05 One Down by Diana Wilkinson

Author:Diana Wilkinson [Wilkinson, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction & Literature, Crime
ISBN: 9781837510030
Google: H3mUEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Boldwood Books Ltd
Published: 2023-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

52

AMANDA

Before I can face the day, the preparations for Tory’s dinner party, I open up the puzzle. I let my eyes skim across the grid, as I sip my warm lemon tonic.

For a change, I sit by the window on the edge of a dining chair, and lean against the sill. My finger roams, searching for the longest clue. Since the Martin Hunter clues, I’m on edge. The drinking clues are bad enough, irritating, but I’m now anxious, scared about finding rogue, more threatening posers.

‘Sometimes a setter will include a theme that runs throughout the clues. At Christmas, or Easter or during some special event. If there is a special theme, the longest clue usually gives a hint of the subject.’ Nathan’s head would lean so close that I’d smell his Colgate mouth, his forest aftershave, his cleanliness, and he never once complained at my sour breath which I tried to mask with peppermints.

‘Let me do it. Don’t jump in.’ I’d suck the pen, push him off and let the puzzle weave its magic. Nathan’s beady eyes, pursed lips and shallow breathing were never far away. But the puzzle kept us sane, occupied our minds and while Nathan liked to have me close, not battling to escape, for me it was survival, a way to pass the hours until blackness gave in to the dull calm of acceptance.

Soft drink or beer with fruit (6,5)

Eleven letters. Today’s longest clue. My leg jitters. Outside a horn blasts impatience, agitates my thoughts, stirs them up. I need to decide what to wear tonight at Tory’s party. I wonder who’ll be there and if I need to worry about the guest list. I grip the pen, feel a tremor in my hand and put the other one on top to steady the movement.

The whole clue could mean soft or fruit.

‘The answer to the whole clue, as if a quick puzzle, is usually indicated by the first or last words. The bit in the middle helps you work it out.’ Nathan’s steady tone, toys with my thoughts. He’d repeat this simple formula when my thoughts would veer off track.

I can’t think of something soft that matches the number of letters. Six and five. Perhaps it’s a fruit. A type of apple? Melon? But why beer? I think of ale. Perhaps lager. Or bitter?

Then it clicks. Soft drink is the whole. Not just soft. Another word for beer is bitter. Fruit is lemon. The answer is bitter lemon. I fill the squares in faintly. Just in case I’ve got it wrong.

Twenty minutes in, my heart pulses as the ever more familiar drinking theme unfolds, and my skin begins to prickle. Since the wine was left at my door, the drinking theme seems so much worse. I can’t work out the connection. I’m missing something. Nathan wouldn’t have left the wine. I’m certain. He’s probably still really angry, vengeful even, but leaving wine he’d guess I’d drink, wouldn’t be his way. He spent too much time on trying to get me sober, I can’t believe he’d will me now to fail.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.