Page 1 of Her Lips Are Sealed

ONE

Ash was running late. Having scooped up Milo with the promise of some cat treats, she’d managed to manhandle him into the cat carrier. Much to Milo’s disgust. Ash had remembered to hide the carrier in the other room before trying to lure him into her arms this time. The last time she’d tried it had resulted in her getting scratched so much it looked as if she’d been in a cat fight. The fluffy grey Ragdoll was the most gorgeous cat she’d ever seen, but he was a nightmare when it came to his annual injections. Milo had been meowing the entire drive to Ulverston and she had been glad to get home. It was raining and to add insult to injury she hadn’t brought a blanket to cover Milo up with. He was going to be so angry if he got wet on top of being stabbed by the nurse at the vet’s. They were so lovely and good with animals; it had made her feel a bit better when they’d stroked Milo.

She sighed, shrugged off her coat and lay it across the top of the cat carrier. She hadn’t even managed to get parked in front of her own cottage. Brade Street was so small it consisted of only seven houses. Coniston was a beautiful place to live, but parking was pants and she’d have to run down to her tiny home. With its yellow front door and white painted walls, it was her little slice of sunshine, and she loved it more than she thought was possible.

The rain was pelting so hard it was bouncing off the tarmac. The pavement to her house was broken up in the middle by the front forecourts of the neighbouring houses, meaning Ash had to run along the road to get to her front door. It was a ghost town in this weather and the way she liked it. All the neighbours’ curtains were drawn against the evening that was drawing in, and when she finally opened the front door and stepped inside she released a long breath. Placing the cat carrier on the floor, she took her soaked jacket off it and noted how cosy and dry the cat was, compared to her. She was standing dripping in a puddle of rainwater, her hair was plastered to her face and she was soaked through. Bending down she let Milo free, and he turned to look at her in pure disgust then ran upstairs to his favourite spot by the radiator in her bedroom.

Ash sighed again, kicked off her wet trainers then, standing in her small hallway, peeled her wet leggings, socks and jumper off, dropping them in a pile on the tiled slate floor. She pushed them to one side. She was going to have a shower then deal with her soggy clothing later. She went into her kitchen in her underwear. She had total privacy; no other properties looked onto hers from the back which was just as well because she looked a sodden mess. Taking a bottle of red wine off the rack, she poured herself a large glass of Australian Shiraz and took it upstairs with her.

It had been a long day; work had been stressful. Her boss, Eddie, was going through a divorce and seemed to think that it was the fault of every woman he worked with. ‘Bugger.’ She cursed out loud; she’d forgotten to sign the paperwork he needed and drop it off at his house like he’d asked. Perhaps she could text Belinda or Jeff to see if one of them could collect it for her? Belinda worked late so she could look after her mum with dementia of a morning until her sister finished work, and Jeff worked late because he was as unhappy at home as Eddie was. Picking up her phone off the corner of the sink she sent them a message with praying hands. Now she was cold, wet and feeling a little miserable that she had to go back to work tomorrow and face Eddie all over again. Especially if she didn’t get hold of that damn paperwork. She’d have to go get it herself and waste her entire evening once again running around after her ungrateful, entitled boss.

Turning the shower on as hot as she could stand it, she took a couple of huge glugs of the wine before stripping off her underwear. Removing the claw clip from her hair she stepped under the hot spray and sighed once again – this time it was a happy sigh.

Letting the water and steam warm her up and loosen the knots in her shoulders, she washed her hair with the expensive shampoo she’d treated herself to from the hairdressers then conditioned it, standing with her head slightly out of the water while it rained down on her body, draining away the last of the day’s stresses.

The hammering on her front door was so loud that her entire body almost levitated off the floor. Who the hell that was she had no idea, she wasn’t expecting anyone, and then she prayed that maybe she’d caught Belinda or Jeff before they’d left the office and it was one of them. Her neighbours didn’t come knocking and as far as she knew she hadn’t ordered anything off Amazon in a week, trying to control her spending enough to save up for a holiday somewhere hot and exotic.

Wrapping her hair in a towel and pulling her dressing gown on she went downstairs, not sure if she should open the door as it was almost seven p.m. Late by her standards. She hovered behind the door, wondering if she should, but more knocking jolted her into action. She wished she had one of those spy holes to peer through onto the street.

After opening the door a crack, she couldn’t believe who was standing there, getting soaked through to the skin. No wonder they had been knocking so hard.

‘Hey.’

‘Hi, you left this behind earlier and I figured you might need it for work tomorrow.’

He was smiling at her and she smiled back, shocked but also pleased that he was standing at her front door so late. Feeling bad for keeping him outside, she opened the door wider to look at the brown envelope he was holding out towards her. He was dripping wet; the rain was hammering down even harder.

‘Do you want to come in for a moment?’

He smiled. ‘That would be good, although I’m so wet I’ll soak your carpets.’

She stepped back to let him in; and he glanced down at her pile of soggy clothes on the floor. ‘You too, huh?’

‘Yes, when it rains here it really rains. Thank you for bringing this, I really appreciate it.’ She looked in the envelope and sighed. ‘Oh, that’s not mine.’

He looked down at the sodden envelope. ‘It’s not?’

‘No, sorry, you’ve had a wasted journey. I do appreciate you coming here with it though.’

‘Ah, never mind. I just assumed it was yours. Sorry to have bothered you.’

‘Would you like a drink, glass of wine, coffee? Have you got far to drive home?’

‘It’s a bit of a trek, so a coffee would be great, if you’re not busy that is.’

Ash realised she was standing there completely naked under her dressing gown, and with a towel wrapped around her head. She felt her cheeks flame. She laughed awkwardly. ‘I’m not busy, but I need to get dressed. The kitchen is through there. I won’t be a minute.’

He nodded, then took a step towards her. ‘You don’t have to do that on my account. I’m the one who has interrupted you. I should go; I’ve imposed enough.’

Suddenly Ash didn’t want him to leave. He was nicer than usual, had the cutest smile, and she thought he could be great company. ‘I’m not doing anything. I’ll be down in five minutes. Help yourself.’

She left him alone while she ran upstairs to get dressed.

He went into the kitchen and looked around.

Taking some rope, a lipstick and an envelope out of a zipped pocket of his waterproof coat, he placed them on the kitchen table.

He hung his coat on the chair behind him and waited patiently for her to come back down.