‘Dad, good to have you home.’ She gave him a hug and dropped a kiss against his cheek. ‘And Étienne,’ she said, repeating her welcoming ritual. ‘Such a surprise, but lovely to see you again.’
‘Well,’ Étienne gave Ruan a slap on the back, ‘I have just installed a new manager in Fiore Del Lago. He is very keen toshow what he can do so I thought, why not? I have to confess to spending far too much time fussing over my hotel.’ He chuckled. ‘So here I am, back with you all for a few days. I gather there has been a lot happening since we left for Italy.’
Nathan nodded, eager to brief them both on the situation. ‘Let’s go up to the family suite, shall we?’ he suggested. ‘There are things we need to discuss in private.’
As the men settled themselves in the lounge, Cat ordered a trolley of refreshments from the hotel kitchen before joining them.
Between them, Nathan and Cat relayed the whole story, starting with the night of the barbeque and ending with Luke’s release this morning. Ruan raised his eyebrows in surprise when he learned Aunt Em had been a key witness and Liam Richardson-Clarke had been hired to represent Luke.
‘That must have cost Gareth a few quid.’ He gave a whistle. ‘The man has quite a reputation and he doesn’t come cheap.’
‘Almost certainly,’ Nathan agreed, giving Cat a quick glance and a smile. Em had insisted no one should know of her connection with Liam’s involvement in the case. What Gareth didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, she’d said. The last thing she wanted was to be accused of meddling or, worse still, to cause an argument between him and Ruan. ‘He’s a weak, spineless man,’ she’d told them, ‘and currently he’s knee-deep in his own problems. He doesn’t want me adding to them.’
The arrival of food and drink pulled Cat away from the room for a moment. By the time she returned with the trolley and began pouring coffee for them all, Étienne was speaking.
‘Jordan has always been a problem,’ he said with a shake of his head. ‘A lonely boy, smothered by his mama and always failing to meet the high expectations of his father. It is no wonder he has turned into, how do you say, a good for nothing? Sadly, I feel it is too late for him to change his ways as it seemsGareth does not care about him, other than to constantly remind him of his failures. It has also not helped that Gareth sees Luke as the kind of son he would have preferred. He is hard working and he has been rewarded with this job as Director. If the world were a different place maybe Jordan might be able to see how he could change things for himself. But he does not. He enjoys embarrassing his parents and he hates Luke. Now, sadly it has come to this. The murder of a girl.’
‘We’ve been thinking,’ Cat said as she placed an assortment of elegant finger sandwiches and pastries in front of everyone. ‘In view of Em’s involvement, now you’re back, it might be nice to invite her to join us for lunch tomorrow.’
‘She’s ditched the Gossip Girls,’ Nathan confirmed, ‘and I think it would be a great way of beginning to mend fences, don’t you?’
Ruan looked at Étienne. ‘What do you think?’ he asked. ‘You’re aware of what happened here a few months back.’
‘Yes,’ Étienne said, ‘and I have also known Em for a very long time. These women,’ he turned to Cat, ‘you say she no longer keeps company with them?’
‘They are well and truly out of her life.’
‘Then I think dinner is definitely an appropriate gesture. Anything more is up to your father.’ He inclined his head towards Ruan. ‘Perhaps slowly is the best way to go. As they say, baby steps. What do you say?’
Ruan smiled at Étienne and nodded. ‘Dinner it is then, and yes, we’ll see how we go from there.’
Luke was almost ready. He’d pulled on black cords, a white cotton shirt, and given himself a liberal spray of cologne. Standing in front of the mirror, he adjusted his collar and reached for his watch. Slipping it onto his wrist, he moved over to the dressing table, pulling open the drawer where he normallykept the silver and jet cuff, only to find it wasn’t there. He searched his room, pulling out drawers, even looking under the bed. Then he went downstairs and checked the living areas and the kitchen. Finally he stood in the middle of the kitchen, his palm to his forehead, eyes closed, trying to remember the last time he’d seen it. He knew it wasn’t with him when he was arrested because he never wore it to work. So where the hell had he left it?
He spent the next ten minutes upstairs again, searching every conceivable place without success. A glimpse at his bedroom alarm reminded him it was time he should be gone. Ah well, he’d simply have to resume his search tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Five
After a relaxing bath, Cat changed into a red wrap-around dress and strappy sandals. She pinned up her hair, added a light dusting of blusher and draped a short white jacket around her shoulders.
Arriving at the club with Nathan just after eight thirty, she settled herself on a bar stool with a glass of wine in front of her and waited. Normally she would be dying to see Luke, but hismysterious behaviour and the possibility he may have lied to her again made her feel apprehensive. Thankfully, Nathan rescued the situation, full of enthusiasm about Ruan’s stay in Italy and the invitation Étienne had extended to both of them to visit later in the year.
Spotting a couple of old friends, Nathan left her at the bar while he walked over to greet them. Almost immediately a dark-haired girl pulled herself up onto the stool next to Cat and ordered a glass of Merlot. As the barman pulled a new bottle from the rack and began to uncork it, she turned to Cat with a friendly smile.
‘Hi,’ she said, ‘are you a regular here?’
Cat smiled back, amused. ‘Sort of. This is my brother’s club, our family own the hotel. Cat Trevelyan.’ She extended a hand.
‘Tanya Clarkson,’ the girl said as she shook Cat’s hand. ‘How lucky you are to have this on your doorstep. Such an amazing place and so busy.’
‘Yes, we attract people from all over the area,’ Cat said. ‘Even from Newquay, which has loads of great bars and clubs. Are you here on holiday?’
‘No, I’m moving down from London to be with my boyfriend. We met while we were abroad but lost touch for a while. It’s lovely to have him back though,’ she said with a happy lift of her shoulders, her bob bouncing around her face. ‘I’ve missed himsomuch.’
The arrival of her wine sent Tanya delving into her bag for her purse. As she pulled it out, Cat stretched across and stopped her. ‘Have this one on the house.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive. Welcome to Cornwall.’ She raised her glass.
