used to it. Adrenaline kicks in, along with all the years of training, and you just do your job. You don’t stop and think about it and whether you might get hurt. We’d never arrest anyone if we worried about that. Although I’ll admit that since I…’
