BACK TO LIFE: A Scottish Crime Thriller (A DCI Harry McNeil Crime Thriller Book 2) by John Carson

Author:John Carson [Carson, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

‘Never again,’ Harry said, standing at the kitchen sink, washing down a couple of pills he’d found in the cupboard, hoping they were aspirin and not some leftover birth control pills. He’d put his dressing gown on and was leaning on the kitchen counter when Alex appeared.

‘Good morning.’ She was smiling at him as she put the kettle on.

‘What in the name of God happened last night?’

‘First of all, you were adding a chaser to every pint you had, even though I mildly suggested you might want to slow down, but your reply went along the lines of, Vanessa can go fuck herself. Then you put your arm around my shoulders to steady yourself just before you puked your load onto a neighbour’s hedge.’

‘No. Tell me you’re yanking my chain.’

She laughed again. ‘There is no chain yanking going on, I can assure you. But let me finish; you came upstairs and wanted to crack a bottle of wine, but I talked you out of it. My dad always warned about mixing the grapes with the hops. Or something like that, but you get the idea. No wine, then you started falling about the place and yes, I did take your trousers off to get you into bed.’

He started to say something but she held up a hand. ‘I’m not finished. By getting you into bed I meant that in the literal sense, and don’t worry, I’ve seen a grown man in his skids before.’

‘Christ. Is my face red? It feels like it’s on fire.’

‘I then put your covers on you, and just so there is no ambiguity, no, we did not do anything we shouldn’t have done last night. Your reputation remains intact. Mine, however, might be in tatters. Vanessa was standing looking at you as we crossed the road.’

‘How come my skids were on backwards when I woke up, then?’ He finished the glass of water.

‘Harry, what you do in the privacy of your own room is your business.’

‘Seriously, thanks for seeing me home. God knows what I was thinking.’

‘You were trying to metaphorically poke Vanessa in the eye.’

‘I need a shower.’

‘I’ll do you a coffee when you get out. I know how you like it. You want some breakfast?’

He waved as he left the kitchen. When he came back, showered and dressed, she made his coffee and made herself another one.

‘I hope my snoring didn’t interrupt your sleep,’ he said.

‘It didn’t. The man outside with the chainsaw running all night woke me up once or twice.’

‘I’ve been known to snore on the odd occasion.’

She laughed. ‘I’m just kidding. Those G&Ts put me out like a light. Of course, I drank within my limitations and I feel fine this morning.’

Harry’s mobile phone rang and he thought it might be that woman from across the road as Alex described Vanessa now. It wasn’t. He listened to the caller before hanging up.

‘As if my head isn’t hurting enough.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘That was control. We’re needed down at the mortuary. Somebody broke in again.’

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