An Affair With Danger - a noir romance novella by Robin Storey

Author:Robin Storey [Storey, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Robin Storey
Published: 2016-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

I FOUND a quiet coffee shop in town and worked on my iPad, catching up on emails and organising my work calendar for the next week. Jared had managed to sort out the Bankruptcy Brothers in my absence and they were presenting a united front for court. I couldn’t help feeling a bit peeved that he’d been able to achieve what I hadn’t.

Frankie messaged me at three o’clock. When I arrived, she opened the front door. Her face was pale and tear-stained, and she was clutching a small cardboard box. Colin and Leonie were standing behind her, and they each gave her a long hug.

‘You okay?’ I said as we got into the car.

‘Yep. They gave me some photos and a couple of Jake’s things for keepsakes. They want me to keep in touch and invited me to visit whenever I want. Jake was so lucky to have them for a family. Why the fuck did he have to go and stuff it all up?’

She was bristling with anger. ‘I’m so fucking mad at him I could burst. And I’m mad at Tom for leaving him without a Dad. And Mum ... I take it back about not hating her. If she hadn’t loved booze more than she loved us, he might have had a fighting chance. Both of us.’

‘Yeah, it’s tough all right.’

In this situation, words didn’t even begin to suffice. I reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

We were heading towards town. ‘What do you want to do now?’ I asked. ‘Do you want to head home?’

Frankie shrugged. ‘I don’t know what I want. I want to walk, I want to sleep, I want to get pissed.’

‘All right, let’s book into a motel for the night and we’ll head off first thing tomorrow.’

I found a motel, Avalon Inn, overlooking the ocean and we checked into rooms 24 and 26.

‘If you need to talk, I’m right here,’ I said to Frankie, as she inserted the key into the front door of her room.

‘Thanks. I just need to be alone. Don’t worry about dinner, I’ll do my own thing.’

A stiff breeze had blown up out of nowhere, but I needed some fresh air; so I put on a jacket and went for a walk along the beach, right round to the marina. I sat on a seat with a view over the bay to the thickly forested shore opposite. The gentle lapping of the water against the boats hypnotised me and I was only dimly aware of the squawking gulls and the flapping of the rigging against the masts of the yachts.

I was back in the motel room with Frankie, holding her in her grief and anger, even though I knew that in reality there was nothing I could do or say that would make any difference.

Dusk was creeping in by the time I got back to the motel. There was no sign of life from Frankie’s room and the curtains were drawn. I had dinner by myself

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